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Subscription Issue

Let me just make one thing clear: I understand that no matter how much sugar coating you put into MMO's they are still created by people like you and me who need money to survive and as such these kinds of ventures must generate profit.

Following that, here is my post;
I was browsing the FAQ in the official site and got sight of this:


Will the game be subscription based like MMOs or free like online FPS or RTS games?

The pricing structure for the game hasn’t been decided yet, check back nearer release for more details


As an ex-WoW, ex-Lineage 2, ex-Eve player I must say that I prefer the free model and believe that it can be lucrative at the same time

Some people would say that a free game would mean more "kiddies" and l337 individuals, free from the restrain of payable fees. As a player of the above games (nonwithstanding Eve) who are subscription based I can say that the l33t/kiddies crowd is everywhere and WoW is a good example of that.
I also believe that a great boost in sales could keep AoC free while allowing for good servers and client service.

Regardless of that, I can say that many more players like myself (a large portion of my friends, for example) wouldn't pay to play. Why? Tiredness. I'm tired of PK'ers, of |33t hax0rs, of games who sport the RPG title without having so much as a hint of actual roleplay in them.

I seriously hope that they use some other profit venue (for example, advertising) other than pay-to-play.

Cheers and BTW, my first post at MMORPG ;)

Comments

  • SerpentarSerpentar Member Posts: 246

    No matter the cost, I think that you have the kiddies no matter what pricing scheme they come up with. While being free to play online would boost thier sales and going on a guild wars way of only paying for the game/expansions is possible.

    But I think that Funcom will go for the tradional monthly subscription. They are aiming for a Mature rating and have said that single player will be free. So inclines me to belive there will be a subscription.

  • GobboKnightGobboKnight Member UncommonPosts: 40

    The single-player portion will be free (supposedly 20-25 hours of gameplay for a given character type), but it'll be pay-to-play if you want to head into the MMO portion of it after that (or start there to begin with, I think they said in an interview you can just do that and start at lvl 10).

    -Gobbo Knight

    "Tie two birds together...they have four wings, but cannot fly." -Blind man, Circle of Iron

  • GrimSkunk2GrimSkunk2 Member Posts: 451

    Age may matter, but older people can be immature too, so I really don't see how subscription fees filter out any of the "1337" people (especially since the younger ones may be spoiled and get their parents to pay for the).

    The game itself has no subscription to play the first 20 (I believe) levels of solo material. Once you enter into the consistant game world, however, they will charge a subscription price. I have no idea how much it will be, but I'm sure it will be a safe bet that they will atleast match the most expensive fee going upon its release.

    -W.

  • ArchaosArchaos Member Posts: 173

    The arguments that "Older people can be immature too" and "monthly fees don't necessarily keep kids out" are both flawed. The first argument is one of the most ridiculous, and I'm not even sure why people say it. Yes, some adults are childish, but i'd like to make one point here: Children are, with very few exceptions, ENTIRELY immature. they're KIDS. So, following logic, if one wanted a less immature mmo to play, they'd find the one with less kids. Which leads me to my next point. Monthly fees keep more kids out than free games do. That's a fact. To say that spoiled kids get their parents to pay and WoW is full of kids is true and all. But those are what they call EXCEPTIONS to the rule. Most kids don't have access to credit cards, so they can't play games with monthly subscriptions as much as adults can.

  • SpiritofGameSpiritofGame Member UncommonPosts: 1,332

    image As a grizzled, touchy, very irritable and possibly crazy "elder gamer" (old guy), my personal feeling is, "If you have a Mommy who tells you when its "supper time," "homework time," and "bedtime," you should stay the hell away from Age of Conan.

    image

    ~ Ancient Membership ~

  • eivvereivver Member Posts: 8


    Originally posted by SpiritofGame
    image As a grizzled, touchy, very irritable and possibly crazy "elder gamer" (old guy), my personal feeling is, "If you have a Mommy who tells you when its "supper time," "homework time," and "bedtime," you should stay the hell away from Age of Conan.
    image

    Ey, I do every 3-4 months I visit my parents (supper time) :)

    Hello.

  • zeboathzeboath Member Posts: 396


    Originally posted by SpiritofGame
    image As a grizzled, touchy, very irritable and possibly crazy "elder gamer" (old guy), my personal feeling is, "If you have a Mommy who tells you when its "supper time," "homework time," and "bedtime," you should stay the hell away from Age of Conan.
    image

    My mother says "s

    --------------------------------------------

    image
    image

  • LaneoLaneo Member Posts: 359


    Originally posted by Ganso
    Let me just make one thing clear: I understand that no matter how much sugar coating you put into MMO's they are still created by people like you and me who need money to survive and as such these kinds of ventures must generate profit.Following that, here is my post;
    I was browsing the FAQ in the official site and got sight of this:Will the game be subscription based like MMOs or free like online FPS or RTS games?The pricing structure for the game hasn’t been decided yet, check back nearer release for more details

    As an ex-WoW, ex-Lineage 2, ex-Eve player I must say that I prefer the free model and believe that it can be lucrative at the same time

    Some people would say that a free game would mean more "kiddies" and l337 individuals, free from the restrain of payable fees. As a player of the above games (nonwithstanding Eve) who are subscription based I can say that the l33t/kiddies crowd is everywhere and WoW is a good example of that.
    I also believe that a great boost in sales could keep AoC free while allowing for good servers and client service.

    Regardless of that, I can say that many more players like myself (a large portion of my friends, for example) wouldn't pay to play. Why? Tiredness. I'm tired of PK'ers, of |33t hax0rs, of games who sport the RPG title without having so much as a hint of actual roleplay in them.

    I seriously hope that they use some other profit venue (for example, advertising) other than pay-to-play.

    Cheers and BTW, my first post at MMORPG ;)


    Kiddies are a bigger problem..With the kiddies..THEY draw you out of the game with all the aspects you mention!!

    I sure hope this isn't free and better yet..raise it higher than the avg $14.00/month!! Make it $16 or $18/month!

    Keeping the Kiddies out will draw down on all the reasons YOU want it to be a free game...Carry on!

    Next customer please!

    /welcome to the boards

    Nobody is perfect...My name is Nobody

  • seabass2003seabass2003 Member Posts: 4,144

    ..raise it higher than the avg $14.00/month!! Make it $16 or $18/month!

    Yeah, make it that much and you'll have about 3 subscribers. No matter how good a game is I wouldn't see too many people paying that for a monthly fee.

    In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.

  • SiftSift Member Posts: 258

    I refuse to join free games now, I have joined game after game to find that they are so limited. Guild Wars Sounds Great but couldnt stand it after a week. tried Flyff which was pretty good for a free game but still the comunity sucked ... I could go on and on but the fact is I would much rather pay for a game that wasnt full of instances and actually added major updates for free (or for that monthly chrage) The only games Ive ever been able to stay in were Monthly charge ones I dont know why but the rest always seem so limited so I just have leave.

    So long as its around the 20 buck mark (Canadian) im alright with that. The way I look at it is, I can go to one movie and get some popcorn and a drink and last 3 hours or get a game for a month that I will get to play with my friends with for unlimited amounts of hours.

    image

  • TinybinaTinybina Member Posts: 2,130

    Free games are not for me I have no problem what so ever paying a monthly fee as long as the company that im paying looks like there hard at developing new content. If not *cough* Planetside they will get any  money from me.

     

    Im kinda sick of this kiddie bashing, while I have run into extremly immature young players alot, I have also run into some real dingbat adults. People that charge head on into battle getting the whole team slaugtered(leroy jenkins type people), people that get lost, people that just do absolutly retarded things.. One of the worst things that I find adults do is the excusses... Right in the middle of a instance or mission you will get "Sorry guys gotta go walk the baby and burp the dog"??? or "Sorry guys my wife wants me to come to bed now" or "Sorry guys I have to go cook dinner for the kids". While I know Real live > Games, I cant help but tell this people "You knew you had to do these things before we stepped foot into the instance, why do you bring it up now that we are in the middle of it!!!!!!

     

    So while kiddies are annoying so are alot of the adults. And whats even far worse then kiddies to me is the casual gamer, these are the ones that usually come up with these crazy excuses. I just hope that AoC brings the old AO crowd back(pre-shadowlands/SWG), that lot that I played with back then was the best of any MMORPG I have ever played with. Just the right mixture of maturity and people that played the game more then 45 mins a day. I miss those days and hope that they come back when this game launchs.

    ------------------------------
    You see, every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with their surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You spread to an area, and you multiply, and you multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.-Mr.Smith

  • DesidariusDesidarius Member Posts: 21

    I see no problem with $15 /month. I would think there would also be the possibility of getting revenue through some advertising. It is supposed to be rated M so they could even do liquor companies. Like an ad window only at the server or character select screen. Maybe in game at the bar at the inn there could be some bottles along the back wall with various types of liquor with labels of sponsors or something like that. As long as it's nothing that would be too invasive.

  • ArchaosArchaos Member Posts: 173


    Originally posted by Tinybina
    Free games are not for me I have no problem what so ever paying a monthly fee as long as the company that im paying looks like there hard at developing new content. If not *cough* Planetside they will get any money from me.

    Im kinda sick of this kiddie bashing, while I have run into extremly immature young players alot, I have also run into some real dingbat adults. People that charge head on into battle getting the whole team slaugtered(leroy jenkins type people), people that get lost, people that just do absolutly retarded things.. One of the worst things that I find adults do is the excusses... Right in the middle of a instance or mission you will get "Sorry guys gotta go walk the baby and burp the dog"??? or "Sorry guys my wife wants me to come to bed now" or "Sorry guys I have to go cook dinner for the kids". While I know Real live > Games, I cant help but tell this people "You knew you had to do these things before we stepped foot into the instance, why do you bring it up now that we are in the middle of it!!!!!!

    So while kiddies are annoying so are alot of the adults. And whats even far worse then kiddies to me is the casual gamer, these are the ones that usually come up with these crazy excuses. I just hope that AoC brings the old AO crowd back(pre-shadowlands/SWG), that lot that I played with back then was the best of any MMORPG I have ever played with. Just the right mixture of maturity and people that played the game more then 45 mins a day. I miss those days and hope that they come back when this game launchs.

    im·ma·ture Audio pronunciation of "immature" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (m-tyr, -tr, -chr)
    adj.

    1. Not fully grown or developed. See Synonyms at young.
    2. Marked by or suggesting a lack of normal maturity: silly, immature behavior.

    Ok, now that we've gotten that out of the way... Just so i understand you here, you're saying that people shouldn't bash children for being immature, which they almost exclusively are, because some adults can act immature? Oh, plus casual gamers are inexplicably the bane of your existence. Got it.

  • ZavinrisZavinris Member Posts: 4

    sorry to say it but the MMO genre didnt really get infested with kids till WoW...and WoW was a terrible game besides the lvling system...it has by far the worst community ever...i would be pissed to see that community follow into another game and would quit the second i saw that it was moving into other MMO games

  • BreakemBreakem Member Posts: 5

    As much as I hope AoC will be filled with
    mature people,I also think there will be
    alot of kids playing it too..
    No doubt AoC will be cramped with voilence,
    massive battles,innovative gameplay and rated 'M'..
    All three appeal to children..And the latter is easily
    bypassed,by using their parent(s) visa card..

    Hopefully,most of the immature subscribers will stick
    to WoW,or some other free mmorpg game..::::35::

    O====[?]::::::::::::::::::::::::>,

    image

    I'll survive your flames.

  • JacobinJacobin Member RarePosts: 1,009

    Having played guildwars quite extensively I agree that loads and loads of kiddies does become annoying in a free game. However I still greatly enjoy the game, the key was to find a core group of people to play with who fit your style. Its worth the effort because endlessly running pick up groups will become dissapointing.

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