Originally posted by azzamasin Game is doomed to fail due to a subscription. I am sorry that you like subscription but that business model is so archaic you need to adapt and companies need to understand that people like you (the OP) are a dying breed and will and can never support a game for long. Evolve or die, subs are dead!
Not really, WoW, Eve and FFXIV for example say hi.
Subs are not dead, the reason so many subscription games failed is they were all designed with short shelf life systems, flash and show, that keeps you hooked for a short time but then devolves into short form repetitive content.
Games with a subscription model can survive but they need content beyond just "Repeat short form instances for slowly incrementing currency and occasional loot drop".
Everquests nexts early tech demos were ironically showcasing a system that would sustain a subscription model (Even if the execution they showed may not have). You need long form content, and by that I mean content that will last, not artificially gated with binary fail mechanics or over inflated boss tuning, but actual content that can survive a long game, open PVP is not the answer in and of its self (though for a sub set of players it is, and that is why games have multiple server models) Archage for example can prove that point.
But the subscription is not dead, the games that are being brought to market with a sub model are simply not designed to take advantage of it.
Your little evolve or die statement shows a rather lackluster understanding of the actual problems the MMO market faces currently, which is a player base with an ever shortening attention span, higher demands for presentation of content (Which inflates the development time) combined with an willingness to engage in any activity that requires a significant time investment. The challenge is making long form content that is delivered in small portions, once an MMO maker cracks this they will have a game that can maintain a subscription.
The problem is, its rarely viable for them to do so, and that is why I think the MMO its self is in danger of becoming a feature of other games rather than a genre in its self.
Not to mention a lot of successful f2p survive because they have a sub option. Take Swotor for example who said they had over 1 million active players, 500k of which pay a sub.
LOTRO also has a VIP sub model still to add to this. Its cash shop is massive but there is alot you can do solo in that game and alot to do with a group as well. Cash shops have a negative effect on ingame economies. If the game is good, well thought out and addictive, people just pay their subs and keep plugging away. When a game opts for a cash shop, people tend to change what they craft and how they play. Which in turn changes how the game is played which in turn turns people off. Brad has a unique opportunity here but people are going to have to realize that there isn't going to be a fast track to success in PRotF. It is going to take time to progress and alot of people are not so patient. I WILL be playing this if Brad's vision remains on course.
First PC Game: Pool of Radiance July 10th, 1990. First MMO: Everquest April 23, 1999
Originally posted by azzamasin Game is doomed to fail due to a subscription. I am sorry that you like subscription but that business model is so archaic you need to adapt and companies need to understand that people like you (the OP) are a dying breed and will and can never support a game for long. Evolve or die, subs are dead!
The target audience is the older gamer, people who loved EQ and the associated subscription model. People who have been saying "give us an EQ with upgraded graphics."
The target audience does not want a "modern" cash shop, and the inclusion of such would drive off more of the target audience than would be replaced by younger players interested in classical game play.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do. Benjamin Franklin
I don't think many here at MMORPG.com understand that Pantheon is for big boys... like the ones who have a career, car, etc.
No need to make another throw-away FREE GAME for toddlers, children & young adults.. whom are unable & feel uncomfortable, having no disposable income and having to beg, borrow & steal... to Role-Play for $14 to $25/month.
If you have a hard time paying $180/year for a MMORPG, then chances are that the FREE GAME over there... is just for you.
I think Pantheon has all the right elements, to break the mold...
Originally posted by azzamasin Game is doomed to fail due to a subscription. I am sorry that you like subscription but that business model is so archaic you need to adapt and companies need to understand that people like you (the OP) are a dying breed and will and can never support a game for long. Evolve or die, subs are dead!
Yes .. which would explain why some of the biggest MMOs in the west are Sub based ....
I don't think many here at MMORPG.com understand that Pantheon is for big boys... like the ones who have a career, car, etc.
No need to make another throw-away FREE GAME for toddlers, children & young adults.. whom are unable & feel uncomfortable, having no disposable income and having to beg, borrow & steal... to Role-Play for $14 to $25/month.
If you have a hard time paying $180/year for a MMORPG, then chances are that the FREE GAME over there... is just for you.
I think Pantheon has all the right elements, to break the mold...
I don't know, they sure complain about paying a monthly sub, but then don't seem to mind spending 300 bucks in a month on micro-transactions. It always confused me.
Comments
LOTRO also has a VIP sub model still to add to this. Its cash shop is massive but there is alot you can do solo in that game and alot to do with a group as well. Cash shops have a negative effect on ingame economies. If the game is good, well thought out and addictive, people just pay their subs and keep plugging away. When a game opts for a cash shop, people tend to change what they craft and how they play. Which in turn changes how the game is played which in turn turns people off. Brad has a unique opportunity here but people are going to have to realize that there isn't going to be a fast track to success in PRotF. It is going to take time to progress and alot of people are not so patient. I WILL be playing this if Brad's vision remains on course.
First PC Game: Pool of Radiance July 10th, 1990. First MMO: Everquest April 23, 1999
The target audience is the older gamer, people who loved EQ and the associated subscription model. People who have been saying "give us an EQ with upgraded graphics."
The target audience does not want a "modern" cash shop, and the inclusion of such would drive off more of the target audience than would be replaced by younger players interested in classical game play.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
I don't think many here at MMORPG.com understand that Pantheon is for big boys... like the ones who have a career, car, etc.
No need to make another throw-away FREE GAME for toddlers, children & young adults.. whom are unable & feel uncomfortable, having no disposable income and having to beg, borrow & steal... to Role-Play for $14 to $25/month.
If you have a hard time paying $180/year for a MMORPG, then chances are that the FREE GAME over there... is just for you.
I think Pantheon has all the right elements, to break the mold...
Yes .. which would explain why some of the biggest MMOs in the west are Sub based ....
I don't know, they sure complain about paying a monthly sub, but then don't seem to mind spending 300 bucks in a month on micro-transactions. It always confused me.