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The subscription model is dead. Or is it?
Kyleran
Member LegendaryPosts: 43,508
So this story highlights the Runescape franchise had over 1.1M PAID SUBS in 2019.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-01-15-the-runescape-franchise-reached-a-record-peak-of-1-1m-paid-subscribers-in-2019
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-01-15-the-runescape-franchise-reached-a-record-peak-of-1-1m-paid-subscribers-in-2019
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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Comments
Sub games are typically a MUCH better product than say all these games looking for up front crowd funding or the moba's,arpg's,so they typically NEED a stable income.A cash shop game is going to be a volatile market but if your game/investment was sooo low there is literally no risk however the big mmo's cannot afford the luxury of an on/off market because they are much further invested.
FFXI my fave mmo of al ltime was invested and expected to not turn a profit for 5 years.
However the smart people behind the business end of gaming have managed to exploit all the dumb asses with hidden sub fees like "season passes".Can you imagine if ANY of these modern games tried the 5 year in debt idea before turning a profit,just no way.Everyone now a days wants instant up front profits.
Point is that a sub fee is very much warranted and i expect it ,IF the game is of high quality.So far i have not seen a high quality game since FFXIV and even that game is lacking in several areas.To put it in perspective,i wouldn't play Runescape even if the game had 2020 graphics,it is not that good and none of the games coming out are that good.
Will we see another mmorpg subscription game?Well how many big devs willing to make a AAA game 2...3 maybe 4?So yeah it will be very unlikely we see more than 4 sub mmorpg's in the next 10 years.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
Other than an occasional number I haven't seen Zenimax give out much info at all. Have you a source?
Arguably a p2w subscription as well since a sub is not required to play so if you are subscribing you are paying "extra money" for "extra stuff". (Which worries me not in the slightest I will add but paying more for advantages is the basic definition of p2w.)
If we are to have cash shops - did I say if? - then we should make a distinction, I suggest, and praise cash shops which only sell cosmetics over those that offer "extras". Fortnite shows that it can work. The problem for "less successful" games without zillions of players that feel the need to increase revenue is to add those tempting extras to their store.
The problem with the sub is twofold:
- If there is no guarantee of any new content you just have to pay and pay and pay. And you get people rushing through content as fast as possible etc. Potentially "Money no stuff"
- If there is a guarantee of new content you get subscription free loaders; pay a sub for a month, blast through any new content as fast as possible, unsub and maybe come back in a year. Potentially "No Money, Stuff".
There are ways to link subs to stuff but doesn't seem high on the agenda.
But I bet you anything there are more players subbed to one MMO or another today than there have ever been at any time.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Subscription you'll pay $15, and some players might spend a little more on a cash shop item from time to time. The other models all rely on whales and psychology to get you to spend as much as possible as quickly as possible. While things will cost less than $15, in these games you are pressured to spend more than that, a lot more.
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
Good and Bad are subjective.
There used to be more money to be made on F2P games with Cash Shops, because well, people had come off Sub based games, and were willing and ready to spend money on their hobby. But the population has changed and the numbers do not look anywhere near as good as they used to.
However, one thing that has remained constant about F2P games since their inception, is they have a much higher return rate then Sub based games, so, being F2P makes it far easier for players to go back to their old games, where the sub model functioned as a paywall against returning.
Personally, my prefered model is the B2P with Item Shop, as that keeps out the people who are just looking for a free ride, but it also keeps the door open to return with ease.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
I hear players talk about how they would spend upwards to, I think the highest I have heard to date was like 30 a month fee to play a game, where they get nothing but access to the game, which they will lose the second they cease to pay their subscription fee.
But If access to the game is given to them for free, even if they are playing and enjoying the game, they won't spend that self same $30 a month for some extra perks to keep the game going.
Never Understood this to be honest, and I don't think I ever will, and I am not sure if I even want to try.