Absolutely more so than from any cash shop on the planet lol. It also keeps everyone on an even playing field. No one can open their wallet and get better stuff than you without the work. This is of course Subscription models without cash shops and not with (looking at you SWTOR).
Just wanted to point out that you missed the golden age of mmorpgs because you were too cheap to pay a sub, that’s got to make you sick at night.
The answer is no, I never once thought I was not getting value for my sub. DAOC played such a huge role in my life, and paying 12 bucks a month was by far the best entertainment deal you could find. Hell I could go to a bar and easily drink 50 dollars in beer in 1 night.
But hey, you missed out on EQ, DAOC, EQ2, WoW, Eve, holy crap did you miss some games. The games today are dog shit compared to those. Just about every F2P game I try to play today I quit because I ask myself is this game good enough to justify me spending my time to play… even when it’s free and the answer is no, they are that bad.
If you were paying MMO that was subscription only there seemed few people unhappy with paying a subscription; but then they had already decided to pay it, so that's why. By the time Lotro came out F2P was up and about so there were players then saying 'is it worth it'.
I can remember us laughing when "optional subs" became a thing, just another way for studios to milk the game, the cash shop having opened the door to a myriad of ways to pay. Of course some studios don't even call them cash shops now, because it is not about you spending money.
Omega Time subscription in EvE sounds like classic P2W, but what did we expect cash shops to do to MMOs other than irreparably change gameplay for the worse?
Every sub I played I got value for my money from, but what is the best way for a developer to increase their value for money? Make the game sub only, there is no better value than that.
In EVEs defense it was a sub only game until 5 years ago when they added a free to try Alpha account option which has heavy restrictions on content which can be accessed.
They are just trying to entice players to stay subbed by increasing it's value to go with their recently announced price increase, now at $19.99 per month.
Is there a MMO out there that has not slowly goner down the monetisation route? It is the bane of every online game in fact, EVE did quite well at pushing back the bandwagon nearly all studios jump on.
I've never run across a non-sub game that's actually fun for more than a month, so I've never minded paying a sub for ongoing value.
I'll go a step further and say any MMO without a sub option is not worth my time. I despise microtransactions, especially loot boxes, and any MMO that relies on those as its primary income can burn in hell.
Subs are the best way to keep the developers honest. You can't keep the game entertaining? You don't get paid. Simple. (Note that the old-school method of adding tedious time sinks to an MMO to keep people subbing longer is no longer a viable strategy. Players have no patience for a game that does not respect their time, and now that there's competition among MMOs, no one is held hostage by "the only game in town.")
That said, I don't mind a 100% cosmetic cash shop, but it must have ZERO impact on any facet of the gameplay.
Did the Lifetime Subscription in Champions Online. Even though I do not play it as much, still feel I am getting my bang for my buck; since I can earn stripend every month, while already surpassing the sub fee when I played regularly. .
The shift away from subscription based model has been completely cancerous and ruined the genre in my honest opinion. Instead of making good content, the focus is on MTX and making the game tedious so you can monetize convenience. I hate absolutely everyone and everything associated with the shift from monthly fee to "f2p". $15 a month for unlimited access was an insane deal. Hardly anything gives you that much value for only $15.
When it comes to mandatory Subs, I am going to be honest when I say.. No.
And I say this, because I am not willing to pay a sub just to log back into an old game I left and reminisce. So, it's not worth the sub.
Now, with more modern MMO's, with Optional Subs, and Cash Shops, the answer becomes "Depends on what I get for the Sub", to give an example of this, when Hardcore season starts, I activate my sub for DDO, because it allows me to elite open on a first life toon, and that feature, is worth the sub fee to me. You have to play DDO to appreciate how awesome this feature is.
Now, truth be told, I already play DDO avidly anyway, and since I like to support my hobbies, I already own all the DLC's, I own all the expansions, I have a wardrobe full of bullshit cosmetics, that I will never use, and I am ready to buy the next pack when it comes out, so I don't maintain the sub. As I said, I will activate it when Hardcore starts, for that month, but I am at the point where I enjoy getting what I want from the store as a one time purchase and done.
Even with that put out.
I still suggest new players get the Sub to start with, it is a great "foot in the door" feature, that gives accesses to all non-expansion packs, races, and classes, with a few other perks, that just make the game super fun and expansive for a starting player, and really augments that new player experience.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
You bought a ticket, and flew from one place to another. You could bring luggage, and the airlines served snacks and even food on the longer flights.
But then, to give the passengers more "options", they started charging for the luggage. They started charging for food. Now the price of your ticket doesn't include those items. but you can buy them.
Subs in MMO's seem about the same. In the beginning, you bought the game, paid the monthly sub, and you got the game to play. But then, they decided to offer more "options" to the player, so now you get most of the game with a sub, but you need to buy the rest to get the whole game.
Now, you can buy the game, pay a sub, and then also pay more for the "option" of skipping some of the grind. People actually pay money, on top of the box price and a sub, to not have to play the game!
Comments
The answer is no, I never once thought I was not getting value for my sub. DAOC played such a huge role in my life, and paying 12 bucks a month was by far the best entertainment deal you could find. Hell I could go to a bar and easily drink 50 dollars in beer in 1 night.
But hey, you missed out on EQ, DAOC, EQ2, WoW, Eve, holy crap did you miss some games. The games today are dog shit compared to those. Just about every F2P game I try to play today I quit because I ask myself is this game good enough to justify me spending my time to play… even when it’s free and the answer is no, they are that bad.
I'll go a step further and say any MMO without a sub option is not worth my time. I despise microtransactions, especially loot boxes, and any MMO that relies on those as its primary income can burn in hell.
Subs are the best way to keep the developers honest. You can't keep the game entertaining? You don't get paid. Simple. (Note that the old-school method of adding tedious time sinks to an MMO to keep people subbing longer is no longer a viable strategy. Players have no patience for a game that does not respect their time, and now that there's competition among MMOs, no one is held hostage by "the only game in town.")
That said, I don't mind a 100% cosmetic cash shop, but it must have ZERO impact on any facet of the gameplay.
When it comes to mandatory Subs, I am going to be honest when I say.. No.
And I say this, because I am not willing to pay a sub just to log back into an old game I left and reminisce. So, it's not worth the sub.
Now, with more modern MMO's, with Optional Subs, and Cash Shops, the answer becomes "Depends on what I get for the Sub", to give an example of this, when Hardcore season starts, I activate my sub for DDO, because it allows me to elite open on a first life toon, and that feature, is worth the sub fee to me. You have to play DDO to appreciate how awesome this feature is.
Now, truth be told, I already play DDO avidly anyway, and since I like to support my hobbies, I already own all the DLC's, I own all the expansions, I have a wardrobe full of bullshit cosmetics, that I will never use, and I am ready to buy the next pack when it comes out, so I don't maintain the sub. As I said, I will activate it when Hardcore starts, for that month, but I am at the point where I enjoy getting what I want from the store as a one time purchase and done.
Even with that put out.
I still suggest new players get the Sub to start with, it is a great "foot in the door" feature, that gives accesses to all non-expansion packs, races, and classes, with a few other perks, that just make the game super fun and expansive for a starting player, and really augments that new player experience.
https://biturl.top/rU7bY3
Beyond the shadows there's always light
You bought a ticket, and flew from one place to another. You could bring luggage, and the airlines served snacks and even food on the longer flights.
But then, to give the passengers more "options", they started charging for the luggage. They started charging for food. Now the price of your ticket doesn't include those items. but you can buy them.
Subs in MMO's seem about the same. In the beginning, you bought the game, paid the monthly sub, and you got the game to play. But then, they decided to offer more "options" to the player, so now you get most of the game with a sub, but you need to buy the rest to get the whole game.
Now, you can buy the game, pay a sub, and then also pay more for the "option" of skipping some of the grind. People actually pay money, on top of the box price and a sub, to not have to play the game!
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2024: 47 years on the Net.