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AoC: Why are they subscriptions so high? Are they nuts?
cthornett
Member Posts: 32
AoC is one of those games I've been looking at with growing interest, but I was a little stunned to see the recently released subscription prices for the game.
In the UK players will be asked to stump up £12.20 per month (that's 12.99 euros (or £10.43) plus VAT).
In the US, it's looking like $14.99 (ironically, with the exchange rate the way it is that's a mere £7.50, but there'd be VAT on top of that).
The question is: are they nuts?
I realise there will be many die-hard fans of this game that will happily upgrade their rigs and trump up that much to play, but to those UK players who are interested in trying it out, do you think £12.20 is a fair price? Personally, I think they've shot themselves in the head with this kind of pricing, but I'd be interested to see what everyone else thinks.
EDIT I've tacked on a poll of suggested UK subscription prices to see how much you reckon is fair. If you're American, it's (very roughly) two dollars to a pound, so feel free to add your mark as well. Mind you, $14.99 seems okay to me.
Cheers,
Comments
$14.99 is a pretty standard monthly price for mmo's, although there are a few which are less, like EVE. Its about what I pay every month for both WoW and Vanguard (although with exchange its usually a little higher), and used to pay for EQ2. Prices may be different in the UK, but the AoC prices seem pretty standard from a North American point of view.
This situation was same with Hellgate:London(mostly with other mmos) and at that time they explained this as european taxes is higher than US taxes so price is a bit higher in euro. I think same thing is valid for AoC.
It's obvious he's in the UK, and £12.2 is over $24 USD, which seems pretty crazy to me. Sure, it's business as usual for those of us in North America, but there's no way in hell I'd be paying $24/month for an MMO subscription. It seems like the normal UK subscription fee is £9, World of Warcraft and the other major industry players included, so for Funcom to charge so much more is a little arrogant, if you ask me.
£12 a month? I'm glad I got to try it first because I'm not paying that much for it.
(\ /) ?
( . .)
c('')('')
Using the Igoogle currency converter, I found that 12.20 euros is about 19.39 USD.
12.20 GBP is about 24.16 USD.
IF it is GBP, then yeah, that seems excessive, but if it is euros, i'd say that this is a trend that will be taking place.
It is bound to hit America at some time, there just has to be a game company daring enough to do it.
Blizzard would be one i'd expect to up prices (probably on their next MMO) just because any other company that does it, faces ridicule, rejection, and will likely lose players to WoW or some other game.
In order to raise prices, you need to be certain you have
1. A quality product worth it
or
2. An audience that has to pay that price.
So long as some competitor tries to keep it at 15, any game that releases at 20 (here in the US) is doomed.
Now if every company came together and decided (yeah let's raise it 5 dollars) the outrage of the players would be heard for miles... but they would still pay it.
EvE is 14.99 as well, pretty much the standard for any games the past 2-3 years.
I dont know if you realize that dollar was dropping like a rock for a year now. $$$ is at worse place than it ever was. While Euro is steady.
Last year 12EU was about same as 15$
Today 12EU is 19$
....
Since MMO prices are not affected by inflation - they are steady - we are paying same amount we always did,
just $$$ hitted the garbage can
Well said, though I would add this is better for American companies like Blizzard. As we see a rise in inflation, we tend to see unemployement increase, this in effect lowers the marginal product of labor. Meaning the cost of labor is less. MMO companies are better off as the use almost entirely labor for creation. As for pricing it is affected by inflation, but the US competition doesn't allow for a change in price as their cost, thus profit is better off.
"You dont win a war by dieing for your country, you win a war by getting the other poor bastards to die for theirs!"
-General Patton
Just a guess, but maybe because of the distance it costs more to run far away people on long-distance servers?
Wow, ive never heard a worse guess.... Ever notice there are NA Servers and Europe Servers?
Yeah, I guess that would be my question, what is the typical fee for MMO's in UK pounds for most other games. If its around 12 pounds, then nothing's really changed for the average user, the global exchange rate has nothing to do with real value.
Our money isn't worth less to us here in the states, except when we try to purchase goods made in Europe, so no BMW for me this year.
If anything Funcom is screwing themselves by not charging more, but then again, US dollars spend fine here in the US, so perhaps they don't mind trying to rake in millions of them.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
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"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
For those that, for some reason, believe I've plucked the figure out of the air, here's the official Funcom announcement and TenTon quoting it:
www.funcom.com/funcom/frontend/files/CONTENT/Funcom_update220408.pdf
www.tentonhammer.com/node/30956
And yeah, I think WoW's about the eight quid mark in the UK. Eve's quite expensive I think, about 12 pounds, but most MMORPGs are between 5 and 9.
I'm sure there's a comprehensive list of subs somewhere, but the few I could find quickly were:
DDO - 10.56
Lineage II - 8.99
LOTR - 8.99
Tabula Rasa - 8.99
Prices in sterling can't get the pound sign to work on this lappie top, sorry. They're also the individual monthly charges rather than the cheaper bulk buys.
EDIT Had a quick look at SOE's Knowledge Base for UK subs and all their prices seems to be in dollars, so it works out much cheaper right now, but they're all $14.99 + VAT (which is + 17.5% for those who aren't UKers). 7.50 + about 1.30, so let's call it 9 quid.
12.20 continues to look pretty steep. If they adjusted the UK price so that it included VAT and come out at around 9 pound mark, then it would be more in-line with many other MMORPGs.
Cheers,
without going into a massive economic debate here i'l give you a few points to ponder on
1. Funcom is a business and businesses like to find little tricks to get a little extra money out of people
2. the exchange rate plays a massive role for most MMO sub prices (though many dont change too much)
3. if you got a problem with rising costs of things blame the weak dollar and the investors who are still investing in said dollar.
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds
-Solid non level based game
-Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
12,99 € is a common subs price here in euro. It's what i pay for EQ2. I see this as a good thing. No matter what happens to exchange rate, ill be paying same money.
At the current exchange rate those of us in the UK will be paying £10.42 + VAT at 17.5% which comes out at £12.25 per month.
Incedentally that is what I currently pay for EvE, greedy CCP bastages!
All other P2P MMO's are under £10.00 per month.
This is exchanging the price in Euros obviously rather than Dollars.
I wonder if we will be charged the above if we order US copies of the game and play on US servers?
I am currently considering this anyway, because I have a few American friends from the glory-days of SWG who are going to be playing AoC too.
MMORPG History:
Playing - EVE Online.
Played (Retired) - AO, SWG, MxO, WoW, RFO, SoR, CoX, EQ2, GW, L2, Vanguard, LotRO, AoC, TCoS, Aion.
Favourite MMO - Pre-CU SWG, 3 Years, 4 Accounts, 2 Pre-CU Jedi (1 Pre-9).
Awaiting - Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Secret World, Earthrise.
Dont get me wrong guys but really, are you so cheap? Im living in one of the poorest countries in europe and 2-3 euro more per month doesnt seem a tragedy for an online game that you really like. Whats it per year, 40 euro, thats like 10 beers .
Hmm...
So if I "cheat" and get myself listed as an american, I have to pay 14.99$.
If I don't, I end up having to pay about 20$.
Thats more than I want to pay for an MMO subscription.
The only reason I can see for the companies having such skewed payments for the western continents is because of greed, pure and simple.
That and they be counting on the stupidity of american fanbois to go on rambling about it's not much, and european fanbois on being ignorant that a company charges them 30% for the same basic service. Heck, I betcha it would have been a whinefest deluxe if they had said:
"AOC is to cost 20$ for americans and 10€ for europeans (thats 15$, and 25% less than americans)."
So they should charge per hour, is that what you're sayin?
I guess, you wouldnt mind if they charged you 100$ a month, because you played for 5 hours a day.. thats only 66cent an hour.. who can't afford that? It's less than a coke, less than your starbucks coffee even, and that lasts what..10 minutes?
Half the games untested so they should charge half the price - This is another Vanguard release get ready for the fun to begin - heads will roll
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Yes, the UK price does seem high. Are you being "punished" for the UK's decision not to adopt the Euro?
If money is really an issue, with exchange rates what they are, you can save a bundle going with the U.S. version. Heck, with the Dollar likely to continue to lose steam for at least the next six months, it's a deal that may get better and better monthly.
I know three UK players in WoW who play on U.S. servers because the cost is so much less. Performance for them is reportedly solid. (Heck, I used to play FFXI on servers in Japan with no problems, a hop "across the pond" is no big deal)!
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
Of course what you are saying is true, the money doesnt matter, its a negligable amount.
However, I think the OP was more against it on principle, we in the UK get ripped-off on absolutely everything.
It is far cheaper to go abroad (mainland Europe and even more so America) for the weekend and shop than it is to buy the same items in the UK and thats just wrong.
You have to pay for your flights, accommodation, food, beer and entertainment and you still save money compared to buying in the UK, this country is fubared.
OK rant over, lol.
MMORPG History:
Playing - EVE Online.
Played (Retired) - AO, SWG, MxO, WoW, RFO, SoR, CoX, EQ2, GW, L2, Vanguard, LotRO, AoC, TCoS, Aion.
Favourite MMO - Pre-CU SWG, 3 Years, 4 Accounts, 2 Pre-CU Jedi (1 Pre-9).
Awaiting - Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Secret World, Earthrise.
If the subscription for UK is really 25$ that is way too high.
Good thing I'm from another part of the Europe!
This is pretty standard whatever the cost of something in the US, in the UK it's the same but with a £ in front of it.
For example: A plasma tv costs $3000 in best buy, the same tv (PAL version) in Dixon's would be £3000.
It's always been that way, so you have two choices; live with it or move to the US... I chose the latter. Been here 6.5 years and I'm never going back, I have a much better standard of living and the wages are higher... and MMO subs are less