well Guild Wars has no monthly fee and its a good game, it just has a bit too much instancing thats all, i think the pvp is better than almost every mmo mayby the best.
I think they made it instanced because that can make more exciting quest's in instanced areas like meeting a group of npc's in a field and proteting them from hoards of monsters, they cant do that in non instanced.
if they only use instancing in important quests for GW2 it will be awesome.
I wouldn't mind if GW2 was p2p, the only payment model i hate is item shop because they sell overpowered items that make pvp unfair and gambling items that have a % chance of upgrading your armor that can fail and waste your money.
Down with this thread. If you REALLY believe that a high quality MMO can operate without monthly fees, then you know nothing about how MMOs operate. Guild Wars, a game that classifies as an MMO in only the barest sense, can do what it does only because its entirely instanced and the overhead is incredibly small, and the only additional content is provided via expansion. Games with persistent non-instanced game worlds with constant updates cannot afford to run without a fee unless you bog the game down with advertising to an invasive and painful level, and even then I would say it's a stretch. Hellgate London is instanced but does throw out the occasional patch to non-subscribers, but even they need some advertising to keep that going. The "free" MMO is a pipedream thought up by 13yr olds with no money who play games like Maplestory and go "WHY CAN'T ALL GAMES BE LIEK THIS!" Until developers and publishers can print money, it's not going to work unless you want an ad infested instanced mess, with few updates and low production values.
You sound like your just spouting off what MMO companies tell you about maintaining an MMO but don't really have a clue. An average WoW server has about 20,000 people on it, thats $300,000 a MONTH for 1 server, are you telling me it costs 300,000 to maintain a damn server? And I don't want to hear about expansions because you pay for them too. The only thing that would make monthly fees worth it would be if we actually got content on a regular basis and I haven't played a game that has done that yet.
Assuming your "facts" are true, do you really think that money is just for the server? Does Betty the CFO's receptionist charge everyone who calls her boss or comes to meet her boss for a meeting? No, her salary comes from somewhere. Same with the people who work on staff for coding, setting up test labs and the services they hire like adp and janitorial services. That all costs money and some part of that $300.000.00 goes for that. Buildings aren't free, electricity to run equipment isn't cheap and you also need to cool it down which is expensive.
Lets not even talk about all the taxes, social security matching, worker compenstation, unemployment insurance, medical coverage and so on and so forth. Sure, that is all free.
Dude I don't know where you go from talking about a high quality MMO needing a monthly fee to supporting an MMOs employees and their insurance, would you pay every game you've ever played a monthly fee to support their employees 401k? All this thread is about is whether we should be getting charged to play or not, we pay for the game and the expansions so basically the monthly fee is used for server maintenance and content in the form of patches. I have no idea how much it actually costs to maintain a server but Im almost positive its a very small percentage of the monthly fee. That leaves content then, and I can only really use WoW as an example of that and I know most would agree you don't get your moneys worth for the 15 a month.
And its not the money, its the principle, if the government started charging us 15$ a month for the air we breathe would you pay it because its only 15 a month?
Dude I don't know where you go from talking about a high quality MMO needing a monthly fee to supporting an MMOs employees and their insurance, would you pay every game you've ever played a monthly fee to support their employees 401k? All this thread is about is whether we should be getting charged to play or not, we pay for the game and the expansions so basically the monthly fee is used for server maintenance and content in the form of patches. I have no idea how much it actually costs to maintain a server but Im almost positive its a very small percentage of the monthly fee. That leaves content then, and I can only really use WoW as an example of that and I know most would agree you don't get your moneys worth for the 15 a month.
And its not the money, its the principle, if the government started charging us 15$ a month for the air we breathe would you pay it because its only 15 a month?
Yes, you're right you don't know how much it costs to maintain a server farm Not to mention the database administrators, the artists, the script writers, the programmers, the server administrators, the help desk, the website/forum team...etc, etc, etc. These are massive undertakings and while there can be overlap in the functions of people, they do take a significant amount of manpower to run and maintain.
Everything costs money and you have to pay for it one way or the other. Perhaps they should do what LOTRO did and charge $200 at the start and you never have to pay monthly fees again, or go the Asian route and use microtransactions and pay for in-game merchandise with real money.
It doesn't cost 150 million a month(10 mil x $15/mo) so what are we getting for that extra money, not much.
Well first thing they aren't getting that much. Maybe 3 million x $ 12/mo (factor in new subscriptions, multi-month subs, and subtract the China market as they only pay in time cards billed per min) A lot of money still, however Blizzard has to answer to Vivendi, and Vivendi has to answer to the shareholders. Are you getting your money's worth? Only you can decide that, and only you can hit the button to unsubscribe to the game. Online games have recurring costs and there has to be a mechanism for the companies to recoup the cost and make a profit.
It doesn't cost 150 million a month(10 mil x $15/mo) so what are we getting for that extra money, not much.
You fail. The whole world doesn't pay the same price as the US. Half of that is asia, who pay a VERY small fraction of what the US does. Not to mention Blizzard doesn't even run the game in China, I would guess they see very little money there.
People have already mentioned the server costs and the costs to maintain them. How about bandwidth? How about future development and content patches? Then on top of all of that, Blizzard doesn't even get 100% of that money for these things, think of how much of it goes to their publisher. Then after all these things, they are a company. What do companies do? Make money. They then need to turn a profit, which the monthly fees allow them to do.
PAING MAKES YOU FEEL YOU HAVE TO PLAY.... ITS IMMORAL AND SHOULD BE BANNED LIKE DRUGS COUSE THEY ARE ADDICTIVE TOO (OR MAKE DRUGS LEGAL)
Like with drugs, the problem is with the user, not with the drugs. Many people would like for a higher power to regulate their life and thought but free will don't work that way, mate.
man i want the drugs your on that must be some good stuff. thinking monthly fees are bad. their good. they keep the servers up, keep the game running, pay for bug fix and go towards research for expansion god monthly fees so evil i know huh?
man i want the drugs your on that must be some good stuff. thinking monthly fees are bad. their good. they keep the servers up, keep the game running, pay for bug fix and go towards research for expansion god monthly fees so evil i know huh?
Read trough the whole of the fuckin thread... servers cost around 5-10 pence per head for a month to run, and from what you said spending 60 pounds on a mmorpg game doesnt give you the backup to demand for the game to be witheout bugs or single player games should be charged mothly so you can get a patch... idiotism... and you wseen an expansion to a P2P game that comes free couse you gave them the monetary equivalent 10 or so of the amount youd pay for single play, you are getting ripped off and you are deffending the same people that are pumping you up tha bum matey. And that`s saad.
they have to pay for staff as well. and maintenance of the server. and the rest is profit. its a business after all DUH.
why cant people get that its a business and the aim of a business is to make profit,
when you buy your phone, tv , mp3 you are also getting ripped of as the price they pay to make them in tiny compared you what you pay
i have no problem with monthly fees, my problem really lies with having to buy the game i mean why cant we just get the game for free and pay monthly fees?
i have no problem with monthly fees, my problem really lies with having to buy the game i mean why cant we just get the game for free and pay monthly fees?
thoughts?
most people internet is to slow to download the client. and if they didnt sell dvds then people will just take a ton for no reason. it will be a waste of money for them
man i want the drugs your on that must be some good stuff. thinking monthly fees are bad. their good. they keep the servers up, keep the game running, pay for bug fix and go towards research for expansion god monthly fees so evil i know huh?
Read trough the whole of the fuckin thread... servers cost around 5-10 pence per head for a month to run, and from what you said spending 60 pounds on a mmorpg game doesnt give you the backup to demand for the game to be witheout bugs or single player games should be charged mothly so you can get a patch... idiotism... and you wseen an expansion to a P2P game that comes free couse you gave them the monetary equivalent 10 or so of the amount youd pay for single play, you are getting ripped off and you are deffending the same people that are pumping you up tha bum matey. And that`s saad.
they have to pay for staff as well. and maintenance of the server. and the rest is profit. its a business after all DUH.
why cant people get that its a business and the aim of a business is to make profit,
when you buy your phone, tv , mp3 you are also getting ripped of as the price they pay to make them in tiny compared you what you pay
deal with it.
FOR THE LAST FUCKIN TIME
SINGLE PLAYER GAMES ARE DEVELOPED AND NOT PAID MONTHLY (staff premises also cost to make those)
Cell phone production haz a 75kg waste marigin called the ecological backpack, TV costs shitloads to transport and there are people along the way that make a living of it how much a cd costs... Anyway I`have Masters from mechanical engineering WITH HONOURS so are you to tell me how much things cost to make, SERVER COSTS COUPLE OF PENNIES to run per person.
DRUG DEALERS ARE THERE TO MAKE MONEY TOO BUT THEY ARE NOT OK, RIGHT.
not ones who have to work with the game every day for years, DUHHHHH
Id say down with cash shops, Every cash shop mmorpg I have played is a generic Korean grind fest formula with a little something that they completely exasperate in order to make it seem special, Like cabal with their Chain system, or Sword of the new world with their MCC, (3 Character control) They are all grind fests, they are all the same exact game with a new skin. Grind for a enormous amount of time...and PvP in the end. But to be good at PvP or Grind faster, because Even the developers themselves know its lame and boring, They offer cash shop items, which are MUCH more than 15 dollars a month. If you want to get full benefits...No thanks.
I will stick to my 15 dollars a month for a "Half decent" product, instead of paying like 30-40 to have the full experience and benefits in a Grind fest.
the only time you see other players in guildwars is in the hubs or if you group.
however I agree to the rest. guildwars was great for what it was. I'm still doubtful they can pull off a great proper mmo with guildwars 2 for no fee. but its great to see them pioneering the concept at least. hats off to a-net, I just wish they didn't nerf all my favourite builds so hard.
PS:
things that will put me off gw 2 is if they have healing as overpowered as it was, who wins or loses depends enitirely on the healers. also I played some of gw:en and didn't like the what I saw of the lore that will be in guildwars2, was kind of drab.
Monthly fees keep the majority of the immature prepubescent kiddies away. Keeping them is a good thing imo.
youve played WoW, right? that is in no way true. parents will give their kids anything that make them happy especially in America. more kids now are so spoiled they cant even read a price tag by the age of 10, they just want it.
the best way to keep the kiddies away is by loading the game with mature content that mommy doesnt approve of and then slapping a, very small, monthly fee only payable by credit card. now that would keep our favorite 12 year olds away.
Down with this thread. If you REALLY believe that a high quality MMO can operate without monthly fees, then you know nothing about how MMOs operate. Guild Wars, a game that classifies as an MMO in only the barest sense, can do what it does only because its entirely instanced and the overhead is incredibly small, and the only additional content is provided via expansion. Games with persistent non-instanced game worlds with constant updates cannot afford to run without a fee unless you bog the game down with advertising to an invasive and painful level, and even then I would say it's a stretch. Hellgate London is instanced but does throw out the occasional patch to non-subscribers, but even they need some advertising to keep that going. The "free" MMO is a pipedream thought up by 13yr olds with no money who play games like Maplestory and go "WHY CAN'T ALL GAMES BE LIEK THIS!" Until developers and publishers can print money, it's not going to work unless you want an ad infested instanced mess, with few updates and low production values.
You sound like your just spouting off what MMO companies tell you about maintaining an MMO but don't really have a clue. An average WoW server has about 20,000 people on it, thats $300,000 a MONTH for 1 server, are you telling me it costs 300,000 to maintain a damn server? And I don't want to hear about expansions because you pay for them too. The only thing that would make monthly fees worth it would be if we actually got content on a regular basis and I haven't played a game that has done that yet.
Since you know so much perhaps you could also give us the break down for actually running the business, the company's part in health insurance, 401k contributions, salaries, bonuses, possible pensions, insurance for the comany, lawyers fees, equipment, office supplies, taxes, well you know... the other stuff that businesses have to pay for. And if the company is publicly owned then of course the investors are going to want their take.
When I'm processing invoices i seem to remember a hefty stack of accounts payable and that's just on my end.
For some reason I keep seeing threads like this where players seem to assume that all that money is wheeled in placed in boxes around the office and then the employees can dip into it when they feel like it.
Because "after running the server" what else is there?"
Oh don't forget research and development, money funneled out for new projects, possible acquisitions, licensing fees, etc.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Down with this thread. If you REALLY believe that a high quality MMO can operate without monthly fees, then you know nothing about how MMOs operate. Guild Wars, a game that classifies as an MMO in only the barest sense, can do what it does only because its entirely instanced and the overhead is incredibly small, and the only additional content is provided via expansion. Games with persistent non-instanced game worlds with constant updates cannot afford to run without a fee unless you bog the game down with advertising to an invasive and painful level, and even then I would say it's a stretch. Hellgate London is instanced but does throw out the occasional patch to non-subscribers, but even they need some advertising to keep that going. The "free" MMO is a pipedream thought up by 13yr olds with no money who play games like Maplestory and go "WHY CAN'T ALL GAMES BE LIEK THIS!" Until developers and publishers can print money, it's not going to work unless you want an ad infested instanced mess, with few updates and low production values.
You sound like your just spouting off what MMO companies tell you about maintaining an MMO but don't really have a clue. An average WoW server has about 20,000 people on it, thats $300,000 a MONTH for 1 server, are you telling me it costs 300,000 to maintain a damn server? And I don't want to hear about expansions because you pay for them too. The only thing that would make monthly fees worth it would be if we actually got content on a regular basis and I haven't played a game that has done that yet.
Since you know so much perhaps you could also give us the break down for actually running the business, the company's part in health insurance, 401k contributions, salaries, bonuses, possible pensions, insurance for the comany, lawyers fees, equipment, office supplies, taxes, well you know... the other stuff that businesses have to pay for. And if the company is publicly owned then of course the investors are going to want their take.
When I'm processing invoices i seem to remember a hefty stack of accounts payable and that's just on my end.
For some reason I keep seeing threads like this where players seem to assume that all that money is wheeled in placed in boxes around the office and then the employees can dip into it when they feel like it.
Because "after running the server" what else is there?"
Oh don't forget research and development, money funneled out for new projects, possible acquisitions, licensing fees, etc.
Comments
well Guild Wars has no monthly fee and its a good game, it just has a bit too much instancing thats all, i think the pvp is better than almost every mmo mayby the best.
I think they made it instanced because that can make more exciting quest's in instanced areas like meeting a group of npc's in a field and proteting them from hoards of monsters, they cant do that in non instanced.
if they only use instancing in important quests for GW2 it will be awesome.
I wouldn't mind if GW2 was p2p, the only payment model i hate is item shop because they sell overpowered items that make pvp unfair and gambling items that have a % chance of upgrading your armor that can fail and waste your money.
You sound like your just spouting off what MMO companies tell you about maintaining an MMO but don't really have a clue. An average WoW server has about 20,000 people on it, thats $300,000 a MONTH for 1 server, are you telling me it costs 300,000 to maintain a damn server? And I don't want to hear about expansions because you pay for them too. The only thing that would make monthly fees worth it would be if we actually got content on a regular basis and I haven't played a game that has done that yet.
Assuming your "facts" are true, do you really think that money is just for the server? Does Betty the CFO's receptionist charge everyone who calls her boss or comes to meet her boss for a meeting? No, her salary comes from somewhere. Same with the people who work on staff for coding, setting up test labs and the services they hire like adp and janitorial services. That all costs money and some part of that $300.000.00 goes for that. Buildings aren't free, electricity to run equipment isn't cheap and you also need to cool it down which is expensive.
Lets not even talk about all the taxes, social security matching, worker compenstation, unemployment insurance, medical coverage and so on and so forth. Sure, that is all free.
Dude I don't know where you go from talking about a high quality MMO needing a monthly fee to supporting an MMOs employees and their insurance, would you pay every game you've ever played a monthly fee to support their employees 401k? All this thread is about is whether we should be getting charged to play or not, we pay for the game and the expansions so basically the monthly fee is used for server maintenance and content in the form of patches. I have no idea how much it actually costs to maintain a server but Im almost positive its a very small percentage of the monthly fee. That leaves content then, and I can only really use WoW as an example of that and I know most would agree you don't get your moneys worth for the 15 a month.
And its not the money, its the principle, if the government started charging us 15$ a month for the air we breathe would you pay it because its only 15 a month?
Dude I don't know where you go from talking about a high quality MMO needing a monthly fee to supporting an MMOs employees and their insurance, would you pay every game you've ever played a monthly fee to support their employees 401k? All this thread is about is whether we should be getting charged to play or not, we pay for the game and the expansions so basically the monthly fee is used for server maintenance and content in the form of patches. I have no idea how much it actually costs to maintain a server but Im almost positive its a very small percentage of the monthly fee. That leaves content then, and I can only really use WoW as an example of that and I know most would agree you don't get your moneys worth for the 15 a month.
And its not the money, its the principle, if the government started charging us 15$ a month for the air we breathe would you pay it because its only 15 a month?
Yes, you're right you don't know how much it costs to maintain a server farm Not to mention the database administrators, the artists, the script writers, the programmers, the server administrators, the help desk, the website/forum team...etc, etc, etc. These are massive undertakings and while there can be overlap in the functions of people, they do take a significant amount of manpower to run and maintain.Everything costs money and you have to pay for it one way or the other. Perhaps they should do what LOTRO did and charge $200 at the start and you never have to pay monthly fees again, or go the Asian route and use microtransactions and pay for in-game merchandise with real money.
It doesn't cost 150 million a month(10 mil x $15/mo) so what are we getting for that extra money, not much.
blizzard is a business the rest is profit duh
Well first thing they aren't getting that much. Maybe 3 million x $ 12/mo (factor in new subscriptions, multi-month subs, and subtract the China market as they only pay in time cards billed per min) A lot of money still, however Blizzard has to answer to Vivendi, and Vivendi has to answer to the shareholders. Are you getting your money's worth? Only you can decide that, and only you can hit the button to unsubscribe to the game. Online games have recurring costs and there has to be a mechanism for the companies to recoup the cost and make a profit.
Ops! Go Fish!
People have already mentioned the server costs and the costs to maintain them. How about bandwidth? How about future development and content patches? Then on top of all of that, Blizzard doesn't even get 100% of that money for these things, think of how much of it goes to their publisher. Then after all these things, they are a company. What do companies do? Make money. They then need to turn a profit, which the monthly fees allow them to do.
Like with drugs, the problem is with the user, not with the drugs. Many people would like for a higher power to regulate their life and thought but free will don't work that way, mate.
man i want the drugs your on that must be some good stuff. thinking monthly fees are bad. their good. they keep the servers up, keep the game running, pay for bug fix and go towards research for expansion god monthly fees so evil i know huh?
Oh, yeah, that's right, how annyoing i keep forgetting, GW is a single player game!
Sadly most mmo's are turning into single player games.Read trough the whole of the fuckin thread... servers cost around 5-10 pence per head for a month to run, and from what you said spending 60 pounds on a mmorpg game doesnt give you the backup to demand for the game to be witheout bugs or single player games should be charged mothly so you can get a patch... idiotism... and you wseen an expansion to a P2P game that comes free couse you gave them the monetary equivalent 10 or so of the amount youd pay for single play, you are getting ripped off and you are deffending the same people that are pumping you up tha bum matey. And that`s saad.
they have to pay for staff as well. and maintenance of the server. and the rest is profit. its a business after all DUH.why cant people get that its a business and the aim of a business is to make profit,
when you buy your phone, tv , mp3 you are also getting ripped of as the price they pay to make them in tiny compared you what you pay
i have no problem with monthly fees, my problem really lies with having to buy the game i mean why cant we just get the game for free and pay monthly fees?
thoughts?
most people internet is to slow to download the client. and if they didnt sell dvds then people will just take a ton for no reason. it will be a waste of money for them
Read trough the whole of the fuckin thread... servers cost around 5-10 pence per head for a month to run, and from what you said spending 60 pounds on a mmorpg game doesnt give you the backup to demand for the game to be witheout bugs or single player games should be charged mothly so you can get a patch... idiotism... and you wseen an expansion to a P2P game that comes free couse you gave them the monetary equivalent 10 or so of the amount youd pay for single play, you are getting ripped off and you are deffending the same people that are pumping you up tha bum matey. And that`s saad.
they have to pay for staff as well. and maintenance of the server. and the rest is profit. its a business after all DUH.why cant people get that its a business and the aim of a business is to make profit,
when you buy your phone, tv , mp3 you are also getting ripped of as the price they pay to make them in tiny compared you what you pay
FOR THE LAST FUCKIN TIMESINGLE PLAYER GAMES ARE DEVELOPED AND NOT PAID MONTHLY (staff premises also cost to make those)
Cell phone production haz a 75kg waste marigin called the ecological backpack, TV costs shitloads to transport and there are people along the way that make a living of it how much a cd costs... Anyway I`have Masters from mechanical engineering WITH HONOURS so are you to tell me how much things cost to make, SERVER COSTS COUPLE OF PENNIES to run per person.
DRUG DEALERS ARE THERE TO MAKE MONEY TOO BUT THEY ARE NOT OK, RIGHT.
not ones who have to work with the game every day for years, DUHHHHH
Id say down with cash shops, Every cash shop mmorpg I have played is a generic Korean grind fest formula with a little something that they completely exasperate in order to make it seem special, Like cabal with their Chain system, or Sword of the new world with their MCC, (3 Character control) They are all grind fests, they are all the same exact game with a new skin. Grind for a enormous amount of time...and PvP in the end. But to be good at PvP or Grind faster, because Even the developers themselves know its lame and boring, They offer cash shop items, which are MUCH more than 15 dollars a month. If you want to get full benefits...No thanks.
I will stick to my 15 dollars a month for a "Half decent" product, instead of paying like 30-40 to have the full experience and benefits in a Grind fest.
you obviusly not very bright and dont understand how the business world works so im leaveing
It took you long enough.
age of conan is not as instanced as guildwars!!!
the only time you see other players in guildwars is in the hubs or if you group.
however I agree to the rest. guildwars was great for what it was. I'm still doubtful they can pull off a great proper mmo with guildwars 2 for no fee. but its great to see them pioneering the concept at least. hats off to a-net, I just wish they didn't nerf all my favourite builds so hard.
PS:
things that will put me off gw 2 is if they have healing as overpowered as it was, who wins or loses depends enitirely on the healers. also I played some of gw:en and didn't like the what I saw of the lore that will be in guildwars2, was kind of drab.
My blog:
It took you long enough.
i though there was hope
the best way to keep the kiddies away is by loading the game with mature content that mommy doesnt approve of and then slapping a, very small, monthly fee only payable by credit card. now that would keep our favorite 12 year olds away.
You sound like your just spouting off what MMO companies tell you about maintaining an MMO but don't really have a clue. An average WoW server has about 20,000 people on it, thats $300,000 a MONTH for 1 server, are you telling me it costs 300,000 to maintain a damn server? And I don't want to hear about expansions because you pay for them too. The only thing that would make monthly fees worth it would be if we actually got content on a regular basis and I haven't played a game that has done that yet.
Since you know so much perhaps you could also give us the break down for actually running the business, the company's part in health insurance, 401k contributions, salaries, bonuses, possible pensions, insurance for the comany, lawyers fees, equipment, office supplies, taxes, well you know... the other stuff that businesses have to pay for. And if the company is publicly owned then of course the investors are going to want their take.
When I'm processing invoices i seem to remember a hefty stack of accounts payable and that's just on my end.
For some reason I keep seeing threads like this where players seem to assume that all that money is wheeled in placed in boxes around the office and then the employees can dip into it when they feel like it.
Because "after running the server" what else is there?"
Oh don't forget research and development, money funneled out for new projects, possible acquisitions, licensing fees, etc.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
someone really really needs to get a good hard slap from a business minded person.
get real if you think those that are making millions of $$$ off the sub fees will willingly give them up
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds
-Solid non level based game
-Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
You sound like your just spouting off what MMO companies tell you about maintaining an MMO but don't really have a clue. An average WoW server has about 20,000 people on it, thats $300,000 a MONTH for 1 server, are you telling me it costs 300,000 to maintain a damn server? And I don't want to hear about expansions because you pay for them too. The only thing that would make monthly fees worth it would be if we actually got content on a regular basis and I haven't played a game that has done that yet.
Since you know so much perhaps you could also give us the break down for actually running the business, the company's part in health insurance, 401k contributions, salaries, bonuses, possible pensions, insurance for the comany, lawyers fees, equipment, office supplies, taxes, well you know... the other stuff that businesses have to pay for. And if the company is publicly owned then of course the investors are going to want their take.
When I'm processing invoices i seem to remember a hefty stack of accounts payable and that's just on my end.
For some reason I keep seeing threads like this where players seem to assume that all that money is wheeled in placed in boxes around the office and then the employees can dip into it when they feel like it.
Because "after running the server" what else is there?"
Oh don't forget research and development, money funneled out for new projects, possible acquisitions, licensing fees, etc.