I think the standardization of 15$, roughly speaking, should be lowered to 10 dollars a month as the new standard. These are hard times, economically speaking, and it would behoove the gaming companies to lower the standard to hopefully increase their potential market shares. These are shaky economic times and I feel the gaming companies should reflect the times by lowering what I call the subscription standard.
If a company lowers its monthly fee by 1/3 ($15 to $10) they would have to attract half as many new subscribers as they have now to compensate for the loss in revenue. So a MMO with 200,000 players would have to grow to 300,000 players to compensate. For someone so broke that they cannot afford $15/month on a MMO subscription an extra $5 will not all of a sudden make that much of a difference. For people who have no problem paying the $15, a $5/month saving in price will not really be that big an attraction to bring them into the genre or to switch games.
hahaha it's funny when you people say that 15$ is nothing, and someone pays 3000 for his house and prefers to drink beer for 15$
I study, my parents earn together about 1200$ xD 15$ is a lot for me, you people really need war or something for a year or two to start appreciating what you have more xD
15$ is 15$ no matter which way you look at it, its not a lot. Anyone with a job can fit 15$ in there budget unless all their money is going on neccesities. In which case you'll never get be able to save any money or haveanything for retirement because you are only making enough money to live. which means you should be looking for a better career.
I think the standardization of 15$, roughly speaking, should be lowered to 10 dollars a month as the new standard. These are hard times, economically speaking, and it would behoove the gaming companies to lower the standard to hopefully increase their potential market shares. These are shaky economic times and I feel the gaming companies should reflect the times by lowering what I call the subscription standard.
If a company lowers its monthly fee by 1/3 ($15 to $10) they would have to attract half as many new subscribers as they have now to compensate for the loss in revenue. So a MMO with 200,000 players would have to grow to 300,000 players to compensate. For someone so broke that they cannot afford $15/month on a MMO subscription an extra $5 will not all of a sudden make that much of a difference. For people who have no problem paying the $15, a $5/month saving in price will not really be that big an attraction to bring them into the genre or to switch games.
So what you're saying is that less players at a higher price point equals greater profit. But with my price point change, it might attract more than 300K players as you put it. I mean the potential in this new market could reinvigorate the mmo industry. If it's dying, then why not lower the monthly standard. I mean in a sense it's like switching from short-term investment to long term. Sure the long term means lower profit margins short term, but it could also represent massive profits if the game is successful. My point is that gaming companies can't justify the "standard" pricing in wavering, economic times. To not adapt to current market/economic environments is akin to slitting their own throats. When economic times changes, so should economic models and business strategies of gaming companies as well. It's all part of competition, and pricing standards that don't reflect the changing economic times are not being practical nor competetive imo.
Going to a movie with my 2 kids costs like $20, NOT counting candies and drinks. And that is only for 2 hrs. So $15 a month unlimited play is very very cheap.
I think the standardization of 15$, roughly speaking, should be lowered to 10 dollars a month as the new standard. These are hard times, economically speaking, and it would behoove the gaming companies to lower the standard to hopefully increase their potential market shares. These are shaky economic times and I feel the gaming companies should reflect the times by lowering what I call the subscription standard.
If a company lowers its monthly fee by 1/3 ($15 to $10) they would have to attract half as many new subscribers as they have now to compensate for the loss in revenue. So a MMO with 200,000 players would have to grow to 300,000 players to compensate. For someone so broke that they cannot afford $15/month on a MMO subscription an extra $5 will not all of a sudden make that much of a difference. For people who have no problem paying the $15, a $5/month saving in price will not really be that big an attraction to bring them into the genre or to switch games.
With 100,000 more players you need more servers (networking gear, etc) , more support staff (insurance, ss matching, building space), maybe more bandwidth.
Well, I guess we see things very differently. MMORPG is the CHEAPEST entertainment i have. Going to a movie with my 2 kids costs like $20, NOT counting candies and drinks. And that is only for 2 hrs. So $15 a month unlimited play is very very cheap.
With that logic then, I suppose if a game company offered to lower your price to 9.99 a month you'd decline, and offer to pay them 15 dollars a month because it's still cheap for you?
Don't get me wrong, because I generally do agree that MMO's for it's price vs. entertainment is still a good exchange... but can't that exchange be a little better for the consumer? Is there no room for haggling simply because you're willing to pay more than make a little savings here and there?
Personally when I go to buy something, or acquire some sort of service, beit entertainmentwise or not, I like to shop around and get the best price available. It's my job as a consumer to find the best price, and I'm sure most people here would agree with that logic. To say that 15$/mo. of "unlimited play is very very cheap." as you put it can be argued that due to econmic times as they stand currently, is subjective to review and/or possible change. Why not change that standard monthly fee? Which brings up a more intereresting socialogical/economic question: Why are we as gamers complacent/content with the current MMO pricing standard in changing economic times?
I pity you if you prefer to play a MMO instead of drinking 3 beers with friends. If I was short on money I would make the choice to go drinking with my buddies instead of playing an MMO tbh.
I was thinking the same thing. But he probably didn't mean it in the anti-social type of way, though he was quick to cast judgment over the OP.
MMOs suck right now though so there really isn't anything to spend $15 on. Just keep doing what you're doing, living on your own and having your own transportation is more important than mmos. Renting sounds crappy though, just seems like a waste of cash to me. Why buy a house for someone else? If you are renting that is, couldn't tell.
Well it's not just the alcohol cause I drink socially with my friends and if I didn't do that then I wouldn't have much of a life and would be stuck inside the house all the time. I'm taking about everything on a whole that $15 can contribute to. That $15 over a year soon builds up and it's a payment you have to worry about each month. All that money I spent on a mmorpg could be my petrol on my motorbike for most the year.
Yet companies like SOE and Blizzard seem to charge extra for other services which I feel like I should be getting under that fee or don't charge me at all and let me pay in micro transactions when I can afford it. Cause tbh I'd be playing Planetside, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft and many other mmorpgs if that used the MT model only. However cause of the price each month I can't afford them while buying other games like a Fallout 3 or whatever comes out in the month. If HL2: Episode 3 came out next month then any mmorpg would have to say bye for the next two months.
Well, I guess we see things very differently. MMORPG is the CHEAPEST entertainment i have. Going to a movie with my 2 kids costs like $20, NOT counting candies and drinks. And that is only for 2 hrs. So $15 a month unlimited play is very very cheap.
With that logic then, I suppose if a game company offered to lower your price to 9.99 a month you'd decline, and offer to pay them 15 dollars a month because it's still cheap for you?
Don't get me wrong, because I generally do agree that MMO's for it's price vs. entertainment is still a good exchange... but can't that exchange be a little better for the consumer? Is there no room for haggling simply because you're willing to pay more than make a little savings here and there?
Personally when I go to buy something, or acquire some sort of service, beit entertainmentwise or not, I like to shop around and get the best price available. It's my job as a consumer to find the best price, and I'm sure most people here would agree with that logic. To say that 15$/mo. of "unlimited play is very very cheap." as you put it can be argued that due to econmic times as they stand currently, is subjective to review and/or possible change. Why not change that standard monthly fee? Which brings up a more intereresting socialogical/economic question: Why are we as gamers complacent/content with the current MMO pricing standard in changing economic times?
If a MMO I play offered to reduce my monthly fee to $9.99 I would jump at the opportunity. However, if a MMO I do not like would make me the same offer I still would not subscribe to them. The lower price does not compensate for the drop in quality. If AoC offered me a $5/month subscription I would still stick to my $15/month subscription. I imagine that a lot of people on these boards would not play WoW even if you paid them.
Personally, I am rather cheap and will look for the best deal. However, at a certain point the drop in quality is just not worth the savings. I will often buy no-name soda since it is half teh price of brand soda like Coke or Pepsi. However, if the cheap soda tastes like piss then I was better off buying the more expensive soda.
As far as teh 'changing economic times', if a $15/month subscription is too much money for your budget then $10/month is going to be too much as well. Things like that just do not progress in a nice linear fashion. You generally try to stretch things out as much as possible and then make a lot of drastic cuts once you reach the breaking point.
I have an average Job where I get paid paid double the average wage here which is higher than most of my mates and they do ok jobs like repairing PC's and stuff. I have bills which are increasing and I have petrol costs and then I have costs like going out on the weekend and buying beer which is a social must here in the UK cause if you don't drink then you ain't getting laid and you wont be having fun as alcohol is out culture here.
I can only afford to live without my parents because I have a room mate and we split the bills and it costs us nearly £3000 a month betwwen us just to live and that leavs us with a tiny amount of cash each every month. I'm talking in the hundreds and I buy games and I just bought a new motorbike and I have other things to pay for and I can't really afford them things onto of the bills that just allow me to live. My point is that $15 is like around £10 or whateveer the economy is now and that buys me 3 beers or food for a few days or a tank of petrol on my motorbike. That £10 is vital for me and I've just found myself deciding between subscribing to an mmorpg or doing something else I need with it and everything else wins out over the mmorpg. I'm just wondering who else feels the same and if the free 2 player model or micro transactions which let me play for free but buy something when I can afford to will catch on in a big way.
We just had (it may be still going, haven't checked) a discussion about F2P games and they aren't. Not if you are the competitive type in the smallest degree.
As for the rest, well, don't know what to tell you. I personally left all the drinking ridiculous amounts about 8-9 years ago and I'm married to a woman that games and is a published adult short story fiction writer. No bedroom issues here and certainly not to the point I need alcohol to aid in the act. *shrug*
Only thing I can tell you is sit down and evaluate what free time activities you get the most fun out of and plan accordingly. If it were me, I'd think about "pissing" less money away. Pun intended.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Well all in all anyone who's able to afford a computer powerful enough to run those games (AoC etc...) and a decent connexion not to have too much lag would be able to afford an extra USD15 or EUR15. But obviously you wouldn't subscribe for more than 1 or 2 such MMOs. Then purely in terms of price/entertainment time, it's better than most single player games which cost EUR60 for say 30 hours of gameplay - you usually spend more than 30 hours a month on an MMO, yet it's only 15/month. Means you save on buying other boxes for months and months.
Other obvious statements are:
- gaming is not a critical need like having a flat or eating. If you have difficulties meeting basic survival needs, just stop playing tbh that's far less important.
- if you have to chose between playing and socialising, I'd advise you to rather go out and have social activities - but then don't complain if you quickly realise that it's WAY more expensive than playing every evening (you USD15/month becomes USD15/day). I'd also tell you that drinking 2 beers instead of 4 twice during the month will make for the monthly subscription, and you'll feel much better the next day.
Eventually I must say that everyone should realise that not paying much or not paying at all (downloading cracked games) has a dramatic impact on games overall quality and quantity. Next time you complain about not having decent releases on a certain period, just think how much more money there will be in the industry, how many closed shops would still exist and possibly make great games, if everyone was using legal copies and paying the price for it... Same for music, we'll never realize how much we have lost through downloading illegal mp3, just because it's potentially great music that will never exist...
You can't take away the alcohol though it's a necessity here in England atleast. I've been out drinking every night so far this week and last week with my friends and thats what we do here. If you ain't drinking then you just don't have any fun cause everyone else is drunk and when you're sober looking on in you just think, what twats lol. Besides drinking makes everything better , like crap movies at the cinema are suddenly funny or bad games are suddenly good. The thing is if I had to make a choice between going out and having a laugh with my mates and getting some or stay alone in the house playing a mmorpg that I don't really like cause SWG and PS got ruined. Then I know I'm gonna choose going out because it's social and I love going on my Motorbike and enjoy seeing the world. Like last weekend I was in a club with my mates and we met this guy who invited us to a house party and we ended up going there around 4am but everyone had gone....... so I pissed through his letter box and he chased us down the street. That is a good time!
- Gas bills
- Water bills
- electric bills
- Rent
- Food and Alcohol
- Petrol
- Motorbike + car repairs and services and mots etc etc.
- Spend money upgrading your PC
- Buying games
- Clothes
- haircuts
- washing products
etc etc.
It could keep going and going and that £10 or whatever could be 2 meals or it could be soap or petrol money. Sure I could not spend the £50 a week on booze or whatever but then I'm not gonna have any fun and I'll be a loner wasting my youth for games.
I find myself choosing between buying Fallout 3 or subscribing to an mmorpg cause money is that tight. So I end up buying Fallout 3 and missing out on playing the mmorpg for 2 months and oh look I hate Fallout 3....... waste of money, shoulda just pirated it like all my mates did.
Or you could just not buy 3 beers over the course of the week there is your money.
I'm sorry but regardless of whether one wants to argue the necessity of bar culture in the U.K. (or elsewhere) or whether or not there are people who would find 15 dollars (or pounds, I believe they are very close now) a lot of money (I'm sure there are places where that comes close to a months salary) this is about choice.
If you went out drinking every night I will assume you had more than 1 beer per night. 2? More? cutting down on just a few over the course of the evening or week will do it.
You can nurse a beer you know.
As for everyone being drunk and you not therefore you are not having any fun? Well, that's a lifestyle choice I imagine.
It's not up to me or anyone else to read you a sermon about being trashed every night of the week, but I find it hard to believe everyone in the U.K. is an alcoholic. Essentially you are saying that you need to be drunk to have fun because your friends are drunk. Well, that's your choice, it's your life.
i worked for a Scottish company and yes, there was a significant bar culture. But I also found out that there were many in the company who did not drink at all. I was told that it was a sort of all in or all out type of thing.
So again, it's about choice. Especially given your circumstances. If you were the poor in mexico I would be saying that you should cut out mmo's AND beer as that would be a huge amount of money needed to eat. But you are basically making the choice between beer and video games. So ok, don't play an online video game and get drunk every night.
I think we can all agree that there is a difference between that and food or medicine.
It really is hard to argue for or against that as it just seems to be a silly thing to be discussing. At least from my 42 year old view.
But you don't think it's funny or silly and I can respect that. I see that it is causing you a bit of distress because you are debating doing something you like with doing something that is social. So of course, in my opinion, social wins out.
Just pick what makes you happy and move on. That's what life is about.
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You don't want to play F2P MMOs, if you somehow get addicted to them, you'll be thinking about spending much more than $15, which is what sustain these MMOs, a bunch of people paying hundreds or thousands of dollars a month to keep it up.
The choice is up to you, 3 beers which last for one, two nights or a MMO subscription which can potentially entertain you for the whole month. If you think MMOs are not fun to be worth your money, then gaming is not for you.
Think about how much time you expect to be playing the game, and compare it with how else you could spend your $15, to see if you are getting more fun or not.
You don't have to be hardcore though, remember that in real life these $15 would last for a few minutes or hours.
For example, I spend around 28 hours with games per week (average around 4 hours per day, I was trying to get rid of gaming completely but then I noticed how cheap it is and I could not afford the money to place something on real life to entertain me in its place, I used to play around 8 hours per day, all my free time, 8 hours working, 8 hours sleeping and 8 free hours, but gaming has social drawbacks).
Anyway, this is all subjective, the only fact is that $15 can give you a potential month of entertainment which may have social drawbacks, depends on how you are used to live. You are definitely not the case that needs the $15 for essentials such as basic food, care, etc, just a doubt on what you want to spend to entertain yourself.
Personally my philosophy has always been if you need alcohol to get laid then you probably should not be getting any. I used to drink when I was 18 but then I grew up and don't even allow that crap in my home. Its all about priorities.
I'm right with the OP, i also can't afford to spend 15$ a month anymore. Petrol is expensive, specially for my boat, also taxes for my three cars are high up now so maybe i will switch to micro transactions games, where I spend 20 to 50$ a month for half the content I 'd have with a P2P MMO, but I will feel special above all that cant spend so much money LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
lol what amazes me is the number of dick heads we get in these forums . the o.p. has a legitimate point and a lot of you who have ridiculed him are proberbly still living at home with mum and dad or hav nt got to the point where you ve lost your jobs yet . i can guarantee some of you will or maybe your parents will and the easy life you know now will be a thing of the past .
i ve been saying for a long time some of the less popular or older mmos could do with looking at a reduction in the monthly fee .
no where is it set in stone that it has to be 15 dollars or 8.99 a month . in fact i dont think it will be long before we see a reduction in some monthly subs .
as for those of you that have taken the p... out of the o.p . i really hope you get the dose of reality you deserve .
as for me i m ok with the monthly fees because i m fortunate enough to be quite secure unless the banks go bust . but im not arrogant or moronic enough to look down on the less fortunate .
for gods sake some of your would do well to stop playing mmos and get a life . immature spoilt bratts .
I'm just wondering who else feels the same and if the free 2 player model or micro transactions which let me play for free but buy something when I can afford to will catch on in a big way.
I feel you. I recently lost my good paying job, got a job that doesn't pay sqauat now, and 15 bucks isn't always easy to come by. However, I'd rather pass on MMORPGs than play a F2P game that sucks.
There was a time were I had no job and little suport income.
I would buy food for 10euro's a week, I could pay my house, I dropped every from of social live, I dropt every form of trasport.
I Dint buy any new cloth unless it was realy needed. (not to get girls but for the need to wear pants when going out of the house.)
my only form of interaction whit people besites old friends and family was my MMO , I was way down the social financial ladder but I could play and pay for my mmo just fine each month. infact I beleve it was my saving .
a mmo is a verry low cost highly social form of entertaiment.
I clearly knew that buying new games (besites from the need for a good rig) cost lots of money and is a high risk of Not liking it.
I used my brains to desite not my balls and hey I dint die by not using them :P
anyone in europe that complains about the prize of a mmo I call a Idiot.
The $15 fee for MMOs is by far the cheapest form of entertainment I have on a month to month basis. Unlimited hours, $15. Movie same price... 2 hours. TV $45 unlimited but mostly crap so about 4 hours weekly. Lunch $15... 1 hour.
What surprises me is that I limit myself to 1 MMO sub and blow $15 on lunch pretty regularily. And really I enjoy the game time more than the meal
As for F2P the idea is that month to month... you pay as much or more than you would on a sub.
I see that most of you can afford $15 dollars a month. I on the other hand can't and no it's not a debate on wether or not to buy beer as i don't drink it's that im disabled and can't work. I make little during the month for just siiting around playing games i usaallly have $250 left over per month and thats after utilitys, house and car payments, food, and gas for the month. this 250 goes into the bank for doctors bills and emergancys. so out of that $250 if i take fifteen every month i could be removing a doctors app. copay or some meds that i need. obviously after i've saved for quite a while anf have some money to blow i go and buy a game or two but they are either always used or on sale. in my life it's my health each month or my entertainment i usally go with my health.
These threads really crack me up... your online (pays for this) you have a pc (pays for this) you probably watch tv (pays for this) make a choice... get rid of cable , play games... or play a free mmo theres many out there that are fairly good.. fixed income?? i really think you shouldnt have this as your hobby... If I couldnt afford 15 dollars a month.. i shouldnt even be on the net... there are other things more important...
These threads really crack me up... your online (pays for this) you have a pc (pays for this) you probably watch tv (pays for this) make a choice... get rid of cable , play games... or play a free mmo theres many out there that are fairly good.. fixed income?? i really think you shouldnt have this as your hobby... If I couldnt afford 15 dollars a month.. i shouldnt even be on the net... there are other things more important...
Lol i guess i forgot to say that my car payment is for a car and driver(reason being i live far from family)there for i need the net to do certain things and my phone company and i use this term loosly for some reason won't allow you to use ike aol(yes i know it's hard to stop me well until they cancle my service) and their dial up is $50 a month as where my wireless broad band is 20 bucks cheaper and is faster than T1 but when i have to pay bills and order my food delivery for the month it's pays to have it done faster and not tie up the phone lines. now im not getting mad at anyone but i don't have cable or even satalite tv so im pretty much spend all of my time on the computer playing free mmo's or reading books. If that makes it silly not to be able to play an mmo thats pay then i would hate to see a justified reason. so i mean think about what you say im not trying to call anyone idiots here. And to tell the truth Kwosh if it seems i singled you out well i didn't i just used yours for the fact that you said fixed income my father is a disabled veteran so he gets 3 types of fixed income as where i qualify only for one it's kinda hard to do things you really enjoy with out the money.
Its not that 15 is too much for yout o pay each month, its that there isnt anything worth paying for, if there was youd be able to justfy it.
I mean here in toronto bear is like 4-7 bucks depending on where you go, shave off 2 beers a night you can afford a month of gaming. IF you had something you really wanted to play youd find the money for it.
I know when i find a MMO i like i adjust my sleep habit for it, but if there are no games worth playing then i dont care about paying for it.
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Life... is the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come - Lester Freeman
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Comments
If a company lowers its monthly fee by 1/3 ($15 to $10) they would have to attract half as many new subscribers as they have now to compensate for the loss in revenue. So a MMO with 200,000 players would have to grow to 300,000 players to compensate. For someone so broke that they cannot afford $15/month on a MMO subscription an extra $5 will not all of a sudden make that much of a difference. For people who have no problem paying the $15, a $5/month saving in price will not really be that big an attraction to bring them into the genre or to switch games.
hahaha it's funny when you people say that 15$ is nothing, and someone pays 3000 for his house and prefers to drink beer for 15$
I study, my parents earn together about 1200$ xD 15$ is a lot for me, you people really need war or something for a year or two to start appreciating what you have more xD
15.00 is not worth the quality that is out there.
We have quantity, but we do not have quality in this industry.
15$ is 15$ no matter which way you look at it, its not a lot. Anyone with a job can fit 15$ in there budget unless all their money is going on neccesities. In which case you'll never get be able to save any money or haveanything for retirement because you are only making enough money to live. which means you should be looking for a better career.
If a company lowers its monthly fee by 1/3 ($15 to $10) they would have to attract half as many new subscribers as they have now to compensate for the loss in revenue. So a MMO with 200,000 players would have to grow to 300,000 players to compensate. For someone so broke that they cannot afford $15/month on a MMO subscription an extra $5 will not all of a sudden make that much of a difference. For people who have no problem paying the $15, a $5/month saving in price will not really be that big an attraction to bring them into the genre or to switch games.
So what you're saying is that less players at a higher price point equals greater profit. But with my price point change, it might attract more than 300K players as you put it. I mean the potential in this new market could reinvigorate the mmo industry. If it's dying, then why not lower the monthly standard. I mean in a sense it's like switching from short-term investment to long term. Sure the long term means lower profit margins short term, but it could also represent massive profits if the game is successful. My point is that gaming companies can't justify the "standard" pricing in wavering, economic times. To not adapt to current market/economic environments is akin to slitting their own throats. When economic times changes, so should economic models and business strategies of gaming companies as well. It's all part of competition, and pricing standards that don't reflect the changing economic times are not being practical nor competetive imo.
Well, I guess we see things very differently.
MMORPG is the CHEAPEST entertainment i have.
Going to a movie with my 2 kids costs like $20, NOT counting candies and drinks. And that is only for 2 hrs. So $15 a month unlimited play is very very cheap.
If a company lowers its monthly fee by 1/3 ($15 to $10) they would have to attract half as many new subscribers as they have now to compensate for the loss in revenue. So a MMO with 200,000 players would have to grow to 300,000 players to compensate. For someone so broke that they cannot afford $15/month on a MMO subscription an extra $5 will not all of a sudden make that much of a difference. For people who have no problem paying the $15, a $5/month saving in price will not really be that big an attraction to bring them into the genre or to switch games.
With 100,000 more players you need more servers (networking gear, etc) , more support staff (insurance, ss matching, building space), maybe more bandwidth.
With that logic then, I suppose if a game company offered to lower your price to 9.99 a month you'd decline, and offer to pay them 15 dollars a month because it's still cheap for you?
Don't get me wrong, because I generally do agree that MMO's for it's price vs. entertainment is still a good exchange... but can't that exchange be a little better for the consumer? Is there no room for haggling simply because you're willing to pay more than make a little savings here and there?
Personally when I go to buy something, or acquire some sort of service, beit entertainmentwise or not, I like to shop around and get the best price available. It's my job as a consumer to find the best price, and I'm sure most people here would agree with that logic. To say that 15$/mo. of "unlimited play is very very cheap." as you put it can be argued that due to econmic times as they stand currently, is subjective to review and/or possible change. Why not change that standard monthly fee? Which brings up a more intereresting socialogical/economic question: Why are we as gamers complacent/content with the current MMO pricing standard in changing economic times?
I pity you if you prefer to play a MMO instead of drinking 3 beers with friends. If I was short on money I would make the choice to go drinking with my buddies instead of playing an MMO tbh.
I was thinking the same thing. But he probably didn't mean it in the anti-social type of way, though he was quick to cast judgment over the OP.
MMOs suck right now though so there really isn't anything to spend $15 on. Just keep doing what you're doing, living on your own and having your own transportation is more important than mmos. Renting sounds crappy though, just seems like a waste of cash to me. Why buy a house for someone else? If you are renting that is, couldn't tell.
Well it's not just the alcohol cause I drink socially with my friends and if I didn't do that then I wouldn't have much of a life and would be stuck inside the house all the time. I'm taking about everything on a whole that $15 can contribute to. That $15 over a year soon builds up and it's a payment you have to worry about each month. All that money I spent on a mmorpg could be my petrol on my motorbike for most the year.
Yet companies like SOE and Blizzard seem to charge extra for other services which I feel like I should be getting under that fee or don't charge me at all and let me pay in micro transactions when I can afford it. Cause tbh I'd be playing Planetside, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft and many other mmorpgs if that used the MT model only. However cause of the price each month I can't afford them while buying other games like a Fallout 3 or whatever comes out in the month. If HL2: Episode 3 came out next month then any mmorpg would have to say bye for the next two months.
With that logic then, I suppose if a game company offered to lower your price to 9.99 a month you'd decline, and offer to pay them 15 dollars a month because it's still cheap for you?
Don't get me wrong, because I generally do agree that MMO's for it's price vs. entertainment is still a good exchange... but can't that exchange be a little better for the consumer? Is there no room for haggling simply because you're willing to pay more than make a little savings here and there?
Personally when I go to buy something, or acquire some sort of service, beit entertainmentwise or not, I like to shop around and get the best price available. It's my job as a consumer to find the best price, and I'm sure most people here would agree with that logic. To say that 15$/mo. of "unlimited play is very very cheap." as you put it can be argued that due to econmic times as they stand currently, is subjective to review and/or possible change. Why not change that standard monthly fee? Which brings up a more intereresting socialogical/economic question: Why are we as gamers complacent/content with the current MMO pricing standard in changing economic times?
If a MMO I play offered to reduce my monthly fee to $9.99 I would jump at the opportunity. However, if a MMO I do not like would make me the same offer I still would not subscribe to them. The lower price does not compensate for the drop in quality. If AoC offered me a $5/month subscription I would still stick to my $15/month subscription. I imagine that a lot of people on these boards would not play WoW even if you paid them.
Personally, I am rather cheap and will look for the best deal. However, at a certain point the drop in quality is just not worth the savings. I will often buy no-name soda since it is half teh price of brand soda like Coke or Pepsi. However, if the cheap soda tastes like piss then I was better off buying the more expensive soda.
As far as teh 'changing economic times', if a $15/month subscription is too much money for your budget then $10/month is going to be too much as well. Things like that just do not progress in a nice linear fashion. You generally try to stretch things out as much as possible and then make a lot of drastic cuts once you reach the breaking point.
We just had (it may be still going, haven't checked) a discussion about F2P games and they aren't. Not if you are the competitive type in the smallest degree.
As for the rest, well, don't know what to tell you. I personally left all the drinking ridiculous amounts about 8-9 years ago and I'm married to a woman that games and is a published adult short story fiction writer. No bedroom issues here and certainly not to the point I need alcohol to aid in the act. *shrug*
Only thing I can tell you is sit down and evaluate what free time activities you get the most fun out of and plan accordingly. If it were me, I'd think about "pissing" less money away. Pun intended.
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Well all in all anyone who's able to afford a computer powerful enough to run those games (AoC etc...) and a decent connexion not to have too much lag would be able to afford an extra USD15 or EUR15. But obviously you wouldn't subscribe for more than 1 or 2 such MMOs. Then purely in terms of price/entertainment time, it's better than most single player games which cost EUR60 for say 30 hours of gameplay - you usually spend more than 30 hours a month on an MMO, yet it's only 15/month. Means you save on buying other boxes for months and months.
Other obvious statements are:
- gaming is not a critical need like having a flat or eating. If you have difficulties meeting basic survival needs, just stop playing tbh that's far less important.
- if you have to chose between playing and socialising, I'd advise you to rather go out and have social activities - but then don't complain if you quickly realise that it's WAY more expensive than playing every evening (you USD15/month becomes USD15/day). I'd also tell you that drinking 2 beers instead of 4 twice during the month will make for the monthly subscription, and you'll feel much better the next day.
Eventually I must say that everyone should realise that not paying much or not paying at all (downloading cracked games) has a dramatic impact on games overall quality and quantity. Next time you complain about not having decent releases on a certain period, just think how much more money there will be in the industry, how many closed shops would still exist and possibly make great games, if everyone was using legal copies and paying the price for it... Same for music, we'll never realize how much we have lost through downloading illegal mp3, just because it's potentially great music that will never exist...
Or you could just not buy 3 beers over the course of the week there is your money.
I'm sorry but regardless of whether one wants to argue the necessity of bar culture in the U.K. (or elsewhere) or whether or not there are people who would find 15 dollars (or pounds, I believe they are very close now) a lot of money (I'm sure there are places where that comes close to a months salary) this is about choice.
If you went out drinking every night I will assume you had more than 1 beer per night. 2? More? cutting down on just a few over the course of the evening or week will do it.
You can nurse a beer you know.
As for everyone being drunk and you not therefore you are not having any fun? Well, that's a lifestyle choice I imagine.
It's not up to me or anyone else to read you a sermon about being trashed every night of the week, but I find it hard to believe everyone in the U.K. is an alcoholic. Essentially you are saying that you need to be drunk to have fun because your friends are drunk. Well, that's your choice, it's your life.
i worked for a Scottish company and yes, there was a significant bar culture. But I also found out that there were many in the company who did not drink at all. I was told that it was a sort of all in or all out type of thing.
So again, it's about choice. Especially given your circumstances. If you were the poor in mexico I would be saying that you should cut out mmo's AND beer as that would be a huge amount of money needed to eat. But you are basically making the choice between beer and video games. So ok, don't play an online video game and get drunk every night.
I think we can all agree that there is a difference between that and food or medicine.
It really is hard to argue for or against that as it just seems to be a silly thing to be discussing. At least from my 42 year old view.
But you don't think it's funny or silly and I can respect that. I see that it is causing you a bit of distress because you are debating doing something you like with doing something that is social. So of course, in my opinion, social wins out.
Just pick what makes you happy and move on. That's what life is about.
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You don't want to play F2P MMOs, if you somehow get addicted to them, you'll be thinking about spending much more than $15, which is what sustain these MMOs, a bunch of people paying hundreds or thousands of dollars a month to keep it up.
The choice is up to you, 3 beers which last for one, two nights or a MMO subscription which can potentially entertain you for the whole month. If you think MMOs are not fun to be worth your money, then gaming is not for you.
Think about how much time you expect to be playing the game, and compare it with how else you could spend your $15, to see if you are getting more fun or not.
You don't have to be hardcore though, remember that in real life these $15 would last for a few minutes or hours.
For example, I spend around 28 hours with games per week (average around 4 hours per day, I was trying to get rid of gaming completely but then I noticed how cheap it is and I could not afford the money to place something on real life to entertain me in its place, I used to play around 8 hours per day, all my free time, 8 hours working, 8 hours sleeping and 8 free hours, but gaming has social drawbacks).
Anyway, this is all subjective, the only fact is that $15 can give you a potential month of entertainment which may have social drawbacks, depends on how you are used to live. You are definitely not the case that needs the $15 for essentials such as basic food, care, etc, just a doubt on what you want to spend to entertain yourself.
Personally my philosophy has always been if you need alcohol to get laid then you probably should not be getting any. I used to drink when I was 18 but then I grew up and don't even allow that crap in my home. Its all about priorities.
I'm right with the OP, i also can't afford to spend 15$ a month anymore. Petrol is expensive, specially for my boat, also taxes for my three cars are high up now so maybe i will switch to micro transactions games, where I spend 20 to 50$ a month for half the content I 'd have with a P2P MMO, but I will feel special above all that cant spend so much money LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
lol what amazes me is the number of dick heads we get in these forums . the o.p. has a legitimate point and a lot of you who have ridiculed him are proberbly still living at home with mum and dad or hav nt got to the point where you ve lost your jobs yet . i can guarantee some of you will or maybe your parents will and the easy life you know now will be a thing of the past .
i ve been saying for a long time some of the less popular or older mmos could do with looking at a reduction in the monthly fee .
no where is it set in stone that it has to be 15 dollars or 8.99 a month . in fact i dont think it will be long before we see a reduction in some monthly subs .
as for those of you that have taken the p... out of the o.p . i really hope you get the dose of reality you deserve .
as for me i m ok with the monthly fees because i m fortunate enough to be quite secure unless the banks go bust . but im not arrogant or moronic enough to look down on the less fortunate .
for gods sake some of your would do well to stop playing mmos and get a life . immature spoilt bratts .
I feel you. I recently lost my good paying job, got a job that doesn't pay sqauat now, and 15 bucks isn't always easy to come by. However, I'd rather pass on MMORPGs than play a F2P game that sucks.
There was a time were I had no job and little suport income.
I would buy food for 10euro's a week, I could pay my house, I dropped every from of social live, I dropt every form of trasport.
I Dint buy any new cloth unless it was realy needed. (not to get girls but for the need to wear pants when going out of the house.)
my only form of interaction whit people besites old friends and family was my MMO , I was way down the social financial ladder but I could play and pay for my mmo just fine each month. infact I beleve it was my saving .
a mmo is a verry low cost highly social form of entertaiment.
I clearly knew that buying new games (besites from the need for a good rig) cost lots of money and is a high risk of Not liking it.
I used my brains to desite not my balls and hey I dint die by not using them :P
anyone in europe that complains about the prize of a mmo I call a Idiot.
If you can't afford $15 a month, how are you even in this hobby=) Library books or Barnes and Noble is much better, since its all free.
The $15 fee for MMOs is by far the cheapest form of entertainment I have on a month to month basis. Unlimited hours, $15. Movie same price... 2 hours. TV $45 unlimited but mostly crap so about 4 hours weekly. Lunch $15... 1 hour.
What surprises me is that I limit myself to 1 MMO sub and blow $15 on lunch pretty regularily. And really I enjoy the game time more than the meal
As for F2P the idea is that month to month... you pay as much or more than you would on a sub.
I see that most of you can afford $15 dollars a month. I on the other hand can't and no it's not a debate on wether or not to buy beer as i don't drink it's that im disabled and can't work. I make little during the month for just siiting around playing games i usaallly have $250 left over per month and thats after utilitys, house and car payments, food, and gas for the month. this 250 goes into the bank for doctors bills and emergancys. so out of that $250 if i take fifteen every month i could be removing a doctors app. copay or some meds that i need. obviously after i've saved for quite a while anf have some money to blow i go and buy a game or two but they are either always used or on sale. in my life it's my health each month or my entertainment i usally go with my health.
Cold Calculating Machines Got Nuthin' On Me
These threads really crack me up... your online (pays for this) you have a pc (pays for this) you probably watch tv (pays for this) make a choice... get rid of cable , play games... or play a free mmo theres many out there that are fairly good.. fixed income?? i really think you shouldnt have this as your hobby... If I couldnt afford 15 dollars a month.. i shouldnt even be on the net... there are other things more important...
Lol i guess i forgot to say that my car payment is for a car and driver(reason being i live far from family)there for i need the net to do certain things and my phone company and i use this term loosly for some reason won't allow you to use ike aol(yes i know it's hard to stop me well until they cancle my service) and their dial up is $50 a month as where my wireless broad band is 20 bucks cheaper and is faster than T1 but when i have to pay bills and order my food delivery for the month it's pays to have it done faster and not tie up the phone lines. now im not getting mad at anyone but i don't have cable or even satalite tv so im pretty much spend all of my time on the computer playing free mmo's or reading books. If that makes it silly not to be able to play an mmo thats pay then i would hate to see a justified reason. so i mean think about what you say im not trying to call anyone idiots here. And to tell the truth Kwosh if it seems i singled you out well i didn't i just used yours for the fact that you said fixed income my father is a disabled veteran so he gets 3 types of fixed income as where i qualify only for one it's kinda hard to do things you really enjoy with out the money.
Cold Calculating Machines Got Nuthin' On Me
@ The OP
Its not that 15 is too much for yout o pay each month, its that there isnt anything worth paying for, if there was youd be able to justfy it.
I mean here in toronto bear is like 4-7 bucks depending on where you go, shave off 2 beers a night you can afford a month of gaming. IF you had something you really wanted to play youd find the money for it.
I know when i find a MMO i like i adjust my sleep habit for it, but if there are no games worth playing then i dont care about paying for it.
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