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MMO Monthly Fee's
Xyfire1
Member Posts: 128
So, I'm sure it is generally agreed upon that P2P MMO's are better than free download-only or browser MMO's. Of course, Guild Wars is an exception because ArenaNet has a different method of making money, this is not the discussion.
Should MMO monthly fee's be reduced? Sure, for a working person the 15 bucks is generally a non-issue, but really, plus 40-50 dollar expansions? As a young male, I like to do other things and don't want to have to feel obligated to get my money's worth.
Perhaps it should be 10 or 12 dollars a month? or perhaps we should pay by hours like the Korean NCSoft does.
I believe it's 18 bucks for 205 hours and 35 bucks for 410 hours. US dollars, that is. I just feel like companies are milking us. I know what our subscription payment goes towards, and thank you, but, for instance, blizzard does not need 10 or 11 million people to pay 15 bucks a month to keep the World Of Warcraft up and running.
What does everyone else think?
Comments
Get a job, 15 bucks is less than a trip to the movies for two. It's less than eating a restaurant. 15 bucks a month for unlimited playtime on an MMO is about the cheapest entertainment you can get.
I have a job, buddy. Great that you're ok with the current pricing. I am seeking insight, not a forum troll to come bitch. Companies, like Blizzard, should lower their prices imo. They can sustain their game just fine with less than $165 million a month.
You obviously dont have a job or if you do you have not had to pay for your phone line rental , brought your own pc or pay your own broadband fees . That aside you also fail to actually understand what the OP is talking about some mmorpgs are not worth 15 dollars a month and might actually do better if they lowered thier fees both financially and in popularity .
The money I spend on movie tickets guarantees me a watchable movie from start to finish (whether I enjoy it or not is a different question), however an MMO sub does not guarantee me there will be no downtimes, no lag, no rollbacks, no nerfs, no idiots having a bad day and taking it out on other people, no epeen waving, no online drama, etc.
Sure, companies can charge subs if they want to. Whether we think it's worth our dime is a different story. I don't know about you, but I've seen too many games Doing It Wrong that I'm not inclined to part with my money until the game is at least stable. Call me a cynic, but LAN parties with my buddies are the most enjoyable sociable gaming experience I've enjoyed.
As for MMOs, I prefer to wait for the dust to settle before trying something out. I'm not putting down $15 just to be some company's guinea pig on a fresh release. I'll play tried and true titles.
" In Defeat, Malice; In Victory, Revenge! "
I just quit Wotlk, frankly because it sucks. Right now, Cataclysm has me by the balls. If it takes me less than 3 months to level up and complete the patch 4.0 25 man raid, I'm out then. Right now Cataclysm is looking to be an improvement for Vanilla WoW.
Anyway, my point on this forum is that some games aren't worth $15 a month. Personally, I like the hourly option. It would take you almost 90 days at 5 hours a day to finish off 410 hours. Correct? I think so, I am rounding.
i have already stated something to this effect on another post but basically your right i can understand charging for something like wow 3 games $15/mo but what about the guy who only has the original wow why should he have to pay for something that is clearly outdated been around for years blizzard still sells diablo and diablo 2 and both games are free to play right out of the box seems to me they are just trying to milk as much money as possible from everyone they can before it hits rock bottom its one of the reasons i bought gw was because of the fact it was free to play after i bought it i dont want to have to buy a game and then keep buying that game every month sure its cheaper then $50 but still i shouldnt have to keep paying just so i can play a game i own i apologize in advance for my non use of punctuation
$15 for a month of play is a totall deal, compared to a $60 single player games I get 3 days of play out of (Prototype for example).
Last month I purchased 5 single player games for about $50 each. I finished all of them together in less then a month.
We are talking $250 for one month. Seriously I can show you my receipts if you want.
After that month I immediately resubbed to CoV just for the savings.
And yes I work for a living and pay for my internet, rent, computer and everything else.
Last night I just spent $50 on dinner for two.
I think they should charge whatever they feel the product is worth and what people will pay. If they think it will be more beneficial to charge less or charge more, that's what they'll do. No offense, but they have people whose sole job is to look after the financials, and they're probably a lot better at it than you are. Asking if an MMO subscription should be a different price is no different than me asking if you think Ferrari's should be cheaper. In the end, your opinion doesn't matter. The market will determine equilibrium price.
/thread
well considering most games today are crap in an expensive box i pass if i really want to play it i might pay for it like the new batman arkham asylum even if its short which i doubt ill definetly being paying the 50 why cuz the demo was really really good as for mmo's no its not worth it cuz frankly you are buying the same game over and over every month thats like me going hey ill sell you some candy for $50 now throw it up so i can sell it to you again and 1/3 of the cost does that mean your going to buy the candy hell no you just ate it so why should you?
ok wanna go that route im blizzard and i think that wow should be 200 a month does that mean it is worth it probably not prices shouldnt be based on how well the game is or who might buy it but at a price that gamers will want to pay and if they just started slapping whatever price they "feel" it should be how do they know that they dont cuz they need the gamers to tell them
After playing Aion on the Chinese servers, I kindly like there pay by minute thing.
I say give players the choice between the normal monthly fee or the pay by the minute thing.
You still have to buy the game and all, but this route you can paid the way that is cheaper for you.
that does seem way better then subscription monthly but you know north american companies want to make as much profit as possible
I'm still happy with the 15 dollars being a good deal. Movies only get me 3 hours at most of entertainment. I get much more for my 15 dollars in my MMOs. Also, the whole 50 dollars for a new game and beating it in a few days... really does irk me.
You obviously dont have a job or if you do you have not had to pay for your phone line rental , brought your own pc or pay your own broadband fees . That aside you also fail to actually understand what the OP is talking about some mmorpgs are not worth 15 dollars a month and might actually do better if they lowered thier fees both financially and in popularity .
What the hell are you talking about? If the game is not worth 15US, then is not worth 12, or even 10US. If you play the game it has worth. If you don't play, it has no value. $3 is not going to keep someone from playing a worthwhile game. Employed, unemployed...etc...
How far would a bad game need to lower their fees for players to consider what is still a bad game?
Played (more than a month): SWG, Second Life, Tabula Rasa, Lineage 2, Everquest 2, EvE, MxO, Ryzom.
Tried: WoW, Shadowbane, Anarchy Online, Everquest, WWII Online, Planetside
Beta: Lotro, Tabula Rasa, WAR.
And you assume pay by minute rates would be the same in the US as they are in China? Taking cellphone text and data plans vs per text/per kB, into consideration here, which do you think would ultimately be more affordable for players?
Played (more than a month): SWG, Second Life, Tabula Rasa, Lineage 2, Everquest 2, EvE, MxO, Ryzom.
Tried: WoW, Shadowbane, Anarchy Online, Everquest, WWII Online, Planetside
Beta: Lotro, Tabula Rasa, WAR.
No monthly fees. Not even a little. Id rather just buy the game and own it. I hate renting.
Supposedly your monthly fees go to future developement, server maintenance, and upkeep. Initial costs of buying a game are supposed to recoup some of the costs of developement. Don't yell at me, I just think it is worth it.
but see you just said it yourself supposdly thats what it goes for but we all know its so they can hold thier big fancy shows and line thier pockets even more then any of the other games did
i have yet to see how that is a problem joker. It's a business. I'm just happy they haven't raised the prices. Infact we are getting a deal if you think about it. Use WOW for an example. 14.99 in Nov of 2004... is definately not equal to 14.99 now.
$17.09 in the year 2008 has the same "purchase power" as $14.99 in the year 2004.
$13.15 in the year 2004 has the same "purchase power" as $14.99 in the year 2008.
Lets hope they don't see that they could raise it 2.10 to make sure they are getting their full value of their original business model.
I honestly think MMO subs are outrageous.
Mostly because they still charge for expansions (EVE excluded). I assume I pay a sub for more content, yet occassional crappy addons isnt worth 15 in my opinion, and anything big enough to be worth 15 is put in an expansion and charged an additional 50.
Guild Wars did it right. Buy the game, play forever, Want more content? You arn't foced to pay for it.
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Im 37 I have had tons of hobbies and blown tons of money on various forms of entertainment from gaming systems, Movies, Gentlemen's clubs , to just playing Softball and I always thought $15 dollars was a great bargain for the money. Honestly. Now if it was like I dunno the year 1850 I might complain but other than that I thought it was a great price.
P.s. you not obligated to do anything.
Wondering what EVE expansion you paid for? I've been playing for a bit over two years now and have never paid for one.
edit: I should pay more attention, "excluded you said, not included" too long of a day.
I've got no issue with 15 bucks a month for a game, at any one time I pay for 3- 7 subs and its still a great deal.
When I no longer feel it is, I stop subscribing.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
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
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"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
Wondering what EVE expansion you paid for? I've been playing for a bit over two years now and have never paid for one.
Am I missing something?
I've got no issue with 15 bucks a month for a game, at any one time I pay for 3- 7 subs and its still a great deal.
When I no longer feel it is, I stop subscribing.
hmmm not a english major and I usually agree with you K man but I thought excluded meant not included....Ive been wrong before though just ask my ex girlfriends and wives.
welcome to the reality of an open market
$15 a month for a MMO isnt a bad dead at all. What is a rip off is the $50-$100 that a game company charges to buy the initial MMO game. How do people even know that they will like the game and how do they know how well the game will run on their rig?
Can you return the game if you dont like it? No.
Can you exchange the game for another game of equal value? No.
Buying a MMO these days is like buying a grab bag. You kinda have an idea of whats in the bag but you wont know if it is a gem or a piece of crap until you actual open it up and try it out.
Is there a way to try the game before you drop $50+ on it? Currently, I dont think any developing MMO has a "Try Before You Buy" feature. Yes, there is Open Betas but those are mostly used as a marketing gimic to get folks to Pre-Order their product. It is not like the gaming company even makes an cash off of selling a boxed game. They get only a small fraction of the cost of the game.
What would rather see?
First, let me be able to download a copy of the game for $15 and give me a month free play with the download.(keep in mind this is only for Future MMOs and not existing MMOs)
Next, give me the option of buying a Informational Set that is mailed to me in a large envelop and only has the game manual and a few promotional items. Cost of the Informational Set is $10.
This will effectively drop the cost of the Player Initial Start-Up from $50 down to $25, which IMO is much better for the player who isnt sure he will even like the game.
The game company will also continue to sell game boxes as usual but this gives the player an option instead of the ultimatium of "Buy the game that we are selling for $50 and take the risk or dont play our game" and instead the player will be told "Here is a choice. Pay $50 for the game OR just pay for a one month trial which will only cost you $15 if you just want the download copy".
For what it's worth, I am married and I work for a living and will most likely choose to always pre-order a new game.