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Free Trials with MMOs
cmar001
Member Posts: 25
Okay...time to get more people talking.
It annoys me that with MMOs...companies can often get away with making a crap game and foist it on a unsuspecting public who havent had a chance to try it. The options are really limited in this regard. They are basically this:
1) Apply for and hope that you get in the beta to try it out before you buy.
2)Read varying reviews of the game and try to make a decision based on that.
3)Wait for a free Trial to become available for the game, or finally
4)Spend the £50 on the game and hope it isnt aweful.
The Question is, should games companies making MMOs be forced via legislation to provide free trials for their MMOs upon release? At the moment, deciding on an MMO to play is alot like...buying a car without being able to see it, sit in it or take it on a test drive...which is just really bad for the consumer.
Let me know what you all think.
Comments
This is true for all video games.
At least MMOs give you the courtesy of releasing monumental amounts of information and tons of pre-release information. In recent times, a lot of the major MMOs also had open betas.
No, its not true for all games. Most games that come out now a-days have some sort of downloadable demo.
I say they shouldn't be forced, but I'd prefer a free trial before buying something thats crap.
LOL .. forced??? It is a free market. You really want the government to meddle in your gaming?? What is next? Macdonald's have to sell veget burgers only?
MMOs are games, NOT necessity for life. If you don't want to spend the money to test a game, don't.
This thread ranks among the top 10 in terms of most ridiculous threads to ever grace this site.
No, I do not agree at all, absolutely absurd idea.
Gaming companies should not be forced to offer a free trial upon release. The standard, wait 6 months for a trial works for me. I don't think the government should stick their noses, anymore than they already have, into the private business sector.
I actually just posted in a Fallen Earth thread that I think companies should offer a pre-order which gives you in-game items and gives you the first month of play time that only people who bought the box can get in and play. Then after that month the 2 week free trial with only the subscription price to continue playing.
I won't pay box price for MMOs anymore. Unlike other game styles, the older MMOs don't go away. So you can always pick up an MMO for 2 weeks free and then start paying just a sub price. Where as when a new FPS comes out, people stop playing the older ones and you have to go buy the new one to play the matches.
I would like to see MMO launch data from the past year and see how much higher the pre-order + first month sales of a game are as compared to the sales all the way from month 2 to when they offered a free trial. I would be the month 2 on data is just a trickle of sales flowing in. Yet if they opened it up to the free trial tons of people could try the game and sub if they enjoy it.
Too many MMO players have been burned in the past couple years on buying a game at box price and finding out it is a waste of time, no fun at all, or they got bored of it in 2 weeks. So people are much more hesitant on actually paying the full price anymore. I know I probably never will again.
The problem with free trials, is that many players dont complain about the early levels and cry loudly if they perceive end game issues.
UNfortunatly, free trials tat allow you to get to the end game is very unlikely
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
I won't pay for a game these days without rave reviews from the masses or a beta test/demo. Too many unfinished products or borefests in MMOs, most all games cost far too much when they first come out (for what you get), and nearly every game released hypes their own product up to be the next "GAME OF THE YEAR!!!".
Should they be forced to have an open beta or release a demo?
No. It's still a free market. For a short while that is.
"This may hurt a little, but it's something you'll get used to. Relax....."
For me a free trial is to see if I like how the game plays etc. If there is a lack of content that is a whole other issue. But hopefully the game takes at least a month to get to end game and then when I hit the point if I feel there isn't enough content I can unsub for a while or reroll.
I use a free trial to see if I like the way the game plays and how buggy it is.
To add to this...
Most free trials crack me up. They (the ones I try at least) start you in some n00b island/area and let you get to some low level cap you there. Which is usually about the time that you have explored the tiny area where you start the trial. Then you have to either pay for thee full game or activate a regular account (or both) in order to really see the game for what it is.
Just start me where everyone else does and let me go for a week (two would be nice) and see the game already!
:P
"This may hurt a little, but it's something you'll get used to. Relax....."
Alot of people think that game producers/ developers get rich by making a crap MMO only on boxsales. This is absolutely not true. Most big MMO's out there with a monthly fee are still making no profit what so ever. Simply because production prices and next to that the server issues and support cost ridiculous alot for the developer.
I have been in alot of beta's and I think that actually destroyed alot of game experience for me when the game actually launched. I for one will not ever register for a beta ever again. Also, alot of players think of betas a way to check the game, and then absolutely dont bring feedback to the developer. This is wasted Beta space. A beta is primarily ment to test the game and report features and bugs.
I am also against a free trial. Big MMO's cost alot to produce. If you get anxious for a game thanks to the commercials and promotions then you just have to buy it and test it. If it doesn't appeal to you then that is bad luck. The developer atleast had a boxed sale of you diminshing its production cost for the MMO. This way developers will also keep on producing big MMO's in the future.
Someone said this was a ridiculous topic. I will not say that. It is someones opinion. Everyone has their right to say something about it. MMO's are in a trciky position nowadays. It doesnt necesarily mean millions, it mostly means alot of investment cost that will never be seen again for developers. You also see alot of developers aiming for the RMT and MT market nowadays. Lets hope there will still be spots open for big MMO's with a monthly fee in the future.
Not only did someone say games should be FORCED to provide free trials, but then most voters agreed with him? This thread goes beyond ridiculous, it's downright depressing. No wonder MMOs are so shitty most of the time, if this is the kind of people they need to appeal to.
I think you're forgetting the state of MMOs in the last couple years. Games like AoC and WAR had huge numbers at launch that quickly all left. These are all people who would of prefered a free trial to see how terrible those games were so that they didn't feel like they wasted their 60 bucks. This isn't back in the day when UO, AC, EQ, WoW released and people were happy and the numbers grew after launch. We are now in a state where companies can't seem to make MMOs anymore. So they get released and the numbers plummet down within 1-2 months.
Players now don't want to buy the box anymore, they've had too many crappy MMOs get released in a row where their money was wasted and they didn't get any entertainment from it. Now we wait for the free trial before trying a game to make sure we don't waste the money again. This doesn't mean people won't play the free trial and then sub up for 5-6 months. The company will still get money from many of these people. This also isn't people saying that all games should be free.
This is simple players wanting to try MMOs before buying for two reasons. A lot of companies have been releasing crap. And all of the solid MMOs still exist and can be played with a free trial and then only the sub price vs paying full price for a bug filled game with less content. So why would anyone in their right mind pay a box price anymore? I stil play a couple old MMOs because they're fun and cheap. However if a game offered a free trial and it was fun, then I would switch my money to that game.
But I also am less likely to free trial a game if it has been out for a year and everyone has a couple maxed out characters and the whole game is up on a wiki site.
I think you're forgetting the state of MMOs in the last couple years. Games like AoC and WAR had huge numbers at launch that quickly all left. These are all people who would of prefered a free trial to see how terrible those games were so that they didn't feel like they wasted their 60 bucks. This isn't back in the day when UO, AC, EQ, WoW released and people were happy and the numbers grew after launch. We are now in a state where companies can't seem to make MMOs anymore. So they get released and the numbers plummet down within 1-2 months.
So because some people would prefer something, we ought to pass a law forcing companies to give it to them? That's the creepy part. If this was just another "Yeah, free trials are neat, games should do it more often" thread, I wouldn't have said a word.
Say all you want about what people want, how gamers should draw players, and what people do and don't expect from games. But this thread is about legistlation, which is a whole other can of worms.
Personally, after some bad experience in the past, wasting money for crap, i will never buy a new MMo without a trial.
If I can't trial it, i don't buy it.
Nickname registered on www.mynickname.org
Im glad that you think so...next time, just keep what you think of the THREAD to yourself and answer the question.
And its not ridiculous at all. If they were forced to offer free trials...low and behold the game developers wouldnt be able to get away with making a shoddy game anymore and selling it on to people before they have a chance to try it. It means that the quality of the MMOs would HAVE to improve in order to attract customers.
In Communist Russia, they force you to try it, and to pay for the trial!!!
Forced to offer free trials? Come on, you must be joking.
I certainly would never buy a game sight unseen, but if someone else isn't bright enough to engage in the proper amount of due diligence beforehand, then I say "a fool and his money are soon parted".
All that being said, I think a game that doesn't offer a free trial at launch has something to hide.
In Russia, MMO trials you!
Yeah free trials are great, espceially downloadable ones. In the past, video games magazines (on paper) often included free CDs with demos of popular /Hype games, so people could be convinced first-hand the games was worth paying.
Nowadays, with internet you can just download and sample the game any time or day and night, without having to move. I'm not a couch potato, but sometimes you just get home, surf around for something to get your mind off of things and just want that somehting fast, easily, freely.
A free trial which downloads quickly is ideal.
So forced ? Imo, very bad idea... but more and more companies are doing this anyway, so why force it? Look at all the casual games that you can play online fro free (though with limitation) and buy if you enjoy them. Look at all the MMO doing the same?
More than free trials, what I want to see is the disparition of the box: less paper, less plastic, less pollution all around. On the other hand, speedier, easier to get for the user, no shortage of stocks, no distribution cost, less illustration and production cost (which should make it cheaper for the user...).
That is what companies selling games meant to be played online shoul dbe "forced" into. If the game's made to play online, then people have an internet access when they want to get it.
Yes, they are those who have a slow connection and for which it's easier, faster, and less expensive to get a box... And as long as some want/need the box, companies will create a minimum amount of these, because the individual cost if you only produce a "handful" of boxes would be ridiculous.
But I can still dream, what ewith technology progreesing.
Glad I am not the only one thinking that. I think it's all part of the sense of entitlement that kids have these days.
I think you're forgetting the state of MMOs in the last couple years. Games like AoC and WAR had huge numbers at launch that quickly all left. These are all people who would of prefered a free trial to see how terrible those games were so that they didn't feel like they wasted their 60 bucks. This isn't back in the day when UO, AC, EQ, WoW released and people were happy and the numbers grew after launch. We are now in a state where companies can't seem to make MMOs anymore. So they get released and the numbers plummet down within 1-2 months.
So because some people would prefer something, we ought to pass a law forcing companies to give it to them? That's the creepy part. If this was just another "Yeah, free trials are neat, games should do it more often" thread, I wouldn't have said a word.
Say all you want about what people want, how gamers should draw players, and what people do and don't expect from games. But this thread is about legistlation, which is a whole other can of worms.
Dont forget, we have legislation in place throughout various industries and retail that ensure the fair treatment of customers. Most of the time, if a product isnt up to scratch, its broken, doesnt work or doesnt do what it promised, you can take it back and swap it or get your money back, at the moment, people who make MMOs are immune and can make crappy MMOs without repercussions. What I am talking about is holding them to a higher standard. Forcing in Free Trials from the start...will FORCE game makers to make good, quality games...or they simply wont be able to compete.