I think this is nothing but a bunch of needless whining.
Endless free trials come with enough restrictions that it hardly matters.
The endless is a word that draws people in, so it's good advertising. But other than that, in Age of Conan you can't even leave Tortage. A small area which is very limited in quests and mobs.
Many endless players will just play till that area becomes too boring (which will be quickly enough) and then decide to quit or get hooked and subscribe.
So, no lack of confidence but more a sneaky advertisement is what it is in my opinion
I don't really get the point of the article. You say that the "endless free trial" model smells like desperation, and you may be right about that. So why not write about how things should be different?
Personally, I see things just about 180-degrees differently. If the market changed from the time development started to the time it's ready for release, maybe all I can do is minimize my losses and hope that I'll catch just enough paying customers from the free trial so that I can stay afloat. Failing that, I'll recoup as much of my losses as possible.
What *I* can't understand is why anyone would pay money for an online game and/or pay a subscription fee without some assurance that the game is worth it. The market is so saturated right now that you can spend your whole gaming life playing free trials until you find one worth paying for. People that paid for Mortal Online, Darkfall or other P2P or B2P games sight-unseen -- and *especially* people who preorder such games -- are what I don't understand.
Single player games all have demos available, even if the "demo" involves PirateBay and utorrent. When I find a game I like, I'll gladly pay for it. If I don't like it, I uninstall it. In the MMO world, though, that doesn't work. So no demo/trial = no play for me.
Another model that could be tried to get people into a subscription-based game is removing the "purchase" costs, especially when the game is downloaded: just start with the monthly subscription fees.
Last time I checked even then-download-only EVE Online asked more for the first month than for subsequent months. And that wasn't for the reseller or the packaging materials...
Paying 50 EUR/USD/GBP for a game that I haven't tried yet (and will probably be full of bugs - given the history of these types of games' launches) keeps me from playing it when I know I'll have to pay 15 per month after the initial "free" month. If that box would cost 15 (or a few coins more) and still includes that "free" month I would be tempted far more...
Free trails are essential for ANY MMORPG, its nothing to do with desperation at all.
If you want people to play and pay for months and months then you need to give them the oppourtunity to play your game for free over a 10 day or so period - this should be the accepted norm.
It actually shows confidence in a product for a company to let you try it with no strings.
Heck even Costco has a ton of free samples Try it before you buy it!
FYI... Costco doesn't usually have any free samples of its own.
However, CDS (Club Demonstration Services) is the contractor that "rents" space in Costco and its floors to perform these demos that are directly from the manufacturer of the product. These products are bought from Costo at retail and CDS is reimbursed from the manufacturer of the product.
Costco has to order the demo from CDS to demo its own products.
On topic: I usually want to try an MMO out before buying it. Thats why I get into betas. I never pay for betas though. Thats just a marketing ploy and if a game wants revenue before hype or players, it worries me.
I'm not all for perma trials, but don't mind them if they are done right. F2P models arn't bad either. Even if they arn't really F2P. It just gives me a shot at trying the game and lets me control how much I want to invest in the game.
A normal trial should be considered standard for any MMO. Almost all single player games have a trial. Applications have trials. Etc.
Now on the other hand endless free trial is plain stupid imo and devalues the game. You fill the server with tons of freeloaders which actually means more cost for the company and more lag for the players. The paying players... Not to mention that this kind of players, the freeloaders, usually have a bad attitude.
I agree with the article. We need trials but not endless ones. Trials should be small in duration and download size.
"Traditionally, massively multiplier online games have been about three basic gameplay pillars combat, exploration and character progression. In Alganon, in addition to these we've added the fourth pillar to the equation: Copy & Paste."
Someone touched on this before - the real problem with MMORPGs is sustaining a constant flow of new users. This matters because users are what makes a MMORPG a MMORPG. If there is no one around you try the game, then you aren't likely to continue playing.
Boxed/retail MMORPGs are very heavily front loaded.
Limited free trials are a little better, but you get people who play for a week or whatever, then quit, never to return.
This way, it ensures there are probably always people in the starter areas of the game. And people you played with won't disappear after the trial is up.
This is one of the big problems with LOTRO, there are almost no new users beyond the trial area. I started a year and a half ago, made friends, then they all quit. So I basically played solo until level 45, then quit, because none of the existing guilds or players are particularly friendly towards newer ones (or even around, they are all in Moria or Angmar or I guess Mirkwood, now)
Originally posted by trancejeremy This is one of the big problems with LOTRO, there are almost no new users beyond the trial area. I started a year and a half ago, made friends, then they all quit. So I basically played solo until level 45, then quit, because none of the existing guilds or players are particularly friendly towards newer ones (or even around, they are all in Moria or Angmar or I guess Mirkwood, now)
You might have hit the wrong server. It also depends on what you expect from your kin, of course.
On Laurelin we have loads of lifetimers and while it isn't fair they pay far less for the game than I do, they do add a lot of stability to the player base (and lower-level alts and/or slow leveling speeds).
This is one of the big problems with LOTRO, there are almost no new users beyond the trial area. I started a year and a half ago, made friends, then they all quit. So I basically played solo until level 45, then quit, because none of the existing guilds or players are particularly friendly towards newer ones (or even around, they are all in Moria or Angmar or I guess Mirkwood, now)
You might have hit the wrong server.
It also depends on what you expect from your kin, of course.
On Laurelin we have loads of lifetimers and while it isn't fair they pay far less for the game than I do, they do add a lot of stability to the player base (and lower-level alts and/or slow leveling speeds).
I am going to have to agree. I started getting real sick of random kin invites just running through town in LOTRO. I just can't imagine how they can invite someone into a kinship without talking to me, never seeing me play... I know its a friendly community, in general, but I guess the different betwen the heavy screw you raid guilds of EQ days and then take everyone Kinships... there's gotta be a middle ground which is where I would want to be.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
Originally posted by Nesrie I am going to have to agree. I started getting real sick of random kin invites just running through town in LOTRO. I just can't imagine how they can invite someone into a kinship without talking to me, never seeing me play... I know its a friendly community, in general, but I guess the different betwen the heavy screw you raid guilds of EQ days and then take everyone Kinships... there's gotta be a middle ground which is where I would want to be.
My kin's doesn't recruit, but we do usually ask nice, kin-less people we've grouped with or who stumbled upon us while engaging in some activity and joined in. This seems to work very well.
Comments
I think this is nothing but a bunch of needless whining.
Endless free trials come with enough restrictions that it hardly matters.
The endless is a word that draws people in, so it's good advertising. But other than that, in Age of Conan you can't even leave Tortage. A small area which is very limited in quests and mobs.
Many endless players will just play till that area becomes too boring (which will be quickly enough) and then decide to quit or get hooked and subscribe.
So, no lack of confidence but more a sneaky advertisement is what it is in my opinion
My response to the conclusions you draw in your article..... um, NO.
"Don't corpse-camp that idea. Its never gonna rez"
Bladezz (The Guild)
I don't really get the point of the article. You say that the "endless free trial" model smells like desperation, and you may be right about that. So why not write about how things should be different?
Personally, I see things just about 180-degrees differently. If the market changed from the time development started to the time it's ready for release, maybe all I can do is minimize my losses and hope that I'll catch just enough paying customers from the free trial so that I can stay afloat. Failing that, I'll recoup as much of my losses as possible.
What *I* can't understand is why anyone would pay money for an online game and/or pay a subscription fee without some assurance that the game is worth it. The market is so saturated right now that you can spend your whole gaming life playing free trials until you find one worth paying for. People that paid for Mortal Online, Darkfall or other P2P or B2P games sight-unseen -- and *especially* people who preorder such games -- are what I don't understand.
Single player games all have demos available, even if the "demo" involves PirateBay and utorrent. When I find a game I like, I'll gladly pay for it. If I don't like it, I uninstall it. In the MMO world, though, that doesn't work. So no demo/trial = no play for me.
Another model that could be tried to get people into a subscription-based game is removing the "purchase" costs, especially when the game is downloaded: just start with the monthly subscription fees.
Last time I checked even then-download-only EVE Online asked more for the first month than for subsequent months. And that wasn't for the reseller or the packaging materials...
Paying 50 EUR/USD/GBP for a game that I haven't tried yet (and will probably be full of bugs - given the history of these types of games' launches) keeps me from playing it when I know I'll have to pay 15 per month after the initial "free" month. If that box would cost 15 (or a few coins more) and still includes that "free" month I would be tempted far more...
Free trails are essential for ANY MMORPG, its nothing to do with desperation at all.
If you want people to play and pay for months and months then you need to give them the oppourtunity to play your game for free over a 10 day or so period - this should be the accepted norm.
It actually shows confidence in a product for a company to let you try it with no strings.
FYI... Costco doesn't usually have any free samples of its own.
However, CDS (Club Demonstration Services) is the contractor that "rents" space in Costco and its floors to perform these demos that are directly from the manufacturer of the product. These products are bought from Costo at retail and CDS is reimbursed from the manufacturer of the product.
Costco has to order the demo from CDS to demo its own products.
On topic: I usually want to try an MMO out before buying it. Thats why I get into betas. I never pay for betas though. Thats just a marketing ploy and if a game wants revenue before hype or players, it worries me.
I'm not all for perma trials, but don't mind them if they are done right. F2P models arn't bad either. Even if they arn't really F2P. It just gives me a shot at trying the game and lets me control how much I want to invest in the game.
A normal trial should be considered standard for any MMO. Almost all single player games have a trial. Applications have trials. Etc.
Now on the other hand endless free trial is plain stupid imo and devalues the game. You fill the server with tons of freeloaders which actually means more cost for the company and more lag for the players. The paying players... Not to mention that this kind of players, the freeloaders, usually have a bad attitude.
I agree with the article. We need trials but not endless ones. Trials should be small in duration and download size.
"Traditionally, massively multiplier online games have been about three basic gameplay pillars combat, exploration and character progression. In Alganon, in addition to these we've added the fourth pillar to the equation: Copy & Paste."
Someone touched on this before - the real problem with MMORPGs is sustaining a constant flow of new users. This matters because users are what makes a MMORPG a MMORPG. If there is no one around you try the game, then you aren't likely to continue playing.
Boxed/retail MMORPGs are very heavily front loaded.
Limited free trials are a little better, but you get people who play for a week or whatever, then quit, never to return.
This way, it ensures there are probably always people in the starter areas of the game. And people you played with won't disappear after the trial is up.
This is one of the big problems with LOTRO, there are almost no new users beyond the trial area. I started a year and a half ago, made friends, then they all quit. So I basically played solo until level 45, then quit, because none of the existing guilds or players are particularly friendly towards newer ones (or even around, they are all in Moria or Angmar or I guess Mirkwood, now)
R.I.P. City of Heroes and my 17 characters there
You might have hit the wrong server.
It also depends on what you expect from your kin, of course.
On Laurelin we have loads of lifetimers and while it isn't fair they pay far less for the game than I do, they do add a lot of stability to the player base (and lower-level alts and/or slow leveling speeds).
You might have hit the wrong server.
It also depends on what you expect from your kin, of course.
On Laurelin we have loads of lifetimers and while it isn't fair they pay far less for the game than I do, they do add a lot of stability to the player base (and lower-level alts and/or slow leveling speeds).
I am going to have to agree. I started getting real sick of random kin invites just running through town in LOTRO. I just can't imagine how they can invite someone into a kinship without talking to me, never seeing me play... I know its a friendly community, in general, but I guess the different betwen the heavy screw you raid guilds of EQ days and then take everyone Kinships... there's gotta be a middle ground which is where I would want to be.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
My kin's doesn't recruit, but we do usually ask nice, kin-less people we've grouped with or who stumbled upon us while engaging in some activity and joined in. This seems to work very well.