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The problem with MMO spending & not
KarmaCry7
Member Posts: 144
The problem with MMO spending & not
Back Then:
Back in the day, you would buy a game, you would play it for a month or so, you would get bored, you would buy a new game. Most of us would collect a library of single player games and return to some of our older games anytime we wanted to.
Companies would make the money they intended for each game during that release. When the game's popularity dropped, they would collect the money earned and then go into production of their next title.
Today:
Everyone wants to play together or be in an environment where other players can interact with one another and not just NPCs. Companies have to build advanced networks in order for players to meet online. A company creates a game but is now obligated to maintain the service for the players. Company master minds tap their heads and come up with a bright idea, let all players "pay monthly subscriptions" to continue playing this game.
THE BIG PROBLEM:
Not everyone can afford to pay monthly fees for more than one game at a time. Players want to play more games like they did back in the day but the current online game design requires you to stay online for very long periods of time to ensure you will continue paying monthly for that one game. Both your money and your time is invested into one game at a time. This battle erupts among mmorpg companies as only one game can really occupy one gamer at a time. You can't play or even afford to pay for multiple subs.
The Temporary Fix:
Some companies started losing big money to the bigger companies. As a desperate attempt to salvage their game and gain the interest of the public, these companies made their mmorpg "free to play". They come up with clever ways to sell items or gold to make up for the fact that no one wanted to buy the game and pay monthly fees. The game becomes a big hit but not on purpose.
Eventually, other companies begin looking into other creative ways to pull a lot of players into their game while enticing them to buy items or in game features. Companies build their game to be "free to play" with item mall. They even invest millions to develop high quality games good enough to compete with subscription based games.
The OTHER big problem:
Now players leave a lot of subscription based games to play "free to play" games. Once the player discovers that there are other "free to play" games available, he/she begins game hopping. Now players are spoiled over with free options. They no longer believe they owe anyone anything. Companies have exhausted their options and have nothing more to give the players. They gave out their game for free so what more can they sacrifice to keep players around even long enough to get them to spend money? Now companies give away prizes (some in the form of cash) almost begging players to stick around. Players begin losing trust and long term interest in mmorpgs.
After being spoiled with getting something for nothing, players begin demanding that subscription based games give them something for nothing as well. Subscription based games cave in and give the players their game for free. Players play for a while, a new "free to play" game comes out, players get bored and leave the company in ruins.
Mmorpgs requires service to maintain and can not just be closed down when a game fails to live up to expectations. Many jobs are involved and millions invested to maintain the service is also lost. This is a great tragedy.
Being dishonest but not on purpose:
Nothing good in life is free. The primary reason a game is developed is to gain a profit. Adults are not children, they must work for a living and can not afford the luxury of developing games for mere fun. The idea that a player intends to play a game as long as they can for free with NO intent on spending money is what is corrupting the industry. Companies advertising a game as "free to play" are giving even grown ups the idea that they can get something good for absolutely nothing at all. When you then insert item malls and eventually force the player to spend money to advance, you hurt the player's expectations. Many gamers will either leave the game or utilize every free option until they can't play the game for free anymore and move on to the next free game.
This "free to play" market of gamers do NOT intend to spend their money. This is the primary reason that the "free to play" model is failing and is often done out of desperation. A highly populated game is only successful to the gamer, not the company. The company must maintain the network to support the high volume of players regardless if players are spending money. Most of the players are NOT spending money.
If a company is not making money, it is failing and mmorpgs costs lots of money to maintain (staff, development costs, customer support, network costs and server maintenance). As players opt out of wanting to pay anything, "free to play" companies try to desperately resolve this issue by releasing yet another "free to fail" game under the same company in hopes to revive the interest of players.
Finally, the ANSWER?:
Because more than one mmorpg at a time costs too much money to play and each mmorpg is being designed to occupy or even monopolize your time and money, the problem is not just in the payment model but the game design.
What if mmorpgs adopted the creativity of single player games? What if an mmorpg was intended to occupy your game experience for a short period of time with an end game experience that brings conclusion to the title. You pay once, have a great time and then move on to another game. Each game you can pay for one character slot. If you ever want to play the game again with another character, you buy another character slot. This may sound silly to some but think about how you responded to video games before the mmorpg revolution.
A modest length but great mmo experience is better than a long, drawn out and average game. I believe players would walk away from each game feeling accomplished and will eagerly anticipate the next title if mmorpgs focused on giving players a great game experience that eventually reaches a climax. Even WoW has "end game" content that tries to keep players motivated to continue playing after level 80, but after the cap there isn't anything else to do but run more raids and earn more heroic gear. Single player RPGs, even open ended RPGs give the players a sense of closure, even if a player insists to keep playing the game.
Companies could then afford to produce multiple online games and release them as they would have single player titles. Guild Wars was the only paid game that I witnessed do this and do it very well. They had a level cap of 20 because they intended for players to move on and feel satisfied with their game experience. People often came back and purchased their other titles even though the level cap was still at 20.
A gaming company could still add PVP, a seamless world and lots of content but does the world have to be so damn big? I don't remember investing half of my life playing Final Fantasy or other single player RPGs. If the game experience was modified to give a sense of closure, I believe companies would make a lot more money selling their game at one set price, no monthly fees. Their servers would only maintain new players as former players would move on to other games the way nature intended. People, even hard core gamers have short attention spans. Dedicating our lives to one game can agitate players and cause them to judge the industry based upon their frequent mediocre experience. Jumping from one "free to play" game to another never gives us an opportunity to fully respect and appreciate one experience at a time, thus causing us to become agitated and unsatisfied. Giving players a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction from their game experience will keep the gaming population happy.
I've purchased and played wow, lotro, swg, champions, warhammer online, aion, city of heroes, guild wars and at least 10 others I have forgotten to mention. I've only fully experienced wow and guild wars as every other mmorpg made me exhausted before I could get into the game fully. Knowing that each game is designed to occupy a great portion of my life forced me to simplify my gaming experience to wow. I believe millions are doing the same.
Feeling that you have to monopolize someone's time and money is the reason why mmorpgs are failing so bad. The desperation to control players in this way is driven by power hunger and greed. Unless game designers begin producing mmorpgs to satisfy the player (not addict them), gamers are going to wander from game to game endlessly before giving up hope altogether. No one is winning here.
I have the right to like what I want!
Comments
Companies didn't exhaust their options. Pay for hour of gameplay. We have yet to see it implemented. A person should pay only for the time he consumes the server. There is no need to pay when he's sleeping. This will fix the problem you mention about can't afford to sub in many different games. When I don't play I am not suposed to pay because I'm not using their servers. That would harm those hardcore players who spend a lot of time ingame though but for them is the typicall sub option.
Another great idea not being used that makes perfect sense.
I have the right to like what I want!
After reading a lot of "hate" posts concerning F2P, I wanted to make a few things very clear. I previously warned of this transition a while back but the warning was for players and companies alike. I want to see innovation in the market and I believe what is taking place is not fully "everyone's" fault.
1. The mmorpg business was an experiment. There were no preset rules how such a business should be properly run. No one sat down and considered the consequences or could even predict the long term gain. The F2P model isn't the best business idea for any mmorpg but it was birthed through experimentation and desperation. Some companies have simply adopted this trend for survival purposes.
2. There are greedy companies who helped invent and mold this trend of F2P. Nothing is wrong with a browser based or flash based free game. The idea of a polished product that should be sold being given away for free in a market where other companies are charging players to play is where the problem starts. This is not an evolution, but a war.
3. If you notice, many "free to play" companies have put out multiple games. They know that loyalty per game is very thin. Players leave these games and move on. This is making the industry look bad all around. If a player moves on to another game, it should be as a result of fulfillment from the last game played, not restlessness.
4. I finally conclude, F2P is a trend, companies are not sure what to do at this point so they are still experimenting but at our cost. I gave some powerful suggestions, but who am I? I want to see mmorpgs live again as do all of us. I would never drive a "Free to Ride" car that was given to me for free but required me to pay for parts that would damage or fall apart every week or so. In a market where people are already spending money for cars they expect to work without much maintenance, that idea is a dangerous and broken way to run a business.
I have the right to like what I want!
Good in theory, but far too open to abuse. Shall I pay for the quarter-hour I spent trying to form a party to actually do something? What about the time I spend just sitting in town cruising an auction house or making crafting attempts? What about the time I just spend socializing, doing my own little part to enrich and foster the community?
Even F2P's don't consider the non-paying players to be deadweight. Even when they don't pay a cent, they still do their own part to create the world that the payers exist in. In the same way, the person that is on 23/7/365 but still only paying a single subscription is helping to make the game more attractive to the casual players, giving them a better experience for their limited playing hours.
A Modest Proposal for MMORPGs:
That the means of progression would not be mutually exclusive from the means of enjoyment.
You make a very good point from the player's perspective there is a win in some cases. It depends how the F2P game is made, but from the long term damage it could do to the industry is based upon the fact that most people aren't paying anything. As players begin to expect their games to come free, the trend will grow that players don't want to buy anything, and will flee F2P games that require item mall spending. Companies lose money this way and the best way they can re-invent interest is to produce and put out another fantasy mmorpg that looks a little better than the last one.
I have the right to like what I want!
It may not work well because is just a theory but we will never know for sure until a company uses it and I'm surprised that no one hasn't even tried it yet.
Aoc for example isn't getting new players because they have to unsubscribe from wow since they can't afford 2 subs. If aoc adopts a pay for hour these peoples would come once in a while or maybe even get attached too. Well you can say that Aoc would not earn very much by these players but something is better than nothing.
I believe that was one of the best suggestions given so far. Say if I pay for 10 hours worth of play time. I would love having the option of using it up when ever I liked. I think that more people would buy time slots from multiple games, thus freeing us all up a bit. AoC is getting none of my money at the moment. I would gladly pay for a couple of hours knowing I could always return and use up my hours for any mmo at any time.
I have the right to like what I want!
just change the name!
dont call it free to play, because obviously it is not free at some point. the free part only acts like a long "demo" or a "trial" instead call it something else PPC (pay per content) like lotro and ddo where you actually buy the dungeon sets or the quest lines.
if you tell me this is a F2P game and then realize that i have to pay to use the other 50% of the game i will be dissapointed and leave the game. but tell me its a game where you buy your content at your own pace then i expect and willingly subscribe to play the game expecting to pay a certain amount of my own cash to play the content, the best part is that they have the option to have everything (At least in DDO) if i go the monthly sub.
just tell your consumers what it really is and yes, you might not get as many people getting into it but you will keep the ones you do for much longer.
There is one basic flaw with your logic:
Top 10 Money Making Games of 2009
http://blogs.forbes.com/velocity/2010/06/10/top-moneymaking-online-games-of-2009/
1. "World Of Warcraft" by Blizzard Entertainment (U.S.): $1 billion
2. "Fantasy Westward Journey" by NetEase (China): $400 million
3. "Perfect World" by Perfect World (China): $300 million
4. "Lineage I" and "II" by NCsoft (South Korea): $270 million
5. "Tian Long Ba Bu" by Changyou (China): $250 million
6. "Aion" by NCsoft (South Korea): $230 million
7. "MapleStory" by Nexon Corporation (South Korea): $200 million
8. "ZT Online" by Giant Interactive (China): $190 million
9. "The World Of Legend" / "Legends Of Mir" by Shanda Interactive Entertainment (China): $150 million
10. "Final Fantasy XI" by Square Enix (Japan): $117 million
As you can see, a large portion of the most profitable games are F2P. They are not losing money, they are making it.
It could even be aurgued that WoW is technically F2P at this time, and that it includes an item mall.
The reality is that F2P does very well, because it allows people to try the game, before paying for it. This is what people have been clamoring for, for years...
Your observation is very well noted. Honesty on how you intend to get money out of me instead of expecting me to be some mindless impulse shopper would interest me as well. Paying for content is not wrong, nor do I believe that will hurt the industry. Marketing the game as F2P and selling the people an "all you can eat for free" expectation is wrong. More and more people, even grown adults are starting to expect games to provide everything they need at no cost to them. To sucker impulse shoppers into their master mind plan without being honest to the people their true intent will only drive players away from one free to play game to the next one that offers more game and less restriction.
I have the right to like what I want!
Wow is not free to play. And all of those games are Korean or China. I am talking about the western market.
I have the right to like what I want!
Wtf, how in the hell could it be argued that WoW is f2p?
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
Pick the games that you may play more than the others. The only ones I would pick would be those p2p ones. What that list teaches is that yes, f2p does bring money for the company but doesn't make great games for us the players. Farmville makes a lot of money but I would hardly consider it a game. Personally I don't give a crap if a company is making money, if Zynga is swimming in $$. I clamor for beautiful games only.
Also, Aion is not F2P. Geez, let's at least get some of this info right. Made by China also has a big portion of their market from their own country. Western spending is a little different, so are the players (consumers). Also, the rate of "successful" F2P games are dropping. When the numbers of a F2P decline, a new game of the same genre is introduced by the same company. This does not invest confidence to the consumer.
People want a great game experience regardless if it is free or paid. The problem is, if you say "free" in the western world, we expect it to be "free" and get upset when advancing begins to cost money. If a game is costing us money, we want to be sure we are spending our money on something that is worth our time.
I don't believe the trend of mindless, impulse shopping is picking up here. For perfect world to be releasing yet another f2p game (fantasy, how original) tells me that something is very wrong somewhere.
I have the right to like what I want!
You are wrong. The pay by hour method existed before the monthly sub.
At least elaborate a bit more. When, 10 years ago, from whom and how did it worked. In these 6 or so years I've played mmo didn't see it. Many things are different today.
I haven't seen it either. I would like to know when and where this idea was used. Also, things have indeed changed and I believe players would be very open to paying for time slots today opposed to then.
I have the right to like what I want!
I wouldn't. I remember when you used to have to pay for internet service in this type of manner and frankly I thought it sucked. I suppose on a good note least you would purchase your time before using it so unlike when they used to do that with the internet you couldn't lose track of time and then end up with a phone bill that would sadly force you to kidnap your neighbor so you could sell one of their kidneys.
Wouldn't benefit me since I tend to play these games so much. Certainly not against it being an option but if a game were to use it as it's main method of payment doubt I would be playing unless it was something along the lines of a quarter an hour.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
I'm not talking about being billed for what you play, that is a nightmare of an idea. I'm talking about "pre-paid" time slots. When your time runs out, you buy another one the same way pre-paid time for subs are.
You can round up the average time one player plays in a month for instance and sell those hours. If the average is 27-30 hours a month, then sell 30 hours for $14.95. I would pay that and decide on my own when to use up my hours. It gives more power to the player.
*Note: When your time runs out, you won't be billed, you just have to buy another card to continue playing. This would be good if other payment options were also given like $6.95 for 15 hours.
I have the right to like what I want!
Of course that a monthly sub should be there for those who spend a lot of time in the game. This would work better for those who have not too much time to spend and those who want to divide their playing time in 3 or 4 games. I doubt the price would be high like you used to pay for the internet at a time. You pay 15$ for 720 hours with a monthly sub so an hour would not cost that much anyway.
No one plays 720 hours but bots. This would also make it hard for bots to ruin the game. Make a realistic average how much time a player spends a month then make the pre-paid time. Say 30-50 hours for $14.95. I don't know how many hours is common. Some days I skip playing wow. Some days I can play up to 2-3 hours. Who knows what the average time is but the companies.
I have the right to like what I want!