What do you think?

Emloch

It seems that going F2P is the latest trend in MMO gaming. There are plenty of F2P titles out there now but only a few of them are of good quality.

I was wondering if you all would be willing to pay more upfront in lieu of subscription fees. An average game sells for $40-$70 and then most of us will pay for at least a 3 month subscription (another $45 on average) to see if it's for us or not. So the question is; would you be willing to pay around $100-$200 for a "quality" MMO title, (with ongoing support and updates) if there were no subscription fees? Or do you think the option of a lifetime subscription is the better way to go even if it's a little more costly than a proposed higher priced game?

firston

i always play games, but i never pay

croem

No, i play free games. For example: runescape and dragon's call

LifeAddict

Depends how good the game was.

helthros

I would NEVER pay it all upfront. That would be a worse business model than APB's.

 

With the way MMO's release their games, no one would ever do that unless there was a good trial available. As it is now, you're pretty much paying 50 bucks to try out the game. The first month is always included.

 

Seems like a worse rendition of the GW model tbh.

BMoor

It's hard to say as part of a MMO's fun is in the community.  So even though the graphics may be pretty, the music may be enjoyable, and the initial PvE is fun, the MMO will turn out to be boring in the long run without a good social circle.  So I guess my answer is probably no, I would rather pay a subscription fee or pay piecemeal (like some F2P) as I don't know whether a MMO is good enough to justify the high initial costs.

aesperus

That's a tough question. Personally I'd probably like a lifetime subscription more (though I only really enjoyed it in LotRO), just because it guaruntees service. F2P models, while the result is very similar, just feel less certain atm. You aren't really entitled to anything, because you didn't pay for it, it's free. You're entitled to the box, and that's it. A subscription, however, is a different matter. That's just the way I see it.

I would be willing to pay more for a high-quality MMO (especially one that seeks to implement newer / better  features), especially given the amount of stagnation in the industry atm. The problem is it's becoming harder and harder to tell what is a 'high-quality' MMO with good gameplay, and what is just a 'high-quality' bundle of bordom.