Would it not be better that Guild wars 2 Had a sub?

Afgman

Well, I am kind of worried they will not pull enough money in order to make the game content rich and such. I would pay 15 dollars a month if they make a great game and if I feel my money is well, spent.

EndDream

Ive thought this as well.. but luckily not!

Afgman

How would they meet end meets with expansions? I think they should just make it 15 dollars a month  or maybe in 10 and simplify it.

tank017

The developers dont seem to be worried about it.

MumboJumbo

Originally posted by Afgman

Well, I am kind of worried they will not pull enough money in order to make the game content rich and such. I would pay 15 dollars a month if they make a great game and if I feel my money is well, spent.

1. Colin Johanson more or less answers your question on this site: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/473/feature/4603/page/1

MMORPG.com:

So, Guild Wars 2 will use the same business model as the original Guild Wars, and with Guild Wars 2 being much larger in scope than its predecessor, it sounds like it might be a bit more challenging to pursue this business model. How are you planning to make it work?

Colin Johanson:

Well, one of our hopes is that the game will sell a lot more copies, so that’ll offset the fact we’ve hired a lot more people to build it. That’s the big one. You know, at the end of the day, if we don’t make a game that sells a bunch of copies, you know, we’re in big trouble, and that’s our motivation every day, is to keep working harder and harder to build a giant game with incredible content in it, because we have to do it to keep our company in business, that’s super important to us. We’re going to try to do some alternative business models, like microtransactions, where we sell totally optional clothing items and things, you know, we’ll go into more details on microtransactions down the road. We’ll try to sell some stuff that can help us out and are cool things that players might want, but they don’t need to play the game. And if they feel like getting that stuff, that’s great, but we’ll give them some cool options that are out there, and we’ll have some people who put some time into that stuff to make it really worthwhile. You know whatever additional content we release down the road, be it by expansions or content packs, we don’t really know how that’s going to work yet, but we know that we have to do the same thing with the additional content we add as we do with this main game, which is that it’s gotta be amazing, or no one’s gonna buy it. And because we’re not charging a monthly fee, the only way we stay in business is by making amazing games and selling them, and that’s our only option.

Ablestron

and thats whats so great about Anet, they put a handicap on themselves to enforce a need to make good games. With monthly subs they would be less willing because hey they are getting payed at the end of the day, but no with only relying on selling the game they have to put as much effort as possible to make it amazing. 

I wouldnt trade such a great mindset for monthly fees ever. 

eye_m

I've thought about this, but it seems to me like they are on the right track actually. I think games like WoW can really taint the numbers for mmo's, and make it seem like the ideal model, but what we've watched lately is more and more games going f2p.  So many games with diminishing playerbase are turning to F2P to pull their profits around.

 

The way I see it is that there should be a larger amount of people that purchase GW2 because there is less of a commitment factor.  I have plenty of friends who are going to try GW2 because they can play the game at thier own pace, with no pressure to justify the monthly subscription. (as silly as that may sound) Oddly enough, I've had more problems convincing people to try a trial of a subscription game is more difficult. Alot of them don't want to commit to a monthly sub, and so why even bother with a trial.

 

Initial Sales, microtransactions and expansions. There is alot of room for profit.  B2P was a successful model for GW,  and I think it's going to be a successful model for GW2 and likely more mmo's in the future.

Loke666

I prefer B2P, the first game have loads of content and GW2 will sell a lot of games to people who already own a MMO and don't want to play 2 subs but still want to be able to play 2 games.

They will probably make expansions and miniexpansions to get in more money so it is possible that they will create more content for the money than they would have for 15 bucks monthly, now they need an expansion at least every year to get in the money, Wow can play it cool since they get monthly fees anyways.

And if those expansions are too small people might not buy it so they need to be good.

I am not the least worried, GW have loads of content and it was made by a really small team, with this large team we should get a lot.

And in worst case can they always sell loads of fluff in the RMT shop, not that P2P games don't do that as well. But I think it is good that they are forced to sell many copies, it forces them to release good stuff.

DiSpLiFF

I wish it had a sub to deter a lot of the younger crowd, i'm picturing this game having a worse online experience than xbox live or ps3. 

 

also i'm sure they will put in a lot of micro transactions in this game. 

MumboJumbo

Originally posted by DiSpLiFF

I wish it had a sub to deter a lot of the younger crowd, i'm picturing this game having a worse online experience than xbox live or ps3. 

also i'm sure they will put in a lot of micro transactions in this game. 

Some of the social philosophy of the game seems to be to reduce things like kill stealing and ganking and forced grouping etc so this will be a help. Also no sub, no need to get precious if there really is bad crowd, just log back later (after bedtime!). No info on guilds yet, but hoping ArenaNet have something special waiting in the wings.

As for microtransactions here's another quote, from PC Gamer:

 

Eric Flannum sent us a note to clarify a couple of things about their plans for Guild Wars 2 post-release content:

“We haven’t decided on what exactly we are or aren’t going to offer for money post-release. We’re open to whatever our players seem most interested in. If, after release, you guys would like more story content, more dungeons, more events, more maps or whatever, it’s something that we have to consider because ultimately making you happy is what makes us successful.  Whether we release that in DLC (like the bonus mission packs in GW1) or whether we do it through expansions (Like Eye of the North) is yet to be determined. As to whether or not there are going to be items like XP boosts available in the in game store, I can only reiterate what we’ve said before (and will continue to say,) that we’ll release details on it when they are available, and that our core philosophy of not requiring you to spend additional money to play the game and not making the game difficult or painful to play in order to encourage you to buy things from the store still stands.”

Master10K

Originally posted by DiSpLiFF

I wish it had a sub to deter a lot of the younger crowd, i'm picturing this game having a worse online experience than xbox live or ps3.

Hell no I don't want GW2 to have a subscription fee and the fact that it won't require a % from my monthly wages, was what got me interested in the game in the 1st place. Also I don't see this as a problem because by the end of next year most MMO players would have bought Rift & GW2, or SW:TOR & GW2, or TERA & GW2, or just GW2. So I don't think GW2 will have any problems financially (at the time of it's release). Plus with yearly Expansions and the occasional content Pack, plus vanity store; they'll be enough opportunities for ANet to make continual profits from its potentially large playerbase. All that matters is that ANet makes polished and worthwhile content, to attract even someone as cheap as me.

 

As for DiSpLiFF's comment... It's pretty sad that you can spout such elitist bullshit about a non-existent gaming community, based on non-existent facts. If you truly believe that Guild Wars 2 will be full of kids and adults yelling "Mothaf**kin' N*gga" in your ear all day, then by all means, go skulk on back to your generic subscription based MMO.

Kenaoshi

NO, and gw2 will prove that subscription doesn´t mean a quality product. How many games out there have a sub and are just blatand boring and/or offer a crappy support?

SweetZoid

If i love a game and will play it for years i would pay a monthly fee. I think most people would do that.

Zeus.CM

Playing a B2P model game, you will never be sorry for spending your money on the game.  Playing B2P doesn't cause adiction like P2P where you want to consume invested money maximaly.

Let's say you play WoW for 5 years (thats around 750$ including expasions bought on their release date), and you got bored. You missed so many days of your life and lost so much money for what? So you are not bored?

For comparison, to play Gw all you need is around 30$ to play as long as you like! And you'll have time for your life cause it's casual friendly.

Paradoxy

Playing B2P is just like paying a monthly sub. Moreover, they will surely have stuff in item shops so in way you will end up spending more or less same amount as P2P.

Zeus.CM

Originally posted by Paradoxy

Playing B2P is just like paying a monthly sub. Moreover, they will surely have stuff in item shops so in way you will end up spending more or less same amount as P2P.

If gw2's business model will be any alike as gw1, than that's so not true.

Paradoxy

Originally posted by thedarkess

Originally posted by Paradoxy

Playing B2P is just like paying a monthly sub. Moreover, they will surely have stuff in item shops so in way you will end up spending more or less same amount as P2P.

If gw2's business model will be any alike as gw1, than that's so not true.

Well GW2 is bigger, better and more expensive project. I am sure they need to re coop the investment. Box sales alone won't do that.

Jetrpg

the plan is DLC or x-packs. And the game looks short as it is. But pvp endgame makes me happy.

Zeus.CM

Originally posted by Paradoxy

Originally posted by thedarkess

Originally posted by Paradoxy

Playing B2P is just like paying a monthly sub. Moreover, they will surely have stuff in item shops so in way you will end up spending more or less same amount as P2P.

If gw2's business model will be any alike as gw1, than that's so not true.

Well GW2 is bigger, better and more expensive project. I am sure they need to re coop the investment. Box sales alone won't do that.

Well, i expect more expensive boxes and larger number of expansions. I don't think they disapoint us with f2p model of item mall.

beej1986

This world is ridiculous, a company makes a AAA game and offers it at no monthly fee and people still beg the companies to let them pay. It's sad that we are so commercialized that we believe we have to pay monthly to receive quality content.

Paradoxy

Originally posted by beej1986

This world is ridiculous, a company makes a AAA game and offers it at no monthly fee and people still beg the companies to let them pay. It's sad that we are so commercialized that we believe we have to pay monthly to receive quality content.

F2P is mostly a gimmick you know that? no MMO is really F2P. You think once you pay for GW2 box there will be no extra costs? how are they supposed to make better content for you down the line? they have employees to pay, servers to maintain, all this does not happen on box sales alone. There is no such thing as free in life.

Tyrrhon

Subscription = endless repetitive grind to keep players subbed

B2P = endless new content to keep people buying boxes

 

I understand OP that he likes repetitive actions and abhors new experiences but luckily for him there is a lot of game for his kind.

Kaneth

Originally posted by Paradoxy

Originally posted by beej1986

This world is ridiculous, a company makes a AAA game and offers it at no monthly fee and people still beg the companies to let them pay. It's sad that we are so commercialized that we believe we have to pay monthly to receive quality content.

F2P is mostly a gimmick you know that? no MMO is really F2P. You think once you pay for GW2 box there will be no extra costs? how are they supposed to make better content for you down the line? they have employees to pay, servers to maintain, all this does not happen on box sales alone. There is no such thing as free in life.

First, GW2 isn't F2P, semantics yes, but you need to get your terminology straight if you want to have a discussion. Secondly, the buy 2 play model worked extremely well for GW1. They do have additional things for sale via the online store, but nothing necessary like a F2P game. Most of the items are fluff, such as unique looking costumes. You can also pay to unlock the skills for the different versions of the game, mind you that just unlocks the ability for your characters to purchase those skills in game without having to discover them, the skills aren't actually handed to you. They also have sex changes, name changes, and additional account storage options for sale. You can also just purchase the PvP portion of the game and PvP item pack that goes along with the PvP pack.

None of those things in the store are really game breaking. Especially things like costumes and appearance changes.

Additionally, no one has stated that the game is free, such as your final sentence suggests. The game is buy 2 play, which means you will pay for the initial cost of the box, and the price for each expansion (most likely to be released on a near yearly basis). There has been a comment in an article of a possibility of dungeons made available via DLC (nothing official or finalized).

The bottom line is that ANet has proven themselves in the past. Their particular business model works, and unless they release DLC that you MUST purchase every month that sells for $15 per month, you will come out ahead of what you would typically spend on a P2P mmorpg.

Paradoxy

Originally posted by Kaneth

Originally posted by Paradoxy

Originally posted by beej1986

This world is ridiculous, a company makes a AAA game and offers it at no monthly fee and people still beg the companies to let them pay. It's sad that we are so commercialized that we believe we have to pay monthly to receive quality content.

F2P is mostly a gimmick you know that? no MMO is really F2P. You think once you pay for GW2 box there will be no extra costs? how are they supposed to make better content for you down the line? they have employees to pay, servers to maintain, all this does not happen on box sales alone. There is no such thing as free in life.

First, GW2 isn't F2P, semantics yes, but you need to get your terminology straight if you want to have a discussion. Secondly, the buy 2 play model worked extremely well for GW1. They do have additional things for sale via the online store, but nothing necessary like a F2P game. Most of the items are fluff, such as unique looking costumes. You can also pay to unlock the skills for the different versions of the game, mind you that just unlocks the ability for your characters to purchase those skills in game without having to discover them, the skills aren't actually handed to you. They also have sex changes, name changes, and additional account storage options for sale. You can also just purchase the PvP portion of the game and PvP item pack that goes along with the PvP pack.

None of those things in the store are really game breaking. Especially things like costumes and appearance changes.

Additionally, no one has stated that the game is free, such as your final sentence suggests. The game is buy 2 play, which means you will pay for the initial cost of the box, and the price for each expansion (most likely to be released on a near yearly basis). There has been a comment in an article of a possibility of dungeons made available via DLC (nothing official or finalized).

The bottom line is that ANet has proven themselves in the past. Their particular business model works, and unless they release DLC that you MUST purchase every month that sells for $15 per month, you will come out ahead of what you would typically spend on a P2P mmorpg.

I wasn't talking about GW2 in particular but F2P MMO"s in general. And yes no monthly fee is just a gimmick.

I did talk about GW2 in other post though and mentioned that comparing GW2 to GW is unfair because GW2 is bigger and more expensive project. So we can't expect them to apply same methods of making money like they did in GW. My argument was mostly regarding players reluctance to pay monthly fee and think that somehow no monthly fee means less expenses.

Anet has proven that their system works with GW but GW2 is a very different game and not that cheap to maintain. So we will see when they reveal their complete payment plan. But don't be surprised or shocked if it is not like GW.

merv808

Originally posted by Paradoxy

Originally posted by beej1986

This world is ridiculous, a company makes a AAA game and offers it at no monthly fee and people still beg the companies to let them pay. It's sad that we are so commercialized that we believe we have to pay monthly to receive quality content.

F2P is mostly a gimmick you know that? no MMO is really F2P. You think once you pay for GW2 box there will be no extra costs? how are they supposed to make better content for you down the line? they have employees to pay, servers to maintain, all this does not happen on box sales alone. There is no such thing as free in life.

 *Sigh* The first game did just fine without a monthly fee and with the increased box sales this one should be fine as well. If they add a monthly fee, they can expect those projected box sales to drop, significantly... i'm not sure that adding a fee wouldn't help them get more money at all. I don't want to pay a sub, so I hope it works out.

For those of you that are begging to pay money, monthly. You should email the devs, I'm sure they will gladly take donations

n3verendR

For the people that say the game is too short, we already know that as long as you enjoy playing a bit of content - regardless of level you can compete in that content without blowing it away.

 

That is a far cry from having "a short game". I mean would you call League of Legends, Street Fighter, Super Smash Brothers or Counter-Strike short games?

Because technically there is very little content in those games, but the fact remains that Guild Wars 2 is built by implementing excellent pacing and replayable mechanics. Just because you are level 80, means nothing except that you can access higher levels of content. You can still go back and do whatever you please, on top of having mini-games, 2 forms of PvP, and allegedly high end PvE content.

So even if the game is "short", I can tell you straight-up that I've spent more time playing League of Legends, Street Fighter, Super Smash Brothers and Counter-Strike than the longest RPG or Level up content in an MMORPG that you can name.

None of those games need a sub fee to exist and continue to push out updated versions or be profitable, or hell even support their online components. Why should GW2 be any different?