Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
A Replacement?
Phazed
Member Posts: 5
in Guild Wars 2
I'm just as excited about the upcoming release of this game as I'm sure many others are. And right now I'm wondering something that I'm sure has crossed everyone's minds. Is this game a viable replacement for "P2P" games. I suppose it depends on which, but nonetheless all the hype for this game about it being a groundbreaking MMO make it seem just that. So what do you guys think? What games will this replace in your daily lives? Will it compete with or surpass big pay-to-play games? Or will it just be another game you try to find time for in your daily schedules?
Comments
I think the current status of pay methods of current games should be reversed - GW2 has already met my expectations and IMO deserves to be P2P far beyond other offerings I have seen or experinced in the last 6 months.
Sadly it all seems to be back to front on who's asking for what money....
GW2 is going to do so well for so many reasons.
I decided to not play Tera because of the sub. I decided to not even apply for TSW beta because of the sub. I wouldn't play GW2 if it had a sub. I am sick and tired of feeling trapped in a game because I'm paying a sub for it. After I've bought the game, I should be able to play it whenever I want, as often as I want and never feel like I'm going to not play next month because I'm not paying my subscription anymore.
I agree. When I first started playing Runes of Magic, I was so impressed with the game that I bought diamonds for no reason other than to support the developers. Down the line I eventually lost interest, and stopped paying, but if I wanted to, I could log back in at any time and pick it up again with no money down. I think that says a lot about how confident a company is in their product.
The more I see of GW2, the less likely I feel that I can ever go back to a subscription based game. Just in the short time I've had with it and the 2% of the game world I've seen, it's already proven itself to be leagues beyond what most P2P titles are offering. Some people seem still to be under the illusion that because GW2 doesn't require a sub, it's quality isn't up to the same standard. They couldn't be more wrong.
I'm pretty sure that by the time I'm ready to try something new, subscription games won't even be on my radar anymore.
There is absolutely no compromise being made to quality or quantity of content, features and game modes due to the Buy 2 Play model. I not only feel that this is the best designed MMO since WoW, but probably has the most content, at launch, of almost any other MMO since WoW as well. (It has also provided me with 45 hours of the most fun I've had from any PC game I've ever purchased, through the course of the Beta Weekend Event and the recent seven hour stress test. This in spite of the fact I knew this was beta and my characters would be wiped).
The only trade off is the existance of the cash shop, but it's a pretty benign cash shop model. There are no meaningful advantages to be had and there is absolutely nothing you have to buy in order to fuly enjoy the game. Also, many subscription based Pay 2 Play games are adding limited cash shops and I expect those cash shops will see expansion in the months and years ahead, as the new business model proves itself more and more viable.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
I've tried many pay to play MMOs and have played several long term, namely Lord of the Rings Online (3 years) and World of Warcraft (6 years). I can say with the utmost confidence that Guild Wars 2 will be both a replacement and an improvement upon these two games. I have yet to try an MMO as satisfying as Guild Wars 2 - like its predecessor, it has struck a chord and I will be playing it for some time. The freshness of the combat system, the pleasing aesthetic, and the implementation of dynamic event content will replace the traditional quest system for me. Sadly, the exising body of P2P does not satisfy me at this point.
GW2 has had the only beta (and I've tried a fair bunch of them) where I actually felt withdraw symptoms afterward. I felt less motivated to play any other game for a couple days. Friends had to practically coerce me into playing LoL with them.
Another fact I know about my personal gaming habits is that if I am playing an MMO, I dedicate my gaming time primarily to that MMO. Single player RPGs, side games like Madden or League of Legends, and definitely any other MMOs get put on the backburner. I cannot even conceive of dedicating time to multiple MMOs simultaneously. So if I am playing GW2, it will most definitely be a full substitute for any other MMO.
As for GW2's longevity, that remains to be seen. I'm very optimistic at the moment based on information currently available and my brief times playing the game, but that, of course, doesn't necessarily mean anything.
To sub or not to sub, that is the .... wait,
A game having a sub sells me more than those without. I've never been turned away from a game due to a sub , on the contrary I have ignored a game because it was free to play. I don't think GW2 will shift the market to a B2P at all , Gw1 didn't. You get what you pay for ... a sub to me means hands on developer attention months after launch. That attention can be good or bad , its subjective. A B2P is different , I do not exspect the same level of continual developer time as a P2P ; not even with ANet. Thus I am keeping my exspectations in line with the reality and NOT exspecting the level of developer attention a few months after launch that I would exspect from a P2P.
It really all falls back to the origins of the pay to play system, before I'd wager 2/3rds of this community knew what an Mmo was. We paid a premium to play a game that was unique , as far as games go That uniqueness was the justification for the monthly subscription. Now-a-days with Mmo's being mainstream cash cows , the justification for a monthly subscription has changed to developer time post launch. Which roughly translates to : Content , Bug fixs , Tweaks , Nerfs , Balance , More content.
To sum it all up , the real question shouldn't be will Buy to play be a replacement of pay to play games.
It should be : Are we really getting everything out of pay to play games that the monthly subscription demands in the current MMO market , and will Gw2 bring this issue to the mainstream mmo audience.
--- Because frankly, those in the community like myself are a dieing breed. Which would be those of us who don't bat an eyelash at a subscription, or what that subscription is earning us. I've paid 14.99 for a subscription to a game and quite literally stopped playing within a few hours and not cared about the money, because for me ... a subscription is what I was indoctrinated into when I started Mmo gaming. So it's a good thing this new community of Mmo gamers , which make no mistake I mostly disagree with , is so savy about what the subscription is actually getting them.
Tl/Dr --- Themeparks arn't worth subscriptions when you look at it logically, I still pay them without thinking about it though. Guild Wars 2 won't change this .... the player base being more aware of what they purchase will.
As time goes on the and more cheaper offerings of high quality products become available, the subscription model will simply become less relevant. There is a reason why Tera & TSW have/will launch with the cash shop built-in... Because in a years time they will pull the F2P conversion switch and having the cash shop already built-in means less work for doing something that is inevitable. Hopefully MMORPGs will simply forgo the P2P -> F2P conversion and just go straight up B2P.