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Why do sub based MMOs still have box prices? Stupid and greedy
iridescence
Member UncommonPosts: 1,552
Well obviously it's an artifact of when most people still bought games in physical stores which companies convieniently never got rid of out of greed but in this era when a lot of games require no upfront investment I think demanding a box price and a sub is shooting themselves in the foot and driving away a lot of potential customers.
Example I'm somewhat interested in playing ESO. If I just had to sub for a month and see if I liked it I wouldn't hesitate to do that but I probably will not be buying a $60 box on launch day just for a game which I will still have to keep paying for if I do like it. At least with Skyrim for example if I do plunk down the $60 on launch day and then am somewhat let down I can keep it on my hard drive and maybe it will grow on me.
There's no additional value in the box that justifies the additional price. It's only value is the "free" month sub code which could easily be sold in a much smaller package much cheaper if people don't want to buy online. Boxes are a total ripoff for the consumer and probably drive a lot of business away from these games.
Comments
How is this statement substantiated?
Dude you obviously have no clue.
I hope somebody rallys to devalue the work you do... whatever it may be, so they can cut you out of the economic picture.
As a 3D artist I take offence, you are basically suggesting nobody deserves to profit from their hard work.
Spoiled and entitled millennials are the absolute worst, see my sig!
I believe the latter part of the subject title is better directed towards the OP...
Poor you, seriously you think they should give the game to you for free.
ZeniMax don't need to make ESO f2p, the fan base is such that many millions will gladly buy the box and pay the sub.
Plenty of f2p game for you to choose from, ESO won't be one of them lol.
Paying €60 for the box and €18 sub is nothing, it's peanuts.
Do you smoke or drink?
There's absolutely no effort envolved in designing te package, printing the disk, distributing the boxes etc. etc.
/sarcasm
Besides that, you usually get a month's worth of gameplay time.
Imho the TS is as greedy as the companies he calls greedy.
Heh...There's a good chance that I'm older than you. People are just sick of paying tons of money up front on bad games and there's more competition which means people are less willing to accept things that rip them off just because "it's always been that way". I don't mind paying for a good game. I wouldn't even be talking about sub games if I did but I don't like being taken advantage of and wasting money.
Expensive boxes for MMOs never made much sense and much less so now when 99% of people buy them online. When you sub to a magazine does the magazine publisher send you a big box you have to pay a lot for before you can start getting your magazine? The whole idea is silly.
Basically, you have to pay more if you want to play the game sooner. Lots of games have been doing that for a long time. After launch, the box price will decrease, eventually to no more than the cost of a month's subscription and it may go away entirely. If the box price is a big impediment to playing the game for you, then just wait until a year or two after launch before you pick it up.
Online games don't want for everyone who will ever play the game to be in there on launch day unless they think the game is going to be awful and word of mouth will quickly kill sales. Charging more to people who want to get in earlier is one way to stagger your playerbase rather than the game being mostly dead after a few months because no new players are coming in. Rather, a sequence of price drops or expanded free trials can mean a number of times of the publisher's choosing that the game gets a major influx of new players.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
If your profile is right, you re not older. That said, I m not accepting anything, I m supporting the company for making the game, by , BUYING it. If you don t want to pay upfront, because it might not be a "good game" to you, then wait. If you can t wait, then maybe you need a new hobby.
you pay for the game and the monthly fee is for future content and that you can use the servers.
If you have a PS or Xbox do you complaim also about the Gold membership you have to buy there in order to play multiplayer games ?
Sure effort goes into it but it's wasted effort for the vast majority of people who rip open the box, put the disc in once to install the game (which they could just download usually) get the free month code, and then just throw the whole mess out.
And of course many people like me never would actually buy these games in a box when it is so much easier just to download them but still have to pay inflated box price.
Obviously I would't complain if the box price optional for people who want it but I doubt they'd sell many boxes if they were optional.
I understand I get paid one way or another. But there is much more going on that folks don't take into account obviously such as distro cost, marketing etc.
LoL is free to download but the "profits" come from elective DLC.
Rallying against a box price is a blanket statement that makes no sense.
We cant save the world from folks who are impulsive buyers that feel they did not get what the "wanted" that's overtly subjective to say the least.
Its a tough sell because the upsurge in entitlement in this culture. I don't buy a book unless its reviewed well, and if I start to read it I don't get pissed because I subjectively did not like it... its called taking a risk.
Actually I'll just wait for it to go 50% off within a couple of months of release like I always do with these games. I'm just pointing out that the whole system is stupid and I suspect if they charged even $20 or $30 right from the beginining they'd get more players and make more money than charging $60.
Funny thing that, back when they increased the cost for gold while increasing the sheer volume of ads I left and never came back.
More fees should equal less ads but the converse was true. As PT Barnum said, a sucker is born every minute.
ESO's problem is not the box price... its the game lol.
Why will it sell? Because of the console release... its bound to be the next MMO COD and you know how refined COD fans are...
Please, An artist for League of Legends wouldnt even get a fraction of what ESO shader gets paid...
To the OP
Broke gamers are always complaining about game pricing instead of figuring out how to make more money... disgustingly lazy if you ask me. If you cant afford the 60 dollar box price then maybe you need to realign your priorities.
They do it just to annoy you, OP.
It's all about you...
Stupid argument. I can definitely afford to spend way more than $60 for any game I want. Does that mean I actually want to or should? I have other, better things to spend money on as well as games.
It is like I used to see people charging $8 for a bottle of tap water in clubs. Is that not a rip off in your eyes because anyone who's going dancing at a club probably has $8 to spend?
The OP is just the sucker the Game companies love.
Go look at the recent article for SWTOR. If their numbers are true, then it was 15.00/month when they were sub based and bunches left because the quality of the game sucked. They went F2P and started using the scummy used carsalesmen/payday loan business practices to manipulate customers and now they profess how the average per player spent per month is 28 and some change a month.......
And you suckers lap it up like it is a good thing that they have found a way to give you less and have you pay more for it.
I remember a time when people looked at those who bought gold as punks who cant play the game on thier own, but now, they are the ones sought after by the companies. They are more than happy to take advantage of people who will pay to win to stroke their own egos. Then, just like the casinos with their penny slots, they allow the peasents in as well, so the game looks more populated for whales and they feel compelled to unload cash to make themselves stand out from the crowd.
Oh well...just a couple more days and I can start on my second year of no MMO"s.
Of course its a rip off! DUH! Did you just land on this planet? Thats the way things go...jesus the entitlement~
You are the dude who goes out and orders a round of drinks and tips a dollar if that.
Point is you want to play you pay.
Time to put the big boy pants on.
This is only because the initial cost of LoL and World of Tanks was most likely way less than the cost of ESO. (And BTW LoL did have a box at release that you could buy which I bought that gave you all the initial champions)
What ESO is banking on is brand name, meaning they throw it in the store, people will buy it not knowing that it is more than a single player game. This is the same thing that SWTOR had going for them, some thought it was basically KOTOR 3, brought it home and was then like "WTF?"
I want to know why you think a box + Sub is a tough sell? Games have no problem selling those, its retention that is the key issue still on everything but EVE and WOW.
To the OP
Broke gamers are always complaining about game pricing instead of figuring out how to make more money... disgustingly lazy if you ask me. If you cant afford the 60 dollar box price then maybe you need to realign your priorities.
Oh yeah, just "make more money". That is a perfect solution. I can't believe nobody has ever thought of that before. Somebody should tell the millions of homeless people and millions of people who are out of work that they just need to make more money. We'll save a ton of tax money in unemployment benefits.
Anyway, prices aren't set by the developers or publishers. They can suggest a price, but the price of something is really determined by the people willing to buy it. Unless gamers in general are unwilling to buy a "box" for an MMORPG, developers and publishers will keep selling them.
If you're going to complain about developers or publishers being greedy, you may as well complain about everyone being greedy. That's the whole basis of our economy and a large part of our society. The desire for profits drives development and progress and for the most part improves the standard of living for our society as a whole.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.