Why don't companies do a "daily/weekly" subscription aswell?

DEAD.line

So i posted about this in another thread about a month ago, and wanted to discuss it with everyone.

Sub fee mmorpgs have monthly fees, but also 3 and 6 discount subs. Sometimes even lifetime ones.

So, why don't companies ever try a 1-2 days subscription for like 50 cents- 1 dollar/euro, and something like a 10 day one for 10.

Like i said before, the reason people like F2P/B2P is because of teh freedom of choice and the psychology behind it. 13 euros isn't alot of money, but when people realize they're investing in a game for 30 whole days, it makes them uneasy.

Would offering a smaller cost for smaller time help out? Let's also not forget that 30 day subs makes it harder to return to simply try out abit of content here and there, or when there's a biggger patch.

Sure, these players may be paying less then the more profitable monthly subbers, but i believe that not offering them any choice simpyl results in lost players and money.

Finally, why not simply reward longer subscription plans with a few exclusive cosmetic items or something else, to simply make to simply make it feel like commitment to the game pays off? 

 

Kilrain

why not offer a price that is lower but not worth it if you play slightly more. Something like $9/2 weeks or $1 per day. That way the individual can save money by paying monthly unless they actually do play only a few days per month.

Kilrain

They could offer a prepaid cellular type system where you pay for hourly access. Could get ugly though.

Actually I kind of like this idea. Maybe. Sell hourly access in many different increments and they expire after 30 days.

Gadareth

Because if they did the next post someone will post is why not a hourly based sub ... then it will be minutes .... then seconds and I wouldnt put it past someone asking for micro seconds...

Basically monthly is a good standard for a subscription.

 

Deadlyne

Originally posted by Gadareth

Because if they did the next post someone will post is why not a hourly based sub ... then it will be minutes .... then seconds and I wouldnt put it past someone asking for micro seconds...

Basically monthly is a good standard for a subscription.

 

Yeah and what if they did?  Would that hinder your gaming experience?  I personally would still pay the cheaper monthly sub because I like saving money.  Whether someone else payed by the minute or the day that wouldn't affect my game play in the least bit.  Plus they would have more freedom with their money.  Explain to me how this would be bad.

Nitth

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Originally posted by Kilrain
They could offer a prepaid cellular type system where you pay for hourly access. Could get ugly though.

Actually I kind of like this idea. Maybe. Sell hourly access in many different increments and they expire after 30 days.

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Do you not remember paying for internet by the hour? its a horrible system and why most services moved to a subscription or monthly billing plan.

iixviiiix

If i remember right , China WOW servers use hours .

It do well , players who play more (8h+/days) pay more , and casual players who play few hours/days pay less.

Wizardry

That would be a really tough way for a developer to determine Bandwidth and costs.What if one week there is 25% less players,then they have all that wasted server space.Then what if there is a xpac or an event weekend and they get 25% more players,open new ones or over crowd available ones,neither option is good.

There is a VERY good reason we ALWAYS see really nice HD marketing videos then the games look really bad when actually in game,these are businesses trying to maximize profits.Point is anything and everything that MIGHT cost them even a few thousand dollars more per week/month is not acceptable.

Wizardry

Originally posted by iixviiiix

If i remember right , China WOW servers use hours .

It do well , players who play more (8h+/days) pay more , and casual players who play few hours/days pay less.

I don't keep up on foreign affairs that much but is China not in same boat as Korea where you are only allowed certain amount of hours to play online video games?That system would not benefit players if they had to pay sub fees but only allowed to play until say 11pm or so many hours a day.

I could see the system working here but the cost would never benefit players so why bother?The cost would of course be MORE expensive ,example would probably cost maybe $15 for 2 weeks instead of a month,the only benefit being if for some reason you could only play 1 week that month.

Loktofeit

Originally posted by DEAD.line

 

So, why don't companies ever try a 1-2 days subscription for like 50 cents- 1 dollar/euro, and something like a 10 day one for 10.

The cost per transaction would go through the roof. Companies have tried it, though (ex: APB), but it seems that NA/EU audiences consider it a hassle, especially for games they may play 2 or 3 days a week. In the end, it would just raise the price for the consumer and not really offer much value to either side of the equation. 

Finally, why not simply reward longer subscription plans with a few exclusive cosmetic items or something else, to simply make to simply make it feel like commitment to the game pays off? 

 Many MMOs do. They are often called Veteran Rewards.

 

fs23otm

6 months - 77.94 - 12.99 monthly

3 months - 41.97 - 13.99 monthly

1 month - 14.99 - 14.99 monthly

1 week - 3.99 - 15.96 monthly

Daily - .99 - 29.70 monthly

 

It would get crazy...

 

Nellus

Originally posted by Deadlyne

Originally posted by Gadareth

Because if they did the next post someone will post is why not a hourly based sub ... then it will be minutes .... then seconds and I wouldnt put it past someone asking for micro seconds...

Basically monthly is a good standard for a subscription.

 

Yeah and what if they did?  Would that hinder your gaming experience?  I personally would still pay the cheaper monthly sub because I like saving money.  Whether someone else payed by the minute or the day that wouldn't affect my game play in the least bit.  Plus they would have more freedom with their money.  Explain to me how this would be bad.

I would be worried about the "free trial" system that comes with games later in life. I think TSW is kept alive by their buddy key model, essentially five days free if you seemed to enjoy the game. Three initially, and an extra two if you complete X quests. By offering a one week subscription there's a more tangible dollar figure lost, and I think it would replace the "free trial" system completely. Would you rather pay $5 for a week, or get five days free? That's an easy decision for me.

The idea of "X hours of actual play" reminds me too much of the cell phone data charge switch we already went through. I do understand the opinion that someone who plays a game for 10 hours a month shouldn't pay the same as someone who plays 100 hours. However, I think it discourages difficulty in a game. I can't even imagine this in a game like Everquest, and certainly not in a FFA PVP game where gankers could literally cost you money. Having playing time based subscriptions encourages developers to make everything fast, and further placates the "instant gratification" gamers these days seem to love so much, but has actually made gaming almost pointless for the rest of us.

Dibdabs

Because with a sub that averages 32p per day (£8.99 a month) no-one is all that bothered paying monthly.  It's a non-issue for all but the abjectly poor.

macwood

What a horrible idea, I do not like the sound of this at all.

 

This idea needs to be forgotten and buried for eternity.

iixviiiix

Originally posted by Wizardry

Originally posted by iixviiiix

If i remember right , China WOW servers use hours .

It do well , players who play more (8h+/days) pay more , and casual players who play few hours/days pay less.

I don't keep up on foreign affairs that much but is China not in same boat as Korea where you are only allowed certain amount of hours to play online video games?That system would not benefit players if they had to pay sub fees but only allowed to play until say 11pm or so many hours a day.

I could see the system working here but the cost would never benefit players so why bother?The cost would of course be MORE expensive ,example would probably cost maybe $15 for 2 weeks instead of a month,the only benefit being if for some reason you could only play 1 week that month.

Thank for remind me that stupid playing hours limit law hahaha , you right.

 

mbrodie

why would i want like 15 transactions showing up in my account.. i'd prefer to pay for it up front lol

Vermillion_Raventhal

I could care less as long as the normal monthly fee was there.  If you paid a dollar a day and only played on weekends it would be a decent deal.  That's like 8 dollars a month.  You could also go like to a scaling system where you get less characters, bagging space etc. for play less per month.

Quizzical

Originally posted by Loktofeit

Originally posted by DEAD.line

 

So, why don't companies ever try a 1-2 days subscription for like 50 cents- 1 dollar/euro, and something like a 10 day one for 10.

The cost per transaction would go through the roof. Companies have tried it, though (ex: APB), but it seems that NA/EU audiences consider it a hassle, especially for games they may play 2 or 3 days a week. In the end, it would just raise the price for the consumer and not really offer much value to either side of the equation. 

Loktofeit was heading in this direction, but I'll spell it out more explicitly.  Whenever you charge something to a credit card, credit card company takes part of the money that you spend.  This is generally a flat fee per transaction plus a percentage.  For large purchases, the flat fee per transaction isn't terribly significant, but for sufficiently small purchases, the credit card company might take most of the proceeds.

This is a major reason why in game item malls, they may offer items for a pro-rated $1, but they usually won't charge your credit card $1 at a time.  Rather, you have to pay $5 or $10 or whatever up front on the credit card, and they give you some game currency that you can break into as many transactions as you want.  This lets them only pay the credit card fee once, and allows them to keep most of what you spend rather than letting the credit card company take a large fraction of it.

If you're going to break subscription costs into a per-day thing, they'd probably have to do something similar.  For example, you pay $10 up front, and then $1 of that gets used up on each day that you actually play the game.

Slapshot1188

Originally posted by Nitth

 

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Originally posted by Kilrain
They could offer a prepaid cellular type system where you pay for hourly access. Could get ugly though.

 

Actually I kind of like this idea. Maybe. Sell hourly access in many different increments and they expire after 30 days.

---

 

Do you not remember paying for internet by the hour? its a horrible system and why most services moved to a subscription or monthly billing plan.

DING DING DING...   winner!

 

Jemcrystal

I used to be pro f2p and my main reason was because in sub games if I let my sub expire my character would get deleted either post haste or in 3 mos.  But I play Square Enix's Final Fantasy 14 now because they have changed their policy and will keep your char info indefinitely.  I can drop my sub any time I want and come back any time with no penalty.  And I have.  I had the PC version of the game and I've let my account expire so I could go to the PS vers.  For me this was a problem solved.

Kyleran

Originally posted by Quizzical

Originally posted by Loktofeit

Originally posted by DEAD.line

 

So, why don't companies ever try a 1-2 days subscription for like 50 cents- 1 dollar/euro, and something like a 10 day one for 10.

The cost per transaction would go through the roof. Companies have tried it, though (ex: APB), but it seems that NA/EU audiences consider it a hassle, especially for games they may play 2 or 3 days a week. In the end, it would just raise the price for the consumer and not really offer much value to either side of the equation. 

Loktofeit was heading in this direction, but I'll spell it out more explicitly.  Whenever you charge something to a credit card, credit card company takes part of the money that you spend.  This is generally a flat fee per transaction plus a percentage.  For large purchases, the flat fee per transaction isn't terribly significant, but for sufficiently small purchases, the credit card company might take most of the proceeds.

This is a major reason why in game item malls, they may offer items for a pro-rated $1, but they usually won't charge your credit card $1 at a time.  Rather, you have to pay $5 or $10 or whatever up front on the credit card, and they give you some game currency that you can break into as many transactions as you want.  This lets them only pay the credit card fee once, and allows them to keep most of what you spend rather than letting the credit card company take a large fraction of it.

If you're going to break subscription costs into a per-day thing, they'd probably have to do something similar.  For example, you pay $10 up front, and then $1 of that gets used up on each day that you actually play the game.

Well as I recall in the early days of online access, (Genie, Compuserv) they charged you by the hour for your usage, but I don't recall them billing you every time you logged in. Rather they would accumulate the charge and then charge you all at once on a monthly basis.  Lead to some entertaining monthly bills in the several hundred dollar ranges on occasion for some folks, but they could do the same here.

Of course, then they aren't getting the money up front for services rendered, they are billing in arrears and of course, there is a strong likelihood of getting stiffed.

 

VicDynamo

Isn't this kind of what they do in the East - hourly gaming rates at the cafe's?