Originally posted by macwood Is wow worth $15? What do they give you each month that makes it worth it?
Fun. A lot of it. More fun then any other hobby that is only 15 bucks.
Fun is subjective.
WoW gets old and it is less fun for me than Marvel Heroes, Warframe, STO and most SP games by now. And that is just games. I would prefer to read novels, watch good tv, and many other things than WoW.
Exactly.
But what else could a game give you? If you have fun, it is worth 15 bucks. If it does not, it is not worth your time at all. A game you only play because it is free is effectivly a waste of your time.
nope .. even if i have fun .. if i can get the same, or more fun, for less, than it is not worth $15. It is about market competition.
And in today's market, I don't see how a game (any game, not just MMO) will be worth a $15 sub to me. May be a good one time cost (B2P) for good SP games, or even good MMOs. But a sub .... not for me ... but again, that is subjective.
There once was a mmorpg people played for years. It was a ptp game with no item mall. It had dungeons and it had pvp successfully coexisting with evp and it had quests and it had instancing. It had player housing. It had meaningful crafting. It had numerous excellently balanced races and classes. It had an incredibly well constructed and integrated lore. It had great character development. Great content. Great storyline. It had the best game concept unequalled by any mmorpg before and since. In other words it had something for everyone and over 100K subs in its heyday. What happened? I think the graphics got tired and the developer sitting on this goose laying the golden egg just let it go instead of upgrading it to the times. Had the developer not touched it and just upgraded the graphics it would rival WoW today and for many years into the future.. You may ask what's she talking about? There is no such mmorpg! Well there was. It was called Dark Age of Camelot.
If it were upgraded I am sure I am not alone in saying I would return. I am sure those 100k subs would return plus many more.
^^. Players chuck a billion a year at wow and get a 2 week expansion every 17 months for thri money so I don't think investmrnt is the isdue us it throwing them another billion a year is simply going to make them more arrogant (we don't need to change - look we make 2 billion a year!)
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
There once was a mmorpg people played for years. It was a ptp game with no item mall. It had dungeons and it had pvp successfully coexisting with evp and it had quests and it had instancing. It had player housing. It had meaningful crafting. It had numerous excellently balanced races and classes. It had an incredibly well constructed and integrated lore. It had great character development. Great content. Great storyline. It had the best game concept unequalled by any mmorpg before and since. In other words it had something for everyone and over 100K subs in its heyday. What happened? I think the graphics got tired and the developer sitting on this goose laying the golden egg just let it go instead of upgrading it to the times. Had the developer not touched it and just upgraded the graphics it would rival WoW today and for many years into the future.. You may ask what's she talking about? There is no such mmorpg! Well there was. It was called Dark Age of Camelot.
If it were upgraded I am sure I am not alone in saying I would return. I am sure those 100k subs would return plus many more.
Just my 2gps on the subject.
What happened was the Trials of Atlantis expansion. They added a ton of PvE that no one more or less asked for. They also made gear far more important to the game. The game kept going for awhile after that, but ToA was the biggest mistake Mythic made. Mark Jacobs wrote an article or blog post about it a number of years ago.
If they upgraded the graphics, some might come back, but not 100k+, not even close. Any hopes that many of us had for returning were placed in the hands of the potential legacy servers, basically taking the game back to a better balanced vanilla version. That project has been long forgotten about.
There once was a mmorpg people played for years. It was a ptp game with no item mall. It had dungeons and it had pvp successfully coexisting with evp and it had quests and it had instancing. It had player housing. It had meaningful crafting. It had numerous excellently balanced races and classes. It had an incredibly well constructed and integrated lore. It had great character development. Great content. Great storyline. It had the best game concept unequalled by any mmorpg before and since. In other words it had something for everyone and over 100K subs in its heyday. What happened? I think the graphics got tired and the developer sitting on this goose laying the golden egg just let it go instead of upgrading it to the times. Had the developer not touched it and just upgraded the graphics it would rival WoW today and for many years into the future.. You may ask what's she talking about? There is no such mmorpg! Well there was. It was called Dark Age of Camelot.
If it were upgraded I am sure I am not alone in saying I would return. I am sure those 100k subs would return plus many more.
Just my 2gps on the subject.
What happened was the Trials of Atlantis expansion. They added a ton of PvE that no one more or less asked for. They also made gear far more important to the game. The game kept going for awhile after that, but ToA was the biggest mistake Mythic made. Mark Jacobs wrote an article or blog post about it a number of years ago.
If they upgraded the graphics, some might come back, but not 100k+, not even close. Any hopes that many of us had for returning were placed in the hands of the potential legacy servers, basically taking the game back to a better balanced vanilla version. That project has been long forgotten about.
I agree with you that ToA was a mistake. However, even with ToA, the game was better than any other out there then and since.
There once was a mmorpg people played for years. It was a ptp game with no item mall. It had dungeons and it had pvp successfully coexisting with evp and it had quests and it had instancing. It had player housing. It had meaningful crafting. It had numerous excellently balanced races and classes. It had an incredibly well constructed and integrated lore. It had great character development. Great content. Great storyline. It had the best game concept unequalled by any mmorpg before and since. In other words it had something for everyone and over 100K subs in its heyday. What happened? I think the graphics got tired and the developer sitting on this goose laying the golden egg just let it go instead of upgrading it to the times. Had the developer not touched it and just upgraded the graphics it would rival WoW today and for many years into the future.. You may ask what's she talking about? There is no such mmorpg! Well there was. It was called Dark Age of Camelot.
If it were upgraded I am sure I am not alone in saying I would return. I am sure those 100k subs would return plus many more.
Just my 2gps on the subject.
What happened was the Trials of Atlantis expansion. They added a ton of PvE that no one more or less asked for. They also made gear far more important to the game. The game kept going for awhile after that, but ToA was the biggest mistake Mythic made. Mark Jacobs wrote an article or blog post about it a number of years ago.
If they upgraded the graphics, some might come back, but not 100k+, not even close. Any hopes that many of us had for returning were placed in the hands of the potential legacy servers, basically taking the game back to a better balanced vanilla version. That project has been long forgotten about.
I agree with you that ToA was a mistake. However, even with ToA, the game was better than any other out there then and since.
It wasn't that ToA was a mistake it was because ToA forced players to group to get any meaningful advancement for their relic/artifact thingies (I forget what those were called). ToA would of been popular if they removed forced grouping and leveing of your PvE items and made it more like the Shrouded Isles expansion. People love PvE but at their own pace.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
I know a LOT of other gamers that can't either. Even at the $15/month they have to choose one or two to keep subscribed.
Raise that price, and they'll have to start dropping subscriptions, and it'll usually be the most expensive, unless that's the only one they really play. After all, very few people have an unlimited entertainment budget. If you are one of them, lucky you, but we aren't you.
OP could you explain what the game should be like.
Considering most $15/month games do not even survive. Sure you might have certain feeling about those games. But if these A-Tittle company's couldn't deliver a game worth $15/month what makes you think some gamecompany can come up with a game worth $35/month?
I would gladly pay a sub but don't see why it should be more then $15/month and if it's a great game it doesn't really need more then those $15/month.
The MMORPG worth $35/month or even $100/month is the MMORPG I have in my mind that never will excist.
Its a bit like declaring that you would like to pay your gas provider $30 a month instead of $15 and somehow expecting your gas to have twice the calorific value - also forgetting that for the last 10 years they have given you $5 worth of fuel a month for your money. Bet your bottom dollar the gas company would bite your hand off..
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
People in different financial situations look at subs differently. If you are doing good financially then spending $35 or even $50 a month on a game isn't a big deal. If your in college full time and working part time, that same sub might be out of the question.
Never assume just because something seems outrageous to you financially, that everyone feels the same way.
Just because I'm a gamer doesn't mean I drive a Honda.
People in different financial situations look at subs differently. If you are doing good financially then spending $35 or even $50 a month on a game isn't a big deal. If your in college full time and working part time, that same sub might be out of the question.
Never assume just because something seems outrageous to you financially, that everyone feels the same way.
It doesn't really matter wether one could pay 35 or more a month because I am sure allot of gamers can, incl. me. But what matters to me mostly is what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub fee like that.
It doesn't really matter wether one could pay 35 or more a month because I am sure allot of gamers can, incl. me. But what matters to me mostly is what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub fee like that.
"Can" does not equate "want to". If I can get the same or more fun for less, why should I bother?
It is 100% about competition. I will think nothing to drop $35 (heck, $35 is cheap) for a lunch with my wife (the last good one costs $100) but MMOs? I probably wouldn't spend even a $5 sub because the competition is cheaper.
It doesn't really matter wether one could pay 35 or more a month because I am sure allot of gamers can, incl. me. But what matters to me mostly is what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub fee like that.
"Can" does not equate "want to". If I can get the same or more fun for less, why should I bother?
It is 100% about competition. I will think nothing to drop $35 (heck, $35 is cheap) for a lunch with my wife (the last good one costs $100) but MMOs? I probably wouldn't spend even a $5 sub because the competition is cheaper.
Id rather pay a traditional $15 sub and play a game with an even playing field. Ftps have item malls that tend to squeeeeze the $35+ bucks out of you anyway. They play on your vanity and ptw is even worse. Nah... just charge the 15 bucks a month and I know that the game is equal for all. That is...if I find a game worth the sub and frankly, there is nothing out there worth playing imho. If there is, please enlighten me but.....it must have player housing, decent meaningful crafting and fun to play and I prefer a sandbox to themepark anyday.
To me the old adage is valid here.. You get what you pay for.
Currently there is no MMORPG that can justify any sub over $15. That is not there will not be one in the future. I truly hope there is a game that is so immersive that I would gladly drop $35 or more a month to play.
Pantheon is one of the few games I see any hope for.
Just because I'm a gamer doesn't mean I drive a Honda.
Originally posted by macwood Is wow worth $15? What do they give you each month that makes it worth it?
Fun. A lot of it. More fun then any other hobby that is only 15 bucks.
Fun is subjective.
WoW gets old and it is less fun for me than Marvel Heroes, Warframe, STO and most SP games by now. And that is just games. I would prefer to read novels, watch good tv, and many other things than WoW.
Exactly.
But what else could a game give you? If you have fun, it is worth 15 bucks. If it does not, it is not worth your time at all. A game you only play because it is free is effectivly a waste of your time.
nope .. even if i have fun .. if i can get the same, or more fun, for less, than it is not worth $15. It is about market competition.
And in today's market, I don't see how a game (any game, not just MMO) will be worth a $15 sub to me. May be a good one time cost (B2P) for good SP games, or even good MMOs. But a sub .... not for me ... but again, that is subjective.
You answered yourself there. No competition.
There IS nothing worth 15 bucks to you, not because there is too much "good", but nothing "good enough".
For me there are two games "worth" 15 bucks right now. One being worth that much for over a decate and one that will be "worth it" for about 3 or 4 months now. And boy do i wish there was more competition for quality games,... i stopped playing MMOs alltogether and jumped on buying sRPGs on a constant basis. Spending way more then 30 or 50 bucks a month ;-)
Worth it? Meh. No... but what can i do? I need my RPG fix.
MMOs finally replaced social interaction, forced grouping and standing in a line while talking to eachother.
Now we have forced soloing, forced questing and everyone is the hero, without ever having to talk to anyone else. The evolution of multiplayer is here! We won,... right?
It doesn't really matter wether one could pay 35 or more a month because I am sure allot of gamers can, incl. me. But what matters to me mostly is what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub fee like that.
"Can" does not equate "want to". If I can get the same or more fun for less, why should I bother?
It is 100% about competition. I will think nothing to drop $35 (heck, $35 is cheap) for a lunch with my wife (the last good one costs $100) but MMOs? I probably wouldn't spend even a $5 sub because the competition is cheaper.
You shouldn't bother if you get the same or more fun for less. Kinda logical isn't it?
Kinda the reason why I said what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub-fee of 35 or more, I don't know any do you?
It doesn't really matter wether one could pay 35 or more a month because I am sure allot of gamers can, incl. me. But what matters to me mostly is what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub fee like that.
"Can" does not equate "want to". If I can get the same or more fun for less, why should I bother?
It is 100% about competition. I will think nothing to drop $35 (heck, $35 is cheap) for a lunch with my wife (the last good one costs $100) but MMOs? I probably wouldn't spend even a $5 sub because the competition is cheaper.
You shouldn't bother if you get the same or more fun for less. Kinda logical isn't it?
Kinda the reason why I said what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub-fee of 35 or more, I don't know any do you?
The type of MMORPG that an individual feels that is warranted. There may be none to you but I can gurantee you there is one for someone currently. Do I think they're crazy? Sure but I'm not them so I can't speak for them. It's there choice. I can't tell them they're wrong because worthy or not, it's subjective.
One of the issues in increasing the sub, is that you will naturally begin limiting your potential consumers. The more expensive a sub is, the fewer who may be able to afford it or the fewer who are willing to commit to the higher price. Doesn't mean it would be a deal breaker, but something that would have to go into the planning process.
At some point, the price will come to a point, where the market will not sustain it. Ultimate/Fantastic/without flaw for anybody (lol, as if that could happen)/etc, won't matter.
As an analogy (Begin ripping me apart here), when I was buying a house, there was everything from perfect for me to yuck. I ended up picking one that wasn't perfect because I didn't want to pay the higher mortgage. I weighed the options I needed and wanted made a decision. Not a matter of not being able to afford it, but a matter of not wanting to pay that much each month.
IMO, this discussion is much the same. What is your price point for the product you want. The decision isn't always a simple matter of yes or no. There are many factors which go into the decision but unless you are independently wealthy, price is gonna be a big factor for most.
.... for all those who are glued to their seats, yes, I enjoy my house.
Surely it should be the MMO's which should be trying to live up to the $15 pm sub rather than us throwing more and more money at them in the hope of a better game?
It doesn't really matter wether one could pay 35 or more a month because I am sure allot of gamers can, incl. me. But what matters to me mostly is what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub fee like that.
"Can" does not equate "want to". If I can get the same or more fun for less, why should I bother?
It is 100% about competition. I will think nothing to drop $35 (heck, $35 is cheap) for a lunch with my wife (the last good one costs $100) but MMOs? I probably wouldn't spend even a $5 sub because the competition is cheaper.
Id rather pay a traditional $15 sub and play a game with an even playing field. Ftps have item malls that tend to squeeeeze the $35+ bucks out of you anyway. They play on your vanity and ptw is even worse. Nah... just charge the 15 bucks a month and I know that the game is equal for all. That is...if I find a game worth the sub and frankly, there is nothing out there worth playing imho. If there is, please enlighten me but.....it must have player housing, decent meaningful crafting and fun to play and I prefer a sandbox to themepark anyday.
An "even playing field" is irrelevant to me since I play solo. The field is always even if I only care whether I have fun or not.
It doesn't really matter wether one could pay 35 or more a month because I am sure allot of gamers can, incl. me. But what matters to me mostly is what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub fee like that.
"Can" does not equate "want to". If I can get the same or more fun for less, why should I bother?
It is 100% about competition. I will think nothing to drop $35 (heck, $35 is cheap) for a lunch with my wife (the last good one costs $100) but MMOs? I probably wouldn't spend even a $5 sub because the competition is cheaper.
You shouldn't bother if you get the same or more fun for less. Kinda logical isn't it?
Kinda the reason why I said what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub-fee of 35 or more, I don't know any do you?
The type of MMORPG that an individual feels that is warranted. There may be none to you but I can gurantee you there is one for someone currently. Do I think they're crazy? Sure but I'm not them so I can't speak for them. It's there choice. I can't tell them they're wrong because worthy or not, it's subjective.
No one is "crazy". People just like different things.
However, from a market point of view, you need ENOUGH of those who feels $35 is warranted to have a business and with today's competition, i highly doubt there are enough no matter what you do with the game, assuming a reasonable budget.
It doesn't really matter wether one could pay 35 or more a month because I am sure allot of gamers can, incl. me. But what matters to me mostly is what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub fee like that.
"Can" does not equate "want to". If I can get the same or more fun for less, why should I bother?
It is 100% about competition. I will think nothing to drop $35 (heck, $35 is cheap) for a lunch with my wife (the last good one costs $100) but MMOs? I probably wouldn't spend even a $5 sub because the competition is cheaper.
You shouldn't bother if you get the same or more fun for less. Kinda logical isn't it?
Kinda the reason why I said what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub-fee of 35 or more, I don't know any do you?
The type of MMORPG that an individual feels that is warranted. There may be none to you but I can gurantee you there is one for someone currently. Do I think they're crazy? Sure but I'm not them so I can't speak for them. It's there choice. I can't tell them they're wrong because worthy or not, it's subjective.
I know there may not be one for me except the one in my mind. But regardless that wasn't my point as I still havn't seen a single comment about what do players feel warrant a 35 or more sub fee except a few comment that it has to be near perfect.
And no I would never feel someone is crazy for spending 35 or more or even F2P players that might spend insane amounts of money. People have the right to do as they please I wouldn't judge them for what they do with their money. But I would still remain with the same unanswered question...........
Comments
nope .. even if i have fun .. if i can get the same, or more fun, for less, than it is not worth $15. It is about market competition.
And in today's market, I don't see how a game (any game, not just MMO) will be worth a $15 sub to me. May be a good one time cost (B2P) for good SP games, or even good MMOs. But a sub .... not for me ... but again, that is subjective.
There once was a mmorpg people played for years. It was a ptp game with no item mall. It had dungeons and it had pvp successfully coexisting with evp and it had quests and it had instancing. It had player housing. It had meaningful crafting. It had numerous excellently balanced races and classes. It had an incredibly well constructed and integrated lore. It had great character development. Great content. Great storyline. It had the best game concept unequalled by any mmorpg before and since. In other words it had something for everyone and over 100K subs in its heyday. What happened? I think the graphics got tired and the developer sitting on this goose laying the golden egg just let it go instead of upgrading it to the times. Had the developer not touched it and just upgraded the graphics it would rival WoW today and for many years into the future.. You may ask what's she talking about? There is no such mmorpg! Well there was. It was called Dark Age of Camelot.
If it were upgraded I am sure I am not alone in saying I would return. I am sure those 100k subs would return plus many more.
Just my 2gps on the subject.
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D
What happened was the Trials of Atlantis expansion. They added a ton of PvE that no one more or less asked for. They also made gear far more important to the game. The game kept going for awhile after that, but ToA was the biggest mistake Mythic made. Mark Jacobs wrote an article or blog post about it a number of years ago.
If they upgraded the graphics, some might come back, but not 100k+, not even close. Any hopes that many of us had for returning were placed in the hands of the potential legacy servers, basically taking the game back to a better balanced vanilla version. That project has been long forgotten about.
I agree with you that ToA was a mistake. However, even with ToA, the game was better than any other out there then and since.
Ding Ding Ding we got a winner!
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
It wasn't that ToA was a mistake it was because ToA forced players to group to get any meaningful advancement for their relic/artifact thingies (I forget what those were called). ToA would of been popular if they removed forced grouping and leveing of your PvE items and made it more like the Shrouded Isles expansion. People love PvE but at their own pace.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
Can you afford $35/month ?!
I definitely can't.
I know a LOT of other gamers that can't either. Even at the $15/month they have to choose one or two to keep subscribed.
Raise that price, and they'll have to start dropping subscriptions, and it'll usually be the most expensive, unless that's the only one they really play. After all, very few people have an unlimited entertainment budget. If you are one of them, lucky you, but we aren't you.
Lost my mind, now trying to lose yours...
OP could you explain what the game should be like.
Considering most $15/month games do not even survive. Sure you might have certain feeling about those games. But if these A-Tittle company's couldn't deliver a game worth $15/month what makes you think some gamecompany can come up with a game worth $35/month?
I would gladly pay a sub but don't see why it should be more then $15/month and if it's a great game it doesn't really need more then those $15/month.
The MMORPG worth $35/month or even $100/month is the MMORPG I have in my mind that never will excist.
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D
People in different financial situations look at subs differently. If you are doing good financially then spending $35 or even $50 a month on a game isn't a big deal. If your in college full time and working part time, that same sub might be out of the question.
Never assume just because something seems outrageous to you financially, that everyone feels the same way.
Lets see your Battle Stations /r/battlestations
Battle Station
It doesn't really matter wether one could pay 35 or more a month because I am sure allot of gamers can, incl. me. But what matters to me mostly is what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub fee like that.
"Can" does not equate "want to". If I can get the same or more fun for less, why should I bother?
It is 100% about competition. I will think nothing to drop $35 (heck, $35 is cheap) for a lunch with my wife (the last good one costs $100) but MMOs? I probably wouldn't spend even a $5 sub because the competition is cheaper.
Id rather pay a traditional $15 sub and play a game with an even playing field. Ftps have item malls that tend to squeeeeze the $35+ bucks out of you anyway. They play on your vanity and ptw is even worse. Nah... just charge the 15 bucks a month and I know that the game is equal for all. That is...if I find a game worth the sub and frankly, there is nothing out there worth playing imho. If there is, please enlighten me but.....it must have player housing, decent meaningful crafting and fun to play and I prefer a sandbox to themepark anyday.
To me the old adage is valid here.. You get what you pay for.
Currently there is no MMORPG that can justify any sub over $15. That is not there will not be one in the future. I truly hope there is a game that is so immersive that I would gladly drop $35 or more a month to play.
Pantheon is one of the few games I see any hope for.
Lets see your Battle Stations /r/battlestations
Battle Station
You answered yourself there. No competition.
There IS nothing worth 15 bucks to you, not because there is too much "good", but nothing "good enough".
For me there are two games "worth" 15 bucks right now. One being worth that much for over a decate and one that will be "worth it" for about 3 or 4 months now. And boy do i wish there was more competition for quality games,... i stopped playing MMOs alltogether and jumped on buying sRPGs on a constant basis. Spending way more then 30 or 50 bucks a month ;-)
Worth it? Meh. No... but what can i do? I need my RPG fix.
MMOs finally replaced social interaction, forced grouping and standing in a line while talking to eachother.
Now we have forced soloing, forced questing and everyone is the hero, without ever having to talk to anyone else. The evolution of multiplayer is here! We won,... right?
You shouldn't bother if you get the same or more fun for less. Kinda logical isn't it?
Kinda the reason why I said what type of MMORPG could warrant having a sub-fee of 35 or more, I don't know any do you?
The type of MMORPG that an individual feels that is warranted. There may be none to you but I can gurantee you there is one for someone currently. Do I think they're crazy? Sure but I'm not them so I can't speak for them. It's there choice. I can't tell them they're wrong because worthy or not, it's subjective.
One of the issues in increasing the sub, is that you will naturally begin limiting your potential consumers. The more expensive a sub is, the fewer who may be able to afford it or the fewer who are willing to commit to the higher price. Doesn't mean it would be a deal breaker, but something that would have to go into the planning process.
At some point, the price will come to a point, where the market will not sustain it. Ultimate/Fantastic/without flaw for anybody (lol, as if that could happen)/etc, won't matter.
As an analogy (Begin ripping me apart here), when I was buying a house, there was everything from perfect for me to yuck. I ended up picking one that wasn't perfect because I didn't want to pay the higher mortgage. I weighed the options I needed and wanted made a decision. Not a matter of not being able to afford it, but a matter of not wanting to pay that much each month.
IMO, this discussion is much the same. What is your price point for the product you want. The decision isn't always a simple matter of yes or no. There are many factors which go into the decision but unless you are independently wealthy, price is gonna be a big factor for most.
.... for all those who are glued to their seats, yes, I enjoy my house.
I self identify as a monkey.
An "even playing field" is irrelevant to me since I play solo. The field is always even if I only care whether I have fun or not.
No one is "crazy". People just like different things.
However, from a market point of view, you need ENOUGH of those who feels $35 is warranted to have a business and with today's competition, i highly doubt there are enough no matter what you do with the game, assuming a reasonable budget.
I know there may not be one for me except the one in my mind. But regardless that wasn't my point as I still havn't seen a single comment about what do players feel warrant a 35 or more sub fee except a few comment that it has to be near perfect.
And no I would never feel someone is crazy for spending 35 or more or even F2P players that might spend insane amounts of money. People have the right to do as they please I wouldn't judge them for what they do with their money. But I would still remain with the same unanswered question...........