MMORPG billing

Sporn

Since mmorpg's are being released often times with many features broken or not yet implemented isn't a monthy subscription fee enough?  Why should customers have to make a large down payment on a game that is not finished?  I know mmorpg's are never finished but they should be very polished and have all the promised features working properly.  Also I know this does not fit all mmorpg's either but  it does concern alot of the major ones.

So here is my poll.

 

Pimpslayer

 I don't believe it is necessary for some companies. But at times the monthly fee will not bring in enough money to support the game and pay for depts.  They need a base pool of money. Besides if it is from a store, I like getting a box lol.

Rudnoc

I voted "YES" because:

Subscription fees typically are there to cover costs related to providing on going service and additional content and the bandwidth.

However the price paid for getting that software is different because you are paying for the creation done by the developers and the cost for advertisement and distribution.

If most large MMO developers didn't charge for game cost then we would then see the costs for game developement in subscription fees and the rates would be based on the typical length of a casual user. Monthly fees would be somewhere aroun $29.99 a month then.

I don't think it should be free just because it is unpolished or not complete. Instead of insisting that they give us the software for free. How about demand that they don't release software that is unfinished.

I rather pay for a product that is polished rather than to get it for free and pay a subscription to an unpolished game.

Rudnoc

BTW, it is already bad enough that we are starting to see a lot of them going crazy on selling expansions, adventure packs, additional characters and such.

If they dropped the charge for developement, advertisement and distribution then I won't be surpised if we then start seeing them charge for playing for more than 4 hours because you are taking up bandwidth longer than the casual user.

Charges for any content other than a patch fixes and anything else they can come up with that thet feel is necessary. Of course also start charging for in game items, armor, weapons and etc. Why not? SOE is already trying this out on a special server thanks to EBay and IGE. John Smedley got smart and realized there is a lot of money in the game content.

So go ahead and demand that MMO's should remove the Initial charge for the game. You will see it just get absorbed in monthly fees somewhere, somehow in charges that are on a monthly cycle. In the long run you will pay more!!!