›

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register

Quick Links

"Free Month With Purchase"

triketrike Member Posts: 83
in The Pub at MMORPG.COM
I've been thinking about the whole "get a free month with your game purchase" idea, wondering where it came from.

It's brilliant marketing by whoever came up with the original idea to
advertise a "free month with purchase," but I find it rather
disingenuous since you can't actually play an MMO offline. If you can't
play the game online, the purchase price doesn't actually get you
anything beside the box, book and disc.

So really, the first month to play isn't free but actually the most expensive, even if technically (and you have to love the weasel-room left to you by the use of "technically") your purchase price is for the game client and they aren't charging you a month's subscription fee on top of that.


Comments

  • joejccva71joejccva71 Member UncommonPosts: 848

    Originally posted by trike
    I've been thinking about the whole "get a free month with your game purchase" idea, wondering where it came from.It's brilliant marketing by whoever came up with the original idea to
    advertise a "free month with purchase," but I find it rather
    disingenuous since you can't actually play an MMO offline. If you can't
    play the game online, the purchase price doesn't actually get you
    anything beside the box, book and disc.So really, the first month to play isn't free but actually the most expensive, even if technically (and you have to love the weasel-room left to you by the use of "technically") your purchase price is for the game client and they aren't charging you a month's subscription fee on top of that.


    Huh? Not sure I really understand the point of this thread. What point are you trying to make exactly? That a free month with a purchase of a new MMO isn't free? It's still early and I haven't had coffee yet.

  • shaeshae Member Posts: 2,509

    Actually, I'm not sure where it came from now that I think about it, it's been out there ever since I've played MMO's, going back to Lineage 1 I remember buying the game online, downloading the client and getting my first month free. Same EQ1 and all the games that followed.

    It makes wonderful sense though, I really couldn't ever see it being any different. It gives the player a chance to get hooked on the game and it's a smaller initial investment so you don't you get freaked about trying it in the first place. I think it works wonderfully for both player and production studio.

    Good question though, maybe someone here knows the first time the first moth free marketing idea came into play???

    Important Information regarding Posting and You :)

  • BoozekBoozek Member Posts: 110

    Great example of that is that BIG gorrilla called WoW. Already makes money hand over fist. I gave in and downloaded the trial. Right at the point of account creation a helpfull notice was given to me informing me that I could continue my fabulous adventure by purchasing a game box. Well why? I've already downloaded the full client from their site. Why not give me the option of just starting to pay if I liked the game?

    I can understand a smaller development company needing to sell the initial copy because development is a very expensive process. But a monster like Blizzard? The capital on their investment at this point has been paid back 100 fold.

    Funcom does it right. I upgraded my Anarchy online accounts from free to paying just by entering my payment information via my account page. The clients were available for free download. Although I did have to pay a one time fee for the alien invasions expansion (a whopping 10 bucks Canadian).

  • ianubisiianubisi Member Posts: 4,201

    First month free with purchase has been around since at least Ultima Online in 1998. Could be earlier with Meridian 59 but I never tracked that game.

  • triketrike Member Posts: 83

    Originally posted by joejccva



    Huh? Not sure I really understand the point of this thread. What point are you trying to make exactly? That a free month with a purchase of a new MMO isn't free? It's still early and I haven't had coffee yet.
    Although I admire the tactic of advertising a free month, it's admiration of the same sort I feel towards the guy who started a bunch of long-distance phone companies with names like "I Don't Know," "I Don't Care" and "Whatever."  (When you make a traditional long-distance phone call, you have to use a long-distance provider.  When the operator asks you which one you want to use, if you give one of the responses above rather than saying something like "AT&T" or "Verizon", you'll be charged by that guy's company.)

    It's absolutely brilliant, but it's also a little shady.  Sure, you get a "free month" because you're buying the game and not access to it, but the reality is that the game you've bought is useless without going online to play.  Every game advertises this as if it's some kind of bonus.  Not only is it standard fare, but an MMO is useless without the online part of it.  (It's kind of like advertising "interactive menus" as a Special Feature on a DVD.  I've never seen even the cheapest DVD without an interactive menu, and it's certainly not "special.")

    I'm just curious as to where the idea originated.
  • CleffyCleffy Member RarePosts: 6,414
    I like the 15 day free trial, Free to Download game, and pay by month method.  It makes alot more sense to me.
  • MylonMylon Member Posts: 975

    MMOs require that players both buy them as a traditional game, and subscribe at the same time.  It's a double-charging that I absolutely hate.

    Non-MMOs games make plenty of money selling the box.  MMOs make plenty of money from the subscriptions.  The $15 per month price of MMOs is supposed to go towards content upgrades as well ( I mean, I get regular patches for my non-subscription games ) but they use the subscription money to fund an expansion, and then turn around and charge for the expansion again!

    These publishers need to make up their mind and pick one way to make their cash.  Either only charge for the box, like Guild Wars, or only charge the subscription, like Eve Online (though, technically the first moth of Eve costs $5 extra).



    image

  • abbabaabbaba Member Posts: 1,143

    Originally posted by Mylon
    MMOs require that players both buy them as a traditional game, and subscribe at the same time.  It's a double-charging that I absolutely hate.

    Non-MMOs games make plenty of money selling the box.  MMOs make plenty of money from the subscriptions.  The $15 per month price of MMOs is supposed to go towards content upgrades as well ( I mean, I get regular patches for my non-subscription games ) but they turn around, use the subscription money to fund an expansion, and then turn around and charge for the expansion again!

    These publishers need to make up their mind and pick one way to make their cash.  Either only charge for the box, like Guild Wars, or only charge the subscription, like Eve Online (though, technically the first moth of Eve costs $5 extra).

    While some companies provide lots of content every month (WoW), some just release an expansion pack every 3 months and add or fix very little of the original game (SOE). It depends what you play.
  • ElnatorElnator Member Posts: 6,077

    Originally posted by shae

    Actually, I'm not sure where it came from now that I think about it, it's been out there ever since I've played MMO's, going back to Lineage 1 I remember buying the game online, downloading the client and getting my first month free. Same EQ1 and all the games that followed.
    It makes wonderful sense though, I really couldn't ever see it being any different. It gives the player a chance to get hooked on the game and it's a smaller initial investment so you don't you get freaked about trying it in the first place. I think it works wonderfully for both player and production studio.
    Good question though, maybe someone here knows the first time the first moth free marketing idea came into play???
    Ultima Online

    Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
    Sig image Pending
    Still in: A couple Betas

  • MylonMylon Member Posts: 975

    Originally posted by abbaba While some companies provide lots of content every month (WoW), some just release an expansion pack every 3 months and add or fix very little of the original game (SOE). It depends what you play.
    For quite a while I thought WoW would be different and only charge a subscription and keep content free.  But they proved me wrong.  Now there will probably not be any more free content updates released for the game as the content teams will be focused on the expansions.

    image

  • ElnatorElnator Member Posts: 6,077

    Originally posted by abbaba

    Originally posted by Mylon
    MMOs require that players both buy them as a traditional game, and subscribe at the same time.  It's a double-charging that I absolutely hate.

    Non-MMOs games make plenty of money selling the box.  MMOs make plenty of money from the subscriptions.  The $15 per month price of MMOs is supposed to go towards content upgrades as well ( I mean, I get regular patches for my non-subscription games ) but they turn around, use the subscription money to fund an expansion, and then turn around and charge for the expansion again!

    These publishers need to make up their mind and pick one way to make their cash.  Either only charge for the box, like Guild Wars, or only charge the subscription, like Eve Online (though, technically the first moth of Eve costs $5 extra).

    While some companies provide lots of content every month (WoW), some just release an expansion pack every 3 months and add or fix very little of the original game (SOE). It depends what you play.


    Actually SOE adds a great deal of free content as well.. They do charge for their expansions though, which is why I don't play EQ2... sorry for $15 a month those expansions should be free.... back when MMO's were $9.95 a month I could see charging for an expansion.  But at $15 a month they are cutting insane profit off your monthly payments... there's no need, other than greed, to charge for expansions...

    Edit:  Corrected some verbiage to make my point clearer.

    Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
    Sig image Pending
    Still in: A couple Betas

  • joejccva71joejccva71 Member UncommonPosts: 848

    Just like a poster said earlier in this thread I do like having the free 14 day trial with the free download, etc etc and if you want to purchase the game after the 14 days then so be it. Seems to make more sense.

    Actually on that note, there is another system that seems to be working good although from what I understand it's only in the UK so far by a company called metabol (spelling?).

    The system is:

    The company charges $15-20/month for a subscription to a list of about 50 games that you can download but some files are left on their servers. You can download and play the game as much as you want for the $15/20 monthly fee, but if you cancel your montly subscription then you can no longer play the game because you will no longer have access to the few files that are required to run it which are left on their servers.

    Not sure if I'm really making sense, but they could do this for MMORPG's. I stayed up pretty late last night and I'm extremely tired.

    Joe

Sign In or Register to comment.