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Flagship Studios has released their pricing scheme for their action MMORPG, Hellgate: London. In brief, the game is free to play but players can pay $9.95/month to gain access to special features, such as special gear, VIP-shuttles, and guild founding.
The latest issue of Games for Windows Magazine has revealed the elite subscription pricing behind Hellgate: London, which will be free to play online should you opt out of subscribing for additional features. These features, which will be available for $9.95 (depending on location) are as follows:
- Elite subscribers pay $9.95 a month
- 24/7 phone- and internet-support
- No (server) queues for elite subscribers, with preference over non-paying customers
- 3 chars per account for non-elites, 12 for elite-customers
- Elite subscribers can store up to 40 items (instead of 20 for non-subscribers), which can be accessed from any char in an account-wide item vault.
- Visible distinction from other players. Elite subscribers are recognisable from their equipment and may trade subscriber-only equipment to other elite subscribers.
- VIP-Shuttles to remote areas
- Housing and founding of guilds are enabled for subscribers. Elite subscribers may attain officer/leader priviledges within their guild.
- Elite subscribers have access to additional game modes, including Hardcore mode.
- Elite subscribers and non-subscribers can play with each other.
- Costs actually depend on where you live. Subscription fees in the Asian market will cost considerably less, in accordance to the market conditions and expectations of the players and local publishers within the region.
The subscription costs make it possible for Flagship Studios to produce additional content for Hellgate: London twice a month, or more. New content includes new items, monsters, areas, character classes and other content which are not present in the retail version of the game. It is not known as this time whether this additional content will only be available to paying subscribers.
Read more abou the pricing here.
Or read the pricing clarification on their forums here.
Comments
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
Need to investigate further then....
-Currently looking forward to FFXIV
-Currently playing EvE and Global Agenda
Does some of this bother anyone else?
1. No server queues if you are a paying customer? Excuse me, I paid $50 dollars for the game, I thought I was a paying customer.
2. Only 3 characters per account unless you are a paying customer. Again, see comment to #1 above.
This is a bad sign folks. I can only imagine the folks at Flagship setting around going, "The MMO's are making a ton of cash, how do we get some of that?". So they come up with a plan. We'll just make the multiplayer portion of the game pay to play. Customers have shown they are willing to pay $50 for a game, and then pay a monthly subscription fee. Why wouldn't they pay us.
Never mind the fact this game was never intended to by a MMO in the beginning. They just can't pass up digging into our pockets a little deeper. Sure, you can pay the multiplayer with out paying, but you will be severly limited.
What's next, Unreal Tournament 3 multiplayer going to be pay to play? How about NWN2 multiplayer, why not make that pay to play too. Sorry, I do not like where this is going. We are getting to the point where our $50 dollar purchase is simpling the entrance fee so we can then pay them a monthly fee. Almost like a cover charge at a bar.
I had planned on playing this, but, I quess I will have to vote with my wallet and tell them NO. I'm not falling for this crap.
As long as there's a singleplay option my interest is still with them.
Played so far: 9Dragons, AO, AC, AC2, CoX, DAoC, DF, DnL, DR, DDO, Ent, EvE, EQ, EQ2, FoMK, FFO, Fury, GW, HG:L, HZ, L1, L2, M59, MU, NC1, NC2, PS, PT, R:O, RF:O, RYL, Ryzom, SL, SB, SW:G, TR, TCoS, MX:O, UO, VG, WAR, WoW...
It all sucked.
'as much as an MMO as Diablo"....
Funny, I don't remember Diablo 1 or 2 charging a monthly fee. Nor did Dungoen Siege, Sacred, NWN etc. They seemed to be able to pay for their bandwidth.
We'll see how much extra content we really get, and how much we end up paying for, ie how many expansions the game will get that we pay another charge for on top of the monthly fee.
I have no problem paying monthly fees if the game warrants it, this just seem to much like an obvious cash grab more then anything else. Oh well, we can all decide whether we buy it or not.
Doesn’t bother me. There are many reasons a small fee is a good thing.
Single player = 50$ (I guess)
Online play = 50$
Online play with updates and no cues ETC = 10$.
I don’t have a problem with this.
Just because you buy a game does not make you a Paying customer, it makes you a PAID buyer.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
----------
"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I dont see a problem with this, for one guild wars makes you pay for new expansions. This game is going to be spitting out new content every month, twice a month. Please explain to me how this is a bad idea? instead of makeing rude ignorant comments.
you paid 50 to 60$ for each "Expansion".
Im not the one getting suckerd lol.----------
"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
If ya ask me paying $50-60 for an expansion rather than playing for multiple years in a pay-per-month game is kinda the smater route if it's just as fun...
Suckering people is what ppm games is all about.
"The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency whatever to make men good reasoners." - Thomas B. Macaulay
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel J. Boorstin
Let me guess, Guild wars your first MMO (even if it isn’t an MMO)?
Sure, if you don’t like updates and new content every month, as well as gating children from playing (to a point), stable servers, and more complex and involved game play, free content, more free content ETC...
Point being, that fee pays for more than you get per expansion with guild wars.Your "issue" is pointless, as the game is still free to play, your just upset that PAYING customers my have more goodies to play with.
It has nothing to do with suckering, it has everything to do with Value.
----------
"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I don't think I am willing or ready to support what this will mean for the single player game market.
I was really looking forward to this game, however I don't think "MMO" ever came to mind when following this game, let alone "monthly fee".
Playing:I can't say
Waiting:Tabula Rasa
Played:M59,UO,EQ,AO,SWG,L2,CoX
SB,EQ2,WoW,VG:SoH,GW,AC,AC2,
DAoC,DDO,DR,EVE,FFXI,PSO,RO,
RFO,RoE,MxO,H:EoI,N2,Imagine
i would pay to play if the mmorpg was any good but so far nothing live up to what they say EQ was my first and i hoping gods and heros will be some thing new if not will will still play guild wars its not a bad game but its not the best.
If you've not swatted up on the way next-gen is going, 'premium content' is the next 'evolution' of online gaming, XBL players are already doing it, so are Wii and PS3 players, and we've already got cash shops within MMOs as it is, this is just a diffrent format to them..
Much like how AoC 'unlocks' from a 'free' singleplayer game into a MMO, HGL 'unlocks' from a single player title with a multiplayer option again to an MMO-est title exsect the diffrence between the two is that with HGL it isn't required, this is how HGL was orginally planned, it looks stunning as a 'normal' title but if you want the above you have to pay, but it's still compleatly optional and more then likly wont hinder the experience if you choose not to (unlike their 'father' who practically forced us to 'upgrade' or get stuck doing nothing)
Premium content is optional and always will be, it's your choice weather you want the added extras or not
oh and just in case you don't click the link..
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UPDATE:
Flagship Studios’ Lee Dotson has clarified the differences between subscribing and non-subscribing accounts:
So it's not as 'evil' and forceful as the orginal details made it look
Bring on the WARRRRGGHH!
Let me guess, Guild wars your first MMO (even if it isn’t an MMO)?
Sure, if you don’t like updates and new content every month, as well as gating children from playing (to a point), stable servers, and more complex and involved game play, free content, more free content ETC...
Point being, that fee pays for more than you get per expansion with guild wars.Your "issue" is pointless, as the game is still free to play, your just upset that PAYING customers my have more goodies to play with.
It has nothing to do with suckering, it has everything to do with Value. Nah, GuildWars Is my was around my 12th mmo :P
And If you didn't notice the smiley I was being sarcastic about my remark.
Also to point out, the amount of updating that goes into many mmo is rather nominal, and GuildWars just takes the approach that they release a storyline to follow along with all their major updates/upgrades, and they do frequently patch the game in-between.
Point being, that they're just using a different method to achieve the same exact thing, even if it's on a smaller scale.
Also to note, as much as one might hope, there's no such thing as actually gating a child from a game as long as parents are stupid enough to pay.
I ain't upset about shit, I'm still paying and occasionally playing CoH/V, DAoC, DDO, LotRO, Planetside, and WoW....not so much WoW anymore...
I also happen to play GW and some other small korean mmos from time to time too.
So I sure as hell am a paying customer, probably moreso than you are, or most sane people...BUT STILL!!
All I was saying was it's a matter of personal preference, if they like GuildWars just as much or more than a ppm game, then QuildWars is more cost effective. Nothing more nothing less.
EDIT: forgot to mention my EQ/2, SWG, and AC accounts...no wonder I don't have extra cash lying around often...
"The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency whatever to make men good reasoners." - Thomas B. Macaulay
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel J. Boorstin
Let me guess, Guild wars your first MMO (even if it isn’t an MMO)?
Sure, if you don’t like updates and new content every month, as well as gating children from playing (to a point), stable servers, and more complex and involved game play, free content, more free content ETC...
Point being, that fee pays for more than you get per expansion with guild wars.Your "issue" is pointless, as the game is still free to play, your just upset that PAYING customers my have more goodies to play with.
It has nothing to do with suckering, it has everything to do with Value. Nah, GuildWars Is my was around my 12th mmo :P
And If you didn't notice the smiley I was being sarcastic about my remark.
Also to point out, the amount of updating that goes into many mmo is rather nominal, and GuildWars just takes the approach that they release a storyline to follow along with all their major updates/upgrades, and they do frequently patch the game in-between.
Point being, that they're just using a different method to achieve the same exact thing, even if it's on a smaller scale.
Also to note, as much as one might hope, there's no such thing as actually gating a child from a game as long as parents are stupid enough to pay.
I ain't upset about shit, I'm still paying and occasionally playing CoH/V, DAoC, DDO, LotRO, Planetside, and WoW....not so much WoW anymore...
I also happen to play GW and some other small korean mmos from time to time too.
So I sure as hell am a paying customer, probably moreso than you are, or most sane people...BUT STILL!!
All I was saying was it's a matter of personal preference, if they like GuildWars just as much or more than a ppm game, then QuildWars is more cost effective. Nothing more nothing less.
EDIT: forgot to mention my EQ/2, SWG, and AC accounts...no wonder I don't have extra cash lying around often...
My list is about that long, as far as current subs.
Anyway i agree.
EDIT: Seems when I replied, I thought you were that other poster, my bad, you can ignore about 90% of that lol
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
you paid 50 to 60$ for each "Expansion".
Im not the one getting suckerd lol. i didnt buy any guild wars expansion...so you aint got a foot to stand on there...your going to pay money for a game that is essentially off-line....i guess you can feel that your better than everyone by doing this...whatever turns you on, if you are refering to me as that other poster..no guildwars wasnt my first mmo and there was no queues for diablo... which came out years ago, so why now in the year 2007 will non paying people have to queue up to play a game they already bought....this is just a money racket and aslong as people buy into these marketing scams the more money we are going to have to pay in futrure mmo's.