Ybarra revealed that the Cheyenne has four active studios, and that Stargate Worldsisn't the only MMO in development. He didn't offer many details about the other title, except to say that it's "considerably less in scope" and that it uses a free-to-play/microtransactions model. Seems like everyone is going that direction these days. http://www.massively.com/tag/microtransactions/
So i don't think SGW is heading to be a micro transaction game, but their other projects will go that way.
One less game to keep track of, now. *sigh* The list keeps shrinking.
I'm a bit surprised by your reply Zorvan. For as long as I've been reading your post on these forums. You've always come off, as a pretty level headed person. I'm surprised you aren't at the very least willing to try it before passing judgment on it.
Yeah, I went back and re-read it. If it's done in a way such as Anarchy Online does theirs', I may be okay with it. So I won't condemn 'em right off the bat, but they have dropped a notch at least until we see what they really do.
Edit: Just seen your post, Reklaw. That makes it seem a little better for SGW, at least.
If I read every post here noone likes the idea of a "microtransaction" system in Stargate Worlds. But I don't really care. I know, games with micro transactions have a younger community, and sometime people who invest alot in the game will become better than you although you are many levels higher then him. But look at my thoughts now. So you guys want to spnd $15 on a MMORPG every month. OK. If you would invest that money in SG: W you would become a very good player. You will level faster get to know people faster, explore the world faster,... So you got your items bought in the item mall and you are in a Highlevel area. Now you will not get bothered by the 10 years old.
What I want to say is; normally P2P games have the best community, graphics,... but that doesn't mean those other games suck.
Reason is simple if its pretty good people will pay in advance. (Aka. Wow, lotro, cox, doac, eq , etc).
Otehr reasons would be like small world or less deep game play that is fun and good, but rather shallow in the long run. Which doesn't make the game not fun , just not worth $15 a month.
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
Ybarra revealed that the Cheyenne has four active studios, and that Stargate Worldsisn't the only MMO in development. He didn't offer many details about the other title, except to say that it's "considerably less in scope" and that it uses a free-to-play/microtransactions model. Seems like everyone is going that direction these days. http://www.massively.com/tag/microtransactions/
So i don't think SGW is heading to be a micro transaction game, but their other projects will go that way.
They haven't announced any business plan for SGW as far as I know. All it does is confirm that the other title will be f2p
Here is the quote you all seemed to of skipped. The second game which he is not willing to discuss content is f2P with micro transactions.
"Well in the case of our second product, which is what we're discussing -- our free-to-play product -- yeah, it's been architected from the ground up to support that activity."
SGW is their 1st product and the mystery game F2P microtransaction is their second. The company was started because of SGW the name of the company is a clear indication that SGW is their 1st game.
"The liberties and resulting economic prosperity that YOU take for granted were granted by those "dead guys"
Here is the quote you all seemed to of skipped. The second game which he is not willing to discuss content is f2P with micro transactions. I think the majority of people (myself included) just over-reacted when first reading the article and seeing the words "microtransactions" directly under a screenshot of Stargate Worlds. It doesn't help that on the official SGW site it still states:
"The pricing strategy and structure [of Stargate Worlds] has not yet been finalized. We are in pre-production with this game and when the game is closer to launch our publishers will establish pricing at which point it will be announced."
Which doesn't rule out the possibility of it being f2p with microtransactions. All we can really do is wait and see; but I imagine that their choice of pricing strategy could strongly affect their chances of a succesful game.
This is really too bad if it's true. Here's the deal with subscription vs. microtransactions:
In a subscription game the developer is working to make the game as good as possible to keep you subscribing.
In a microtransaction/item mall game the developer is making the game suck unless you buy items from the item mall.
It's all in the mindset. I'd rather have developers who work to make the game as good as possible instead of developers that spend time crippling gameplay unless you buy items.
Also, I'm pretty sure that item mall games end up being *more* expensive than monthly subscription games.
I think I'll paint my boat black and have black sails on it.
"OMG YOU'RE A PIRATE!!!!"
Actually, no, I just thought it was cool looking....
Micro transaction is not a bad idea and I'll gladly pay for a premium service if the game is good. I'm a paying customer on Mabinogi and it's as much fun as paying 15$ per month on any other MMO. Just wait and see because so far, the devs at CM are going a great job. Go listen to the audio interview on the site... if what they say is true (which is not far fetch) then wow...
It sounds like he is a 'producer' versus a developer. So he's a money man. A suit. The enemy. And Matrix Online is nothing to be proud of. It's just another amazing, awesome IP that got pissed away...
The first problem I see with free to play and microtransaction is you are not going to get the box sale. So assuming you sell a million boxes at $50 bucks a pop, that's $50 million dollars they lose right off the bat. Putting monetary value on ingame objects and game money means they can probably be taxed by the government. That's a whole other can of worms I'd rather not open. Also, the game no longer becomes about who has great skill or how much time they invest but about how big there wallet is.
I would think month to month revenue would fluctuate more than companies that charge month to month or give 3 month or even 6 month special rates. So probably they would have to have ingame advertising too.
I just think it's the wrong way to go. Maybe instead of screwing up another cool IP like Stargate, he could help fix Matrix Online.
To sell a game at Best Buy you have to manufacture the box, burn the CD and package it, distribute it and then sell it to Best Buy. I am not sure what the going markup is, but I imagine its about 25% for the retailer, so the developer/distributor may be squabbling over $30 per sale on a new game.
I doubt the micro transactions revenue fluctuate significantly more than the revenue streams for a monthly fee game. A given player may spend $20 one month and none the next, but when you aggregate tens of thousands of players, these things tend to even out.
Besides the negative conotation that comes with the F2P MT games is the ability to have parents let their kids play. I think an average parent will be much happier dropping a sure $14.95 a month on a WoW subscription than giving their kid the 'open checkbook' ability the MT system requires.
Mmm .. microtransactions, reminds me of those little Korean martial art games, buy a potion here, a booster there, the odd piece of gear too. Anything with microtransasctions are tainted. Indeed it ensures the company continues money, simply because there are people .. out there who are strive to buy advantages over other players, hell wouldn't be surprised if they started selling ingame money in these little malls.
Any decent game that goes F2p is simply utter rubbish and has little or no future, developers will only concentrate on make items instead of making new content. Don't get me wrong there are some nice little f2p games about, but anything with microtransactions.. i simply don't touch.
An epic game like stargate could never go f2p.. i mean like its stargate! o.O then again PotC went free and well we know how that turned out..
I think subscriptions are best way to go, perhaps buy additional expansions and content, I don't mind paying for quality, but i certainly wouldn't pay for items.
one last note, seriously read the entire interview. No one said that SGW was going to be a micro transaction plan. From what I see, the official info is that the game is a boxed game. Does this mean that it's going to be following the footsteps of Guild wars with a micro transaction involed?
Who knows...
However, no one ever said that SGW was officially going to be a F2P game. As far as i'm concerned, they are looking at the various business models available today.
Comments
JY: Well in the case of our second product which is NOT SGW, which is what we're discussing -- our free-to-play product -- http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3587/y_control_joe_ybarra_on_cheyenne_.php?page=3
Ybarra revealed that the Cheyenne has four active studios, and that Stargate Worlds isn't the only MMO in development. He didn't offer many details about the other title, except to say that it's "considerably less in scope" and that it uses a free-to-play/microtransactions model. Seems like everyone is going that direction these days. http://www.massively.com/tag/microtransactions/
So i don't think SGW is heading to be a micro transaction game, but their other projects will go that way.
I'm a bit surprised by your reply Zorvan. For as long as I've been reading your post on these forums. You've always come off, as a pretty level headed person. I'm surprised you aren't at the very least willing to try it before passing judgment on it.
Yeah, I went back and re-read it. If it's done in a way such as Anarchy Online does theirs', I may be okay with it. So I won't condemn 'em right off the bat, but they have dropped a notch at least until we see what they really do.
Edit: Just seen your post, Reklaw. That makes it seem a little better for SGW, at least.
Hi,
If I read every post here noone likes the idea of a "microtransaction" system in Stargate Worlds. But I don't really care. I know, games with micro transactions have a younger community, and sometime people who invest alot in the game will become better than you although you are many levels higher then him. But look at my thoughts now. So you guys want to spnd $15 on a MMORPG every month. OK. If you would invest that money in SG: W you would become a very good player. You will level faster get to know people faster, explore the world faster,... So you got your items bought in the item mall and you are in a Highlevel area. Now you will not get bothered by the 10 years old.
What I want to say is; normally P2P games have the best community, graphics,... but that doesn't mean those other games suck.
Greetz2Z
Free does = pretty bad.
Reason is simple if its pretty good people will pay in advance. (Aka. Wow, lotro, cox, doac, eq , etc).
Otehr reasons would be like small world or less deep game play that is fun and good, but rather shallow in the long run. Which doesn't make the game not fun , just not worth $15 a month.
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
JY: Well in the case of our second product which is NOT SGW, which is what we're discussing -- our free-to-play product -- http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3587/y_control_joe_ybarra_on_cheyenne_.php?page=3
Ybarra revealed that the Cheyenne has four active studios, and that Stargate Worlds isn't the only MMO in development. He didn't offer many details about the other title, except to say that it's "considerably less in scope" and that it uses a free-to-play/microtransactions model. Seems like everyone is going that direction these days. http://www.massively.com/tag/microtransactions/
So i don't think SGW is heading to be a micro transaction game, but their other projects will go that way.
They haven't announced any business plan for SGW as far as I know. All it does is confirm that the other title will be f2p
Here is the quote you all seemed to of skipped. The second game which he is not willing to discuss content is f2P with micro transactions.
"Well in the case of our second product, which is what we're discussing -- our free-to-play product -- yeah, it's been architected from the ground up to support that activity."
SGW is their 1st product and the mystery game F2P microtransaction is their second. The company was started because of SGW the name of the company is a clear indication that SGW is their 1st game.
"The liberties and resulting economic prosperity that YOU take for granted were granted by those "dead guys"
This is really too bad if it's true. Here's the deal with subscription vs. microtransactions:
In a subscription game the developer is working to make the game as good as possible to keep you subscribing.
In a microtransaction/item mall game the developer is making the game suck unless you buy items from the item mall.
It's all in the mindset. I'd rather have developers who work to make the game as good as possible instead of developers that spend time crippling gameplay unless you buy items.
Also, I'm pretty sure that item mall games end up being *more* expensive than monthly subscription games.
I think I'll paint my boat black and have black sails on it.
"OMG YOU'RE A PIRATE!!!!"
Actually, no, I just thought it was cool looking....
Micro transaction is not a bad idea and I'll gladly pay for a premium service if the game is good. I'm a paying customer on Mabinogi and it's as much fun as paying 15$ per month on any other MMO. Just wait and see because so far, the devs at CM are going a great job. Go listen to the audio interview on the site... if what they say is true (which is not far fetch) then wow...
One less game to worry about...
"One word, Thundercougarfalconbird."
To sell a game at Best Buy you have to manufacture the box, burn the CD and package it, distribute it and then sell it to Best Buy. I am not sure what the going markup is, but I imagine its about 25% for the retailer, so the developer/distributor may be squabbling over $30 per sale on a new game.
I doubt the micro transactions revenue fluctuate significantly more than the revenue streams for a monthly fee game. A given player may spend $20 one month and none the next, but when you aggregate tens of thousands of players, these things tend to even out.
Besides the negative conotation that comes with the F2P MT games is the ability to have parents let their kids play. I think an average parent will be much happier dropping a sure $14.95 a month on a WoW subscription than giving their kid the 'open checkbook' ability the MT system requires.
Mmm .. microtransactions, reminds me of those little Korean martial art games, buy a potion here, a booster there, the odd piece of gear too. Anything with microtransasctions are tainted. Indeed it ensures the company continues money, simply because there are people .. out there who are strive to buy advantages over other players, hell wouldn't be surprised if they started selling ingame money in these little malls.
Any decent game that goes F2p is simply utter rubbish and has little or no future, developers will only concentrate on make items instead of making new content. Don't get me wrong there are some nice little f2p games about, but anything with microtransactions.. i simply don't touch.
An epic game like stargate could never go f2p.. i mean like its stargate! o.O then again PotC went free and well we know how that turned out..
I think subscriptions are best way to go, perhaps buy additional expansions and content, I don't mind paying for quality, but i certainly wouldn't pay for items.
one last note, seriously read the entire interview. No one said that SGW was going to be a micro transaction plan. From what I see, the official info is that the game is a boxed game. Does this mean that it's going to be following the footsteps of Guild wars with a micro transaction involed?
Who knows...
However, no one ever said that SGW was officially going to be a F2P game. As far as i'm concerned, they are looking at the various business models available today.