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Anarchy Online: No Subscription Fees!
RJCox
Member Posts: 2,686
You can visit the official Anarchy Online site by clicking HERE.
Anarchy Online without subscription fees!
Groundbreaking move as first major western live MMO switches to no subscription fees
Hi everybody and welcome to the holiday edition of the AO newsletter. As you can see from the heading of this newsletter we have some groundbreaking news to bring forth in this issue. Before we move on to this historical change for AO we would like to remind all our active players to update their account e-mail address as we are sending out a holiday gift later this week. We would also like to mention that existing users can take advantage of this offer, but ONLY if you start a new account.
So, what is this all about then? We bring some excerpts from the press release to fill you in on the details:
In a unique move Funcom is removing all cost barriers in the ultimate sci-fi MMORPG, allowing all new players to enter and stay, free of cost! At the same time Funcom is departing from the obligatory need to register with a credit card, making for an easier entrance and registration process.
In an increasingly competitive market for fantasy MMO games, Anarchy Online stands out as the superior alternative if you like online RPGs and sci-fi. Not only will this new and totally free approach allow everyone tired of elves, fairies and gnomes to enter a futuristic RPG world full of fun action, it will also make it possible for those who are sci-fi fans to explore a world hailed and rewarded as the best sci-fi MMO available today.
"Funcom has always been recognized as an inventive MMO developer. This unique move will allow us to test important new business models prior to announcing future online games, while also giving everyone the chance to experience the best online sci-fi RPG totally free of cost" said Trond Arne Aas, President and CEO of Funcom.
"We feel very confident in the unique features and heralded qualities of our game, and are now openly inviting everyone playing MMO's to find out what Anarchy Online is all about, completely free of commitment" said Ole Schreiner, Project Director for Anarchy Online. "Not only can we boast of a fantastic game which has been expanding for years, we are also constantly adding exciting new content, progressively making the ultimate sci-fi MMORPG even better."
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As mentioned existing users can also take advantage of this offer, but ONLY if you start a new account. In order to take advantage of the completely free offer you need to sign up a new Anarchy Online account between the 15th of December 2004 and 15th of January 2005. Once you have done so you can play free of charge until 1/1 2006. Other restrictions and conditions may apply. See registration information for details. We would also like to add that the free version does not include access to any of the three expansion packs. Should you wish to upgrade to any of the expansion packs regular monthly subscription and client fees will be added.
Santa comes early to Rubi-Ka this year, so make sure you alert all your friends and family about this amazing offer which is ending on the 15th of January.
All that remains is to wish everybody a happy holidays and a peaceful new year. See you on Rubi-Ka!
Best regards
The Anarchy Online Team
------- Desolation Guild Leader ----- Desolation Guild Website -------
Richard J. Cox
"There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust."
Comments
Hmm, doesn't include any of the expansions (understandable), and if you want to add the expansions you have to start paying monthly fees again.
I won't lie to you, this is hot. I just want to know how FunCom plans to make money off of this? I played their free trials in the past, so I know that I'd definitely buy the expansions if I got into the game, but this seems like it will decrease demand for the expansions if users have to start paying $15 a month in addition to the purchase price when they can get the basic experience for free. Player cities and all that is awesome and is often worth $10-$30 to purchase, but I don't know if many people would pay that plus extra subscriptions.
Maybe they're hoping to get people addicted to the free and then start charging.
Anyway, I hope I didn't sound like I was complaining, because this is an awesome offer; I'm just wondering where they're going with this.
True, but since its only for a year it shouldnt be too big a loss for them. Plus, existing players are probably enough of a profit for them; i doubt a significant number of them would give up their longtime hi-lvl chars and cancel their accounts and sign up for a free one and lose out on all 3 expansions, JUST for the sake of having a yr free. GREAT promotional tool. I will definitely be checking this out (and using my full year of time
) and if i like it, they cna count me in as a subscriber.
Edit: i think of it not so much as 'OMG 1 year free!!!' but as a simple and natural extension of the 'free time' idea, where new mmo accounts get a certain amount of time free before the monthly fee kicks in, just with the idea of not purchasing the software thrown in (which when you think of it isnt really that big since the original AO software is what? $10?).
I just signed up for it and am downloading the installer thru the bit-torrent link.
After reading through everything, looks like it is free until January 16, 2006 - but only the basic game. You have to buy the expansions if you choose to.
Great idea. All MMORPG's should have a free server for people to sample the game before asking them for a credit card.
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Played- Runescape, Conquer
Tested- EQ, RYL, Freeworld
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Played- Runescape, Conquer
Tested- EQ, RYL, Freeworld
just another sign that what was one the best game available is dying at last. I played and loved this game for years, and when I went back last month to see how things were going, the population was a weak shadow of what it once was.
Instead of expansion packs, they should be working on Anarchy 2, IMO.
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ummmm.......
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I always wanted to try out AO!! Man this is awesome, all mmorpgs should do this :P
Banzai!
Wow, great move by Funcom. I won't by surprised if other games start doing this too. A very good move and I hope it pays off for them.
playing with poor people w/o credit cards sucks....they're the lowest form of gamer; the open-beta broke ass gamer....they obviously have bad communication skills; cuz they dont have a job, are scared to ask their parents for $10 on their credit card, wont work or do something around the house to make $10 to play, or whatever....
poor AO, whats their next move?
Or maybe theyr parent dont want to let him pay things over the internet because tehy thinks its not safe....
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Played- Runescape, Conquer
Tested- EQ, RYL, Freeworld
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Played- Runescape, Conquer
Tested- EQ, RYL, Freeworld
Or maybe they don't think paying for a game is worth it. Or simply want to try out a game without having to put out their personal information. There are plenty of reason why people would rather try out without putting in credit card information or bother trying to ask their parents. A person doesn't have to be poor.
Or maybe they just don't want to play with people like you due to how you think and act. Why would they want to put up with that nonsense.
Well I think its great.
Anarchy was my first mmorpg and i really loved it at first sight. Sadly I dont play anymore, but who knows, maybe ill give another go?
thats bullshit and irrational thinking, if people use credit cards at stores and other real world situations its basically the same thing- people can steal yur credit card number at gas stations or at the mall too....
bad communication skills....they should explain to their parents that its a secure transaction because its a legal company, its just like buying something at electronic boutiques.....
In War - Victory.
In Peace - Vigilance.
In Death - Sacrifice.
For the year or so that I played, Anarchy Online stands out as the best MMO I played. Unfortunately, Shadowlands split the player population, and from that point, the community has been in a state of decline. I'd love to play AO again, but every time I try and go back, it's worse off than before. I'd really like to see AO turn around with this, but I honestly doubt it.
AO still is a top game, and unlike most free MMO's its a first class tier 1 title. Im sure when word gets out on sites like onrpg etc, that a lot of people are gonna try it. Lets hope it builds the population on Rubi-Ka because as many people have stated, Shadowlands tended to split the community although i would have thought its better now considering travel between the two areas is easier now than when it was introduced.
If you havent played it, you really should do yourself a favour.
omg, i did just delete the game :X
Exactly, so if they can, they will avoid submitting out their credit card information to 1 more place to prevent credit card theft. The less places the CC is, the better, no?
Anywho, I love this idea, I always wanted to try their free trials, but because of the whole credit card thing, I couldn't but now I can, and for a nice long year. I think this might be either a great move by Funcom, drawing in more subscribers in, or a bad move, costing them a lot of money. This decision is a risk like most other decisions out there, and hopefully this will be a good move for them. Who knows, I might be tempted to subscribe with them if I find AO appealing to me.
I think its great. One advantage I see is it will increase the population in the Non SL areas. IMHO that is the best part of the game. SL did split the population. At least the new people that use this offer will not be HECKLER NOOBS !!!
Nice move Funcom.
I work my ass off. I work 5 days in the week for school. so i do not earn money with that. and 1 day in the week on my free saterday to earn some extra money. So not everyone one can afford a creditcard. And who says all parent can afford a creditcard? What you do is dicrimination and it annoying.
Read,
The little lttrs
"You can play free of charge until 1/1 2006. Should Funcom deem that a too high-increase in server load or other unforeseen events will lessen the experience for existing players the offer will be terminated at our discretion."
most likely next month they say the server upload was to high
Funcom
One of the few game developers from my own country. And a damn good one!
Sadly I don't like AO....
I've never paid for any mmorpg game because i don't think they're worth it, however, i enjoy helping in trying to create a better game. BTW, i do have a credit card (four in fact). Have you ever stopped to consider that there are those gamers who don't pay for a subscription because they don't really see the point in wasting close to 500-600 bucks a year on gaming (if they subscribe to more than one MMORPG) and might use that for *shock* actual vacations outdoors?