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why is guild wars free?
binary_0011
Member Posts: 528
in Guild Wars
as above.
aren't they losing money if it is free?
Comments
im guessing they hope the fact that there is no monthly fee will attract many people who dont have a credit card or just simply dont want to pay $15 every month. They will probably end up having to release mandatory expansion packs every now and then to cover their running costs.
Make of it what you will.
That is what I was wondering as well.
However, what I do know is this. They will be publishing expansion packs to add new chapters to the games. The games are thought to run between 30-50 dollars (general consensus). Even if they put out 2 expansions per year, and assuming 50 dollars per expansion, that is only 100 per year. EQ2 and WoW run about 19 or so dollars per month. For ease, round it to 20 dollars. Multiply that by 12 months and it works out to 240 dollars per year. Even though you have to buy regular expansion packs, you still could end up saving 140 dollars per year. That of course assumes regular expansion packs and a price comparable to the purchase price of the game. But if you have even 10,000 users paying 100/year that is still about 1,000,000 (10,000 users multiply by 100 dollars for 2 exp packs/year) per year in income. Which isn't anything to shake a stick at.
They may even have some sort of deal set-up with internet providers to get dirt cheap rates on bandwidth. Or they may have their own leased lines into their server farms, so they pay very little for bandwidth.
That is my best guesses.
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*EDIT* Fixed some spelling errors missed by spell-checker
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I don't know if you have played it or not, but my opinion, it is better then EQ2 and WoW. I've even had some friends play the BWEs and they are switching away from those games (and others) as well.
And the game isn't free. You have to buy the game, and then the expansion packs.
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** I removed Palanco's signature block to save space **
I heard a great quote a long time ago... "Unsubstantiated opinions are like arm pits. Everyone has two of them, and they both stink."
I agree with you (as you can tell). If someone feels that something isn't very good, at least provide examples of how the game sucks. And don't compare it to other free games. That's like saying apples are gross because oranges are. Play the game, try it out, and then tell us why it sucks, and what sucks. Don't just say it sucks. Another great quote, "One person's trash is another persons treasure."
Opinions are respected as long as they don't try to force people to think it, or just say "X" sucks.
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Ramadin,
I do respect your post and I'm certainly not going to judge someone's opinion based on 2 short lines, but in what capacity have you played this game so far?
If capacity is too fancy of a word, what layers or range of specific features have you made yourself familialized with?
Or should I say...do I have to make customary to reply every times someone makes a post like this?
Here is one thing I won't do:
That is letting A to judge B.
A.
B.
This guy is known as world's best player of baduk, weiqi (9 DAN).
If you've posted it in every thread, then it really shouldn't have to be repeated, because we should all know why. But not everyone reads ever single post since the GW section began. And no one should have to, just because one person wants to make a generalization without backing it up. If it has already been posted in "every thread" why post it again? Everyone should get your point from every other thread that you posted in. So, essentially, bringing it up again, is just a waste of time and space.
Most people don't memorize every thread, and I personally won't waste the time to track down someone else's previous posts just to see why they say what they do. An opinion of "it sucks" doesn't really accomplish anything, but get people ready for flaming. Aside from the fact that it is a waste of a post, it's a waste of time for everyone reading it.
No one should have to research why a person thinks the way they do. If they don't say anything no one will ask. If they do, they will ask. If you aren't going to explain your opinion, then save us all the time of posting that kind of generalization. We don't come to this forum to read "This game sucks." We come to chat about the game, and help other people with their questions, and ask our own. If you don't like it, great. Don't waste our time telling us you don't like it. Find a game you do, and post productively on that site.
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Sure it may only be 10%, but Im not talking about the amount of content. Im talking about game mechanics. Aside from that, why anyone would temporarily release a crappy unfinished game for people to play, knowing full well that first impressions are everything and that will likely be the determining factor on purchases. Im sorry but its just too dumbed down.
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A simple question was asked, and you didn't answer it.
I thought the question was "why is Guild Wars free?"
Guild Wars "sucking" is not a justification for how the creators plan to fund ongoing development and upkeep costs after the first mass amount of people have bought their copies.
I doubt there have been any free MMOs with bigger budgets than this, charging $0 monthly for this game (to regain that development cost and continue developing) because "it sucks" and nobody will buy it otherwise just doesn't cut it as an answer, sorry.
Oh, so you are stupid enough to not realise that this was a BETA EVENT you played, a process to help developers find BUGS and PROBLEMS in the game and fix them. Gameplay and game engine were not complete since that is the main idea, get it? Your opinion therefore has zero weight since you didn't even care to understand exactly what and why you were playing - it wasn't for your silly amusement, it was for people who tried to help developers create a perfect game. Get lost now, go back and bend for Blizzard.
A simple question was asked, and you didn't answer it.
I thought the question was "why is Guild Wars free?"
Guild Wars "sucking" is not a justification for how the creators plan to fund ongoing development and upkeep costs after the first mass amount of people have bought their copies.
I doubt there have been any free MMOs with bigger budgets than this, charging $0 monthly for this game (to regain that development cost and continue developing) because "it sucks" and nobody will buy it otherwise just doesn't cut it as an answer, sorry.
OK then let me clarify for you simple minded people. Its free because no one would pay a fee to play this game and/or its geared more towards kids who dont have a credit card to pay monthly fees. Basically Diablo in 3D.
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It's called not having to pay 49.99ish to buy a game and then over 200 dollars per year in subscription fees. It's called a good marketing strategy because that is what a lot of people complain about online games. That is a small fortune for someone that doesn't play all the time. If you only play a few hours a week, why should you pay over $200 a year?
If you had actually played this game you would see that it is not like Diablo or Diablo 2. Sure it has some similarities (but how many games don't have some concepts from there?), but it is nothing like a hack-n-slash game. The object isn't to just run around killing anything and everything. If NPCs die, it will alter your game as you play. Some missions have NPCs that come and fight with you. That NPC will no longer exist in the game in your players world. Which is the beauty of instanced games. The world changes as you make decisions and as people live/die. I have never seen that yet in Diablo. This game, if properly implemented and designed, will far outshine all other online games.
And I suppose now that Anarchy Online is free for the basic client, it means that it is designed for kids, and is basically diablo in 3D as well? Interestingly, I do happen to own Diablo and Diablo 2, and they ARE what I would consider as 3D games. They definitely aren't 2D. 2D requires a linear type view/movement, as there is only 2 dimensions. I distinctly remember being able to move left/right and up/down and diagonally in the game.
And I know a lot of people that are excited about the release date for this game. Which also shows you haven't read and/or posted in "every thread" as you claimed earlier. Otherwise you would see there are a lot of people excited about the game. And not all are kids. There are many many guilds (some of which prohibit young players) waiting for this game to come out. So please spare us your obviously useless generalizations, and made up on-the-fly facts.
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the questions is all games should be free with no monthly fees it dont cost that much to keep a server up a few comps..
In theory that is true. However, the servers used in MMOGs are quite a bit more expensive than regular games. They have multiple processors, huge amounts of RAM, and lots of massive hard drives. Plus they have to have large backup capabilities in case the servers crash.
They also have to pay for bandwidth for people to connect. The ISPs charge them, albeit it is pretty cheap, as they buy in large bulk amounts. Plus they have to upgrade servers when parts fail, or to keep up with the demand. People also have to be paid to maintain the hardware, as well as the devs to keep the software working, and fix bugs as they appear. The initial startup costs for an online game start at least a million dollars or more to buy the hardware, and all the years of programming the game. Most MMOGs are in development for at least 1-2 years before release, often more than that. Very few games actually make a profit in the first year or two after release. Big games like EQ2 and WoW made most of it back pretty quick, and will continue to do so with the high monthly fees.
And then on top of all that, they have to pay devs and graphics staff to continue producing monthly updates, and new expansion pack content (which is inevitable in almost any online game). Sure they do make a lot of money, but they also take a huge risk with millions of dollars to see if they can get a popular game.
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lol i know well its cool they dont anyways cause its free
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Change my mind so much I can't even trust it
My mind change me so much I can't even trust myself
wtf is with the japs in picture
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Change my mind so much I can't even trust it
My mind change me so much I can't even trust myself
the people at guild wars no that this game is going to be successful becus of how people talk about it. It is extremely unique so more people will play thus getting them alot of money. I luv the idea and i probs will play ive got to say, at least for a bit
Toughest rater in the world
Try to impress me, please, i dare u
Toughest rater in the world
Try to impress me, please, i dare u
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_____~~KEL~~______
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Change my mind so much I can't even trust it
My mind change me so much I can't even trust myself
bump
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_____~~KEL~~______
___________________
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Change my mind so much I can't even trust it
My mind change me so much I can't even trust myself
Dude if your mad at the fact that alot of people from teen to adult are going to be playing a no monthly fee game, and your going to continue paying for the one your playing and maybe see the population decline then tell whoever is running the game your playing that you want a no monthly fee.
Join the Revolution GUILD WARS!!!!!!!!!
Evil will always triumph because good is dumb....