Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
General: Three Reasons Subscription Isn't Dying
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
In this week's column, Richard Aihoshi looks at the state of the other major MMOG business model, then provides an unusual tale from the development side.
In this week's column, Richard Aihoshi looks at the state of the other major MMOG business model, then provides an unusual tale from the development side
Subscription isn't dying.
No ifs, ands, buts or other qualifiers. MMO gamers who prefer to pay for their fun via flat monthly fees won't run out of options any time soon. Not gonna happen. In some corners, it's popular to set up an either/or dichotomy where the free to play and subscription models are in direct competition such that the success and growth of one can only come at the expense of the other. That's just not so.
And it's not what's happening. Although F2P is on the upswing, that doesn't mean the subscription segment is in decline. Indeed, there are strong reasons to believe it's in good shape and will remain so.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
Kind of irrelevant, but it's "dying", not "dieing". As for the article, couldn't agree more. Nice read.
I have 3 reasons too why subscription isn't gonna die, at least not in the near future.
1. SW tor
2. FFXIV
3. Tera
Let's make it 4
4. Rift
Even if only one of these games would deliver what it promised than I'll be a happy p2p player for a couple of years.
one and the most impòrtant f2p dont suit for all kind of games and for a sandbox pvp game f2p is retarded
BestSigEver :P
I agree with Aioshi,
Western players do not like F2P, of course it might happen that they play them sometimes (I did few times) but generally that's not the case.
And let's face it, only failing MMOs go F2P, do not kid ourselves.
A MMO is alive only if there are other people playing it, and for some games the only way you can increase the population is by making it free and set up a cash shop to make a bit of money out of it.
Decent western MMOs should not have F2P..............they need to make better MMO, tha's it.
If a new game can get 1 Million subs (which is just a fraction of WoW), that would mean 120 Million a year in income (+ Expansions).
I doubt you can achieve that with Cash Shops, you will need 10 millions players to get the same amount, since only 1 in 10 will use the cash shops, the rest will play for free.
Gee, Aioshi found out ranting that F2P is the inevitable future whether we want it or not and insulting anyone who didn't see it his way failed so hard he now has to admit defeat by backtracking and basically saying "Wait, subs aren't dying after all." lol
Least he finally wrote something I can agree with.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
Great article, Richard.
Informational, gives some good insight, lays out some facts and even adds an entertaining (and very insightful) anecdote at the end.
I agree (and selfishly, I hope :-p) that P2P isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. I also agree that F2P will settle in and find its place among MMOs as an option in the West. I think it already has made significant movement in that direction with Turbine's Hybrid setup, which is a far more "Western Friendly" setup than a straight F2P/MT setup common in the Eastern regions.
Ultimately, as what I would consider the best possible compromise between both worlds - is if all MMOs were to implement something akin to Turbine's hybrid model - where you either pay for everything as a flat-fee subscription, or buy content piece-meal, as you go - I think that would be great. Subscription *or* Microtransactions. Choose your plan. Switch between them as necessary.
The only thing influencing anyone's decision to play a MMO or not should have to do with the game itself; whether or not it appeals to them, if their system can handle it, perhaps regional restrictions... etc. etc. Neither payment method gets any more or less, nor better or worse content than the other, the only difference is how the content is acquired/purchased.
The only thing I would hope for in such a hybrid model on the P2P side is for my purchase and subscription to earn me the ability to disable anything to do with a cash shop, microtransactions, Turbine Points (or their equivalent from other developers), or anything like that. Just let me focus and immerse myself in the game world and what I'm doing in it. I don't need to know that I can buy some item for 300 points if I've already purchased that content via a sub setup. If I want to re-enable the cash shop for whatever reason, fine. I can choose to do so. But give me the option to disable it as well.
If we can find a balance that truly caters to *both* sides of the fence, with neither side gaining any advantage or additional value over the other, I'd be a happy camper.
In any case...
Again, great article. Look forward to more industry anecdotes (I love that kinda stuff).
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Apparently columnists don't have to spell check.
I live in Canada and started on MMOs with Everquest.
I feel that a game that is completely free does not have what it takes to offer expansions and new content
And when it's store based... well it's not really F2P and really you gotta spend to keep up with others so... not a fan
I feel that the standard sub mode puts everyone on equal footing.
monthly sub games are one blizzard F2P game away from extinction. its a less profitable model, and the loudmouth gamers who are now swearing they will never play F2P have lost their credability swearing off every other game in history and then playing it anyway.
you guys can keep up stamping your feet in protest and pretending that "western" gamers dont like F2P. it wont do you any good when big budget games start getting designed from the ground up on the F2P model. trying to compare the current slowass time wasting sub model games to F2P cant be done unless you are allowing for the entire structure of gaming to be redefined.
either way, this gaggle of gamers who attaches real life achievment with gaining levels is about to be forced out. time to adapt or find a new hobby.
i wonder which mmorpg.com blogger will do a write up on how they think F2P games wont dominate the market next?
sub games are as good as dead when they add a cash shop on top of their sub fees
just wish instead of a cash shop when they want to make extra money they would actually offer real world items for sale - tee shirts and the like
Good article, interesting read and nice anecdote.
The F2P market is flooded and getting more so everyday, it seems like every week there's a new closed beta of another translation hitting the interwebz. It's bound to collapse in on itself sooner or later, it might (just might, I'm not too optimistic) lead to some better and more inline with sub models pricing for cash shop items, or it will lead to a plethora of poorly maintained, poorly populated titles just grabbing what they can while they can. I have far more hope for the hybrid model where players have the choice of a flat subscription or the choice to buy the content they need/want when they need it which is very well suited to the casual player.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that Hybrid, Sub or B2P (GW) are probably the preferred models in the western market, two of those have subs so yes I doubt the sub model is going anywhere fast.
I do have concerns about subs + cash shops, the sub should cover everything, even 'fluff', I'm put off by the mixing of both and see that as nothing short of pure greed, for a hybrid model to work for me it would need to be one or the other, not a mixture of both.
The problem with F2P are the communities. Mature players do not want to go to games that are filled with 15-25 year old kiddies running wild without adult supervision. The difference between the 2 communities is as different as the 10 year gap in average age. F2P are made up of young players with little understanding of how to play MMOs or MMO ettiquette, they are unable to speak anything but jibberish, these games are not enfoced and exploits run wild. Until F2P games can find a way to discipline and control the children there will never be a market for them.
Sorry but I had to laugh through most of this post. Have you ever played an F2P that wasn't geares towards kids? Perhaps you're right when it comes to those "kiddy" games, but there are plenty of other types of F2Ps out there which are more geared for adults, and theyre not loaded with kids . From my experience in the F2Ps that I play, the average age tends to be anywhere between 20-40, with quite a few that ive played with in their 40s and 50s. Then again, I tend to stay away from games which are specifically designed to be enjoyed by children and teens... I suppose if you wanted to stay away from little kids you might try the same.
I find it especially funny that the pinnacle of immature and childish communities is the most popular P2P game WoW. How can you seriously sit here and try to belittle F2P games based on how childish people are, when the P2P with the most western subscribers is usually considered to be the worst & most childish community of all MMORPGs? Pricing model has nothing to do with it.
The exception proves the rule.
Not really an exception, just the most obvious example of what the norm is. It wasn't always that way, but it has become pretty standard with the majority of MMOs that they're going to be loaded with plenty of little kids, asshats, and exploiters. P2P or F2P makes no difference. Just a couple other examples which are newer than WoW...
Darkfall = lots of talk about how bad the community is there (though some positive too). Yeah yeah i know "But thats a PvP game blah blah blah" doesnt change that it's P2P.
LOTRO = lots of talk about how "mature" the community there is, which is usually true, but many of these self proclaimed "mature" players are also some of the most anti-social (outside of their own little private clique), tantrum throwing bigots ive ever seen in an MMO. Very middle/high schoolish with the whole "You're not part of our little club, we hate you even though we know nothing about you except that youre not a clone of us" attitude.
The list could go on and on... but you see my point. WoW USED to be an exception, but that's no longer true. Perhap's it is because of WoWs success and the people it brought into playing MMOs, but regardless the overall community aspect of nearly every game has gotten way less mature. As I said, pricing model has nothing to do with it.
The reason I will never get into F2P so much is that I like to feel like I earned the rewards I got. A lot of the F2P stuff has you buying items that are either the best, or allow you such an edge it removes the relative challenge.
I tried mabinogi, I tried a few other F2P a little bit. Honestly I cannot get behind the item shop. It isn't something to do with epride or anything. Its just games that don't allow you to spend RL cash to improve your character makes it feel like you worked to get your rewards. It isn't about rubbing my epeen in peoples faces, its more if I put in x hours into a game, I want to have a little bit to show for it. I feel like I get more to show from P2P than F2P that more rewards the person with the largest wallet. Of course fun is the most important part of any game. So outside of Pangya, i've found most f2p games to be severely lacking in the fun department, and even pangya starts to get boring after so long.
The choice for me is obviously going to be P2P, and if F2P is all thats on the market, I can go back to regular RPGs, and FPS. I don't need MMOs, and I don't play every game thats released to try and recapture the magic I felt when I picked up my first MMO. I play them if I have friends who play them, and if those friends have fun playing them. There is no other reason.
LOL IPHONES
Agreed, F2P cannot work on a game where it's easy to abuse things by having extra accounts. There will always be a place for subscription games as a failsafe for it's market economy or progression.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
Nice article.
The anecdote about the iPhones was awesome.
Richard is not a P2P hater he is the guy tasked with reporting on the F2P industry. This isnt a Richard is giving in this is just Richard doing what he does, reporting on the game industry. Dont make it personal guys.
This article is great.... because it holds a hidden catch.
Did you know that monthly subsciptions is the #1 method of monitizing F2P games in the western market?
What? You didnt know that?
Yes, the unspoken truth is the monthly fees are the top method of making money off F2P. The biggest examples of this are Runescape, and Club Penguin. You may not think that these games apply, but they are in the top 10-15 games in the world, and if you browse the list of other top games, you will find that most are F2P, and that their western versions use monthly fees.
Subscription isnt dying, and F2P is a good example of that.
Uh-huh. Sorry, your welfare state isn't taking over gaming no matter how much you bellow. Still won't be able to buy games with food stamps either there, bud.
Sorry, we've already read his articles. Damage is done. Stop the spin, son.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
OH Laugh Out Loud.
We get a bible on why we should embrace f2p and then a few lines on why p2p is not going away.
Gonna let the obvious part unspoken.
Gimme a p2p game anyday. I've been playing f2p games for the past 2 years waiting and waiting for a good game to play. I played ffxi for a few years, then played WoW for a few years. All the while I played Guild Wars too. But those games have lost their appeal to me. So after playing 4 or 5 F2P games and now I'm playing Battle of the Immortals and counting the days for ffxiv and GW2. The free to play games aren't fun for me. Buying your way thru the game with mana charms, pots, and pets, isn't for me. Pets and mounts...pfft. Pets and mounts are the cash cow for them and it's so lame. First of all you buy them with real cash *rolls eyes*. I play to have fun and meet people, but mainly to work my way thru the game. Using my debit card to get thru isn't how I roll. They have world chat, ewww, another invention to generate cash. F2P games make people so greedy. No AH, a poor seeking system, short sentence chat (can't have you typing a paragraph in WC ya know)...you must pay to say. An inventory that's tiny and quests that have you killing 50 or 60 mobs knowing you'll fill your bag before you kill that many. Quests to expand inventory? Hellz no....you must pay. I have guildies that say "I only spend 10 dollars a week". Only? are you kidding me. 40 a month is hardly F2P....oh no, it's the F2P games that are gonna die. I mean even a dummie that buys hundreds and hundreds of lotto tickets to get that hideously large mount to be kewl will realize that a game with no story line, no cut-scenes, no seeking system, and idiots like himself bragging in world chat, isn't worth it. They will see the light someday and come play Guild Wars 2 or FFXIV and join real gamers. C'mon December...Square Enix ftw ^^
If a man speaks in the woods and there's no woman there to hear him...is he still lying?
Mr Aihoshi is certainly a interesting choice to write this article. He comes across like a politically correct vicar, ‘F2P is not the only faith’
I am not so sure about the pie being so large, the idea that MMOs, not just F2P ones could collapse under their own weight has occurred to me before. There are only so many players to go round and the F2P ones who don’t use a cash shop contribute nothing to MMO revenues. That is asking for a fall in my eyes.