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Free Trial
UsualSuspect
Member UncommonPosts: 1,243
Hey all,
Was just lazing around the Secret World site and found they're doing a free trial from today, 15th August. I guess that's part of the reason for the patch. 3 days plus another 2 if you complete 30 missions.
http://www.thesecretworld.com/news/sign_up_now_for_our_free_three_day_trial
I'm of the mindset that every game should have a free trial, so this is welcome news to me. Most people aren't willing to pay out cash when they don't know what they're getting (me being one of those) so a free trial is always a good idea to bring in new customers.
Comments
I miss DAoC
Actually they have very high retention right now according to their early report to investors post 30 day free play. It's the actual box sales that they missed the mark big time. The monthly content updates is a big push for them to try and keep that retention.
They lost on numbers. Now they need to hold what they have and build on that. It's their only shot.
web traffic numbers say different, they had a nice bump on Aug 4 with thier last free trial but they dropped right back off. Shame too, seemed like third time was the charm for FC
I miss DAoC
I am not sure people are facing up to the reality here. Funcom has laid off or is in the process of laying off a huge number of Customer Service employees as well as the majority of the QA testers (who were on contract). They are going through a major cost cutting upheaval, with a rumored 85% costs needing to be cut in Montreal studio alone.
Now Funcom have been down this route a number of times before and managed to carry on. But this time the investors forced them to publish data on sales figures and since then the share price has dropped considerably. The management of Funcom are asking for people to not lose faith in TSW or the company but there are already rumors of free to play coming sooner rather than later.
A free trial at this stage is quite a relevant signal that they things are a little desperate. I would be cautious as to whether Funcom will survive this or not. A free trial might get people interested but is anybody going to spend any money with the company in such a state? Especially as the game is already rumored to be going free to play. With regards to the future of this game you need to look a but further past the game itself.
Not sure where you heard that, but I have afew friends of mine who work with Funcom Montreal and their job is stable , they DO However have WAY to many CS Reps, every company does this , for example I used to be a Microsoft systems advisor and was laid off after Vista and zune were launched about 8 months after , and was told that could happen.
Tell me ONE company that doesn't do that you know for a fact? Makes sense to cut out CS reps if there are too many of them , shit I see that all the time, howerver where I work there is a company ( Won't name ) that is laying everyone off including the suits and techs , surfice to say that this company IS going down faster than the Titanic! I don't see Funcom going in the same direction, also I live close to the Montreal studio and can tell you there was No word of layoffs in these parts , even if it is speculation it would have hit our newspapers here localy, not sure as well where you get 85% makes no sense to me , and no link?
Perhaps you looked at the wrong information or you believe whatever the media tells you.
A free trial means two things:
1) Their servers are doing fine and
2) They want more customers
Obviously, everyone wants more customers. A free trial is a smart business move and nothing more.
Well, if you like the game and follow your advice, you basically ensure that they go bankrupt. So I would say, if you are sitting on the fence, the game is worth the box price (well worth it I would say), you get a free month an in that time you will also receive the second monthly update. In addition you are helping a company that actually thinks outside the box.
The layoffs were expected, I think this is more or less standard practice for most game companies after release. I would like to hear where you got the 85% cuts needed figure from.
A free trial signifies one thing, and that is that they want more subscribers, a free trial is the best way to do that, I don't think it shows desperation, it is just common sense and a good business practice.
I believe, my personal opinion, that TSW should be able to reach 500 000 dedicated subscribers (with a high retention due to the monthly updates), from that they should be able to create a viable business, if not, then Funcom is just a badly managed firm and EA will buy them up and make TSW F2P (or P2W as is their inclination) and that would be a bloody shame.
The model that TSW has now, subscription, monthly updates with great content, and a cash shop for vanity items should be a viable model.
For those that have missed out on Issue 1 and 2 here are the links:
Issue 1
Issue 2
These updates include new missions, new features and expansion of the game world. Currently at Gamescom in Germany Funcom has revealed information on their first raid area which will be based in New York, more in this article at Kotaku.
All in all I feel that this goes beyond what any other game offers, and that it more than justifies the subscription fee. But, and here's the caveat, if Funcom because of the cuts become unable to produce the monthly updates, then I see TSW becoming F2P some time during the next 6 months.
For me that doesn't mean a thing, I bought the lifetime subscription, and I feel I have already gotten value for money. I consider my LS to be more or less the same as supporting a Kickstarter campaign. I love the concept of TSW, I like what Funcom have done already, and I have faith that Funcom will continue to improve on an already excellent title. At the pace I am going I will at least have three more months of playtime before I run out original content, and by then TSW will have had three more issues (updates) and I can start on the PVP and Raiding content.
I see that TSW is not for everyone, but I can't believe that my tastes differ so much from everyone elses.
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Conlai "Darkmoor" MacGregor
Templar & Life Time Subscription
I'm with dekou on this, a free trial is only a nice marketing tool to spread the word and get some attention. If only a few % of the newcomers subscribe, it's already worth it. (There's at least one, yesterday on General a dude said he will subscribe, because he loved the quest system
)
I wonder though the sept.30 date... during the 1month anniversary weekend they said the bonus points will be deleted on september 30. Now it's the same, the trial bonus points expires on sept.30. Why not a month later? What's the significance of that particular sunday?
Or I should just take a short break from TSW, 'cos I search hidden meaning and conspiracy behind everything
Funcom has actually made public statements and they have not been rebuffed by stockholders or traders so I do put some credence in them. Box sales are slow and have been less than anticipated. Subscription retention rate is higher than anticipated. Like any MMO, people begin to play less after the first two months. What's interesting though is even though they are playing less, they are keeping their subs active.
A free trail is also par for the course for almost every MMO sub game within 2-3 months so its incredibly unfair to try and single out TSW or any game that does it. If TSW were really hurting and this was a do or die as some people seem to portray, the trial would be longer and throughout the weekend, not during the week.
People often sign up for 3/6/12 month contracts, I wouldn't read too much into subs being active (the early life of SWTOR was confusing for just this reason).
IMHO the signs for TSW are not good, but if the retention is actually good then there's an obvious route (if TSW is genuinely retaining players then increasing advertising is essential).
- advertise in the niche market. Rather than advertising in the gaming media, advertise on the syfy channel (or whatever). [imho the show 'haven' seems the sort of thing TSW should try to build bonds with]
- the game appears to have a larger female demographic than a normal MMO. Look for advertising opportunities slanted in that direction (no, I don't mean "my little pony" magazine... just things with a higher female readership than a typical gaming site - haven is an example of a 'syfy' show that seemed to have a higher female demographic than you'd expect on that channel).
Then look at tailoring the game for 'why people play it' rather than 'what you think it ought to be'...
- look at whether user generated content could be added. This is a superb match for the niche market.
- likewise ensure the storytelling is suitable for your 'core market'. *cough* that scene in the intro *cough*.
- take a look at whether the quantity of combat in TSW is helping the game. My own suspicion is that it's harming the niche market and not helping with the gaming market either.
- do surveys of subscribers, quitters, and beta players that didn't buy the game, look at the results. You can't please everyone, and some problems shouldn't be solved... but having information to make decisions is useful.
I said it was a rumor, you see in situations like this until a company goes to the wall all you can do is rummage through the rumors and try to piece together the information. Funcom were forced by investors into releasing sales figures, 'forced', in other words given a choice they would not have been so free with the information. Their share price is fluctuating on the down side, they are laying people off - contract workers being among the first to go. Then customer services people, on top of which according to the rumors, unsubstantiated I will add, the CEO has stated 'Only the best employees of each team will be kept'. Now I may be reading between the lines here, but Funcom's release schedule for the future is very thin. Their investment was in TSW, it hasn't does as well as hoped. They were in a negative cash flow situation prior to launch - I don't imagine it's got much better.
Overall I don't see the image of a happy and healthy company here. By all means they have managed to survive similar situations in the past, but the industry was more robust that it is now.
Don't agree at all, a free trial would have been a smart move at launch if they had any faith in the game. At the moment it just smacks of desperation.
Reading between the lines aren't rumours, they are projections of one's mind.
Unsustainable comments on what other’s may or may not have said are more aligned to slander/libel then rumours.
Very few companies are "happy" these days.
They did have a free trial at launch. Buddy keys, celebration weekend, and now this. Its just a continuation.
Well considering in your sig you mention a lifetime sub to TSW, what I have said is already questioning your own particular judgment in an indirect way.
I don't personally think the layoffs were expected, you don't get an ex GM posting on here trying to stir the pot if everything is as expected.
A free trial to my mind means they have lost faith in the game. When did you get a free trial in AOC, at the end of it's subscription based lifespan. Funcom are having kittens, they shouldn't have released a trial at this point. It points to we are in trouble and all the other indicators are pointing to that as well.
To my mind what they should have done is hit Gamescon with everything they had and fostered a renewed interest. Personally I would get rid of whoever does their marketing, because it ain't working. Funcom don't produce bad games, it's just the entire infrastructure on the periphery is all out of whack.
Do what you like, buy what you like, but to perspective players I think they should be aware of as much as possible - including rumors. Because rumors more often than not turn into truths are half-truths. No smoke without fire as the saying goes.
I got invites to beta weekends for TSW and all that malarkey, I never got a 'free trial' of the game at any stage. Do sub based games offer a free trial? I can't remember SWTOR doing a free trial. In fact as I recall when the game launched I asked for a free trial as I was on the fence about purchasing. They told me to sod off, well some R2D23445 told me to take a jump. Only got the offer of a free trial, months later when the game was in less than good standing.
That's cause TOR had big initial sales, given the IP and the amount of hype they generated they were in the position of doing that. If you have a big hype wave not offering trials is the best approach, cause people is aware that your game is coming, people wants to try it, people know the IP: you have a product that is in high demand, and if you offer a trial you risk people finding out it's not as they imained, going disenchanted and losing interes with no purchase.
Big hype games/strong franchises/IPs can grab more money at launch by not offering trials. They point to the hype, the IP (and in many cases high critic scores/reviews) and say "wannna try it? pay for it"
An unknown franchise, that didn't push hype via PR and marketing that wen't low on the radar doesn't have that strong position, they can't use the IP as universal hook, they can't use the hype as universal hook and they might even have bad or mixed reviews, they can't say "pay to try it" cause they didn't build the interest and don't have the initial base of a large franchise or IP.
All they have is user word of mouth (if possitive as it is in TSW's case) and present a trial so people can actually see if the game is for them and get hooked. people that due to the unknown franchise, lack of media hype or mixed reviews wouldn't try it otherwise.
Well there's been the offer of them, and yes it's normal for sub based games to offer free trials.
SWTOR has done them as well.
I think they did have a lower than expected retention rate...the game is very niche like and I think will only hang on to a handful of players.
Dragnon - Guildmaster - Albion Central Bank in Albion Online
www.albioncentralbank.enjin.com
Actually they've said the retention rate is high, just initial sales were lower than hoped.
That implies people who have played it generally like it, and it's more of an issue that simply not enough people have tried it.
Free trials eventually, but a month after launch ... that must be a new record. Rift was about two months before a trial appeared if I remember correctly. A lot of other sub based games that I can remember such as DC Universe, a free trial was the first indication of it eventually going free to play. There was no trial just after launch. Same with SWTOR that must of been at least six months before a trial was available.
Now you are making me feel sorry for TSW. The small unknown game that is battling the big boys. No that would be a lie. With an in-built shop it's kind of obvious that TSW is built with free to play in mind from the start. In May of this year Funcom secured 22 million in a standby equity facility, that we were led to believe was to be used for PR on TSW. Oh and another game I have never heard of, Fashion Week or something. I am not sure in this case you can utilise the above excuses for this company. They have to an extent classed themselves in the same bracket as SWTOR by the business model they have chosen.
They have also had their chance with a large IP in the past and blew it big style. How many mediocre MMO's can you produce and still survive as a company? Let us also not forget they initially said TSW would launch on the Xbox 360, they flat out lied about that. I am not even sure this company has much credibility left to be honest.
I don't know what a free trial will achieve at this point. Go free to play and make the transition now, admit your screwed up on the initial model. But I don't see where they are going to get any new subscribers from without them doing something more. Who doesn't know about TSW that has any sort of interest? Is there a large untapped pool of players that are miraculously going to pop out of the woodwork. If they haven't subbed yet I don't see they will sub ever. At the same time look to the horizon, new WoW expansion and GW2. Average video game sales are down, you have to do something good in this day and age to get the users.
Overall I would say word of mouth has been mixed. I mean Funcom are blaming the Metacritic score for their dip in share price. It's not like everybody saying this is a fantastic game they just go the marketing wrong, like I said before this was always a niche game with a niche market. All in all Funcom were wrong in their expectations I think for this game. Indicated very early on when the day prior to launch the then CEO steps down.