[Column] The Secret World: The Revenue Model Shift

FromHell · December 2012

Originally posted by darkhalf357x
Wow. Never been first :-) Definitely was a nice surprise to see this morning. I dont think not saying 'F2P' will stop people from calling it F2P (as thats actually what it is). This is also confirming my belief that publishers are moving to a F2P construct if you will.

What I'm curious about is, that this seemed to be planned (perhaps not a date given) - so what was the justification to go subscriber model first? Recouping cost would be my thought but wonder what other goals were expected? It starts to set a precendent of why subscribe if you know they will go F2P at one point?

I will say I like the F2P model as it works for and now I will definitely check this title out. One time fee of 49.99 is peanuts.

it's B2P like GW2, except there are no gambling boxes in tsw

Searias · December 2012

Why didn't SWTOR follow this route than doing what they did :P.

BereKin · December 2012

Finally!!! It is a very good mmo and funcom shoud have done this from the start, but better ever than never. Maybe now this game will get attention that it deserves

Draron · December 2012

Originally posted by Searias
Why didn't SWTOR follow this route than doing what they did :P.

IMO, Bioware just fails in general at running an MMO. Not that the game itself is bad, but they're practices - the shoddy F2P system like locking hotbars and such, the limited fireworks for the year anniversary, etc.

jbombard · December 2012

I read somewhere else that the sub was $15 a month and you get a 10% discount on all store purchases plus $10 worth of points, in addition to some other minor stuff. It seems to me that the math just doesn't add up. If you don't get the sub you could get more points just buying them outright. If you are going to be giving them your money monthly on a consistent basis you would think they would be giving you considerably more points than buying them piecemeal.

victorbjr · December 2012

Originally posted by SBE1
Originally posted by Torvaldr
Originally posted by SBE1
Notice to Funcom: You guys totally ripped off people with the launch of AoC saying it would include things that it never did. You showed countless hours of footage pre-release that never made it into the game. You continued to tell players about how well the PvP was, when in fact it was broken beyond belief at release. Seriously, that is why you will never get that many people to ever buy your products because of your history.

Also. Funcom is a publicly traded company (pink-sheets I know, just $0.23 a share). For the author to have advance knowledge that this game was changing it's revenue model several days in advance is a potential violation of the SEC's Fair Disclosure Act (Reg FD). I will be reporting Funcom to the SEC for ths potential violation since it is a material change in the company's prospects, since TSW is the company's major asset. I'd like to thank the author for admitting he had advance knowledge of this non-public material information, as I hope this finally puts Funcom out of business.

We'll all be waiting to see your success with this *smirk*.

I have reported it to the SEC. They will take it from here. I know from my former job that material non-public information, such as how they are going to earn money for thier largest asset, is a violation of Reg FD.

Hi! Thanks for the comments.

Let me ask you a question.

Did you read the sentence after the first sentence? I said, "I did not get to read any details regarding the revenue shift till perhaps 12 or so hours before this piece went live."

There is a distinct difference between fair disclosure and withholding an announcement of a game's revenue model shift because you had only been told they were doing something, without knowing what they were doing exactly.

I had this very long write-up explaining how embargoes work, but it doesn't really matter.

The fact that multiple news outlets had interviews and a write-up set right after the announcement means that there's a conspiracy here to keep you in the dark, and we're all part of a global cabal designed to keep you from enjoying the rest of your life.

But really, what does it matter? We're all going to die in 8 or 9 days, depending on the timezone.

More to the point, what does anything matter in the grand scheme of things? We are insignificant in comparison to the lifespan of the universe, and when the universe dies, so will time. All of history, including this spat of yours with Funcom, will cease to exist.

Cheers!

victorbjr · December 2012

Originally posted by jbombard
I read somewhere else that the sub was $15 a month and you get a 10% discount on all store purchases plus $10 worth of points, in addition to some other minor stuff. It seems to me that the math just doesn't add up. If you don't get the sub you could get more points just buying them outright. If you are going to be giving them your money monthly on a consistent basis you would think they would be giving you considerably more points than buying them piecemeal.

You also get some in-game items to sweeten the deal, such as an "item of the month" that can be clothes or some such.

It depends on what you value really. Exclusive clothing or other stuff.

victorbjr · December 2012

Originally posted by Torvaldr
Also the purchase, right now, includes a faction jacket, a weapon, and a blood raven. It's cool they add in a few goodies.

I've been unable to complete the update due to my day job, but yeah... I'm hoping my account gets some freebies. I wouldn't mind supporting Funcom with enough money to crowdsource an idea for a Power Rangers costume.

And thanks for the vote of confidence.

Coolit · December 2012

Originally posted by Torvaldr
Also the purchase, right now, includes a faction jacket, a weapon, and a blood raven. It's cool they add in a few goodies.

It's worth pointing out though this is a limited offer and runs until the end of the month. The pet gives you an XP + stats buff that lasts until 3 million XP (ish) then becomes a normal pet.