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Last popular MMO still having monthly sub?
Ekaros
Member UncommonPosts: 367
Can anyone name the last "big" MMORPG that still has monthly sub and isn't B2P/F2P, with some monthly fee component?
Haven't followed many games lately, but I'm quite interested if there even is changes for such game...
Comments
It can't be that sad. There being nothing else "AAA" left to this date?
I'm now wondering if monthly sub for new AAA MMORPG is even possible anymore.
I think it's too soon to tell on FF14ARR. But yeah. I did too noticed that it's only new game...
WoW and EVE being only kids around should tell something. And with EVE you can also consider the option of buying sub-time with ingame money...
Now the question is that is it impossible to launch new title with sub or has all the games released really been that bad or wrong sort...
As long they can pull steady and profitable numbers i am pretty sure any developer would prefer a subscription model.
It's always good to have a definite prediction for your investors.
I think it is a matter of the title not so much the business plan. Wow is able to keep as a subscription because when you think of mmorpg you think WoW. Not to mention it came form an already well developed franchise. I think Elder scrolls and Final Fantasy has what it takes to stay sub based, as long as they offer unique mechanics that you cant find in every other MMO. The reason starwars failed is because.. Although it had a great franchise it offered nothing that other f2p MMO's did not.
Final fantasy needs to introduce something unique to keep its model. Elder scrolls has already offered uniqueness and it is not even on the shelf yet. The question with elder scrolls is are they going too unique? There are universal mechanics in MMORPGs for a reason. If you stray too far from that then you are dooming yourself. Delicate balance to maintain.
A big reason I will be playing ESO is because it is sub based. Tired of micro-transactions ruining gameplay/balance. Tired of not being able to get into groups/raids because I essentially have not spent enough money in cash shops. Yes Sub games are dwindling but there are still a few. EVE is also still sub, though you can essentially buy in-game money by selling 30-day subscription tokens in-game which kinda takes away the point of a Sub, IMO.
Alot of games offer a Subscription in addition to a cash shop and you usually get cash shop points each month such as LOTRO, SWTOR, RIFT, EQ, EQ2, and others. But alot of times you end up still feeling the need to make additional purchases for cash shop crap if you want to keep up with the Jones'
If I want a world in which people can purchase success and power with cash, I'll play Real Life. Keep Virtual Worlds Virtual!
FFXIV and last i checked had around 1.4 million.After seeing how Blizzard FLOODS gaming stores and FFXIV is very hard to find,i can see how Blizzard gets such big numbers,other games are hidden.
If Blizzard and Square reversed marketing you would probably see FFXIV as the bigger game and Blizzard would be like EQ2 /SOE and going full out cash shop.Expect Blizzard to up their cash shop as they lose more customers,they will figure at this point ,if they stick around this long they can probably fish them in for more money.
Square Enix is the ONLY with BOTH games FFXIV and FFXI NO cash shop period and no misleading BS like telling people it is only "cosmetic" .They have openly stated that they do not like cash shop,it does not allow them to properly manage their game with both support and updates/content ect ect,they like to know exactly what kind of money they are working with.
I really feel bad for Jake Song's game,they started sub fee in Korea but changed to cash shop.No way Trion is going to handle the game with a sub fee,it is a real quality game weather you like it or not,so we will have to wait and see how the cash shop is done i guess.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Then don't keep up with the Joneses.
Just because another player has a nice mount or an outfit you think is cute, doesn't mean you need to wear something cute as well. A lot of the issues with cash shops stems from people's envy, not an inability to play the game that can only be alleviated by cash shop items.
'Sandbox MMO' is a PTSD trigger word for anyone who has the experience to know that anonymous players invariably use a 'sandbox' in the same manner a housecat does.
When your head is stuck in the sand, your ass becomes the only recognizable part of you.
No game is more fun than the one you can't play, and no game is more boring than one which you've become familiar.
How to become a millionaire:
Start with a billion dollars and make an MMO.
That is because of the law of large number. You can't predict what ONE player will do with any kind of accuracies, but you *can* predict to a reasonable tolerance of what millions of players will do.
It is similar to car insurance. They don't know if YOU are going to have an accident, but they know pretty well how many accidents, and how much they cost, for a population.
As long they can pull steady and profitable numbers i am pretty sure any developer would prefer a subscription model. It's always good to have a definite prediction for your investors.
Except when all you are showing your investors are declining profits (majority of sub games fall into this category)
F2P games also pull steady and profitable numbers - the investors don't care what model it is,as long as they make money.
Assuming that you can't have a clear sales forecast with F2P for your investors is a wrong assumption.
Bottom line as far as investors go - they don't care
Investors only understand one thing - $$$$
Of course the investors don't care about the sub model, i never said that.
The forecast for a sub game is still allot more accurate then any F2P game out there...
There seems to be a reason why big developers/publisher prefer to go with a sub model over building the game a F2P from the ground.
Yes, but if the forecast is much lower than a F2P model, then it still won't fly.
Would you prefer a forecast of $10M with a 0.1M standard error, or $20 with $2M standard error?
Forecast accuracy is not everything.
Lineage 1(P2P since 1998)
Lineage 2(P2P since 2003)
Aion
Blade & Soul(in Korea)
Off course, in eastern markets.
FFXIV & Eve are pretty much the only sub-based games that are not going to convert into F2P anytime soon.
All the new titles are most likely changing into F2P/B2P rather sooner than later and Blizzard is most likely not making any subscription games after WoW is finished.
Wildstar _might_ stay P2P if it grabs the WoW crowd as they are hoping for but I don't see this happening.
Personally I see "P2P servers" being the future. Where in games create different server experience for different types of gamers. Having F2P + cash-shop and P2P servers.
Yes, but if the forecast is much lower than a F2P model, then it still won't fly.
Would you prefer a forecast of $10M with a 0.1M standard error, or $20 with $2M standard error?
Forecast accuracy is not everything.
I really thought that it was clear that it depends on the actual magnitude of the income, so i didn't mention it. Of course what you say is absolutely correct.
Except Lineage 2 and Aion are both F2P in Korea, and have been longer than they were in the US. I remember back when L2 was P2P and dying, most people I talked to wanted a F2P version like they had in Korea.
They did. Why do you think WoW is steadily losing subs? Why do you think WoW is now F2P up to L20?
OP - I am just wondering why you are asking the question...are you wondering if there are currently any MMOs worth paying a monthly sub for? The answer is NO...not until Wildstar and ESO come out will I be willing to pay monthly. I have played both of these games and they are fun and worth $15/mo, at least until they run out of new content. Plus, they will probably go FTP within a year anyway (given the current trends in the MMO market).
But technically, the latest AAA MMO released with a monthly sub was FFIV: ARR. I played the beta, and personally I am not a fan of Asian MMOs (or the FF IP), so I was not too impressed, although the graphics were beautiful. Also, tab targeting is sooo two-thousand and late (sorry for cheesy wordage).
As far as which sub-based MMO has the largest number of subscribers, I believe that is (still) WoW.
And wow is losing subs. They are already half-way to F2P (already free up to L20, and cash shop is being tested).
Why? The next expansion is going to bring big changes (and some we've long been waiting on!) which will see a major jump of players just to eyeball all the new player models/emotes and animations. And best of all the animations doesn't stutter as you see with other MMOs, especially when changing from one animation to another. This is important when you have to watch your toon hours each day where you'll notice all the quirks (clipping; misjoins; low resolution textures, etc).
At least Blizzard offers BIG new features each expansion, than just glorified patches. WotLK >LFG (innovation). Cata > whole world revamp + LFR (innovation). MoP > Connected Realms + CRZ + phasing (innovation). WoD > What we know so far: Outland world revamp + player model revamp.
Name any MMO that offers innovative tech every expansion for 6 years in a row.
None.
And why shouldn't they have a cash shop? As soon as they release a neat pet or mount, they can walk away with 25 million in one day.
.:| Kevyne@Shandris - Armory |:. - When WoW was #1 - .:| I AM A HOLY PALADIN - Guild Theme |:.
Because their own success will be their undoing, if you glean over the last few reports from Vivendi you can see that the gold shower they once (the profit margins are just crazy for a game producer) had is starting to buckle, now that Activision Blizzard has bought itself out from Vivendi and the investors grew accustomed to their usual payout's they want it back.
Don't get me wrong they have more then enough profit to make most big name publisher get a heart attack but it still ain't enough. That means they need to open up new sources of income to make investors happy (especially Bobby Kotick), i don't think the direction they are going with the itemshop in WoW is the right one, it will hurt WoW in the long run because my guess what they doing right now is just a testing run and softening all the people that are against full fledged itemshop.
In the long run they will start to add more and more too it and the question is if they start to make bad ass looking armor only available through the itemshop (the head slot transmog are only the start) and make the standard loot drop armor sub par in response to it.
L2 is F2P until level 85, Aion until level 40.
I am going to tell you right now - I think Wildstar is can't miss. I know alot of guilds are excited about it - they are pulling in the WoW crowd and the SWTOR crowd and the FFXIV crowd.
I'd consider Wildstar to be the first real direct stab at WoW. Wildstar is very blizzardesque is a way that other games mostly are not. The big thing is the humour and the light hearted approach - combined with the time honored winning MMO traits - both old and new.
So I think sub games are going to do just fine. All that freenium proves is that most customers aren't willing to pay for lousy games..It doesn't prove that sub games are dead. I don't agree that sub games are dead at all. Most of the competition for WoW has just shot itself in the foot - or just never was part of a AAA gaming company. Trion Worlds and SOE are just not top tier studios in the gaming world - they can't compete with Blizzard.
Carbine seems to have the right stuff - and I am not counting out Zenimax. You really want to look at the parent company and the likelyhood they can put out good software. When Blizzard got into the MMO business it was like watching men going against kids with regards to software developement. Studios like SOE were just totally outclassed.
Interestingly GW2 - love it or hate it was the only MMO I have played outside of WoW that really had that kind of AAA feeling. Arenanet isn't rockstar games but their experience talent did show. Carbine supposedly has a roster stocked with former Blizzard guys. I think they will do well.
L2 is F2P until level 85, Aion until level 40.
Too bad L2 became a P2W, last i read they sold Raid boss jewels in those randomized packs *rolleyes*
That is the point. May be if they make WoW F2P, they can bring in 100M every time they release a pet, and sooner or later, that is going to outweigh sub fees.
Pretty sure TESO has a cash shop too.