Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
VOTE: Would a sliding Month2Month payscale keep you playing a MMORPG longer?
somoney
Member Posts: 18
[INSERT YOUR FAVORITE MMORPG HERE]
Longer you stay, the less you PAY!
2-4 Months = $15.95 a month.
5-8 Months = $9.95 a month.
9-12 months = $5.95 a month.
13-24 months = $2.95 a month.
25+ months = $1.50 a month.
Yes yes,
I know im a GOD for figuring this system out..
Please hold your praise and just send Beer.
[Edit: THIS IS A MONTH TOO MONTH SCALE! Not PREE PAY, Cancel anytime.]
Comments
Aint gonna happen because the longer the mmorpg goes on the less subs it gets, not because of the payment but because it gets ruined or people get bored.
If it was free then it would last alot longer, well if it didn't cost the company anything to run.
---------------------------------------------
Don't click here...no2
Is this a good idea or am I just stupid?
If a game developers main gripe is holding onto customers past the 3-4 month mark. If they rewarded players for hanging in past that time, they would make more money in the long run.
When/If expansion packages are released it would also bring in new players and they would be subject to the top of payscale again.
WIN/WIN Situation?
I do agree that there are MMORPG's I've played that I just got bored of.
Sometimes I just need a break from playing it and move onto something else.
In the end it comes down to me justifying paying the $15 when I have no intention of playing that month because Im burnt out, going on a vacation, or the wife is just nagging me to death
.
If the MMORPG had a system that lowered your montghly payment the longer you stick with it I would seriously think twice before canceling my account!
Wow, thats a neat system you imagined up there. Never even crossed my mind but yah, I would go with that if a company were to set that system up... ^_^
Hi! My name is paper. Nerf scissors, rock is fine.
MMORPG = Mostly Men Online Roleplaying Girls
http://www.MichaelLuckhardt.com
Soe got themselves in the foot with this one
Use to be if you paid by the year, six ,or three months, you got a break in the price
Given what they pulled with CU then NGE i believe most folks would be fools to pre pay them anything at this point and time except month to month
Given what they pulled was so extensive with game play may change, that may affect the rest of the industry on folks ability to trust that the product they bought and paid for will still be the same product or even close to what they originally enjoyed.
So at this point and time i imagine i would be hard press to find any SWG refugee that would be willing to pre pay any mmorpg at this point and time given what they went through with soe
So before this latest history with soe the three six and year plan were worth the investment if you planned to stay. Now it's a matter of trust and that trust has been sorely broken
I usually don't do this but...
what are you smoking?
OOooo I see!!! You guys misunderstood my POLL!
THIS IS NOT PREE PAY SCALE! This is a MONTH to MONTH scale!
Cancel ANYTIME! However if you ever come back you need to start at the top again.
Only if you stay with the MMO longer that 25months (ie. 2+ Years) do you hit the $1.50.
If you dont play The $1.50 turns out to be keeping your character on the database fee.
Sure they might hold people longer. But I'd think that they'd rather have people leave after 12 or so months instead of loose money on them.
So if someone played on this sliding payscale for 25 months (that's a pretty long time to stick with a game) they would end up paying $164.70 total for their subscription.
A game charging 15.95 per month would need a subscriber to say only 11 months to make 175.45 from the subscription fee.
Slightly larger profit in less than half the time.
Companies should focus on keeping players from burning out on the game as this is what causes the huge drop off after 3-4 months.
When people will pay others to play a game for them it might be a sign the game isn't all that fun.
Sure they might hold people longer. But I'd think that they'd rather have people leave after 12 or so months instead of loose money on them.
Thats where alot of people differ.
For instance:
100 customers of wich 25 drop out every 3 months (bored, to much $$$, etc).
(100 Customers)
3 Month income ($15.95x3x100) = $4785
(75 Customers)
4 month income ($15.95x4x75) = $4785
5 month income ($15.95x5x75) = $5981
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lets say of those same 100 customers only 10 droped out this time because the other 15 realize that if they hang in there the game gets cheaper to play.
(100 Customers)
3 Month income ($15.95x3x100) = $4785
(90 Customers)
4 month income ($15.95x4x90) = $5742
5 month income (15x95x4x90)+($9.95x1x90) = $6637.5
TA DA!!!!! More people = More Money even if the monthly is LOWER!
Multiply this figure by 100,000 PLayers
In the end you keep more players and make mo' money.
UNLESS,
As the POLL is starting to show...
THE GAME JUST SUCKS TO BEGIN WITH!
Well yeah more people means more money even if the fee is lower, but I don't think people quit because of the monthly fee, and a sliding payscale won't make people stick with a game they no longer enjoy.
Or maybe it would. People will play an MMO for months, and talk about how terrible it is on the forums before actually quitting.
When people will pay others to play a game for them it might be a sign the game isn't all that fun.
this is a pretty good idea actually.
I find it hard to believe that when someone projects revenue for an upcomming MMO they plan on having X number of subscribers consistantly over a period of a year or longer. If I had to guess, I would say most of the projection relies on initial sales and im sure a pie-chart (hehe) is involved to project X number of subscribers over a period of months in order for their revenue to pay off.
People have this misconception that in order for an MMO to be successful, it has to pull everyone in for years and years with endless content. That may be the individuals perception, but as a business perspective all they need is earn revenue from their investment to be a success. IE. lets make a game that has incredible content that every gamer cannot resist that will pull in 5+ million subscriptions, but the content is so concentrated it only lasts X amount of hours to complete. So long as they dont over-extend.. an MMO could burn bright and burn out quickly and the company could still rake in a fortune. (im not really sure what my point is with this, other than a short lived game could extend its subscriber base using a sliding/reducing monthy rate)
now, the numbers I wouldnt be so sure about but to gradually bring down a subscription cost is pretty smart to keep a subscribers account open and bringing in income. The fact that if you cancel and come back, you start back to the beginning will just encourage people to leave their accounts open.
I guess my point is, Im a person who is constantly cancelling MMO subscriptions and re-subscribing. If I knew my subscription would reduce over time I would be more likely to keep it open. They may not be getting as much as a full subscriber, but at least theyre getting something out of an inactive account.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
Interesting idea, but surely once you are in the thrid year running costs will start to eat at any profit you may have made for keeping loyal customers for the first 2 years. All you've done really is taken what most do anyway except go month by month and offer a crazy deal after 2 years.
The equivalent is $13.95 for 6 months, $11.95 for 12 months, $7.45 for 24 months. Looks good so far, but the third year seems risky. Granted players who play a mmog for 2+ years are few and far between, but you've got no safety net.
[quote]Originally posted by somoney
Sure they might hold people longer. But I'd think that they'd rather have people leave after 12 or so months instead of loose money on them.
Thats where alot of people differ.
For instance:100 customers of wich 25 drop out every 3 months (bored, to much $$$, etc).
(100 Customers)
3 Month income ($15.95x3x100) = $4785
(75 Customers)
4 month income ($15.95x4x75) = $4785
5 month income ($15.95x5x75) = $5981
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Lets say of those same 100 customers only 10 droped out this time because the other 15 realize that if they hang in there the game gets cheaper to play.
(100 Customers)
3 Month income ($15.95x3x100) = $4785
(90 Customers)
4 month income ($15.95x4x90) = $5742
5 month income (15x95x4x90)+($9.95x1x90) = $6637.5
TA DA!!!!! More people = More Money even if the monthly is LOWER!
Multiply this figure by 100,000 PLayers
In the end you keep more players and make mo' money.
UNLESS,
As the POLL is starting to show...
THE GAME JUST SUCKS TO BEGIN WITH![/b][/quote]
Now lets say that they actually have costs as well. I'll just take a mild guess and say that they spend around 8$ a month for each player. (I've seen some estimates for EQ1, if those were anywhere near correct then 8$ would not be a lot).
So your calculations now:
(100 Customers)
3 Month income (($15.95-$8.00)x3x100) = $2385
(75 Customers)
4 month income (($15.95-$8.00)x4x75) = $2385
5 month income ($15.95-$8.00)x5x75) = $2981
________________________________________________________
(100 Customers)
3 Month income ($15.95x3x100) = $2385
(90 Customers)
4 month income ($15.95x4x90) = $2862
5 month income (15x95x4x90)+($9.95x1x90) = $3037
The difference now is much smaller. A few more months and the developers will have made less money then with the old system, and ofcourse, after a few more months, players will cost more money then they pay and thus cost them money instead of earning them profit.
Yep if you take into consideration your MMO no longer brings in any new subscribers then a Sliding Monthly Scale makes no sense. You eat yourself from the inside out after 5 years. Very few people are entertained this long by a single game anyway. The sceme is to get a subscriber who would normaly cancel there account to keep it a bit longer.
HOWEVER, If you keep content fresh and advertise reguallary you'll still gain new subscribers every month and hold a positive revenue groth throught the life of your company. 
Thanks too all for voting honestly, and partisipating in this poll!
Its been a week so you all have had your chance to make a diffrence in how MMORPG's bill there customers. The Results are IN!
Pay to Play is here too Stay!
The More I Pay, The more I play!
The More I pay, the longer I'll Stay!
Already pay for telephone line, Internet connection, the box or download version and a monthly fee. Now you want more! Do you work for SoE? I voted Yes btw.
Actually, Lineage 2 did this except it was not as steep lol.
I believe 1 month was 14.95 but if you subscribed for 3 months, it would be like 13 dollars and some amount of cents. And 6 months would be cheaper.
Yours is very steep though but would be amazing (save more money!)
~Greatness~
Currently Playing:
Nothing
Sorry.
Lineage sorta had your idea already in use back since 1994.
_____________________________________
"Io rido, e rider mio non passa dentro;
Io ardo, e l'arsion mia non par di fore."
-Machiavelli
As for me, subscription costs have nothing to do with whether I continue to play a game or not. Nothing. It just doesn't figure into the equation.
Case in point, I have stopped playing "free" games and since, duh, they cost nothing to play, I obviously did not leave because of the subscription costs.
So, therefore, neither a sliding month-to-month subscription rate nor any other clever "price structuring" design would "keep me playing a MMORPG longer."
~ Ancient Membership ~
Lineage2 was another MMO I didnt think worth the $$$ to keep playing beyond the third month.... I think PlayNC set it's pay ahead deal up for failure from the start. The savings Lineage offered to it's loyal long haul players was trivial, you couldnt even buy a cup of coffee. It's just plain stupid to shell out a year up front for a game you dont know will hold your attention that long. Many mmorpg.com useres still dont get what Im saying though. It's not a Buy 1 year and pay only 13.95 a month deal. Its a scale that everyone pays the same price. THERE IS NO SAVINGS to buy one year up front. The MMO rewards its loyal players that care to stick with the game, quarterly discounts to their monthly payment.
Anyway, The votes clearly show static monthly payments are fine and useres will quit even if the game offered them a 10%-15% discount in their monthly to hang in another month.