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Why so much $
justapost
Member Posts: 3
copies sold per decent MMORPG = 100,000 or more
Yearly subscription fee = $100
Money made by company = $10,000,000
That more than pays for any server maintaining, upgrades to gameplay.
Why does it cost so much to play a game?
Comments
1. To pay for the development for the game.
2. Pay the people working on the game.
3. Make Money
But they have already sold the game for $50 like every other normal game. Companies stay in business by selling their game for $50 how are MMORPG's different?
Other companies 1. pay for the development for the game.
2. Pay the people working on the game.
3. Make Money
all by selling their game once at $40-50
Other companies don't pay $50,000 to $100,000 PER MONTH for bandwidth (this is a conservative guess, it may be more). Other companies don't maintain a staff of developers, support, and artists to manage and maintain the game as it "evolves" once the game is in the box.
But seriously, you have no idea how expensive bandwidth and server facilities are. They are astronomical costs that would make your eyes bleed if you considered trying to run a bandwidth-heavy site, let alone a MMOG.
Ok. I know that HZ has not sold that many copies because there are only 20k people on at a time on the busiest night. Also its 40$ and not $50 at msot retailers. And gamers get a free month. And people are constantly quitting and players are constantly joining. all the servers, imho, only cost 30,000 dollars a year at the least but for a new game like HZ it may go to 40k. The cost for Ibill
.... The cost for Customer service....possiblely 400,000 a year. Plus paying the developers...Your numbers don't add up right. MMORPGs arent very profitable...
My $0.02.
"Whoever controls the media controls the mind..-'Jim Morrison"
"When decorum is repression, the only dignity free men have is to speak out." ~Abbie Hoffman
somt times i just love the way ppl look at this:
ok lets get the numbers right ok ?
first you vcan noamly buy the game frou around 40$ rigth ?
ok 50% well go to the shop you buy it from, not the developers so we are down to 20$
50% of that well go to the destruibetor (the guys that get it out the the shop's) down to 10$
not they have to pay for the making and printing of the cd plus the making of the box and a bit of transport so i well keep it low and say they well earn a STUNNING 7$ per game that is sold WOOT
now if it was a nomal game it mite pay for the development of the game .. but a nomal game is only in development for 1.5 to 2 years, now a MMORPS are nomaly in development for 3 to 4 Years,
ok now for youre monthly fee nomaly set around 12$ a mounth
lets say you have 5000 ppl that reagualy play on 1 server, that well give you a income of 12*5000=60.000
now you do have 1 man working full time as lead GM for that one server then you have to pay for server maintanes, bandewith
on top of that it hase to pay for some of the overall cost like :
nomal costermer support, development of the game (this is a mmorpg they dont stop adding to the game just becorse it is released), rent of buildings, and the rest of the personale that are in a game company
and this is just what i can remimber of the top of my head, .. mmorpgs are not as profitabal, as you all thing, there is money in em, but only if you make a good one and you can keep youre costermers
so i am a addict .. i can live with it
can you ?
_______________________________
So i am a addict. i can live with it
can you ?
Succesful MMORPGs make a ton of money. A game like EQ or DAOC makes serious money for their companies. A game like AC2 or Shadowbane does not.
MMORPGs are different in that they have similar sunk costs to regular games but have a high continual cost where other games have no additional cost.
"Whoever controls the media controls the mind..-'Jim Morrison"
"When decorum is repression, the only dignity free men have is to speak out." ~Abbie Hoffman