The subscription model is dead. Or is it?

Kyleran

So this story highlights the Runescape franchise had over 1.1M PAID SUBS in 2019.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-01-15-the-runescape-franchise-reached-a-record-peak-of-1-1m-paid-subscribers-in-2019

Ungood

Eh.. it's kinda limping along with a few gunshot wounds in it, and some knives in it's back, bleeding out all over the place.. but it's still limping along by the power of the faith of people that still believe in it.

ultimateduck

It's my preferred MMO payment model. You give them money, they give you everything the game has to offer... the end.

Wizardry

Runescape is not even a good game so idc what it is doing.

Sub games are typically a MUCH better product than say all these games looking for up front crowd funding or the moba's,arpg's,so they typically NEED a stable income.A cash shop game is going to be a volatile market but if your game/investment was sooo low there is literally no risk however the big mmo's cannot afford the luxury of an on/off market because they are much further invested.

FFXI my fave mmo of al ltime was invested and expected to not turn a profit for 5 years.

However the smart people behind the business end of gaming have managed to exploit all the dumb asses with hidden sub fees like "season passes".Can you imagine if ANY of these modern games tried the 5 year in debt idea before turning a profit,just no way.Everyone now a days wants instant up front profits.

Point is that a sub fee is very much warranted and i expect it ,IF the game is of high quality.So far i have not seen a high quality game since FFXIV and even that game is lacking in several areas.To put it in perspective,i wouldn't play Runescape even if the game had 2020 graphics,it is not that good and none of the games coming out are that good.

Will we see another mmorpg subscription game?Well how many big devs willing to make a AAA game 2...3 maybe 4?So yeah it will be very unlikely we see more than 4 sub mmorpg's in the next 10 years.

Xatsh

Sub model works fine as long as the game is good enough to warrant a sub.

FFXIV and WoW are prime examples.

If the game is lacking content, unfinished, or poorly designed of course a sub model fails. But it is not the model it is the game just being bad.

When you think about it, the vast majority of F2P and B2P mmos fail horribly and struggle to keep even a small playerbase, even with the game being "Free". 

I would put money on any real solidly made AAA mmo succeeding in a p2p model. When you look at the games that were forced to go f2p from P2P they all had massive issues or were directly trying to compete with WoW during its prime (aka a subpar WoW clone, when WoW was the mmo god). Honestly if FFXIV released during WotLK... it potentially would of failed as well or at least been a small fraction of the playerbase.

flguy147

Do you think there is a correlation with the sub model dying and the decline of MMORPGs?   I dont think its the only reason but part of the problem.  But again there are many issues.  Personally i love cool cosmetics items, mounts, etc.  It makes it fun if i can actually acquire them by playing the game instead of buying them off a store which i never buy stuff off a cash shop.  Wish we would go back to the sub model.  

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Utinni

flguy147 said:

Do you think there is a correlation with the sub model dying and the decline of MMORPGs?   I dont think its the only reason but part of the problem.  But again there are many issues.  Personally i love cool cosmetics items, mounts, etc.  It makes it fun if i can actually acquire them by playing the game instead of buying them off a store which i never buy stuff off a cash shop.  Wish we would go back to the sub model.  

What data do you have saying MMORPG are in decline? 

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Mendel

blueturtle13 said:

Arterius said:

I don't think its dead I just thing the game has to have a buy to play or F2P offer attached. I mean look at ESO. B2P and Almost half of the people who play the game sub. That is pretty damn good. I just think people are turned off by the idea of a sub right off the bat. Where Runescape and ESO you can try the game and decide to sub later for the benefits 

Agreed. Even WOW lets you play the game free for 20 levels or so I think and FF14 has trials often. If you are going to do a sub at least offer a trial of some sort. 

If a game doesn't have some kind of free trial, then it is a non-starter for me.  It doesn't matter how many great reviews it gets, or how much praise it gets from news, or even if a friend is playing it and want me to join them.  It could be a F2P model, a restricted demo (like WoW's 20 level deal) or a simple demo.  No hands on preview, no purchase.  My days of spending on the hopes a game is good are behind me.  Just a simple personal financial truth I've had to adjust to.

AAAMEOW

So do you think runescape is popular because it is subscription based, or is it subscription based because the game remain popular?

gervaise1

Arterius said:

I don't think its dead I just thing the game has to have a buy to play or F2P offer attached. I mean look at ESO. B2P and Almost half of the people who play the game sub. That is pretty damn good. I just think people are turned off by the idea of a sub right off the bat. Where Runescape and ESO you can try the game and decide to sub later for the benefits 

"Almost half of the people play the game sub."

Other than an occasional number I haven't seen Zenimax give out much info at all. Have you a source? 

iixviiiix

If i remember right , Runescape sub price is $7 right ? or $10

gervaise1

If ESO is the future of subscriptions though I think there is source for worry.

Arguably a p2w subscription as well since a sub is not required to play so if you are subscribing you are paying "extra money" for "extra stuff". (Which worries me not in the slightest I will add but paying more for advantages is the basic definition of p2w.)

If we are to have cash shops - did I say if? - then we should make a distinction, I suggest, and praise cash shops which only sell cosmetics over those that offer "extras". Fortnite shows that it can work. The problem for "less successful" games without zillions of players that feel the need to increase revenue is to add those tempting extras to their store.

gervaise1

ultimateduck said:

It's my preferred MMO payment model. You give them money, they give you everything the game has to offer... the end.

My preferred model is b2p. You give them money they give you stuff. No money no stuff, no stuff no money.

The problem with the sub is twofold:
- If there is no guarantee of any new content you just have to pay and pay and pay. And you get people rushing through content as fast as possible etc. Potentially "Money no stuff"
- If there is a guarantee of new content you get subscription free loaders; pay a sub for a month, blast through any new content as fast as possible, unsub and maybe come back in a year. Potentially "No Money, Stuff". 

There are ways to link subs to stuff but doesn't seem high on the agenda.

SpectralHunter

I prefer subscription.  I don't like being nickel and dimed for my game.  

Iselin

Take both WOWs, FFARR, Runescape and every "optional" sub game out of the equation and yes siree bob, it done died.

But I bet you anything there are more players subbed to one MMO or another today than there have ever been at any time.

Gravarg

Subscription model isn't dead.  The problem with a subscription model is that it takes longer to make money. Where as games with cash shops, microtransactions, and DLC are psychologically easier to manipulate people to spend more money.

Subscription you'll pay $15, and some players might spend a little more on a cash shop item from time to time. The other models all rely on whales and psychology to get you to spend as much as possible as quickly as possible.  While things will cost less than $15, in these games you are pressured to spend more than that, a lot more.

Cryomatrix

I dont care about the financial model. If it is good enough to get me addicted then it is good enough for my money.

Ungood

Robokapp said:

Wizardry said:

Runescape is not even a good game so idc what it is doing.

citation needed.

It's his personal opnion, they said it, that's all the citation they need. If you feel that it was the best game ever, then that is what you think.

Good and Bad are subjective.

Ungood

Gravarg said:

Subscription model isn't dead.  The problem with a subscription model is that it takes longer to make money. Where as games with cash shops, microtransactions, and DLC are psychologically easier to manipulate people to spend more money.

Subscription you'll pay $15, and some players might spend a little more on a cash shop item from time to time. The other models all rely on whales and psychology to get you to spend as much as possible as quickly as possible.  While things will cost less than $15, in these games you are pressured to spend more than that, a lot more.

This is no longer true.

There used to be more money to be made on F2P games with Cash Shops, because well, people had come off Sub based games, and were willing and ready to spend money on their hobby. But the population has changed and the numbers do not look anywhere near as good as they used to.

However, one thing that has remained constant about F2P games since their inception, is they have a much higher return rate then Sub based games, so, being F2P makes it far easier for players to go back to their old games, where the sub model functioned as a paywall against returning.

Personally, my prefered model is the B2P with Item Shop, as that keeps out the people who are just looking for a free ride, but it also keeps the door open to return with ease.

Palebane

It’s dead to me, thats for sure. I no longer have the desire to put that much effort or money into one game. Plus, I feel the F2P model gives devs more incentive to put out good content in order to deserve my continued support. I can see what I’m getting before I pay, as it should be, imo.

Palebane

flguy147 said:

Do you think there is a correlation with the sub model dying and the decline of MMORPGs?   I dont think its the only reason but part of the problem.  But again there are many issues.  Personally i love cool cosmetics items, mounts, etc.  It makes it fun if i can actually acquire them by playing the game instead of buying them off a store which i never buy stuff off a cash shop.  Wish we would go back to the sub model.  

Great point. I would have to agree that flair and status have become a major focus over community and player agency in modern multiplayer games. Whether the chicken or the egg came first is open to endless debate, imo.

Ungood

flguy147 said:

Do you think there is a correlation with the sub model dying and the decline of MMORPGs?   I dont think its the only reason but part of the problem.  But again there are many issues.  Personally i love cool cosmetics items, mounts, etc.  It makes it fun if i can actually acquire them by playing the game instead of buying them off a store which i never buy stuff off a cash shop.  Wish we would go back to the sub model.  

This has always been something that baffled me.

I hear players talk about how they would spend upwards to, I think the highest I have heard to date was like 30 a month fee to play a game, where they get nothing but access to the game, which they will lose the second they cease to pay their subscription fee.

But If access to the game is given to them for free, even if they are playing and enjoying the game, they won't spend that self same $30 a month for some extra perks to keep the game going.

Never Understood this to be honest, and I don't think I ever will, and I am not sure if I even want to try. 

Raquis

ill pay a subscription anytime if a MMO is good.

Dlusion333

I'd 100% rather subscribe than these Free to Play games with micro transactions for non-cosmetic items. Why put effort in when a kid with their moms credit card can pass you before even starting the game... Subscription like FFXIV is perfect, I love them, sadly not too into the game itself but I love their model.