For most people, a lifetime subscription is probably--in absolute dollar terms--not a good deal.
However, a lifetime subscription can have a curious psychological effect. Because you are no longer "on the meter", so to speak, you feel a lot less pressure to get things done in a hurry since really there is no need to hurry. I can take as many hours as want to deliver pies in LOTRO without feeling angered about getting my money's worth for the time spent. I can relax, enjoy the sights, smell the virtual flowers.
In LOTRO this feeling is heightened because of the nature of PvP and the loot system. It's not a PvP arms race anymore, and you don't have to raid 50% of the time while spending the other 50% of the time preparing to raid.
After playing WoW for 2 years and CoH/CoV off and on, LOTRO and a lifetime subscription has been a breath of fresh air. I no longer feel a burning need to ravenously consume content like a fat man at the buffet 20 minutes before closing time--I can take my time, and I am enjoying gaming a lot more.
I think having the deal at start of the game and only for 1 month is not a good idea. Having the possibility to upgrade your standard account to lifetime, instead, would be a nice option to have.
You're in luck then. Turbine just recently announced that anyone can now get a lifetime sub. Although now the price is $299, rather than the founders price of $199. So, I guess you'd have to be even more in love with it to do it now. But hey, at least you got your wish.
OMG now its 300 Bucks? They re-offer the lifetime rate after more and more people start ditching due to boredom, but they want 100 bucks MORE now??...er...how is this a smart business desicion?
Frank 'Spankybus' Mignone www.spankybus.com -3d Artist & Compositor -Writer -Professional Amature
OMG now its 300 Bucks? They re-offer the lifetime rate after more and more people start ditching due to boredom, but they want 100 bucks MORE now??...er...how is this a smart business desicion?
Because a shitload of people are playing it and a shitload of people asked for them to reinstate it.
In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.
I got a bad feeling about LOTRO during the open beta when they basically started with the high pressure sales pitch. BUY NOW AND SAVE MONEY!!!!
To me this screams of desperation. The feeling I got was they knew the game wasn't good and wanted to try and cash in as much as possible during the open beta/new release hype. It just seemed really cheesy to me.
I would love if other games did this, like I would love to be able to buy a combo TR/COH package or something 8)
First of all i will say that LOTRO is a good game for what it is and it does do well portraying the world that Tolken made for the world.
I didnt vote for this because i dont feel its a scam a scam is where someone buys a Porche off E-Bay after seeing pictures of it [or so he thinks] after paying the cash fr it he recieved a Assembled and painted Porche model kit. Its the same Porche you seen i the photos its just that it loked bigger in the photos
Anyway i dont like the system as yu ahve jst a month to deide if you like this game and as you all know it can take more than 1 month to be sure abut such things. So no i dont like it as it forces you to pay 300 instead of buying the standard monthly subsciption for 2-3 months before deciding you dont like it.
If you like the game it's a good deal. If you don't like the game it's a bad deal. There is not absolute value in this.
I think there's an absolute. It's like buying extended warrenties. You're betting against the house. The house/manufacturer predicts you won't need the warrenty so they stand to make money without having to provide a service. Turbine predicts their product won't suffice to keep you entertained for many months, so they offer a "deal" to get many months paid for up front. I'm glad I didn't bet against the house.
I think the life time membership plan is a great deal if you're going to stay with the game in long term. Altho I don't think you'll see a lot of game publishers going that route as that means less money for them in the long run.
I think there is a difference between a "scam" and "not worth it."
If Turbine had let you buy a lifetime membership and shut the servers down in 6 months, that would be a scam -- especially if it turned out they had planned to do that all along. But they haven't done that.
In other words, as there is no indication they will do that, then as long as the package they offer has all the features they originally advertised, it can't be considered a scam.
Now, whether it's worth it -- that depends on your play style. I have tried a lot of MMOs: SWG, GW, COH/V, Ryzom, Vanguard. I have only ever stayed in one -- SWG -- long enough that I would not hat lost money on such a deal. So to me, it would be most definitely not worth it.
But just because it isn't worth it, doesn't make it a "scam."
Perhaps "Hussle" would have been a better term for it. They didn't really give you enough time to decide if the 199.00 option was in your best interest. So you had to decide quickly for their "Limited-time only" offer. Car dealers use this trick a lot, they make offers that they csay can only be done "Today"...if you leave, well then the deal is off the table.
Now, Turbine has since re-opened the lifetime membership offer on an indefenite basis as I understand it. This is a much better approach to a lifetime mebership, accept that it is 100 bucks more then it was initially. Let me choose that option at any time.
Frank 'Spankybus' Mignone www.spankybus.com -3d Artist & Compositor -Writer -Professional Amature
if i remember correctly it was 99.99 dollars or euro's i cant remember...but it was 99.99 i cant find that email anymore stupid horrible searching in gmail -.-
I voted scam... how many people fall in love with a game and i'm talking really really like it... not just get that first rush of excitment from playing it in one month? I played the game for a month and then canceled my subscription... i'd have to say scam sorry to all those that think this game is amazing... it's just not in my opinion.
It's a great deal, as long as the developers let you try it (open beta) for a significant amount of time (~month) before committing.
I paid the $200 for LOTRO, and I wish that Planetside had that option when it was launched.
MMO games played or tested: EQ, DAoC, Archlord, Auto Assault, CoH, CoV, EQ2, EVE, Guild Wars, Hellgate: London, Linneage II, LOTRO, MxO, Planetside, SWG, Sword of the New World, Tabula Rasa, Vanguard, WWIIOL, WOW, Age of Conan
I prefer the approach that SOE takes with their station pass over a lifetime sub. Theres only two games I played for over 2 years straight; UO and DAoC. I can see the draw of never having to pay again with lifetime, but with station pass I can play all the games whenever I want. Maybe its not as cost effective but it works for me.
I guess I'm not seeing where companies offering their customers MORE choices is a bad thing.
It would be different if the lifetime membership was the only choice you had. But, they have all the same choices as the other MMO companies as well. In addition, they offer the lifetime sub. for those that want that.
Yeah, you could make the argument that the Founder's pricing was a "hurry-up" and buy type of a sales pitch, but it was also a great savings off the normal price for those that decided to take the chance. So, I guess that part just depends on how well you like the game or not. In other words; it's subjective.
However, now that the Founder's pricing is no longer available you've got all the time in the world to decide which pricing model you think will fit you best.
So again, how is a company offering more choices a bad thing?
They calculate how long avarage player stay in the game and adds little time to in it. 200 bucks is over 1 year? How many games You have played more than 1 year? In my 10 years of playing MMORPG's I have played only 3 MMORPG's more than that and I have played about 20 different MMORPG's.
Turbine launched LotR with 2 unique billing offers under their 'founders' program. You could either get a 9.99 monthly membership or pay 200 bucks for a lifetime membership. Now here was the rub, you could only secure these options within the first month of launch. After that, you can only get a monthly rate of 14.99.
Getting a starting monthly rate of 9.99 is great! I mean, you get to try it out at a reduced rate, and if you like it, you get that great rate for as long as you play it. If you hate it, you can cancel and no skin off your nose. Not a bad offer!
What aboutthe lifetime membership...200 bucks up front for a game you've never played. Now Turbine did allow players who pre-odered into open Beta, a short time before the launch. However, they did cap those players' toons at lvl 15, limiting the amount of the game they could try.
Those players could continue with that toon after launch, but most have made their selection between the 9.99 monthly rate or the lifetime rate when they set up their account. Now, you'd have to play the game for more then 2 years at the 9.99 rate to make the 199.00 lifetime rate a value.
Does this seem like Turbine trying to get their hands on as much of your cash as possible before you can discover you hate the game and bail on it? We are seeing ore and more threads posted here about people who have already grow bored of the game. It would seriously suck if some of them forked over 200 bucks.
So, is a lifetime membership on a new game a good idea? Is it shady to make a player choose before he/she can even be sure if they're play it long enough to be a worthwhile investment? How many of you did the lifetime membership who were NOT in CLOSED beta? Is this a genious trend or russian roulette with your wallet?
/sound off
In response to the paragraph second from the last - Does this seem like Turbine trying to get their hands on as much of your cash as possible before you can discover you hate the game -
Answer: Yes
But why shouldn't they? Turbine took a risk along with it's investors and spent big money designing and developing the game and a nice way to share some of that risk is to pass it onto the consumer. The consumer on the other hand is presented with a good subscription deal if they take some of the risk as well.
I think it is a business practice we will see more of. Myself, I would be pretty hard pressed to ever even consider buying a life-time membership to anything - just ask my x-wives LOL
Anyway - I can also see why they would only offer it for a limited time. It is a gamble both parties are taking. Turbine and investors return is some quick cash up front to maybe cover a little operating costs for 6 months - consumers return is that if they are hooked on the game and it is successful they have purchased a subscription at an excellant price.
If it is a bust it is a bust for all involved - Turbine, investors, and the consumers.
Well if we assume that that you started LOTRO early enough to get the two options of (rounding) $10 a month or $200 lifetime membership. The you would have to play the game with a lifetime membership for 20 months, almost 2 years, for it to equal the value of the $10/month deal for the same ammount of time.
So I guess the question really is "Will I play this game for at least 20 months? or more importantly enjoy playing this game for 20 months?" a question that is nearly impossible to answer without having extensive time with the game, more time then the deal lasted. That is how they get you, you spend $200 on what sounds like a good deal, without given any time to test if you could actually stick it out long enough to get your moneys worth.
Now if it turns out you like the game enough to play for more than 20 months, then good job you got a bargan. But if you don't and you bought a lifetime membership then I guess the least you can do is keep the game around incase you deciede to come back to it.
I hope the numbers I saw on the first page were correct, if not then this is still a good hypothetical situation.
Don't you worry little buddy. You're dealing with a man of honor. However, honor requires a higher percentage of profit
Comments
For most people, a lifetime subscription is probably--in absolute dollar terms--not a good deal.
However, a lifetime subscription can have a curious psychological effect. Because you are no longer "on the meter", so to speak, you feel a lot less pressure to get things done in a hurry since really there is no need to hurry. I can take as many hours as want to deliver pies in LOTRO without feeling angered about getting my money's worth for the time spent. I can relax, enjoy the sights, smell the virtual flowers.
In LOTRO this feeling is heightened because of the nature of PvP and the loot system. It's not a PvP arms race anymore, and you don't have to raid 50% of the time while spending the other 50% of the time preparing to raid.
After playing WoW for 2 years and CoH/CoV off and on, LOTRO and a lifetime subscription has been a breath of fresh air. I no longer feel a burning need to ravenously consume content like a fat man at the buffet 20 minutes before closing time--I can take my time, and I am enjoying gaming a lot more.
You're in luck then. Turbine just recently announced that anyone can now get a lifetime sub. Although now the price is $299, rather than the founders price of $199. So, I guess you'd have to be even more in love with it to do it now. But hey, at least you got your wish.
OMG now its 300 Bucks? They re-offer the lifetime rate after more and more people start ditching due to boredom, but they want 100 bucks MORE now??...er...how is this a smart business desicion?
Frank 'Spankybus' Mignone
www.spankybus.com
-3d Artist & Compositor
-Writer
-Professional Amature
Because a shitload of people are playing it and a shitload of people asked for them to reinstate it.
In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.
I got a bad feeling about LOTRO during the open beta when they basically started with the high pressure sales pitch. BUY NOW AND SAVE MONEY!!!!
To me this screams of desperation. The feeling I got was they knew the game wasn't good and wanted to try and cash in as much as possible during the open beta/new release hype. It just seemed really cheesy to me.
I would love if other games did this, like I would love to be able to buy a combo TR/COH package or something 8)
To me it's a good deal... I hope that also wow will follow this way...
First of all i will say that LOTRO is a good game for what it is and it does do well portraying the world that Tolken made for the world.
I didnt vote for this because i dont feel its a scam a scam is where someone buys a Porche off E-Bay after seeing pictures of it [or so he thinks] after paying the cash fr it he recieved a Assembled and painted Porche model kit. Its the same Porche you seen i the photos its just that it loked bigger in the photos
Anyway i dont like the system as yu ahve jst a month to deide if you like this game and as you all know it can take more than 1 month to be sure abut such things. So no i dont like it as it forces you to pay 300 instead of buying the standard monthly subsciption for 2-3 months before deciding you dont like it.
I think there's an absolute. It's like buying extended warrenties. You're betting against the house. The house/manufacturer predicts you won't need the warrenty so they stand to make money without having to provide a service. Turbine predicts their product won't suffice to keep you entertained for many months, so they offer a "deal" to get many months paid for up front. I'm glad I didn't bet against the house.
I think the life time membership plan is a great deal if you're going to stay with the game in long term. Altho I don't think you'll see a lot of game publishers going that route as that means less money for them in the long run.
I just love lifetime subs
I would wish more mmorpg's offered lifetime subs.
Eventually it just comes down on preferences, I rather pay a lot of money at once so I don't have to worry about a monthly fee.
I think there is a difference between a "scam" and "not worth it."
If Turbine had let you buy a lifetime membership and shut the servers down in 6 months, that would be a scam -- especially if it turned out they had planned to do that all along. But they haven't done that.
In other words, as there is no indication they will do that, then as long as the package they offer has all the features they originally advertised, it can't be considered a scam.
Now, whether it's worth it -- that depends on your play style. I have tried a lot of MMOs: SWG, GW, COH/V, Ryzom, Vanguard. I have only ever stayed in one -- SWG -- long enough that I would not hat lost money on such a deal. So to me, it would be most definitely not worth it.
But just because it isn't worth it, doesn't make it a "scam."
C
Perhaps "Hussle" would have been a better term for it. They didn't really give you enough time to decide if the 199.00 option was in your best interest. So you had to decide quickly for their "Limited-time only" offer. Car dealers use this trick a lot, they make offers that they csay can only be done "Today"...if you leave, well then the deal is off the table.
Now, Turbine has since re-opened the lifetime membership offer on an indefenite basis as I understand it. This is a much better approach to a lifetime mebership, accept that it is 100 bucks more then it was initially. Let me choose that option at any time.
Frank 'Spankybus' Mignone
www.spankybus.com
-3d Artist & Compositor
-Writer
-Professional Amature
if i remember correctly it was 99.99 dollars or euro's i cant remember...but it was 99.99 i cant find that email anymore
stupid horrible searching in gmail -.-
I voted scam... how many people fall in love with a game and i'm talking really really like it... not just get that first rush of excitment from playing it in one month? I played the game for a month and then canceled my subscription... i'd have to say scam sorry to all those that think this game is amazing... it's just not in my opinion.
It's a great deal, as long as the developers let you try it (open beta) for a significant amount of time (~month) before committing.
I paid the $200 for LOTRO, and I wish that Planetside had that option when it was launched.
MMO games played or tested: EQ, DAoC, Archlord, Auto Assault, CoH, CoV, EQ2, EVE, Guild Wars, Hellgate: London, Linneage II, LOTRO, MxO, Planetside, SWG, Sword of the New World, Tabula Rasa, Vanguard, WWIIOL, WOW, Age of Conan
I prefer the approach that SOE takes with their station pass over a lifetime sub. Theres only two games I played for over 2 years straight; UO and DAoC. I can see the draw of never having to pay again with lifetime, but with station pass I can play all the games whenever I want. Maybe its not as cost effective but it works for me.
Imagine if you bought a lifetime sub to Auto Assault. Doesn't seem like a good idea, does it? It's a risk not worth taking.
I guess I'm not seeing where companies offering their customers MORE choices is a bad thing.
It would be different if the lifetime membership was the only choice you had. But, they have all the same choices as the other MMO companies as well. In addition, they offer the lifetime sub. for those that want that.
Yeah, you could make the argument that the Founder's pricing was a "hurry-up" and buy type of a sales pitch, but it was also a great savings off the normal price for those that decided to take the chance. So, I guess that part just depends on how well you like the game or not. In other words; it's subjective.
However, now that the Founder's pricing is no longer available you've got all the time in the world to decide which pricing model you think will fit you best.
So again, how is a company offering more choices a bad thing?
It's not scam or great deal, it's just business.
They calculate how long avarage player stay in the game and adds little time to in it. 200 bucks is over 1 year? How many games You have played more than 1 year? In my 10 years of playing MMORPG's I have played only 3 MMORPG's more than that and I have played about 20 different MMORPG's.
MMORPG.COM has worst forum editor ever exists
Well if you quit after a few months, that's a great deal for them.... Great deal for you if you keep playing.
You can't quit since its a life time subscription. You can of course always stop playing then go back to it after a while.
Answer: Yes
But why shouldn't they? Turbine took a risk along with it's investors and spent big money designing and developing the game and a nice way to share some of that risk is to pass it onto the consumer. The consumer on the other hand is presented with a good subscription deal if they take some of the risk as well.
I think it is a business practice we will see more of. Myself, I would be pretty hard pressed to ever even consider buying a life-time membership to anything - just ask my x-wives LOL
Anyway - I can also see why they would only offer it for a limited time. It is a gamble both parties are taking. Turbine and investors return is some quick cash up front to maybe cover a little operating costs for 6 months - consumers return is that if they are hooked on the game and it is successful they have purchased a subscription at an excellant price.
If it is a bust it is a bust for all involved - Turbine, investors, and the consumers.
Well if we assume that that you started LOTRO early enough to get the two options of (rounding) $10 a month or $200 lifetime membership. The you would have to play the game with a lifetime membership for 20 months, almost 2 years, for it to equal the value of the $10/month deal for the same ammount of time.
So I guess the question really is "Will I play this game for at least 20 months? or more importantly enjoy playing this game for 20 months?" a question that is nearly impossible to answer without having extensive time with the game, more time then the deal lasted. That is how they get you, you spend $200 on what sounds like a good deal, without given any time to test if you could actually stick it out long enough to get your moneys worth.
Now if it turns out you like the game enough to play for more than 20 months, then good job you got a bargan. But if you don't and you bought a lifetime membership then I guess the least you can do is keep the game around incase you deciede to come back to it.
I hope the numbers I saw on the first page were correct, if not then this is still a good hypothetical situation.
Don't you worry little buddy. You're dealing with a man of honor. However, honor requires a higher percentage of profit