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Monthly fee standard
uohaloran
Member Posts: 811
Since Everquest, I believe, the standard has been $15/month (bulk payment discounts notwithstanding). I remember the monthly fee was a bit lower with Ultima Online but that's been rectified and it's actually gone up from it's original price (inflation, whatever, don't know why).
Why haven't more of these larger companies tried lower monthly fees away from the standard $15 a month? RIFT recently offered a return for $4.99 for the first month deal, but that's not exactly moving away from the standard - it's still just a promotion. Even more recently, Fallen Earth went free-to-play and it has a three tier subscription option with the standard $15 a month being the middle of the tier and there being a $10 a month and a $20 a month option.
I think it'd be a nice middle ground for these games that are launching with hybrid models or adapting to hybrid models. Think it'd separate the haves from the havenots too much? I think it's something we might see more of eventually and definitely something I think we'll see before the subscription model is outweighed by the quickly-becoming-popular microtransaction option.
I know personally I'd be more inclined to try a cheaper subscription plan before I'd invest into microtransactions/macrotransactions.
What about you?
Comments
While I like the idea of tiered subscription plans, it would really depend on what I would gain or lose from going to a different priced plan then the standard. If I was given the option for say a 5 or 10 dollar plan I would be more willing to resub to a game on that then possibly upgrade it from there.
Tried and not gonna play anymore hybrid or f2p games. I am tired and disillusioned about cash shops.
I am surprised that monthly fees have not gone up since EQ. Well guess it is 'WoW effect'.
Other thing is many games did not deserve subscription of any kind beign just bad cheap games. (STO for example)
Anyway once hybrid / cash shops / microtransacions take over I am gonna stop playing mmorpg's.
Simple existence of cash shop make my personal game experience worse , vanity or not.
As I said I tried to play few games based on microtransactions and did not like it. Latest p2p + pushing cash shops also is awful idea.
Well once I cannot find interesting game that does not go into these sttinky, greedy waters I stop playing. (will not play Swtor, it seems worth every penny with subscription quality wise, but not my type of mmorpg - will check trial propably when avabile thou to make opinion based on my on experience).
Give me what I want in an MMO and I'd pay 30-50 bucks a month.. This does not include pay to win games.. not thanks.
Prices for things generally increase over time, not decrease. We should count ourselves lucky that monthly subs are still only £8.99 tbh.
So, you tried one game and it didn't blow you away so you say screw all of them? Ok, don't care. The reason monthly fees havn't gone up is cause no one wants to pay 15 a month, who is going to pay more? Idiots, maybe. If Cash Shops make your game experience worse then you better stop playing games in general cause EVERY game is getting them P2P or not. WoW, Rift, and Aion all have cash shops and are P2P. TSW and SWTOR are going to have them as well so you might as well stop playing MMOs. See ya.
If I am stuck with a cash shop no matter what it might as well have a F2P option cause P2P + Cash shop will only attract ignorant people with wallets that believe that P2P instantly means a better game when it doesn't.
Considering games are failing with a monthly fee and going freemium, they should consider themselves lucky that we even buy the game in the first place.
Games fail at mothly fees only after they fail the public with the Game launch.. people wil pay for a pretty good game, and a company can make a killing if they know what they are doing.
I've been paying sub for ffxi for 7 years and also payed for wow, lotro, aion, rift few months so I don't mind paying but it beats me that CoD for example is also multiplayer and you don't have to pay a dime per month, same goes to GW and the upcoming GW2.
Buying the game client should be the standart since customers allready pay internet service to be able to play their games online.
To make further income the game will upgrade with expansions every year or so like CoD for example comes out with extra maps addons or new CoD game every year.
This is my opinion and I still pay monthly which I'm doing atm with rift
Edit: I'm completly against microtransactions, cash shops, RMT or any thing like that for example D3 is going to have RM AH man f that no way I'm playing.
Who told you I played only one? Try to not make facts out of your [you know what].
Millions of subscription payers disagree with you that noone want to pay 15$.
Do what you want really. I did not say that F2P GAMES are worse. I did say this business model IS worse FOR ME.
Learn to read really.
I will stop playing mmorpg's when I have no option anymore, I said that in previous post so read, it does not hurt to read and understand what you read actually.
EQ1 was less than $15 a Mo initially, I wanna say it was $11.99 but my memory may be failing me. I do remember it was initially cheaper and there were some increses in price over the years.
The current $15 a Mo has been an industry standard for a good few years though (6? 7? something like that) I
MMO companys are all reluctant to be the *first* to raise the price, rest assured that as soon as WoW raises its sub price all the others will fall in line, thats the advantage with being the big boy on the block .. they set the trends. Of course Blizzard with its millions of users can keep a $15 tag and remain raking in huge profits, meaning they set a cap on other MMO's and can make the sub model look very unattractive to a new game, since they now have a minimum sub level they have to achieve to break even, then run into profits.
The current economic climate will also turn MMO's off any type of sub increase for fear of losing subs. Of course this just means they look into other ways to make a profit. New MMO's cost more *out of the box* than they used to. ($60 for SWToR vs what $39.99 for EQ back in the day?) And then theres the cash shop / micro transaction model most MMOs are adopting.
Rest assured that prices are going *up* as much as they think the market will bare, its just not the obvious monthly sub ticket thats seeing the rise.
None of this I actually *mind*. A few years back I was very opposed to micro-transactions etc, (View some of my post history .. I HATED it) would'ent even concider a game that hosted them. These days I just view it as the price hike thats been long overdue (in my mind) Would I prefure the MMO companys to just bite the bullet and raise monthly subs to $20? $25 a month? Sure .. I still dont *like* micro-transactions but now I just look at them in a different way. If myself and my wife pay $15 a month sub and $10 a month each in micro transactions, then its what I'd be happy to pay on a pure sub model anyway so I'm content.
Micro transactions that try to fleece me for cash constantly and I estimate as will cost us more than the sub payment per month .. those I bin. So I guess my comftable limit atm is $30 in sub fees (Me and the wife) and around another $30 between us in transactions per month ... more than that will turn me off a game atm. (My view will undoubtably change in years to come again if sub prices dissapear or remain static ... I'll be willing to spend even more on transactions)