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Discussion on:Non-Sub fee payment models. WHATS THE BEST NON-Sub payment model so far (top 7)
MMOExposed
Member RarePosts: 7,400
Well since we are moving into an age where the sub fee will eventually be looked down upon, but not quite yet.
I was wondering what sort of Non-Sub models interest you all the most? And how does it work?
League of Legends doesn't have a Sub fee I believe and it's totally free to play. So how does that payment model work, because I don't tend to see a lot of negative feedback around this part of the internet regarding it, like other cash shop games do.
Rift is also another good example.
but what are your top 7 non-Sub fee models for online gaming and why did it make your list?
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
Comments
Counter Strike : no p2w cash shops or p2w players,works pretty nicely.
i think the model is called b2p g2w (game2win)
So, did ESO have a successful launch? Yes, yes it did.By Ryan Getchell on April 02, 2014.
**On the radar: http://www.cyberpunk.net/ **
F2P = P2W eventually, and often at game launch. There are no other models.
A pay as you go model would be best but that doesn't cash in on the addicts, so don't expect it. I think someone said, for those who pay, the average is about $30 or more per month; hardly F2P and more than double what sub based games were.
Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon.
In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit
Originally posted by laokoko
"if you want to be a game designer, you should sell your house and fund your game. Since if you won't even fund your own game, no one will".
Perfect world just bought them so...don't waste your time.
Well, i actually like PayToPlay most, but ill jump in here.
For me Sony wins for the best hybrid payment model.
Why do i like this one best?
Simply because it offers the best of both worlds. An endless free demo of the game, combined with the possibility to pay a sub if you want to and never be bothered with the cash shop again, ever.
And let's be honest: The "test before buy"-argument is by far the most commonly used to favor FTP, while the "i hate cashshops" is the most commonly used to hate on FTP.
Anyways, you can just stay FTP here and actually "farm" your gametime if you are so hard pressed for money that 15 bucks / month really are too much for a hobby that takes up this many hours.
What is not to like about this?
(Did i mention that 15 bucks for what? 6? games per Month basically means i am spending less then 10cents per hour of entertainment. I will never understand how on earth that could possibly be a bad deal.)
MMOs finally replaced social interaction, forced grouping and standing in a line while talking to eachother.
Now we have forced soloing, forced questing and everyone is the hero, without ever having to talk to anyone else. The evolution of multiplayer is here! We won,... right?
Also I don't mind paying for extra content, just as long as I don't have to pay money over and over again, like with health/xp potions.
You asked for 7, so here I go (in no particular order). Also these are not models, but games.
LOTRO - you buy quests and areas with currency that can be purchased or acquired
SWTOR - used to suck but is great as f2p - great storyline absolutely free. additional content you pay for
Rift - nothing new here. the new model lets you play through everything for free. not sure how they'll survive really
Wurm Online - free up to skill level 20 (100 max) and will take about 3-4 weeks to get there. paid account is worth it if you want to get your skills up, but not necessary at all. you can play on free to play for years.
Mortal Online - similar to wurm, but skills are free to 60. since it's PVP, you do have to get premium to be effective
Guild Wars 2 (tho it's b2p) - great model as you buy the game and play everything for free and the storyline is great too.
Im also going to put ArcheAge on that list as I have been playing on Russian servers for about a year now - here, the f2p part is if you want to be casual. if you want to craft/trade and become hardcore you need a premium
I review lots of indie games and MMORPGs
I'm afraid two of my favourite non-sub models actually include an optional sub. Does that count?
Well, I hope it does, so here we go. I prefer sub only, but if I had to go for something else, it would be an unlimited trial -kind of thing - unlimited referring to time in this case. For example:
You can play a game and get your skills up to level X, but increase them higher (and this is required to properly do the higher level content of the game), you need to sub. While one could argue this sort of a model is P2W, I would rather regard it as a sub system with an extended trial period. Subscribing also does not directly grant you character power, it grants your character more potential, but you need to work to reach that potential anyhow.
It is important to note that subs that give simple experience boosts I despise. Unlocking skills for a single sub is fine, as long as the sub is the same for everyone and it is the only paying option. I would not approve for example Eldevin's system in which subscribing does nothing but grants you faster experience gains and things like potions. Paying to grind less is in my eyes the essence of P2W.
The other F2P system I can approve of is a kind of an extended trial system as well. I am referring to the type of system RuneScape at least used to use back in the days of classic and I would guess afterwards as well.
It worked as follows: you could play the game on free servers, and on the free servers you could train the majority of available skills and you could explore most of the world. If you would sub, you could play on servers that were sub-only, which had extended content and more skills available. Items from the sub-only servers did not work on non-sub servers, nor did the sub-only skills.
B2P does not interest me in the slightest because when I jump into an MMORPG, I expect it to be sustained for years - B2P suggests the experience is supposed to be rather short-lived.
The Weekly Wizardry blog