As I understand it, no decision has been made on how they're going to price the game. The current models in MMO pricing are:
a. free and you pay extra for special content and equipment (about as likely to happen with EA in charge as hell freezing over)
b. monthly fees like WoW
c. monthly fees with option to buy a one time lifetime membership which takes care of monthly fees forever like LotRO
d. Pay for the campaigns as they come out instead of monthly fees like Guild Wars
There may be some other models I'm not aware of but these are the main ones that I know about.
Personally, I like the Guild Wars model--buy the campaign and you're done, no monthly fees. I can live with a LotRO model where you have the option of a one-time lifetime membership fee along with the option of paying monthly. I don't want to mess around with monthly fees.
Also, some of us have families that play MMOs, and a family discount would be incredibly helpful. My hubby, my kids, and I all play Guild Wars together, and we all love Star Wars, too. I know we're going to be playing this game when it comes out. The concept of having an entire family playing an MMO together is fairly new, but I think the ranks of families gaming together will grow with time, and family pricing discounts would help facilitate that trend.
It'll be option B, no doubts about it for me.
Letter d. all the way. If you're going to play the MMO for a long period, then the fees certainly aren't the way to do it. Paying for special gear works, but some games make it impossible for a non-payer to even think on competing with a payer. As for the lifelong memeberships... well, why not go Guild Wars way?
The Free MMO concept is nice, until you realize you are playing a free MMO.
Guild Wars is a fine game, I'll give it that. But it is also severely lacking content compared to other MMOs, all of which are pay-to-play. Not to say that is bad, as it obviously works.
Just that when I play GW, it honestly does feel like I'm playing a free MMO. When the team is getting a constant stream of money, I notice that there are more moderators, glitch fixes, faster patches, etc. They just have more money to expand servers, staff, and the game. Now, a good part of it is profit, but that just goes to improving the MMO and working on other games (Say, Mass Effect 2 and 3)
As far as paying goes, $15 is the highest I'm willing to shovel out.
A lifetime membership could be an option, but that would only be the case if I -really- loved this game.
Get serious here. It's EA. You know what they'll do.
Monthly fee all the way. It's the only option that will ensure that all the poor leet-speaking punks won't be able to play it.
Seriously, make the fee as high as possible!
I would prefer (c), but I am 95% sure we will get (b). Furthermore EA will tell us that high subscription fees are good for the customers, and a sufficient number of people will even fall for that trick...
How about a two to four week free trial. Get people into the game. Charge a $10 monthly fee after the trial.
How about a two to four week free trial. Get people into the game. Charge a $10 monthly fee after the trial.
The first month of any MMO is usually free, so there is a good chance it will be the same here.
A
I wish....incredibly unlikely though...
I'm for the Guild Wars method, even though it will more than likely be monthly fees.
I, like many other Americans, have a low budget. So monthly fees is something I am not looking forward to. So if we do have to pay by the month, this will be yet another game I will not be buying! My wife and son come first!
If I was going to play this game. I would want a mix of b & c.
I am definitely expecting a $15 per month charge like most other MMOs like WoW. I think option c would be the best because you would actually feel you are getting your money's worth for each mission but I don't see it happening.
C would be best. I may buy a lifetime membership if it turns out to be kickass. B would be fine, but C's the best choice afaik.
Would love a (C) or a (D).
Probably going to get a (B).
_EW_
Probably a standard monthly fee. Probably a dozily high one.:(
The lifetime membership thing would be interesting (provided the game is good, of course!:xp:), again dependent upon how much they charge.
A, C and D put together. No monthly fees ever... new content is released that we can buy about half goes into game for free other half we have to pay for if we want. An option to donate... Though I would only do it if it were like: A meter that shows the amount of money needed to make K3 and once it is full L.A. and BioWare begin working on it, though I dont want to have to buy equipments that should all be free 24/7...
A lifetime membership would be acceptable, though depending on the cost I find it unlikly I, or anyone, would really be able to afford it, if we go by WoW's pricing, that's $130 for a year, and I can't imagine a lifetime membership costing much less than that.
I would prefer a free to play game, simply because I've got better things to pay for on a monthly basis, such as food, rent, ect....Yeah, 15 isn't much, but it's 15 I could use for something I'm more interested in. And I don't play much, weekends really is it, and is 8 days a month worth 15 dollars, not really.
lol, I'm sure the game will designed, made, all the servers kept running, updates, testing, and all the hatred directed towards a small group of part time charity workers for free for the good of the everyman and broke teenager rofl...
It'll be, game price+ Monthly fee's, and I'll be happy to pay.
Monthly fee all the way. It's the only option that will ensure that all the poor leet-speaking punks won't be able to play it.
Seriously, make the fee as high as possible!
agreed...it will take SO much time to corpse-camp "leetJedipunt1994" if they keep it low...
Plus, the punks might be stimulated to get a job and the economy is saved! :D
Anyways, Guild Wars model is nice...but I don't have problems with monthly fee. WoW has some great options (iDeal, scratch cards etc) that this game could have too.
b or c are the only ways to actually be able to build and sustain enough infrastructure and bandwidth for a huge "proper" MMO, if you ask me. I like the idea of a lifetime fee, but ultimately it would either be ridiculously cheap or ridiculously expensive, depending on how long a period the game is maintained.
They'll most likely go for B), which I like. It encourages them to make an effort because their income would be dependent on the game not sucking.
On a semi-related note, wasn't the lifetime membership for LotRO only available before the game was released?
They'll most likely go for B), which I like. It encourages them to make an effort because their income would be dependent on the game not sucking.
On a semi-related note, wasn't the lifetime membership for LotRO only available before the game was released?
yea...for 199 bucks...
Personally I would rather have the monthly fee. Every free mmo I've played I got bored with very quickly. Of course the game itself has to be good from the start, but without a game to base it off of, all I can do is go by past experiences.
I equate it to cable TV versus air. I'll pay for the clearer picture and extre channels. So what if it's a monthly fee, I get that much more enjoyment out of it.
Monthly fee all the way. It's the only option that will ensure that all the poor leet-speaking punks won't be able to play it.
Haha, so true. QFT.
If a monthly fee is going to make it more likely that we get more content, if it can be proven to keep out time-wasters, I will pay it (though grudgingly). Provided, of course, it is not obscenely high.
I would imagine it being a monthly fee. So long as they have lots of payment options
(Various credit/debit cards, paypal, hot air), this will make it better. It took Galaxies/SOE far too long to introduce a variety of payment options, which only hindered the game
On a semi-related note, wasn't the lifetime membership for LotRO only available before the game was released?
The lifetime subscription was available for $199 for those who pre-ordered.
Not long after launch, a new liftetime offer available for everyone appeared (at $299), which is still going on.
Since then, Turbine has been offering a discounted lifetime subscription for $199 on several occasions (e. g. for pre-ordering the expansion).
The lifetime subscription was available for $199 for those who pre-ordered.
Not long after launch, a new liftetime offer available for everyone appeared (at $299), which is still going on.
Since then, Turbine has been offering a discounted lifetime subscription for $199 on several occasions (e. g. for pre-ordering the expansion).
Thank you, I just heard that and I thought it was a bit dumb to invest $200 in an MMO that hadn't been released at the time.
Thank you, I just heard that and I thought it was a bit dumb to invest $200 in an MMO that hadn't been released at the time.
That is correct. But many people getting the founder lifetime subscription had been in beta for months, so they knew the game pretty well before release.
If this game was free, I wouldn't play it. If I have to buy an expansion every 3-6 months or "The Old Republic 2" (like Guild Wars), I wont be playing it. People need to realize what exactly they're paying for when there's a subscription cost. Everything requires an upkeep. I'm happier knowing my money/month goes to the staff in charge of the game, knowing full well that while I'm supplying money, they're still continuing to update and progress the game further.
For me to ever consider buying a MMO game, it would have to be option d, like Guild Wars (though I haven't bought Guild Wars yet, but I have considered it). However, like Jae said, the sad truth is that it will most likely be option b, Like WoW. :(
I am some-what interested in this game, so preferably I'd like it to be either C or D. I'm not a big fan of the monthly fees.
If this game was free, I wouldn't play it. If I have to buy an expansion every 3-6 months or "The Old Republic 2" (like Guild Wars), I wont be playing it. People need to realize what exactly they're paying for when there's a subscription cost. Everything requires an upkeep. I'm happier knowing my money/month goes to the staff in charge of the game, knowing full well that while I'm supplying money, they're still continuing to update and progress the game further.
Mathematically, I find it improbable that a game requires 150 million(15 a month x 10 million users, assuming they pay at least once a year for a month) dollars a year to upkeep, even if only half of that is upkeep and half is profit. Given that many players pay for more than once a month a year, we're probably looking at 300 million annually. That's a LOT of money. The movie Titanic only cost 100 million more.
Just an FYI, Blizzard does not make 150 million a month, because the cost of subscription is different in various places and not everyone has the same options (i.e. in China you pay by the hour).