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Online Games - Get Hooked For Free

Posted by simoniker on from the and-unhooked-at-great-expense dept.

Thanks to Wired News for their story discussing online games trying alternatives to subscription fees, including extended free trials, in order to ensnare gamers. The article points out: "Online games are adding millions of new players each year, but business models haven't adapted to accommodate the new playing population... casual gamers wary of shelling out monthly subscription fees are the driving force behind this growth." Nexon's Shattered Galaxy is the featured example, with Paul Philleo from the company also mentioning another development in online titles, that of (alleged) specialization: "We're not trying to operate like Asheron's Call or Ultima Online. We're going for a new, niche audience."

2 of 34 comments (clear)

  1. Our dirty secrets by Teppy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's a method that has worked well for us, and that a lot of people seem to appreciate:

    1. We don't ask for a credit card upfront. We don't require a real name, or an email address, or anything else - just download the client and play.
    2. Limit of 24 hours of game time, but it can be spread over as many sessions as desired. After that, it prompts for a credit card to continue.
    3. Certain content (about 15 items) required a paid account. Not enough to be bothersome, but enough so that most people run into a couple things they wish they could do during their free trial.
    4. Billing is done in-game - not on a website - so when someone does run into restricted content, they can unlock it instantly by entering a credit card.
    5. We pay the credit card company extra (about 1%) to not require all the name/address/blood type bullshit. Again, to make it very quick & easy to pay when the unavailable content comes up.

    So, how has this worked? We've had 27.5k people log in to the game. Of those, around 17% have paid for at least one month. Most shareware (which is the closest analogy to how we do things) averages 1%.

    Only 3.5% of those who try the game exhaust their 24 hours and then leave. A much smaller number than that (anecdotal - I don't track this directly) pay, but only after exhausting their 24 hours. Perhaps 1%. These last two are what I find so interesting - it says that an MMORPG can *almost* behave like a shareware game. Play for free as along as you'd like, but you get some bonuses for paying.

  2. Guess I should have mentioned the game... by Teppy · · Score: 4, Informative

    A Tale in the Desert. This is why I should stick to programming, not marketing.