MMORPG Subscription Economics Discussed

Thanks to GamePro for their article discussing why MMORPGs charge a monthly subscription fee, discussing the "extra developer attention and player community" a monthly payment allegedly brings. It quotes a Blizzard spokesman as saying "running a massively multiplayer game like Blizzard's upcoming World of WarCraft costs about three times as much as running an online server like Battle.net, because MMO games require constant maintenance, 24/7 customer support, and an ongoing dedicated development team", and NCSoft's Robert Garriott, brother of Richard, says: "Think of it as running a small city. Many of these games have hundreds of thousands of 'citizens.' NCsoft operates the 'government' that builds new roads, puts criminals in jail, and digs new caverns for citizens to explore and enjoy. All of that costs real money."

Comments

I disagree completely

[neostorm]

This article seems to be trying to stem the flow of complaints concerning online fees with fluffed up examples. For instance, when I was working at Sony (Electonics) in 2000, it was a widely discussed phenomenon concerning the $3.5 million in pure *profit* that Sony raked in per *month* from Everquest. This was after server fees, support fees, and everyone involved had gotten thier paychecks, and if you recall in 2000 EQ cost $9.95 a month.
I knew Sony had a lot of balls several months later when they raised their monthly fee citing extended expenses. And then they did it again, and again...

Furthermore: "...and all people interviewed for this article feel you have nothing to lose by trying it out."
I have to disagree with this, as there is a lot to lose out on when trying out these games. It costs $50 to pick up a game at the store, and everytime I've checked they are non-returnable due to their online-game status.
I think it's an excelent move when developers started to release demos for their new MMOs online, because I am not about to plop down $50 for a game that may be utter crap that I can't return. However, when I can download the full version of this game online to try it out, I then question why I would need to drive to the store and pay an extra $50 for a box and manual in the first place.

I think it needs to be said that the industry has identified a new rush of revenue. MMOs are hot right now, and with the insane amount of profit abailable it's like a new gold rush, or a second .com era. I really wish gamers would step back and take a look at the real facts however, because developers could still make plenty of money by releasing these games online or in retail for (very) minimal prices, and still only charge $10 a month. The last MMO I was tempted to play appeared recently a $16/mo, and that's the last time I even thought about checking one out.

Re:I disagree completely

[whorfin]

For instance, when I was working at Sony (Electonics) in 2000, it was a widely discussed phenomenon concerning the $3.5 million in pure *profit* that Sony raked in per *month* from Everquest. This was after server fees, support fees, and everyone involved had gotten thier paychecks, and if you recall in 2000 EQ cost $9.95 a month.

IIRC, Everquest has ~400,000 subscribers, which would mean that they brought in about $3.5m in revenue per month, before paying for support people, developers, paying for bandwidth (lots), electricity et al.

The money that EQ brings in a year is significantly smaller than a 'smash hit' like Vice City, Madden Football, or the like, and the profit margins are nowhere near as high.

This article has an interesting read on the online market.

SOE-tech support or lack there of.

[skinnedmink]

Well, all I know is that SOE tech support is not worth it. On the 24/7 tech support, try 9-6 weekdays.... on a non-800 number. Depressing.

Tier-based Subscription

[Allaran]

I too have often wondered why they don't implement a system which allows you to choose a payment plan that is most economic for your playing style or even just lets you graduate to a different level depending on your play.

For casual ( 10 hours/month) players, $1/hr.

For midrange ( 10-40 hours/month ), $10/month.

For hardcore (40+ hours/month), $20/month.

Naturally, they'd do research to determine ideal numbers, but this would encourage more casual people to play, and give them higher revenue from hard-core players.

Free Trial Please?

[MMaestro]

I think MMO games need to package a free trial subscription in the boxes. Now before you people point out, 'some/most games already do' I'd like to point out that a 30 day free trial is never equal to the $50 you paid for basicly a CD in a box. The average subscription rate for MMO games is something like $15 a month now, right? Well if I could get 2-3 months of free subscription time and some real goodies in the box, I'd be much more willing to try the game out.

Thats just my opinion, but considering signing up for a MMO is a fairly considerable financial decision, I want some serious payback. And no, when I say goodies in the box, a manual with more than 50 pages doesn't count, nor does a cheap napkin sized cloth.

A really, really neat goodie would be to give a special items out to players, based on random drawings using their CD key. Say you got a CD key between B and D, so you'd get a unique prize that only people in that catagory would get. It could also be ever changing with the game like it could grow, transform, or some other really cool thing. Like for those who played the game for 1 year without ever cancelling their subscription and being a regular player (1 hour a week on average) would have their unique item become some kind secret treasure map or a key that would only work with a treasure chest that another unique CD key user would get. That would be a lot cooler and a lot more appliable to the idea of the MMO world constantly changing.