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On The Rising Price of MMO Subscriptions
An anonymous reader writes "With the ever rising price of online games and special offers like Anarchy Online's free trial where you can play free until September for $9.95. I've been wondering - how much do people feel is too much to pay for an online game? The 'normal' price used to be $9.95 per month, and EverQuest is now $12.95 a month, with Star Wars Galaxies, City Of Heroes and others at $14.95. How much do increasing monthly fees affect your playing habits, and does the price of an MMO subscription affect which game you might choose to play?" Perhaps schemes such as the Sony Online All Access subscription are a possible solution?
Well, to quote my own web site:
Either charge a subscription, or charge for the game, but don't ask me to pay twice.
If I need a subscription to play, I'm very unlikely to pay $50 for the game, because if I decide I don't like it I'm left with a $50 coaster. Games which are offline or online can get away with charging for the game itself, but it's still a bad idea if the main point is the multiplayer: A high up-front cost to join a subscription game screams "We don't think you'll stay a member for long so we'd better get some cash up front".
Monthly subscriptions don't work for me, unless they're really cheap.
Your market is people with broadband and significant disposable income. To me, that says adults with jobs. Like many adults with jobs, there are months when I don't really get any time to play video games at all.
It seems to me that it's not technically hard at all to have a "per hour" fee, capped at the cost of a monthly subscription. That would encourage casual gamers and people who aren't sure they will like the game enough to get really into it and spend hours on it every month.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
The upcoming MMO Guild Wars will have no monthly subscription fee.
Mine's movies. I compare it all to movies. I'm often willing to pay $10 for two hours of entertainment. Whereas I'll spend the same money for many hours a month playing an MMO (puzzle pirates).
no, i don't play MMORGs, but i've had points in my life where i played way too many video games, simply because there was nothing immediately better to do and i didn't have an interest in actively seeking out real life stuff to do.
The harsh reality of the matter is that MMORPGs cost a metric ton of money to develop and maintain. You can't just push the boxed product out and then maybe do a few bug fix patches, you have to actively develop new content for it over the span of multiple years, while paying your bandwidth bill, and supporting the massive customer service department you have to have. So, I don't think it's too much to ask for a boxed copy fee, PLUS a monthly. That's the extra cost of playing a game experience that goes beyond what you got in your initial money dump. Some smaller MMOs which can't support huge audiences can charge nothing or next to nothing, and you've got Guild Wars which is ostensibly free but asks for money to access certain content -- but you're never going to get a truly free MMO.
:) After 15, you're pushing it, since most luxury monthly-fee services like Tivo and such tend to pile up and are all in the same 15 range. You want to keep them small enough, or folks will start looking for ways to trim the fat.
But that said, look at the economics of it; a 15 a month subscription is the absolute maximum, and that's assuming you don't play any other MMORPGs. (I can't see a casual player playing more than 1-2 of them, anyway. There's just not enoguh hours in the day.) 15 is not that much of a step up from 13. All you have to do to make the extra two bucks is not supersize it once a month.
It really comes down to how much time I have to play the game. I love EQ and can't wait for EQ2 to come out. For $13 or $15, I'll pay that every month np.
The real issue is when I have busy periods (that pesky 'work' thing) or times when I just need a break from the game. I took a few months off (from the game) when I played EQ, and for $10 a month I don't feel too bad about wasting that to hold my account. But if I'm playing $15 or $20 a month, I'll seriously reconsider taking a break vs quitting altogether.
I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
No matter what they charge, people will still buy it. Works for drugs, works for MMORPGs. Addiction is a terrible and wonderful thing, depending on who you are.
Moo.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I do not think it means what you think it means.
you can play free until September for $9.95
Well, which is it? Is it free? Or $9.95?
...or maximize the profits?
The company line is that the only reason they charge a monthly fee is because they have to pay for the bandwidth, player information storage, the CSRs, the constantly updated content. If that was true, it would be an easy task to add up the monthly expenses, and divide by the number of active subscriptions. Presto, instant price.
Anotherway would be to figure out the price per person directly. ((Average bandwidth use per user X cost per bandwidth unit)+{ Monthly wage of CSR/ # of online players per CSR) etc). Add in the valuation of storage and CPU and all that fun stuff as figured that one player would use.
Both of these give us a number. Take this number...add on a healthy margin, (more healthy doesn't mean more bigger, it means reasonable) and presto you have your pricepoint.
The thing is...this price point is different for each game. However, they always seem to match up exactly. I'm really wondering why there isn't a 'price fixing' complaint going on. Seems like this oligopy(sp) is agreeing amongst themselves on an artificial price.
There's another way people think though...this is much less 'consumer friendly.' Instead of even CARING what your costs are, you just charge as much as you possibly can. "We charged 12 last year and made a huge profit. Lets kick it up to 15 and see if the morons will pay that as well." This is the current philosphy of MMORPGs.
With this type of pricing, people don't look at profit margins, or expenses, they look externally, like to 'movies.' (The worst MMORPG comparison there is.) They say, "This Apple cost me $10, so it's reasonable to pay $12 for these two Oranges." I'm sorry, but that's insane.
I've always thought if the box price being to pay for the development of the initial game, and the monthly price to be paying for the running of the service. (They don't actually price it that way, but it makes me feel better.)
Thinking of it this way, I can handle that they charge me twice. However, I feel like they are WAY over charging me on the monthly fee.
If you wanted an actual number...Two years ago, given statistics from EQ, making estimations on wages for managers, developers, CSRs. Figuring out data-storage needs (I work for a company that makes personnel databases) etc. I determined that monthly costs were less than $10 per customer. It's not an actual number, but it was the best I can do with the information given.
The numbers have probably changed now, but most of the non-human costs have actually gone down, so I don't understand the 'greater than inflation' rise of the monthly fee.
It can only be explained as 'profit-mongering.' If you think that's fine for a business to do...even expected...then I guess you're happy. If you think a business should try to provide the best value for their customers, and not abuse them...then it's not a good thing.
I cancelled my CoH account because it didn't even come CLOSE to being worth $15/month. It should have been more like 7 or 8, but I might have been able to live with $10.
--Welcome to the Realm of the Hawke--
...would have to change before I invest money and time into it.
To begin, it costs way too much to support that sort of habit these days. I'd pay... 4.95 to 9.95 a month for a decent MMORPG. Even if the CD costs me 49.95 to start. (WoW: Blizzard, are you listening?).
I would absolutely love to play World of Warcraft when it comes out, but, when the numbers add up, I'm afraid my 'disposable' income can't take that hit.
Here's another issue. Players who detract from the overall experience. Espicially when game administration refuse to do anything about it. Not a case of 'can not', cases of 'will not'. Albeit, some games are adopting tougher policies on cheaters/assholes and are cracking down on them. Good. Good for them. More of you should be doing it.
Informatus Technologicus
On a per month basis.
If you purchase 3 mos at a time it goes down a dollar. 6 mos it goes down another dollar. And a year is another dollar lower.
Also IIRC the first 2 expansions are free.
They already released one expansion free. Although much of the content in it was supposed to be available at launch.
Also this is for the North American release.
No idea how they're handling it for their Asian or European markets.
If they ever do a European server farm.
I played from open beta, thru release and quit right before the first expansion.
I think a lot of people in the NA market did the same.
Here's hoping EQ2 and WoW are more fun.
Like the original EQ was in the beginning.
L2 was kill monsters until you lvl, then run further out the road where there are higher lvl monsters.
The battles were the same at lvl 40+ as they were at lvl 1.
Then play less games. I really don't get any of the above posts at all when they complain about the "high cost" of MMORPG subscriptions. If your family has one car, and you want another but you can't afford it, you don't write a letter to your editor complaining about the high cost of cars and the need for a new pricing model for that lease. You don't buy the other car.
MMOs need an up-front fee and a subscription fee. The up-front fee covers the cost of the game development, which is enormous, as well as the costs of advertising, distribution, etc. The subscription fee can't be counted on to cover these costs, for a few reasons. First of all, the investors are antsy and want to see their costs covered by this point. Secondly, on any modern MMORPG, development does not stop once the game ships -- new content and gameplay have to be introduced on a monthly basis or close to it, or players will jump to the newest and shiniest game, and this costs money. Third, server maintenance becomes a serious issue as the server farm you had during development and the server farm you are now running for retail have vastly different upkeep costs. Subscription fees need to go to #2 and #3, meaning that there needs to be an upfront cost to pay for the original development.
An early poster threw out the old chestnut about a shelf cost on an MMO indicating that the game was unlikely to be good enough to keep subscribing to. Well, that is indeed the case. Certain MMOs aren't for everyone -- in that case, both the consumer and the developer/maintainer have to treat that game as a normal retail non-online game. I've purchased nine different MMOs over the years and only played three of them for any length of time. However, I only regretted the purchase of one of those games, and I got my "money's worth" out of the others as I played them as long if not longer as I would have a normal, off-the-shelf game. The "free month" is thrown in there for just this purpose: you can treat the game as an experience of under a month and then move on, or you can keep paying the dosh and stay in-game if you enjoy it.
The costs of developing and maintaining an MMO somewhat defy comparison. Comparing it to moviegoing, or non-online games, or a health club membership just don't stand up. There are reasons for the way the pricing model is set up. Yes, indeed, one of those reasons is greed. You may be shocked to find that the companies that make these games are indeed for-profit companies. If you don't like the pricing model, don't play the games. The vast majority of players are having lots of fun without you.
I was going to moderate the hell out of this thread, but I decided to post instead.
.. revealing how RETARDED the Jedi system is for your Star Wars game!).. but you still have 8 months left that you paid for.. oh well!
:)
People who claim $15/mo isn't "that much" don't realize that us adults have other living expenses and everything adds up.
I cancelled my CoH account because the game is simply NOT worth $15/month. It was a fun game, but I've played other MMORPG's that provide a lot more content and a greater variety of entertainment, and they cost less per month.
I suspect in 2005, we'll find ourselves paying $17.95 for new games. I also wouldn't be surprised if EQ2 and SWG increased their price to $17.95 a month. It won't be long until we're paying $20/mo. Inflation has gone up steadily 2-3% each year, but MMORPG's subscription costs are inflating by 10-25% each year. Companies like SOE actually want to charge you MORE (they've specifically stated this, Raph Koster in fact) for their MMORPG's.
The cost of the "box" should cover the development cost of the game and kick back a bit of profit, just like any other game. Now, if a game costs $15/mo, I expect an entire new game's worth of content ADDED every 4-5 months (which is NOT unreasonable), otherwise I might as well go out and just buy a new game. Right now, other than maybe Asherons Call 1, no MMORPG has provided content additions that are actually WORTH the monthly subscription. They always come out with expansions that cost you $20-$30 MORE just to "activate". It's all bullshit if you ask me.
It's also very un-wise to pay for an MMORPG in blocks (3 months, 6 months, 12 months), despite the discount. The gaming companies are COUNTING on you to pay in advance, this is what they want.. however when you find out the game totally sucks and you already paid for 6 months, then have fun getting your money back (hope you paid with a Visa!). Or what if "your class" gets so nerfed you want to quit (or something else happens, like
Thankfully, the market is so saturated with MMORPG's now, we have many choices for where we want to spend our money. Unfortunately, for some of us, developers still haven't managed to get it right. I think SWG was close, but they screwed that game up so bad it's shameful. Here's to hoping for EQ2 (not likely) or WoW (I hope). Both of which will be $15/mo, if not more.
I think you mean inflation.
So the cost of the game in present value is really between $190 or $200 (I forgot the exact charge.) So forget about this complaining about paying each month/paying an upfront fee. Just look at that amount and decide if it's worth it.
You out-thought yourself. Why does 'already playing a lot' make it just fine to be required to pay more?
And, while I supposed MOST of the posts aren't approached from this perspective, they probably should have been. The question isn't "What is the universal proper price of an MMORPG?" but rather "What do you feel comfortable paying for an MMORPG?"
Notice the difference. Notice how the second question has no wrong answers. Notice how currently that's the question that MMORPG companies are asking.
The price is going to keep going up as long as the subscriptions keep going up. Once the subscriptions plateau then some company will try to get them to start moving again by dropping the monthly cost. Once prices start going down, they will continue to drop until they hit the 'costs+reasonable margin' that the "Invisible Hand" dictates in a competetive environment.
I'm just upset that I have to miss out on all these games just to be an effective cog in the machine.
--Welcome to the Realm of the Hawke--
In my heavier days of online gaming, i used to joke that if you divided the amount of time i played / 10$, i ended up spending 5 cents an hour for entertainment (a good deal cheaper than going to a movie or the local pub).
To the people that really play these games, 10-15 dollars a month is beyond trivial (I paid for 2 Daoc accounts, and even then i never felt shorted), and i have no problem shelling out 40-50 dollars for a new game.
Eh, to me, this is more of an issue of a "price point"... the public perception of "expensiveness"... Music on CD is expensive at $18, but not expensive at $12. Goung out ot the Movies is cheap at $5 matinee, but expensive at $8.75. Now a month's subscription to an online game is cheap at $10 and expensive at $15.
In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter. It will remain at $15 for a long time, because of the relative price to purchasing a new game... if it goes up to $20, we're talking on the order of your dial-up ISP bill, or more importantly, the value of half of a new game. If people feel that they are not getting enough "content" for their subscriptions (can an old game provide as much new content as a fully new game every two months?), then they will cancel their accounts, and the game loses their income streams.
Now some games push it (Everquest took about 8 months to get the first expansion) and some are actively delivering new content to their users (City of Heroes, with new zones, new costumes, and new enemies, delivered in one month's time). If the customers feel that they are getting enough new stuff to justify the $15, then they'll stick with it, and everyone's happy in the end.
It's not $14.95/month. It's ANOTHER $14.95/month. There's a difference.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
If there's one feature MMORPG's could add to make me more likely to play them, it's an account hibernation feature where I could quit if I knew I wasn't going to have time to play this month and resubscribe later. This would clearly not be a prohibitive cost, since DAoC has just done exactly this without even having been asked in advance as a "win back players who've left" tactic.
Of course, this feature is the opposite of the MMORPG business model. Those of us who play sufficiently infrequently to consider hibernating an account any given month? We're the customers they want to keep MOST because we're the ones they're making the most profit off of. Fact is, this industry uses the casual players and ones who try and dislike the game to subsidize the ones who make the game their second job. And that, as a member of the former group, I don't like.
I'm sure a lot of people feel differently (more power to them!) but for me, I don't care. I'm not paying ANYTHING for online gaming. I used to play X-Wing Alliance online a bit, didn't enjoy it much, and it was free. I have little interest in playing an MMORPG and paying 10-20 bucks a month, when after a month or two I could buy a 40+ hour console game (and that's at new retail price).
The $50 upfront then 10 bucks a month pricing scheme makes it worse.
I am Nintendo's "not-interested-in-online-gaming" demographic.
"There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
I mean D&D is only 30 years old...Oh damn, that would mean that MUDS are a rip off of D&D would it not?