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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
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).