Pay-As-You-Play MMORPGs?

grubber33 wonders: "With exciting MMO games like World of Warcraft and others existing, the current monthly fee plans that all MMO games that I'm aware of aren't necessarily worth it for people that don't have as much time to play games as others. For instance, I have about 3-5 hours to play games per week, if I'm lucky. On top of that, I like more than one game but I'm still interested in MMO games. I was wondering what Slashdot thinks about newer MMO games implementing some sort of pay-as-you-play system or at least having that option alongside the current monthly fees."

Comments

Don't see it happening

[supersuckers]

Personally, I like the idea, but I don't see any reason the game companies would be for it. Currently, if I only use a game 3 hours a week, I'm still paying the full monthly fee. The game company is making out good in that situation. I don't think offering pay as you go would draw as many new people, as it would reduce the number of people paying for a monthly fee. Not to mention the technical aspect of tracking and billing people by time. And if a user has an issue with bugs or gameplay during the game, they are losing money, whereas with a flat monthly fee all they are losing is time.

Re:Don't see it happening

[Grab]

Depends. I play *rarely* (maybe 3-5 hours a month, if that) so I can't justify $40 on the game and another $15/mo. I could maybe justify $40 on the game if I knew whatever else was proportional to time spent. If their billing system is anywhere near sensible (ie. relying on email and computer billing, not sending paper copies) then they should make a profit on the deal. Given a choice between making a smaller profit off me or no profit at all, they'd be better going for the former. And that means a charge structure designed for casual players.

Grab.

Just how little do you value your leisure time?

[Teppy]

If you have just 3-5 hours/week to play "exciting MMO games like World of Warcraft", I take it that you're working. They charge, what, $15/month? So that's around a buck an hour for you.

My question is, where are you working that $1/hour spend on leisure time is too much? (Or did you mean to post this under "Troll Slashdot" rather than "Ask Slashdot"? ;)

pay again?

[Tomahawk]

Personally, if I had to fork out about 40 quid for a game, and then pay by the month to play it online, I don't think I'd be forking out the 40 quid in the first place.

Also, like the writer said, I don't get much online play time. If I had to pay my the month to play online, I'd be paying more per game hour than someone with a lot more time on their hands.

Access to the servers should remain free. Either that, or the game should be a lot cheaper (free even), and a cost per hour or cost per day model setup for online play.

But they can't have it both ways.

T.

Re:pay again?

[MindStalker]

Yes, but say a game cost $50 dollars, wouldn't it be reasonable to offer a few free months. Some do this, but some don't give you any free months. The thought of spending $50 for a game to turn around and not be able to use it untill you've shucked out more money.
I guess I could understand this if there was a hardware component, like buying a cellphone to get service. But cellphone companies consider the phone a loss leader meaning they pay for some of it so you will sign up for the service. It would seem to make good marketing sense to give away the game to get people signed up for the service. This is something Anarchy Online has been doing for a while (before the free year offer they have been offering free download and free month for a long time). Personally I'm shocked it didn't work better for them, I guess the game had too many problems out the door. Either way, generally you often have to give something away to sell monthly services, the fact that MMORPGs havn't is personally surprising. But being a believer in capitalism, I can really only blame this on the consumers who allow themselves to be ripped off.

Re:pay again?

[battlemarch]

Sure they can. And many of the game companies are doing just that (having it both ways).

They have made a conscience decision to do without your business. My point is, that although it would be nice for the casual gamer to get or feel they get more value out of their gaming dollars as compared to more dedicated players, having a tiered payment structure along side the standard monthly subscription plan isn't likely to happen.

Frankly, from the developers point of view, I just don't think it's worth the hassle. There are lots of people like you that won't pay for the box AND then pay a monthly subscription on top of that. Well, that's your right and more power to you. That makes up one group. Another group is the casual gamer. They will either pony up the standard monthly subscription fee or not. Those that don't aren't THAT much more likely to do it at a lower fee I think. Again, my perception (and perception, what we believe to be true, whether right or wrong guides what we think and do) is that a tiered subscription model will not attract enough users to make it worth while for the company. I suspect that it might even decrease revenue as some people that paid the full monthly subscription move to the lower tier.

I don't think many casual gamers compare the "value" they get from their monthly fee AS COMPARED TO those "dedicated" players who are getting more value for the same money. I perceive that they simply compare what they are paying (or going to pay) versus how much fun they have or expect to have. Usually people play games to have fun or to be entertained. When I come out of a movie, I ask myself if I was entertained enough to justify what I just paid. So the powergamer gets more entertainment value than the casual gamer, frankly, so what. I really don't mean to be callous or for that to sound harsh.

I think the answer lies in simply providing a fun, challenging gaming experience for all users. This especially means the casual gamer since overall they use less resources but pay the same fee. Yes, I realize what I just said. The casual gamer is probably a more preferred customer assuming that they are paying the full monthly fee (and aren't a support nightmare). I play games to have fun, to be entertained, to be challenged. I develop games to have fun, to present a challenge and to entertain people. It's also good for the ego to watch folks having fun in an environment you created. It may be a labor of love, but don't get me wrong, we are also in the business to make money. The hardware and bandwidth aren't free nor is food on the table nor the clothes for my kids. The trick is making money while entertaining all of your customers, giving them value for their money. But the "value" per dollar and the experiences doesn't necessarily have to be exactly the same for each user.

Neverwinter Nights

[Psmylie]

You may want to try Neverwinter Nights. I know, I know, it's not exactly an MMORPG, but there are static servers out there, the ability to interact with others online, and no monthly fee.