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MMOG Subscription Model Changes

Posted by Zonk on from the can't-imagine-why dept.

Blue's News has details on changes to popular MMOG subscription plans. Star Wars Galaxies has been folded into the Sony Online Station pass, which now allows gamers to pay one fee for all of Sony's Online offerings (EQ, EQII, PS, SWG, and the Station Games). In related news, the folks behind Anarchy Online also announced today that they're extending their subscriptionless service plan out until early 2006. Good news for folks wanting to try some new games.

8 of 36 comments (clear)

  1. The Sad Days of Modern News by Altizar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Oh joy, a link to a link that is a word for word copy of a press release.
    Why cant someone just link to the orginal press release?

    Well the only good thing about this is maybe some fools with think the all access pass is worth their money now.

  2. Anyone else notice? by Squatchman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The games that are going into "subscription bundles" or having subscriptionless options are usually under-performing compared to the opposition? Seems like this is more of a last ditch effort than a wave of future tidings.

  3. Bundled subscriptions feel like a waste of money by Mofo196 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Am I the only one who has trouble focusing on more than one MMORPG at a time? With a bundled subscription, you not only are paying for each game (with expansions for it to be worth anything) and then an elevated fee to basically ignore the other games.

    I tried to do Planetside and Everqest at the same time and it just didn't work for me. I felt I was being spread too thin.

    I suppose the only way this could work is if you went in on a subscription with some friends who all play a different game. I would imagine that SONY has some kind of safeguard against this though. It almost certainly violates the EULA.

    I would rather pay $14 a month to play one game than $24 a month to ignore 3 others.

  4. Re:I don't get it by xTown · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I was wondering this, too, but it looks like the Station Access thing is separate--in other words, if all you want is SWG, you just pay for SWG at the SWG rate.

  5. Re:The silence by YodaToad · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If World of Warcraft is any indication... Yeah, I think people do.

  6. Re:The silence by rhettoric · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think there are so few comments because the people who do care about mmorpgs are playing them instead of reading /. comments.

  7. WoW keeps your characters around for you by DJ+Wipeout · · Score: 2, Informative

    Blizzard explicity states that they won't delete your characters if you stop paying for your account.

    1. Re:WoW keeps your characters around for you by Mike+Buddha · · Score: 2, Informative

      So does EQ. In the early day so of the game, Verant did a wipe of inactive characters and accounts and had the community up in arms because all of their Mules were gone...

      They don't do that any more.

      --
      by Mike Buddha -- Someday the mountain might get him, but the law never will.