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Where Is The Metered Pay Model For Online Games?

Posted by Zonk on from the yeah dept.

bturnip writes "I just cancelled my account with the game A Tale in the Desert. I really liked the game- it had a fresh interesting approach, a Linux client, a non-linear style of game play, and was just fun to play. The graphics were pretty good, the sheer amount of stuff to see and do was impressive, and the online community was extremely helpful and friendly. My problem? I didn't play often enough to justify paying $13.95 each and every month. Is isn't that the price is outrageous, I'm not having any problems paying the bills, I just didn't play enough to make it worth my while. Where is the metered pay model for the casual gamer? If a certain game has a monthly fee of $15, and the average player plays 40 hours a month, a metered model might offer 40 metered hours for $25. Hours could be set to expire after a set time, say 4-6 months. Some months I might pay more than a monthly subscriber, some months less. This is a win/win situation. I can have more fun playing my character at my own pace without feeling I need to play more often to justify the montly cost. The game gets money that it would not get otherwise. If I end up playing often, maybe I end up as a monthly subscriber. The downside I can see for game makers is the overhead of running two billing models, extra work in tracking hours spent, etc. What are the other downsides? Is the potential market for this type of billing not worth the effort?" Along these lines, I think that Planetside would have been a huge success if it had launched with a different subscription model.

8 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. Don't feel like you have to play by Shimdaddy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You paid for something you enjoyed... don't worry about it any more than that. You should never feel that you have to amertise something after you've made the decision to buy it -- especially if it's not a large expenditure. In my experience, trying to "get your money's worth" ruins the fun, whether it's eating too much at an all-you-can-eat buffet or by playing an MMO past the point of fun.

    Another good way to look at it is by percentages -- was the game worth $14/(your monthly salary)? This helps me justify (or reject) stuff all the time, because it puts purchases in perspective of their size.

  2. Lose the big gamers? by Aziel777 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A large portion of their player base are the players who do play for 40 hours a week. If they decide to charge these guys $100/month because they play nonstop, then they are going to go to a different game. Unless your thinking of letting players choose which billing model they want to use. Although I think the majority of people who would be interested in these games would be willing to pay the flat fee, and by letting them pay a smaller amount, they might not earn as much profit, even if they do pick up a few extra people.

    1. Re:Lose the big gamers? by ZephyrXero · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It may not be the best business move...but perhaps it would be better morally? If people had to pay more for playing the game excessively maybe we wouldn't see as many people getting addicted to MMOs. When they see...damn, I play $100 worth of game time this past month maybe they'll think, "Damn...I need to cut back."

      I too have always wished they offered a "metered" pay version as well as I would probably play no more than 10 hours a week, if that even...so I can barely justify paying $10 a month, let alone the regular $12-15.

      Perhaps the best solution would be to just offer both ;)

      --
      "A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
  3. Health-Club Membership Business Model by justanyone · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're forgetting the famous health club business model:

    - Sign up as many people as possible in January and Feburary when everyone's fat from Christmas and being inside all the time and bored with life;
    - Make things seem interesting for a while with 'fun' programs;
    - Gradually make things seem less interesting;
    - HOPE NO ONE SHOWS UP.

    Health clubs make their money on people paying for a membership they rarely use, or at least start out using and then don't keep up with.

    The MMPORG business model seems the same. They have less server cost if fewer people show up; They just want people to show up occassionally and keep paying their dues, guiltily or not.

    --
    Unitarian Church: Freethinkers Congregate!
  4. easy by FadedTimes · · Score: 3, Insightful

    it is easier for the companies to have a flat fee for monthly subscriptions. If they did meter, it would require more work for the company, now that they have to track time per subscription, and send varied amounts to different subscribers.
    Players who play a lot of hours may get screwed in a metered subscription. They may end up paying higher than the flat fee because they are on more than the average player.
    I like paying one fee, and getting unlimited play time for the month. If I feel I don't play the game enough I cancel the subscription.

  5. I suppose you'd like it even better if by MarkusQ · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I suppose you'd like it even better if...

    • There were different rates for peaks hours and off-peak hours, so that when you were feeling cheap you take that into account
    • You had a variety of rate plans to choose from (say, some with a base of pre-paid hours, or others with "anytime" hours) and so forth so that you could choose a plan to suit your needs
    • Some games came bundled with a computer, or you had the option of getting a new computer "free" if you signed a long term contract with a game
    • Every game came in two dozen flavours, all basically the same but with a non-systematic assortment of the features enabled or disabled
    • There were different payment plans available for new players, existing players, active players in other games, etc.
    • Some payment plans cost more than you wanted to play, but came with a piece of paper that, if you filled it in exactly right and sent it to the right address, on the right day, you might get most of your money back.
    • The payment plans were only available for a limited time, and the next time you looked into it they would have subtly changed.

    If I'm right, you may want to go cell phone shopping.

    For my self, I far prefer a company that simply tells me what their product costs and then lets me decide if I want it.

    --MarkusQ

  6. Downsides by Jumbo+Jimbo · · Score: 3, Insightful
    There are two big downsides that I can think of...

    Firstly, if the model is 'pay as you go' I would worry that it would reduce enjoyment of playing. If the longer you play the more it costs, it will always be in the back of you mind that each minute / ten mins / hour you play costs you more - breaking the immersion. If you don't worry about the cost, you can explore more freely, experiment, and just have more fun.

    Secondly, if I had kids who wanted to play a MMOG, but knew it was charged by the hour, I'd be worried about them running up costs. Even if there are parental control, I think many 16 yr old gamers can beat their less tech-savvy parents' passwords by guessing them / working out common family passwords / finding the post-it note ( will Pop have a 16 character alpha-numeric password, or will he use the name of the dog??).

    That's my 2 cents (a minute) worth.

  7. $15/month is cheap entertainment by kherr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't understand the notion that MMOGs are too expensive. How much does it cost to go to a single movie in a theater? That's two hours for about $10. How much is a night in a bar? Even nursing cheap beer, you'll spend at least $10 in a few hours.

    For $15 per month you can play an MMOG any time you want, for as long as you want. You get regular patches and new content added every few months. This seems like a decent entertainment bargain to me.