"Is there really a market for pay-service video games[...]?"
Not for me, there isn't. Subscription-based models for games is just not something I'm willing to go for, and I think anybody who is willing to go for it is playing right into their hands. It's just not a good economic choice.
And think about it -- if a majority of games try to go subscription-model, they will simply cannibalize their business even more. Subscribers have a finite amount of cash they will spend on games per month. If games turn to US$15-20/mo each, then subscribers will only play 1, maybe 2-3 games.
So it'll turn into an environment where people will say "this game is so cool, come play with me" and you have to either say "no, i can't afford another game subscription" or cancel one of your other games to pay for the new one...
so you will only play a few games, thereby fragmenting the player communities. but who cares about that? divide and conquer! turn gamers into an even more splintered, more easily manipulated, and most importantly billable consumer group.
Why bother going through all the fucking trouble? Switch to a different billing method, such as billing by the amount of bandwidth used (similar to your WATER bill or your ELECTRICITY bill) and voila, it doesn't fucking matter how many machines they have attached.
Does the electric company give a rat's ass how many electric devices you have plugged in? No.
blizzard did this with starcraft. they had a huge map creating community, and iirc there was even a blizzard approved 3rd party expansion (it was basically just additional singleplayer maps that people had created, but it was fun).
the one thing they wont do this with though is diablo2... they make too much money off of a few new mobs, a few new levels, a few tilesets stolen from starcraft and then selling it as an "expansion pack"...
The corps like timewarner are finding that the networks are becoming saturated. To overcome network saturation, they must a) reduce network use or b) expand the networks. The both will cost some money to do but (a) is most likely much cheaper than (b).
The whole argument about car rentals or whatnot is silly. As others have said, if people are putting up 0 day warez sites then they are obviously breaking the TOS. The TOS says no servers, no illegal content, blah blah blah blah. But If i pay my $40/mo and just want to connect to a server uploading and downloading useless 1's and 0's all day then THATS THE SERVICE IM PAYING FOR. I will go home and look at my roadrunner contract again but i distinctly do not remember ever seeing anything that said I had to limit my usage per month. In fact, it is advertised as Unlimited.
So really I dont know what you two are arguing about...
Slashdot Mirror
how do you define 'tetchy'?
eudas
fluctuate
P Pronunciation Key (flkch-t)
v. fluctuated, fluctuating, fluctuates
v. intr.
To vary irregularly. See Synonyms at swing.
To rise and fall in or as if in waves; undulate.
v. tr.
To cause to rise and fall or vary irregularly.
dammit!,
eudas
wow, i had forgotten about Out of This World and Flashback. :)
thanks for reminding me.
eudas
"Is there really a market for pay-service video games[...]?"
Not for me, there isn't.
Subscription-based models for games is just not something I'm willing to go for, and I think anybody who is willing to go for it is playing right into their hands. It's just not a good economic choice.
And think about it -- if a majority of games try to go subscription-model, they will simply cannibalize their business even more. Subscribers have a finite amount of cash they will spend on games per month. If games turn to US$15-20/mo each, then subscribers will only play 1, maybe 2-3 games.
So it'll turn into an environment where people will say "this game is so cool, come play with me" and you have to either say "no, i can't afford another game subscription" or cancel one of your other games to pay for the new one...
so you will only play a few games, thereby fragmenting the player communities. but who cares about that? divide and conquer! turn gamers into an even more splintered, more easily manipulated, and most importantly billable consumer group.
blah. why is the future so depressing?
eudas
i'd just figure that where there's one, the other's not too far away.
eudas
What the shell script that replaces you worries about -- getting replaced by (another) shell script.
eudas
"Sure thing, Skipper!"
Heh. Ubersoft.net rocks. =)
eudas
alright, you first.
eudas
Is anybody even using IPv6 at this time? At this rate, I'm expecting global rollout of IPv6 to finally occur sometime after 2030.
eudas
jesus christ on a pogo stick, they couldn't think of a better fucking title than KOTOR2? god damned marketing bitches running sequels...
eudas
fucking lame. that skit's been tired and played out for years.
eudas
man, i hate that. that's annoying as all hell.
if you make a new movie, make some new music. damn!
eudas
just had to add my worthless two cents in.
TLJ was the bomb. Best Adventure Game EVAR. Truly the pinnacle of the genre.
that is all.
eudas
dork.
eudas
"(ps: the above was an attempt at humor)"
status: failure
eudas
"Luckily, the court system"
"reap what they've sown"
eudas
Why bother going through all the fucking trouble?
Switch to a different billing method, such as billing by the amount of bandwidth used (similar to your WATER bill or your ELECTRICITY bill) and voila, it doesn't fucking matter how many machines they have attached.
Does the electric company give a rat's ass how many electric devices you have plugged in? No.
eudas
the word is 'loses', you fuckwit.
learn to fucking spell.
eudas
texas did the same thing years back.
blah.
eudas
blizzard did this with starcraft. they had a huge map creating community, and iirc there was even a blizzard approved 3rd party expansion (it was basically just additional singleplayer maps that people had created, but it was fun).
the one thing they wont do this with though is diablo2... they make too much money off of a few new mobs, a few new levels, a few tilesets stolen from starcraft and then selling it as an "expansion pack"...
eudas
it's slashdotted already, and it's only been 7 minutes since the article was posted!
eudas
Look, the issue is pretty simple.
The corps like timewarner are finding that the networks are becoming saturated.
To overcome network saturation, they must a) reduce network use or b) expand the networks.
The both will cost some money to do but (a) is most likely much cheaper than (b).
The whole argument about car rentals or whatnot is silly. As others have said, if people are putting up 0 day warez sites then they are obviously breaking the TOS. The TOS says no servers, no illegal content, blah blah blah blah. But If i pay my $40/mo and just want to connect to a server uploading and downloading useless 1's and 0's all day then THATS THE SERVICE IM PAYING FOR. I will go home and look at my roadrunner contract again but i distinctly do not remember ever seeing anything that said I had to limit my usage per month. In fact, it is advertised as Unlimited.
So really I dont know what you two are arguing about...
eudas
i think what this guy says makes sense.
eudas
hey stop talking about time warner's secret business plan out in the open!
eudas
it sounds like this article is basically asking if open source should adopt the windows planned obsolescence strategy.
how amusing.
eudas