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Idea for this discussion topic as written by NotSoSilentBob on the tfshoutbox, as most of us have or do play online games I thought it was relevent and a good basis for discussion...
So...
Is it still worth shelling out each month to play a mmorpg when the quality of some of the free to dowload and play ones are so high now?
Which do you prefer, subscription, pay for time, free play with premium items, completely free? Why do you play, what makes you decide, what would put you off, what would grab your attention?
No, I won't be paying a monthly fee for a game again. Partly because we don't play enough now to warrant a monthly fee, and also because there are so many now with the eshop thingy so that if you really wanted to buy (eg) exp boost or such, you could.
I payed monthly sub for ages for Mir, i was happy to do so at the time,however Ive played so much i cant get so excited about it now and you need to be enthusiastic to get to the higher levels if you want to enjoy it or feel your getting something out of it.
i think a monthly sub would make me feel like i was wasting the money if i wasn't playing and so id feel slightly pressured to play which i think would detract from the game for me now days.
games like MWO seem to do very well, with just money from purchased in game items.
I don't mind paying a monthly sub for a game as long as I'm enjoying it and it's well supported by the devs - both with updates and customer service. For the hours I get for that £10 a month it works out cheaper than buying other games or DVD rentals, etc. I'm not really into soaps on TV and the like so I need a time sink occasionally.
Free play MMO's are great but truely free ones are few and far between. Most use the micro transaction model. With that comes the obvious advantages for paying players and in some of them the transactions are virtually essential which is where they loose me. I don't mind paying but I like to see a cap on it. and i like the level playing field of subscription based MMO's.
Last edited by RocKtheCasbaH; 30-07-2009 at 15:15..
Reason: Typo's
MMOs are insanely cheap, cant believe anyone would really begrudge the tiny amount of money they ask for. Compare with DVD rentals, a quite night out at a pub, brand new xbox games or even 2nd hand games etc. ~£10 for what is often 100 hours+ a month. The main cost of mmos is time.
Theyve got to make money to sustain themselves somehow and i quite like the F2P option as it allows you to control how much you spend and itll usually be more than a sub anyway so they dont lose out etc.
Mir3 model is pretty good. You can play it for nothing and theres no real need to spend any money if you dont want to. People who do spend can get ~30% more xp for the price of a sub which isnt the hugest advantage and you certainly wouldnt miss out on any aspects of the game by not paying, given that 30% xp equates to virtually nothing (in terms of level gap) as the levels get nearly exponentially longer. The only dodgy item atm is the resurrection pills which allow you to self res when you die and it can really turn the tables in an even pvp if one side can self-res their taos and then start getting dead people up to outnumber the other side with people who should have remained dead.
The advantages are though that if youre broke you can still play, if you are bored and cant justify a sub you can still log in and sit in SZ for free or mess about with your mates. You can spend as little or as much as you can justify, setting yourself a limit or going nuts and levelling with a load of bonus dmg etc.
i am quite happy to pay monthly for a decent game that keeps me interested, when i lose interest i just stop paying (mir, WOW, AoC and WAR are prime examples)
gonna be paying for AION soon but given my experiances in the beta weekends it will be money well spent, i like the idea the chinese have of buying time to play aion instead of a monthy fee but sadly i cant see that been used over here
i dont like free games that need you to buy items for cash to progress, they should just stick a modest monthy fee on to raise money.
2 free games i play at the mo are perfect world and runes of magic and there both pretty good for a freebie but given the choice i would rather pay for my gaming and have a game that i wanna play, and its quite a cheap hobby when you think about it
It would be interesting to have a combination, like monthly and a little shop, or 2 monthly subs, a "casual" and "pro" gamer type version. Pro version would give you a few little bonuses, nothing gamebreaking.
I'd rather pay my subs and know it's getting returned to me in the form of new content
and improvements, rather than just vanilla gaming with a novelty online shop,
I can see that my money is being put to work, and I'm supporting the game I play,
I'm getting quality, quantity, peaches, strawberries and cream (and vanilla as well if I want it)
It would be interesting to have a combination, like monthly and a little shop, or 2 monthly subs, a "casual" and "pro" gamer type version. Pro version would give you a few little bonuses, nothing gamebreaking.
I don't mind paying a monthly fee for a MMO game. Atleast it's a better solution in my opinion as an online shop where you can buy certain items/boosts/.... I rather want to have everyone equal looking at the gameplay, all paying the same price instead of someone spending a lot of money on a certain boost. Someone who kills monsters twice as fast as me with the complete same character and kit... only with the boost bought.
I don't mind for games to invent or use another paying method, but it shouldn't influence the gameplay of my character or that of other players that much. The gameplay should be equal to everyone.
If I would have an MMO game, I would use the following paying method:
- Monthly charge (All areas unlocked, all-in 1 packet) Same as you have now for games you pay monthly
- Seperate Areas subscription. Instead of buying the complete package, you can reduce your monthly subscription by only paying for certain areas. So for example you could just pay 1 pound for a complete month, but you only have access to 1 area in the game. The only restriction you have on your character is your travel experience within the game. You can make your own combinations here depending on your preferences.
- Free: You will only be able to login to the marketplace of the game. Your character is only able to chat within the game and perform trades (including storage). This is actually like an advanced chat client... which is normally free anyway.
With this kind of paying method, even when your account is unpaid for, you can still keep talking to your friends... this way it is harder to actually stop playing the game and move on to a next game... it will keep you hooked longer. (and instead of spamming your forums, they will keep most of their bored convos ingame, another win )
With the cheap area payments, users can play the game for just a couple of pounds a month... Since it is more likely that you log into the game to have a chat with friends... they will convince you to come on a special hunt... since you only need to pay 1 pound for a subscription to this hunting ground you will help out your friends more easily and go pay for this area subscription. People will renew their account much easier... as the costs are not that high for the split area subscriptions.
Offcourse I haven't thought out all details of this paying method, but this is something I would prefer.
I'm happy to pay if it's good enough to warrant it, wow
gone back to mir 3 and no i would not pay to play that, don't go looking for paparika i didn't bring paps in, after all the carp i got
I'm happy to pay if it's good enough to warrant it, wow
gone back to mir 3 and no i would not pay to play that, don't go looking for paparika i didn't bring paps in, after all the carp i got
If you are on the same one as me then pm me if you fancy a hunt or something on Tease. Im only a noobie but drag and TR are all on too
I dont mind paying for them if the support is there. I think a lot of old mir players would feel the same. Why pay a monthly subs if the service is not there, it lacks patches and the chance of the providers knowing anything at all about the game is really slim.
I must admit I was totally against the games have eshops. However, I find myself converted. I have some wecash on my account and how that is run makes a lot of sence. I dont play as much as I used to be I do enjoy the time I play. So if Im on and hunting (not just abusing harv from the sz) then I will probably have bought a small boost item. The amount of money is all up to you and I like that.
I also still enjoy playing wow, thats the one I play the most. Im not sure I will be paying for the expansion though, will have to see how things go before then. Im hoping to be working by then, if I can ever find a job!!
I'm with Drag on this, if the game is good enough and it gives you enough enoyment then paying should not be a problem. Equally there are a fair few mmorpg's out there which are free and I hope they do well, im not talking about just your average html web turn based game but full on fps roleplayers which if are done well should get the attention they deserve.
I feel that the online game market is still far from saturated and there is a game out there for almost everyone, free or paying.
It's an interesting topic. On one hand I like the ability to play for free and not have to worry about subscription prices, but on the other it means that you don't start with an equal footing with everyone else in the game.
If I had to pay for extra maps and extra elements of the game that I couldn't get through free pay then I would be put off. It depends on how the game is balanced with how much you get for the additional purchases. For Mir it hasn't made much effect on my game style so I'm happy with it. For other games I've tried your progress seems dependent on how much money you are willing to spend. Yet to see if the pricing model is financially viable for Mir.
I think there is no free mmorpg that is worth to be played because if the devs dont get any money out of theyr work then they have no real interest in makeing the game more atractive . Also the so called "free" MMORPG`s are in fact very expensive because of theyr item mall sistem ( IE . Silkroad is the MOST expensive MMORPG ever .. its more expensive then the regular monthly pay to play games like Eve or Anarchy or WOW ) .
So if you want to play a good MMORPG then its advaisable to avoid the "free" ones .
MMORPG Games - Pay or Free Play?
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