Can the subscription price be reduced?

Discussion in 'Gotham City (General Gameplay)' started by Aduzar Light, Jul 21, 2021.

  1. Apollonia Dedicated Player

    The real issue here is DCUO is not using "regional pricing" and the OP would like it to adopt it.

    Regional pricing is what it sounds like. The cost of the product is adjusted by region to local currencies for "fairness" to the local market rather than straight exchange rates or arbitrary pricing.

    Since the euro trades higher than the USD it's effectively $17.65 for a sub in the EU, instead of a straight exchange rate that would be only $12.65. Meanwhile in south america DCUO is using the straight exchange rate in places like Brazil where it exchanges to 78r (Real is Brazillian dollars). So, they're having their cake and eating it too.

    DCUO is a digital good so its pricing is largely arbitrary and DI can choose to take a more customer/player friendly approach to their pricing and use regional pricing like most of the industry does if it wants to.
    • Like x 2
  2. Jafin 10000 Post Club


    One month sub here in EU is €12.99 so it works out at about $15.30, give or take a few pennies. There's also tax already included in that €12.99 price tag though, and I'm not sure how tax works in the US when it comes to digital subscriptions as their tax system is pretty different to over here. It's more expensive on Switch though, where it might actually be €14.99 a month but it's ages since I logged in on Switch so can't remember the exact pricing off the top of my head.

    I do feel for the people from countries where the national wage is much lower and it works out really expensive for them, in Brazil for example as you mentioned. I do think regional pricing should be adopted in places like that. After all it's better to have, for example, 100 customers paying the equivalent of $5 than it is to have 20 customers who can afford to pay $15 a month. (Numbers are made up for the example)
    • Like x 2
  3. Apollonia Dedicated Player

    My mistake. Thanks for pointing out the EU pricing. I must of misunderstood the OP. In my head I was thinking they were saying EU was still being priced at 15.

    But yes, I fully support regional pricing. Like you point out, the numbers don't support the current pricing structure.
  4. Mepps Sr. Community Manager

    We can look into raising the price of membership if that is popular. After all, $15 became the price for MMO subscriptions around 2001. Has there been any inflation since then? Oh, yep. Google says subscriptions should be about $22 now.

    Oh, wait, you can get it for $10 a month if you subscribe yearly? What are we doing?!

    --

    We do set prices regionally and they get reviewed semi-regularly. The differences may not seem like enough for some areas, but in this age of global internet for a purely online subscription, having a really low cost in one region means other regions can exploit that. Also, we're not based in those regions, so it's not like our costs go down. On the contrary, supporting drastic price differences would more likely lead to us not offering the game at all in those regions or those currencies.
    • Like x 12
  5. zNot Loyal Player

    Even though i think the old membership was better value generally speaking dcuo is not expensive especially since we psn users do NOT need psn plus to play dcuo but this is needed for eso not even counting the eso membership on top of that so dcuo membership is a good price compared to other games i played
    • Like x 1
  6. thedemonocus Loyal Player

    booster gold is a paid loot box and so are time capsules and both force you to gamble if you want the styles and feats from them...just saying
    • Like x 2
  7. ColdFuzion Well-Known Player

    I bought a game in 2012 and pay for expansions less that $30 a year - It's widely considered one of greatest MMOs in last decade which is guild wars 2 - The new membership is extortion nothing less or more.
  8. Illumin411 Loyal Player

    Extortion?!? Hyperbolize much?
    • Like x 2
  9. ColdFuzion Well-Known Player

    Common sense based on the current MMO market hell even FF 14 charges lower fees and it's one of best MMOs in the world.
  10. L T Devoted Player

    Guild Wars does a good job of monetizing styles, and selling those gems.

    That having been said, I wholeheartedly disagree with you. The new membership changes mean you won't have to subscribe in order to enjoy the full game. How is that extortion?
    • Like x 1
  11. ColdFuzion Well-Known Player

    Being a sub gives you innate bonuses over the free 2 play model - They just upped the membership fee prices tbh one of most expensive in the MMO genre - Ether do the research or become one of these delusional minds that dcuo is best MMO.
  12. KHALONofOGUN 10000 Post Club

    But they're not raising the prices of DCUO. And if you're premium you'll have no cash cap and access to the entire game, including a log-in bonus (not as great as a member's log-in bonus...but still something). You'll be able to play to your heart's content. And anything you need extra you can just buy.
    • Like x 2
  13. myandria Item Storage

    Hmm..

    There is nothing in the announcement that said the membership fee went up for this game. And yes, subscribing will always give bonuses over free to play and premium; this is true across MMO's in general.

    I suggest you take your own advice; research and then post here in this thread hard evidence of the membership price increasing.

    DCUO has one of the "cheapest overall membership" price. Games that do not have a subscription plan are the most expensive (with a few exceptions), as you will have to buy content AND character packs, as well as many in-game items. Many games have the standard "purchase the membership AND purchase the most recent/current content for access to perks" model; DCUO is stepping away from that by offering past, present and future content for free and members still get perks.
    • Like x 1
  14. the solowing Steadfast Player

    Actually with limited run items it stops being a "choice" if their are styles you may want
  15. thedemonocus Loyal Player

    Not everyone can use the broker because of cash caps and i think free is not allowed to use the broker and not everyone has billion to buy styles from the broker so for them if they want those styles they are forced to gamble, in my case i get most from the broker again just saying.
  16. Doctor Nova Devoted Player

    I got a year subcription in February 2021 (returned after leaving in 2016), I get some time with the new membership and gameplay changes before deciding whether to subscribe for another year or not.
    Did you not get a year subscription? :oops:
  17. Jack T. Chance Devoted Player


    The price did not increase in US Dollars, no. But players in some countries (especially one particular South American country where the government has flushed their country's economy completely down the toilet) have seen local price increases in their local currency due to currency exchange rates having finally been adjusted to the proper rate, after years of players in some countries receiving an unintended discount of as much as 82% off due to the exchange rates being wrong.
    • Like x 1
  18. myandria Item Storage

    True, and I remember when the exchange rates went up. I was merely referring to the recent Development Announcement, as the thread did not mention any membership fee increase. If there is another exchange rate increase coming up with the new changes next month, I think the devs would have pointed that out by now to avoid the "sudden exchange rate increase surprise" that happened last time.
    • Like x 2
  19. thedemonocus Loyal Player

    1 small detail you are forgetting. Someone still has to open those loot boxes to put stuff from them on the broker also i am talking about the current game not what's coming in the future so as of right now the cash caps are still there for premiums. All i am saying is don't try to pretend that gambling boxes are not in the game when they clearly are. I know right now from reading other people posts that people have spent hundreds of dollars trying to get the new nebula chroma an item i have yet to see show up on the broker again just saying.

    I can also add the point that the booster gold boxes absolutely are forced gambling because you don't get to choose whats in them you have to gamble for it, if you could choose what you want when you open it then it would not be forced gambling and just because you can play the broker and maybe get what you want because someone else gambled for it does not mean that forced gambling is not in this game because it absolutely is in the game.
  20. CassUV Well-Known Player





    Guys, what we are trying to talk is to you have a little bit of good sense. Here in Brazil, playing DC is very expensive. We would like to pay money for the game but it takes too much. I know about the exchange rate but in the final, we players are suffering. I posted a long time ago an example:

    " I will talk in generel terms so i will need patiente by al of you, my friends... lets start...

    What we are trying to clear is the high price of a month membership that are impeding a lot of players to sign our memberships and playing the game. Just trying to clarify - and not to fight, just talking friendly.

    Average monthly income US - 3.000 USD
    Average monthly income Brazil - 1045 BRL

    1 Month membership US - 15 USD
    1 Month membership Brazil - 80 BRL


    In direct conversion (current mode in PS/PC)

    1 Month membership US = 0.5% of monthtly income in US
    1 Month membership BRL = 6,12% of monthly income in Brazil


    Just to clear for non Brazilians, if we take same percent and apply in USD, i mean, 6.12%:

    1 Month membership US - 183 USD


    Thats why we are trying to talk friendly to have just a little bit love because we like the game but the high prices force us to leave. We are not leave because ts a bad game but because its too much expensive. Our family needs pay bills before fun, and we know that our currency is falling down but its also a economy thing, its better for DB have many players paying just a little less in membership than almost none players paying the current price. The older price - 40BRL for month - was a very fair price and our community are growing day after day.


    Repeating, its not a fight post, its only a friendly talk where us players are trying to express our situation hoping anyone look and help us. Thank you very much and sorry if I offend anyone, this is not my intention."


    Guys, i saw today the numbers... 645BRL for annual membership... 645BRL... i earn 1000BRL per month in my job and the membership today costs 645BRL... guys... guys... please... take some love with your South American players...