How will Daybreak manage to pull in revenue to keep EQ running when the revenue from the new unlimited lifetime membership sales is spent? Is EQ being shut down sometime in the foreseeable future?
Expansions, an Alt account now that your main is "free", more heritage crates, maybe sell more stuff in marketplace, more yearly deals like the 200$ one? Keep in mind the subs aren't EQ exclusive, they are shared between like 3 or 4 games and probably wont ever know the breakdown per game
How are they going to drum up more things to sell than they are currently doing in the cash store? You would *think* they are already doing this to the best of their ability, because it's money money money. More deals like the $200 one don't make sense, since fewer people will need them. It appears like the writing is on the wall, unless a new strategy emerges.
Good idea to sell a bunch of subs to a game that will not exist. Can't charge for the time after it is over so better to do it now. The new owners are showing the end to us too soon.
They started selling lifetime memberships to DCUO over 7 years ago.... EQ is easily their most healthy game (look how many servers their other games have...). Vanguard lasted 2 years when it was down to 2 servers (one euro one U.S.), so.... Its not a difficult concept. They needed some cash infusion and decided the potential losses from revenue THREE YEARS FROM NOW was worth it. Other than paranoia, there is no reason to worry about it.
While I'd agree that EQ shouldn't shut down in the next 2.5 years or so, its at least worth considering before you buy one. I decided it was worth rolling the dice on, since I'm pretty sure either EQ or EQ2 will still be running in 2.5yrs. From my end it makes sense over time, moreso since I mostly play on TLP servers these days. From their side, its harder to see the advantage long term. Its not a potential loss in revenue 2.5+ yrs from now, its an assured one. People buying lifetime subs tend to be their more dedicated customers.
Does Lifetime include the games they will be adding, planetside mobile/royale or eq mobile/royale? or is it only on current titles.
Who didn't see more subs being released once the 4k sold out. If they were unlimited to start w/ less would have sold. Put an artificial cap on it, generate excitement just to release more once sold out. Smart plan for a nice revenue burst. Someone is going to get a nice bonus and maybe impress a potential buyer/share holder(s)
Its all speculation as to the why but the concerns about lost revenue would only hold true for the company in general if they did not reinvest this money now and see returns on this investment. Since the current owner is an investor they probably see a bigger potential for gains having this money now than having it trickle in over 2.5 years. Plus there is the obvious that you have every single person that buys into it for a 2.5 year commitment basically even if they only play for a fraction of that time. From an investment standpoint when you have multiple income streams its more about the bigger picture of the combined net than just a couple assets. Yes there is a potential loss of total revenue from their gaming division with this but if the total net profits from taking these funds will make the company more money its a no brainer. I don't think this is a plot to milk the customers one last time or some writing on the wall that the end is near but rather a business making a business decision that will make them more money in the long run which is exactly the sole purpose of a business and that is to make money.
