20th anniversary and lifetime subscription for sale again?

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Twong, Feb 16, 2019.

  1. Twong Journeyman

    Dear DBG

    Would you consider celebrating the 20th year anniversary with lifetime subscriptions for sale again?
    Aleahna likes this.
  2. CatsPaws No response to your post cause your on ignore

    Good idea since it will be tax refund time ;)
    Aleahna likes this.
  3. Zanarnar Augur

    I kinda hope not. They have to be careful with those. Sure its a nice bump right now but after a few years its a revenue loss for DBG. If too many people are on lifetime subs they won't have money to keep funding development after a while.
  4. Grokl-VS Journeyman

    That would be nice.
  5. Aurastrider Augur


    What's this refund you speak of and how do I go about obtaining one o_O
    Aleahna likes this.
  6. NameAlreadyInUse #CactusGate

    4,000 - 6,000 lifetime subs were sold by DBG at the end of 2018 for $299.99 each.

    Gross sales: $1,1999,960 - $1,799,940.

    Each of these sales prevents one account from ever again having a paid subscription. Translating those sales into a representation of the damage done to DBG's annual subscription income is a bit of a guessing game, since we can't guarantee the buying habits of these 4-6k customers. But here are some hypothetical lows and highs based on different possible scenarios. Without more data, your guess about the actual scenario for amount of lost annual subscription revenue is as good as anybody else's.

    If none of those 4-6k players paid for any subscription:
    $0 annual loss.

    If all of those 4-6k players paid for the cheapest subscription (annually):
    Between $479,520 - $719,280 annual loss.

    If all of those 4-6k players paid for the most expensive subscription (monthly):
    Between $719,520 - $1,079,280 annual loss.

    If all of those 4-6k players paid for their subscription with 1 krono per month:
    Between $863,520 - $1,295,280 annual loss.

    That last one, regarding kronos, is probably the least likely. But it might be the most important, because it highlights how removing monthly subscribers also hurts the in-game economy by lowering the value of Kronos (there are now 4-6k fewer potential krono consumers).

    If we were dealing with an income model that was only based on subscriptions, it would follow that DBG would not keep the game open if they were only taking a loss. And the potential loss of subscription revenue from these 4-6k accounts will be fully realized when the amount of lost subscription revenue from each player equals the amount of the sale ($299.99).

    [IMG]

    DBG presumably also has significant income from its remaining subscribers, micro-transactions, expansion sales, and other sources, so those numbers are not robust predictions for the life of the game. But it seems reasonable to consider the life expectancy of something when purchasing a "Lifetime" subscription to it.
  7. Viper1 Augur

    You need to figure in the interest rate that DGC makes with $1.8M sitting in a bank account. Money paid today (or in this case, paid at the end of 2018) is worth more today than it will be a year or 3 from now. That aside, I agree that LT subs are a bad deal for all those involved, including the consumers. We don't know how long EQ will be around nor if it will continue to get content updates. For all we know, TBL was the last EQ expac that will ever see the light of day and they decided to make a quick cash grab with LT subs. Renewal rates will plummet the day that DGC announces that there will be no new EQ expacs released. Truth is, they have more information regarding the potential longevity of EQ than we do so whatever offer they make will not be in the best interests of the consumer. If they continue to entertain the idea of LT subs, I would consider that a bad sign.
  8. yepmetoo Abazzagorath

    Pay extra in taxes every paycheck and give the government an interest free loan.

    Nice way to enforce savings on yourself if you're bad with money.
  9. Aurastrider Augur


    I am not a financial advisor but this seems like a horrible idea which I can confirm by talking to actual financial advisors. The best refund is to not get one at all which means you are paying just enough taxes to not pay at the end of the year while also not giving the government an interest free loan. Most people would be better off trying to reach a zero return and instead take the extra money every pay check to pay down their debts which will save them from paying interest on those debts.
  10. yepmetoo Abazzagorath

    And people can work 3 jobs at mcdonalds, burger king, and wendys an buy a house. Doesn't mean it ever happens.

    You know what most people do if they get $20 extra a pay check if they live paycheck to paycheck? They have $20 extra in their account to waste every week at the grocery or stopping for breakfast when in a rush.

    You know what most people don't do? Go stick that $20 in a mutual fund or an extra card payment.

    It costs you nothing but possibly 0-365 days of interest, which on a savings account is about 0, and, this past year, would have actually saved you money by not investing. Not much savings on your CC interest payments either, and you may not even HAVE debt payments.

    But for some of these people, it is nice to get a big "extra" payment to use for something they need once a year. Doesn't hurt them, and, technically, they are doing our government a solid.
    Gyurika Godofwar likes this.
  11. Aurastrider Augur


    There are a couple of other factors at play here. In terms of krono usage a lot of people I can imagine who purchased a lifetime sub box and a lot of them might not keep some of their boxes all access year round meaning they just sub them long enough to get to max AA. These people might consider one of their box accounts to be their new "main subscriber" and keep an extra all access account going now.

    The other factor at play here if we are looking just at EQ is the lifetime subs were company wide so players on all of their platforms were buying into this and not just EQ. How many were purchased by each title might have impacts on those specific titles down the road and since people were buying into lifetime access for all access and not for a specific game (even though most people probably view the purchase as a purchase for their game) its safe to say that some of the less popular titles could be in trouble potentially and the response will be "sorry we are closing down your game but you can still play on all of these other games". I think EQ will be fine as long as DBG in general is making a profit. I don't have any actual data to support my suspicions but I believe EQ is still their primary money maker out of the remaining titles (maybe D&D and LOTR which are not under the all access tree make more money?).
  12. Aurastrider Augur


    Considering nearly 200 million Americans have credit card debt it does make more financial sense to pay off that debt today even if chunk by chunk than to give the government interest free money while paying interest on those debts. Yes it is nice to get a "big payday" once a year and yes giving the government an interest free loan is nice and all but it wont help the individual at the end of the day get out of debt any faster. This is advise from a good friend who runs 3 large financial firms in the Portland area and tries to get a net zero return. I think I will stick with his advise as it has helped my wife and I pay off several credit cards and student loans over the last year.
    Spellfire likes this.
  13. roth Augur

    Its a nice sentiment that they are “doing our government a solid” .. now if only our government saw it that way, rather than taking the position that all money is Government’s and whatever you keep they magnanimously allow you to keep.

    The other posters are correct, in that the smart thing to do is to owe a little bit at the end of the year, and to not get a refund. You are correct, as well, in that most people refuse to see it that way. And frankly, government is at fault for this. Government made the Constitutional Amdendment that allowed government to tax an individual’s income, and government set up a tax structure that is more intended to function as a punishment for daring to become richer rather than a means merely of funding the government. Furthermore, government is involved big time in the education system, where they don’t teach sound financial practices.

    People are lazy. They prefer the easier way out. And giving the government extra money, so they can get the refund each year, is a lot easier than avoiding giving the government too much money, and properly budgeting their income.

    That doesn’t mean they’re right to do so. It just means they’re exercising their right to decide what they want to do.
  14. Kegwell Lurker since '99

    I'll buy 2, was between jobs when the sale occurred last time.
  15. lagkills Slain by Fippy while guards stood and watched.

    No, I'll feel less special if they keep whoring those out. They already extended it once.
  16. Aleahna New Member

    Missed it by an hour...kept trying... man, after 20 years of paying, I was hoping, to grab it for at least one account ;)
  17. Celephane Augur

    And you posted a year and half later to tell us....why?
    p2aa, Yinla and Nennius like this.
  18. Zamiam Augur

    Ive been thinking about it and even if DPG did another lifetime membership I doubt id buy one ... and thats only because I haven't paid for a sub in over a year due to I buy krono's in game now for my sub's ..
  19. Buster_Shruggs Augur

    Necrothread....:eek:

    Lol j/k. I love this game, but I would be a hard sell for a lifetime of "potential."
    With Krono, its a lot easier to accept the time lost when stuff happens, whatever the circumstances. Making plat in game to fund your game also alleviates "gamers guilt"(I think I just made that term up)?
    Zamiam likes this.
  20. Zamiam Augur


    I like that .. can I steal it for future guilt posts I might have :p ;)