Gold Membership

Discussion in 'General Gameplay Discussion' started by Feara, Sep 28, 2013.

  1. suka Well-Known Member

    i understand that- but if no one says what game they are talking about, they could throw any info out and we would be unable to check it out. i sure wish i had downloaded something other than just lotro and eq1 for the 5 hour wait today though. do you know how bored you can get when you don't have a game to play?
  2. suka Well-Known Member

    reading all of this- seeing everyone's concern, the ftp model was being used by several other games before eq2 jumped on board. i was wondering if any of those games went belly-up over the ftp model? I am concerned about soe too, but i am also wondering if maybe their homework shows them that this is a viable alternative and that other games have been successful with it.
  3. Airos Active Member

    Thank you. I think this helps illustrate a point I failed to make in my last post; bronze and silver members who want to subscribe can provide valuable feedback as to what they'd like to see to get them to subscribe, and those features would be a benefit to new and existing subscribers alike.
  4. Taladorm New Member

    I don't believe "belly-up" is the correct measure of success to look at. As others have mentioned killing an FTP game is nearly impossible. Running a server is relatively cheap and there will always be a few hardcore fans willing to pay to keep the lights on. The real concern is the game turning into a zombie - revenue falling, staff being cut, and new content slowing to a trickle. The game slides into maintenance mode (aka Vanguard) and crawls on as a shell of its former glory.
  5. That guy. Well-Known Member

    The only sub-to-f2p game that went "belly up" was Warhammer just recently. Had nothing to do with being F2P, had everything to do with being crap.

    Every other sub-to-f2p is still chugging along, most much healthier than the point they were at when they had to go f2p.
  6. Vexil Member

    Gold members should get expansions included as part of membership.
    Regolas and Ruckus like this.
  7. BlueHawk89 New Member

    It has been proven that people spend more money per month on a Free to Play MMO than the Pay per Month service. So it is beneficial to have more free players even if they do leave and come back.

    I would also like to see at the very least a discount for the expansions if not receive the standard version for free and pay $25 for the collector's addition.
    Shadrac likes this.
  8. Airos Active Member

    They would have to make it so a person couldn't just pay $15 for one month, grab the expansion then drop down to silver the next month. Basically they'd have to code it like character slots.
  9. Airos Active Member

    Could you provide a link to that proof? I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm not saying that such proof doesn't exist, but I'm asking because I am genuinely interested in reading it.
    Ladymist and Rotherian like this.
  10. Ruckus Well-Known Member


    Or at least a decent discount.
  11. Mohee Active Member

    I read the first few pages and a lot of people mentioned being able to use the broker on a gold account. Even having to buy broker credits on a free account, there really is no need to level 90+ because 99.9% of the items in the game past that point is Heirloom and can't be sold on the broker anyways. And anything that isn't heirloom, isn't worth buying. I.E. Mastercrafted stuff...
    Kraeref likes this.
  12. Shadrac Well-Known Member

    Some of the highest grossing iPad games are "free".
  13. Shadrac Well-Known Member

    I don't know how many of you have looked at the Marketplace since yesterday, but there is now a MASSIVE amount of new stuff in there, and it's very tempting!

    Based on what I saw in the Marketplace, I think that I know where they're going with the new changes to subscriptions. It appears to me that they're moving the money stream into the store. I don't know if the Silver/Gold subs will disappear completely, but I expect to see the benefits sold in the store a la carte. Want to send mail? Buy a book of e-stamps. Want to use the broker to sell items? Buy a market stall license. Don't want to spend a dime? Then don't. It's your choice.

    Choice is a good thing, and so is the fact that new players can play the game without making a financial commitment. Some of the new players will spend money eventually, and that is a great thing.

    I wouldn't worry about the long-term health of EQ2 based on these changes. I would worry about the long-term health of EQ2 if they weren't making big changes. The MMORPG habitat is evolving, and games that don't adapt will go extinct.
    BlueHawk89 and Deveryn like this.
  14. R.J. MacReady Active Member

    If you love this game, the question that should scare the heck out of you is .. Why now?
  15. Ladymist Well-Known Member

    no it isnt proven at all. until a sub game launches as a ftp you can't know this because it still has a sub model and vets on it supporting it

    I dont see how someone who cant afford 15 dollars a month for these premium games spends more on the game than someone who can

    look at the ftp mmo models currently lotro, rift, eq2, gw2, linages's Asherons Call swotor DCu ect All were sub games for 80% of their existance. they did not launch as a ftp and still have sub models coexisting with the ftp model
    Alenna likes this.
  16. That guy. Well-Known Member

    Because like many you refuse to comprehend they CAN afford $15 a month, they just don't see the value in it. They'd rather be able to play anythime they want and leave anytime they want without having to worry they "wasted" that sub when they're not using it. So they play for free and buy what they need/want to enjoy AT THE TIME. MMO's are the property of the "casuals" now. They may only play 2-3 hours a day or even only 10 hours a month. It's not worth it to them to sub. But those "casuals" are legion, and they are where the real money comes from.

    And if you really desire "proof", look no further than EQNext. If subs were where the profit was, EQNext would not be F2P.

    And the signs were there even back when subs were king of the mmo land. At least once a month in whatever mmo you played, you'd find a thread with someone asking "Why do I have to pay the same amount as the guy who plays 16 hours a day when i can only play 2?"

    Those threads were signs of the "casual" mindset, F2P just brought that mindset front and center and profited from it.
    Shadrac likes this.
  17. R.J. MacReady Active Member


    And you fail to comprehend that the year end cost to play ends up being higher for the vast majority of players.
    I'm mean really .... do you think F2p is such a hit because it cost you less to play?
  18. BlueHawk89 New Member

    Sorry Airos I don't have any links. They were articles I came across in the past, over a period of time, discussing why some games had gone to the Free to Play model or mention why Free to Play games are poping up, etc. You might try doing a search on it, but if you think about why would companies move to a Free to Play service if it was not profitable? The pay via services is becoming a rare option, for now.

    Ladymist, there are games that did start off as a subscription and then went to a free to play model. Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) is a prime example that started off as subscription based model and went to free to play, and no it is not the only one to this just the only one I am thinking of. DDO is also one of the first MMOs to do this, and move from a point of having to shut down to a profitable game. Also if the free to play was not successful then no business would do it, but because of the sheer number of MMOs that are available now that start off as free to play proves this method is affective.

    Just because you are not able to understand why someone is not able to pay $15 a month would end up spending double or more does not mean they don't. It all has to do with micro-transactions and vanity. A person looks at a few items that cost around $0.99 each and says, "Hey, what's $5.00, and that would look really nice on my character."; makes the purchase, but then the next week they see an item they really want and it cost $7.99 so they hit the buy button. They manage to make it through the third week without purchasing anything (most likely because they did not play), but on the fourth week, crap it's pay day, they buy a $9.99 item and four $0.99 items for a total of say $15.00. In one month they have spent $27.00 in a Free to Play MMO, but in a Subscription based MMO it would have been $15.00 and the time they spend working towards getting the item they bought. Most likely when they are making these purchases they are saying to themselves, "Once I have these items that will be it." But then it starts all over again the next month because they something they desire, and even if they don't buy anything for the next several months, and here is where it all comes together, there are enough people who repeat this cycle or something like it to keep the game in the black (meaning they are turning a profit). That is why the Free to Play model is successful and profitable. After all EverQuest Next (EQN) will be free to play. Are you going to tell me that Sony, we are talking about Sony here the people that charge way to much for their merchandise (even though it tends to be some really good merchandise), is going to go with a business model that is not profitable? We all know the answer to that is a simple straight forward no. They wouldn't even make an EQN if their was no profit in it let alone make it free to play, because they know more money will be made off people with micro-transactions then subscriptions.

    You wonder how a person who is unwilling, or not able to afford, the $15 a month will end up spending more? Look at people who gamble, drink, compulsively shop, smoke, etc. That right there should tell you, but to sum it up they make sacrifices without realizing it.

    Free to Play is still fairly new, so a lot of those games you listed were around, and struggling to stay afloat (if not all of them), before the free to play model was used; and it is not the subscription base that is keeping them afloat, but all those micro-transactions that people make who are playing for free as well as the subscribers. Seriously why do you think all the MMO games you listed went to a free to play system; if the subscription based system was working and making more money they would have stayed with it.

    I hope this has helped, and did not come across to strong or ill intent.
  19. Maltaros Active Member


    Sorry- I have to make a correction here. Asheron's Call has never gone FTP or even added a cash shop. I have been playing on my son's second account and investigating free options.
  20. Kraeref Well-Known Member

    You cannot really prove that a person who cannot afford to spend $15 a month spend more on a fluff market than a subscriber. Subscribers majority at least if they afford $15 a month can easily spend on nicely looking appearance set or furniture set along with freeplayer. They do have CC attached to accounts already. Easy to hit a button to add funds. They have alts that they pl with XP potions from SC market and then on masters spells updates to get alts up and going.

    And just a reminder. SC market doesn't give subscribers anything free.

    Otherwise freeplayers wouldn't ask for more free stuff in all other threads here over a period of time. If you don't have an excess of disposable imcome you don't have tendency to spend money on things that are not neccessary.

    Example with drinkers, gamblers and drug addicts is non withstanding. Not everybody in a sociaty is a gambler or a drinker or a drug addict.
    Regolas likes this.