[Suggestion] Make the game subscription based

Suggested this awhile back, a new server that is subscription based. Won't happen, this is just how they decided to do PS2...

An SOE authenticator based on phone numbers (and not google voice!) would be perfect.

Or like Paypal. Get charged a random sum on your credit card, then get your CC bill and use that number to authenticate that you got billed so they "have you".

This too would result in a massive subscription loss.
PS2 is not so good that people would those things just to play the game.

although I believe OP's cause is just, I cannot help but dissagree for two seperate reasons,

one, eliminating F2P is just wrong, there's good people amongst them that simply can't afford an subscription

two, it would nearly whipe half the game I believe, we need people to fight.

You believe a lot of people would stop playing because of the cost of a txt ?

It's quick , easy to register with and isn't like having to play around with CC etc

Yes, a lot of people will not give their phone number to SOE or do stunts with their credit card or bank account just to play PS2. The game is not good enough for that.

You should use a little more of that 'simple effort' towards an income/more food and less time posting about it on video game forums.

There's a period between 'simple' and 'effort' which changes the meaning of what you think he said.

69 dollars a month? I'd go back to Planetside for that kinda money and spend the rest on booze.

No I know exactly what he said, let me rephrase just for you "You should use a little more of that 'effort' towards an income/more food and less time posting about it on video game forums."

Seriously guy, don't you have better things to do?

So? You're Vanu, you wont be missed.

It is not going to happen, they can't maintain the subscription model. That is just the way MMO games that aren't WoW are going. SoE will just have to get better at catching hackers.

This will never happen

0/10

LOL

You do know that FTP games actually make more money for the company than sub models do, right? (Hint: the cash shop is there for a reason.)

Or were you naive enough to think companies are going to the FTP model out of the goodness of their hearts? "Oh look, the masses are burdened by the bad economy - we must come to their rescue! Quick, make the game free! We're so magnanimous!"

The 90% of other players, however, will be.

Yes lets make it sub and lose 80% of players. less people to shoot at, wheeee!

Apparently as crazy as it sounds, subscription model seems to earn lot less income than free-to-play marketplace. So this would also be harmful for SOEs income.

Income = game keeps getting better


oh yeah, and if anyone can recall PS1 also was a hackfest even with its sub lol. I've actually seen less potential hackers in PS2 than in PS1, one of the few good things I'm quite satisfied about in the game.

In 100 hours I've seen 2 hackers, one was an aimbot killing everyone at a small base on Amerish, so I just went somewhere else. The other was a speedhacker who I saw for a grand total of 2 seconds and he didn't even kill me, he just ran off. Hackers haven't made a single tiny dent in the amount of fun I've had with this game.

A required subscription would instantly drop the population by 90%+ which no one wants. I personally would not pay $15 a month to play this game, or any MMO. $5... maybe. I've paid £20 for 6500 SC and that should last me >6 months.

Also, people need to get it out of their heads that every slightly iffy death was a hacker. It's mostly the other guy got headshots and you didn't, or just latency or bugs.

They should use real identity verification systems. Or, something like a credit check (this is bad because hard inquires will dent credit scores if > 2ish) and verify the social security #, address, and name match up.

Or, require credit card as part of the registration and demand $250 deposit (kind of like getting a rental car) - if the service contract is breached / user willingly caused damage to system, the $250 is deducted ($150-$250 being a standard cost for minor vehicular violations in California, stop sign violations $350, running redlight $500ish)

I am curious about the profile of the "hacking population" - are they professional programmers who create hacks out of hobby or people who use existing hacks (which implies they are probably non-technical people)? If hackers are mostly students, they probably can't take multiple $200 penalties

You need the freebies to make it seem like the population is okay. I have been playing since launch, but only because I have grown bored of other games. I just don't see the long term point to this game. Most have little to no point, but all have carrots. This game has nothing. Not even an achievement system to keep me mildly interested.