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This thread has been linked to the game 'Star Wars Galaxies'.
Can someone clear this up for me please - do you have to pay a monthly charge to play the game online? And, is it worth getting just to play offline? It looks really good, and the premise makes my mouth water, but having to pay a monthly fee on top of getting broadband, the cost of the game, and amount of my life it will consume, it suddenly seems not worth it.
Same goes for Planetside.
Same goes for Planetside.
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Bane wrote:
> No, please, give me a detailed description of how a developer will
> spend $7.5mill+ per month ($90million per year) supporting a single
> game.
I don't mind a discussion about such things if you want, but you're just being silly. At not point did I state that all of the subscription fee went towards maintenance and continued development. As I will state for a 2nd time, of course they are making a profit (at least they are once they reach their break-even subscription level). Its just not as big a profit as you think it is. Bandwidth alone costs millions a month, and thats before we even get started on support, development, infrastructure and so on.
> No, please, give me a detailed description of how a developer will
> spend $7.5mill+ per month ($90million per year) supporting a single
> game.
I don't mind a discussion about such things if you want, but you're just being silly. At not point did I state that all of the subscription fee went towards maintenance and continued development. As I will state for a 2nd time, of course they are making a profit (at least they are once they reach their break-even subscription level). Its just not as big a profit as you think it is. Bandwidth alone costs millions a month, and thats before we even get started on support, development, infrastructure and so on.
I've always thought a better method would be to make a "one-off" charge on the game. Like instead of paying £26 for the disc, pay something more like £60, and that gives you unlimited access to the servers etc.
It might seem a lot of money, but its a much more cost effective option then paying £120+ a year. Surely the developers would make their money off that extra £34?.
Humph, damn "pay to play" just sucks.
It might seem a lot of money, but its a much more cost effective option then paying £120+ a year. Surely the developers would make their money off that extra £34?.
Humph, damn "pay to play" just sucks.
*opens brain and puts numbers in like Big Bertha*
That's £120 a year, plus the cost of the game, plus the cost of Broadband. Absolute rip-off. People have been using the Internet to forge new identities for themselves for years anyway.
That's £120 a year, plus the cost of the game, plus the cost of Broadband. Absolute rip-off. People have been using the Internet to forge new identities for themselves for years anyway.
*opens Windows Calculator*
Hmmm.
£9.99 a month. Considering the amount of rich people and star wars "geeks" a lot of people will subscribe to this game.
I highly doubt they'd need such an excessive amount of money for just running a few high spec servers.
Rip off.
Hmmm.
£9.99 a month. Considering the amount of rich people and star wars "geeks" a lot of people will subscribe to this game.
I highly doubt they'd need such an excessive amount of money for just running a few high spec servers.
Rip off.
No, please, give me a detailed description of how a developer will spend $7.5mill+ per month ($90million per year) supporting a single game.
Bane wrote:
> Plus, my real point here is the size of the fee involved. Many of
> these games boast subscriptions in excess of half a million. Are you
> trying to tell me that supporting one of these games costs as much as
> $7.5 million a month?
I could launch into a dissertation about the cost of these things but would it really help at all? Yes of course companies are trying to make a profit out of it, but they aren't making anything like the kind of profits you think they are. Especially when you remember that like most retail products, everybody wants their share of the subscription, ie publisher, payment providers, developers and so on.
In the end, whether these games are worth the subscriptions costs or not depends on how much you'll play. If you're only going to play 1 or 2 hours a week then I guess they aren't worth the money. If you're playing 50 hours a month, then maybe they aren't such bad value for money.
And just for reference, SW:G's subscription fee is pretty comparable to all the other major MMORPG's so you can hardly accuse them of trying to fleece gamers because of the license.
> Plus, my real point here is the size of the fee involved. Many of
> these games boast subscriptions in excess of half a million. Are you
> trying to tell me that supporting one of these games costs as much as
> $7.5 million a month?
I could launch into a dissertation about the cost of these things but would it really help at all? Yes of course companies are trying to make a profit out of it, but they aren't making anything like the kind of profits you think they are. Especially when you remember that like most retail products, everybody wants their share of the subscription, ie publisher, payment providers, developers and so on.
In the end, whether these games are worth the subscriptions costs or not depends on how much you'll play. If you're only going to play 1 or 2 hours a week then I guess they aren't worth the money. If you're playing 50 hours a month, then maybe they aren't such bad value for money.
And just for reference, SW:G's subscription fee is pretty comparable to all the other major MMORPG's so you can hardly accuse them of trying to fleece gamers because of the license.
Bane wrote:
> Plus, my real point here is the size of the fee involved. Many of
> these games boast subscriptions in excess of half a million. Are you
> trying to tell me that supporting one of these games costs as much as
> $7.5 million a month?
Exxxxaxctly. With the Star Wars license, its a permit to fleece gamers around the world.
> Plus, my real point here is the size of the fee involved. Many of
> these games boast subscriptions in excess of half a million. Are you
> trying to tell me that supporting one of these games costs as much as
> $7.5 million a month?
Exxxxaxctly. With the Star Wars license, its a permit to fleece gamers around the world.
Plus, my real point here is the size of the fee involved. Many of these games boast subscriptions in excess of half a million. Are you trying to tell me that supporting one of these games costs as much as $7.5 million a month?
Yes, yes, heard all that before. I played Age of Camelot in Beta and on release, but to be frank, it was never really worth the money.
Hm, wondering if any of you have actually played a MMORPG, because I really thought the reasons for them being subscription based was quite evident.
Warcraft III is a static game. You buy it, complete the campaign, maybe go online and play a game against a few friends but thats largely it. Blizzard might release a patch or 2 or tools but for as far as they are concerned, game development is over. MMORPGs are dynamic though, they are virtual worlds that are run and constantly updated with new content for players. When you have a game that requires a large team to run it, its not surprising that theres a subscription fee involved is it? And of course as Gonzo said, the nature of MMORPGs means they are expensive to run in hardware terms in comparison to other online games.
Even Blizzard's own MMORPG World of Warcraft will be subscription based.
Warcraft III is a static game. You buy it, complete the campaign, maybe go online and play a game against a few friends but thats largely it. Blizzard might release a patch or 2 or tools but for as far as they are concerned, game development is over. MMORPGs are dynamic though, they are virtual worlds that are run and constantly updated with new content for players. When you have a game that requires a large team to run it, its not surprising that theres a subscription fee involved is it? And of course as Gonzo said, the nature of MMORPGs means they are expensive to run in hardware terms in comparison to other online games.
Even Blizzard's own MMORPG World of Warcraft will be subscription based.
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