The Daily Grind: Now how much would you pay?
by Akela Talamasca 
Apr 29th 2008 at 8:00AM
Filed under: Business models, Making money, Opinion, The Daily Grind
For many, the cost of a game -- the initial purchase plus the monthly fee -- is simply assessed once, then never considered again. You have to pay something, after all, and you don't really have a choice if you want the content. Obviously, this doesn't take into account free-to-play games, but some people believe that you get what you pay for.But there is also the consideration of value over time -- was it worth that fifteen dollars for the month if you didn't enjoy the gameplay? If not, then why not? What would be worth that fee? Is it fair to say that sometimes you have to absorb the cost of a game you disliked to find out for yourself that it wasn't worth playing? Are there any games that you're happy to pay for, knowing you're helping ensure the maintenance and further development of the title?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
pufonthis said on 9:19AM 4-29-2008
I don't mind paying full price ($15/ month) for a game that's worth it. What I don't like is that EVERY MMO thinks they should charge us $15 a month, even though they might clearly have way less content or features.
Let me give an example of what I mean. The market has decided that $15 is the limit you can go for monthly fees. Some games such as World of Warcraft have a huge amount of content and things to do in their game, so that "top of the limit" fee sounds reasonable for that game. Other games like Tabula Rasa and City of Heros don't have a whole lot of content. (I mean no end-game or repetitive "on the fly" instances) Why should we pay the same amount for all three games? I think maybe $6.95 - $10.95 a month would be about right for the last two.
Another example: You go into a movie. You pay $9.00 for your ticket. You see a high quality production, full length feature and you feel you got your monies worth. (assuming the movie was good). The next day you pay the same amount to see a second movie and it's only 35 minutes long and clearly looks like the production company cut corners while they made it. Are you mad now that you paid the same amount for obviously a lesser quality movie? Of course you are.
In the real world this second movie would never happen. Nobody would go watch a 35 minute, low production movie in the theaters. The market wouldn't allow it to happen. Unfortunately in video games this does happen.
If you release an MMO with a tacked-on crafting system, no end game and limited features you cannot expect us to pay full price for it.
Reply
koehler83 said on 9:20AM 4-29-2008
Gameplay is important.. but its pretty much the same wherever you go. Community is the biggest seller in my opinion. You have to crave to the game not just because of your own character, but the others you play with and who enjoy your company.
This is why LOTRO isnt worth $10 a month to me, but FFXI has been worth $18+ (depending on the exchange rate at the time). But I wouldnt say either one of them is a better game than the other, FFXI draws you back much better than LOTRO.
And the saying "You get what you pay for" simply doesnt hold true, as Turbine provide better service at a lower price than Square Enix. I know this contradicts my opinion above, but this is an objective paragraph.
Reply
Lemmo said on 10:27AM 4-29-2008
My buddies and I have long debated the worth of "fun". Definitely when assessing how much to invest in a video game versus the entertainment you get out of it is part of the equation. Of course, this is as fluid from one person to the next as any other preference.
Anyhoo, I've been playing a lot of Flyff lately, and it's free, but it has a 'cash shop' where you can buy items for your character. I decided this game deserved a bit of my cash, so I bought an in-game gift for my friend who introduced me. So I spent some money to support a game I enjoy, my friend got a free gift for getting me into the game, and I still paid far less on it than other games I play. Not too shabby.
Reply
ImmortalAmazon said on 1:14PM 4-29-2008
I believe that the question is dependent on what you value in the things inherent in an MMO environment. The first poster mentioned he felt WoW was inherently more valuable than TR or CoX because the latter has less end game and less random instances however I would argue that CoX is more valuable for the variety of character options (both powersets and costumes) , the frequency of updates/new content as well as the strength of the community. If I was looking for a more PvP oriented experience then yes WoW would be more valuable to me however then you get into the semantics of what is considered fun and that is highly relative.
Reply
pufonthis said on 4:04PM 4-29-2008
ImmortalAmazon, really I'm so sick of the curreent CoX developers "saying" they update the game often. In reality what they are doing is just trying to "catch up" the game to the level we would expect of an MMO. The original developers of CoX have even stated that they had no idea what they were doing and they launched with WAY too few features. Something they promise not to do with their next game, Champions Online.
Hey I love playing CoX but doing they same darn thing over and over and over and over even with 100 different classes is a real bummer. You gotta admit, CoX has what ... hmm like 5 or 6 different instanced environments that you must replay ad nauseum for your whole career. Yes they throw in a Task Force mission here and there, but it's not the same as zones in other games. I all reality CoX has 1 zone.. a city map. Think about that for a minute. What if World of Warcraft had 1 zone with 5 instances and that was the only place to go from levels 1 - 70. Yea, thats City of Heroes in a nutshell. Great game, but hardly worth a full monthly price.
ImmortalAmazon said on 1:47AM 4-30-2008
You've completely missed the main point of my comment which is content is not the only determining factor of the value of a game. Do not get me wrong it is a very large factor but imo it is not the only one. I can not debate on the value of WoW because I do not play the game as it it not to my particular taste. However I could state that based on that alone the game's value is lowered. Again this runs into the relativity of what is fun to different people. So I will respectfully disagree as I have found CoX to be worth the monthly fee I pay to play it.
pufonthis said on 8:56AM 4-30-2008
ImmortalAmazon
I'm sorry but I think you have not caught my point yet. My point is simply this:
No matter how you YOU like it. No matter how much I like it. It doesn't matter. These things are opinions. And we are not dealing with opinions here. We are dealing with raw FACT.
The fact is that game X has this amount of data. Game Y has this amount, which is a great deal less. Why pay the same for both? I'm sure there is someone out there who has a strange, obsessive desire to play pong all day long. Yes, pong is extremely valuable to that weird person. But would you say it's fair for him to pay $15 a month for pong?
Not is it worth it to him, you understand. Because it might be worth it to that guy. But is it fair to him? No it is not.
As players we need to speak up about this. Because if we don't then game developers and publishers will continue to release half finished games with tacked-on systems that are destined to fail.
DR said on 1:37PM 4-29-2008
Most people pay upwards of $75 per month for cable television (not to mention cable internet, which is extra).
Considering that I spend about 50-70% of my free time playing MMO's but only spend 3-5% of it watching television, I would have to say that my MMO addiction (World of Warcraft) stacks up as an incredible value next to the standard alternatives.
When you consider the dollar value of something versus its opportunity cost, you have to value it against like goods and services. Where most people spend their time watching TV, I spend it fighting monsters and improving my online character.
Reply
Thrush said on 4:23PM 4-29-2008
In any given month I play WoW for at least 24 hours if not more. That works out to about 62 cents/hour ... much more bang for my buck than going to the movies or out drinking. 15/month for a game sounds like alot, but when you consider how much time and enjoyment you get for that $15 its a very reasonable price.
Reply