Why do you pay for your games each month?

by James Egan Jul 9th 2008 at 5:30PM

Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Opinion

How much game do you need to support a monthly fee? That's a question Tobold asked in his blog, noting that there are a number of games charging for monthly subs that would be better off with alternative business models. He cites the example of the in-beta Football Manager Live, which he feels is niche in the first place, and coupled with great complexity and minimal graphics, wouldn't exactly draw crowds of subscribers. Tobold thinks that a higher cost to purchase the game and then offering a free basic version would be a more appealing option for some players. And for those who are hardcore about the game, a subscription that would include more detailed statistics would be a better fit.

He notes titles like Diablo, Hellgate: London and Guild Wars -- games which eschewed the standard subscription model for either box sales or partial subscriptions. This led him wonder what exactly we expect from a game we're willing to subscribe to. Tobold asks: What are you willing to pay a monthly fee for, and where do you balk at the cost? Are there specific features which you think justify a monthly fee? Sound off if you have some ideas about what makes your game of choice worthy of your sub money each month. Or if your preferred MMO isn't a subscription title, what drew you to that game?

Tags: beta, box-sales, business-models, diablo, f2p, features, free-to-play, game-mechanics, guild-wars, hardcore, hellgate-london, niche, statistics, sub, subscription, tobold

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Derek K. said on 5:42PM 7-09-2008

I expect special events, constant updates, regular patches, free new content, and responsive customer service. I tend to get 85% of those or so. ;) I also expect a higher level of quality from a monthly sub.

The MMOs I rotate through are Planetside, DDO, CoH, WoW, and SWG. CoH provides all of those to some degree, most especially the regular patches, free new content, and constant updates. It's also one of the two on the list that I play the most. WoW does 1, 2, and 3. 4, not so much (Burning Crusade would have been a free update on CoH), and 5 to varying degrees. PS has none of those, but is too much fun for me not to play. DDO has 1, kinda, 2, kinda, 3, kinda, 4, kinda, and 5. And I go back and forth on it - typically 1 month in 4 I'll have an active sub.

possum said on 7:58PM 7-09-2008

currently i play nothing, pay nothing, i have more important things to do than play some game with no customer support. To many steelhead needing to be fished out anyways.

In any game customer service is paramount. Take AOC for example, they have no customer support, none, ingame or out and i defy anyone to challenge me on this. look up customer service in any number of succesfull companies, you will see things like timely help, knowledgeable help, etc.

As in my example, if i pay a monthly fee, first and formost customer service had better be really tight or i will go elsewhere, regardless of "how good the game is".

some folks just hang on, hoping the service will improve and let their money be sucked into a deep hole.

House said on 8:15PM 7-09-2008

It's been a long time since I've paid a monthly fee. There are so many free online games with ads or micro-transactions that I can't imagine what would make me pay a subscription again.

HacknSlash said on 9:23PM 7-10-2008

I'm always amazed at how people protest against monthly subs. I spend more on single player games when I'm not in an MMO than I ever do in subs. Even an older PC game is $20-$30 and you get maybe, maybe, a month's play out of them.

To answer the main question, I expect a good story, great gameplay, constant questing, a decent chat system, easy grouping, and an enjoyable crafting system. I've played F2P games and never found them satisfying. I'd rather pay the sub.