payment posts

The catch point of the free-to-play model

by Eliot Lefebvre Dec 6th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Business models, Opinion, Free-to-play, Academic

With the successful transition of Dungeons and Dragons Online to the free-to-play model, there's a lot of talk about why other games don't move over to the same model, with Warhammer Online frequently being cited as a game that would enjoy a great benefit from the switch. It would bring in more players, certainly, but there's more to the business than just bringing in new blood. The Ancient Gaming Noob makes an excellent point in a recent entry regarding the inescapable paradox of any game offering a free-to-play model -- that razor-edge split between giving the game away for free and making it entirely unreasonable to play it for free.

The obvious idea is that more people will try the game if they don't think they have to commit, and if they feel they can keep playing without having to pay money they're more likely to stick with it. However, every player that isn't paying money is essentially a cost - and as the entry points out, your paying playerbase will frequently be a small percentage of your overall subscribers. The entry uses Battlefield Heroes as an example of a game where the equillibrium needed to shift to make it profitable, which is causing serious rumbling in the gaming community, but the example can apply for any free-to-play game. As the model becomes more and more popular, it's important to remember that it's not a certain hit -- and can turn what could have been a moderately-successful subscription game into a failed game if done wrong.

Tags: academic, battlefield-heroes, business-models, ddo, dungeons-and-dragons-online, f2p, fees, free-to-play, opinion, payment, subscription, the-ancient-gaming-noob, war, warhammer-online

CCP staff offered the option of being paid foreign currency during economic crisis

by Seraphina Brennan Aug 10th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Business models, Culture, Economy, MMO industry, News items

During our troubled economic times, one sometimes forgets that currency is in a constant state of fluctuation. When times get really harsh, the value of the currency can wildly go back and forth between numbers, creating a sense of unease as people don't know what their currency is worth.

CCP Games, however, took up a new approach to paying their employees when the Icelandic Krona was volatile earlier this year -- paying their employees in foreign currency.

Employees were offered the option to accept paychecks in foreign currency, if they so wished, to provide employees with a stable income from a stable currency rather than receiving checks with the Krona. The move was easy on CCP's part, as the company is located in China, Iceland, and the United States and makes most of their revenue in foreign currency anyway.

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, china, currency, economic-crisis, economy, eve, eve-online, iceland, payment, united-states, white-wolf

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?

Tags: money, monthly-fee, payment, tdg, the-daily-grind