The MMO monthly fee: Is it in your head?

A lot of people seem anti-monthly fee for MMO's these days and I was curious here of a few things.

Now if you just don't enjoy MMO's enough to play everyday then this makes sense. If you do enjoy the genre and would play that MMO as your go-to game but shy away due to a sub, that does not make sense to me, and the math is why. This is also assuming of course you can afford it and would be buying games throughout the year anyway.

Looking at the math I put down how much it costs to play an MMO for 1 year including the intitial purchase. I also threw in buying two random high priced games during that time. I put that up against buying six new PC games at the typical max price throughout the year. Coincidently they came out to the same price. No I did not mean for that to happen lol. 

This is assuming you would be enjoying the MMO enough to not want to purchase the extra 4 games that year. The MMO should be consuming the majority of your gaming hours or it is just not worth it. 

1. MMO you play regularly for 1 year

$60 initial

$15 per month= $180

2 other random game purchases averaging $60=$120

Total for the year $360

2. Buying 6 new games in one year $360

I'm pro monthly fee for true MMOs (in an open world), games with fees don't separate random bs in in game stores, as for buying games instead of paying just for one, don't have a problem with that, I buy lots of games every year, my problem is not playing them, since I spend every free second I have on World of Tanks, that has an optional subscription that I take advantage of, I liked it so much I already spent in an year more than I spent in 5 on WoW, subs, premium tanks (that most would consider outrageous, to buy 40-50 *broken euro sign* digital tanks), customization, various slots, I never though I'd love a game so much and be stuck on it for thousands of hours and more thousands to come, not even WoW was this addictive.

The main investment on mmos is NOT the monetary investment but rather the time investment, 15 dollars a month is a steal for a premium mmo service with potentially dozens of hours of entertainment per month.

I will gladly pay 15 dollars a month for a good mmo, but the only mmo though that I seem to find worth my time is EVE and that game is too time consuming for my current schedule.

Of course, a monthly fee does not magically make a game better or make me play it more, I thought I would spend around 3 months in WoW so I bought a 3 month subscription. Yet I couldnt force myself through that piece of shallow crap past 2 weeks.

   The only way I would pay a monthly fee for a game is if the game would give me more fun/being more addictive than Diablo II Lord Of Destruction.

   So far I didn't found that game in over 20 years of gaming. So I don't pay monthly fees in games.

Find me an MMO better than a sub based MMO and I will start caring. If any idiot says GW2 > WoW or Rift kindly blow it out of your ass.MBirdy88

   I found Oblivion and Skyrim far more enjoyable that my -small- time with WoW, and to me WvWvW in GW2 is better than any content from WoW. I found that after a while the PvE parts from GW2/WoW are almost equally lame -aka: boring- to me, due are focused in to grinding -korean style-, so I only touch those PvE contents to found my competitive WvWvW spents.

No, it's on my charge bill.

Dumb thread is dumb.

However somebody wants to get their X hours of entertainment is fine by me. I'd rather buy 6 new games and get 40 hours of entertinament out of each, some people would rather buy 1 MMO and get the same amount of entertianment out of it, more power to them.

I have yet to play an MMO that actually was worth the $15 a month price tag, WOW included.  I mean it was a good game, and fun. But $15 a month is too high to charge, (server maintenence is easily more than covered, along with corporate greed too)

Time is a major factor in this for me.  Now-a-days, I don't have a bunch of time to dump into a single game for a year, or two at a time. (especially for $15 a month)

Too many interesting games, and too much of other stuff takes up time. 

I dont mind at all...I like supporting the companies that support my games.

Find me an MMO better than a sub based MMO and I will start caring. If any idiot says GW2 > WoW or Rift kindly blow it out of your ass.MBirdy88

Correct me if I am wrong, but didnt Trion Worlds kinda drop the ball with Storm Legion, I have heard nothing but hate for the game ever since.

Also, someone thinking that GW2>WoW or RIFT does not make them an idiot, and this is coming from someone who is highly critical of GW2 and if I were to return to a themepark it would be WoW. Could be that GW2 just fits into their tastes better.

[QUOTE="MBirdy88"]Find me an MMO better than a sub based MMO and I will start caring. If any idiot says GW2 > WoW or Rift kindly blow it out of your ass.Maroxad

Correct me if I am wrong, but didnt Trion Worlds kinda drop the ball with Storm Legion, I have heard nothing but hate for the game ever since.

You're very wrong. Most players love Storm Legion and it's a massive amout of content. Of course you have some nerd rage but you're going to get that no matter what.

If the MMO in question demands a monthly fee then it should offer a free trial and a means to upgrade it into a subscriber account. Paying $50 for a boxed MMO and then having to pay monthly on top of it is stupid.

[QUOTE="Maroxad"]

[QUOTE="MBirdy88"]Find me an MMO better than a sub based MMO and I will start caring. If any idiot says GW2 > WoW or Rift kindly blow it out of your ass.BSC14

Correct me if I am wrong, but didnt Trion Worlds kinda drop the ball with Storm Legion, I have heard nothing but hate for the game ever since.

You're very wrong. Most players love Storm Legion and it's a massive amout of content. Of course you have some nerd rage but you're going to get that no matter what.

Good to hear. I have seen nothing but cynicism though.

But if what you say is true, then I say that RIFT would be the themepark I would return to.

I don't mind subscriptions. 

People need to learn that a condition that you require when you subscribe to a game is constant support and content releases. Very few MMOs get that part right. They'll do these tiny little events here and there that don't do much. 

When I mean content, I mean new quests, gear, loot, end game, dunegons, or content specific to the game that increases the amount to play.

If there is a new patch every 2-3 months that don't really add anything to the game, then the subscription isn't justified. 

I never think about it because I know how to spend my money lol

all you've shown me is that i could buy two high budget titles at launch with the money from sub fees. even more games if you don't buy at launch. so why would i want to keep paying? why are MMOs the only ones that get away with it?BrunoBRS

Because some people actually want good post launch support for their mmos.

I look at MMO subscriptions from a comparative perspective.  And then literally laugh my ass off at people who say they are too expensive.

I look at the fact that the last time me, 3 of my friends, my sister, and two of her friends all went to see a movie together on a Friday night.  With 7 ticks (after 4pm on a date night), 2 large popcorns, and 7 small drinks (I offered to pay for it all); $70 for the tickets, $30 for the drinks, $20 for the popcorn... $120.

That's 8 months of an MMO subscription.  For one, 1 hour 40 minute movie with friends.

The last time I went on vacation I spent more money on a 30 minute helicopter ride than I have on all MMOs I have ever subscribed to in my entire life (and I have been subscribed to MMOs 100% uptime since about 2008), and I have even been subscribed to multiple MMOs at once on occasion.

5+ years of thousands of hours worth of entertainment for LESS money than a 30 minute helicopter ride on vacation.  To argue that MMO subscriptions are prohibitively expensive is quite literally the most laughable argument in video gaming.  Almost as bad as the people who say the same about $40 a year for Xbox Live.

I don't mind paying each month if I think the game is worth it (yeah, I know, that's highly subjective).  One benefit of subscription models is that they tend to keep the riffraff to a minimum and in a MMORPG, that alone is usually worth my $15.

I look at MMO subscriptions from a comparative perspective.  And then literally laugh my ass off at people who say they are too expensive.

I look at the fact that the last time me, 3 of my friends, my sister, and two of her friends all went to see a movie together on a Friday night.  With 7 ticks (after 4pm on a date night), 2 large popcorns, and 7 small drinks (I offered to pay for it all); $70 for the tickets, $30 for the drinks, $20 for the popcorn... $120.

Squeets

but she's a stupid old **** and didn't understand >_>

Personally me

I do not support MMO'S that require you buy the game then a sub. That is just nonsense  and no one should support 

I also DO not support MMO's that require a sub That sells expansion packs.  This is complete fraud in my opinion because, that sub should get you that content  ~ this is the reason why i won't even attemt to play WOW

I only support mmos who only sells the game for one price with no subs. 100% fine if they sell expansion packs

or

mmos that only have a sub to play the game but offer content included in that sub with no expansion packs

The sub fee is the #1 factor in my buying a MMO. If it has a fee, I will not buy it no matter how good a game is. I got better things to spend my money on. It isn't a matter of money for me (god look at the specs to the system I just built and tell me money is the issue for me). It's a matter of principles.AmazonTreeBoa

You spend all of that money on a gaming PC but are too cheap to spend $15 a month for a game that releases monthly content?

You're not just paying $15 a month to play the game, you're paying $15 a month for continual development and support. If an MMO doesn't provide this and has a fee, it doesn't stay pay to play for long. However if the devs can deliever on constant updates and new content, $15 a month is completely reasonable. 

The big problem is not really the monthly fee to my eyes. It's that we pay for things we don't really own. Without the servers, the game we gotta pay around 60$ is useless... I also have no control on when the servers are available or taken down (which means the games itself get useless). I should pay for the game if there's no subscriptions and they can garranty me that the servers will have no major problems or at least won't shut them down for at least X number of time (else I can get a refund). Or, I don't mind paying a subscriptions for a game that I shouldn't have to pay (like when you rent a movie).

To my eyes those solutions makes more sense. They are not ideal and there's probably something else that could works better for both side. I feel sometimes like we have no protection for what we pay for.

Not a problem at all. More like a slight inconvenience more than anything, as I'd lose access to the content if I cease the $15 sub fee to something I want to play periodically around a specific schedule.

If I don't have a fee (like gw2), then i dont feel guilty if I'm not playing for a month or something. Then I can comeback, no worrying about suspending my account or anything

What I want to know is, if some developers are willing to go free to play, why aren't some willing to lower the monthly fee to say... $7.50? It's always $15 or F2P. Never the mid ground. And think MMO players are so used to seeing the $15 amount. Elann2008

By transitioning to a free-to-play model, the game commits itself to a more 'open-door' access to content that is readily available to new players that dont want to commit temporary access to content, and in the same stroke, provide immediate access to those who had once ceased their subscription to try get players back.

Edit: All this talk of sub makes me want a subway sandwich :C

MMORPG's only stop a minority of people from ignoring every other game on the planet. Meaning that you can take those monthly fee costs and then add them on-top of other game purchases. Imagine a day when 90% of MMORPGs aren't hackneyed copy-cats of eachother - you might actually want to play more than one. Things might get even more expensive then. I know maintaining my WW2 Online and WoW subscriptions simultaneously ate into my wallet more than I would have liked.

I'd like to think that there's a point where developers figure out how to use microtransactions in a way where everybody wins. It would take a combination of these things....

1) The micotransactions can't effect gameplay in any shape or form
2) The micotransaction-related paraphernalia must appeal to enthusiasts (aesthetic customization is the easy way to go)
3) Players who don't wish to be involved with the microtransactions must already have diverse aesthetic customization options

That would be enough to keep the game supported and maintained - from then on content updates could be sold for $20 or whatever.

It's a matter of perspective. $15/month is another bill to add on top of all your other spending. Being able to go spend money on something new often creates a sense of satisfaction over paying a bill in itself.

Having said that $15 per month really is pocket change. People who don't do so are either on principle or don't have access to a payment system (no credit card).

Personally I don't like MMO's. Also I think it's absurd to pay $60 for PC games and have been intentionally waiting on price drops since $60 became the norm.

I'm a frugal guy so if I spend money on something - I'm going to get my money's worth. And that's the problem with MMOs and me. I've been on again off again with WoW too many times to count. I find myself mostly subbing again when I was off from school during the summers and had more free time. I then took every ounce of free time I had and placed it into WoW. Once school started up again, I didn't have time for the MMO so I quit.

Now with a full-time job, I don't have the time to get my money's worth and I doubt I'll ever play a subscription-based game due to this reason.

[QUOTE="Elann2008"]What I want to know is, if some developers are willing to go free to play, why aren't some willing to lower the monthly fee to say... $7.50? It's always $15 or F2P. Never the mid ground. And think MMO players are so used to seeing the $15 amount. illmatic87

By transitioning to a free-to-play model, the game commits itself to a more 'open-door' access to content that is readily available to new players that dont want to commit temporary access to content, and in the same stroke, provide immediate access to those who had once ceased their subscription to try get players back.

Edit: All this talk of sub makes me want a subway sandwich :C

[QUOTE="AmazonTreeBoa"]The sub fee is the #1 factor in my buying a MMO. If it has a fee, I will not buy it no matter how good a game is. I got better things to spend my money on. It isn't a matter of money for me (god look at the specs to the system I just built and tell me money is the issue for me). It's a matter of principles.Wasdie

You spend all of that money on a gaming PC but are too cheap to spend $15 a month for a game that releases monthly content?

You're not just paying $15 a month to play the game, you're paying $15 a month for continual development and support. If an MMO doesn't provide this and has a fee, it doesn't stay pay to play for long. However if the devs can deliever on constant updates and new content, $15 a month is completely reasonable. 

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

[QUOTE="AmazonTreeBoa"]The sub fee is the #1 factor in my buying a MMO. If it has a fee, I will not buy it no matter how good a game is. I got better things to spend my money on. It isn't a matter of money for me (god look at the specs to the system I just built and tell me money is the issue for me). It's a matter of principles.BrunoBRS

You spend all of that money on a gaming PC but are too cheap to spend $15 a month for a game that releases monthly content?

You're not just paying $15 a month to play the game, you're paying $15 a month for continual development and support. If an MMO doesn't provide this and has a fee, it doesn't stay pay to play for long. However if the devs can deliever on constant updates and new content, $15 a month is completely reasonable. 

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

[QUOTE="AmazonTreeBoa"]The sub fee is the #1 factor in my buying a MMO. If it has a fee, I will not buy it no matter how good a game is. I got better things to spend my money on. It isn't a matter of money for me (god look at the specs to the system I just built and tell me money is the issue for me). It's a matter of principles.BrunoBRS

You spend all of that money on a gaming PC but are too cheap to spend $15 a month for a game that releases monthly content?

You're not just paying $15 a month to play the game, you're paying $15 a month for continual development and support. If an MMO doesn't provide this and has a fee, it doesn't stay pay to play for long. However if the devs can deliever on constant updates and new content, $15 a month is completely reasonable. 

No, it's on my charge bill.

Dumb thread is dumb.

maddogmark25

As for the majority of the rest of the replies, great discussion and interesting to hear different reasons why people do or do not support p2p models.