Comments on: Shareholder Subscription

By: Dungeon Love | Kill Ten Rats

Dungeon Love | Kill Ten Rats — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:27:41 +0000

[...] it at a pace I feel comfortable with. A service is nice, but I really like the feeling of true persistence - a permanence, if you will. I like feeling like I have a stake in the game beyond access [...]

By: Tesh

Tesh — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:07:36 +0000

Indeed… except that it’s an option, rather than a “you must do it this way”. I like that the game offers both the GW-ish model and a subber model, since there are different sorts of players.

By: Katherine

Katherine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:06:23 +0000

That is pretty awesome.

By: yunk

yunk — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:31:37 +0000

I think quite a bit, I think they count on that. I know I spent more than I would have, because I could. Buy giant stacks of health pots at a time? sure! way easier than farming or paying my non existent gold.

I find I need all the health pots, I play either solo or with one guy I know, and once we hit level 4 it gets harder, esp when you try the dungeons on hard or harder, and your friend likes to see how many mobs he can attract.

By: Ravious

Ravious — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:13:35 +0000

Yeah, I was really considering it. I mean that would basically put it right close to Guild Wars’s model.

By: Stabs

Stabs — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:11:22 +0000

I’ve spent $49.99 and will probably never spend another penny. I have all the modules I want bar two. I have the points saved up for those but I don’t want to buy yet in case there’s a weekend discount offer on them before I buy.

So effectively I have everything I want and am a lifetime subscriber for $50 one-off fee. While I don’t quite have the same perks as a VIP there’s nothing I really miss.

I analysed it in some depth here:
http://stabbedup.blogspot.com/2009/10/ddo-paying-for-f2p.html

By: Julian

Julian — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:09:45 +0000

By the way, I should clarify that I didn’t imply there was any goading or fine print situation involved on the side of the devs when I commented above.

It just occurred to me this simple scenario which I imagine happens all the time of people starting to buy small thing after small thing then they end up with an expenditure for that month much greater than the sub which includes everything they bought and more.

Heck, it happens to me at the grocery store sometimes.

By: Ravious

Ravious — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:58:34 +0000

Both Turbine and KingIsle (W101) are pretty open about if you are planning on burning through content then subscribe, if you are planning on playing very casually then one of the other options might be better. Both DDO and W101 lead people towards sub’ing.

But, still… I spent close to $50 for roughly two months of W101 play, but it was my choice. I now own that content, and I am willing to pay more for that option.

By: Julian

Julian — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:20:50 +0000

*devil’s advocate*

“Players can play for free, while slowly buying things from the cash shop. Players can buy chunks of cash shop coin to buy content packs, more character creation options, and some consumables. Or, players can subscribe and get access to everything.”

I’d love to know (and we’ll never know) how many people went with the first two options thinking they’d save money and ended up paying more than if they had subbed from the get go.

By: Bhagpuss

Bhagpuss — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:06:18 +0000

That’s a step beyond even Wizard 101’s excellent payment model, I think. I do hope this variety of payment models becomes the norm for MMOs.