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Should I pay to play an MMO?

$10-15 per month to play a game close to 24/7 is pretty cheap entertainment if you ask me.

$10-15 for one person to see a movie and get snacks....one time. *shrug* it's all how you want to look at it.
 
batgeek said:
$10-15 per month to play a game close to 24/7 is pretty cheap entertainment if you ask me.

$10-15 for one person to see a movie and get snacks....one time. *shrug* it's all how you want to look at it.
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This.

It depends on how much you play, bit if it is more than a couple hours a month $15/month is a steal. I played all the warcraft rts games and have played wow for years (at varying degrees of dedication). I have also played lotro, coh/cov, and atitd. I want to mess with swotr, but will wait on that one. My time to play has steadily decreased as has my drive to play. But I would say a sub is well worth it.
 
Take a game like Skyrim though that seems to get rave reviews. Would anyone advocate paying monthly to play it? I doubt it.
 
Skyrim is single player though, so why would anyone want to pay for it per month? But seriously? An MMO based on the TES universe and Skyrim graphics would be way up there even maybe beyond WoW in terms of quality IMO: comparable backstory development to WoW, an expansive universe, a more realistic and exciting game play, plus the TES mantra of play however you like and you will succeed kind of thing which no MMO has achieved.

I can already see it: multiple players as Imperial soldiers laying siege to a castle protected by players who are of the Stormcloaks. That would be epic.
 
A.Nonymous said:
Take a game like Skyrim though that seems to get rave reviews. Would anyone advocate paying monthly to play it? I doubt it.
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Comparing skyrim to an MMO is comparing apples and oranges. It would take quite the overhaul to make it massively multiplayer and such an endeavour would get rid of most of what makes it great.
 
I'm not saying make it an MMO. I'm saying would anyone pay for it as it is. What is it about an MMO that people are willing to pay every month to play it?
 
agentc13 said:
There are quite a number of sandbox MMOs that allow this. (like EVE online, there are a number of others as well).
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They probably aren't available or well known in my country.

A.Nonymous said:
I'm not saying make it an MMO. I'm saying would anyone pay for it as it is. What is it about an MMO that people are willing to pay every month to play it?
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1. It takes more than a month to play it. With Skyrim you can finish everything in a month if you give it enough time. Pointless to put up a subscription for it.

2. A person is more likely to pay for a game which offers MMO because the other players in the game offer a dynamic experience compared to a single player game. The mere fact that it is an MMO with several other people with you in the game makes the experience less uniform. For example in WoW, a simply questing party could turn into an ambush in the woods with the sighting of another party of the opposing faction.
 
A.Nonymous said:
I'm not saying make it an MMO. I'm saying would anyone pay for it as it is. What is it about an MMO that people are willing to pay every month to play it?
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Well there are update patches that add content.

I play still because I enjoy playing with the people I have met (in game and out).

I have been a fairly hardcore raider at times so there is that as well.

Not saying that you have to sub, but these games get updates and stuff added a lot for free, and there is the Massive Multiplayer side of things you can't get outside of an MMO.
 
You could take a game like Skyrim though and add DLC (which most games have) and other things that add value. Skyrim may do this already. I've never played the game, I just randomly picked it because it's popular at the moment. That's basically what an MMO does. DCUO is getting ready to replace a new DLC pack. I think the last one they released was 2-3 months ago. Does this add more value to the game? Absolutely, but there's no reason a non-MMO couldn't do the same thing. Subscribe to the game and you get all the extra content free. Don't subscribe and you have to pay extra for it.
 
The biggest difference is the "Massively Multiplayer" part. Even games with online multiplayer modes (fps) are not like an MMO.

I guess I don't get the discussion here, if you don't want to play a subscription MMO, there are plenty that are f2p. If you want to play single player games do that. There are reasons to pay an MMO sub so do that if you want, but you don't have to by any means.

I played LOTRO when it was sub based and haven't since before it went f2p. I don't like the comprises most f2p games make to be profitable. A sub based MMO only costs your sub and time to be competitive at end game. F2P games rely on more active players to subsidize the "free" players and it costs much more to be competitive at end game. If you are a very casual player that isn't interested in raiding/pvp end game that is great. If you are interested in them (like I am at times) it's much cheaper to pay $15 a month. It all depends on perspective. I still play now without being as competitive because of friends I have made. $15/mo is cheap in comparison to most activities I do with friends.
 
agentc13 said:
The biggest difference is the "Massively Multiplayer" part. Even games with online multiplayer modes (fps) are not like an MMO.

I guess I don't get the discussion here, if you don't want to play a subscription MMO, there are plenty that are f2p. If you want to play single player games do that. There are reasons to pay an MMO sub so do that if you want, but you don't have to by any means.

I played LOTRO when it was sub based and haven't since before it went f2p. I don't like the comprises most f2p games make to be profitable. A sub based MMO only costs your sub and time to be competitive at end game. F2P games rely on more active players to subsidize the "free" players and it costs much more to be competitive at end game. If you are a very casual player that isn't interested in raiding/pvp end game that is great. If you are interested in them (like I am at times) it's much cheaper to pay $15 a month. It all depends on perspective. I still play now without being as competitive because of friends I have made. $15/mo is cheap in comparison to most activities I do with friends.
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I'm a complete noob to the whole MMORPG genre so the concept of paying a monthly fee to play a game is completely foreign to me. I'm accustomed to the pay once, play as much as you want model. You buy a game, it's yours and you can play until your fingers blister and fall off without paying another dime.

What compromises does a game make when it goes F2P? Why would a F2P player not be as active as a sub? I honestly don't know the answer. I've no doubt there are F2P players who never play. I'm also sure there are some that are hardcore players as well. The only reason I can see to subscribe to the game I play is to be able to buy the T2 armor and battle suits. You can't buy that as F2P because your in game money is capped. I still have access to the same content as the subscribers, I just have to pay for it individually vs they have access to all of it as part of their subscription.
 
A.Nonymous said:
What compromises does a game make when it goes F2P? Why would a F2P player not be as active as a sub? I honestly don't know the answer. I've no doubt there are F2P players who never play. I'm also sure there are some that are hardcore players as well. The only reason I can see to subscribe to the game I play is to be able to buy the T2 armor and battle suits. You can't buy that as F2P because your in game money is capped. I still have access to the same content as the subscribers, I just have to pay for it individually vs they have access to all of it as part of their subscription.
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You hit it on the head there. The F2P games charge for that stuff so they can make their profits. To be competitive in endgame (the armor or other cash shop items like consumables) costs money. So the people who need it to be competitive in end game activities pay. The people who don't are subsidized by them. It's just two different models.

WoW being the most successful and popular MMO just has eveyone pay less, and you can earn whatever gear/items your play style/time dictate. It works for that game and with 10million+ it obviously works for them. Smaller games have their own models that work for them and keeps them profitable.

Each has the model that works for them an we are free to choose what we like. Hopefully whatever model they use works well enough to keep the game going. I thought the sub model weird when I started, but it makes sense for the games that use it (or the game wouldn't be able to stay open).
 
I'm at the point with one of my characters where I'm frustrated by the end game stuff. I've hit the level cap, but can't buy any of the armor because of the cap on in game currency. I can't run any of the missions without it. I get the living crap kicked out of me. Every forum I look at advises to armor up first. I can run duos and alerts with other players with no problems, but most of the end game stuff except for raids is designed and limited to solo.
 
A.Nonymous said:
I'm at the point with one of my characters where I'm frustrated by the end game stuff. I've hit the level cap, but can't buy any of the armor because of the cap on in game currency. I can't run any of the missions without it. I get the living crap kicked out of me. Every forum I look at advises to armor up first. I can run duos and alerts with other players with no problems, but most of the end game stuff except for raids is designed and limited to solo.
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That would be my issue with F2P games. I'd rather pay up front and have access to everything than to be nickeled and dimed.
 
I'm a cheapskate so I enjoy being nickel and dimed. :) The problem with this particular game is you don't have the option. I can't pay a one time fee for the opportunity to purchase the battlesuit of my choice. I have to pay a subscription which I may end up doing.

The PVP stuff doesn't appeal to me. I tried it and I found it an extremely frustrating experience. I was a level 10 healer. I kept getting jumped on the street by level 20+ tanks and getting the snot beat out of me. I had no chance to win the fight.
 
A.Nonymous said:
I've just got into the MMO genre and honestly, I'm a bit surprised that people actually pay a monthly fee to play the game. I'm accustomed to paying a one time fee up front to play a game. No issues there other than said fee is often too high IMO. Paying every month seems strange to me. Nowadays it seems a lot of F2P games were once pay so the idea that you get a lesser quality product falls apart. The game I'm into, DC Universe Online, has different tiers and the F2P peeps can buy in game content. I'm happy to do that as the in game content is cheaper than a monthly subscription if you do the math. You play 2-3 months and you break even after paying for everything. Is there a reason to pay to play an MMO these days if you don't have to?
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Personally I think that when you buy a game you should get the whole game. This would apply to a lot of gaming genres. Unfortunately, I do not run the world so p2p is a reality. Paying monthly fees really depends on many variables, such as how often you play, how serious you are about winning, and how much disposable income you have just to name a few.

Really the only person who knows if it's worth it for you to pay monthly is you.
 
KailynLaw said:
Personally I think that when you buy a game you should get the whole game. This would apply to a lot of gaming genres. Unfortunately, I do not run the world so p2p is a reality. Paying monthly fees really depends on many variables, such as how often you play, how serious you are about winning, and how much disposable income you have just to name a few.

Really the only person who knows if it's worth it for you to pay monthly is you.
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Yeah, you can make the argument about any game. I bought Arkham City when it came out. Nightwing is a playable character, but you have to buy the DLC in order to get him. Same with Robin. I've already forked over $50 for the game and now I'm asked to fork over even more money to play a game I've already paid for.

I'm thinking of abandoning the genre at this point. Now that I've level capped my character I find myself running raids and quests with players who are way more experienced than I am and many of them are just plain rude and surly. I have been sworn at many, many times. So I'm stuck running around helping out the lower level noobs who are always grateful for my help, but it's not as satisfying somehow.
 
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