Diversification of subscription models

[Kirtis]

From what I have read in devblogs I got impression that though the monetization model has not been decided yet, still the subscription of some kind is the way the developers are mostly inclined to go to. And I have read a lot of responses from potential players who tell, that they don’t like the idea about implementation of subscription as they have limited time to spend in game, therefore they would waste their money if they’ll be paying for whole month and will have time to play only few hours a day or even few days a month at all.

 

Therefore the best solution IMO would be to give them option to buy the time they actually play – they would not feel wasting their money on game that they do not play and still they would have ability to subscribe.

 

Other thing is that if the person buy only few hours of game time and it will cost him just small amount it might be problematic to sell it as transaction cost remains the same as if he pay for a monthly subscription, thus at some point it’s not cost effective to sell small installments of game time. I see the solution in making it possible to pay the same amount as the full month of game time would cost (or what ever the lowest subscription plan will be chosen) but make it possible for player to choose if he wants to pay for the full month, or he wants to play at a certain time and pay only for that time. It can be done that if the person decides to pay for the time he actually plays, he would pay at higher rate than it would be if he just choose ordinary monthly subscription, but still he could use his time more effectively. For example person has time to play game only on weekends Saturday-Sunday. This is prime time in game and server loads are the highest at that time, so it makes sense, that the rate that he’ll need to pay at will be double – he’ll get just 15 days of game time for the same price that would cost an ordinary subscription for 30 days. But still he would be able to play game for almost 2 month (on weekends only though). In my opinion that would make both game developer and the player satisfied.

 

Other thing, speaking about the server load and price for the time on it – even in a global server where everyone play in virtually same shard there are prime time when the server load is highest and there is lover load at a certain time. For instance experience of EvE Online (which is well known to developers of DU as I have seen) shows that the prime time on a global server is from around 15:00 untill 21:00 GMT. And the lowest load is from the early morning untill about 11-12 at GMT as this is the time when European players are at work/school and NA players are sleeping/waking up/going to work, so naturally there is a gap in a load. Taking that into account it might make sense if you would implement option to pay for the actual time in game, to diversify the rate according to the time when the player is playing: if he plays at weekend and during the prime time he pays higher rate and if he plays when the server is less loaded, he pays at bit lower rate. That would make players to feel that they are being billed more fair and in some cases may be it would even distribute the load on servers.

 

This diversification in payment models would require come additional coding and so on, but I think that for the developer who tries to implement the most modern technologies anyway it should not be big challenge. And the happy customers making wider auditory of subscribers should really cover the cost of development of this system.

[Silvligh]

I can see this comes from the heart, and you mean goodness in this suggestion.
But this just gives me a really sour taste in my mouth.
I just, shudder, to see the outrage that forms, when some pay more than others just due to the times/timezone they play in.
A lot of people can't help this, and it kind of punishes players for playing the game.
And again, what happens if the load shifts to other times? Will this "Sub" be fixed time-cost or floating? If its floating, what happens if more people join than a specified limit? Does that mean everyone starts having to pay more?

Again, Idea seems innocent. But I don't think it would create good relations.

[yamamushi]

I think the problem can be negated with a subscription fee that is cost effective. 

 

$20 a month is going to be a harder sell than, let's say, $15 or $10 a month. A lot of that has to do with psychology, and what people can compare the prices to. At $15 a month, that's a little more than a monthly Netflix subscription (which just went to $9.99 for the only-only streaming option). With Netflix, nobody is ever watching 24/7, but they see it as a reasonable fee to pay for the hours they do find every week to watch some shows or movies on it. I pay $9.99 a month for my PSN subscription so that I can play PS4 games with my friends online, and although you do get 2 free games a month they haven't been very good in recent memory. 

 

I also think it's worthing taking the emergent entertainment value into consideration when thinking about paying for a subscription. You're paying to not only be part of a story, but to have a hand in creating one yourself. Which is something I don't get from many games, other than maybe Eve Online.

 

 

 

I mentioned in another thread about the subscription models that I think there needs to be an ability to gift subscriptions in the form of time codes to people, not only just the ingame subscription "tokens". There are many of us who would be happy to pay for a friend or two to play with us, who otherwise can't afford to play for one reason or another. I'd also like to be able to give away game time codes to people on Twitch, or coworkers or whoever.

 

Sometimes all it takes to get someone to subscribe and play with you is to give them a month for free. I always tell people that if you can stick with Eve Online for at least 1-2 months, you'll be hooked, and I'm sure a similar thing will be said about this game. 

[The_War_Doctor]

I think the problem can be negated with a subscription fee that is cost effective. 

 

$20 a month is going to be a harder sell than, let's say, $15 or $10 a month. A lot of that has to do with psychology, and what people can compare the prices to. At $15 a month, that's a little more than a monthly Netflix subscription (which just went to $9.99 for the only-only streaming option). With Netflix, nobody is ever watching 24/7, but they see it as a reasonable fee to pay for the hours they do find every week to watch some shows or movies on it. I pay $9.99 a month for my PSN subscription so that I can play PS4 games with my friends online, and although you do get 2 free games a month they haven't been very good in recent memory. 

 

I also think it's worthing taking the emergent entertainment value into consideration when thinking about paying for a subscription. You're paying to not only be part of a story, but to have a hand in creating one yourself. Which is something I don't get from many games, other than maybe Eve Online.

 

 

 

I mentioned in another thread about the subscription models that I think there needs to be an ability to gift subscriptions in the form of time codes to people, not only just the ingame subscription "tokens". There are many of us who would be happy to pay for a friend or two to play with us, who otherwise can't afford to play for one reason or another. I'd also like to be able to give away game time codes to people on Twitch, or coworkers or whoever.

 

Sometimes all it takes to get someone to subscribe and play with you is to give them a month for free. I always tell people that if you can stick with Eve Online for at least 1-2 months, you'll be hooked, and I'm sure a similar thing will be said about this game. 

Reading this I noticed the psn thing and it made me think of how if you pay for more than one month you save. I pay for 3 montsh at a time

[yamamushi]

Reading this I noticed the psn thing and it made me think of how if you pay for more than one month you save. I pay for 3 montsh at a time

 

Sometimes more than a month goes by before I play ps4 again, so I end up just paying for what I use

[The_War_Doctor]

Sometimes more than a month goes by before I play ps4 again, so I end up just paying for what I use

i understand lol. i simply meant it as a thought for the devs. i was trying to type fast before i left my office haha. i just meant if someone is planning to play DU alot i would like to see NQ implement the same payment plan that psn xbox live and other games make it so that the more time you pay for upfront the more you save. Which gives some people the option to pay more upfront if they have the money but save in the long run

[The_War_Doctor]

unfortunately i dont have a solution for those who dont play enough that they feel they are getting screwed by the monthly. i feel it would be unfair to say if the monthly is 10 and to make them pay 7 to pay for like 15 days. maybe a weekend pass? but again i dont know how this will be implemented. My best suggestion is a hope that the devs really sit and consider what the best monthly price is for the game as i dont feel any game weathers a price hike very well even if the old players are grandfathered the old price.

 

edit: i think the best idea may be if there is weekend pass tokens that a player can gift to a friend that would be fairly cheap compared to the full month token

[MasteredRed]

unfortunately i dont have a solution for those who dont play enough that they feel they are getting screwed by the monthly. i feel it would be unfair to say if the monthly is 10 and to make them pay 7 to pay for like 15 days. maybe a weekend pass? but again i dont know how this will be implemented. My best suggestion is a hope that the devs really sit and consider what the best monthly price is for the game as i dont feel any game weathers a price hike very well even if the old players are grandfathered the old price.

 

edit: i think the best idea may be if there is weekend pass tokens that a player can gift to a friend that would be fairly cheap compared to the full month token

 I literally don't have to link subscription posts since there are so many. The subscription problem has been discussed and many have their own opinions about it. I personally go by some of the facts the devs have stated but I'll add a twist into it.

 

Many games go off a buy to play model, which has been discussed numberous times. However, this model is a simple way, which is its appeal, however it's also the downfall.

 

Let's say you go to your favorite club and have to pay to get it. It's a simple transaction and allows you unlimited access. Or let's say an arcade(those outdated things). many people may choose to play each game independently if they are only in there for a hour or two, seeing as there is no real reason to pay extra. When they do that, they only are staying for a short period of time. If a game is likewise free, they will of course play it. However, when you are at that arcade for an extended period of time during a month, it makes more sense to buy a pass, due to you spending time and investing into this arcade. This makes it less to actually play each game, while you still get enjoyment out of it.

 

This is likewise the case for DU. If you just buy the game, you're making a one time investment that will grant you full access. If it's free, you gain a large playerbase but no person cares about the game due to no money being spent into it. However, when you actively play and use a subscription model, you have an urge to keep playing and investing. Likewise, if you bought a pass at an arcade, you would be more likely to play at that arcade.

 

It's as yamamushi said, physiological and is defined in generally the same way. It just depends on what each person puts value into more or less.

[The_War_Doctor]

the only way i can see a b2p model being viable is if there is a steady stream of paid expansions to the game, which i just dont see being possible with this game. i also dont see how a cash store can be used in such a game as what this plans to be.

[AviasNelan]

I have to say that there needs to be a low buy-in price. Let's say $30 USD. After that, we need a subscription model. $10 a month is quite reasonable, and if features keep getting implemented over time, why not pat the sub fee? It costs money to sustain servers. It costs money to continuously develop features. Why should we not pay? 

 

Ultimately, as long as it isn't any sort of pay to win, I will be happy.

[Anaximander]

This is scamm-tastic. How many people would be fooled if you were to sell them 1 Second of in-game time for the price of 1 month? Amazing idea, good one.




/sarcasm_off