a lot of talk of credit cards

[dectheman]

hi just watched vegas web cast there is a lot of talk of credit cards on it ,is there going to be a charge to play if so why ,i play a lot on line and never had to pay to before,in this time of recession i think it would not be fair to ask people to pay to play some thing they love. ,thanks dec,

UPDATE THANK FOR ALL THE INFO I REALLY WAS NOT AWARE THAT OTHER GAMES ARE PAY TO PLAY,
SO ALL IN ALL IT DOES SEEM FAIR ,THANKS DEC:o

[Varrangian]

hi just watched vegas web cast there is a lot of talk of credit cards on it ,is there going to be a charge to play if so why ,i play a lot on line and never had to pay to before,in this time of recession i think it would not be fair to ask people to pay to play some thing they love.i dont even have a credit card ,thanks dec,

Playing online and playing an MMO of the quality level of STO are not the same thing.

It is perfectly fair to ask people to pay to play something they love. It would not be fair to ask Cryptic and their investors to take a loss on the time and money they invested in STO just so you can play for free. Think of it this way. Do you want all the employees at Cryptic to lose their jobs and the game to exist for 3 months of free play?

If you do not want to pay money for a game, that is your choice, but to make it some sort of "moralistic" evil for them to ask you to pay is both naive and really insulting to those people who put their time and money into making video games.

[dectheman]

okay put it this way what about the people who cant afford to pay, single parents with kids ,unemployed ,others can put out a game and manage on the in come of the price of the game.i think if one starts this the rest will follow.as for loosing lose there jobs over this ,i dont think so,
but to make it some sort of "moralistic" evil for them to ask you to pay is both naive and really insulting to those people who put their time and money into making video games.
also what is this about. i am neither naive or trying to insult anyone.just asking a question.

[Elfender]

15$ a mo isnt all that expensive, it's less than i pay to rent movies, go out to eat, go to the movies etc etc . . . which if i play an MMO i usually put off.

More importantly, unlike regular games, MMO's have a constant overhead, and i've never played a free MMO that i liked. People who are unemployed, single parents and others who might not be able to afford the monthly fee...well i see a lot of those kind of people on WoW, so i believe if people like the game enough they'll find a way to pay the monthly fee, i know i dont make a lot of money and i still find the 15/mo i need to play my favorite games....

my big thing . . . 30$ might actually be stretching it, so imma have to choose ^_^

[Cormoran]

If you can't afford a monthly fee then you probably have bigger things to worry about than what game to buy next. It's unfortunate but if you don't have the money or the means, you just have to go without some of the luxuries in life.

[Ytram]

Paying for MMOs is pretty standard. I agree wit whoever said it earlier, I have never played a free MMO that was any good.

Basically they have to recoup their costs somehow. If they didn't charge a monthly fee, you'd see "expansions" coming out every 3-6 months that you'd have to pay for.

[Raven0238]

Well it really depends on what you expect from STO. If you want low quality servers, low quality game, and next to zero updates, then, sure, I don't think we should have to pay either.

But! If you want a quality game, with quality servers, and regular updates making the game better, then, yea, I don't think $15 is that bad at all, this, on a 30 day month is about $ .50/day. Its really not that bad.

Think, someone needs to pay the dev staff to work on and update the game.


hi just watched vegas web cast there is a lot of talk of credit cards on it ,is there going to be a charge to play if so why ,i play a lot on line and never had to pay to before,in this time of recession i think it would not be fair to ask people to pay to play some thing they love.i dont even have a credit card ,thanks dec,

[WarpVis]

okay put it this way what about the people who cant afford to pay, single parents with kids ,unemployed ,others can put out a game and manage on the in come of the price of the game.i think if one starts this the rest will follow.as for loosing lose there jobs over this ,i dont think so,

also what is this about. i am neither naive or trying to insult anyone.just asking a question.

If you cannot afford the game then you don't have time to waste playing the game.

[dectheman]

Well it really depends on what you expect from STO. If you want low quality servers, low quality game, and next to zero updates, then, sure, I don't think we should have to pay either.

But! If you want a quality game, with quality servers, and regular updates making the game better, then, yea, I don't think $15 is that bad at all, this, on a 30 day month is about $ .50/day. Its really not that bad.

Think, someone needs to pay the dev staff to work on and update the game.

when you put it that way its not so bad,understand that i am not giving out ,only wondering way they are charging as i have never heard of this before,:eek:
well if its as good as you say , it would be worth it ;)
hey theres nothing like a good old discussion :D

[dectheman]

nice replys thought mostly

[Repeat]

when you put it that way its not so bad,understand that i am not giving out ,only wondering way they are charging as i have never heard of this before,:eek:
well if its as good as you say , it would be worth it ;)
hey theres nothing like a good old discussion :D

I find it hard to believe that you have never heard of an MMO charging to play before. what is your prior experience with MMOs?

[dectheman]

I find it hard to believe that you have never heard of an MMO charging to play before. what is your prior experience with MMOs?
sorry only play battlefield 2142

[Repeat]

sorry only play battlefield 2142

that somewhat explains it. still, unless none of your friends play MMOs it suprises me that you hadnt heard about paying for MMOs.

[SiskoBell]

sorry only play battlefield 2142

Many first person shooters like BF:2142 offer free net play. But it isn't the company doing the heavy lifting, the work is done by the players computers. MMO's on the other hand require the game company to spend a lot of money to keep the game going.

Assuming Cryptic keeps the price around $15 a month, it won't be too bad. It's essentially $3.75 a week. I suspect most people, even ones on a tight budget, who are gamers will be able to afford to play.

[raldar]

when you put it that way its not so bad,understand that i am not giving out ,only wondering way they are charging as i have never heard of this before,:eek:


Really? You have never heard of a pay to pay mmo before? I find that highly doubtfull.

But as to why companies charge a fee, go here: http://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/busmodels.shtml . It's an old article for sure but the basics(no matter what the year is) is the same. It basicly boils down to this: Games are made by companies as a way to make money. If they sink 16 million dollars into the game they need to make 16 million just to break even(and companies that only break even never stay in business very long) . And they sure as hell are not going to break even from box sales alone as no company EVER gets 100% of the money from each box sold.


Now, as to the "what about the people who can't afford it". Well if they can't afford .50 cents a day then they have much larger issues to deal with and should not be worrying about an online game. Because if they are that strapped for 15 bucks then chances are they can't afford the 50+ dollars to buy the game. But I've always said that there are a million ways to make 15 bucks and only one way not to.

[dectheman]

that somewhat explains it. still, unless none of your friends play MMOs it suprises me that you hadnt heard about paying for MMOs.
none of my friends do play games on line.in fact stil alot of places in ireland still hasnt got broadband

[Repeat]

none of my friends do play games on line.in fact stil alot of places in ireland still hasnt got broadbandhmmm, that makes sense now

[dectheman]

Really? You have never heard of a pay to pay mmo before? I find that highly doubtfull.

But as to why companies charge a fee, go here: http://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/busmodels.shtml . It's an old article for sure but the basics(no matter what the year is) is the same. It basicly boils down to this: Games are made by companies as a way to make money. If they sink 16 million dollars into the game they need to make 16 million just to break even(and companies that only break even never stay in business very long) . And they sure as hell are not going to break even from box sales alone as no company EVER gets 100% of the money from each box sold.


Now, as to the "what about the people who can't afford it". Well if they can't afford .50 cents a day then they have much larger issues to deal with and should not be worrying about an online game. Because if they are that strapped for 15 bucks then chances are they can't afford the 50+ dollars to buy the game. But I've always said that there are a million ways to make 15 bucks and only one way not to.

thanks for the info ,i didnt know how much they were going to charge ethier ,but this is not as much as i thought it would be .might not have to work over time to manage it :D

[Frigidman]

Look at it logically.

When they draw up their expected income from subscriptions, it is expected there will be people who will not pay to play. Those people are not even put into the formula on gains.


So they have a choice:

A) Charge a subscription fee, and gain monies from the hundreds of thousands of players who pay to play. While not getting any money from those who would never pay (however many there are, it's irrelevant). The money goes to continued development of content for the enjoyment of paying customers.

B) Not charge a subscription fee, and not gain ANY money from anyone who is playing. Since it would be free, more players would play yes, causing more load on servers, creating a demand to spend more money to ramp up the servers. Money from where?


Is... obvious what they will do.


Also, there are those who try to make petitions to get a company to make it free to play. They threaten that they will not play the game if its not free. If you look at the above two choices, the company has already written off people who will not pay to play in favor of those who will. Getting a petition is NOT going to change a companies mind on the subject. There are enough people who will pay, to make it worth it.

[_Pax_]

hi just watched vegas web cast there is a lot of talk of credit cards on it ,is there going to be a charge to play if so why ,i play a lot on line and never had to pay to before,in this time of recession i think it would not be fair to ask people to pay to play some thing they love.i dont even have a credit card ,thanks dec,

There will almost 100% certainly be a fee to play this game. It's how MMOGs work.

The places you play for free online, support themselves with advertisements during gameplay ... and are not MMOGs.

As for FAIR ... dude, the people working for Cryptic need a paycheck, too; they have bills to pay, mouths to feed, and so on. If we weren't paying for STO ... where would the money for those paychecks come from?

And, on the issue of not having a credit card ... neither do I. I do, however, have a debit card ... you know, an ATM card with a VISA or MAstercard logo on it? Works just fine, and has for years. Plus, most MMOGs quickly put a "Game Time Card" system i place ... to facilitate teenagers spending their allowance on the game.

okay put it this way what about the people who cant afford to pay, single parents with kids ,unemployed , [...]
What about those people, who also want ... a Ferrari ...? Who want to dine on the finest caviar, every night? Oh wait, the same answer applies in all THREE cases: "I'm sorry ... but if you cannot afford the price, you cannot enjoy the luxury."

I mean, seriously now. I am on Social Security, I get Food Stamps every month, and I can afford an MMOG just fine. How? I prioritise my budget to allow it. If you can afford to go online, but cannot afford an MMOG's $15/month typical fee, YOU HAVE BIGGER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT THAN AN ONLINE GAME.

when you put it that way its not so bad,understand that i am not giving out ,only wondering way they are charging as i have never heard of this before,:eek:
.... what GIGANTIC ROCK have you been living under for the past five years, that you've never heard of WORLD OF WARCRAFT ...? I mean, they have television commercials with Ozzie, Mister T, and William Shatner, even ...! How is it possible you have never heard of WOW, or, have never come to hear that WOW charges a monthly fee.

none of my friends do play games on line.in fact stil alot of places in ireland still hasnt got broadband
Oh ... that rock. :( Seriously, now ... is Ireland really that bad of a backwater, Internet-wise ...? Dang, the land of my forebears ... and my favorite pasttime ... separated by an unexpected gulf? :(:(

[USS_Parallax]

Monthly payments have nothing to do with quality and everything to do with servers and new content.

[Varrangian]

Monthly payments have nothing to do with quality and everything to do with servers and new content.

Ummm I think most people would argue that serves and new content make up part of the equation that = quality.

[Tain]

If you want to play in a massive universe with thousands of other players, you need a monthly fee to cover the bandwidth and maintenance costs of those servers. If you want a game that is constantly updated and receiving new content, you need a monthly fee to cover development costs of that new content. Its pretty simple really.

If you don't want to pay a monthly fee, there are plenty of games available that do not offer a massive persistent trek universe or massive multiplay. Or get updated. Bridge Commander for instance.

[dectheman]

Oh ... that rock. Seriously, now ... is Ireland really that bad of a backwater, Internet-wise ...? Dang, the land of my forebears ... and my favorite pasttime ... separated by an unexpected gulf?
sorry to say internet here aint great i got 1mb by pure luck. highest here is 3mb but alot cant get it at all.the phone lines are to old and they wont upgrade them, to expencive,never played this wow or dont think i heard of it,no one ever mentioned it to me
and i have not seen adverts for it, far as i can recall.might not be advertised as much here?where as the ferrari ,mines green white and gold ,ha ha.

[USS_Parallax]

Ummm I think most people would argue that serves and new content make up part of the equation that = quality.

No... I've played plenty of bad MMOs with tons of content and server stuff but still sucked and lacked quality. What you say makes no sense.

[Varrangian]

No... I've played plenty of bad MMOs with tons of content and server stuff but still sucked and lacked quality. What you say makes no sense.

No it makes sense if you read it in full context. Server + new content + gameplay + X + Y = quality. Now as I said

"Ummm I think most people would argue that serves and new content make up part of the equation that = quality."

Everyone has their own equation for what equals quality, and while I'll admit some might not include servers or new content I would be willing to bet most (as I said in my post) do include these two variables. Now you can have games that don't have good servers or an abundance of new content that are still quality games, but it means that the other variables have to be enough to compensate for these two variables lacking. As you pointed out there are games that have good servers and a plethora of new content, but lack quality. That is because it is part of the equation.

Most people though will find that games that have unstable servers and are rather static in their content updates are not quality games because of the draw backs these two things produce (i.e. poor game experience from server issues and static or "boring" game play). I'm sorry but most people want to play stable games with a myriad of experiences.