WildStar General Article: Revenue Model Revealed

[Raille]

Tera had a similar model where you could sell subscription time to players. It meant those with money could buy game currency and those good at making game money can play for free. I'm all for it personally since I allow myself one subscription based game at a time, but can see how some only want FTP.

[Vors]

Sub based may make or break this game for me, if i get really into the game then that's fine and I rather a sub but if i don't and only play it fairly casually it may make me turn away from the game, as paying $15 USD a month (which is currently $16.45 AUD) when you only play it for a few hours a week simply isn't worth it.

I guess the best news was the fact that it isn't coming out till 2014 because if it came out this year my time would definitely be torn between WildStar and all the big end of year releases
I mean my gaming list is going to grow from October and beyond.

• Battlefield 4
  watch dogs
  Assassin's Creed IV
  Batman: Arkham Origins

Well i think you get the idea

[Nyogtha]

YIKES! Y'all should go on Wildstar's Facebook and read the comments on the article that they posted regarding this. It is U G L Y! no being civil there. Ah, people with their internet muscles. LOL!

This is exactly why a sub is a good thing. It will cause many of these types of individuals to play the FTP games and stay away from Wildstar.

Actually that was one of the biggest points that others kept making and that did NOT go over well! LOL!
I get the point though. With this payment model, there is a much better chance that only those who truly enjoy the game are going to play it.

[Bartholomew]

YIKES! Y'all should go on Wildstar's Facebook and read the comments on the article that they posted regarding this. It is U G L Y! no being civil there. Ah, people with their internet muscles. LOL!

This is exactly why a sub is a good thing. It will cause many of these types of individuals to play the FTP games and stay away from Wildstar.

Actually that was one of the biggest points that others kept making and that did NOT go over well! LOL!
I get the point though. With this payment model, there is a much better chance that only those who truly enjoy the game are going to play it.

I don't participate in any social media so I was unable to read what was said. I do not play FTP games at all. When LOTRO went FTP, just about everyone and I do mean everyone on my server stopped playing. We asked Turbine to create FTP servers and/or cap how many FTP could be on each server. We asked to merge the Lifers and people paying monthly onto several servers. They ignored the player base all together.

Most of the players on the server had a life time sub. Not everyone played constantly between new content releases but when new content was available everyone came back. It was like getting together with friends you haven't seen for a while. It was fun getting caught up on various topics as you defeated the new content.

LOTRO had a great community. Then came FTP. The FTP crowd were jerks for the most part. In the beginning we tried to help the FTP crowd. Make then feel at home etc... They just were not invested in the community or the game. Most were kids or adults acting like children. Spamming chat was the norm. Stealing from guild chests all of a sudden became common. The FTP crowd would beg for gear and gold. When you grouped with them, they had poor interpersonal communication skills to say it mildly.

What I think is funny is that the ranking of Wildstar on MMORPG has fallen considerably. It just goes to show you how many people want something free. Nothing in life is ever free. You have to pay eventually.

[Xryus]

If the majority of those people complaining about Wildstar's business model were saying that they felt the game wasn't worth the money I would respect them for that. To me it just seems like wanting something for nothing, or let me play for free while someone else pays for it.

I don't like F2P as a business model. I don't want a company trying to find new and creative ways to get me to buy something. We all deal with that constantly in the real world. I want to support the company/artists/developers that make the games I want to play. I also want them to spend their time making better/fun/interesting content instead of trying to get into my wallet.

[Nyogtha]

Both of you bring up some good points here. I hope you're right and the model fosters a great community.

[Moebius]

but if i don't and only play it fairly casually it may make me turn away from the game, as paying $15 USD a month (which is currently $16.45 AUD) when you only play it for a few hours a week simply isn't worth it.

I have never had that problem with paying any sub. I look at it this way, I pay 10 dollars to watch a 2 hour, (15 dollars if its a 3D movie). Now compare that to paying 15 dollars a month for unlimited unrestricted access to play a game 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, then playing only a few hours a week I think you get well more than your money's worth. At least that is how I look at it.

[Vors]

I have never had that problem with paying any sub. I look at it this way, I pay 10 dollars to watch a 2 hour, (15 dollars if its a 3D movie). Now compare that to paying 15 dollars a month for unlimited unrestricted access to play a game 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, then playing only a few hours a week I think you get well more than your money's worth. At least that is how I look at it.

I get what you are saying and i don't necessarily disagree again it just comes down to how much i play it, if i play it enough to feel I'm getting value then I have no problem with a sub.

To me Wildstar is the game that has made me the most hopeful I've been in awhile of a MMO holding my attention long term, fingers crossed that feeling is true.

[Nyogtha]

I've really thought about what will make me happy paying monthly for WildStar. There are all the cool features that we're all looking forward to, housing, warplots, action combat, etc. My main draw is the attitude and humor of the game. If it maintains that sass that it portrays in the videos, I'll be happy. That's a big part of Borderlands 2 for me. Sure the game itself is fun, but its humor really sucks me in. For an MMO to have that in it, well it's different. WOW definitely had aspects of this, but WildStar seems to to really take it up a notch. That's something that will keep me playing and the more I play the better I'll feel about a sub.

[Shardreg]

Summary:
... If they add other MTX options, itÔÇÖll only be stuff that wonÔÇÖt screw their customers over. Cosmetic items, convenience things, and so forth. ...

Well, I am very happy about the subscription model - yay for that!

One alarm however does go off, reading that: "convenience" is a very flexible term, sadly.

Seeing how you've got 12 bank slots in Neverwinter and you'd need $6 to get 12 more, it's convenience alright - but it's also blatant cash mongering to start the player out with only 12 slots to begin with.

I hope Wildstar doesn't go down that "it's free, but it's really not" road.

Other than that, I am happy!