K3 AND K4

[cogadh]

They may be within their right to charge what they want, but the consumer is within their rights to tell them what they are willing to pay for the item produced. An equitable price is a compromise between the two; it is called the value of a product. Everyone seems to have completely forgotten that we as consumers never have to blindly accept what they (the publishers/developers) push on us, both in the quality and price of games. It is because of this sheep-like behavior that the gaming market is completely awash with piss-poor sequels, bad remakes, lame MMOs and incredibly overpriced games. It is not because the developers/publishers have done anything wrong, its because we let them do it every time we buy one of their over priced piss-poor sequels, bad remakes or lame MMOs.

 

I never said I was unwilling or unable to pay for additional content, I'm just unwilling to pay a monthly fee for additional content, unless I am getting new content on a monthly basis. Since we all know that will never happen (nor could you seriously expect that), then I do have a problem with the value I would be getting out my hard-earned money spent on this game. Frankly, a monthly fee for any game is just ridiculous when you consider how much the initial purchase of game is. Sure, with a MMO there are additional costs like server maintenance, but it doesn't actually cost that much to run a server, certainly not the $10-$15 per subscriber per month that most monthly fee MMOs charge. So the extra money goes towards further game development... then why do I still have to buy major expansions expansions of the game? Didn't I already more than pay for those with my monthly fee? Of course to play that expansion, I still have to continue paying a monthly fee. Am I really the only one who feels that he is being ripped off in this situation?

[alanschu]

They may be within their right to charge what they want, but the consumer is within their rights to tell them what they are willing to pay for the item produced.

 

Are they really? Or do you just come off as whining? I know some people will actually go into a store and then complain about how expensive something costs to a clerk, but honestly I tend to think those people are idiots. The best way to show that you think the price is too expensive is the same way people have done so forever...not buying it.

 

 

Everyone seems to have completely forgotten that we as consumers never have to blindly accept what they (the publishers/developers) push on us, both in the quality and price of games.

 

No they haven't. People pay precisely what they feel a product is worth. Though I'm certainly starting to sense a holier-than-thou attitude, and especially a sense of entitlement.

 

 

It is because of this sheep-like behavior that the gaming market is completely awash with piss-poor sequels, bad remakes, lame MMOs and incredibly overpriced games.

 

Yup, seems I was right.

 

its because we let them do it every time we buy one of their over priced piss-poor sequels, bad remakes or lame MMOs.

 

Right. So now you're judging me too. Cool. Quite frankly it sounds like you're just whining because the games that you want to play aren't as popular to make anymore.

 

 

Frankly, a monthly fee for any game is just ridiculous when you consider how much the initial purchase of game is.

 

I used to think so. I now disagree, as evidenced by the fact that I play MMO games. I still play single player games, but I actually doubt there are many single player games that have given me better value for my dollar than WoW has. I played that game a lot. It was a boatload of fun which made it rather easy to pay the subscription fee. I decided to go to one less movie per month to pay for it. It was a pretty easy financial decision for me, even as a student without much money to his name.

 

Sure, with a MMO there are additional costs like server maintenance, but it doesn't actually cost that much to run a server, certainly not the $10-$15 per subscriber per month that most monthly fee MMOs charge.

 

It doesn't cost $60 to print a CD, manual, and box that you end up buying in the store either.

 

 

So the extra money goes towards further game development... then why do I still have to buy major expansions expansions of the game? Didn't I already more than pay for those with my monthly fee? Of course to play that expansion, I still have to continue paying a monthly fee.

 

Because they can? I'm sure you'd do it differently though, because it's easy to make such decisions when it's purely hypothetical.

 

Am I really the only one who feels that he is being ripped off in this situation?

 

As far as I'm concerned, yes. Because how can you be ripped off if you aren't actually spending the money, since you're not paying for it. You don't think MMOs are worth the money. That's fine and I understand and even respect that. Depending on the MMO, I can justify the cost.

 

It's pretty arrogant to assume that the people that do pay to play these games do feel like they're being ripped off. It's basically an implication that you think they're stupid, as you're saying these people (such as myself) continue to pay for something that they do not feel they get their money's worth from.

Edited July 20, 2009 by alanschu

[Nihilus5078]

Monthly fees for MMO's are just stupid, Galaxies requires a 20 buck monthly fee, you know, that comes to 240 bucks a year, which is way overpriced, however, some MMO games are free. What MMO games need to realize is that there are oodles and oodles of different ways to make some cash.

 

1. Banner Ads: Yes, by putting ads on a site, the site is required by law to pay the companies who put the ads up, it's how YouTube makes cash, and they dont charge one cent to put upload a video. Other companies and sites like google and Disney make big bucks from banner ads.

 

2. Donations: some people can donate money to help pay for your so called "further gameplay expansion", which I think is just false garbage they make up so they can make the companies look rich financially.

 

3. Rather than just charging people monthly, how about yearly if you so called want to make it, required, you make cash out of people buying your product, and that will have to be good amount of cash, every little bit helps, right. 20 bucks may not seem to much, but when you look at it yearly, you'll be surprised on the number it adds up to.

 

4. Other products. Take Mattel for example, they make games, but they make money by making other products such as toys, and in addition people buy the games to sort of double the amount of cash made.

 

5. Stock trading. May sound like some gambling thing, but if you know what your doing, you can gain a few hundred bucks to help you gain some big bucks if you do it yearly.

 

So, Galaxies people and other MMO game companies that charge 20 bucks a month to every consumer who buys your damn games. Look above and consider the ways I've said to make cash rather than charging people 240 bucks a year. Even charging people 10 bucks a month adds up to 120 bucks a year. Charge people 5 bucks a month to make 60 bucks a month.

[alanschu]

Monthly fees for MMO's are just stupid, Galaxies requires a 20 buck monthly fee, you know, that comes to 240 bucks a year, which is way overpriced, however, some MMO games are free. What MMO games need to realize is that there are oodles and oodles of different ways to make some cash.

 

If you don't think it's worth the money, then you're well within your right to spend it elsewhere. Playing Star Wars video games is not a necessity in life, and the market has clearly shown that people are willing to pay $20/month for games like these.

 

 

1. Banner Ads: Yes, by putting ads on a site, the site is required by law to pay the companies who put the ads up, it's how YouTube makes cash, and they dont charge one cent to put upload a video. Other companies and sites like google and Disney make big bucks from banner ads.

 

I have no real issue with banner ads, or in game ads if they fit the setting. However, a lot of people do. Would you rather play KOTOR full screen, or with a banner ad taking the top inch of your screen?

 

 

2. Donations: some people can donate money to help pay for your so called "further gameplay expansion", which I think is just false garbage they make up so they can make the companies look rich financially.

 

Donations are unreliable. Furthermore, it sounds like you just made a counterpoint against it yourself here. I'm not quite sure what you were trying to say.

 

 

3. Rather than just charging people monthly, how about yearly if you so called want to make it, required, you make cash out of people buying your product, and that will have to be good amount of cash, every little bit helps, right. 20 bucks may not seem to much, but when you look at it yearly, you'll be surprised on the number it adds up to.

 

All you've done here is essentially suggest a significantly lower monthly fee. Paying $20 at the end of the year is significantly less money than people paying $240 at the end of the year. You better have 12x the install base simply to break even revenue-wise.

 

 

4. Other products. Take Mattel for example, they make games, but they make money by making other products such as toys, and in addition people buy the games to sort of double the amount of cash made.

 

I suppose. I don't know how lucrative the toy industry is. It sounds like it could just as easily be a way to lose some money.

 

 

5. Stock trading. May sound like some gambling thing, but if you know what your doing, you can gain a few hundred bucks to help you gain some big bucks if you do it yearly.

 

What? Are you suggesting that companies offer their MMOs for no subscription fee, and take their money and play the stock market instead?

 

 

Even charging people 10 bucks a month adds up to 120 bucks a year. Charge people 5 bucks a month to make 60 bucks a month.

 

Would it still make sense to do that if they ended up losing money over the $240/yr model?

[cogadh]

Methinks you doth protest too much. You seem way too desperate to defend the traditional MMO pricing scheme. Perhaps you are simply in denial over the excessive amount of money you have spent on MMOs and need to justify it to yourself. Frankly, anyone that gets that angry about a subject like this must have something more going on. Definitely would explain why you decided to resort to insults rather than address the legitimate points I raised. Ah well, I guess expecting a legitimate intelligent discussion on the subject was a bit too much on my part. Maybe next time.

[Kissamies]

I really enjoyed this video. It talks in large part about the ridiculous amount of voice over that will exist in the game (every line of dialogue is voiced).

 

 

http://www.swtor.com/media/trailers/video-documentary-3

Hmm, they certainly are ambitious, I give them that, even if I don't much care about that "everything must be voice acted" policy even in SP games. They are actually doing a pretty good job convincing me that this one might be different from all the other MMOs I've tried and hated. I still doubt I try it unless I get a lot of people I trust swearing that this one is different and great. I just don't like the genre.

[Nihilus5078]

If you don't think it's worth the money, then you're well within your right to spend it elsewhere. Playing Star Wars video games is not a necessity in life, and the market has clearly shown that people are willing to pay $20/month for games like these.

 

Which is exactly why I don play MMO's anymore, maybe if their a free MMO. Heh, Free MMO games probably raise the price of their product a bit to make extra cash or use some methods I said.

 

I have no real issue with banner ads, or in game ads if they fit the setting. However, a lot of people do. Would you rather play KOTOR full screen, or with a banner ad taking the top inch of your screen?

 

I meant on web sites. YouTube, Google, Disney, and a lot of other companies make money by banner ads on different web sites.

 

Donations are unreliable. Furthermore, it sounds like you just made a counterpoint against it yourself here. I'm not quite sure what you were trying to say.

 

But they might work, sure the chances are slim, but it can be attempted.

 

All you've done here is essentially suggest a significantly lower monthly fee. Paying $20 at the end of the year is significantly less money than people paying $240 at the end of the year. You better have 12x the install base simply to break even revenue-wise.

 

50 bucks a year might satisfty some people. Surely some people will be willing to pay 20 bucks a month but some may be smart enough to think yearly, and stop.

 

I suppose. I don't know how lucrative the toy industry is. It sounds like it could just as easily be a way to lose some money.

 

It doesn't have to be a toy, just something, even other games or hardware.

 

What? Are you suggesting that companies offer their MMOs for no subscription fee, and take their money and play the stock market instead?

 

Maybe lower subscription fees and attempt the stock market. If you know what your doing, you can make some big bucks.

 

Would it still make sense to do that if they ended up losing money over the $240/yr model?

 

Probably. They could try to do 10 buck monthly fees too, that way your still making cash in the triple digits when looking at it yearly.

[kingofsquid]

Monthly fees for MMO's are just stupid, Galaxies requires a 20 buck monthly fee, you know, that comes to 240 bucks a year, which is way overpriced, however, some MMO games are free. What MMO games need to realize is that there are oodles and oodles of different ways to make some cash.

 

If you don't think it's worth the money, then you're well within your right to spend it elsewhere. Playing Star Wars video games is not a necessity in life, and the market has clearly shown that people are willing to pay $20/month for games like these.

 

 

1. Banner Ads: Yes, by putting ads on a site, the site is required by law to pay the companies who put the ads up, it's how YouTube makes cash, and they dont charge one cent to put upload a video. Other companies and sites like google and Disney make big bucks from banner ads.

 

I have no real issue with banner ads, or in game ads if they fit the setting. However, a lot of people do. Would you rather play KOTOR full screen, or with a banner ad taking the top inch of your screen?

 

 

2. Donations: some people can donate money to help pay for your so called "further gameplay expansion", which I think is just false garbage they make up so they can make the companies look rich financially.

 

Donations are unreliable. Furthermore, it sounds like you just made a counterpoint against it yourself here. I'm not quite sure what you were trying to say.

 

 

3. Rather than just charging people monthly, how about yearly if you so called want to make it, required, you make cash out of people buying your product, and that will have to be good amount of cash, every little bit helps, right. 20 bucks may not seem to much, but when you look at it yearly, you'll be surprised on the number it adds up to.

 

All you've done here is essentially suggest a significantly lower monthly fee. Paying $20 at the end of the year is significantly less money than people paying $240 at the end of the year. You better have 12x the install base simply to break even revenue-wise.

 

 

4. Other products. Take Mattel for example, they make games, but they make money by making other products such as toys, and in addition people buy the games to sort of double the amount of cash made.

 

I suppose. I don't know how lucrative the toy industry is. It sounds like it could just as easily be a way to lose some money.

 

 

5. Stock trading. May sound like some gambling thing, but if you know what your doing, you can gain a few hundred bucks to help you gain some big bucks if you do it yearly.

 

What? Are you suggesting that companies offer their MMOs for no subscription fee, and take their money and play the stock market instead?

 

 

Even charging people 10 bucks a month adds up to 120 bucks a year. Charge people 5 bucks a month to make 60 bucks a month.

 

Would it still make sense to do that if they ended up losing money over the $240/yr model?

 

My gosh, do you have to complain and whine about every fricking little thing? My gosh, it's like talking to a two-year old.

[Calax]

Methinks you doth protest too much. You seem way too desperate to defend the traditional MMO pricing scheme. Perhaps you are simply in denial over the excessive amount of money you have spent on MMOs and need to justify it to yourself. Frankly, anyone that gets that angry about a subject like this must have something more going on. Definitely would explain why you decided to resort to insults rather than address the legitimate points I raised. Ah well, I guess expecting a legitimate intelligent discussion on the subject was a bit too much on my part. Maybe next time.

He's not protesting or "whining", simply stating a fact. Most of the pricing schemes mentioned by nihilus were unfeasible because they'd require either A)a much larger user base, on WoW scales B) The kindness of people or C) expansion and too much risk for reward.

 

Honestly, count up how many games you've bought over the past year and price them out and I'm betting you find you spend about 2k on games each year.

 

Honestly, if anyone is whining it's you guys. If you're gonna come up with ideas, at least make them feasible/workable within the industry without a significant drop in revenue generation. And don't say "cut profits to 0" because then the company wouldn't have ANY reason to even MAKE the game.

[Nihilus5078]

But that cash only goes to the game developers, well, most of it does.

[kingofsquid]

Methinks you doth protest too much. You seem way too desperate to defend the traditional MMO pricing scheme. Perhaps you are simply in denial over the excessive amount of money you have spent on MMOs and need to justify it to yourself. Frankly, anyone that gets that angry about a subject like this must have something more going on. Definitely would explain why you decided to resort to insults rather than address the legitimate points I raised. Ah well, I guess expecting a legitimate intelligent discussion on the subject was a bit too much on my part. Maybe next time.

He's not protesting or "whining", simply stating a fact. Most of the pricing schemes mentioned by nihilus were unfeasible because they'd require either A)a much larger user base, on WoW scales B) The kindness of people or C) expansion and too much risk for reward.

 

Honestly, count up how many games you've bought over the past year and price them out and I'm betting you find you spend about 2k on games each year.

 

Honestly, if anyone is whining it's you guys. If you're gonna come up with ideas, at least make them feasible/workable within the industry without a significant drop in revenue generation. And don't say "cut profits to 0" because then the company wouldn't have ANY reason to even MAKE the game.

 

Zip it. I do not own 2k in games.

[Calax]

But that cash only goes to the game developers, well, most of it does.

No, if they cut profits like I said, they'd be at the point where they had enough money to operate... and that's it. No expansion, no development of new products nada. You'd pay for the upkeep of the current game bugs and all and they only work enough that it stays in operating conditions, not fixing exploits, bugs, or balance.

 

and KingofSquid, How many games do you own/buy in a year... bet it's more than 4.

[Dark Wastl]

I don't know anyone who spends even close to 2k on games every year. Heck, most people don't reach that number with all the games they have bought in their life combined.

 

Even if someone buys a game every other week, he doesn't get close to 2k, and you have to be pretty nuts to buy that many games. Someone who buys that many games must have nothing else to do...

 

 

There is a reason why MMOs cost that much. One, they cost quite a lot in production and maintenance, two, people pay the price. That doesn't mean that the price is even close to being fair compared to many other games. There is simply less bang for the buck, no matter how good the game is.

[Calax]

I don't know anyone who spends even close to 2k on games every year. Heck, most people don't reach that number with all the games they have bought in their life combined.

 

Even if someone buys a game every other week, he doesn't get close to 2k, and you have to be pretty nuts to buy that many games. Someone who buys that many games must have nothing else to do...

 

 

There is a reason why MMOs cost that much. One, they cost quite a lot in production and maintenance, two, people pay the price. That doesn't mean that the price is even close to being fair compared to many other games. There is simply less bang for the buck, no matter how good the game is.

ok, so my number was a little high, but I think that most people spend more money on video games than they realize.

[Nihilus5078]

I may buy an average of 5-7 games a year.

[alanschu]

Methinks you doth protest too much. You seem way too desperate to defend the traditional MMO pricing scheme. Perhaps you are simply in denial over the excessive amount of money you have spent on MMOs and need to justify it to yourself.

 

Personally, I think you assume too much. Perhaps you're just bitter because you're not the target audience of such a game? Coming up with excuses for me for your own rationalizations is a bit much, don't you think?

 

 

Frankly, anyone that gets that angry about a subject like this must have something more going on. Definitely would explain why you decided to resort to insults rather than address the legitimate points I raised. Ah well, I guess expecting a legitimate intelligent discussion on the subject was a bit too much on my part. Maybe next time.

 

Err, you're resorting to insults right now, and had no issues passing judgment on me in your previous posts. I did address your points. You just didn't like my answers, and decided to accuse me of being in denial and how I need to justify the costs to myself.

 

Perhaps you should look in the mirror before you start accusing people of being in denial and making rationalizations.

[alanschu]

My gosh, do you have to complain and whine about every fricking little thing? My gosh, it's like talking to a two-year old.

 

 

How am I complaining or whining? I'm not the one posting in a thread copious amounts of vitriol because BioWare is working on SWTOR instead of KOTOR 3.

 

 

 

If game developers want to start charging less for MMOs I'm not going to complain. I never have an issue with getting stuff cheaper.

 

However, if people have demonstrated that they are willing to pay the price for the current model, and developers don't feel that they'll make additional revenue by dropping the price, then I won't begrudge them for charging the subscription fee that that do.

[alanschu]

I meant on web sites. YouTube, Google, Disney, and a lot of other companies make money by banner ads on different web sites.

 

Youtube doesn't make money: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31414965/ns/bu...ss-us_business/

 

Google is gigantic with a fantastic search engine and other functions that they use to make money, so they can swallow the cost of YouTube. I don't know if Disney makes much money on the internet or not.

 

All you've done here is essentially suggest a significantly lower monthly fee. Paying $20 at the end of the year is significantly less money than people paying $240 at the end of the year. You better have 12x the install base simply to break even revenue-wise.

 

50 bucks a year might satisfty some people. Surely some people will be willing to pay 20 bucks a month but some may be smart enough to think yearly, and stop.

 

What is the difference between spending $20/month or $240/year? The fact that the cost is yearly doesn't change anything. You're still saying "Make the subscription cost cheaper." It doesn't matter if you say "Hey make it $20/year" or "Hey make it $1.75/month"

 

 

 

What? Are you suggesting that companies offer their MMOs for no subscription fee, and take their money and play the stock market instead?

 

Maybe lower subscription fees and attempt the stock market. If you know what your doing, you can make some big bucks.

 

If this is the case, wouldn't it make sense for the company to keep subscription fees where they are at, and still play the stock market, making even more money?

 

 

Would it still make sense to do that if they ended up losing money over the $240/yr model?

 

Probably. They could try to do 10 buck monthly fees too, that way your still making cash in the triple digits when looking at it yearly.

 

$10/month is much more attainable, especially as a lot of MMOs charge $15/month. However, a lot of that is perception. To each end user, the idea of spending $5 more per month is pretty easy to justify, whereas to the developer, they'll make thousands/millions more by that $5 per subscriber if that game is a success.

[Nihilus5078]

Youtube doesn't make money: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31414965/ns/bu...ss-us_business/

 

Google is gigantic with a fantastic search engine and other functions that they use to make money, so they can swallow the cost of YouTube. I don't know if Disney makes much money on the internet or not.

 

True, but Google owns YouTube and whatever amount of cash YouTube make, it goes to Google, in 2006 Google pulled the plug on YouTube and decided to buy it.

 

 

What is the difference between spending $20/month or $240/year? The fact that the cost is yearly doesn't change anything. You're still saying "Make the subscription cost cheaper." It doesn't matter if you say "Hey make it $20/year" or "Hey make it $1.75/month"

 

Either way it still is same price, just like 50 bucks a year would equal 4.20 bucks a month (I think)

 

 

If this is the case, wouldn't it make sense for the company to keep subscription fees where they are at, and still play the stock market, making even more money?

 

Yes, they could do that, but if they play their cards right and know what your doing and make some big cash, you really wont need to be charging people as much.

 

I dont really get why MMO games need to charge monthly fees, the Stock Market can make you look pretty rich financially, but if you decide to hike up or keep prices the same while you make money with the stock market, you have no god damn brain and are just trying to look rich.

[213374U]

True, but Google owns YouTube and whatever amount of cash YouTube make, it goes to Google, in 2006 Google pulled the plug on YouTube and decided to buy it.

This amounts to suggesting that Blizzard suck up the costs of maintaining WoW and rely on Diablo 3 to make money. Why would they want to do this, again, other than to please you?

 

 

Yes, they could do that, but if they play their cards right and know what your doing and make some big cash, you really wont need to be charging people as much.

 

I dont really get why MMO games need to charge monthly fees, the Stock Market can make you look pretty rich financially, but if you decide to hike up or keep prices the same while you make money with the stock market, you have no god damn brain and are just trying to look rich.

I'm sure you have made millions off the stock market, but that doesn't really apply here. A speculator (shareholder) could perhaps take your advice, but not a company board. Why? Because going public means an initial injection of cash in exchange for obligations towards those who bought parts of your business. And those guys demand dividends like crazy. Umm... increasing dividends by decreasing your overall income? DOES NOT COMPUTE Edited July 26, 2009 by 213374U

[Gorth]

What is the difference between spending $20/month or $240/year? The fact that the cost is yearly doesn't change anything. You're still saying "Make the subscription cost cheaper." It doesn't matter if you say "Hey make it $20/year" or "Hey make it $1.75/month"

 

Either way it still is same price, just like 50 bucks a year would equal 4.20 bucks a month (I think)

The difference can be all important to a company, especially if they have large running costs like salaries. The keyword is 'cash flow'

[Nihilus5078]

Perhaps, but look at free MMO games and see how well financially they're probably doing.

[Calax]

Perhaps, but look at free MMO games and see how well financially they're probably doing.

But those games are based almost totally around providing a large portion of the game for a micro transaction or subscription. So if WoW went to that model, you couldn't use general chat, the auction house, raids, and your ability to level would be significantly diminished so you might as well get the sub so you could actually PLAY most of the game.

[alanschu]

True, but Google owns YouTube and whatever amount of cash YouTube make, it goes to Google, in 2006 Google pulled the plug on YouTube and decided to buy it.

 

 

Google loses money with YouTube (they likely gain some other benefits, but it doesn't make Google any money).

 

 

What is the difference between spending $20/month or $240/year? The fact that the cost is yearly doesn't change anything. You're still saying "Make the subscription cost cheaper." It doesn't matter if you say "Hey make it $20/year" or "Hey make it $1.75/month"

 

Either way it still is same price, just like 50 bucks a year would equal 4.20 bucks a month (I think)

 

I'm confused.....

 

I already pointed this out and now you're restating my point? The underlying fact is that you simply want developers/publishers to charge less for the game. I'd like that too, but there's no real reason, outside of philanthropy, to do so.

 

 

If this is the case, wouldn't it make sense for the company to keep subscription fees where they are at, and still play the stock market, making even more money?

 

Yes, they could do that, but if they play their cards right and know what your doing and make some big cash, you really wont need to be charging people as much.

 

So you're just hoping that the developers decide to be nice?

 

I dont really get why MMO games need to charge monthly fees, the Stock Market can make you look pretty rich financially, but if you decide to hike up or keep prices the same while you make money with the stock market, you have no god damn brain and are just trying to look rich.

 

Why don't you go play the stock market so you can get crazy rich, so that monthly fees aren't an issue.

[alanschu]

Yes, they could do that, but if they play their cards right and know what your doing and make some big cash, you really wont need to be charging people as much.

 

I dont really get why MMO games need to charge monthly fees, the Stock Market can make you look pretty rich financially, but if you decide to hike up or keep prices the same while you make money with the stock market, you have no god damn brain and are just trying to look rich.

I'm sure you have made millions off the stock market, but that doesn't really apply here. A speculator (shareholder) could perhaps take your advice, but not a company board. Why? Because going public means an initial injection of cash in exchange for obligations towards those who bought parts of your business. And those guys demand dividends like crazy. Umm... increasing dividends by decreasing your overall income? DOES NOT COMPUTE

 

 

I don't think he's suggesting that game developers go public and offer shares. I think he's literally saying the company should take its money, invest in the stock market, and make oodles of money there so that they don't need to charge us as much for the subscription.

 

 

 

Perhaps, but look at free MMO games and see how well financially they're probably doing.

 

How well are they doing? The most successful one I can think of is Guild Wars, which unfortunately wasn't my cup of tea. I heard D&D Online did one, but it's pretty ridiculous how much stuff you don't get access to unless you offer up some money.

 

It'd be like letting you play KOTOR for free, but you can't go to any of the other planets without buying those planets first.