personally i prefer subscription based games cause if you play them you know how much money it will cost you. When i see the webpage of one of these itemshop games i allways keep asking how much of these things do i have to buy monthly if i want to play in a guild that wants to do some endgame content.

But i can see some hybrid games beeing successfull in future if they go with lower subscription fees and addition micropayments that don't disrupt with the game economy and balance. Things that could be handled effectivley by micropayments without being disrupting would be additional character slots, cosmetic things, (makeover of char, special clothings). But i don't agree with items that have a real effect on gameplay (like xp, heal or mana potions) these things can easy lead to situations where you have to buy these to be competitive and then especialyl kids will start spending more and more money on them without their parents having direct controll over that in most cases.

Interesting discussion. Personally, I remain a very big fan of Guild Wars because of the lack of subscription fees. Yes, ArenaNet does require me to go buy expansions - but on the plus side I get to choose when I pay for new content. Also, I'm guaranteed new content that I  will actually use. I cancelled my WOW account soon after BC came out when it became obvious that I'm not one of the 5 percent of power gamers who will ever see Black Temple, yet I was being charged $15/month for "new" content nonetheless.

Now, I'm not saying the GW model is perfect. The game is certainly limited compared to more robust MMOs, and the community can be extremely bad at times. But on the whole I'd rather be able to pay for content when I want it, rather than pay a constant subscription fee for features I'll never use.

What surprises me is nobody talks about a tiered subscription service where casuals could pay $5 for say  50 hours/month and hardcore players could pay the full $15 for "all you can play." You could also switch to the hour limit plan if you were going on vacation, had a rough few months coming up at work, etc.

Hard to say how microtransactions will affect future MMO's.  It is rather evident that the vast majority of the existing microtransaction games have a problem with short term play.  Players soon get tired of paying for everything and leave or give up because it becomes too expensive to advance further.  Either way 2 months is about the longest people play them.

Personally, I don't see myself playing them very much.  The subscription games offer so much more content at present and I would not play a game where you could buy things that effect gameplay because it makes no sense trying to develop your character when others can just buy their way, takes the point of playing out of the game.

---

Jack Emmert, being on my immediate left, answered first, and his answer took a number of people in the crowd by surprise. With great conviction, Jack declared that microtransactions were nonsense. He went on to say that we pay a number of our bills in the form of subscription, cable, internet, cell phone, etc.

---

For Western Countries yes, but for us in the Eastern World, no. Cable, Internet, Cell Phone, etc. are all paid by pre-paid cards not subscription. Microtransactions and "free" promos is 2/3 of companies' source of revenue than those who are subscribers. In fact, even those people who can subscribe much preferred pre-paids and microtransactions than a post-paid/subscription model.

---

The conversation went on to talk about the idea of a hybrid system, where microtransactions might be used for items that don’t have an effect on gameplay, most notably some cosmetic items. Quite honestly, my memory fails me beyond that in the fine details.

---

If you want to know more about it, live here in the Philippines. The Philippines is currently the testing bed and hotbed for Online Games business model experiments. If I am not mistaken, the first hybrid model was launch here in the Philippines. The market here is very diverse and mixed.

---

I guess the point that I’m trying to make is that while microtransactions may seem like a foreign concept to us old timers (yes, I use that tongue-in-cheek), the generation coming in behind us will be fully immersed in it. Microtransactions will simply be the way that they do things. Will that have an effect on the MMOs of the future… Honestly, I don’t see how it couldn’t.

---

Umm, I'm an old timer but it isn't foreign to me :p I think you should have said instead that "for us Westerners, it is a foreign concept", coz that's what it is. I'm as hardcore as anyone here, I'm as an old timer as anyone here. But microtransactions, or as officially called in the East, the microtransaction region - "Virtual Asset Sales (VAS)" model (for online stuff of course) is part of our respective cultures.

We have subscription models on the right, we have microtransactions to the left. Nexon is right that this model has grown and subscription-followers do not give proper credits to its growth. At least for that interview, he did not mention the real figures, when I met with Nexon, they showed the real figures of microtransactions-vs-subscription (I don't have the liberty to tell the figures tho). 'Was able to confirm those figures after meeting with other game developers (by now you should have figured out my line-of-work).

VAS (Hybrid is VAS type 2) caters to a different market, a market where there are people who think short-term, a market where there are people who use 'feeling' instead of 'logic'. Here in the Philippines alone, more than two-thirds of the market are in-favor of VAS, generally VAS type 1 (free-to-play + item mall). These gamers "think" that they can save more this way, when in reality, they are spending more than if it's purely subscription. For businesses, they care less, VAS is quick money. If you are lucky and your game becomes a huge hit, then its life will be longer, for example, SilkRoad, Gunbound, and MapleStory. If you are not lucky, then time to get a new VAS type game before the other dies out.

Companies in Korea were able to generate huge revenue because of VAS, many experts and think tanks never believed this model because they think differently. These people were proven wrong and are now joining the bandwagon. For VAS type games, it all comes down to your game. Unlike for subscription type games, the game itself is not that important but that community. As long as there are subscribers, you have the money. For VAS games, you have to keep the game interesting, you have to make ways for them to spend that money, you can not just sit and do nothing. The community is only secondary, to some even tertiary.

Microtransactions are here to stay. The non-believers are testing the waters. Huge companies are seeing its potential. They are joining and creating their own VAS games.

My personal opinion? If I want to play with my family and relatives, I will play a VAS type 1 online game, a game where being a 'casual' player will not put you to the losing side. But if I will play a serious game, like World of Warcraft, Ultima Online, and Tabula Rasa to mention a few, then I will choose a subscription-based game, where my being hardcore will put me to the advantage.

For casual players, free-to-play microtransactions (VAS-1) is the right model for them. For hardcore players, subscription is the model (with the exception of Guild Wars of course).

Take it to the next level, it really is about the difference between the West and the East. RPG-vs-PvP. Time-consuming vs Get-famouse-and-strong-quick. Enjoyment through community building-vs-Enjoyment through competition. Read Richard Garriott's comparison of the West and the East. That's the root of all these.

Hybrid deserves another discussion ;) It is VAS-2, subscription-based with item mall (items that doesn't affect the game to the point of making it chaotic and unenjoyable).