To be honest if 15 bucks is too much for anyone they shouldn't be playing video games in first place. Its all about priorities in life. You can't just bitch about 15 dollar fee when you are still in high school and living on allowance or currently unemployed or earning minimum wage. Priorities people.

Originally posted by Tatum

Originally posted by Drachasor

Originally posted by Tatum

People were complaining about $15 subs even before the economy was terrible.  Fact is, most of us have a skewed perspective when it comes to spending.  Example:

People complain that $15 per month is too much for gaming yet,

They'll spend $20 at the movies watching a crappy summer flick, munching on popcorn and chugging coke (two hours of entertainment, at most)

They'll spend $7 per meal for crappy fast food...and do this at least a few times per week

$15 per month is VERY cheap for a hobby.  Mostly, it's just an issue of the games not really being worthy of charging a monthly fee, regardless of price.  If you spend a good amount of time playing a specific MMO, $15 is a steal.  Far far cheaper than the console gamer who buys a new, $60, beatable-in-one-weekend, console game every other week.

Comparing completely different industries isn't a very valid way to look at it.

Money is money, regardless of which non-essential thing you're spending it on.

If you want to make the claim that these games have no basis for charging monthly subs, then go for it.  That's a valid arguement.  However, there is no way you can prove that $15 per month, for a hobby, is expensive.  It's not.  

Well then, go spend time with loved ones.  It's free.  All that other stupid stuff like eating, games, and movies is a waste of money.  Jump in puddles.  Go for a walk.  Use your imagination.  Talk to people.  Clearly with all the entertainment options that are free, it means everything else is overpriced.

Frankly, the most ridiculous argument you can have for something being priced reasonably is that "X, which is completely different, costs more."  If the above things that are free suddenly started costing money, it would be quite fair to say that's insane even if other forms of entertainment were more expensive.

Different people have different priorities. I have Soldiers working for me that spend $7 a day on cigarettes and laugh about dropping $75 on a night of drinking. But I'm weird because I spend $15 a month on gaming.

I don't mind being weird though. It is quite nice seeing my savings go up since I stopped spending money on silly stuff.

Originally posted by Drachasor

Originally posted by Tatum

Originally posted by Drachasor

Originally posted by Tatum

People were complaining about $15 subs even before the economy was terrible.  Fact is, most of us have a skewed perspective when it comes to spending.  Example:

People complain that $15 per month is too much for gaming yet,

They'll spend $20 at the movies watching a crappy summer flick, munching on popcorn and chugging coke (two hours of entertainment, at most)

They'll spend $7 per meal for crappy fast food...and do this at least a few times per week

$15 per month is VERY cheap for a hobby.  Mostly, it's just an issue of the games not really being worthy of charging a monthly fee, regardless of price.  If you spend a good amount of time playing a specific MMO, $15 is a steal.  Far far cheaper than the console gamer who buys a new, $60, beatable-in-one-weekend, console game every other week.

Comparing completely different industries isn't a very valid way to look at it.

Money is money, regardless of which non-essential thing you're spending it on.

If you want to make the claim that these games have no basis for charging monthly subs, then go for it.  That's a valid arguement.  However, there is no way you can prove that $15 per month, for a hobby, is expensive.  It's not.  

Well then, go spend time with loved ones.  It's free.  All that other stupid stuff like eating, games, and movies is a waste of money.  Jump in puddles.  Go for a walk.  Use your imagination.  Talk to people.  Clearly with all the entertainment options that are free, it means everything else is overpriced.

Frankly, the most ridiculous argument you can have for something being priced reasonably is that "X, which is completely different, costs more."  If the above things that are free suddenly started costing money, it would be quite fair to say that's insane even if other forms of entertainment were more expensive.

I have plenty of other hobbies and none of them are 100% free.  That's reality.

Like I said, if you want to say that these games should NOT have a sub fee, then fair enough.  It looks like the market is moving away from that anyway.  Make no mistake though, you're going to pay one way or the other, whether it's monthly subs, or constant expansions, or microtransactions...

MMORPGs have been the cheapest form of gaming out there.  The problem isn't the price of the sub fee, it's the suckiness of the games that makes us question why we're paying a sub fee in the first place.  

If people can't dig up $15 for some thing that they spend 80 hours (maybe) per month doing, then they have no clue how to manage their money.

15$ isnt that much perse, if you are still living with your parents and have a income.

But once you go alone in the big wide world of pay for rent-gas-insurance-elec/water-food-clothing-internet-etc.

I just dont go round with my salary alone because paying rent is the mayor suckage of money, so your forced to find a mutal partner to devide the cost.

Living alone evry penny counts, I just dont have the luxury to go spend on games pay monthly fees like i used to when i lived at my parents place, now i just have enough to come around.

And to be honest im getting serious depressed abouth it..

I don't think its a matter of people thinking $15 is too much to pay... but rather that some games aren't fun enough to justify paying any subscription at all. There are a lot of MMOs out right now that I just don't find very enjoyable. Some of them are kind of fun and I might play them if they were free, but I can't justify paying anything for a game I don't really like... so I don't sub to them at all. I bet its the same for a lot of people.

First of all it is not up to you nor I to determine the legitimacy of another persons value assessment.  Believe it or not, most people have their own ideas, opinions, values, etc.  And because someone thinks that a sub fee is a waste of money does not make them poor, children, unemployed, or anything of that nature.  It simply means that they feel that they do not want to throw an additional $15 a month down the toilet.  Does it make you feel better to categorize those individuals who do not want to pay a sub fee as something lesser than yourself?

Next, the rest of what you have to say holds absolutely no water.  People do and have been complaining about the rising cost of games, the shortness of games, the box price of mmo's, and everything you have said they do not bitch about, they have done, currently do, and will for the unforseeable future.

I would venture to say that most MMO players like to try different things instead of committing to one game. Can you imagine how fast that would add up w/out the F2P market?

Originally posted by Tatum

Originally posted by Drachasor

Originally posted by Tatum

Originally posted by Drachasor

Originally posted by Tatum

People were complaining about $15 subs even before the economy was terrible.  Fact is, most of us have a skewed perspective when it comes to spending.  Example:

People complain that $15 per month is too much for gaming yet,

They'll spend $20 at the movies watching a crappy summer flick, munching on popcorn and chugging coke (two hours of entertainment, at most)

They'll spend $7 per meal for crappy fast food...and do this at least a few times per week

$15 per month is VERY cheap for a hobby.  Mostly, it's just an issue of the games not really being worthy of charging a monthly fee, regardless of price.  If you spend a good amount of time playing a specific MMO, $15 is a steal.  Far far cheaper than the console gamer who buys a new, $60, beatable-in-one-weekend, console game every other week.

Comparing completely different industries isn't a very valid way to look at it.

Money is money, regardless of which non-essential thing you're spending it on.

If you want to make the claim that these games have no basis for charging monthly subs, then go for it.  That's a valid arguement.  However, there is no way you can prove that $15 per month, for a hobby, is expensive.  It's not.  

Well then, go spend time with loved ones.  It's free.  All that other stupid stuff like eating, games, and movies is a waste of money.  Jump in puddles.  Go for a walk.  Use your imagination.  Talk to people.  Clearly with all the entertainment options that are free, it means everything else is overpriced.

Frankly, the most ridiculous argument you can have for something being priced reasonably is that "X, which is completely different, costs more."  If the above things that are free suddenly started costing money, it would be quite fair to say that's insane even if other forms of entertainment were more expensive.

I have plenty of other hobbies and none of them are 100% free.  That's reality.

Like I said, if you want to say that these games should NOT have a sub fee, then fair enough.  It looks like the market is moving away from that anyway.  Make no mistake though, you're going to pay one way or the other, whether it's monthly subs, or constant expansions, or microtransactions...

MMORPGs have been the cheapest form of gaming out there.  The problem isn't the price of the sub fee, it's the suckiness of the games that makes us question why we're paying a sub fee in the first place.  

If people can't dig up $15 for some thing that they spend 80 hours (maybe) per month doing, then they have no clue how to manage their money.

Apparently you didn't read my original post.  Sub-based MMOs are one of the most expensive forms of gaming out there.   And for that extra price you get a game where the fun is stretched out as much as possible so that you keep paying a sub.

Originally posted by Wickedjelly

Originally posted by Cik_Asalin

Not...it's not money well-spent, according to and proven by ArenaNet with GuildWars 1 and now 2.  /thread

 Why GW2?  How has anything been proven yet one way or the other with that game?

How many times does it have to be proven to you, and actually verbalized by a studio.  If some are really hell-bent on being shown proof, again, that $15/month is unnecessary with ANET. . .wait and see again. Dont know what to tell ya.

Originally posted by Cik_Asalin

Originally posted by Wickedjelly

Originally posted by Cik_Asalin

Not...it's not money well-spent, according to and proven by ArenaNet with GuildWars 1 and now 2.  /thread

 Why GW2?  How has anything been proven yet one way or the other with that game?

How many times does it have to be proven to you, and actually verbalized by a studio.  If some are really hell-bent on being shown proof, again, that $15/month is unnecessary with ANET. . .wait and see again. Dont know what to tell ya.

Agreed.  I think GW2 will continue GW1's tradition of showing that B2P is a far better way to deliver MMO content.  It keeps the Devs honest and provides a powerful incentive towards making the content pack as much fun as possible into a play session.

Originally posted by Home15

15$ isnt that much perse, if you are still living with your parents and have a income.

But once you go alone in the big wide world of pay for rent-gas-insurance-elec/water-food-clothing-internet-etc.

I just dont go round with my salary alone because paying rent is the mayor suckage of money, so your forced to find a mutal partner to devide the cost.

Living alone evry penny counts, I just dont have the luxury to go spend on games pay monthly fees like i used to when i lived at my parents place, now i just have enough to come around.

 

And to be honest im getting serious depressed abouth it..

Exactly, if you don't have a well paying job, it's very easy to just barely be treading water once all the bills are paid. They never seem to end. Car, gas, rent, utilities, etc. 

Why else do so many people go into debt?

Fifteen dollars is nothing but thats not the issue. The issue is why should games have a monthly bill attachted to them. They shouldn't but unfortunately some mmos still do.

No problem with a subscription fee, but I don't understand why they went from $10.00 -$12.00 a month to $14.99 when players really aren't really getting anything more out of the increased subscription fees than they did before.

Originally posted by SuperXero89

No problem with a subscription fee, but I don't understand why they went from $10.00 -$12.00 a month to $14.99 when players really aren't really getting anything more out of the increased subscription fees than they did before.

You don't really think they were doing anything other than pocketing pretty much every cent of that money before, do you?  The sub fee is not primarily about content.  It never has been.

Originally posted by Drachasor

Originally posted by SuperXero89

No problem with a subscription fee, but I don't understand why they went from $10.00 -$12.00 a month to $14.99 when players really aren't really getting anything more out of the increased subscription fees than they did before.

You don't really think they were doing anything other than pocketing pretty much every cent of that money before, do you?  The sub fee is not primarily about content.  It never has been.

I would say that it probably does cost a bit more to support an MMORPG than it would a single player game or even an online shooter.  How much it costs them, I really can't say.

Originally posted by SuperXero89

Originally posted by Drachasor

Originally posted by SuperXero89

No problem with a subscription fee, but I don't understand why they went from $10.00 -$12.00 a month to $14.99 when players really aren't really getting anything more out of the increased subscription fees than they did before.

You don't really think they were doing anything other than pocketing pretty much every cent of that money before, do you?  The sub fee is not primarily about content.  It never has been.

I would say that it probably does cost a bit more to support an MMORPG than it would a single player game or even an online shooter.  How much it costs them, I really can't say.

I wouldn't say that.  You have a lot of the same issues regarding keeping servers up, and the customer service response time to in-game help requests is a lot WORSE than it is for other online games (this is compared to using a website to get online help or even a phone).

Originally posted by GTwander

It's a global recession!

Some people have the choice between 15$ for a month of gaming, or a week's worth of food.

(yes, via the 99cent store it is totally possible)

 

 

@OP

A "decent" job is NOT something that everyone has. Unemployment is at an all time high, and the vast majority of jobs are minimum wage, which in my state (where it's one of the *highest* there is) you'll only take home about 6$ an hour after taxes. Compund that the average housing costs are between 1100 and 1300 a month, and things are NOT that pretty right now.

Glad to see that at least SOME people around here have their finger on the pulse of the nation (at least the U.S.). Now....I don't know what things are like everywhere else, like in Canada, but in the U.S......the description above is pretty accurate for a great many people.

I'm fortunate to be able to afford the $15 and it IS cheaper than some forms of entertainment, but.....there truly are people who NEED that 15 bucks for bills or food.  I don't even know how single people can LIVE on one income in the U.S. right now. Amazing.

i would spend 15 dollars to mmo a month than spend 100 bucks on bar to get wasted .. anyday. think it as a investment. you will keep yourself locked up inside for a month with 15 dollars, and that will keep you out of outside world where you might spend more money on other stuff you even probably dont need  xD