In this week's The Secret World column, we take a look at the price of a monthly subscription. It's an age-old discussion any more but we have a unique take on it that we think you'll appreciate. Read on and then lend your voice to the conversation in the comments.

This isn't to say that I don't want to play TSW; I want to join my friends online, who seem to put a dedicated effort into tackling group content and shooting things with rocket launchers. My issue is economic more than anything else. With my current income, I simply can't afford a subscription game that costs more than 15 dollars a month as a result of being placed into a 15-Euro subscription model when I'm in the Philippines.

Read more of Victor Barreiro Jr.'s The Secret World: The Price of Progress.

I don't have a solution, so just a +1 for you to brought this up.

And it's not only TSW sub, there are a lot of other stuff (books, PS3 at launch, etc.) which is/was priced as xx $ on US, so let's make it xx Euro in Eu. What, 1$<>1Euro you say? Only the better for them, some increased profit... (atm TSW sub is ~18.5$ here)

For people who really like the game a few dollars more isn't a big deal

For people on the fence, I doubt a majority of them would play even with a reduced cost.  TSW doesn't offer enough or is different enough to justify an sub to people who are content to play beta, BTP, FTP games.

TSW shines in some areas and is blah in others.  Its lack of drawing people in to sub is based on the game itself and how it was made.

In other words if more people liked the game, more people would be willing to play a sub (higher cost or not).  After all $4 extra a month is hardly a big deal assuming an mmo is a person's total entertainment. 

I've never had any problems paying for my entertainment.

F2P, B2P, P2P or any other business model really don't mean anything if the games are not appealing to me.

Been playing TSW since headstart, got lifetime, and have already spent over $100 at the cash shop, and I have no problem with that as long as the game provides the kind of entertainment that I'm looking forward to.

There are tons of cheaper games out there for sure, but in my opinion, time is the most valuable asset that we have, and at least in my case, I am going to spend my time ( and money) playing something I really enjoy.

I am not opposed to Funcom lowering their prices or anything, though. I just don't have any problems with the current business/pricing model. 

I much prefer the subscription model over F2P. In the long run, it's cheaper. They have to make their money somewhere and being 'encouraged' to pay for every little thing in a game is annoying enough that I just stop playing F2P games. The current standard subscription price might be a bit high though. There's a lot of competition now.

In the case of TSW, I think launching with a standard sub in place, as well as a cash shop, turned some people off. They might have done better with underdog pricing on their sub ... even just a couple of dollars cheaper would have looked better.

I'm still waiting on freemium. I'm totally interested in the game and do want to play it, I just can't justify a box and subscription right now when I look at my own financials, and what I would be getting out of the game.

I don't really understand why companies are still sticking to the traditional $15 (or more depending on region) a month model. It's pretty outdated right now and there's no reason not to offer a bit more flexibility in the pricing model, especially when they have a pretty robust cash shop alongside it.

TSW is a special case here in Europe: It's more expensive than any other comparable MMORPG - it sits at 15€ a month, while almost any other MMORPG is 13€. AND it has a cash shop attached. And paying a sub doesn't give you a stipend on that, either. Plus, the cash shop offers things that many people play for: Clothes. Even many outfits are split between in-game shop and cash shop: You can get the Racing Sweater in the in-game store - but the matching jacket? Only against hard money.

All in all, TSW feels very 'premium' priced to me, without really having arguments why I should pay that premium price (plus cash shop costs). Sure, it offers different content than many other games, but more? Better? If considered in the long run - not really. Yes, the investigation missions are really cool. But I don't pay 15€/month for three investigation missions. Heck, for that money, I got three licenses for L4D2 last weekend (one for me, one for my brother, one for a friend) - which offers me markedly more entertainment value: I still get to shoot zombies up with guns. And, well, it's for three people. And for a lifetime.

The issue of 'regionally' overly expensive subscriptions has been discussed at length (I think a a thread with over 140 pages in the old forums), and apparently Funcom are still taking the stance of "If you don't like it, don't use it".

Which, it is sad to say, is both an unhealthy attitude, and it also is what many people are indeed practicing.

I thought this article was going in another direction.  Sounds like a highschool commentary from someone that hasn't take business 101 or macroeconomics.

If you want to argue sub costs vs f2p / microtxns, that's valid.  Trying argue $15/mo sub fees vs 15 euro sub fees without any hard data is very silly.

Originally posted by Dreskest

I've never had any problems paying for my entertainment.

F2P, B2P, P2P or any other business model really don't mean anything if the games are not appealing to me.

 

Been playing TSW since headstart, got lifetime, and have already spent over $100 at the cash shop, and I have no problem with that as long as the game provides the kind of entertainment that I'm looking forward to.

 

There are tons of cheaper games out there for sure, but in my opinion, time is the most valuable asset that we have, and at least in my case, I am going to spend my time ( and money) playing something I really enjoy.

 

I am not opposed to Funcom lowering their prices or anything, though. I just don't have any problems with the current business/pricing model. 

Been playing GW2 since headstart, got lifetime, and have already spent over $300 at the cash shop, and I have no problem with that as long as the game provides the kind of entertainment that I'm looking forward to.

MMORPG.com... please start publishing some pro subscription articles (or eve a column to balance your F2P promoting Freezone), to provide some balance to this debate? You are looking more than a little suspect these days in this area tbh.

You could, if you wanted to, actually even do a little actual journalism (as opposed to worthless opinion pieces) and bring us some real unbiased investigation on the matter and the long term effects and viability of the F2P model vs the sub?

Originally posted by HurricanePip

I thought this article was going in another direction.  Sounds like a highschool commentary from someone that hasn't take business 101 or macroeconomics.

 

If you want to argue sub costs vs f2p / microtxns, that's valid.  Trying argue $15/mo sub fees vs 15 euro sub fees without any hard data is very silly.

 

I'm not quite sure what you mean here . The subscription fees are hard data .

Its hard to disagree with the author on the pricing and I too find myself paying the same amount being in the UK.  TSW has been an awesome game experience but due to the dwindling playerbase and having gone through all the content I am finding it more and more difficult to justify the expense.

Nor am I greatly impressed by the news that Funcom is putting resources into other projects, at the expense of TSW.  Its perhaps a sound business move but it doesn't seem so great from a players perspective. 

So...the whole article is just to complain about the sub being more in certain countries, but since you admit you don't even play the game, you can't even offer reason why/why not it would be worth a few more dollars.  I don't understand the point...

The gangnam video is awesome though.

This is an issue in the game industry in a whole(Not only to TSW). But the game is awesome and I feel that it is worth its costs :)

I just feel that this article should be aimed on the industry as a whole instead of only one game ^^

Originally posted by Ohn03s

This is an issue in the game industry in a whole(Not only to TSW). But the game is awesome and I feel that it is worth its costs :)

I just feel that this article should be aimed on the industry as a whole instead of only one game ^^

This.  If they talked about TSW in specific why they think it would/would not be worth it thats one thing...but they didn't, they don't even play!

Not sure I understand this completely. I have seen many complaints about it on the forums and I know other companies do not have this problem.

Is it a currency conversion thing? Is it Funcom's issue or a third party vendor who accepts and processes payments?