Value is a word that means different things to different people. It’s easy to try and write off a reluctance to subscribe or skepticism as “entitlement”, but that’s just a slice. And there are indeed benefits to the free to play/hybrid model. One, if you’re able to jump in and play at any time, you’re not pressured to find time to play a game if your real life activities are keeping you occupied. If you’re paying for a month and you wind up barely playing for whatever reasons, you might not feel it’s a good enough value to you to keep pre-paying for the content. The lack of a box fee is another advantage, seeing that one doesn’t have to wait for a free trial to become available in order to test out the game. You can just download the game at any time and start playing.
As for subscriptions, some of the advantages include having all or most of the content available to you for the price of your subscription. Loot systems and crafting systems have both been affected by the move toward hybrid and free to play models. Cosmetic items are usually locked away and that can affect things like customization and making the game feel more your own. In a game like SWTOR, for instance, having so many costume pieces be in the cash shop, even for subscribers (who get a monthly shop allowance), creates that slight bit of disconnect. In WildStar, a system like housing, with its hundreds and hundreds of customizable loot items, house types, interactive plugs, and crafted house items would feel very different if its content were mostly gated off by microtransactions.
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The Elder Scrolls Online has it so that the best gear is going to be crafted gear. Anyone can learn to craft gear, though having control over your character’s looks without having some of that content be gated away, to be unlocked for a price (outside of the Imperial race and associated look), it feels refreshing in an “everything old is new again” sort of way. While it remains to be seen just how often post-launch content updates roll out for both games, giving developers a steady revenue stream to work with just seems more practical for future content planning. And that’s a value of subscriptions that some people overlook.
Both a new AAA console or PC game title are normally going to run you around $50-60 and you’ll get maybe 10 or 20 hours out of the main campaign. If it has multiplayer or a co-op component, that’s another 20 hours or more. An MMORPG costs about $60 and lets you play during the first 30 days free. If you play for an hour or two per day, you’ll play about as much as the other game. Yet, if the MMO still entertains you in month two, then you’ll pay about $15 a month for possibly the same 30-60 hours that month. MMOs, however, involve server costs, 24/7 customer service, and other elements. Despite consoles and publishers getting into the service model in the past decade, there are still differences. But when you pay Xbox Live every month, you’re not guaranteeing new content or features (and there’s a customization/cash shop).
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Plenty of people wonder if a sub game can work in today’s market, and we’re about to get the biggest test of that in some time. Whatever one’s personal feelings about subscription-based games are, Final Fantasy XIV is already out, and WildStar and ESO are almost upon us. All three games seek somewhat different audiences, which is a good start. Will they offer players enough to earn their subscription fees each month and be seen as a valuable entertainment investment? That is indeed the yet unanswerable question right now.
Christina Gonzalez / Christina is a freelancer and contributor to MMORPG.com, where she writes the community-focused Social Hub column. You will also find her contributions at RTSGuru. Follow her on Twitter: @c_gonzalez
