Wildstar Launch Thread - Server: Stormtalon | Faction: Dominion

Cantatus_sl said:

MMOs just seem to be needlessly flailing between these two models when there are many other options that have yet to be tried.

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And that's the kicker. I think Wildstar's success will be based, while not entirely on its choice of revenue, at least partially on it (duh?). I'm also of the opinion that they should try something new. I'm currently not paying a dime for any MMOs (not even cash shops), but would jump at a AAA-quality subbed game that was only $5 a month.

Honestly if the game was good enough you could charge even higher rates. I'll spend at least $300 on a decent night out if someone wanted to charge 20-30 bucks a month for an extremely hands on dev team that was maybe payed to run world events once or twice a week (not scripted. Actual Bosses controlled by devs.. U get my drift) I'd be more then willing.

DeLLy_sl said:

I completely disagree otherwise items in stores like Walmart would have stayed $3.00 instead of changing to $2.99. Smaller amounts completely do matter. I know that if I see 1 digit like $5 - $9 I am more likely to buy something versus 2 digit items like $10+. I can only imagine what people who are compulsive buyers or just wasteful with their money think when they see those numbers.

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There's a difference between standing in front of a display and choosing the cheaper option, and choosing the cheaper nebulous entertainment option. Are you going to go to a theatre and go to the shittier movie because the tickets are a few bucks cheaper, or are you going to go to the movie you want to see? If there isn't a choice of two options to be had, you might go with the cheaper option with the reasoning that "fuck, it's only a couple bucks" but if you wanted to see that movie in the first place: you would be just as likely to spend the normal price to see it.

Cantatus_sl said:

I don't know. If anything, now is probably the best time to go to investors and convince them of trying something new. The $15-a-month subscription method has basically died. To my knowledge, there hasn't been an MMO since WoW has released that has been able to subsist entirely on subscriptions, most having moved to some F2P model, while retaining subscriptions as a "premium." MMOs just seem to be needlessly flailing between these two models when there are many other options that have yet to be tried.

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I agree that there is a lot of room for experimenting, and maybe we'll see a more independently owned MMO that gives something else a try, but I think most will have trouble convincing their backers that the game they're funding simply isn't worth the standard price unless they can clearly show that the shop will make up the difference, which will be hard to do without a clear history in the industry that says it can be done in a new game.

Rift is still a full time sub game. So is Darkfall (lol).

Considering inflation, we probably pay less at $15 than we did at $10 for UO in 97. Competition has has a downward influence in just keeping the price stable among the P2P successes. Going forward it seems unlikely to see many big successes that aren't F2P or P2W, but I think that's mostly about barrier to entry than valuation of the content as some of the F2Ps claim to net more per player than $15/m.

Do we even know how much money this game needs to make? It seems like more of an investment then Rift was. Not swtor levels thought thankfully.

Rift was like 30ish million. He will probably go on with under 10, closer to 5. He is really make a very small niche game. I think he'd be happy with 50k subs.

Draegan_sl said:

Rift was like 30ish million. He will probably go on with under 10, closer to 5. He is really make a very small niche game. I think he'd be happy with 50k subs.

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I think Draynar might have been talking about Wildstar, not CU.

ixian_sl said:

I think Draynar might have been talking about Wildstar, not CU.

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Looks like I mixed up threads!

I bet Wildstar is between 40-60 million all said and done. Including PR and marketing.

Dom_sl said:

I agree that there is a lot of room for experimenting, and maybe we'll see a more independently owned MMO that gives something else a try, but I think most will have trouble convincing their backers that the game they're funding simply isn't worth the standard price unless they can clearly show that the shop will make up the difference, which will be hard to do without a clear history in the industry that says it can be done in a new game.

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I personally don't care for the the cash shop design. What I want to pay for iscontent. I'm not interested in silly hats or strange oversized weapons. I want more things to actually do in a game. If the cash shop funds a game for me to play, though, I'm cool with that. I just don't like any sort of pay to win.

I know some games are going to a 'season pass' formula. I think that'd be a good model for the MMO universe to take a hard look at implementing. The 15 dollar a month fee just to log in is not a good value, especially after paying box price for the game and/or expansions. I like the idea of paying 45 or 60 bucks and getting a certain amount of content. Then next year they can release more content and charge the same fee again. If I play it a few months, it's not a big deal, and there isn't the issue of paying every single month, especially when a company doesn't release anything new for several years.

http://www.wildstar-online.com/en/ne...alons_lair.php

Wildstar Wednesday! ..this time it's about the lore in their first dungeon that we know of. Stormtalons Lair.

They are really getting cheap with the info lately. Fuck lore, I want the meat and potatoes of new classes.

The good, new info will come shortly after the next wave of beta invites(1-2 weeks?) to appease those that still aren't in.

I better get in the next wave or I'm gonna have to email someone.

"Hi person I've had a few beers with a few times at Wildstar, can I have 4000 beta invites please?"

Sounds like a plan

Once again, beer being the adhesive that holds the MMO community together. Hooray beer!

Three cheers for Beer!