Memberships for Online Gaming?

[nogoogle]

I am wondering if the amount of memberships for online games has decreased over the years? I remember when WOW came out everyone was signing up and paying a monthly or yearly fee, but now in the last year or so, the hype seems to have decreased? Am I wrong? What could be the reason? People dont want to invest "so much" money into one game? There are so man "free games" out there?
Any thoughts?

 

[Darren]

I am wondering if the amount of memberships for online games has decreased over the years? I remember when WOW came out everyone was signing up and paying a monthly or yearly fee, but now in the last year or so, the hype seems to have decreased? Am I wrong? What could be the reason? People dont want to invest "so much" money into one game? There are so man "free games" out there?
Any thoughts?

There's a lot of money to be made in freemium games. You can get away with ads more readily, and those that get really devoted to the game can frequently spend way more than your average 15 dollars per month on gems and boosts. I know there are many games that went free to play from being pay to play that make more money now than they did before.

WoW is a kind of special case. I think at one point it hit 11 or 12 millions subscribers a month but after Cataclysm it dropped quite a bit. I think it was around 7 million at one point but is climbing once again, which says something considering the game will be 10 years old in November. Apart from the dated graphics (which still look pretty good), the game has aged incredibly well. Most MMO's that are that old are abandoned and empty.

 

[Geoff]

I'd say it's the opposite. Xbox Live has a monthly charge, and now PlayStation has a monthly charge for their online services. Many mobile games now have in-app purchases as well, if anything I'd say more people are paying for gaming services.

 

[Troncoso]

I'd say it's the opposite. Xbox Live has a monthly charge, and now PlayStation has a monthly charge for their online services. Many mobile games now have in-app purchases as well, if anything I'd say more people are paying for gaming services.

I'm pretty sure he's mainly asking about games with subscription fees, which largely include MMO's.

MMO subscriptions are definitely few and far between these days. For every sub-based game, there will be 10 F2P. No one wants to pay a sub, but everyone complains that F2P games with micro transactions ruin games. So basically, they want everything about the game to be free to a point that developers can't make a profit.

 

[Darren]

I'm pretty sure he's mainly asking about games with subscription fees, which largely include MMO's.

MMO subscriptions are definitely few and far between these days. For every sub-based game, there will be 10 F2P. No one wants to pay a sub, but everyone complains that F2P games with micro transactions ruin games. So basically, they want everything about the game to be free to a point that developers can't make a profit.

After getting back in to WoW, I much prefer it to any free MMO's I've played in the past, especially since stopping WoW several years ago. The subscription is kind of difficult to swallow at first, but you're paying for a better player base (usually), frequent and quality content updates, and being on a totally level playing field with everyone else in terms of getting in game stuff. Even 15 bucks a month isn't very much at all if you play for even a few hours a week. That's just 2-3 hours of work at even minimum wage, and a lot less if you have a better job.

 

[naldeg]

After getting back in to WoW, I much prefer it to any free MMO's I've played in the past, especially since stopping WoW several years ago. The subscription is kind of difficult to swallow at first, but you're paying for a better player base (usually), frequent and quality content updates, and being on a totally level playing field with everyone else in terms of getting in game stuff. Even 15 bucks a month isn't very much at all if you play for even a few hours a week. That's just 2-3 hours of work at even minimum wage, and a lot less if you have a better job.

I agree with you, i really don`t mind spending some cash on a game, simply cause it just makes a better experience all in all. I spent my time a lot on the box now, but back when i used to play WoW and LoL, i always pushed in some credit here and there, why not? Besides console gaming also costs money. If i would count together all the paysafecards i spent on gaming in the last years, i probably get a nosebleed, but to hell with it, i only live once, gotta make it count twice.

 

[1337dingo]

not going to lie,
I spend so much on games including memberships,
but you need to measure up whether it Is worth it for you or not.
a lot of people do not like the idea of pay as you play
but just as equally others don't mind its just another hobby