Brilliant business model

[BLOODMODE]

I have been a few days into Alpha and have to say this game is amazing. The creativity of the developers is astonishing and feels like a high class game.

Marrying this MMO with a TV show is also a great business model. That does depend on a few things...

Does SyFy share ad revenue with the game developers? If so, that should keep the machine turning for awhile, especially if the show is a hit.

The biggest obstacle for new games is maintaining cash flow. Unfortunately most games compromise their integrity by introducing pay to win models or neglecting balancing because of the effort and money it would take to fix what is broken. People then simply leave the game because their pleas fall on deaf ears.

Hopefully the game is F2P (free to play). Going with another monthly subscription like RIFT would be dooming the game for failure. Population will be determined based on old blood staying and new blood coming in. A lot of the trickle in will be from the show. Those will be casual gamers not looking to cough up more money on top of their $120/mo average cable bill.

Any input on this?

[Shepard]

We pretty much already know it won't be f2p. (You can preorder the game already.)

I hope they go with the Guild Wars model. That means you buy the game but there are no monthly costs. I much prefer this because i don't feel obligated to play just because I know I'm paying for it.

They could do it like Guild Wars 2, only charge for the initial game and then sell some stuff in a shop. In GW2 all you can buy is skins (some that are not available through gameplay, thats OK since they don't have stats and are applied "on top of" other items. The other item's appearance is overridden in the process.) They also sell XP boosters and stuff like that, which is fine and far from P2W.

[BLOODMODE]

We pretty much already know it won't be f2p. (You can preorder the game already.)

I hope they go with the Guild Wars model. That means you buy the game but there are no monthly costs. I much prefer this because i don't feel obligated to play just because I know I'm paying for it.

They could do it like Guild Wars 2, only charge for the initial game and then sell some stuff in a shop. In GW2 all you can buy is skins (some that are not available through gameplay, thats OK since they don't have stats and are applied "on top of" other items. The other item's appearance is overridden in the process.) They also sell XP boosters and stuff like that, which is fine and far from P2W.

I like this. I can certainly cough up $50 bucks one time, but don't expect me to churn out $15 a month. Sometimes I go on hiatus and I want to be able to come back and play for a weekend or something without having to re-up. Perfect way to get people addicted, and it's unhealthy. I refuse to play any game with a monthly fee.

Besides games that have monthly fees at the moment are flopping left and right. The new model is F2P with a cash shop for cosmetics or non-game altering items.

[squidgod2000]

I have been a few days into Alpha and...

...have already broken the NDA. Well done.

To answer your question, the game will be B2P with DLC and an optional sub (which includes the DLC and likely some othr perks).

[Krazee DD]

...have already broken the NDA. Well done.

To answer your question, the game will be B2P with DLC and an optional sub (which includes the DLC and likely some othr perks).

Where did you get "Optional Sub" from?

[BLOODMODE]

Where did you get "Optional Sub" from?

Planetside 2 has an optional sub which grants you an XP bonus and exclusive access to new cosmetic gear for a limited time. Also grants you a small amount of "station cash" for the month.

[Shepard]

...have already broken the NDA. Well done.

To answer your question, the game will be B2P with DLC and an optional sub (which includes the DLC and likely some othr perks).

Actually, i just asked on the livestream. They don't talk about it yet, but there will be an announcement "soon".

Edit: Also, i would be totally fine with an optional membership the way Planetside 2 does it. It's neat to have it but certainly not a huge advantage.

In short: Look at Guild Wars 2 and Planetside 2 for how to do it.

[Krazee DD]

Planetside 2 has an optional sub which grants you an XP bonus and exclusive access to new cosmetic gear for a limited time. Also grants you a small amount of "station cash" for the month.

Ok........PS2 is also F2P. This is a whole different game. PS2 isn't even a Trion game?

I'm trying to figure out where he got the "Optional Sub" from because all I have ever read has been community speculation.

[Shepard]

Ok........PS2 is also F2P. This is a whole different game. PS2 isn't even a Trion game?

I'm trying to figure out where he got the "Optional Sub" from because all I have ever read has been community speculation.

As i said earlier, there is nothing concrete about this topic at all yet. They just said it again on the stream. They will announce the specifics soon.

[Krazee DD]

As i said earlier, there is nothing concrete about this topic at all yet. They just said it again on the stream. They will announce the specifics soon.

That's literally what I just said.