Ekim's Gamer View: The Price of Quality
Ekim, 2003-06-27

Release the Hounds!

The release of a new MMORPG is somehow always surrounded by doubt and fear. Let's face it, history has not been very favorable to this genre. The games that have been released stable enough to be playable in the first few days are too few. So every time a new title is launched most players shudder with dread. We usually fear the worst. I guess that makes us better consumers, but then it also makes us very bitter, and very cynical.

The problem is that these games have a monthly cost to us gamers. At one point we have to decide what is a fair price to pay for a buggy game. We also have to decide what bugs are acceptable and worth the hassle, and which ones aren't. We are in full right to expect a good, stable game in our hands when we start paying for it, but we must also recognize the inherent aspects of the MMORPG genre, which in turn means that bugs are very much a part it.

Those of you who lurk in our forums know that I let go a little cry of outrage when Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) announced SWG's pricing plan. If you didn't, or if you weren't aware of this announcement, suffice to say that the $15/month price tag kind of shocked me at first. The next most expensive game of the genre cashes in at a little under $13. Some of you pointed out that $2 more is not very much, and didn't make a difference in the end. And although you may be right, I would beg everyone never to say that again.

More! Give me more!

When does $2 more stops being negligible? When the next high-profile MMORPG comes out and decides to charge $17 per month, will that be too much? It'll only be $2 more than SWG, and some people said that it was fine for them to charge more, so why wouldn't another $2 be fine too? What about when they're up to $20? $25? When does it start to be too much if they keep raising prices by increments of "only" $2 on us?

Now I'm of a mind that charging $2 more than the next closest MMORPG warrants something more to be given to the player. I mean, if you go to a store and see two heads of lettuce priced differently, you will expect the more expensive one to be at least a little bigger or fuller, right? But what do I mean when I say that I expect more? Do I expect more content? Do I expect better graphics, more items? What do I think players should ask for?

I'm not too demanding, and I won't trash SWG from the start just because they decided to charge me more to play. But I do expect something for those $2. What I expect most is that the show-stopping bugs I talked about last week which are still very much a part of ShadowBane, a game that is now 3 months old, will be gone from SWG by the time they actually start charging my credit card. I expect that the developers respond to problems in a timely manner, even if it's just to say that they are working on things. I expect that lag problems will be looked into quickly, and fixed as fast as possible as well. I expect a smooth gaming experience, and a pleasant environment to play in.

I don't expect the game to be bug-free. That's just wishful thinking, unrealistic in today's market. I wouldn't even ask for features to be rushed in because of the price either. The fact that they decided to delay player-run cities and vehicles has nothing to do with my apprehension of the price. All I ask is that the players be treated as real people, much like I would expect a landlord to treat me when I have a problem with my apartment.

My problems are your problems too

If there are problems on the first days of launch (and there will be!) no player should ask for a refund… Those that do ask for a refund have no idea what an MMORPG is. My advice to anyone has always been that if you cannot bear bugs, if you cannot cope with technical problems, if you think that there's even a slight chance that you could be frustrated by server outages early on, then you should stay away from any MMORPG on the first month of its release. A player that decides to get into the game that early has to expect difficulties. They should be calm about them, and if they must speak up to point out these problems they should do it in a civil manner. Threats won't advance the genre. Yes it is sad to have to accept these problems, and they shouldn't even exist. But we must face the fact that the genre hasn't reached perfection yet, and technical problems, for the time being, are a part of our gaming experience.

But $15 is a lot to ask of a player, in my opinion. And since it's asking more than other current games, I guess I would like it if SWG could stand out from the current crop by having a team of developers that shows the players the respect they deserve. If there's one thing I will never stand for it's seeing players be ignored. If I want to be ignored, there's a plethora of online games which charge less than SWG that I can go to. Feedback is worth a lot in this genre, and if my $2 can just go into making developers give me the time of day when it's required, I will be content enough. Just my 2 cents ;)