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Bytespawn
Tempered Warlord
Joined: 10 Nov 2003
Posts: 295
Location: Belgium |
I am quite new to the mmorpg genre, so excuse me if i say any dumph things. But is it really normal that playing a Mmorpg like everquest for 1 year costs 200 dollars? I heard its about 50 dollars for the game and then 12-16 dollars per month. If this is normal, i am only glad that there are games like Guild Wars, and Beta-tests. But with such a fee, how on earth do those devs get players below 21 years?? I am asking if there are any other games like guildwars, with no monthly fee, and please, dont come of with anything like Runescape... Also what is Eversummer?
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One blade good, two blade better |
Tue Jul 27, 2004 4:01 pm |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
The simplest answer to your question, whether it is "normal" that an mmorpg charges a monthly fee is yes. It's normal, and it's here to stay.
Mmorpgs cost a lot of money to maintain: the infrastructure, the servers, the development team that continuously stay with the game for years... This cost has to be offset by some payment of some kind by the players.
Now, is $12 to $16 too much is another rather good question though. It might be for some games, and the answer depends on how deep is your wallet. I tend to think that the price inflation of the mmorpg that come into the market since the last year are a bit high.
And regarding Guild Wars, it's still very hard to tell how this game will play out in the real world. As mentioned above, these games have huge costs attached to them. The recent spree of titles being canceled should be enough to prove this to even the most doubtful people out there (why would Microsoft and Electronic Arts, of all developpers, cancel products so close to hitting beta?). Guild Wars might en dup clobbered with ads, or they might end up deciding that the game will be free for those that only want to experience the most basic aspects of the game, and then charge you if you want more (you can find this type of model with Second Life). Who knows what will happen until it is actually released.
As for betas, well... Publishers are unfortunately not using beta phases in the way that they should be used. A beta should be a test phase, but these days it's more of a marketting scheme: come play our game for free, then talk about us to your friends. For a game that's about to hit retail, there's no such thing as bad publicity, and so a beta is perfect for them. They hook players in, those who don't like the game leave, but the majority of them stay even after retail. There's no better way to attract a loya player base than inviting them to play the game for free in its last month(s) of development.
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=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Tue Jul 27, 2004 4:27 pm |
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Bytespawn
Tempered Warlord
Joined: 10 Nov 2003
Posts: 295
Location: Belgium |
quote:
Now, is $12 to $16 too much is another rather good question though.[/i]
Well, its too deep for my wallet  .
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One blade good, two blade better |
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Thu Jul 29, 2004 5:17 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
Make sure not to go to McDonalds or anywhere then, heh. jk.  |
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Fri Jul 30, 2004 9:36 pm |
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Bytespawn
Tempered Warlord
Joined: 10 Nov 2003
Posts: 295
Location: Belgium |
McDonalds? Yeah right, their hamburgers and french fries stink, and indeed its far too expensive for me too! In Belgium we go to special places we call 'frietkoten' and we dont pay 12-16 dollars for it, AND we dont eat fast food all the time. (well maybe once a month, but still...)
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One blade good, two blade better |
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Sun Aug 01, 2004 5:44 pm |
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Kiff
Protector of the Realm
Joined: 27 Oct 2002
Posts: 257
Location: Indiana |
How often do you go to the movies. Or rent movies. How long does a non online game keep you addicted and entertained as MMO's are ment to do.
Movies where I live cost 7.50 now...I usually used to go 2 or 3 times a month. Thats $15 or $22.50 a month of only max 6 hours of entertainment.
If you rent movies now at $2 each you can rent 8 movies to equal a monthly subscription of a $16 MMO. And 8 movies will give you roughly 16 hours of entertainment a month.
A MMO is usually < $16 a month will possably 100's of hours of entertainment a month. I don't think thats bad.
And...
CoH (City of Heros) is giving it's subscribers a free comic that goes along with the game and can possibly feature a real life ingame player.
I've never had a problem subscribing to a MMO, I usually have 1 or 2 a month signed up. $250 a year is nothing for the quality and level if entertainment I get from it. |
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Thu Aug 05, 2004 7:25 pm |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
I must say that for a good MMOG that you really enjoy, it's quite a bargain. Once upon a time I used to buy at least 1.5 games / month...or around AUD$1500 / year on SP games. As I become a curmudgeonly old gamer I increasingly just fire up Fallout again but that's another story. 
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Editor @ RPGDot |
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Fri Aug 06, 2004 7:51 am |
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Bytespawn
Tempered Warlord
Joined: 10 Nov 2003
Posts: 295
Location: Belgium |
1) 100 hours of entertainment, in 30 days, that means 100/30-> 3 hours per day. I only play computergames at weekends, because of school
2) i buy 2/3 computergames each year: This year i bought Deus Ex 2, Far Cry, and Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow. I also play free games, like Americas Army, Runescape, and i download a lot of demos.
wich is 40*3= 120 € (or $ here) That is cheaper then an MMoRPG.
3) I have much more fun on different computergames then playing one computergame for a year, or maybe even more! If you now say you also buy other games that means you are even giving away more money to games.
Conclusions:
-1) I ALWAYS win
-2) 3 hours a day? Jeeze dont you guys have to work or something?
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One blade good, two blade better |
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Sat Aug 07, 2004 11:32 am |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
quote:
Originally posted by Bytespawn
-2) 3 hours a day? Jeeze dont you guys have to work or something?
Always the same old debate  Yes, I work, but *gasp* I don't watch tv!!  Most "normal" people watch 3-4 hours of television every night, my wife and I watch 1 hour at most. Instead of watching tv as a couple, we get together in front of the computer and we play games. It's much more fun to play online games because we get to chat with people and hang out with them. It's much more interactive than television will ever be. And it costs less, or close to the same as cable, even at $15 USD a month.
Anyway, it's a whole lot of arguments that don't serve much of a purpose to begin with. Some people just don't see the benefit of paying to play, and I can respect that. Personally I'd rather pay if only for the assurance of continuity it affords me (Runescape has come and gone the MMORPG landscape twice in a year's time). It's all a question of taste in the end I guess.
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=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Mon Aug 09, 2004 2:35 pm |
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Chekote
Where’s my Banana?!?!
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Posts: 1540
Location: Dont know, looks kind of green |
quote:
Originally posted by Bytespawn
2) i buy 2/3 computergames each year: This year i bought Deus Ex 2, Far Cry, and Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow.
You blew your budget pretty quick this year!
Dont you think you should have kept at least one slot open?
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IMHO my opinion is humble |
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Mon Aug 09, 2004 3:47 pm |
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Kiff
Protector of the Realm
Joined: 27 Oct 2002
Posts: 257
Location: Indiana |
I work until 3:30 or 4:30 depending on the day. I then go home spend the time I want with my kids and wife and do whatever until I put the kids to bed at 8:00 and then get on line and usually play to 11:00 or 12:00. Sometimes I play until 2:00 even. I don't have to get up until 7:00am and 5 hours of sleep is plenty for me most of the time. On the weekends I sometimes get even more time to play around online.
I find MMO's more entertaining then Single RPGs because I like the fact that the people I'm enteracting with are real. |
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Tue Aug 10, 2004 7:28 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
Im a professional computer games player. Heh. (thats 24/7 except when im playing PnP DnD (both online and 'live') or getting drunk with my friends)... You might ask why. Well im schizo. Thats why. The government gives me money because im schizophrenic. I dont need or have to work. I dont even really want to. Id rather play games all day long and party the nights away with my really good friends.
Hmm. Good question. Why do i like MMORPGs? Well, because single player games SUCK nowadays, thats why. And MMOs are the BOMB. Even though 50% of the people playing them are assholes, the other 50% are pretty kewl. The good MMORPG is so diverse, its deep, its HUGE. Unlike games like Gothic and Morrowind, i can ALWAYS count on the unknown random element of real living people to spice up the game in ways that are IMPOSSIBLE with current technology in a single-player game. Face it, computers will never be like human beings, ever. Some humans suck, yes. Buts thats what makes things interesting. Griefers dont ruin my game, they make it more interesting.
Most good MMOs have the largest fantasy worlds even concieved. Im saying the "good" ones, not the crappy ones. The good MMOs that ive experienced are DAOC and AC1. Those are the only games ive played for more than 3 months. The rest suck, imho. Im waiting for the "good" MMOs to come out still... after 3+ years of waiting impatiently, FINALLY, we will have Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Dragon Empires, Trials of Ascension, and Darkfall soon. Those are, in my definition, GOOD GAMES.
What will there be in single-player games, especially the CRPG? Nothing, imo. There hasnt been a good singleplayer game since Gothic2, Morrowind, and Baldurs Gate2. The rest just suck. So why should i have hope for a dying genre (single-player CRPGs)? Its about time you get your head out of the ground and buy a GOOD MMORPG, because they are ON THEIR WAY. Dont get Lineage2, dont get AC2, dont get SWG, dont get City of Heroes (not my style)... Wait for the GOOD games i have mentioned, and take the plunge. If you like quests, go for World of Warcraft. Thats very quest oriented.
I dont have to work so i dont see the $15 a month as a problem. But i can understand if you are working and that happens to be worth two hours of hard work, because in my past ive worked stupid minimum wage jobs too, and it sucked, and paid crap, heh. But i dont see that its expensive. No, its not. Youre stupid if you think it is. Its a service, not really a game. Its a great big world of possibilities. And yes, you can win. You just have to set goals for yourself, and not let the computer game do it for you.
Goals in the "good" MMORPGs include:
-- making and running a guild of like-minded friends (all of them)
-- conquoring a city, or nation, or kingdom (Darkfall, ToA, Dragon Empires)
-- killing that uber monster mob that you can never kill (all of them)
-- exploring the entire continent even if it takes you 15 years to do it
-- getting up to 50th level
-- hunting down and killing that bastard player that insulted you
-- waging war against the other guild and winning the war
-- get really really really really really wealthy
The list goes on and on. If you cant find something to win in the MMO, please stay away and dont play it because i will likely be bored with you if you joined my party. Most people who play MMOs are intellectually brilliant. Its a fact. Dumb people cant figure out how to move the camera, lol, ive seen it. Also, most people who play MMOs are either dorks, dont have a life, or are lonely. I fit into all those categories because i happen to be a lonely dork that doesnt have a life! hahaha.
Im done talking now. Im looking foward to my MMO life as much as im looking forward to getting the girlfriend i am working on. See, even MMOers have a social life. Some of them anyway. |
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Mon Aug 16, 2004 6:21 am |
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Chekote
Where’s my Banana?!?!
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Posts: 1540
Location: Dont know, looks kind of green |
I have played the "good" MMORPG's you mention and in my oppinion they (as you so elegantly put it) "suck".
DAOC I enjoyed for a short time, but as with almost all MMORPG it became boring and repetitive rather quickly, and the social interaction was awful.
I have said this many many times before (Do a search on the forums cuz I cant be bothered to explain it all again), but social interaction on 3D MMORPG is just terrible...
Only MMORPG I ever enjoyed for a significant amount of time is Ultima Online (Again, search the forums for reasons why, there most be 100 threads where I praise its virtues).
I dont care if single player RPG's are a dying breed. I am not going to play the MMORPG tripe that is out there now.
I am not gonna eat shit just they stop making chocolate!
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IMHO my opinion is humble |
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Mon Aug 16, 2004 1:23 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
huh? You read me wrong: the "good" MMORPGs havent even come out yet. I will be more clear; they are:
-- Dragon Empires (good if you like PvP)
-- Everquest 2
-- World of Warcraft
-- Trials of Ascension
-- Darkfall Online
There is no way you could have played these ones unless you are a beta!
I mentioned Asherons Call and DAOC. I meant they kinda suck. I just played them for more than three months. If i didnt say that, i meant that.
Im not playing ANYTHING right now. Why? Because everything out now is crap. I tried Lineage2 and its the worst MMORPG ive EVER played. I would rather play Morrowind until something good comes out (see above).
Last edited by Ammon777 on Mon Aug 16, 2004 4:35 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mon Aug 16, 2004 4:29 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
btw, Darkfall Online is VERY close to being an Ultima Online. Its like pre-Tramel stuff. |
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Mon Aug 16, 2004 4:31 pm |
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