Global economic problems affecting MMO subscriptions?

[nurtsi]

Some time ago I stopped playing EVE and today I received an email from Shattered Crystal titled "Global economic problems affecting EVE players?" For those unfamiliar with the company, they sell time codes for several MMOs.

In the email they say "With the global economic problems we have seen a rise in people trying to spend as little as possible." I don't know if this has affected any F13ers, but it made me wonder, how high on people's priorities are MMOs? If you are affected with financial problems, are game subs the first thing to go? Or would you rather eat porridge every day than let go of your daily fix?

I would imagine if issues in Real Life start to pile up, the virtual one could become more attractive as an escape me. Do you think this will reflect on, for example, WAR subscriptions? Are people more reluctant to pick up a new game if they are feeling uncertain about their own economic situation?

[UnSub]

A MMO that costs $15 a month is a cheap form of entertainment.

A MMO that costs $15 a month, plus broadband costs, plus computer upgrades, plus that expansion box is not quite so cheap.

So: I think existing MMOs and / or ones with cheap fees will do better than those who are launching / releasing a new expansion. And MMOs will do better than new single player games.

There's also the chance people will be more likely to drop a subscription than hold the sub and not play for a while. That can certainly eat into a MMO's sub revenue.

F2P titles could be more vulnerable, since people could just cut back there on items they buy.

[Ubvman]

The way I see it, "Global economic problems" will start affecting MMOGs when the unemployment rate goes up significantly and the recession starts biting directily into the "main street" economy. As the economy starts really tanking in 2009, families will start cutting back on the non-essentials and games will get it in the neck...

I do NOT think single player games, especially console games will suffer more than MMOGs. MMOGs are an ongoing expense (at a typical $15/month) that dad/breadwinner/college_guy/young_professional will find easy to cut out (I'm thinking of kids that rely on dads CC). Even if time cards are used, kids allowances will probably shrink affecting their sales. $15 bucks a month adds up.

Console games and other single player games OTH are like movies = escapist entertainment. One time impulse buys (or bought cheaper used) or rentals that can be "explained away" (eg: "I need a break") . That is unlike MMOGs that are ongoing expenses that show up on your monthly bills practically screaming, "cancel me, times are tough - no promotion this year  and the pvp sucks anyway!"

Anyways, strictly IMHO.
Too much household overhead needed to keep a MMOG account running. PC hardware (if upgrades needed when expansions come), Internet line and ISP fees along with the monthly fees. Also, economic difficulties will begin a huge winnowing out all the uncommitted fence sitters in any MMOG (eg: "I'm past the free month of (insert new game here), the game has lots of potential but there are still incomplete content in it and the PvP stuff is completely unbalanced and not itemized yet. I can't afford to keep paying for the game to get better.") In good times, players and fence sitters would pay patiently for the devs to catch up and fix the game. In bad times, the economy makes it easy to jump off MMOG.

When times are bad - which genres will do better? :
Single player games > MMOGs

[apocrypha]

I've heard (anecdotally) that pizza delivery companies (specfically Dominos in the story I was told) are very recession-proof because they're seen as a luxury, but a relatively affordable one. So we feel crappy about our low wages and spiraling inflation and job insecurity etc, so to make ourselves feel better we treat ourselves but can't afford a holiday or a new car or a new pair of shoes but a £20 pizza that makes the whole family feel like they're having a shared treat does the job nicely.

For people who pay their own MMO fees I'd guess they'll be in a similar position - £10/month is, as UnSub said, a pretty cheap form of entertainment. Parents paying MMO subs for their kids might feel the bite sooner though.

For myself, my three EVE subs expired last month and I've not renewed them primarily because my fuct back stops me from playing, but I don't think I'll be re-subbing again for a long time, irrespective of my back. Of course there's lots of reasons for that but one of them is definitely cost - not helped by the recent 30% increase in EVE time code prices. Multi-boxers like me will also feel the bite sooner and MMOs that encourage it (like EVE) will be more likely to see some drops in 2nd, 3rd etc accounts.

[Venkman]

In my view, MMOs are the cheapest sort of entertainment the technology set can get. While UnSub is correct with the MMO + broadband + computer is a high cost, a good chunk of people playing an MMO do so with tools they already use for other purposes. Broadband is a utility for all purposes. The computer was there anyway. And the MMO purchase was a luxury in the vein of other luxuries, like half a month of Starbucks.

If someone's really into MMOs (and not just playing their first and last one in the form of WoW), then that'll be the last thing to go. First goes the premium/movie channels on cable. Next goes Netflix. Then dining out four times a weekend. If after all that you're wondering between heat or auto gasoline, yea, then it's time to think about shelving the raids for a bit. But by that point you should have checked yourself in somewhere anyway.

So I don't think things get cut per se. Rather, they get deferred. Do you need another stick of RAM this year or after the tax return? Do you need that 24" monitor or are you fine with the 19/20? Do you need to buy that million gold/item/character or can you chuff it out and do the work yourself?  Do you need a new video card for that high end graphical MMO, or is the thing just enough of a wreck you can wait to next year for Funcom them to fix it?

In the world of MMOs, there's a lot of luxuries. The meager monthly fee is the smallest of the set.

[ajax34i]

"With the global economic problems we have seen a rise in people trying to spend as little as possible."

They haven't seen squat, they've just decided that they can use the news to do some advertising, and thus increase sales.

[Yegolev]

Lots of things to cut before the relatively-cheap MOG subscription gets it, for the mainstay MOG player anyway.  Drop some features from the phone bill, or cut the land line altogether; drop HBO/Showtime/etc and that HD package; moderate the thermostat; stop going out to dinner/drink so much; don't drive to the mall/grocery store twice a week; put off washing the car.

Fifteen a month isn't a huge deal, and if you are smart you can cut down on that with a multi-month plan.  If the MOG sub is lower priority than movie rentals, that guy wasn't going to last long anyway.

[Pennilenko]

Some time ago I stopped playing EVE and today I received an email from Shattered Crystal titled "Global economic problems affecting EVE players?" For those unfamiliar with the company, they sell time codes for several MMOs.

In the email they say "With the global economic problems we have seen a rise in people trying to spend as little as possible." I don't know if this has affected any F13ers, but it made me wonder, how high on people's priorities are MMOs? If you are affected with financial problems, are game subs the first thing to go? Or would you rather eat porridge every day than let go of your daily fix?

I would imagine if issues in Real Life start to pile up, the virtual one could become more attractive as an escape me. Do you think this will reflect on, for example, WAR subscriptions? Are people more reluctant to pick up a new game if they are feeling uncertain about their own economic situation?

Wife and i have had to terminate and withdraw from one of our retirement accounts to survive, my internet has been downspeeded to the cheapest option to keep our businesses online, and all of my MMO subs and gamefly account have been canceled. As well as my anime memberships have been canceled. I wont be purchasing any games this fall and we probably arent going to spend a dime this holiday season. I will make due with games i already own that are free to play, Like TF2,Call of Duty 4, Console games i own already and what not.'

More than just MMOs. Anything retail is about to get punched in the nuts. Hard. People really don't have any idea how bad things are going to get financially.

P.S. I would have kept one MMO active if they all weren't such steaming peices of shit.

[Amarr HM]

I know I'm the last person that should be adjusting grammar/spelling but this title needs a fix hurting my eyes 

[schild]

I'm worried about gobal economic problems.

[Venkman]

Normally I'd be worried to, but he looks like he's doing ok.

[Amarr HM]

 

[Pennilenko]

Lots of things to cut before the relatively-cheap MOG subscription gets it, for the mainstay MOG player anyway.  Drop some features from the phone bill, or cut the land line altogether; drop HBO/Showtime/etc and that HD package; moderate the thermostat; stop going out to dinner/drink so much; don't drive to the mall/grocery store twice a week; put off washing the car.

Fifteen a month isn't a huge deal, and if you are smart you can cut down on that with a multi-month plan.  If the MOG sub is lower priority than movie rentals, that guy wasn't going to last long anyway.

I was bad with the mmo subs, I had station access, sub to aoc, sub to eve, sub to war, sub to wow(wasnt serious though), CoH/V. Also moderated most of the things you mentioned, and dropped well over 100 bucks in anime site memberships. I know it seems extreme but we are planning for things to get alot worse.

[Lantyssa]

It might be an age thing, however unemployment means more free time or free time at odd hours.  Everyone I've known, personally, who was out of work had an MMO to subscribe to because it's just about the cheapest form of entertainment possible.

A book?  Done in a day or two.  Movie?  Two hours.  Dinner?  One evening.  TV?  Only if downloading the few good shows around.

It's only if they had to get rid of the internet completely that the MMO went, and as it was a useful tool to finding a job, they tried to hold onto it as long as possible.  My friend suffers through dial-up to play CoX because she has the time on her hands.

[Pennilenko]

It might be an age thing, however unemployment means more free time or free time at odd hours.  Everyone I've known, personally, who was out of work had an MMO to subscribe to because it's just about the cheapest form of entertainment possible.

A book?  Done in a day or two.  Movie?  Two hours.  Dinner?  One evening.  TV?  Only if downloading the few good shows around.

It's only if they had to get rid of the internet completely that the MMO went, and as it was a useful tool to finding a job, they tried to hold onto it as long as possible.  My friend suffers through dial-up to play CoX because she has the time on her hands.

I cried a little for your friend. Because the Dial-Up.

[Soln]

I'd be worried for those MMO companies who haven't lowered their operating costs this year.  And any who had tapped the debt markets to raise money in once cheap convertible-bond offers.  I expect we'll see some consolidation in '09.

[Lantyssa]

I cried a little for your friend. Because the Dial-Up.

She lives in BFE so it is all she can get.  We're trying to convince her to move, which gets her closer to us and a real internet connection.  Tough to do since she is out of work though.  We applaud her determination though.

[Jayce]

I don't have a magic crystal ball or whatever like this Penne dude apparently does, since he knows what's "GOING" to happen.

However, if it does get as bad as the Great Depression and people are scratching for a meal, $15 will buy a lot of loaves of bread.  $40 per month of broadband will be a fortune in food probably.

If it doesn't, I guess we still might have to sacrifice our twice-daily $5 cup of coffee and $100 a month premium channels. 

[ajax34i]

Lots of things to cut before the relatively-cheap MOG subscription gets it, for the mainstay MOG player anyway.  Drop some features from the phone bill, or cut the land line altogether; drop HBO/Showtime/etc and that HD package; moderate the thermostat; stop going out to dinner/drink so much; don't drive to the mall/grocery store twice a week; put off washing the car.

Everything you've listed corresponds to my priorities, but not THE WIFE's.  The wife will cut MMO's before she cuts going out to dinner or the TV.

[Venkman]

She just hasn't found the right MMO yet then.

So, what are you doing wrong then?! 

(kidding! I'm in the same boat, except we nixed four-times-a-weekend eat-out when we had kids and she doesn't need anything but HGTV and the major networks).

[SnakeCharmer]

Probably affects gold sellers more than it does sub numbers.

[damijin]

Historically, entertainment thrives in times of economic shittyness, at least relative to other things.

The best cartoons in history were produced during the first depression. Popeyes of the 30s are fantastic, and new technologies like sound and color were being developed to push the industry further. They were expensive to make, and they were needed to attract movie-goers to one movie or another. The competition between movies during the 30s was intense, and that led to the production of these amazing cartoons.

So, I wouldn't worry about games. They're cheap. People will play them.

Theres a case that you could make against RMT, but I suspect that will stick it out fine as well.

[Gutboy Barrelhouse]

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.c...d/207006/page/1

And WoW will doing just fine if they can get more guys like this.

In what is perhaps the most shining example of obsession and geekiness I have ever seen, a fella by the name of Bradster has 36 World of WarCraft accounts that he plays on 11 computers simultaneously. He mainly seems to be doing it because he doesn't like to rely on so many other people to get a raid going, which includes attacking the Alliance capital cities, and on that front I can totally see where he's coming from.

It costs me exactly $5711 in subscription costs per year with 36 accounts on the 6 month pay schedule. Not bad considering I'm looking at it like it's a hobby and there are more expensive hobbies out there than World of Warcraft

When Wrath of the Lich King is released, I plan to be at the store when it opens and will purchase 36 copies of it. With tax, it should be about $1500 for all of them. Then the shaman are on their way to level 80 along with the priest, druid and mage

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Don't know what happened to the link, but oh well.

[Yegolev]

Lots of things to cut before the relatively-cheap MOG subscription gets it, for the mainstay MOG player anyway.  Drop some features from the phone bill, or cut the land line altogether; drop HBO/Showtime/etc and that HD package; moderate the thermostat; stop going out to dinner/drink so much; don't drive to the mall/grocery store twice a week; put off washing the car.

Everything you've listed corresponds to my priorities, but not THE WIFE's.  The wife will cut MMO's before she cuts going out to dinner or the TV.

Arbitration with the wife is something every man must work out, and we all know women have fucked-up priorities.  In my case, my wife will be incredibly happy that I'm drinking virtual beer in LotRO rather than indulging in my borderline alcoholism in Real Life.  The problem with cutting out all forms of entertainment is that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  Recent data suggests that it is in the best interests of my family and myself for me to keep occupied with something I enjoy a lot.  If your wife felt that you would wig out without a MOG sub, she'd be more understanding.

[Mrbloodworth]

Lots of things to cut before the relatively-cheap MOG subscription gets it, for the mainstay MOG player anyway.  Drop some features from the phone bill, or cut the land line altogether; drop HBO/Showtime/etc and that HD package; moderate the thermostat; stop going out to dinner/drink so much; don't drive to the mall/grocery store twice a week; put off washing the car.

Everything you've listed corresponds to my priorities, but not THE WIFE's.  The wife will cut MMO's before she cuts going out to dinner or the TV.

Arbitration with the wife is something every man must work out, and we all know women have fucked-up priorities.  In my case, my wife will be incredibly happy that I'm drinking virtual beer in LotRO rather than indulging in my borderline alcoholism in Real Life.  The problem with cutting out all forms of entertainment is that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  Recent data suggests that it is in the best interests of my family and myself for me to keep occupied with something I enjoy a lot.  If your wife felt that you would wig out without a MOG sub, she'd be more understanding.

IE: let her cancel it, and Wig out. 

[Sparky]

I've cut back to 2 MMO subs recently.  3 felt a little extravagant but "basically the cost of a new game each month" is easier to justify to myself.  Also closed my usenet subscription.  Don't have any other online outgoings other than the ISP.

[Grimwell]

Historically, entertainment thrives in times of economic shittyness, at least relative to other things.

...and we have a winner folks.

If you have a sub, you can already play at least one game on your computer with no upgrades, which means it's maintenance on your machine not upgrades. You don't have to step up to continue playing, you just have to maintain the parts you have and replace them as they go. As noted above, the fifteen on a MMO goes quite far compared to other entertainment. MMO's may not be recession proof, but it's nowhere near time to worry over the ones that are on solid ground already.

I can not imagine life without an internet connection at home... so that's not on the table. 

[deadplayer]

Probably affects gold sellers more than it does sub numbers.

Agree. Gobal economic problems would affect them not to spend more money on game.

[Righ]

I can not imagine life without an internet connection at home...

You're young. It involves telephone lines, callback numbers, and some off the record work for educational establishments.

[Bzalthek]

I can't even go on a long trip without wishing I had the internet to cure my boredom.  No internet in the home is not going to happen.  I can even cancel any MMO I happen to be playing at the time, but without a continual stream of information, I will wither up and die.

[Sparky]

It sucks for a week but then you get used to it and start reading 'n shit.  Then you get the Internet back and OMG HEAVEN before you acclimatise again and it's all humdrum.  People should give up the Internet once a month every year, a sort of information Ramadan.

[Grimwell]

I can not imagine life without an internet connection at home...

You're young. It involves telephone lines, callback numbers, and some off the record work for educational establishments.

I wish. I remember, vividly, when there was just one phone company and we had rotary phones.

I don't want to go back. 

[Lantyssa]

Ha!  I remember phones you had to pick up and get the operator to connect you.

(We had an antique '20s phone in the front room.  I do remember the rotary phones though.)

[WindupAtheist]

I remember when we all just had to stand outside and yell.

[Bzalthek]

Yell?  You had vocal cords?!?  Back in my day...