New pricing option

[shiznitz]

$5 for 72 hours of play per month.

http://eq2players.station.sony.com/_views/get_the_game/passport.vm?cid=EM3401&_mid=3401&_rid=3401.3201.8731

[Jamiko]

If it was 72 hours any time I'd like the deal a lot better. Sadly it is 72 consecutive hours. Heck even $5 for 15 hours any time would be nice.

[Zetor]

If it was 72 hours any time I'd like the deal a lot better. Sadly it is 72 consecutive hours. Heck even $5 for 15 hours any time would be nice.

Pretty much this. Even on the catassiest weekend/holiday, there is no way I could play more than 10 hours a day, and definitely not for 3 days in a row... not to mention this would need to be coordinated with guildies for best effect. Not a bad concept, but I don't see myself going for it as it is.

OTOH, a phonecard-type deal would be sweet. Could even tie it into the SOE passport, so you'd have x hours of playtime you could spend on any of the games you already own... maybe even hit up SWG for old times' sake. 

[Sky]

I was scratching my head over this one. I don't really see a scenario where I'd only want to play for 3 days consecutively. Even to grab holiday goodies it just doesn't seem worth it, and for the occasional gameplay itch, it's not enough.

One question for Uncle Grim: if you do the $5 deal and end up subbing for the month, does the $5 go toward the $15 for the month or do you end up paying $20 for that month?

[Bandit]

Shit, I should learn to read more carefully.  3 Days consecutively? bah, I thought it was 72 hours in total - which I thought was to good to be true, and alas.  It will give me a chance to check out changes in EQ2.  I would consider paying a $5 sub for like 10-15 hours total, that would work for me.

[shiznitz]

My bad as well. I linked without reading carefully. I thought this was a new, smart pricing strategy instead of an invitation to catass in a game one had already decided to stop playing.

[dusematic]

It makes perfect sense.  How many times have you thought about sashaying into an old MMO you haven't played in awhile only to be rebuffed by the notion that you'll be very likely to log off mere hours (if not minutes) later and that $15 is too steep a price to pay for such a whimsical escapade?

[Ard]

This is porn pricing, and this is not a porn product.  I think that's all that really has to be said.

[Numtini]

I'm guessing they want to lower the barrier to a people giving it another try and hope to get resubs. I don't think it's going to work though.

[IainC]

If it was 72 hours any time I'd like the deal a lot better. Sadly it is 72 consecutive hours. Heck even $5 for 15 hours any time would be nice.

Pretty much this. Even on the catassiest weekend/holiday, there is no way I could play more than 10 hours a day, and definitely not for 3 days in a row... not to mention this would need to be coordinated with guildies for best effect. Not a bad concept, but I don't see myself going for it as it is.

OTOH, a phonecard-type deal would be sweet. Could even tie it into the SOE passport, so you'd have x hours of playtime you could spend on any of the games you already own... maybe even hit up SWG for old times' sake. 

In China and Korea many games use the phonecard style of payment (WoW for example). It works well for those markets because a large percentage of players play from internet cafés and they do all their organisation before they log into the game. Westerners for the most part play from home and so the model isn't so good. If it's costing you money to hang around and wait for your guild group to log in or while someone goes to feed their dog or put their kids to bed or whatever then that's kind of a dealbreaker for a lot of people. People get pissed enough when the healer goes AFK for a bit in the middle of a raid, now imagine that everyone is paying to wait for him. It's an idea that sounds sensible on the surface but doesn't really match with the way that most people play.

[pxib]

I think Spinks has it right:

Although people have wondered why this has to be restricted to three consecutive days rather than 72 hours spread over the month, the latter is unlikely to happen. Or if it does, it won’t be at much of a discount. Offering a low play but open access subscription practically guarantees that many players will switch to it whenever they’re in a quiet period in the game. Restricting this offer to three consecutive days in the month makes the regular sub far more appealing to the casual ex-player who wants to log in for a few hours a week to chat to their friends. Or the hardcore player who has a retired second account but might be persuaded to activate it during a double xp weekend. In other words, they’re cleverly targeting people who are not currently paying a full sub.

Like Numtini implies, it's a way to lure ex-subscribers (and curious onlookers) back without giving them a free week. They explicitly do not want a lower cost option for casual players. Unlikely Numtini, I imagine it will be distressingly popular.

[Numtini]

My reasoning btw is they need three times as many impulse subscriptions in order to break even.

I don't know what affect a short period will have on retention. Will such a short window be a fresh honeymoon period or just a reminder of all the bad things that led people to leave in the first place? I know a lot of my re-ups, the first week or so is pretty frustrating.

[pxib]

My reasoning btw is they need three times as many impulse subscriptions in order to break even.

That's what Spinks is saying, though... they're not trying to break even because they're not aiming for folks who love the game, play regularly, and are already paying for normal accounts. They're aiming for the people they've lost who aren't willing to pay $15 to test a game they're unsure about because they're already paying $15 a month for WoW. Then SOE is hoping they'll either want more and go ahead and switch to the regular price, or that the $5 pricepoint is cheap enough that they'll be willing to keep paying it in order to play one weekend a month.

[Sky]

I thought it was 72 hours in total - which I thought was to good to be true, and alas. 

Even though that makes less sense than the actual pricing, it would definitely have me subbed all year round to EQ2, adding a second box during heavier months of play.

[Bandit]

I was wondering how this worked exactly.  Does the 72 consecutive hour take effect after you pay, or when you log-in?

[shiznitz]

My reasoning btw is they need three times as many impulse subscriptions in order to break even.

That's what Spinks is saying, though... they're not trying to break even because they're not aiming for folks who love the game, play regularly, and are already paying for normal accounts. They're aiming for the people they've lost who aren't willing to pay $15 to test a game they're unsure about because they're already paying $15 a month for WoW. Then SOE is hoping they'll either want more and go ahead and switch to the regular price, or that the $5 pricepoint is cheap enough that they'll be willing to keep paying it in order to play one weekend a month.

I just don't think that most people who quit an MMOG quit because of the cost. They quit because life changes or the appeal of the game wanes. $5 for 72 hours consecutive addresses neither of those reasons.

Someone who quit and gets lured back by a low price, limited play time option is more likely to return to a a full paying sub than someone who quit for any of the variety of reasons people quit.

[pxib]

It's not about why they left, it's about reasons to make them stay. It is always in a subscription MMOG's best interest that you stop playing but continue to pay. No bandwidth costs for them, cash money from you. This is, for example, the brilliance of EVE's offline skill gain.

I think EQ2 is hoping that, whatever makes somebody stop playing, $5 is so little money that they won't feel obliged to stop swiping their card every month because: "Hey, I might still play for a weekend every once in a while." $15 is a movie ticket, parking, and a soda... but $5 is just a cheeseburger. It's the same gamble that publishers are making with Steam sales every week. And it pays off.

[HaemishM]

I'd potentially pay $5 a month for 20 anytime hours. $5 for a 3-day catass? Fuck that.

[Sky]

Aaand, there's there xtra xp weekend, right on shed-ju-all. It's hard for me to evaluate these things, as double xp weekends are things I generally have avoided, since I play all but a couple of my characters with xp turned off. Maybe good for the craft grind on non-consumable crafters.

Pxib: the difference is, when I get a game on steam for $5, I can dip in whenever I like. The only two scenarios I can see are the obvious one (highlighted by the xp weekend) and grabbing holiday crap.

[Ard]

It's double AA xp also Sky, so as long as you're funneling all your xp into that, you're still gaining something useful without leveling.

[Tebonas]

With my MMOG schedule (a few days every few months) anytime hours would be perfect. I stopped doing that when 15$ for 2 days playtime started to look really ridiculous (meaning only Lotro gets to see me once in a while), but 5$ once and then. That would be 5$ more than they see from me right now.

[Shatter]

Im not sure why MMO's dont adopt variable price packages.  X dollars for X time, maybe have 3 options and then the standard $15.00 per month.  I guess maybe they worry they would lose too many of the $15 subs to lesser packages

[Yegolev]

Im not sure why MMO's dont adopt variable price packages.

Several of them have a hard time with properly doing simple, traditional billing.

[IainC]

Im not sure why MMO's dont adopt variable price packages.  X dollars for X time, maybe have 3 options and then the standard $15.00 per month.  I guess maybe they worry they would lose too many of the $15 subs to lesser packages

Because a monthly sub is overcharging 90% of your subscribers and undercharging the other 10% which is the way that the companies like it. Also.

In China and Korea many games use the phonecard style of payment (WoW for example). It works well for those markets because a large percentage of players play from internet cafés and they do all their organisation before they log into the game. Westerners for the most part play from home and so the model isn't so good. If it's costing you money to hang around and wait for your guild group to log in or while someone goes to feed their dog or put their kids to bed or whatever then that's kind of a dealbreaker for a lot of people. People get pissed enough when the healer goes AFK for a bit in the middle of a raid, now imagine that everyone is paying to wait for him. It's an idea that sounds sensible on the surface but doesn't really match with the way that most people play.

[shiznitz]

I would argue that playstyles would adapt to pricing models so if US MMOGs offered time-based plans, players would respond appropriately to maximize their online play.

[Yegolev]

Fuck that.  I have a life.