Do free trials necessarily mean failure?

[SpaceDrake]

Some recent threads have gotten me thinking lately... a lot of people seem to be treating a free trial as a sign of failure. And yet, somehow I wonder if perhaps a free trial is the way forward from here on out.

Yes, DDO, Auto Assault and some other recent MMOs all went to free trials really soon after their release, which probably suggests a lack of box sales.

Yet. Everyone's favorite indy MMO, EVE, has had a free trial for a long time now. Yes, at first it was in response to poor sales, but at this point I'd dare to say that a large part of EVE's recent successes can be attributed to the free trial option. People are able to try the game out before they put money into it - like we're able to do with single-player games and demos. Seeing what you're getting into before putting down a credit card number helps confidence immesurably, I think.

So I wonder. Is it entirely possible that free trials can become an industry norm? Is the lack of such an offer from games like WoW simply arrogance? (And I'll point out that WoW Europe does in fact have a trial offer now.)

[schild]

Free trials and digital download should have been the norm since 2000.

[Azazel]

Here in Australia, WoW has had a 14-day trial for $2 since late last year.

WoW also had a 10-day downloadable trial over Christmas. Then there was the pack-in 10-day trial after the very first run of boxes.


As Schild says, they should be more or less standard, but the fact is that a lot of these games have always suffered a lot of attrition after the first month. I didn't last a month of DAoC, and never played after the month of Planetside. The fact is that by not offering a trial for the first couple of months, the games will suck up a certain number of box sales from the curious who would have just downloaded the trial. I wish I could have my $200 back from Planetside and DAoC.

Going to trial so soon after release (DDO, AA) really suggests to me that box sales are going pitifully. After a couple of months, then it totally makes sense. Most other games have a downloadable playable demo, after all.


Conversely, since I've been burned twice by games I didn't enjoy enough to keep paying for, I won't even consider a MMOG until I've had a free trial, which is why I never tried CoH/CoV even though it looks kind of interesting If I buy a SP game and don't enjoy it, I can always come back to it a year later, or give it away, or sell it secondhand, or even return it to EB if I find it sucks quickly enough.. can't do any of those with an opened-and-registered MMOG.

[Comstar]

I've signed up for Eve after trying the free trial. There is NO WAY I would have done it without it.

[Cheddar]

Some recent threads have gotten me thinking lately... a lot of people seem to be treating a free trial as a sign of failure. And yet, somehow I wonder if perhaps a free trial is the way forward from here on out.

Yes, DDO, Auto Assault and some other recent MMOs all went to free trials really soon after their release, which probably suggests a lack of box sales.

Yet. Everyone's favorite indy MMO, EVE, has had a free trial for a long time now. Yes, at first it was in response to poor sales, but at this point I'd dare to say that a large part of EVE's recent successes can be attributed to the free trial option. People are able to try the game out before they put money into it - like we're able to do with single-player games and demos. Seeing what you're getting into before putting down a credit card number helps confidence immesurably, I think.

So I wonder. Is it entirely possible that free trials can become an industry norm? Is the lack of such an offer from games like WoW simply arrogance? (And I'll point out that WoW Europe does in fact have a trial offer now.)

Free trials are good after you get a handle on attrition (churn).  As stated above, you can wrap bacon around poop and call it a bacon surprise, but if you do not charge for it then you will make nothing as it is doubtful anyone will come back for seconds.  God I need coffee.

[Glazius]

Conversely, since I've been burned twice by games I didn't enjoy enough to keep paying for, I won't even consider a MMOG until I've had a free trial, which is why I never tried CoH/CoV even though it looks kind of interesting If I buy a SP game and don't enjoy it, I can always come back to it a year later, or give it away, or sell it secondhand, or even return it to EB if I find it sucks quickly enough.. can't do any of those with an opened-and-registered MMOG.

If you're curious about CoH I have a 14-day code gathering dust in my preorder box.

I'd advise holding off on it until they get Issue 8 out, but there's nothing wrong with the game as it is if you want to hop in.

--GF

[shiznitz]

A 100% free-trial system with a higher monthly fee would make sense for a small developer that doesn't want to give away the company to get boxes on the shelves. If the average MMO gamer who likes your game stays for 6 months, that spreading the normal $50 retail price over that period makes some sense. So $15+(50/6)=$27/month to play. That price point makes a $10 million dollar investment look pretty good with 50k subs.

[Koyasha]

I'd say it's likely to get less subscriptions though.  People may not have to pay the big price up front, but they'll see the big monthly fee, look at games like WoW and EQ/EQII, and especially the Station All Access Pass, and say 'well why is this game charging me more to play one game than Sony charges me to play 6?'

[Azazel]

If you're curious about CoH I have a 14-day code gathering dust in my preorder box.

I'd advise holding off on it until they get Issue 8 out, but there's nothing wrong with the game as it is if you want to hop in.

--GF

Thanks mate, I wouldn't mind taking you up on that. I won't be able to try it out for another 2-3 weeks at least, since I'm finishing up study right now, but that might well fit in with the Issue 8 release thing anyway.

cheers,


Oh, I'd tend to agree with Koyasha on the higher sub being more scary than the box price. I don't think many of us seasoned MMOGers really try a new game intending to only last 2 or 3 months as opposed to approaching them with a "if it's good I could play it for years" attitude. Imagine if my 5-6 years of EQ/WoW had an extra $10 tacked on monthly.. I can't imagine being prepared to pay quite that much.

IMO, after 6 months on the shelf any MMOG not called "World of Warcraft" that doesn't have an expansion to pack in and go "Gold Edition" with should either drop the box down to dirt cheap in the stores (gotta keep visibility up), and make it easier for the downloadable free trial to segue into a full version without needing to buy the boxed version.

[Soln]

they're just another marketing tactic.  They're maybe only more noticeable for smaller titles because we look for things like that.  But EQ2 has a free trial period. 

FWIW I get a better signal of failure in a game by the kind of commentary it has on non-fanboi sites and likewise also by the lack of discussion it may have. 

[HaemishM]

Some recent threads have gotten me thinking lately... a lot of people seem to be treating a free trial as a sign of failure. And yet, somehow I wonder if perhaps a free trial is the way forward from here on out.

It SHOULD be SOP for MMOG's from here on out. But yes, many times a free trial so soon after release, such as DDO and Auto Assault looks a bit like failure. But it really shouldn't, since selling the box is actually just a pain in the ass. It costs less to provide a digital download, it just means you aren't on the shelves where the impulse buyers can see you.

[shiznitz]

That is what I was getting at, although maybe the full price of the retail box should not go into the monthly fee. If a game decides to sell boxes at retail and implements a free downloadable trial within 60 days of the boxes hitting shelves, then desperation is probably the motive. The problem is that MMOGs are being published by the same companies that distribute single player games and those companies are "trapped" in the box model.

Think about most subscription businesses that you are familiar with: Netflix, XM radio, satellite TV, etc. None of these businesses tried to sell their service to everyone in the country on a single day. They usually started with a targeted, small rollout and then expanded marketing as subscribers increased. XM did not build their business model on selling 6 million units in the first 30 days and then managing churn for the next 270 days.

I think it would behoove online games to sell their game online first. Get the kinks out. Then maybe put the first expansion on the shelves. This is a much better way to manage churn because players are entering/exiting the game gradually instead of piling in/out in the first 60 days.

Clearly, the successful games will do well either way. Eve is a great example of a soft launch game that is growing subscribers long after.

[WayAbvPar]

Some recent threads have gotten me thinking lately... a lot of people seem to be treating a free trial as a sign of failure. And yet, somehow I wonder if perhaps a free trial is the way forward from here on out.

Yes, DDO, Auto Assault and some other recent MMOs all went to free trials really soon after their release, which probably suggests a lack of box sales.

Yet. Everyone's favorite indy MMO, EVE, has had a free trial for a long time now. Yes, at first it was in response to poor sales, but at this point I'd dare to say that a large part of EVE's recent successes can be attributed to the free trial option. People are able to try the game out before they put money into it - like we're able to do with single-player games and demos. Seeing what you're getting into before putting down a credit card number helps confidence immesurably, I think.

So I wonder. Is it entirely possible that free trials can become an industry norm? Is the lack of such an offer from games like WoW simply arrogance? (And I'll point out that WoW Europe does in fact have a trial offer now.)

Free trials are good after you get a handle on attrition (churn).  As stated above, you can wrap bacon around poop and call it a bacon surprise, but if you do not charge for it then you will make nothing as it is doubtful anyone will come back for seconds.  God I need coffee.

Note to self- skip breakfast at Cheddar's house.