If WoW or EQ2 started charging 19.99 a month to play . . .

[Albis]

I had an argument with my addicted EQ2 roommate. He claims if EQ2 started charging 19.99 a month, he would quit EQ2. He claims most ppl in his guild would quit as well.

He's an addicted MMORPGer and has a lvl 50 EQ2 character.

Would you be so price sensitive to quit the game?

 

[ShotgunSteven]

I might start playing EQ2 if they were paying ME $19.99 an hour to do so. I wouldn't pay that much to play any of them unless I had money to burn.

 

[BlueWeasel]

He wouldn't quit and doubt most serious MMORPG'er would either. They just use that argument to make it seem they could quit any time, when in fact they are addicted.

When was going thru my Asheron's Call addiction a few years ago, I wouldn't have blinked an eye at a $20 monthly fee. As much as I was playing (I probably averaged 1.5 to 2 hours per day), I would have considered a $20 monthly fee one Hot Deal and worth every penny.

 

[imported_Kensai]

So far, I only play games which are free to play (Assuming that you bought the retail game), like Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3.

 

[ponyo]

Addicts don't care about the price. They'll do whatever to come up with the money to feed their habit.

 

[Schadenfroh]

I would continue to pay. I would be willing to bet that most people that are addicts would pay as much as they do for cable tv, seing how many people get many more hours of enjoyment out of playing MMOs than watching TV.

 

[gsaldivar]

Originally posted by: Naustica
Addicts don't care about the price. They'll do whatever to come up with the money to feed their habit.

:roll:

 

[nageov3t]

I'd continue to play.

I'm definitely not an addict, but I enjoy playing and what's an extra $5? that wouldn't even buy me lunch.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

sure

 

[effee]

you cant put a price on entertainment.

its funny how this came up, my account expired today and no plans to renew it. just dont find it fun anymore

 

[Gurck]

I'd still play. Luckily, many wouldn't, so the industry is still charging ~$13. Actually EQ charged $10 till about 3 years back when they increased it. People complained, but their number of subscriptions continued rising... though that game was actually good back then (Sony owned it but didn't meddle with it - once they started is when it went downhill), so it was worth it. $20 is pushing it though.

 

[CrowDog]

Thatprice would have kept me from starting to play...but now that Im addicted...I cant imagine quiting over that small of an increase.

 

[Cheetah8799]

$20/month might make me think more about it, though it really isn't that much money if you think about it. Unless if you still live with your parents and earn your money doing chores or something.

But if I had money problems, like I know some people do, then I might quit if they jacked up the price.

 

[bcterps]

$20 a month wouldn't be horrible. It's cheaper than crack and just as addicting.

 

[corkyg]

Paying money to waste time is really sad - a hedonistic malady.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Paying money to waste time is really sad - a hedonistic malady.

The entertainment market is a huge business. There is a line between wasting time/money (Disney's Animal kingdom, daikatana) and spending money to have fun (going to the movies to see an action thriller that is actually good, nothing important gained, but time spent having fun, same can be said for gaming).

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: benchiu
$20 a month wouldn't be horrible. It's cheaper than crack and more addicting.

fixed

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Paying money to waste time is really sad - a hedonistic malady.

Yeah, better to scorn others for free on an internet forum :roll:

 

[Whitecloak]

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: corkyg
Paying money to waste time is really sad - a hedonistic malady.

Yeah, better to scorn others for free on an internet forum :roll:

:laugh:

 

[HardcoreRobot]

man, the only thing lamer than mmorpg addicts are mmorpg haters

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: CrowDog
Thatprice would have kept me from starting to play...but now that Im addicted...I cant imagine quiting over that small of an increase.

Expected response from the developer's point of view.

 

[Wingznut]

WoW is my first MMORPG, so I can safely say that I'm no "addict"... (But that's probably because of lack of time, not effort. )

That being said, $20/month wouldn't make me quit, althouth that's probably is the threshold.

Originally posted by: corkyg
Paying money to waste time is really sad - a hedonistic malady.

Why are videogames as entertainment a "waste of time"? Is that buying games in general, or just paying a monthly fee? What if you buy a new game every month... Isn't that worse since it costs more?

WoW's fee of $12/month is equivilent to seeing one movie per month in the theater... Is that not a "waste of time"? How about buying a DVD?

What if that $12/month is saved by not eating out one extra time per month? Isn't eating out more of a waste of time and money?

The above examples MIGHT provide 90 mins of entertainment. WoW provides hours, so doesn't that actually make it a more wise choice?

 

[lchyi]

Obviously by the laws of supply and demand, you're going to have less people play because of a price increase. The market for MMORPGs are like any other product out there. However, I think the price increase would have to be more drastic than that to get people to quit. For instance, EQ debuted at like 10 bucks a month right? Since then, the market has grown considerably even though the price has gone up about 30-40%. Having said that, I would probably pay the $20 a month. I'm not addicted I don't think, but again, $5 is cheaper than a day's lunch. You'd spend more money if you decided to have a bar-b-que with your friends on some holiday weekend, get pizza and beer for a March Madness game, or some other form of extra investment in enertainment that's a lot more costly than $20/month.

 

[Feneant2]

I'd keep playing Eq2 but would use only 1 account. I have a second account I use a trader only. Even with both its just a dollar a day and you can't buy cheap entertainment like that anywhere so its worth it.

Incidently, my WoW account expired Saturday but I left town and forgot to cancel it so now have it for another month even though I've only played 3 hours in the last 10 days.

So in total, I pay for 3 accounts right now... I've known people who paid for up to 6 at one time. I mean if money isn't an issue, I don't see why not.

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Paying money to waste time is really sad - a hedonistic malady.

With this logic you would:
never go to the movies
never buy cable/dish
never go to an amusement park
never buy any video game
never buy music
never own a TV, DVD player or any stereo equipment
never have a hobby of any sort

Everyone has a limit as to what they would pay to entertain themselves, it's just a matter of where that limit is. That's what the thread is about.