| Wagram said: Why are people so against subscription fees? I'll never understand this. |
It's not that people hate sub fees. It's that the business model is basically done. As much as people want to try and argue that it's not, it's simply not the case. Free-to-play games that were converted from sub or brand new ones that are being made from scratch now trump games that have a locked door just to get in by sheer monetary power. Those games that remain subs now? World of Warcraft, which is WoW and there's no other explanation needed, and EVE Online, which is a niche space simulator game that has a very dedicated fan base. There aren't any other big examples left.
Everquest series? F2P. Rifts? F2P. TOR? Near failed because of its sub option and went F2P almost immediately. APB? Died and reborne as F2P. Planetside 1 and 2? Converting to free to play and free to play from the get go, respectively.
Hell, if you want proof more than anyone, look no further than Ragnar Tornquist. Look back at the guy's quotes and you see how much he disliked F2P stuff. He appeared to hate it a LOT. Now all his games are free to play by sheer weight of the market. The Secret World didn't have any choice but to go that route or it would have probably tanked.
Simply put, the MMO market has evolved into a place where people CAN actually go onto a game and not have to worry about how much time they put in every month. To some, $15 a month is expensive. Not everyone has a silver spoon in their mouth and $15 a month can actually mean a lot. We're now in an age where subscriptions are basically going the way of the dodo bird and free to play, with constant rises in quality over time as companies are realizing they can monetize bigger budget and bigger stuff that way, are taking over.
Will it be interesting to see if Elder Scrolls Online and Wildstar can pull off subscriptions? Sure. Will they? It's hard to say, but recent history is pointing the Magic 8 Ball to, "Doesn't seem likely."
This is the MMO scene as it is now. It is currently in a state of flux and is evolving. So it's not that subs are hated...it's that they are, basically, obsolete in the current gaming atmosphere.
