1 Time Subscription Fee

[Herumir]

I play lotro and this is one of the options they provided. Beta players were aloud to pay the one time fee instead of a monthly fee. For players like me that sometimes get bored of a game but want to see what's up with it a month/year later, this is a sweet option.

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but it's something I'd love to see happen with DF.

[willithesm]

It won't happen i think :o

[Jonkar]

Uh, just subscribe and immediatly cancel? Please tell me you are intelligent enough to understand that's a possibility.

[Rubycat]

You completely missed the mark, the OP is talking about a "lifetime" subscription fee, it was something like $200 and your sub is active till the game dies.

[tallefred]

Uh, just subscribe and immediatly cancel? Please tell me you are intelligent enough to understand that's a possibility.

He's talking about a lifetime membership. In LotRO you were able to pay a
1-time fee ($199 american for founders, $299 after that IIRC), and you never had to pay a subscription fee again.

[Niccoli]

You completely missed the mark, the OP is talking about a "lifetime" subscription fee, it was something like $200 and your sub is active till the game dies.

Right, so you pay a lifetime fee, play the game two months (30 dollars) leave for a year, come back and log in again (15 dollars).

My math shows that a lot less than 200. I get what the OP is saying, Jonkar was just pointing out how poor his example was.

Now, if you could see yourself playing the games for years, like I did with Evercrack, yeah, 200 bucks would be completely worth it.

[Brusco]

yah the life time sub in lotro is a wonderful thing, i have also choosen that route. and the way i look at it, is i can play that game whenever and have already paid for it, and now i can take that other 10-15 bucks a month and put it towards another mmo if i choose to do so.

[Carnifex]

I'd rather pay 15 bucks a month. Just like internet providers, I don't want a contract, I want to be able to cancel at any time. Which is the case, so let's keep it that way for DF too.

[Exidium]

I am all about options. I might be interested in doing this when you figure 2 years game play will at least be $300, but there is no way I am paying a life-time fee, until I know the game is solid and will be around for years.

[Jonkar]

Oops, my bad guys. Misunderstood.

[Forgin]

I didn't do that when I played LotrO, I should have because I have already payed €50 more than I would have paid for a Lifetime. But I would never buy a lifetime because I don't want to commit myself to a game, just in case it is like AoC.

[Vogular]

Well ofcourse the idea of paying a big amount ones and then play free for ever is nice for some players.

But i dont think the future of the game (dev's) after a year or two / three will be shinny. And eventually the same counts for the players.
If there profit of the game runs out they will slowly pay less attention in the future of the game.

And not that i consider DF as some other just released MMO's / games (wont say names) the risk to take and end up with a crap unfinished game would be a rip of your budget.

So i vote for monthly fee, for me, for the game dev team and for my wallet.

[Rhynn]

I'd gladly pay for a lifetime account to Darkfall.

[k3v1nv]

Yeah so would I, it would be a great option.
Although, the developers would make less money off the players..
So I doubt this would happen!

[keeperofstars]

It's a gimmick.

They typically offer the lifetime at the start of the game, as a way to sucker players into paying for a long time frame upfront.

For example: Take AoC if they had offered pre-order people the option to pay 200 bucks for a life time subscription. About half the pre-orders or around 50k people would have bought it most likely.

That would mean: close to 10 million in instant revenue. Then people start playing and find out the game sucks overall, and stop playing. Well Funcom has already got the money, what do they care.

It's a really bad model really that typically ends up shafting the end user. I mean take a look at LoTR yes you have a life time subscription, but aren't they close to a new expansion, and don't they have something like 5 more planned as well. Yes you could go back and see whats been going on with the game since you left it 6 months ago, but you won't get the new skills / new areas / new gear cause you don't have the expansion(s).

Leave things alone, give me my typical choices 15 bucks monthly, 12 bucks per month for 3 month blocks, 10 for 6 month blocks and 8 bucks for 1 year subscription.

While yes it is 96 bucks a month for a year and a lifetime is typically 200-300 one time. Another piece comes from it.

By having lifetime accounts you allow the devs to get lazy / force them to become lazy. Since its possible to have a high peak buy out, the cash flow at some point slows way down and then stops. Then how do you afford to make money to support the game? Once 90% of your player base is on lifetime accounts.

[kehmesis]

I'd rather pay 15 bucks a month. Just like internet providers, I don't want a contract, I want to be able to cancel at any time. Which is the case, so let's keep it that way for DF too.

You can. So what the fuck is your point?

On topic, I would like that too.

[minijag]

Someone replied that this was a marketing gimmick.
Exactly, it is a marketing gimmick, and why shouldn't Darkfall want to make money? More money for them (hopefully) means better service for us. Better servers, more content.

I would like to see a one time subscription offer for 199$
It would generate a lot of revenue for them.

[lancegaydon]

a game like rockband is basically $200 and I paid for that happily. So if DF offered that option (and the beta made me happy) I would certainly pay a lifetime fee.

[Largion]

If they had the option I might use it.
Played UO for about 5-6 years and plan on doing the same whit DFO so why not.

[keeperofstars]

Someone replied that this was a marketing gimmick.
Exactly, it is a marketing gimmick, and why shouldn't Darkfall want to make money? More money for them (hopefully) means better service for us. Better servers, more content.

I would like to see a one time subscription offer for 199$
It would generate a lot of revenue for them.

The marketing gimmick only works for the devs if the people dont play.
IE you grab 200 bucks from people that you realize won't play the game for more then a few months. While with a game like DF you will either play it a long time or not.

Ever notice how you can't buy a lifetime subscription for LOTR now? It was just a way to secure money from people that for the most part wouldnt be playing it more then a few months.

[pointblank]

Well lets face it ur signing ur life away if you would purchase something like this.

Well that's my social life outta the window...

[valczir]

<snip/>
The marketing gimmick only works for the devs if the people dont play.
IE you grab 200 bucks from people that you realize won't play the game for more then a few months. While with a game like DF you will either play it a long time or not.
<snip/>

Yeah, that's about how Turbine (the people who made DDO and LotRO) seem to view it, too. DDO is a very niche game, and they know it - most of the people who like it will be playing it for a very long time, because there really isn't anything like it. With LotRO, you have tons of alternatives that offer similar gameplay, graphics, and community, so anyone who doesn't really like LotRO will likely end up quitting pretty soon.

DDO has never offered a lifetime subscription, whereas LotRO has offered it at least twice in its lifetime.

For the same reason, I doubt Darkfall will be offering a lifetime subscription. As much as I would love that option, it's just not practical for the developers.

[Ausei]

Yeah, that's about how Turbine (the people who made DDO and LotRO) seem to view it, too. DDO is a very niche game, and they know it - most of the people who like it will be playing it for a very long time, because there really isn't anything like it. With LotRO, you have tons of alternatives that offer similar gameplay, graphics, and community, so anyone who doesn't really like LotRO will likely end up quitting pretty soon.

DDO has never offered a lifetime subscription, whereas LotRO has offered it at least twice in its lifetime.

For the same reason, I doubt Darkfall will be offering a lifetime subscription. As much as I would love that option, it's just not practical for the developers.
I agree it will need the monthly fee just to make it better so people will either hate this game or love it.

[End Dream]

I think its a great idea.. its not like it will remove the $15 a month option.. wierdos

also you guys have to realize that it is a good business decision for almost every business imaginable..

$300 now is always better than $360 over two years... or more.. because money now can be invested to create much better returns...

[Vogular]

after all your posts, i rly dont care either i buy food i play DF i buy more shirts or get drunk...the more cash we spend the better economy so HERE IS ALL MY EURO"S COME AND VISIT ME...
this is going no where.


game over

[Knocky]

abc123

[Sgt. John Knock]

abc123

Who is this troll and why has he stolen my name?

It's an interesting idea, but a bad one. Sure, it saves us money in the long run, but like keeperofstars said, Aventurine will need a constant supply of money to keep DF up and running after 8-10 years. If all the diehard fans are playing for free, there'll be nothing left to pay the devs with :eek:

[keeperofstars]

I think its a great idea.. its not like it will remove the $15 a month option.. wierdos

also you guys have to realize that it is a good business decision for almost every business imaginable..

$300 now is always better than $360 over two years... or more.. because money now can be invested to create much better returns...

except at 15 bucks month it only takes 20 months for the devs to be out of money with the subscription. so what happens when everyone here picks up the lifetime, and after 20 months the devs have zero income from the game?

also I expect to play df for many a year to come. Somewhere around 5+ so that means the devs would be out.

900-300= 600 bucks they could have made and for what reason / gain?

the lifetime account was only offered up cause the devs knew LOTR didnt have much replay value, and that the beta testers were starting to stop playing the game even during beta cause they had beat everything. they knew their player base was going to be small and remain small. It was best to sucker the beta testers / new players into a lifetime, with the assumption most of the players would never break more then 6 or so months after release.

[honnolea]

The LotRO lifetime subscription was a choice offered.

You could take it or leave it.

But to my knowledge, it was a big hit. Many, many players opted for the lifetime $200 plan. You had plenty of time to be ingame before deciding.

The more choices players have, the better.

[Jargo]

I could never pay a bunch of money for a game that anything could happen to. 15 bucks a month works just fine for me. That way if something comes up and I have to take an extended break, the game goes under, the game gets bought out by a shit company like EA that shits all over it or I just get bored of it I can cancel and not have to think about all the extra money I wasted.

I’m not saying they shouldn’t offer it for people who like that sort of payment option; I just personally don’t think it’s that great of an idea.

[Rhynn]

Oh I agree with you Keeper. A lifetime subscription is perfect for the devs if the players don't stay. It's perfect for the players if they plan on playing 2+ years. But I strenuously object if you think 90% of any playerbase is going to opt for a 200-300 lifetime subscription account. The VAST majority of users and new members are always going to opt for the monthly payment plan.

The only people that should even be offered the lifetime plan are those who've beta'd or pre-registered for the game prior to release. Doing it afterwards does cut into their projected earnings. Doing it up front guarantees them a userbase for a lot longer than 1 month, and pads their coffers a good bit during release month.

[Gmoneyslim12]

Imho there should be no lifetime fee. If we see that, That means trouble. Companies usually only do that if they are in trouble, and trying to get those hardcore to the game to cough up some cash. Otherwise they should be making more money from monthly

[IwannabeaMahirm]

Someone replied that this was a marketing gimmick.
Exactly, it is a marketing gimmick, and why shouldn't Darkfall want to make money? More money for them (hopefully) means better service for us. Better servers, more content.

I would like to see a one time subscription offer for 199$
It would generate a lot of revenue for them.

Yes, it's a marketing gimmick that advocates cheating your customers out of their money and expecting or knowing your game is going to suck. If Aventurine ever put a "lifetime fee" up, I would instantly believe that they had no faith in their own game. I would still play it, but I would never pay the lifetime fee.

tl;dr it's a BAD idea that makes a company look very bad.

[deadaim45]

how long realy is a lifetime membership?

[Lictor]

how long realy is a lifetime membership?

it is for lifetime, but not yours but game's. It might be 2 years but it might be 10 (like with UO).

[Teip]

Lifetime memberships are actually a good business model when you implement them correctly. You don't give them to everyone. The easiest way is to track users registered for the beta and allow a percentage of that number to have the ability to buy a lifetime membership. You could easily say that 5,000 keys would be available. Then what you do is allow people who pre-order the game a chance at the keys. If all 5,000 are used up then you don't offer anymore. If only a fraction of them are used then you sell the remainder after the game is out for an increased price (like LotRO did/does).

Pre-orders, collector's editions and lifetime subscriptions are an easy way to generate a large initial cash flow that can be used to pay off loans for distribution and production. This influx of cash can also be used to help develop more content or expand resources.

[strayfe]

Right, so you pay a lifetime fee, play the game two months (30 dollars) leave for a year, come back and log in again (15 dollars).

My math shows that a lot less than 200. I get what the OP is saying, Jonkar was just pointing out how poor his example was.

Now, if you could see yourself playing the games for years, like I did with Evercrack, yeah, 200 bucks would be completely worth it.

Yeah, if you consider MMO standard monthly around $12, then a lifetime membership of like 299? thats not bad, (2 years of montly paymend of $12 = $288) So if you are positive that you are going to be in this MMO for the longhaul, AKA (2 years +) Then this method is a steal, (If said MMO is worth it) Most companies do this as a business scheme if they are jumpin titatnic

[lancegaydon]

Lifetime memberships are actually a good business model when you implement them correctly. You don't give them to everyone. The easiest way is to track users registered for the beta and allow a percentage of that number to have the ability to buy a lifetime membership. You could easily say that 5,000 keys would be available. Then what you do is allow people who pre-order the game a chance at the keys. If all 5,000 are used up then you don't offer anymore. If only a fraction of them are used then you sell the remainder after the game is out for an increased price (like LotRO did/does).

Pre-orders, collector's editions and lifetime subscriptions are an easy way to generate a large initial cash flow that can be used to pay off loans for distribution and production. This influx of cash can also be used to help develop more content or expand resources.
Well said. Have they done any pre order announcing? Or perhaps the lack of an american publisher is slowing that.

[Vogular]

I hope they add some kind of goodie to the special edition...
SOme kind of sword or axe so u can smash on your comp when u get looted for the 6th time in a row.
And u didn't even get 1 mile out of your city :lmao:

[aruzo]

I'd gladly pay for a lifetime account to Darkfall.

You've never played the game.