23 replies to this topic

[JC Daxion]

I see this premium account thing, and so far what i'm gathering it is double cash, and xp? (not really sure what XP you need in the game, i didn't think there was leveling..)


The casual player, might only play a few hours once a week, but i'd bet would be interested in getting some bonus. So can you buy premium account access by the hour?

I could see people wanting to buy like 20 hours or even 5 hours clips.. vrs buying a months worth of play. I guess, not knowing how the cash store works is part of it. Maybe spending a few bucks is like buying a premium account? But perhaps not.

I have just seen other games sell timer buffs and stuff like that, and premium account is sorta like a buff right? So i was wondering if this or something like it would be part of the shop.

[ermine]

I too would like some sort of premium hours option vs premium months.

[VooDooPC]

I don't see this happening unless the hours are really expensive.

[Woopass]

That's not a bad idea but the best option might e to just pay monthly for a premium account. What happens if u wanna play but can't buy a few hours? Can u still use your prius mechs just no bonus?

[Harvey Batchall Kerensky at Law]

If you know so little as to not know what xp could possibly be used for, just relax and wait for the game to come out.

[Chillybill]

I don't know for sure what they plan on charging for the monthly but i think it may be a better option is to have a monthly subscription or to buy 1 month at a time. I just don't think the hourly will be a good deal, when I think they will probably charge between 10 and 15 a month it would hardly be worth paying 25 to 50 cents an hour when the monthly rate will probably come out to a little over 2 cents an hour!

[AkuPyro]

I think it would be easier just to make a day boost/premium. It might cost more for the convenience aspect as they are estimating monthly cost from anywhere from $10 to $15 bucks. Just averaging it out, that is around 50 cents a day at the high end. The might double that for convenience part or toss in a 5 day pack or something like that for say, 5 bucks? They could even make a win boost like LoL uses. 10 win boost at X cost that would under the monthly payment if you don't have the cash or don't play a whole lot.

[grimzod]

JC Daxion, on 09 July 2012 - 04:29 AM, said:

I see this premium account thing, and so far what i'm gathering it is double cash, and xp? (not really sure what XP you need in the game, i didn't think there was leveling..)


The casual player, might only play a few hours once a week, but i'd bet would be interested in getting some bonus. So can you buy premium account access by the hour?

I could see people wanting to buy like 20 hours or even 5 hours clips.. vrs buying a months worth of play. I guess, not knowing how the cash store works is part of it. Maybe spending a few bucks is like buying a premium account? But perhaps not.

I have just seen other games sell timer buffs and stuff like that, and premium account is sorta like a buff right? So i was wondering if this or something like it would be part of the shop.

Its a business decision really. Do you offer something that is efficient for the player or profitable for the company? Offering minimum daily premium purchases instead of hourly means you'll really only be giving a player a few hours of time on premium. If they did it hourly it'd be extremely efficient for the players. Pricing the market, finding what it will bear, is as important a business decision as pricing other premium content. Too cheap and too many get it, power through the content and want more before the company is ready to deliver. Too expensive and you capture the other half of the curve, reaping frustration and losing players.

Why would anyone pay for a monthly if they knew they'd be away from keyboard three fourths of that time and could, instead, purchase hours just as they need them? They would not.

They are the only seller. The can charge any price they want. As long as they price correctly within their customer base they can reap whatever price they desire and not hurt the number of players in the game substantially with under or overpricing.

Without throwing risk-aversion and utility of money at you what i'm trying to say is that they don't have to offer hourly and probably shouldn't. Hourly would be too efficient (for gamers) to attract the revenue they need from the service.

Edited by grimzod, 09 July 2012 - 05:09 AM.

[oohawkoo]

go read the dev blogs and youll find out what exp is for and itll give you a better idea as to why premium will be as it is

[Keizer]

we dont even know the final price on the premium monthly service it could be $10 for all we know and you want them to make an hourly price ummmm no lets not i mean if the monthly scrip. was like $60 well then u might have a point... no no i just dont like the idea it opens the door for companys like this to nickel and dime us to Death...... just use the KISS method Keep It Short Simple.......... just tell me how much they want for the monthly scrip and ill either get it or i wont.

[Stray Ion]

The boosters for premium have yet to be decided, but what was mentioned as 50% increase in both XP and Cbills and that is not final.

Seriously $10 for a whole month? I'm not sure where you live but that is giving up 1 pack of cigarettes or a 6 pack of decent beer a month me. Or one could just eat ramen for one meal in a month.

IMO If your money is that tight, I seriously doubt you should be worrying about playing games and worry more on getting your life in order.

[Korbyn McColl]

I suspect you'll be able to buy whatever boosts you want with RL money through the MW store. So you could probably buy a 4 hour boost for a couple of bucks, but if you play more than a few hours a week a premium account would save you money...IF you care. Personally, I don't care about double cash/xp rewards. I don't mind a slow grind for XP and cash, so long as I make enough to keep my mechs operable and can buy what I really want from the RL cash shop.

[DeeSaster]

I would like to refer to the "tank game that shall not be named", because I think they really got the premium model right. They use a really wide spread of options (hardcash packages and gametime packages), that allow for all kinds of game stereotypes IMO. Obviously the more you buy, the cheaper it gets.

Hopefully you don't misread my post as an advert for the game, that is not my intention. I only wanted to show a very good system, which I hope gets copied and pasted into MWO.

There are 6 Premium Packages Available:

360 Days @ 24000 Gold (costs 66.6 Gold/Day)
180 Days @ 13500 Gold (costs 75 Gold/Day)
30 Days @ 2500 Gold (costs 83 Gold/Day)
7 Days @ 1250 Gold (costs 179 Gold/Day)
3 Days @ 650 Gold (costs 216 Gold/Day)
1 Day @ 250 Gold (costs 250 Gold/Day)

25,000 Gold @ $99.95 Package - 250 Gold/Dollar Premium Package
360 Days - $0.27 / Day of Premium ($7.99/30 Days)
180 Days - $0.30 / Day of Premium ($9.00/30 Days)
30 Days - $0.33 / Day of Premium ($9.90/30 Days)
7 Days - $0.72 / Day ($21.60/30 days)
3 Days - $0.86 / Day ($25.80/30 Days)
1 Day - $1.00 / Day ($30.00/30 Days)

12,000 Gold @ $49.95 Package - 240 Gold/Dollar Premium Package
360 Days - $0.28 / Day of Premium ($8.33/30 Days)
180 Days - $0.31 / Day of Premium ($9.38/30 Days)
30 Days - $0.35 / Day of Premium ($10.50/30 Days)
7 Days - $0.75 / Day ($22.50/30 Days)
3 Days - $0.90 / Day ($27.00/30 Days)
1 Day - $1.04 / Day ($31.20/30 Days)

6,500 Gold @ $29.95 Package - 217 Gold/Dollar Premium Package
360 Days - $0.31 / Day of Premium ($9.21/30 Days)
180 Days - $0.35 / Day of Premium ($10.37/30 Days)
30 Days - $0.38 / Day of Premium ($11.40/30 Days)
7 Days - $0.82 / Day ($24.60/30 Days)
3 Days - $0.99 / Day ($29.70/30 Days)
1 Day - $1.15 / Day ($34.50/30 Days)

3,000 Gold @ $14.95 Package - 200 Gold/Dollar Premium Package
360 Days - $0.33 / Day of Premium ($9.99/30 Days)
180 Days - $0.38 / Day of Premium ($11.25/30 Days)
30 Days - $0.42 / Day of Premium ($12.60/30 Days)
7 Days - $0.90 / Day ($27.00/30 Days)
3 Days - $1.08 / Day ($32.40/30 Days)
1 Day - $1.25 / Day ($37.50/30 Days)

1,250 Gold @ $6.95 Package - 179 Gold/Dollar Premium Package
360 Days - $0.37 / Day of Premium ($11.16/30 Days)
180 Days - $0.42 / Day of Premium ($12.57/30 Days)
30 Days - $0.46 / Day of Premium ($13.80/30 Days)
7 Days - $1.00 / Day ($30.00/30 Days)
3 Days - $1.21 / Day ($36.30/30 Days)
1 Day - $1.40 / Day ($42.00/30 Days)

[Tezkat]

I absolutely support the idea of subscription terms shorter than a month.

Using that tank game as a guide, MWO premium fees might look something like this:

1 month - $10
1 week - $5
1 day - $1

Once you get down to the weekly or daily subscription levels, however, it's somewhat difficult to see how paying by the hour would constitute a more attractive pricing option. If you're actually playing a few games every week, then you're essentially the prototypical monthly subscription holder. If your playing habits are more bursty, you probably don't want to be counting down the hours while chilling in the lobby waiting for a match. Finding a sweet spot in terms of hours per dollar would be very difficult.

Stray Ion, on 09 July 2012 - 05:36 AM, said:

Seriously $10 for a whole month? I'm not sure where you live but that is giving up 1 pack of cigarettes or a 6 pack of decent beer a month me. Or one could just eat ramen for one meal in a month.

IMO If your money is that tight, I seriously doubt you should be worrying about playing games and worry more on getting your life in order.

It's not "only" $10 for a whole month... but rather a potential $10-15 per month for each and every game that I play (perhaps more, if you add the one time costs of new game purchases and random micropayments to the mix). That can add up to some serious cash very quickly.

A game subscription is like a commitment from me. If I'm forking out money for a game, that's what I expect to be doing after dinner when I get home. And games are, by and large, really good value for the entertainment dollars. $10 gets me a month of entertainment blowing up mechs, compared to... say... only 6 hours of entertainment with a new novel, or a mere 2 hours out at the movies.

On the other hand, if I'm only logging in once or twice a month (or for that matter, going a whole month without playing at all), I start to question the value proposition of that monthly subscription. What is my $10 really getting me that I won't be getting elsewhere? Sure, I may still fork out the cash for a time while we're seeing other people, but once that breakup happens, it's pretty hard to get me back.

Shorter term subscriptions are an excellent way to ease me back into the saddle. Renewing a monthly contract might take some consideration, but I wouldn't think twice about dropping $1 for a one night stand. And maybe another dollar the next night. And another, until the monthly subscription starts to look attractive again...

[Stray Ion]

Tezkat, on 09 July 2012 - 06:41 AM, said:

I absolutely support the idea of subscription terms shorter than a month.

Using that tank game as a guide, MWO premium fees might look something like this:

1 month - $10
1 week - $5
1 day - $1

Once you get down to the weekly or daily subscription levels, however, it's somewhat difficult to see how paying by the hour would constitute a more attractive pricing option. If you're actually playing a few games every week, then you're essentially the prototypical monthly subscription holder. If your playing habits are more bursty, you probably don't want to be counting down the hours while chilling in the lobby waiting for a match. Finding a sweet spot in terms of hours per dollar would be very difficult.





It's not "only" $10 for a whole month... but rather a potential $10-15 per month for each and every game that I play (perhaps more, if you add the one time costs of new game purchases and random micropayments to the mix). That can add up to some serious cash very quickly.

A game subscription is like a commitment from me. If I'm forking out money for a game, that's what I expect to be doing after dinner when I get home. And games are, by and large, really good value for the entertainment dollars. $10 gets me a month of entertainment blowing up mechs, compared to... say... only 6 hours of entertainment with a new novel, or a mere 2 hours out at the movies.

On the other hand, if I'm only logging in once or twice a month (or for that matter, going a whole month without playing at all), I start to question the value proposition of that monthly subscription. What is my $10 really getting me that I won't be getting elsewhere? Sure, I may still fork out the cash for a time while we're seeing other people, but once that breakup happens, it's pretty hard to get me back.

Shorter term subscriptions are an excellent way to ease me back into the saddle. Renewing a monthly contract might take some consideration, but I wouldn't think twice about dropping $1 for a one night stand. And maybe another dollar the next night. And another, until the monthly subscription starts to look attractive again...

I understand the point your making, it is wastefull for those who only spend a few hours playing. $10-$15 a month is a great entertainment value compaired to what it can buy elsewhere. Someone in your position can just pick and choose what they want to pay for and may have too.

I am not sure what you use to pay for your transactions, but I know credit cards take a certian percentage right off the top. Paypal on the other hand might take a fee for every transaction (if it is set up that way, I'm not sure). I am not sure how many other people will remember this, but years ago (early 2000's) some guy had a website for donations as he wanted to become a millionaire, some people would only donate $.05-$.25 and the guy would end up losing money as every paypal transaction cost him $.35 (not sure but it was close to this and was a loss to him).

I am not sure on what percentage Piranha actually gets with thier transactions when you take into consideration on what the credit card takes and on top of that what the company who handles the transactions takes. Sure $1 a day $5 a week seems good, but if it is flat fees for every transaction Piranha will not get as much money to pay for operation costs and it just may not be worth it for them to offer it.

I know what you mean when paying for other games, I was never that type though. I spent money on Global Agenda for elite agent and then boosters while I played it. I bought Aion and paid one month of fees though I only played it for a week (before it went F2P). I played Star Trek Online after it went F2P and paid for a premium account until I lost interest in it (playing as an engineer and setting up a beamboat with borg tech kind of makes you invincible).

I will glady pay $10-$15 a month even if I I don't put many hours in a month. If they have some kind of reward program for consecutive months at premium (hint hint Piranha) I would still pay even if I knew I would not have time or the ability to play for months. If they didn't, I just wouldn't pay for those months and start paying again when I was able.

I posted this in a Pay 2 Win thread

Stray Ion, on 30 June 2012 - 08:17 PM, said:

I'm surprised no one (to the best of my knowledge) has mentioned an idea about how the devs should be selling add space on the mechs. That way no one has to pay anything to offset the cost of running the game.

I can hear it now "Everyone focus fire the StayFree® Atlas.","Watch out Durex® Jenner inbound.".

I don't know about you, but I would be happy spending some money to keep adspace off the mechs in order to pay for the operational costs.

[Tezkat]

Stray Ion, on 09 July 2012 - 07:30 AM, said:

I am not sure what you use to pay for your transactions, but I know credit cards take a certian percentage right off the top. Paypal on the other hand might take a fee for every transaction (if it is set up that way, I'm not sure). I am not sure how many other people will remember this, but years ago (early 2000's) some guy had a website for donations as he wanted to become a millionaire, some people would only donate $.05-$.25 and the guy would end up losing money as every paypal transaction cost him $.35 (not sure but it was close to this and was a loss to him).

I am not sure on what percentage Piranha actually gets with thier transactions when you take into consideration on what the credit card takes and on top of that what the company who handles the transactions takes. Sure $1 a day $5 a week seems good, but if it is flat fees for every transaction Piranha will not get as much money to pay for operation costs and it just may not be worth it for them to offer it.

Well...

The introduction of shorter premium terms would almost certainly mean subscriptions paid for in MC rather than real dollars. That's how most F2P at launch games have been handling it, though many of the MMOs that have transitioned to F2P out of an older subscription model continue to maintain separate accounts for monthly fees and microtransactions. There are benefits and drawbacks to both systems. The former gives players more flexibility and, ultimately, more ways to spend money on the game, but it's usually more work for them to keep renewing subscriptions compared to monthly autobilling.

Since they're effectively managing their own bank and currency, the per transaction cost of ingame purchases should be virtually nil. The scrip itself will probably be purchasable in fixed size blocks, largely to avoid the processor fees you're talking about.

Which could make smaller denomination subscription times even more valuable...

For instance, say a non-premium guy sees a mech he really likes that costs $8. He has to buy MC in $10 blocks, so he has $2 left over. What does he spend that on? Maybe try out that premium thing for a day and see how it goes. Oh wow. He's getting soooo much more cash leftover after repairs than he usually does. Maybe he should do this more often...

Giving players lots of inexpensive things to blow money on is almost always a Good Thing for F2P games.


(In a related aside, the ability to purchase subscriptions with ingame cash would make the Founders Packs significantly more valuable. Giving players ways to frontload payments is also a Good Thing for the company.)

[EvangelionUnit]

JC Daxion, on 09 July 2012 - 04:29 AM, said:

I see this premium account thing, and so far what i'm gathering it is double cash, and xp? (not really sure what XP you need in the game, i didn't think there was leveling..)


The casual player, might only play a few hours once a week, but i'd bet would be interested in getting some bonus. So can you buy premium account access by the hour?

I could see people wanting to buy like 20 hours or even 5 hours clips.. vrs buying a months worth of play. I guess, not knowing how the cash store works is part of it. Maybe spending a few bucks is like buying a premium account? But perhaps not.

I have just seen other games sell timer buffs and stuff like that, and premium account is sorta like a buff right? So i was wondering if this or something like it would be part of the shop.

why not sell premium as something that counts only if you are ONLINE ?!
if you buy premium for a month, you waste over 50% of the time if you work every day about 8 to 10 hours ...
so why dont buy a month ONLINE time premium ? everyone would be more happy ...

[Vilekon]

EvangelionUnit, on 09 July 2012 - 08:15 AM, said:

why not sell premium as something that counts only if you are ONLINE ?!
if you buy premium for a month, you waste over 50% of the time if you work every day about 8 to 10 hours ...
so why dont buy a month ONLINE time premium ? everyone would be more happy ...

It would be more happy for the players yes, but as a business you don't get people to renew. Thus the devs aren't making money.

[EvangelionUnit]

Vilekon, on 09 July 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

It would be more happy for the players yes, but as a business you don't get people to renew. Thus the devs aren't making money.

if you run out of your time ? lets say you buy for 24 hours online and play 2 hours a day ... than you have to buy a new one after 12 days ...
i dont say they should sell you a month worth of online time ... but i think a "only-your-online-time" system would be MORE fair than a "buy for a month and play like 48 hours"

oh and just because they dont do this in other games, dont mean that noone should start with something like that ?!

[Engineering]

Personally I thnk a per game premium would be more interesting than hourly but nothing prevents them from offering all 3 types each will appeal to a different audience.

Lets say monthly is 15$. Average premium player plays say 20 hours a week so 80 hours a month.
You can make the hourly package 50 hours for 15$. it's a good deal for the person who plays less than 50 hours a month and still gets PGI his money.
Or if you calculate an average 20 minutes per match with time waiting for the match you can make a 125 match package for 15$ again interesting for the guy who doesn't want to lose out on money making time cause he's chatting it up in main rather than playing back to back games. Again PGI gets his money and he gets all his bonuses.

In fact the more options you offer the more personalized it gets so the more people you can reach. you can also make 3 month, 6 month, 1 week, 1 day, 10 hours, 100 hours, 25 match, 5 match, and 600 match, etc packages so you reach the absolute maximum number of people.