Lifetime Subscription: Who will buy?

If NCNC offered a Lifetime Subscription one time purchase option, who would buy?

For those that don't know, it would be a one time fee of $250 - $300. Paid upfront, you are absolved from ever paying a monthly fee again, leaving NC's newfound love of cash stores as the only way for you to give them more dough.

They get more up front. You save more in the long run.

I would buy it, and I'm hoping to get enough momentum going that they add it.

So... you in?

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Sure.

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It would depend on the amount... both for if I'd consider it, and if they would.

I probably would. *shrug*

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I've spent at least seven hundred dollars on the game already. $250 would be a bit less than a year and a half...I'd definitely put that down. $300 would be 20 months...I'd probably put that down. Don't know if I'd be willing to front more than that - not that I think City won't be here...that's more along the lines of me saying "Damn, that's a lot of money to plunk down at once, on a game."

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I'd consider it, but the only instance I saw of it being offered in an MMO was, specifically, for those people that were upgrading from Beta to Live, or for people buying in the first month (Founders, essentially).

I mean, I can't fault the logic there - as a long term plan, it's kind of silly (development costs would need to be covered somewhere, and after a point there's not a lot for it left depending on the number of people that switch up), and wouldn't exactly be upset if it was exclusive.

I'd definately give it serious consideration if they offered it up and I was eligible, though.

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Hm. That's an interesting question.

I don't expect CoX to last much more than three more years. Either the monthly-fee MMO market will bottom out (very unlikely), NCSoft will shut it down due to insufficient profitability (unlikely, but possible), or a sequel will be developed and announced (likely). Launching a sequel would allow them to not only improve the game's engine (which can and is being done gradually already, it seems), but overhaul its playable mechanics and generate new interest in the franchise.

CoX predates WoW, and I don't even expect WoW to last for more than three more years without a proper sequel... or if not a sequel to WoW directly, at least a new property for Blizzard. NCSoft launches new properties all the time, of course, but most of them fail (anyone remember Auto Assault?) and many of them are in competition with one another for virtually identical markets.

At the best plan, two years is just slightly under $300. That makes it, theoretically, economical to pay that much for more than two years' of time. But while I think it could last as long as three years, I couldn't say how close to that mark it would hit...

I'd probably be willing to put down $200-$250, with some sort of 'rollover guarantee.' Not for a lifetime subscription, necessarily, but, say... the lifetime of CoX, plus a year's subscription for any single other NCSoft game if 'lifetime of CoX' proves to be less than two years from the date of subscription purchase. (Which would include any NCSoft-published sequel.)

It might be fair or economical to charge more than that, but I would be a lot more reluctant to buy. As it is, I've never had my account active for more than half a year... and that's a pretty hefty chunk of change for a broke-[censored] college student.

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[ QUOTE ]
I'd consider it, but the only instance I saw of it being offered in an MMO was, specifically, for those people that were upgrading from Beta to Live, or for people buying in the first month (Founders, essentially).

[/ QUOTE ]Exactly. Lifetime subscriptions are generally offered at the start of an MMO's life, to help cover those initial costs that sunk the company into the hole, which they need to make up before they can turn a profit. Not for a game that's already been going for 5 years (and is one of the best moneymakers the producer has)

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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt

I'd pay up to $300 up front. That wouldn't be the worst idea for NCSoft either. As they move into a blended mini-transaction ($10 is not micro!) and sub model, this might be possible. So long as too many people didn't sign up, which would push them into charging for more things after awhile.

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I'd pay for a lifetime subscription

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I'd only pay for a lifetime subscription if the could guarantee the servers would be up and running for the next 5 years.

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For about $250.00 per account for a Lifetime Subscription, I would Lifetime all of my accounts.

Now, this only covers my monthly fee. I would still pay $9.99 here and there for stuff like Boosters.

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I would. First good month I have in sales, I would snarf that right up.

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At this point, purchasing a lifetime subscription would make good financial sense for me.

Of course, I've been buying cigarettes by the pack for years (hey, maybe I'll quit tomorrow!!!) so I don't know if I'd actually do it.

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I don't expect CoX to last much more than three more years. Either the monthly-fee MMO market will bottom out (very unlikely), NCSoft will shut it down due to insufficient profitability (unlikely, but possible), or a sequel will be developed and announced (likely). Launching a sequel would allow them to not only improve the game's engine (which can and is being done gradually already, it seems), but overhaul its playable mechanics and generate new interest in the franchise.

CoX predates WoW, and I don't even expect WoW to last for more than three more years without a proper sequel... or if not a sequel to WoW directly, at least a new property for Blizzard.

[/ QUOTE ]

You young whippersnappers don't have enough perspective. Some MMOs hang around for a very long time. Kingdom of Drakkar, a 2-D graphical MUD, is still going after 20 years. Ultima Online is still around. Everquest is 10 years old, and that's a very dated game now, likewise Diablo II. If a game like EQ is still hanging in there, I'm not expecting any plugs to be pulled on CoH for 5-10 more years, longer if they update the graphics periodically.

Remember, MMOs are not yet, imho, fully mainstream. There's quite a lot of potential yet for attracting new players. The industry certainly knows this.

As far as WoW is concerned, it will last a generation more, at least. You'll be old by the time it's a fond(?) memory. Yes, lots of newer stuff will be out over that span of time, but as I say, MMOs are a long way from mainstream.

The only wild card is computer technology itself. In ten years we could be inserting a cable right into our heads for all I know, and keyboard-interface games will get left behind by truly revolutionary game technology.

And finally, I don't think sequels are a good idea. People get attached to their characters and don't want to start all over again in CoH II. Just build onto this game, and if necessary replace the graphics engine. There's already infinite potential in a game like CoH.

Oh, and I believe the word is that Blizzard is working on a new, secret MMO.

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I have 3 accts and they are all at least 54 months old. One I am letting drop by the wayside since quite frankly i14 isn't doing much for me. But that is a different debate. I figure between my 3 accts and my wife's 3 accts she uses between our 6 accts, we have given NC Soft well over $3000.00 in subscription fees. They want to make it lifetime. Sure I'll buy.... I doubt they'll do it... But it will make for a good transition for when Aion comes out in the Fall asI don't want to pay the monthly subscription for another MMO. This would alleviate that. Aion, may pull me away from this game. We'll see. But a lifetime subscription would keep my wife and I here. Next Month we'll be down to 4 accts from 6. So down goes $30 bucks NC Soft wont be seeing for the unforeseeable future. Good Luck with this Marcian.

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Yep I would buy a lifetime subscription for 200$ give or take.

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"Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself." ~Midnight Flux's former boss.

There are usually two sides to every argument but no end.

Everything placed above this line is always IMHO, YMMV and quite certainly not to be taken too seriously....

My history with SWG in 2005 was more than enough to guarantee that I'd never buy a lifetime membership to any MMO. It's easy to say that after x amount of time, you'd save the money; but not so easy to predict if something will change in that interim.

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[ QUOTE ]
You young whippersnappers don't have enough perspective. Some MMOs hang around for a very long time. Kingdom of Drakkar, a 2-D graphical MUD, is still going after 20 years. Ultima Online is still around. Everquest is 10 years old, and that's a very dated game now, likewise Diablo II. If a game like EQ is still hanging in there, I'm not expecting any plugs to be pulled on CoH for 5-10 more years, longer if they update the graphics periodically.

[/ QUOTE ]

Young? At any rate, I think my perspective's pretty good, financially speaking. Drakkar offers a free-to-play version, and EverQuest, if I recall correctly, is part of a dual-subscription deal with EQ2. I haven't been able to access Ultima's billing model in the few minutes I have to type this up, so I'm not quite sure how they're handling it. Shadowbane and Anarchy Online, two more long-running games, have both transitioned to free or partially free to play models. D2 never charged subscription fees.

Maybe the games haven't been shut down, but that doesn't mean you're still getting value out of any sort of lifetime subscription.

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And finally, I don't think sequels are a good idea. People get attached to their characters and don't want to start all over again in CoH II. Just build onto this game, and if necessary replace the graphics engine. There's already infinite potential in a game like CoH.

Oh, and I believe the word is that Blizzard is working on a new, secret MMO.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not so much secret that they're working on it, but it's not clear what it's going to be.

The engine can be upgraded -- although the more extensive the upgrade, the more difficult and painstaking it is to do in a live environment. Changing the mechanics substantially cannot be done without launching a sequel. And no matter how well the new Architect box launches, it will never generate the kind of buzz "See screenshots for CoH 2! <site name> exclusive!" would.

Good idea? Bad idea? I dunno. Profitable idea? As long as they can back it up with lots of shiny, absolutely.

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[ QUOTE ]
I don't expect CoX to last much more than three more years. Either the monthly-fee MMO market will bottom out (very unlikely), NCSoft will shut it down due to insufficient profitability (unlikely, but possible), or a sequel will be developed and announced (likely). Launching a sequel would allow them to not only improve the game's engine (which can and is being done gradually already, it seems), but overhaul its playable mechanics and generate new interest in the franchise.

CoX predates WoW, and I don't even expect WoW to last for more than three more years without a proper sequel... or if not a sequel to WoW directly, at least a new property for Blizzard.

[/ QUOTE ]

You young whippersnappers don't have enough perspective. Some MMOs hang around for a very long time. Kingdom of Drakkar, a 2-D graphical MUD, is still going after 20 years. Ultima Online is still around. Everquest is 10 years old, and that's a very dated game now, likewise Diablo II. If a game like EQ is still hanging in there, I'm not expecting any plugs to be pulled on CoH for 5-10 more years, longer if they update the graphics periodically.

[/ QUOTE ]There isn't an MMO in existence that has closed its doors due to age. We really don't know what the maximum lifespan for an MMO is, yet.

So it's an even worse idea for NCSoft to start a lifetime subscription program. They've already paid off the startup costs; there's no reason for them to do it.

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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt

5 years ago? Sure. Now? I don't think so. I'd be surprised (happily mind you) if this game was still around in 5 years, and I still wanted to play it.

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I'd be surprised (happily mind you) if this game was still around in 5 years,

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Like Goldbrick and Whisper, I don't think they'll actually shut down the servers for quite a while -- although NCSoft is more, ehm, profit-minded than many of its competitors, the kill switch is probably more costly than letting it run on its own inertia.

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and I still wanted to play it.

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But there's the kicker. We're actually still watching the more successful second-generation MMOs -- EVE, CoX, WoW, and arguably a few others (Lineage 2, which is equal to or larger than CoX in terms of raw subscriptions... possibly others that are big in Asia that I don't know much about) -- to see how things go down. But if the first generation is any guide, the development team will move on to sequels or newer projects and the community will slowly follow. If they're still releasing Issues three to five years from now that are more than just basically new missions, costumes, and badges, I'll be suitably impressed. If there's a community half the size and involvement of the current one, I'll be pretty much flabbergasted.

(This is assuming, of course, that the economy doesn't implode and eat new Internet development, or something else equally nigh-apocalyptic. All predictions invalid in case of armageddon.)

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I would.

Sincerely doubt it would happen, as stated before these are typically offers to get quick cash to cover start up costs. But if they offered it I'd do it.

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I've seen too many games do this and end up dying. Most recently with Tabula Rasa, and more notably with Hellgate London.

The sad reality is there is no guarantee with MMO's; one minute they could be going strong and the next minute you wake up and the servers are offline permanently with no word as to when/if you will be getting any credit or refund to what you've paid.

I will never do a life membership to any mmo.

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[ QUOTE ]
It would depend on the amount... both for if I'd consider it, and if they would.

I probably would. *shrug*

[/ QUOTE ]

Same.

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total kick to the gut

This is like having Ra's Al Ghul show up at your birthday party.

I'd jump on a lifetime subscription - but it'd be even better if they did something along the lines of what T-Mobile introduced recently: a loyalty plan.

T-Mobile is offering customers who have accounts in good standing for at least 22 months the ability to have unlimited voice for $50/mo (instead of $100). For 24 month vets of CoH, ($360 spent over those two years) you could have the ability to buy another two years or so for half that - $180 or something.

Another idea would be to offer 'loyalty' time, so instead of your $15 buying 30 days of time, you get 45 once you've reached a certain veteran time.

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