Will CoX ever become free?
By
Captain_Solaris,
Posted on: 2008-09-17 17:24 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
WoW charge for expansions and charge a monthly fee.
indeed they do, but they generate revenue and use it for advertising, what does NCNC do? have you seen MR T advertising his Tanker? Neither have I. My point was that we COULD swap from monthly subscriptions to paying for issues, without losing money, then we should attract new ppl
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My point was that we COULD swap from monthly subscriptions to paying for issues, without losing money, then we should attract new ppl
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I strongly doubt we could myself, I'll change my tune if you can produce a logical argument as to why you make this assertion (bearing in mind CoX doesn't have the PvP strengths that Guild Wars was developed and marketed with)
It'd also be an unnecessary risk for a company to take, risk their current guarenteed monthly revenue and risk it on a pack selling well to recoup their losses.
the lack of advertising has allways been a sore point on the boards and its another example of somthing WoW has done well and somthing that NC have failed in. But i dont think lack of advertising and not plowing money from subs into a advertising campain should be a reason to make a game free2play or even a reason to change it from a monthly sub to a paid expansion model.
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i know at least 20 ppl who would play CoX if it was free
[/ QUOTE ]And how many of them would pay for expansions or microtransactions? Because those are the only people that really count.
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20,000-5million is entirely feasible and, as already stated, there are no super hero MMOs that are free. i know at least 20 ppl who would play CoX if it was free, and thats just me, do the math. 20,000 ppl all know at least 20 ppl who would play. thats 400,000 ppl. Not to mention new people who would hear about it and sign up. I know that doesnt ad dup to 5M but its a start, these things take time and IMO its better than whatever advertising NCNC are doing right now
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Call me anal retentive if you want (actually, you may have done so already - it's not clear) but it looks like you're saying "do the math", then doing the math and coming out with an answer that's still more than a factor of 10 lower than the answer you're saying is feasible.
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How about we stop disecting someones post based on your own levels of anal retentiveness.
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You have failed at internet! lol!
Also you may find it difficult to base an argument on anecdotal statistics. 20,000 x 20 = 400,000 proves you can do multiplication, but not that you can accurately predict trends, or present a risk assessment based on an extreme alteration of subscription economics on 3rd highest earning game for a company that has just axed a wedge of staff.
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indeed they do, but they generate revenue and use it for advertising, what does NCNC do? have you seen MR T advertising his Tanker? Neither have I. My point was that we COULD swap from monthly subscriptions to paying for issues, without losing money, then we should attract new ppl
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Give Nor Cal four hundred million to invest in CoX, then we can compare them to Blizzard.
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20,000-5million is entirely feasible and, as already stated, there are no super hero MMOs that are free. i know at least 20 ppl who would play CoX if it was free, and thats just me, do the math. 20,000 ppl all know at least 20 ppl who would play. thats 400,000 ppl.
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Wow - I'd really have thought that those 20,000 people may have had some duplicates between their sets of 20 friends. Obviously there's not and we can expect some sort of geometric progression to be seen in the server population iff (that's if and only if) subs are dropped.
Of course that could help kill the game if the 26.3 billion freeloaders playing CoX couldn't be turned into some form of revenue stream...
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we pay £8 a month for the whole shebang, so if updates, released every 4months, would still generate the same revenue IMO
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Which, I think, is pretty much what Guild Wars does...
Never seen figures for it but I know some people who wouldn't/couldn't subscribe to any game for monthly fees but would happily shell out full-price RRP for a game once or twice a month. People don't always like promising to repeat payments, even if they claim to be easily cancelled.
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Some people have made some very good points in this thread, only to be disected because of there grammer, or because the point they make isnt worded properly.
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Ridiculous. Of course it would have been a fine point if only you'd said something like the following:
Some people have made some very good points in this thread, only to be dissected because of their grammar; or because the point they make isn't worded properly.
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My point was that we COULD swap from monthly subscriptions to paying for issues, without losing money, then we should attract new ppl
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I cant actually see that to be honest, if the revenues were to remain the same, what would be the difference?
If your paying £96 quid a year at monthly intervals or paying it in 3 instalments its still £96, hows that gonna attract more people?
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@Sorudo: Not only do you not understand anything I write, but you make figures up off the top of your head. Now, I know I'm writing English, so I can only assume you don't understand it.
But you are very funny. Please keep up the glorious joke posts.
From The Guild Wars Wiki - Player vs Player page:
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Guild Wars itself in its origin has been very much focused on the ability to play against other players. (Hence also the "War between Guilds".) To this end, Arena.Net chose a relatively easy to reach level cap of 20.
There is no particular advantage to either PvP or PvE characters in PvP play, except that it may be harder for PvE characters to obtain perfect equipment, and Arena Net also has elected to "sell" a full set of skills for PVP purposes which allows a player to quickly "reroll" their PVP character with different professions, upgrades, and skills.
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cool joke, never knew they even lie in a wiki page.
btw, i know what you write, you don't understand what will happen.
more ppl = more profit
more profit = more adds
more adds = more ppl
you can compare GW with COX, all you do is compare a wall with a tree.
GW has a totally different mechanism, GW is maybe a fantasy game aimed for PVP, but it has nothing to do with what is.
COX is aimed for ppl who like super hero games, but with this rate, i can't believe how low this fee makes ppl think about COX.
current COX player: i can pay the monthly fee, and like the game.
current non-COX player: i like to play COX, but the monthly fee is to high to afford each month,(with is a lot more then the current players, believe me)
free COX: we can play COX, finally a game worth to play without the worry for a monthly fee.(again, more ppl=more profit)
each chapter of 30-40 euro, against the 12 euro per month, makes the fee extremely useless.
it's the "top of my head" comparison of 20x more ppl playing the game.
9000000 = monthly fee per 5 months (12 euro per month)
800000000 = free with 20.000.000 ppl (40 euro per expansion every 6 moths)
88000000 = free with 2.000.000 ppl (40 euro every 6 months per expansion)
all did that with a calculator, in case you're conna talk smart again.(in case you try at least)
still not much? 
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cool joke, never knew they even lie in a wiki page.
btw, i know what you write, you don't understand what will happen.
more ppl = more profit
more profit = more adds
more adds = more ppl
you can compare GW with COX, all you do is compare a wall with a tree.
GW has a totally different mechanism, GW is maybe a fantasy game aimed for PVP, but it has nothing to do with what is.
COX is aimed for ppl who like super hero games, but with this rate, i can't believe how low this fee makes ppl think about COX.
current COX player: i can pay the monthly fee, and like the game.
current non-COX player: i like to play COX, but the monthly fee is to high to afford each month,(with is a lot more then the current players, believe me)
free COX: we can play COX, finally a game worth to play without the worry for a monthly fee.(again, more ppl=more profit)
each chapter of 30-40 euro, against the 12 euro per month, makes the fee extremely useless.
it's the "top of my head" comparison of 20x more ppl playing the game.
9000000 = monthly fee per 5 months (22 euro per month)
800000000 = free with 20.000.000 ppl (40 euro per expansion)
still not much?
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Trouble is that might not go quite as you planned, then....
No monthly fees = No Game
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each chapter of 30-40 euro, against the 12 euro per month, makes the fee extremely useless.
it's the "top of my head" comparison of 20x more ppl playing the game.
9000000 = monthly fee per 5 months (12 euro per month)
800000000 = free with 20.000.000 ppl (40 euro per expansion every 6 moths)
88000000 = free with 2.000.000 ppl (40 euro every 6 months per expansion)
all did that with a calculator, in case you're conna talk smart again.(in case you try at least)
still not much?
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Hahahahahahahahahahaha
The Ghordian Knot comes out again. Think NCNC *really* missed out on that delightfully thought through and accurate prediction. How foolish they are
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9000000 = monthly fee per 5 months (12 euro per month)
800000000 = free with 20.000.000 ppl (40 euro per expansion every 6 moths)
88000000 = free with 2.000.000 ppl (40 euro every 6 months per expansion)
all did that with a calculator, in case you're conna talk smart again.(in case you try at least)
still not much?
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Your calculator is broken.
Still no evidence at all that making it free to play with added enhancement packs would equal your figures (or at least something close to your figures)
For one, the assumption that every single player would pay for these packs is well off.
Free to play would be the death knell for ANY MMO which used to be paid for. Even WOW. Sure, you'd have a period of time when people came in going "Woo! Shiny! It's free!", but that wouldn't last long.
And then the game would only be played by a minority.
I don't have any proof of my gut feeling either, but it's just as valid as yours.
"Idealism is such a wonderful thing. All you really need is someone rational to put it to proper use." - Kerr Avon
Myopic Aardvark on Twitter
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WoW charge for expansions and charge a monthly fee.
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Should make NCsoft start scratching their heads what they did wrong eh?
gameplay wise, CoH is far far behind WoW.
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
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gameplay wise, CoH is far far behind WoW.
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I beg to differ having tryed WoW more than once i find my self coming back to CoH because amongst other things i prefer CoHs game play
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WoW charge for expansions and charge a monthly fee.
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Should make NCsoft start scratching their heads what they did wrong eh?
gameplay wise, CoH is far far behind WoW.
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Only because it's already passed WoW twice 
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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gameplay wise, CoH is far far behind WoW.
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I beg to differ having tryed WoW more than once i find my self coming back to CoH because amongst other things i prefer CoHs game play
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You can proclame anything you want, how kiddies rule wow etc.. the fact is WoW is ahead over 9.5million players. At the end of the line, its numbers, nothing more... nothing less. Somewhere at those numbers, NC failed at CoH on it.
You might not like WoW on its graphics, its community or whatever, yet blizzard gave what people want, the numbers state it so. You can remain being unique, or keep your own style, AoC is the living example of the results of doing so. Ironic, that the only game that can actualy compete with wow is a simple 2D game, runs on the most oldest computers.
CoH is a awsome game, but never meant for the masses.
And whatever you try to justify this, it wont change the gap of 9.5million players. How good or bad a game would be.
Reality, sometimes you would prefer a brick.
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
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gameplay wise, CoH is far far behind WoW.
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I beg to differ having tryed WoW more than once i find my self coming back to CoH because amongst other things i prefer CoHs game play
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You can proclame anything you want, how kiddies rule wow etc.. the fact is WoW is ahead over 9.5million players. At the end of the line, its numbers, nothing more... nothing less. Somewhere at those numbers, NC failed at CoH on it.
You might not like WoW on its graphics, its community or whatever, yet blizzard gave what people want, the numbers state it so. You can remain being unique, or keep your own style, AoC is the living example of the results of doing so. Ironic, that the only game that can actually compete with wow is a simple 2D game, runs on the most oldest computers.
CoH is a awsome game, but never meant for the masses.
And whatever you try to justify this, it wont change the gap of 9.5million players. How good or bad a game would be.
Reality, sometimes you would prefer a brick.
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Um yes that's all well and good it mite have 9.5 million subs but i still don't like it.
More to the point WoW the game did not make it big it was WoW the marketing machine that turned WoW into the mega hit that it is. Blizzard took a already established world with a huge well established player base transferred it from turn based strategy into a MMO they had a player base already in place (or as good as) then the marketing machine started plus blizzard were smart they have one MMO and they pore everything into it.
NCSoft however didn't have a well established name they were pretty much starting with zero they also for there own reason choose to release multiple MMOs in rapid succession which probably didn't help there position
What I'm saying is that just because WoW has the sales figure its not necessarily the best game
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You can proclame anything you want, how kiddies rule wow etc.. the fact is WoW is ahead over 9.5million players.
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And there's the fact that WoW's succcess is a freakish mutation in the MMO industry by anyone's standards - no other game developer can match it, and nor should they squander resources on doing so. 130k subscribers is a considerable sum for non-WoW MMOs, and obviously profitable enough to warrant the IP being bought out, the developer team doubled in size and a new office building purchased.
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gameplay wise, CoH is far far behind WoW.
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I beg to differ having tryed WoW more than once i find my self coming back to CoH because amongst other things i prefer CoHs game play
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You can proclame anything you want, how kiddies rule wow etc.. the fact is WoW is ahead over 9.5million players. At the end of the line, its numbers, nothing more... nothing less. Somewhere at those numbers, NC failed at CoH on it.
[/ QUOTE ]Yes, that's a fact. WoW having better gameplay than CoH isn't, it's simply an opinion.
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gameplay wise, CoH is far far behind WoW.
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I beg to differ having tryed WoW more than once i find my self coming back to CoH because amongst other things i prefer CoHs game play
[/ QUOTE ]
You can proclame anything you want, how kiddies rule wow etc.. the fact is WoW is ahead over 9.5million players. At the end of the line, its numbers, nothing more... nothing less. Somewhere at those numbers, NC failed at CoH on it.
You might not like WoW on its graphics, its community or whatever, yet blizzard gave what people want, the numbers state it so. You can remain being unique, or keep your own style, AoC is the living example of the results of doing so. Ironic, that the only game that can actualy compete with wow is a simple 2D game, runs on the most oldest computers.
CoH is a awsome game, but never meant for the masses.
And whatever you try to justify this, it wont change the gap of 9.5million players. How good or bad a game would be.
Reality, sometimes you would prefer a brick.
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Yeah, erm, the higher number of subscribers doesn't mean that WoW has better game play. It just means they have more subscribers.
A lot of people who play it won't even have heard of CoH, a lot won't even know the backstory behind WoW, they'll just know it as the popular MMO that their friends play, which is the number one reason I see and hear for people playing it might I add, not the gameplay.
Millions of people like Boyzone, that doesn't mean they're good.
[url=http://vox-doom.deviantart.com]Take A Gander At This.[/url]
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You can proclame anything you want, how kiddies rule wow etc.. the fact is WoW is ahead over 9.5million players. At the end of the line, its numbers, nothing more... nothing less. Somewhere at those numbers, NC failed at CoH on it.
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Blizzard had the advantage of being a well known software company, as well as the monetary muscle to push WoW sales worldwide. I think it's more down to brute force sales tactics rather than winning players over with gameplay that it continues to retain it's crown. It's also seen now as "The" MMO to play, meaning a lot of people are playing it just to be aboard the bandwagon.
I've played it. It's awful (well, in my humble opinion). And it's not just the graphics, the heavy PvP aspect or the annoyingly testosterone-charged teens. How it still manages to keep those 9 million players is a question I doubt anyone could answer.
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the heavy PvP aspect
[/ QUOTE ]Wait, what?
How about we stop disecting someones post based on your own levels of anal retentiveness.
20,000-5million is entirely feasible and, as already stated, there are no super hero MMOs that are free. i know at least 20 ppl who would play CoX if it was free, and thats just me, do the math. 20,000 ppl all know at least 20 ppl who would play. thats 400,000 ppl. Not to mention new people who would hear about it and sign up. I know that doesnt ad dup to 5M but its a start, these things take time and IMO its better than whatever advertising NCNC are doing right now
Secondly, we pay on average, £8 a month for this game.lets say one new issue every 4 months? thats £24. Why not charge for the new issues like WoW does but get rid of subscriptions? Some people will say "what about server maintenence and bandwith charges etc..." i say, what about them? we pay £8 a month for the whole shebang, so if updates, released every 4months, would still generate the same revenue IMO
Some people have made some very good points in this thread, only to be disected because of there grammer, or because the point they make isnt worded properly. There is NO reason why CoX shouldn't just charge for new issues and abbolish subscriptions.
Rant over