Lifetime Sub?

This is my understanding of the ratio of lifetime subs to monthly subs as well. How do we go about getting an answer on lifetime subscriptions being a part of our new freedom to choose?

The funny part is, for me at least, with the way my hours keep getting cut, my cash flow does tend to be in spurts. One batch of tax credits from the federal government (as a college student over 25, I have access to a few refundable tax credits, and practically zero tax liability), and one batch from the state. In fact, many people are in that situation, due to reduced work giving a bigger tax refund.

Originally Posted by Back Alley Brawler Did you just use "casual gamer" and "purpled-out warshade" in the same sentence?

And that very lack of funds is exactly why many of us that are having trouble making ends meet will jump at the chance to grab a lifetime sub if it is offered.

If money wasn't tight we'd never even consider spending $200-$300 bucks on a video game. But money is tight, and we have trouble [paying our bills each month. We can't afford to go out and spend a lot of money on various entertainments, but if we can come up with the cash for a one time purchase of a lifetime sub that's $15 bucks we can put to better use each month and we never again have to worry about keeping our accounts active.

And if the game goes F2P we hit the jackpot because there is a very good chance that the game will be giving it's paying customers and lifetiome subbers free points in the games online store. A certain other super hero MMO has already paid me $37.50 in store credit since it's gone F2P and that's a year after my account would have expired if I had spent the money for the lifetime sub on a monthly subscription. So I've saved $179.88 in sub fees on top of the $37.50 store credit.


Most if not all lifetime subs cost the same as a years subscription in advance. Now if you don't have enough faith that a game you like to play will be running a year later that's you business. I'm sorry to hear you feel that way.

You can also get an impression by looking at the amount of consumables they might put in the cash shop. If the devs decide to eventually support the game primarily from mtx that's what they'll need along with the one-time purchases where issues become issue bundles. Also see if there will be a steady stream of per alt item purchases instead of per account.

Guild Wars' quarterly revenue is somewhat close to CoX's albeit more prone to fluctuation but still gets close relatively consistently every quarter and most of that is from microtransactions. It's interesting to see a primarily mtx game and a sub game from the same company having comparable revenue.

I do agree that Freedom is designed to make money but not in place of subscription revenue (at least from the start), but as a supplemental revenue from the cash shop from premium players and/or VIPs.

I'm not quite sure if attracting more subscribers is a primary focus. I'm sure they won't mind getting them, but gameplay-wise, CoX hasn't changed that radically and if people were inclined to pay the subscription fee they could've done so at any time.

I think it's more designed to supplement the revenue and to do that, they have to have enough compelling reasons to dissuade the current subscribers from going premium which it looks like they're doing.

At least in the beginning anyway. Will have to see how this evolves over time after launch.

Oh, snap!

Originally Posted by Hyperstrike English does not borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, hits them over the head, and rifles through their pockets for loose grammar.

I take it this is off the top of your head and you haven't looked at how *other games* do it?

Generally, LTS cost around 14 months sub and come with a monthly stipend of points, as though you were on a monthly sub.

If they did them here, that's how I'd expect them to work, not that I expect them to offer them.

I'd snap up a $ 150 lifetime. I'd probably snap up a $ 200. And I'd seriously consider a $ 250, particularly if it got "bonus monthly points". I think you're aiming low, personally, and I agree (again) with Arcanaville - "If I'm immediately willing to buy it, that means it's priced too low".

This, I agree with. Bulk discounts. Mostly because I'm gonna need, like, a billion of the things.

You don't have to preach to me. I'm not here trying to push hard facts on financial bargaining. I was simply putting forth the top reason I have seen at other games' forums for people not being able to "afford" a LTS.




I have 6 out of 7 years here in CoH. I have 3 years in SWG (I gave them almost 7 months post-NGE to make me want to stay), and did about 3 years total in WoW (I came and went from that game a lot).

So, back in the day, yeah . . . I stuck with a game.

Let's look at few releases in the past couple of years:

6 months in LoTRO
2 months in WAR
2 months in DCUO

They all looked good on the surface, but none of them compelled me to play for the long haul.

Currently, I have about 3 months in Champions Online, but have a "shrug" relationship with that game on certain levels, as well.

So, no, I won't purchase a Lifetime Subscription. Let's look at a few of them.

DCUO is $134.99 for 1 year, or roughly $11.25/mo. A lifetime is $199.99, which means that assuming the 1 year discounted price per month, I would have to play the game for about 17 months to break even. That is a length of time I could not imagine for playing in DCUO.

Champions Online only offers up to 6 months for $77.94, or 12.99/mo before the lifetime offer. A LTS is $299.99, or I would have to feel that the game offers me roughly 24 months of enjoyment. Not something I could say that CO could do, at the moment.

LoTRO I believe stopped offering it, but are currently discounting a 12-month membership down to $99.99 for a limited time.

No, none of that math is spot-on, but it makes the point I want to make about my relationship with the games that offer LTS.

Like I said, I have 6 years total in CoH. I like the game (obviously), but can I say I have even a year left in me for it? I don't know. I honestly don't. So, although Paragon has no plans to offer one anyway, even if they did-- I'd be unlikely to take advantage of it.

Given the general state of MMO releases in the past 6 years, I just can't imagine me buying a LTS and it being worth it in the end. And of the older games . . . well, I played them (usually a lot back then), and all things come to an eventual end.

And I was just pointing out that a lot of people on tight budgets don't look at it that way.




A lot of people don't take 2, 3, or even 6 months to decide if they will stick with a game.



Most of the people that pay month to month don't compare the savings they could get on a 6 month or yearly sub to an LTS when they look at it. That's usually done by people justifying why they don't want to buy a lifetime sub.

The monthlies compare what they are actually spending each month on the game in question. So when a month to monther does the math it goes more like this.

$15. * 12 = *180 (rounding up a penny is easier)

So a lifetime sub that costs $199. is roughly equal to 13 months $299 is roughly 20 months or just over a year and a half.

Why do they do that? Because some of them don't think the discount is worth paying 6 months to 1 year ahead. Others feel they might take a break from the game and feel paying monthly will be cheaper. Some have other reasons.

Yet the enticement of never having to pay to play the game ever again for as long as it's active . . . That's something that's worth the headache of scrounging up $200-$300 bucks. Oh and any perks that go along with buying an LTS (like a nifty decoder ring, etc) also help.

Oh and BTW your LTS pricess aren't entirely accurate. When the company that originally created CoH launched their other super hero MMO they originally offered the LTS for $199 and their space game was $230. I know because that's what I paid for them.

They jacked up the prices of their Lifetime subs $100 after launch. (edit: moving this, it sounds confusing here. -I know because that's what I paid for them.) Everyone that chose to wait a few months to see if they really liked the games got screwed.


If you don't think a games going to last a year, or if you don't think the game can hold your interest for a year let alone longer then a LTS isn't for you.

Everyone has to ask themselves those questions. Even if they are an occasional subscriber they have to ask if they can see themselves spending the equivelant of a lifetime sub playing the game. If they do they may decide to simply buy it when it's available and always have an active account.