Yes, there is no need for you to personally care about the shareholders profits..... there is also no need for the shareholders to personally care about what you want. You may be "a player", but you are not "the players", and what you want is not necessarily (in context) what "the players" want.
Talk about a rock and a hard spot in this case, eh?
Fraid so.
To trek or not to trek.
That is the question.
Whether tis nobler in the heart to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous forumites, or to pretend to be asleep, perchance to make more profit........ah, but in that profit, what dreams may come?......
Lamenting the death of the subscription model, or even nostalgia for the days when subs got actual benefits above and beyond f2p/micro transaction players... That is, at least, a couple of years too late. The whole industry is either already this way or headed in that direction.
The difference is, with STO, you can actually grind for everything. It is a much more generous model than most. In almost every other f2p MMO you will have a cash gate somewhere.
I do think that subscribers to this game get pretty shafted. There are very few benefits for the money, and the stipend is laughable. A one third stipend is clearly designed to discourage subscription. I've seen games that give you 80-100% in monthly stipend for subscribing along with other exclusive benefits. Why would anyone pay 10-15 bucks a month for 5 bucks worth of zen? For a respec? a few shared bank slots? I'm surprised this game has any subs left beyond the lifers.
OP: You do know that grinding, and various specific currencies for different tasks, has nothing to do with f2p, right?
WoW is the perfect example, actually - it's been sub-only forever. And it's had endless grinds, and currency after currency after currency. Even if STO were sub only, you'd still be farming up Marks and Credits and Favors, oh my.
OP: You do know that grinding, and various specific currencies for different tasks, has nothing to do with f2p, right?
WoW is the perfect example, actually - it's been sub-only forever. And it's had endless grinds, and currency after currency after currency. Even if STO were sub only, you'd still be farming up Marks and Credits and Favors, oh my.
Subscription barely makes anything compared to a F2P market now.
(Not counting WOW because they've had a ridiculous number of subscribers for a long time but even they are feeling the pressure now)
This is completely true. There's a lot of ways to gouge players in F2P than there is with the traditional, old school Subscription based play. It is little wonder why F2P became the norm in the MMORPG genre.
Years ago, we called this "Nickle & Diming" players for every single possible thing that they could wring some sort of money out of you. Everything from buying more bank/inventory space, increased money caps, potions to make levelling acceptable (or be slammed with a terribly daunting XP grind), to even buying temporary access to Premium Areas that drop / reward the best stuff, which you need if you will be competitive with other players... And God help you if you want to PVP without the gear / items from Premium purchases.
Surprisingly, people are fine with this in this day and age.
But yes, I do agree wholeheartedly that Subscription barely made any money for the companies. Not while you can gouge the living hell out of people with "Free" 2 play.
Comments
Talk about a rock and a hard spot in this case, eh?
That is a given, yes.
Fraid so.
To trek or not to trek.
That is the question.
Whether tis nobler in the heart to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous forumites, or to pretend to be asleep, perchance to make more profit........ah, but in that profit, what dreams may come?......
STO does have a subscription option. Do you use it?
The difference is, with STO, you can actually grind for everything. It is a much more generous model than most. In almost every other f2p MMO you will have a cash gate somewhere.
I do think that subscribers to this game get pretty shafted. There are very few benefits for the money, and the stipend is laughable. A one third stipend is clearly designed to discourage subscription. I've seen games that give you 80-100% in monthly stipend for subscribing along with other exclusive benefits. Why would anyone pay 10-15 bucks a month for 5 bucks worth of zen? For a respec? a few shared bank slots? I'm surprised this game has any subs left beyond the lifers.
WoW is the perfect example, actually - it's been sub-only forever. And it's had endless grinds, and currency after currency after currency. Even if STO were sub only, you'd still be farming up Marks and Credits and Favors, oh my.
It's part of the Genera really.
This is completely true. There's a lot of ways to gouge players in F2P than there is with the traditional, old school Subscription based play. It is little wonder why F2P became the norm in the MMORPG genre.
Years ago, we called this "Nickle & Diming" players for every single possible thing that they could wring some sort of money out of you. Everything from buying more bank/inventory space, increased money caps, potions to make levelling acceptable (or be slammed with a terribly daunting XP grind), to even buying temporary access to Premium Areas that drop / reward the best stuff, which you need if you will be competitive with other players... And God help you if you want to PVP without the gear / items from Premium purchases.
Surprisingly, people are fine with this in this day and age.
But yes, I do agree wholeheartedly that Subscription barely made any money for the companies. Not while you can gouge the living hell out of people with "Free" 2 play.