''DRM can really force people to use pirated games'': StarForce speaks to games.on.net about piracy, customer anger, and more

[Cas Bitton]

I very much doubt it will ever go that way, what I am talking about is his little fantasy if paying by the hour to play a game that downloads from their servers an locks at end of that time.

It's not a fantasy at all, World of warcraft/every other game with a paid subscription model has been doing that for over 10 years.

You are literally paying for hours, right now.

Of coarse this is what they want, it completely eliminates piracy.

I'd be doing the same thing.

As it stands now, I dont buy games that have moronic DRM system like ubisoft uses.

Not buying a game you have an interest in because of the DRM method used is fine, I can understand that .

[Marius]

I very much doubt it will ever go that way, what I am talking about is his little fantasy if paying by the hour to play a game that downloads from their servers an locks at end of that time.

...

I jsut dont buy it because I refuse to tolerate that **** on my PC.

So like EVE, basically.

[grom358]

I very much doubt it will ever go that way, what I am talking about is his little fantasy if paying by the hour to play a game that downloads from their servers an locks at end of that time.

It's not a fantasy at all, World of warcraft/every other game with a paid subscription model has been doing that for over 10 years.

You are literally paying for hours, right now.

No you not paying per hour. You are paying per month. Big difference. You can play 24/7 in that month if you want and pay the same as if you played 2 hours that month.

[Marius]

A month can be divided into per hours in a month...

Time components are essentially interchangeable.

You could easily say that if you only play two hours in a month, then you are paying a huge premium. Your hourly rate becomes $7.50, instead of 1 cent or whatever it would be if you were to play 24/7.

[Cas Bitton]

No you not paying per hour. You are paying per month. Big difference.

Blizzard are more then happy to sell you a 730 Hour card for $14.99 USD, limited for 30 days.

You can play 24/7 in that month if you want and pay the same as if you played 2 hours that month.

Would the purchase of shorter time blocks appeal to you? I'm sure for some players paying for what you "use" is pretty appealing

[Marius]

It's definitely the motivation behind the success of the F2P model. Players get to pay for premium features they want to use, rather than just have the entire game shoveled at them.

[grom358]

No you not paying per hour. You are paying per month. Big difference.

Blizzard are more then happy to sell you a 730 Hour card for $14.99 USD, limited for 30 days.

You can play 24/7 in that month if you want and pay the same as if you played 2 hours that month.

Would the purchase of shorter time blocks appeal to you? I'm sure for some players paying for what you "use" is pretty appealing

Oh I did not know they sold hour cards. Though I quit WoW 5 years ago.

And yes I'm over monthly subscriptions especially considering how often I play. So I would rather cheap pay per hour model.

Most F2P games I have seen are pay to win systems. So they usually don't appeal to me at all.

[grom358]

A month can be divided into per hours in a month...

Time components are essentially interchangeable.

You could easily say that if you only play two hours in a month, then you are paying a huge premium. Your hourly rate becomes $7.50, instead of 1 cent or whatever it would be if you were to play 24/7.

No you are not paying per hour still. You are paying to have access for a limited time (eg. $15 for a months access). All you are doing there is determining the value you are getting out of said access.

What the article was talking about is you actually pay per hour. So if you hardcore player you pay more than a casual player. I really don't see it taking off IMO.

[Marius]

The way you interpret monthly sub fees is up to you. I see monthly fees in terms of time.

As for taking off... it depends on how much value is provided. These things are always a question of value.

Besides, it's not without precedent. LAN cafes the world over use the $/hour played model successfully. If a great game is only available at a reasonable $/hour cost, then I'm sure it will find customers.

[Jimmah]

Oh I did not know they sold hour cards. Though I quit WoW 5 years ago.

And yes I'm over monthly subscriptions especially considering how often I play. So I would rather cheap pay per hour model.

Most F2P games I have seen are pay to win systems. So they usually don't appeal to me at all.

That is the problem. Pay per hour is almost impossible to model in a reasonable ongoing way. If you don't know how much revenue will be coming in or the demand for your services it becomes almost impossible to run a business with any certainty.

Jimmah

[Marius]

How is that any different to the certainty or lack of it from free to play models?

[Jimmah]

How is that any different to the certainty or lack of it from free to play models?

Free to play so far has only been used as a concept where the game has failed as a subscription MMO or where there are other methods of generating revenue (ie micro-transactions, advertising etc).

An MMO that goes F2P already has the required infrastructure to support many more users than it currently has (evidently as it has failed commercially) and because it has an existing user-base it is possible to model revenue from lets say micro-transactions.

Paying by the hour is just too variable. For example you may be humming along quite nicely with a fairly steady level of 'hours' and then suddenly one week it bottoms out because the new MMO is on the block.

Another problem is the loss of revenue from casual MMO gamers (like myself). Under an hourly model I might only play four hours a month. Conversely - you would have to have a 'cap' on the total cost per month otherwise your hardcore players would revolt.

Jimmah

[Marius]

That doesn't explain why there are startup online games founded on the F2P model.

GW2 is the obvious example, and it hasn't failed.

Path of Exile is another example, and it has the backing of numerous angel investors confident of its success.

Many different revenue models are viable, you just have to properly structure the business around them.

[Jimmah]

That doesn't explain why there are startup online games founded on the F2P model.

GW2 is the obvious example, and it hasn't failed.

Path of Exile is another example, and it has the backing of numerous angel investors confident of its success.

Many different revenue models are viable, you just have to properly structure the business around them.

GW/GW2 have boxed copies and subsist on micro-transactions and expansion packs. Certainly GW2 looks like a far more open world like a true MMORPG but I haven't really looked into how instanced it is. Obviously GW was heavily instanced.

All other F2P start ups I have seen are either based on some form of micro-transactions or advertising. You also have to take into account the difference between an AAA title and a F2P title made by an unknown.

Just looking at Path you can see they are using a micro-transaction model.

I'm not arguing that someone couldn't come up with an innovative model which uses pay by the hour BUT the inherent problems with giving people such granular control over your revenue...

I think it is important to distance revenue streams like micro-transactions from 'pay/hour'. People simply won't pay for hours they aren't going to use, but they will spend money on micro-transactions for ongoing use.

Jimmah

[exe3]

I very much doubt it will ever go that way, what I am talking about is his little fantasy if paying by the hour to play a game that downloads from their servers an locks at end of that time.

It's not a fantasy at all, World of warcraft/every other game with a paid subscription model has been doing that for over 10 years.

You are literally paying for hours, right now.

Funnily enough this is the number 1 reason why I don't play MMO's. Also imo it's the subscription model that causes MMO addiction as people feel the need to get their moneys worth before they're locked out of the game.