I'd like to pay a subscription fee please

[Katkon]

I realize I may be in the minority, but I wish ED was subscription-based. Not only does it help keep the kiddies out (even where the fee is very modest), but most importantly it gives Frontier a financial incentive to continually evolve, enhance and add to the gaming experience.

The "world" they're building is so vast that no-one can reasonably explore even 1 percent of it in their lifetime, yet if this becomes another me-too $59.99 one-time price gaming model the incentive to keep on chugging will dwindle very quickly.

I suppose the good news is that expansions will cost money - so there's an incentive, but after 3,4 or 5 of those at - say $15 - the financial incentive starts dwindling again.

I really would welcome a subscription model. This game looks incredible and I'd love to see it continually evolve like some popular MMOs out there - think EVE, WoW etc.

I feel - quite strongly - that a subscription model would represent a win/win for us, and Frontier. If it's too late for that, I only hope the expansions keep coming and ultimately are sufficiently frequent and high-priced to represent a reasonable financial alternative to that oh-so-lucrative subscription model.

Think if the subscription model was "only" $10 a month (the standard these days seems to be around $15). That's $120 a year - they'll need to build a LOT of expansions for those to deliver greater value, or price them close to the price of a full-game. Heck, that's true even if the subscription fee was $5!

Many people don't think twice about spending $6 for an on-demand video a couple of times a month, $4-5 for Starbucks/coffee daily. At $15/month my daily cost is $0.50. At $5/month I'm paying less than $0.20 a day.

400 billion star systems isn't worth 20 to 50 cents a day???

 

[Mobius]

Nope nope and nope. Last thing I would want is a subscription game, subscription models are A dying breed anyway.

 

[Katkon]

Nope nope and nope. Last thing I would want is a subscription game, subscription models are A dying breed anyway.

Let's compare notes in 10 years time. I think subscription-based, or usage-based models, will be the norm. I'll get more sustained benefit from ED (and other games) than literally any other form of entertainment. And I'll pay more for nearly all other forms of entertainment all-in.

And think about other "services" for which you pay a subscription fee: your phone, internet, TV. Heck you even pay a subscription fee for insurance and your mortgage - of sorts! It makes logical sense to align the timing of benefits with timing of payments.

The software (specifically gaming) pricing model is one of the most outdated anywhere. This industry is a prime example of how pricing does not match or "capture" the benefit delivered (again - just think of the cost of next best alternatives). It makes me smile - no laugh - when I think about how most US gaming studios will announce a game with a retail price of $59.99. $59.99! Since when did every game have to be priced identically?

That's a bit like all car manufacturers only designing cars that cost $19,999 because "that seems to be the sweet spot." No, different games, should cost different amounts. Better games, should cost more. And, there are different ways to charge for "more". Studios can increase the initial purchase price or string out payment over a period of time - for example - such as a subscription model.

I doubt the maker's of EVE or WoW would still be around if they'd just sold their original boxed copies for whatever the going rate for games was back then. We wouldn't even remember those games today. It is their subscription pricing model that fuelled their survival - as this model captured the value of their products.

All that being said - I'm aware that my opinion is unpopular (on forums). After all - who'd be crazy enough to ask to pay MORE for a product or service? But to me - this is about the win/win. If FD doesn't win, we don't win, and run the risk of ED being an all-but-forgotten title in 2-3 years time. And that I don't want to happen.

 

[Don_Von_Hulio]

No thank you. And for the full game + expansions is still 100~ plus dollars assuming the $50 expansion pass is just an early bird type of deal then definitely over $100 dollars to have the full experience after final release.

I dont like subscriptions honestly. I often find myself giving away free money expecting to be able to find time to play only to have "random irl events" occur making it near impossible to get any playtime period, therefore wasting whatever the cost of the sub was.

Imo, the more responsibilities you have to deal with the less appealing subscription based games as well as games that require you to have X amount of 'Time Gated' Y to advance in Z game. ie, EVE.

And asking to pay more really isnt that crazy.... All the alpha players have donated 300+ dollars.

 

[danjo]

sorry katkon. do you have a time machine? I highly doubt this, and your thoughts regarding the future are unlikely.. imo - i doubt even remotely close.
so carry on, or perhaps you can let me know what ill be doing in 10 years time.,,, waiting with baited breath

 

[Katkon]

sorry katkon. do you have a time machine? I highly doubt this, and your thoughts regarding the future are unlikely.. imo - i doubt even remotely close.
so carry on, or perhaps you can let me know what ill be doing in 10 years time.,,, waiting with baited breath

In fact I DO have a time machine. It's called a watch.

In all seriousness, look at how subscription models and in-game stores are quickly becoming the norm. Gaming companies left right and center have realized that simply selling a title and a small handful of expansions doesn't net anywhere near the bottom line benefit of alternative pricing models.

If you were in FD's shoes, what would you do? There is no other game like ED out there - literally not one (if you're objective about it)! And the game has a big fan base. And the next best alternative is at least a year further out. They'll leave a ton of money on the table by not going with a subscription model or offering some sort of in-game cash store. And by virtue of all that foregone profit and cash, they'll simply have less incentive - down the road - to stick behind the title. In fact, their biggest incentive will be to refocus development on a new and improved title so they can go at it again. That can be avoided with a subscription model.

It IS the future. I know. I have a watch. Sadly, what I fear we have here is a 2014 game with a 1984 pricing model. I WANT Frontier to be successful, which is why I'm campaigning for a step in the right direction. It may not benefit my own wallet, but it will benefit me from an entertainment perspective.

Of course, if it doesn't happen (which it probably won't) - that's fine. I'll join you and the rest of the community on the forum in 2-3 years time once Elite - Lethal (the sequel) is rumored to hit shelves!

 

[warbaby2]

Hu... nope, I'd rather have a cash-shop, out of 2 reasons: ED will be peer2peer based multiplayer with the option to play offline AND will expended solely by patches and paid expansions, so FD would be hard pressed to even justfy any form of subscription model without the usual server-costs and live content updates other MMOs have... not going to happen.

 

[Jason S]

No subscription model please !

 

[devastat]

I would support the subscription model for dedicated multiplayer servers.

Altho I would prefer dedicated multiplayer servers and no subscription model

 

[Senet]

You seem to be getting some flak Katkon, but I wanted to say that I understand where you're coming from. I'd really like to see Elite have some extremely long-term longevity. EVE has evolved significantly from where it started and I sincerely hope that Elite will be my one-stop sci-fi simulator in 10 years, having built and fleshed out continuously from a solid foundation.

It's 2024. Imagine putting on your Oculus Rift (or NerveGear or whatever the go-to headset is by then) and you wake up in your Fifth Element style apartment that you carved out of a cliff on a random planet. You sit up out of bed, pick your outfit from the closet (smuggling today, try your Han Solo vest), grab a dentic to go and hop on the elevator. At the top, the sunrise blinds you, but it's beautiful. You see the occasional ship traversing the skyscape. Some are plunging into the ocean below -- there's an underwater outpost that pays extra for supplies transported direct. "I should look into outfitting my ship with the required modules," you think to yourself.

You turn around and your Cobra is waiting on the pad. Your co-pilot (perhaps your significant other in reality) has just finished checking cargo and waves to you carelessly as she lowers the gangway. You follow her aboard and slam your fist against the button to raise it back up. The cockpit door hisses open at the end of the short hallway and you see the sun again. More tolerable now through the filtered glass. You grunt slightly as you take your seat, firing up the various systems as your co-pilot checks her own.

The Cobra starts revving to life (thanks Jim Croft) and you tap a little vertical thrust, tuck the landing gear and throttle up. It's a beautiful morning on this planet you've temporarily adopted as your base of operations, but you've no time to enjoy it. You do anyway. You zip over the ocean, kissing the crest just enough to hear that light whisper (thanks Jim Croft? yes please). Your co-pilot twitches as you propel towards a canyon and casually reminds you that you haven't powered up shields. All power to engines, I have a need for speed, thanks.

But you've seen enough. You tilt back and power out of the atmosphere. The view turns from sunrise pink to starlight black in moments. With hyperspace and supercruise, you'll reach your destination space station in a few minutes, drop off the cargo, and head to the local dive for gossip and rumors over a game of chess. As is your routine.

And so on.

It's imagining a day like that in the future that prompts me to support Frontier now. Would a monthly subscription be absolutely necessary to one day have an Elite as fleshed out as this? Hopefully not. I'd like to think that if Frontier puts as much care and attention into atmospheric flight, planetary landings, walking around in stations and ships, etc as they have into what we've seen so far, people would be willing to pay hand over fist for every expansion to come and the future would be looking very bright indeed.

I'd be curious to see what kind of sales/player numbers would be required along the way, however.

As for microtransactions, I'm not much of a fan myself. I like to have the full game in one fell swoop. I'd rather there be bulk, one-time purchases than smaller, perpetual fees here and there. And especially once real money gets involved in the universe, it tends to pull me out and remind me that I'm playing a video game and not inhabiting a universe where credits are the only currency and to obtain them I work within that universe's rules and limitations.

 

[ubermick]

Dear god no. Overwhelmingly, completely, and utterly, no.

No. No. Thrice no. And the same goes for microtransactions.

Please don't presume to speak for us. Please don't assume that you can see the future. To say that the subscription model is going to be the norm in a decade is your opinion, and certainly not what the industry is predicting. If it is, then by all means Elite VII can be subscription based.

If you're concerned about FD's profit margins (I'm not - we've already tossed them the better part of £2,000,000 and that's before the game's even released) by all means post them a cheque, Paypal them whatever you feel like, or stuff an envelope full of cash and FedEx it off.

 

[NeoRacer]

Hell no.

i realize i may be in the minority, but i wish ed was subscription-based. Not only does it help keep the kiddies out (even where the fee is very modest), but most importantly it gives frontier a financial incentive to continually evolve, enhance and add to the gaming experience.

The "world" they're building is so vast that no-one can reasonably explore even 1 percent of it in their lifetime, yet if this becomes another me-too $59.99 one-time price gaming model the incentive to keep on chugging will dwindle very quickly.

I suppose the good news is that expansions will cost money - so there's an incentive, but after 3,4 or 5 of those at - say $15 - the financial incentive starts dwindling again.

I really would welcome a subscription model. This game looks incredible and i'd love to see it continually evolve like some popular mmos out there - think eve, wow etc.

I feel - quite strongly - that a subscription model would represent a win/win for us, and frontier. If it's too late for that, i only hope the expansions keep coming and ultimately are sufficiently frequent and high-priced to represent a reasonable financial alternative to that oh-so-lucrative subscription model.

Think if the subscription model was "only" $10 a month (the standard these days seems to be around $15). That's $120 a year - they'll need to build a lot of expansions for those to deliver greater value, or price them close to the price of a full-game. Heck, that's true even if the subscription fee was $5!

Many people don't think twice about spending $6 for an on-demand video a couple of times a month, $4-5 for starbucks/coffee daily. At $15/month my daily cost is $0.50. At $5/month i'm paying less than $0.20 a day.

400 billion star systems isn't worth 20 to 50 cents a day???

 

[gazzareth]

Hell no.

LOL my thoughts exactly, I'd rather see real companies advertising at stations....

G

 

[CMDR Texas Stu]

Subscriptions didn't keep any kids out of EQ, WoW or any of a bunch of other games, why would it keep them out of Elite?

No please.

Hopefully the ideas mentioned on all-hacker group and other ideas will solve the possible issues.

 

[Dante80]

I would gladly pay a subscription fee if it was the last and only way for the game to continue being developed and supported in 2018+.

 

[Snowbunnies]

many words

Are you a copy writer or a traveling agent? You sound like one of those.

Beside that: It's hard to predict the future but as for today it seems that subscriptions are on decline while f2p funding model is on the rise.

 

[Memnoch]

No. No. Thrice no. And the same goes for microtransactions.

There isn't much choice on this front. You either have a subscription model or MT. I doubt that the expansions alone will be able to pay for the servers ongoing costs, wages etc.

 

[Evenios]

yeah i disagree too. i think my 150 bucks is good enough for them plus you get the expansion packs too so . i think it will do just fine also they have some investors as well . i am glad its not subscription base i think i rather pay once for a game then having to pay a monthly fee.

 

[Kerrash]

Whilst I feel that a subscription model would be the death of the community around this game, I do worry about the long term finance of the game.

Personally I would gladly jump in on another crowd funding drive each time they ask (I need those Planetary landings)

Either way we should stop arguing between ourselves here and get out there and sell the game to more people

 

[Valkyrie]

No thank you.

Frontier can make more money by providing new content that players want like new ships, ornaments or other cosmetics. A sub model makes you feel like you have to play to get your moneys worth and lock you out of your game when you are not paying that sub.

Also a sub model does not keep the "kiddies" out.