How can WoW still justify a subcription model?

[deviltry]

It can be considered to be on par (except graphically) with all current MMOs, even though it came out 8 years ago.

And those on par MMOs would be?

Rift? Pour all 70 talents into one tree because we made a bad bad design and marketing (hey SUPA DUPA CUSTOMIZATION - SELECT UR TALENTS LOLOLO) decisions and now try to fix their 4 class mess? No competetive PvP, no PvP balance - here, everyone, grab OP low cooldown abilities, immunities for everyone! Skills are giant boring mess.

And all other MMORPGs are free to play despite launching with a subscribtion.

I would like to play some other MMORPG than WoW and, according to you, all current MMORPGS are top notch and WoW just just reaches their level. Well, where they are hiding? Because I tried Aion, SWTOR, Rift and they all were giant pile of poo poo.

 

[Doom972]

Since a vast amount of people are still willing to pay for a subscription, it's justified. They don't need any more of a reason than that. People developed characters, guilds, and social structures within that game and they like it just the way it is.

Personally, I think it's a boring grindfest (like all other MMORPGs), but I can't argue with so many players voting with their wallets.

 

[Vhite]

Am I THE only one, last person on earth, chosen of gods, the one and only, unique person that plays WoW because its fun? Am I the sole person...

(5 minutes later)

...statistical anomaly that liked WoW from its start to present? Does everyone else hates it or plays only because of addiction and/or social entanglement?

 

[Woodsey]

By having 10 million subscribers.

 

[Navvan]

You've basically listed the answer in your original post. WoW has a momentum going for it; so many people play the game that it is practically social networking with game play. Additionally when you have that many people invested into the game it makes the process of pushing for endgame rewards more meaningful.

SWTOR by the way has a decent free to play model. They restrict customization and convenience without impeding the game-play itself. Additionally you can permanently unlock most of the things they restrict with one time payments. It allows you to play the game content for free, but gives you an actual incentive to pay either through subscription or unlocks.

 

[Nieroshai]

You misunderstand. Subscription works specifically BECAUSE WoW is subscription. Most players of other MMOs ALSO play WoW, or quit WoW temporarily to try the new game. No one wants to subscribe to two MMOs, which is why any subscription-based MMO aside from WoW flounders and dies unless it goes f2p.

 

[Nieroshai]

Ain't the recent why MMORPG with subciption at launch changed to free to play is that they were losing sales as in number of players on it?
Granted I did remember that newspost that WOW has been losing players aswell but I guess the decrease were not extreme enough for them to consider going F2P.
Also as everyone had mention already, people still willing to pay to play it. I guess there are not enough people (will to get a newspost about them) making a protest/ complain that WOW should go to F2P.

They always lose players when a new MMO comes out, but they always gain them back after the glow of the new game fades.

 

[Nieroshai]

WoW will be the last big subscription game. I can't see a sequel to WoW having a subscription, especially when Guild Wars 2 is doing it's amazing thing on just a £30 initial purchase fee (well worth the money in my opinion, plus you don't feel pressured into playing so you can just go and play other games then always come back to GW2)

Captcha: fezes are cool - loving the Doctor Who reference there hahaa.

You are correct. Project Titan will be f2p.

 

[Nieroshai]

Am I THE only one, last person on earth, chosen of gods, the one and only, unique person that plays WoW because its fun? Am I the sole person...

(5 minutes later)

...statistical anomaly that liked WoW from its start to present? Does everyone else hates it or plays only because of addiction and/or social entanglement?

I pretty much only play PVE unless I need gear, and read the quest text at every opportunity. I think we're not alone, we're just not the type that talks about WoW.

 

[laggyteabag]

Because they can make people pay for it I guess. World of Warcraft came out in 2004. Some players who have played for years, have paid their monthly subscription fees up until now. So why quit? Why stop paying and loose all of your hard work? People pay because they don't want to loose what they have made, and Activision/ Blizzard are exploiting the fan-base because of it. There are Millions of people playing World of Warcraft, and there are millions of people willing to pay for World of Warcraft, so why cut off a LARGE chunk of income just because everybody else is doing it? Sure, they aren't going to make any friends, or many new players, but they don't need that right now.

The reason why games like TERA and SWTOR went free to play is because they never had the fanbase. Why quit one subscription MMO, to start a new subscription MMO? There is no sense to it. World of Warcraft has a community, World of Warcraft has a History. Regardless of gameplay, graphics or story people dont want to quit WoW because they have put so much time and money into their accounts that it would seem a waste to quit.

Can they justify it? No.
But is it a smart decision business wise? Yes.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

The 'because people keep paying (and playing)' answer has already been given. It's one of the most important reason and part of the argument, methinks.

I gave up on it with two prepaid months on it left, but I felt it to be important to strip naked and hand my metric ton of gold and few items of interest that weren't magically glued to my character to someone still doing in-game time.

WoW was a fun experience when it was fresh, but it quickly degraded into both watching a social experiment unfold and witnessing the addictive force of digital crack cocaine in action. Its addictive qualities are easily another important reason for it to still be around, and it makes me wonder what is to come after those, uhm, Pandas.

Really, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed my months of WoW, but I'm pretty positive I would never again want to pay cash to be given a subscription that allows me to play online multiplayer. It just doesn't feel right after years of WoW drama and asshattery.

Come to think of it, crApple's App Store works off pretty much the very same basic principle of customer retention. Stop paying for access to WoW, and you'll lose months (or meanwhile years) of hard work getting all those player characters of yours levelled and geared up. Switch to non-crApple products, lose all those Apps, pay for them again at some other providers digital App-peddling outlet.

You pay to keep your fidelity going. Up until the 3GS, it made sense to me. The very moment they started peddling a mobile device that has glass on the top and the bottom, has a shorter battery life and worse reception on both wireless and phone networks, I started to seriously doubt the ingenuity and sincerity of Apple.

You don't get that with WoW. I no longer recommend it, due to its evidently addictive nature, but I get why so many people/kids want to check it out. In a way, it could still be used to train teenagers and introduce them to the repetitive nature of most forms of employment and, at best, help them to get organized (plan raids, work on common and personal goals, stick to the plan, etc.). At worst, it's still potent enough to turn even the brightest kids into addicted, antisocial shut-ins.

Yeah, I'm still fascinated by it. But I'm more of WarCraft/StarCraft kinda person.

 

[viranimus]

What eludes me is why subscription fees NEED to be justified.

Now its impossible to try to say subs are better than microtrans model, but Its abundantly clear to me at least that playing in an MMO w/ micro transaction model is not only not enjoyable, its completely devoid of any chance for immersion.

So If there was a modern MMO that was not built around antiquated MMO conventions set forth by WoW and EQ that was actually worth playing I would gladly play a subscription fee.

Playing in a microtrans MMO feels like living in the valley of perpetual popup ads. I dont care how "free" it is, thats an eyesore I do not wish to subject myself to. Its a shame too because this acceptance of the micro trans model has accomplished little more than leaving the MMO landscape a vapid malignancy. Why would anyone willingly subject themselves to that?

Edit:

Pandas and pet battles are sissy, and they've eliminated the "hardcore" content? Move on people. Just another gamer brat pretending that hardcore actually matters.

Thats hilarious to me. How are pandas sissy and things like anthromorphic cows and space goats not? And suggesting "hardcore" content in WoW is about the biggest oxymoron Ive heard this month. Yep, nothing like being "Hardcore" in the MMO that set the standard for being MMO for kindergarteners when it comes to difficulty.

 

[Art Salmons]

Pandarens were there since Warcraft III. Are you saying WoW turned "sissy casual" since The Frozen Throne came along? Please say that, I want to point and laugh at someone.

In 2005 Blizzard announced Pandas would be playable, then revealed it was all a big joke.

In 2011 Blizzard announced Pandas would be playable, and now it's real.

Blizzard is creatively bankrupt.

 

[Bad Jim]

it is the only damn MMO in which you can not buy power or shortcuts.

This is probably the answer. There's no free lunch with MMOs. If you don't pay a subscription, you will be paying for power or progress which is less balanced and less fun.

A better question would be "how can you justify free-to-play models, when they inevitably ruin the gameplay?"

 

[mgs16925]

Pandarens were there since Warcraft III. Are you saying WoW turned "sissy casual" since The Frozen Throne came along? Please say that, I want to point and laugh at someone.

In 2005 Blizzard announced Pandas would be playable, then revealed it was all a big joke.

In 2011 Blizzard announced Pandas would be playable, and now it's real.

Blizzard is creatively bankrupt.

It took you twenty years into a franchise that started as a blatant copy of Warhammer to notice that it's creatively bankrupt? It's never been all that creative, it rips off dozens of sources and mixes them up regardless of whether it makes any sense.

We just don't care because it's AWESOME.