Poll: Subscriptions for single-player games

[Atmos Duality]

EDIT: People seem to be confused about the pricing here, so I will reiterate: The subscription fee replaces the $50-60 you would usually pay for a single-player game at the store. There is no "they make you buy the game AND keep paying for it forever" situation here.

Charging for what amounts to an eternal rental...there's a nightmare scenario.

Presently, I can pick up and buy most books, movies, or TV series either in hard copy or strictly digital format, and have rights to read/watch it when I want (or when I do not).
And yes, I can also rent them for cheaper, but the option still exists for me to legally buy a copy, and expect that copy to work without the good graces of the publisher.
If any major publisher went to this system, they would commit to it and only it for certain.

Then there is the inevitable scenario of the company discontinuing support for their previous titles.

This system promotes the senseless milking of game franchises (which has gone beyond tasteless at this point), abuse of the consumer base, and turns a product-market into a strictly-service-market; which brings with it far more problems than it's worth.

In all circumstances, the publisher wins, and the customer loses.

 

[Sampsa]

Voted yes, but how are these updates different from expansion packs. Like with Total War series, each game has its own expansions, which could be released little by little or by current style.

 

[Veret]

Charging for what amounts to an eternal rental...there's a nightmare scenario.

[...]

Then there is the inevitable scenario of the company discontinuing support for their previous titles.

This system promotes the senseless milking of game franchises (which has gone beyond tasteless at this point), abuse of the consumer base, and turns a product-market into a strictly-service-market; which brings with it far more problems than it's worth.

In all circumstances, the publisher wins, and the customer loses.

The good news is that, with offline games, removing the subscription fee would be as easy as changing a single variable. Gamers wouldn't be screwed if the developer went under,unlike the situation with UbiDRM. The milking of franchises, meanwhile, would go on unabated with or without this model.

Your assertion that "in all circumstances, the publisher wins" is what makes me think we might actually be seeing something like this in the future. But let's hope that isn't the case.

Voted yes, but how are these updates different from expansion packs. Like with Total War series, each game has its own expansions, which could be released little by little or by current style.

What you're describing there is just regular DLC. The difference is that, with a subscription model, once the player stops paying a monthly fee they can't play any part of the game. Which, again, is absolutely heinous--but it also has an upside: When all the players have to keep paying, the developer will have a lot more money to spend on updating the game, and a lot more reason to keep making really good updates.

 

[Atmos Duality]

The good news is that, with offline games, removing the subscription fee would be as easy as changing a single variable. Gamers wouldn't be screwed if the developer went under,unlike the situation with UbiDRM. The milking of franchises, meanwhile, would go on unabated with or without this model.

Your assertion that "in all circumstances, the publisher wins" is what makes me think we might actually be seeing something like this in the future. But let's hope that isn't the case.

Well, I'm dead certain that Ubi-style DRM would be implemented in this model.
Any ounce of control that they can gain over their customer, they will take.

In fact, I will be surprised if this "eternal rental" bullshit isn't implemented, and made the industry standard practice within the next 10-15 years.

Oh, and if you thought that franchise-stagnation was bad now, just wait until every megagame is under this system and emulating WoW.
It will suck for certain.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

Can someone please lock this thread before Activision or EA have a chance to read it?

 

[Dirty-Zombie]

I don't pay a subscription for any game, just for xbox live...

 

[Sampsa]

What you're describing there is just regular DLC. The difference is that, with a subscription model, once the player stops paying a monthly fee they can't play any part of the game. Which, again, is absolutely heinous--but it also has an upside: When all the players have to keep paying, the developer will have a lot more money to spend on updating the game, and a lot more reason to keep making really good updates.

So what about when the developer runs out of ideas or directs money to another project? Will they announce that there'll be no updates in the future and make us pay slightly less?

 

[NickCaligo42]

That's like subscribing to a movie. I can justify subscribing to something like Netflix, getting a shit-ton of movies to pick from for a certain monthly fee, but I can't justify paying a subscription fee to watch Terminator 2. Likewise, I can't justify a subscription fee for Assassin's Creed or Mass Effect.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

EDIT: People seem to be confused about the pricing here, so I will reiterate: The subscription fee replaces the $50-60 you would usually pay for a single-player game at the store. There is no "they make you buy the game AND keep paying for it forever" situation here.

Be more specific. Is it something where the game itself is like 10 dollars but have to pay 5 dollars every month? If that's the case, then yes, I could see that working, but that on its own is really incovenient.

 

[Liberaliter]

No, I like paying a fixed price for a product and then being free to get however much enjoyment I want from it. The only time I would ever pay extra is for the occassional DLC and every so often some Xbox live Gold.

 

[Squilookle]

No. Never. Under no circumstances whatsoever. DRM and DLC should never have been introduced. Game quality and value has just plummeted as a result.

 

[veloper]

yes, but ONLY if they force me at gun point.

or, suppose the future of gaming is heading that way and gamers will nolonger be able to buy and the games by then would also be significantly better than anything before the rental scheme.
This could happen and then we're fucked.

 

[teisjm]

No way, it just seems wrong to me... i'd prefer DLC, and even more just expansions, haet how DLC is replacing good old expansions where you got more then 4 damn maps, 2 of which are remakes.

 

[TelHybrid]

I don't have to pay subscriptions for TF2.And TF2 is always getting updates...That are free.So why should I have to pay for some thing monthly that is completely offline.When I don't pay subs for stuff in a game that is has all of it's excitement online.

This sums it up completely.

This is how gaming should be.