Per minute charging - why not?

[MasterXan]

I like to play online games but my play time varies every day, especially during school months. I really want to get into an MMO game but I don't want to pay big monthly fees if i'm not sure if could play it frequently.

So, i'm just wondering, why hasn't there an MMORPG that has this per minute charging plan implemented? I mean, if you are one of those people who play for over 12 hrs a day, kinda like what those WOW people do, then the monthly fee is worth it for you but what about ppl like me who are casual players? I think there should be a per minute charge like phone companies charge on your phone line usage but also the regular monthly charge for people who play a lot like 12 hrs everyday.

Do you guys think it's a good idea?

[Felix12g]

No.

One, it'll take more work tracking and managing accounts than any smart company would want to put into it for the few who would actually do this.

Two, the company would be losing money allowing you to do something like this, unless they hiked the price for per minute, which would basically defeat the purpose.

Three, There's a reason MMO's haven't done it before. It's a dumb idea.

[Dementus]

And what about the jobless lazy asses with no life!?

But seriously, it would never happen.

[Silenoz666]

I would never want that. I'd make me monitor how long I am playing, which would make the game way less enjoyable.

I'm amazingly excited for this game, but if they decided to do this, I'd just go back to Guild Wars.

[ArmorKing]

That kind of thing wouldnt work well... mostly for the common person has a hard time keeping track of just 1 fee per month at times, far less keeping track of all the time they played... problems would arrise and it wouldnt work for the gamer or the game.

[JoelRogouski]

I think charging to play would make me not want to play this game. I'll be buying it for Xbox 360. To play on xbox live its $50.00 a year. who wants to pay extra money? for example Final Fantasy XI is 12.99 per month. Just to have xbox live and FFXI for one year it would cost $205.88. I can't pay that

[connnnn]

This is why I don't play subscription-based games...

In order to not feel ripped off, I'd have to get as much as possible out of the game. You're essentially paying for time, so any time you spend NOT playing the game is literally money you're spending doing nothing. At least that's how it would play out in my mind. So unless I thought I had the time to dump tons of hours into a game, I wouldn't feel like it's even worth my money.

[Felix12g]

You go out to dinner one night, buy a good meal and spend 15-20 bucks, have a good couple hours of fun then go home.

Or you spend 12-15 bucks for an entire month of gaming.

Gee, I wonder which one is a better use of your money. All you tight fisted bastards need to open your eyes to what entertainment costs these days and actually compare it with what you pay for games like this.

[Silenoz666]

Yeah, it is very easy to adjust your spending to get that extra $15.

Don't buy a pop everyday, get one less item from the McDonalds $1 menu. It isn't that much.

Maybe if they charged per minute UP TO $15 a month, that would be cool. So then everyone who has less time wouldn't have to pay as much, but those die-hards wouldn't be charged ridiculous amounts.

Of course, Webzen would probably lose money that way. They'd have to figure out how many more players would play with that option, and way the benefits of each. I have no idea which would work better for them.

[Flavahbeast]

Originally Posted by MasterXan

I like to play online games but my play time varies every day, especially during school months. I really want to get into an MMO game but I don't want to pay big monthly fees if i'm not sure if could play it frequently.

So, i'm just wondering, why hasn't there an MMORPG that has this per minute charging plan implemented? I mean, if you are one of those people who play for over 12 hrs a day, kinda like what those WOW people do, then the monthly fee is worth it for you but what about ppl like me who are casual players? I think there should be a per minute charge like phone companies charge on your phone line usage but also the regular monthly charge for people who play a lot like 12 hrs everyday.

Do you guys think it's a good idea?

nah, too much work considering how few players would actually want to pay by the minute (no offense, but the vast majority of players aren't going to want to worry about their charges ticking up by the minute)

[Techno luigi]

will huxley on the xbox 360 have a monthly fee

[Silenoz666]

Originally Posted by Techno luigi

will huxley on the xbox 360 have a monthly fee

Of course. If the PC version does, so wil the xbox 360 version. FFXI does on the 360. However, you don't have to have Xbox live gold account to play FFXI, so I'm sure it will be the same way for Huxley, as it will be ran through a separate company. So if money is real tight, just cancel Xbox Live while you play Huxley.

[Enemy21]

will we get free nights and weekends?

[ArmorKing]

Originally Posted by Enemy21

will we get free nights and weekends?

hehe i guess thats a fair question to ask if we pay by the minute

[connnnn]

I'm not exactly living off of scraps, but dropping $50 on a game plus 15 a month would be $230 a year for 1 game. Considering that I've paid for 2 games in the past 3 years, it's all just a matter of being convinced that it's really THAT much better. If $50 can entertain me for thousands of hours over 2-3 years, spending $230 per year needs a very unique experience for me to justify the price. That may not be the attitude of the average consumer, but I know I'm not the only person who would think through it that way. That said, there's a reason there are so many hardcore FPS players keeping an eye on this game. This is probably the only game in development right now that could possibly convince me to shell out a subscription. As long as it feels justified...