Nickel and dimed

‘How much do you need?’

I wish I could say I'm not interested in these kinds of games, but that’s not true. I want to play them. I like them in theory. Some of them -- Anarchy Online, PlanetSide, Dark Age of Camelot, and even the inchoate Star Wars: Galaxies -- I like in practice. But I have very deep reservations about this new pricing model whereby I don’t own any actual game content. I like having shelves of games that can be reinstalled and played again whenever I feel like it. These shelves should be a library, not a display case in a rental store lined with empty boxes that don’t do anything until I pay the fee.

And I’m not convinced this pricing model is necessary. Some might argue that MMOs add a new layer of technology and cost with all their networking issues. But there are plenty of games that deal with similar problems on a different scale that are funded using the traditional $50 price. Granted, I don't know the ins and outs of server costs and what prices the market will bear and profitability break-even points, but as a gamer for fifteen years who's weathered the fiscal storms of our hobby, I do know this is something different, new, and outrageous. I'm astonished that so many of you are swallowing it, hook, line, sinker, and credit card number entry blank.

And the biggest problem isn’t just that our bank balances are being nickel-and-dimed and fifteen-dollared to death. The biggest problem is the message this sends to the rest of the industry. These days, it’s a given that a PC game is going to need post-release support. That should be built into the budget, not taken from the player’s pockets while they’re playing. Companies like Blizzard and Valve have earned an enormous amount of goodwill for going above and beyond the call of duty with their post-release support, all because they created enormously successful games in $50 boxes that moved like hotcakes. I don’t want any new pricing models to encourage them to rethink their strategies. For instance, you can’t play Blizzard’s games online without using battle.net. But I’m not complaining that I can’t enjoy direct IP games because Blizzard isn’t trying to bilk me for a monthly fee. I am, however, starting to get a little nervous that they’re tightly controlling connectivity when all the other guys who do this expect me to grease their palms.

My biggest hope is that this is a self-correcting problem. Hopefully, there will be a Great MMO Winnowing soon, followed by competitive pricing. There can’t be that many of us willing to open our bank accounts so generously, so unquestioningly. But right now, the market is forgiving enough that a big name license like Star Wars can waltz in and jack the price up a few dollars without scaring off many of their blind loyal fan base. I remember seeing a magician solicit someone in the audience for a dollar bill that could be used in a magic trick. The poor guy in the front row pulled out his wallet and asked, in all sincerity, ‘How much do you need?’ This is what we’re like with our MMOs. We’re so eager to see the next trick that we’re not thinking about the cost.