PSO - XBox Live: Blown out of proportion? (1 Viewer)

[Oscar Saenz]

I think that for a lot of us here, we already had "sunk" costs built in. Most of us already had broadband for our PCs and had already purchased XBL to play the other cool XBL enabled games. So, the only incremental costs come down to the $39.99 for the game and the $8.95 a month after the first two months.

Most normal people (i.e., non-hardcore PSO players unlike myself) will probably play this game for approximately 3 months. So, even with having to pay for one month at $8.95, you will have spent the same amount of money as any other "just released" Xbox game (once again assuming you already had XBL).

I for one don't mind paying the $8.95 a month given all the enjoyment I get out of the game. But, like I stated above, I'm not a normal person.

 

[Rob_Pierce]

Now, in addition to paying retail price for a game, I must pay an additional, monthly fee? So to play this game online for one year on an Xbox LIVE, you would pay over $150.

Here, here! Paying my ISP to pay MS to pay Sega is no good for me. I planned to purchase this game, but not after I found out it cost extra. Another question, does the game have any resale value? In other words, can more than one person have the 2 months free per disc? I'm a big believer of enjoying a game, selling it on eBay, and buying another. If this game is like the Live Starter disc and can only be used once, even more reason for me not to like it.

 

[BrianB]

Rob, there is no unique CD-KEY per game copy, unlike PSOv2 DC. Instead, the game is keyed into your XBL account - you can only have one two month trial per XBL account. And if you cancel the trial early, you lose the right to "reactivate" the trial - you'll be charged per month straight after reactivating.

So yes, there is a resale value in the game.

 

[CaptDS9E]

Like Scar said

 

[Dave F]

how about an option for no-new downloads

Well if Sega follows true to form, you'll get that. It was very frustrating to pay higher fees than the Japanese and and see new quests, contests, etc that were released only in Japan.

-Dave

 

[Chris Rock]

Well, it's just like everything else: different strokes for different folks. On one side, you have "I don't mind paying" and on the other you have the "Damn the Man!" people.

I'm with Oscar.

Most normal people (i.e., non-hardcore PSO players unlike myself) will probably play this game for approximately 3 months. So, even with having to pay for one month at $8.95, you will have spent the same amount of money as any other "just released" Xbox game (once again assuming you already had XBL).

I frankly don't see myself having the time or determiniation to get much further than level 100, (and that remains to be seen anyway). So, I might only be spending 2 or 3 month's worth of fees. I guess I fall into the "normal person" category.

A special note to those (with XBL) who are on the fence:
Get the game.
- It's fun.
- It's only forty bucks (USD).
- It's free online for 2 months, which should be plenty of time for you to reach decent levels with your character(s).
- If you like it, it's only $9 a month after that. You can be the judge of whether it's worth $9.

One other thought:

If MS/Sega sees that a huge number of players cancel after their free 2 months, I have a feeling that their departments in charge of Market Research will have some recommendations for future games. (Or at least that's what I HOPE they'd do.)

I recently cancelled my Asheron's Call 2 account with Microsoft (for which I was billed a hefty $12 a month, BTW), and upon closing the account, I filled out a pretty detailed survey, telling them exactly why I did. If MS is smart, they should employ the same strategy with those who cancel PSO accounts. Those of us who cancel (and we all will, eventually) should let them know.

My $.02.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled reality.

 

[Rob_Pierce]

If MS/Sega sees that a huge number of players cancel after their free 2 months, I have a feeling that their departments in charge of Market Research will have some recommendations for future games.

This is my thinking as well. I'm very curious to see the cancellations rates. I'm sure Sega is driving all of their profits from the subscription; if this plan fails, we can be certain to never see it again.

 

[BrianB]

I'm sure Sega is driving all of their profits from the subscription;

You're presuming the sub fee is going to Sega. See above: there is a LOT of FUD[1] going around about who is doing what related to this title. At this point, I don't think it's been made completely clear about which company is receiving what proportions of the subscription fee in each territory.

[1] Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt

 

[Mike__D]

I don't you know, you pay $8.95 a month for an online game, then other publishers might jump onto that idea if it works out. Even if it's a small core of hardcores that will pay to play, then others may see it as profitable as well, for the low volume selling titles. I think the line needs to be drawn in the sand.

I've never been one to worry much about money, I fork out enough of it, but I just don't like paying for a game, then having to pay AGAIN to play it.

Mike D.

 

[Dave F]

Fight the Power! Down with The Man!

-Dave

 

[Rob_Pierce]

At this point, I don't think it's been made completely clear about which company is receiving what proportions of the subscription fee in each territory.

This is true, but I find it hard to believe that Sega is retailing the game for $39.99 and not getting the largest slice of the monthly revenue. If they were selling the game on their own hardware (like Sony's first party games at $39.99), I could understand the discounted pricing. I may be wrong, but common sense dictates that Sega is either getting the lion's share of the revenue or Microsoft is subsidizing their cost somehow (which I seriously doubt).

 

[Marshall W. Carter]

$8.95 a month is still a bit much to pay for PSO. Sure, V.2 on the DC did have the fee, but basically you paid $10 for three months...much more reasonable. For a MMORPG, I can see the near-$10/month figure, but not for a game like PSO, which is frankly a lot closer to something like Diablo 2 or Baldur's Gate.

 

[BrianB]

PSO is not peer to peer, Dean.

 

[Allen_Appel]

I understand that MS will be changing the pricing schedule in some way come the November one-year anniversary. Can MS reasonably expect to charge a monthly fee that adds up to more than $50 a year? Is the XBL service IP address- or Xbox serial number-specific? If MS decides to charge $10 per month, couldn't one simply buy a new activation disk and start the service under a new gamertag? I'm assuming the cost of the disk+headset won't be changing.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Brian,i'm pretty sure that PSO is P2P once you leave the lobbies

 

[Christopher Cheadle]

From what I understand, PSO is completely hosted on MS/Sega servers. One night I started a room, lost my Internet connection and then when I got back on, my room was still there as were all the people. A couple of them didn't even know that I had left. I believe, and I could be wrong, that if this was P2P, everyone would have been dropped back in to the lobby.

 

[BrianB]

I believe, and I could be wrong, that if this was P2P, everyone would have been dropped back in to the lobby.

If it's a true peer to peer game, then no, they wouldn't be dropped. There's no one "server" that has complete control of the game state, each connection is identical. Most games these days are client-server, where one of the connections is the "server" or in control of the game state. If that connection drops, the game is lost as none of the clients has the capability to 'take over'.

Unfortunately, peer to peer as a term has been corrupted by modern PC games & the likes of napster. Frequently software that's really client-server is mislabeled as p2p. Frequently PC gamers treat any game that doesn't have a "dedicated server" mode as peer to peer, even though it's really functioning as client-server (just without a dedicated machine).

 

[Dave F]

If you start a game and leave, then it is taken over by the person who has been in the game the longest. This affects the types of items that are found as well.

-Dave

 

[Christopher Cheadle]

Ah, good point Brian. I have fallen prey to a common misconception that I actually knew was a misconception. Too little sleep, too much PSO.

I did just read a couple of PSO Xbox FAQs and they both did mention that it is definitely run on dedicated servers. It sounds like they are doing this for, among other things, to reduce the hacks that seemed to plague the DC version.

 

[Steve K.H.]

What was the topic again...? Peer to Peer or Client/Server?...

Anyway...

Is an additional fee right or wrong...?

Well, those of you who have taken an economics course and perhaps marketing courses know the answer(s).

For those who haven't...

"If you build it, they will come" is straight bull$hit. Makes for a good movie though...

In reality...

People who perceive a benefit from paying for the additional service, will continue to pay. The rest is obvious.

My hope...

I really don't care if there are or are not charges. Ultimately what is important to me is that the games are stable and provide entertainment. If there is a premium to increase the WOW Factor, I'll probably buy in. If there is a premium and I ain't impressed, I ain't buying.