Once upon a time the folks at Blizzard Entertainment thought they could support the entire world of World of Wacraft by ad revenue. This would have created an MMO experience which would cost you nothing but a bit of annoyance by ad providers; what would the total audience be if the game was free?
Had WoW launched free of charge they would probably have significantly more users playing the game, but the ad revenue from the sheer amount of people would be nothing compared to a monthly charge for eight million subscribers.
Although only a small number of those subscribers are US based, they’re still raking in the cash compared to an ad-based model, even if they were to have triple the subscribers.
However, the Blizzard exec noted: “We didn’t want to charge a subscription, but as we researched market conditions, we realized that wouldn’t support us.”
It’s possible, perhaps, that Blizzard would have fallen under its own weight had they created a world where anyone could play for no charge. Imagine the server utilization, the volume of traffic and the support calls they would get for triple or quadrupal the player base with only ads paying the checks.
Granted, a free system would be excellent in theory, but in practice, making us pay is the only way to throttle our addictions. Sad, but true.
(Thanks, gamasutra)
@Orcs Must Die!
Weird! I played something similar from ISOTX, “Iron Grip: Warlord”. Tower defense, you can lay out traps and whatnot. And also first person shooter, so that you can kill the attackers yourself.
Derrick, interesting idea there: quick, fun games are back.
@LG Lawsuit Stops PS3 Shipments In Europe:
Bwa ha ha ha ha 😀
This is unbelievable! As a counter-suit however it is a pretty weak move: PS3 is already doomed, so threatening Sony with disrupting PS3 imports is … lame. Unless Sony has NO REPLACEMENT for PS3. Then it makes sense. It’s like threatening with a kick to a groin already beaten up.
@Mortal Kombat Banned in Australia:
I think they could be getting it via Steam. Or via friends from other regions :P.
I see this as a test on how weak the ban gets enforced. I say it’ll be very easy to bypass.
Derrick, according to Rayden, the whole idea of MK is not death, but preservation of life 😛
@Rift:
Too bold for his own good. There’s a quote from C&C Generals Zero Hours, that goes like: “Rage won’t get you anywhere, general. Now, rage and a column of tanks …”.
Will Cook has rage. Not sure about tanks though.
@Browser Based PC Games The Future?
The browser is the viewing end. In this case, things are done on remote servers.
Dunno about cloud computing. Bandwidth will always be an issue, and hardcore players will want to take control of the quality of their experience.
It might work however for folks who don’t mind some graphical issues.
Very interesting approach however on it being a demo platform. Very, very interesting approach.
@PC Gaming Is Indeed Dying:
😀 I’m not having a fit. I’ll still be playing PC games. Heck, Steam is growing like hell, so any conclusion on PC gaming longevity based on retail sales is cr@p.
Jonah, I hooked up my PC to a TV since 2001 to watch movies. The PC has the flexibility that allows you to both play games and to do “office stuff”.
@What is your favorite gaming food?
I don’t really eat while gaming. I would go for cookies, crackers, biscuits stuff like that. Maybe some dark chocolate. And soft drinks like Pepsi or Coke.
@Orcs Must Die!
Weird! I played something similar from ISOTX, “Iron Grip: Warlord”. Tower defense, you can lay out traps and whatnot. And also first person shooter, so that you can kill the attackers yourself.
Derrick, interesting idea there: quick, fun games are back.
@LG Lawsuit Stops PS3 Shipments In Europe:
Bwa ha ha ha ha 😀
This is unbelievable! As a counter-suit however it is a pretty weak move: PS3 is already doomed, so threatening Sony with disrupting PS3 imports is … lame. Unless Sony has NO REPLACEMENT for PS3. Then it makes sense. It’s like threatening with a kick to a groin already beaten up.
@Mortal Kombat Banned in Australia:
I think they could be getting it via Steam. Or via friends from other regions :P.
I see this as a test on how weak the ban gets enforced. I say it’ll be very easy to bypass.
Derrick, according to Rayden, the whole idea of MK is not death, but preservation of life 😛
@Rift:
Too bold for his own good. There’s a quote from C&C Generals Zero Hours, that goes like: “Rage won’t get you anywhere, general. Now, rage and a column of tanks …”.
Will Cook has rage. Not sure about tanks though.
@Browser Based PC Games The Future?
The browser is the viewing end. In this case, things are done on remote servers.
Dunno about cloud computing. Bandwidth will always be an issue, and hardcore players will want to take control of the quality of their experience.
It might work however for folks who don’t mind some graphical issues.
Very interesting approach however on it being a demo platform. Very, very interesting approach.
@PC Gaming Is Indeed Dying:
😀 I’m not having a fit. I’ll still be playing PC games. Heck, Steam is growing like hell, so any conclusion on PC gaming longevity based on retail sales is cr@p.
Jonah, I hooked up my PC to a TV since 2001 to watch movies. The PC has the flexibility that allows you to both play games and to do “office stuff”.
@What is your favorite gaming food?
I don’t really eat while gaming. I would go for cookies, crackers, biscuits stuff like that. Maybe some dark chocolate. And soft drinks like Pepsi or Coke.
“As a counter-suit however it is a pretty weak move: PS3 is already doomed, ”
It’s not the PS3 – it’s all Blu-Ray devices. And LG would get money for nothing.
“As a counter-suit however it is a pretty weak move: PS3 is already doomed, ”
It’s not the PS3 – it’s all Blu-Ray devices. And LG would get money for nothing.