Welcome to the 1,234th edition of Loading...
Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news, coverage, and
commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.
Several AAA MMOGs have offered lifetime subscription options
prior to launch. But gamers are a fickle lot. Are lifetime
subscriptions a bargain or a gamble? Do they encourage players to
stick with a game and find their place in its community, or do they
make gamers feel obligated to play long after they've lost that lovin'
feeling? This topic and more in today's Loading... Jelly of the Month
Club.
Become a Premium
Member for LIFE for $49.95! ($29.95 for existing members.
Regular
price - $99.95). Get beta keys,
exclusive content, contest advantages and
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/membership">much more.
For life.
Offer expires January 3, 2010, so act now.
The Pulse
You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result is the Ten Ton Pulse (
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/thepulse/" target="_blank">What
is The Pulse?).
Here are today's top 5 Pulse results:
Biggest movers today:
-
9/22
- Aion
(release date) - 10/8
- Cities
XL (release date) - 11/3
- Dragon Age:
Origins (release date) -
style="font-weight: bold;">11/10
- Final Fantasy
XI Ultimate
Collection (release date) - 12/1
- LotRO:
Siege of Mirkwood (expansion) - 12/1
- EVE
Online: Dominion (expansion) -
12/2
- DOFUS 2.0
(update) - 12/15
- EverQuest:
Underfoot (expansion)
Releases
-
style="font-weight: bold;">2/1
- Global
Agenda
(release date) -
style="font-weight: bold;">2/2
- Star Trek Online
(release date) - 2/16
- href="http://everquest2.station.sony.com/expansions/sentinelsfate/index.vm">EverQuest
2: Sentinel's Fate (expansion) - March 2010
- APB
Loading... Daily
You're likely familiar with
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K8-kNuDgoA">this scene
from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Clark Griswold has
been awaiting his Christmas bonus, and as the Christmas eve
chaos in his home ramps up so does his anxiety. And then finally a
company messenger appears at the door, envelope in hand. The family
gathers around as Clark holds the envelope and announces that with the
money from his bonus check he's putting in a swimming pool. But the
envelope doesn't turn out to contain a bonuns check at all; instead,
it's a one year subscription to the Jelly of the Month Club.
This year,
href="http://tentonhammer.com/co">Champions Online
offered a lifetime subscription for $199.99 during its pre-order phase.
It's one of several AAA titles in recent years to have wooed lifetime
subscribers at or around the $200 price point. What many of us can't
seem to decide is whether lifetime subs are a generous bonus or the
equivalent of a one year subscription to the Jelly of the Month Club.
There's no doubt that lifetime subscriptions represent value for the
serious MMO gamer. Numbers don't lie. Consider the typical MMOG monthly
subscription cost of $15, and the typical lifetime subscription price
of around $200, and for the price of just over 13 months of
subscription fees you're getting the option to play continuously
without the inconvenience of having to buy game time cards,
or sweating whether your credit card information is up to
date, for as long as the servers are up and the game is in operation.
The problem, for me, is that I haven't stuck with a game for 13 months
since EverQuest.
There's always something new and interesting on the horizon, and after
a while even the best of games seem to lose their luster. During EQ's
heyday there really weren't a lot of other MMOG options, but that's not
the case today. There are plenty of options available--from older MMOGs
to the brand new ones hitting the marketplace regularly to the myriad
free-to-play titles--and
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/73582">game hopping
is the rule, not the exception. Given that the lifetime sub
option is only a value if you play a game for more than 13 months, and
publishers generally seem to offer this subscription option before the
game has launched, shelling out $200 on an unknown quantity seems like
a gamble.
Then again, I'm forced to consider how many times I've fallen back to
some of my favorite games. We've seen plenty that haven't met our
expectations at launch, but which later evolved into solid games packed
full of exciting content. For every free update and every new expension
pack we have a new reason to get back into a game we may have
abandoned. The same goes for those lulls between MMOG launches. Its
during those times that I frequently see posts in our forums asking,
"What's [fill in the game title] like these days?" as players consider
heading back into older games.
Some might argue that having a lifetime subscription would create a
sense of obligation in the gamer, and that feeling obligated would
eventually lead to resentment. ("Ugh! I paid $200 up front to play this
game, so I'd better play it.") And yet, when I stop to think about how
many times I've resubscribed to my favorite MMOG--in my case,
href="http://eq2.tentonhammer.com/">
style="font-style: italic;">EverQuest II--I
definitely would have been saving money had there been a lifetime sub
option prior to launch and had I chosen to take advantage of it. What
you're getting when you buy a
lifetime sub is not only a subscription that spans the
lifetime of the game for the cost of about 13 months of gameplay, but
the
option to pick up that game whenever you want.
If you're optimistic, you might also look at a lifetime subscription as
an opportunity to settle in and learn to enjoy the community and the
gameplay of a MMOG. Rather than being an obligation, the lifetime sub
becomes an invitation to make the most out of what you've been offered,
and to find friends and/or a guild to enjoy your game time with. I
talked last
week about how guilds influence one's enjoyment of and
longevity in any game. Perhaps lifetime subs are the best
option for players who are well entrenched in guilds, or even
perma-groups, and who know they're likely to have friends to play with
over the long haul. (And keep in mind that the long haul doesn't
necessarily mean sticking with a game for months on end, just returning
to it time and time again.)
In the end, are lifetime subscriptions a bargain? They certainly can
be, but it all depends on the gamer. Lifetime subs aren't well suited
to the lone wolf who spends most of his time soloing and jumps
restlessly from game to game, but they're a great deal for anyone
interested enough in a game to return to it repeatedly, or for those who know
they'll have friends to play with whenever that new game update hits
the servers or that expansion pack launches or there's a quiet time in
the MMOG industry that's perfect for returning to a game that's become
an old standby. As cousin Eddie earnestly declared after Clark revealed
his Jelly of the Month Club bonus, "It's the gift that keeps on giving!"
Have you ever purchased a lifetime MMOG subscription? Would you? Which
upcoming games would make you consider the option? Head over to the
Loading... forum to
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=48635">talk
about it.
Shayalyn's Epic
Thread of
the Day
From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=666">Members
Only: Ten Ton Topics forum
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=48619">WANTED:
Your MMOG Predictions for 2010!
Don't you hate it when I tease you with a thread from our Members Only
forum? You can't access it unless you're a premium membe. Poor you! But
fortunately, becoming
a member is easier than ever right now. (And we offer a
lifetime subscription! No question--it's a great value.)
If you're a premium member, head on over to href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=48619">Sardu's
thread to give us your MMOG industry predictions for 2010.
Your prediction could appear in an upcoming Ten Ton Hammer article!
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"Prediction number one:
Rise of the Godslayer will cause a nice media frenzy and AoC will make
a nifty comeback...
Prediction number two: ... Until The Secret World launches or goes into
beta."
- Anacche
==============================
Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=32559">Tell
us!
7 new Ten Ton Hammer MMOG
features today! 108 in December! 2,290 in
2009!
Exclusive Interviews Today at Ten Ton Hammer
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78492"> style="font-weight: bold;">Mythos Q&A
With Redbana Global Manager - Eric Liu
Typically, once a game is on its deathbed, with life support pulled,
the sheet draped over and lights shut off, there is very little hope
for a resurrection. Mythos, a highly anticipated
game originally in development by the now defunct Seattle-based
Flagship Studios, is one of the rare exceptions. Join us this week as
we sit down with Redbana Global Manager, Eric Liu, for a Q&A
about the past, present and future of Mythos.
New and Exclusive Features
-
style="font-weight: bold;">AdventureQuest Worlds Dev
Diary: Happy Frostval to All, and to All the Good Knights!
The
eve of the Frostval holiday is approaching in AdventureQuest Worlds and
this week Artix returns with a new blog for the holidays to encourage
players to take part in the Frostval celebration and special holiday
quest lines in the game. The team will also be helping out the href="http://www.childsplaycharity.org/">Child's Play
charity this year by auctioning off a 24" X 30 3/4" poster of XAN
signed by the Artix Entertainment team. 100% of the profit from the
auction will be donated to the charity to help out those less fortunate
over the holiday season.
New Guides
-
style="font-weight: bold;">Dungeons & Dragons
Online: New Character Build - The Summoner
Summoners
are elven wizards who are masters of summoning fell beings from other
planes to fight for them. When they're not scouring through ancient
tomes in their quest to unlock further secrets of the ether, they're
crawling through horror-infested tombs and dungeons in search of more
tomes. Join Eric "Dalmarus" Campbell as he reveals how you can create
one of these primal wizards. -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion/guides/classes/templarstigmas">
style="font-weight: bold;">Aion Templar Stigma
Skill List
Aion Stigmas are the key to class customization. Whether you
are a dedicated PvE player or strive to take out the opposition in PvP
gameplay, the stigmas you choose can make all the difference in your
hopeful success. This list of Templar Stigma Skills will get
you started in finding the skills that will benefit you
making your life easier out in Atreia. -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/mage/equipment">
style="font-weight: bold;">WoW: Mage Equipment
Guide
Our Mage Equipment Guide for Mages in World of Warcraft is a sure fire
way to make sure your Mage is well equipped. No matter if you're level
1, level 80, or a Night Elf Mohawk, our Mage Equipment Guide will tell
you what's best for gearing up, what to gem, what to enchant, and
everything else associated with gear.
Exclusive Media
-
style="font-weight: bold;">EverQuest 2: Sentinel's Fate
- Sundered Frontier Screenshots
In anticipation of the reveal today, SOE sent us two
Sentinel's Fate screens of Sundered Frontier, one of the new high level
overland zones in next February's EverQuest 2 expansion. One shows some
good old-fashioned wizard spires, the other is of a huge building's
interior. Have a look! -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/co/media/wintereventgallery">
style="font-weight: bold;">Champions Online:
Winter Event Gallery
With the winter event now underway in Champions Online, your pals at
Ten Ton Hammer are pleased to give you a gallery of screenshots of this
event (and its not a re-gift!) From seeing jolly old Santa to fighting
the evil Black Harlequin and his murderous toys, its a yuletide season
not to be missed.
Today's Hottest Content
- The
Ten
Ton Hammer Best of 2009
Awards -
style="font-weight: bold;">Mythos Q&A
With Redbana Global Manager - Eric Liu -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78369">Star
Trek Online href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78369">:
Klingons and PvP Q&A with Cryptic Studios - The
Cause of Mass Effect
- An Interview with the
BioWare Founders -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/lotro/holiday09">LotRO
Siege of Mirkwood Complete Edition Holiday Giveaway -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion/reviews/soloriusevent">Aion
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion/reviews/soloriusevent">
"Solorious" Holiday Event Review - A
look back at Aion
in 2009 -
style="font-weight: bold;">Dungeons & Dragons
Online: New Character Build - The Summoner href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom/guides/new/addons"> - Mass
Effect 2
Hands-On Preview - Playing
it
Forward: A Mass Effect 2 Video Q&A with
BioWare's Casey
Hudson
Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer
network!
- Karen "Shayalyn" Hertzberg and the Ten Ton Hammer team
