Comments on: Thought of the Day: What should you expect from an SOE sub?

By: Tesh

Tesh — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:04:21 +0000

Subs have never been about getting content to the players. They are about monetizing player inertia. Content generation is a potential side benefit, but it’s obviously not a guarantee.

By: Michayla

Michayla — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:09:53 +0000

I’m sure there will be many blogs/websites reviewing the game in the coming weeks. Kotaku doesn’t give full reviews on any MMO until the 1 month anniversary of said MMO.

Whether you realize it or not, SoE is under a microscope right now. As a long time subscriber to SoE and their games, I can tell you that SoE’s business practices under the leadership of John Smedley has been shady at best, deceptive at worst. SoE has been caught in many pickles as of late, and this is just icing on the proverbial cake.

By: silvertemplar

silvertemplar — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:38:53 +0000

The only problem i have with all of this DCU news is, no one is reviewing the GAME?! . So the pre-orders were messy, so it is a subscription game, so it is priced differently in different territories, so there is different servers , so it is on ps3 and pc ……yet everyone is reviewing SOE here not DC Universe .

Unfortunately this is not what is going to dictate my decision of playing or not playing ANY game. So even that post from Ubnsubject is pretty much useless and academic. It does not say one single word about the game and how it PLAYS during launch…

By: Nick Smith

Nick Smith — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:31:51 +0000

Meh. Big bags, not big backs.

By: Nick Smith

Nick Smith — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:31:02 +0000

Champions Online (Direct Competition – see what I done there?) goes Free to Play later this month, with much limited customizability.

I suspect this is the future – use your initial sales and 18-24 months of subs to pay back your initial (Huuuuuuuge) investment and then retrench by looking at your sales model, including F2P.

EQ2 extended came after..?6 years?, and personally I both spent more playing it, and had more fun, than I ever did with EQ2 pay monthly. As a casual player, buying mounts, big backs, etc. meant I could get on with enjoying more gameplay quicker. EQ2 was a dead world, Extended is not.

While the MMO market is hugely bigger than it was, so is the competition. There might have been an expectation that niche brands – Star trek, Star Wars, DC, might have been able to withstand F2P market logic – but LOTRO has probably put paid to that.

Ultimately, these guys have shareholders…if DCUO manages to get subs for 6 years in significant numbers, it will have done well. If those numbers go down after 18 months, they won’t invest in the next.

BTW, I’m having a blast in DCUO – it lacks polish, sure (MMO launch), and is a little more FPS-ey than your typical MMO, but right now it’s cool. It will need the (lots) more content they are promising, though.

By: spinks

spinks — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 12:40:33 +0000

“While SoE has been telling DCUO online players subscription is the way to go, they’ve been peddling EQ2Extended to EQ2 subscribers, as well as the cash shop.”

This is my cognitive dissonance too.

By: Michayla

Michayla — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 12:38:36 +0000

It’s all lies. While SoE has been telling DCUO online players subscription is the way to go, they’ve been peddling EQ2Extended to EQ2 subscribers, as well as the cash shop.

You can expect content for a good year or so, and then afterwards expect to pay for your free game updates via the cash shop or expansion packs.