Last year, Massively’s Michael Zenke interviewed SOE’s John Smedley about, among other things, the future of SOE’s all-inclusive Station Access plan:
John Smedley: Sure. I don’t mind this being public. We are having ongoing discussions inside the company about making station access an all-inclusive pass. Everything that we have, you get as a customer. Station Access subscribers would get every expansion pack for every game, as well as future expansions for every game as well. For the same price now, without raising the price. We have two problems, though. One: we have third parties involved in this. LucasArts, for example, will have to buy off on this, as would others. Second is the less obvious one: Promising future stuff is the meat of the problem. We haven’t found the right way to word things yet. To be honest other priorities have gotten in the way. That’s what we want to offer people.
In the past year, Flying Lab’s “Pirates of the Burning Sea” was added to Station Access, but none of the things mentioned were ever mentioned after this. We EQ and EQ2 players STILL have to sign up for the Station Players Advanced Character plan — at a buck per month per feature — to see detailed information about our own characters.
With RMT for sure being a big part of upcoming MMOs The Agency and Free Realms, and given that both those and DC Universe Online will also be released on the PS3, where monthly subscription plans are unknown, it really looks like the business model for SOE’s MMOs is moving away from the monthly subscription plan.
If having the Station Access won’t give you any sort of benefit to the newer MMOs, what is the reason to keep it, aside from currently actively playing three or more SOE subscription-based games?
Assuring Station Access subscribers that their monthly investment in SOE games will be valuable going forward should be a top priority. Otherwise, players in these cash-strapped times will be looking at their expenses, and wondering if they really are getting $30 worth of gaming from their subscription.
Good.
You pay an extra buck a month to find out more information on a character you already have?
So they charge you for opening a character sheet?
That’s crazy! How do you eq2’ers put up with SOE’s BS! They had SWG didn’t they? Pretty sure they killed that by re-working the combat system to be wow-like.
But if they do this that’d be great, and hopefully other companies would do the same or something close. I wonder how much it would cost to buy EQ2 and all expansion packs at original retail price…
$40 for EQ2 and all the expansions. The latest one is a “complete package” deal.
The $1 is for a lot more data than you get from most games…all kinds of crazy stats if you’re into that kind of thing.
The only idea I can think of with Station Access is if they give you a ‘monthly allowance’ of credits for the RMT stuff in the new games.
The thing about Station Access to me is.. yeah, its a great deal to get all those games for $30/month, but realistically do we have time to play them all? I’d still do it if I had the money, for Vanguard, EQ2 and the extra EQ2 character slots that Station Access gives you, and I might, every once in a while, dip into Pirates or even Matrix Online.
I’d still rather pay for content instead of access. As far as I’m concerned, the sub model will never be worth the money to me. The Guild Wars model or the Puzzle Pirates model is the way this relatively cash-strapped (but more importantly, time-strapped) gamer will spend his money.
What they could do if they want to keep Station Access is to make it a family account option or something similar. E.g. if you have the Station Access then other family members can play X other games for free or at reduced cost.
Station Access doesn’t really work for me, since it’s cheaper to buy 3 month subs to two games than it is to do Station, and I’ve yet to play 3 at a time. I toyed with it for more character slots, but again, 2 accounts are cheaper (well, you still have the game/expansion costs there, but still cheaper in the long run). They need to find a more compelling reason to go Station before I’ll bite on it. Still, I’m pretty sure it’s Station that keeps games like the Matrix and PotBS alive, so I’m glad they do offer it!
Tipa, you do make a great point with this post. I picked up The Shadow Odyssey over the holidays and activated my account last night. I really wanted to go with Station Access but I decided not to since right now Vanguard is free to play. I am also paying for WoW and LOTRO ( so many new expansions to check out! ) and I simply couldn’t justify the extra charges right now.
While free to play EQ2 ( supported by microtransactions ) sounds really really nice, I always worry that quality might suffer in the long run. Slow sales from microtransactions could spell decreased content updates or expansions. Then again, being free might expose the game to a lot more people who wouldn’t have played otherwise.
However, at the end of the day, a company has to make money.
If all the upcoming Sony titles go on the Station Access, I’m in for it again. FR and Agency might have a mixed model of base subscription gets you “x” plus RMT option much like Wizard 101. I hadn’t realized that PotBS had made it on the pass. Hmm, now I have to consider if, I should re-sub. I guess if I don’t stay in EVE long, it will be the next best deal going for me. EQ2 crafting when I feel like it, PotBS ship combat was fun and…, I need a third game to make it worth my while for $30.