We're not just asking this because we think it's a good question. You see, the watercooler open bar talk here lately is that Microsoft is trying to lock down some kind of MMO standard for Xbox Live and the Xbox 360. And from what we understand, they want that standard to be you paying both for Xbox Live and a monthly fee (or some kind of regular fee) to play these MMOs. I told one heavily involved person close to the subject that most gamers would not go for this. And they agreed wholeheartedly. But if Microsoft has their way, both studios and gamers would have to put up with two charges or more to play.
So what's the alternative? You continue paying your Xbox Live fees, but the game will be supported with optional downloadable content and updates. One unnamed developer we spoke with working on a couple of high-profile MMOs would like things to work out this way. But we totally get how others wouldn't like this, including Microsoft.
So, before this all goes down, we wanted to know what you thought. Would you mind paying an additional fee on top of Xbox Live for the MMO games you've purchased for the Xbox 360? Or is the free/optional DLC more your speed? Let us know in the poll after the jump.
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
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Never. That is why I own a copy of FF XIII and have never played it. I refuse to pay THREE times to play a game! Purchase cost, gold sub, game sub. That's BS.
I wouldn't mind really, but that is under the assumption that said MMO is worth my money.
I've always seen MMO's as an investment as you generally put quite some effort and time in them, as of yet i haven't seen one on consoles that's worth it. If they step up their game and make it a good service and above all a good game I don't have a problem with it at all.
I want to say no but I totally did for Phantasy Star Universe and I can't say I felt ripped off (well...eventually I did, but that was mostly the game's fault).
Nowadays, I probably wouldn't unless the extra charge was lower than the PC standard. I would pay maybe like $5 a month IF the game wasn't heavily instanced. My justification for that being heavy instancing (like PSU does) is essentially just a different version of lobbies which lead in to the actual game with a small amount of players. There's really no difference between that and say Call of Duty's multiplayer system except the fact that you have avatars and the lobby has more people in it.
For most games, there's no way. It would have to be something pretty damned special for me to drop extra money on top of Live each month for the privilege of playing my $59.99 game...
Hell no! Those who already pay an xbox live subscription shouldn't have to! That's like double taxation! Those who don't pay for an xbox live subscription however, should pay for a monthly fee.
The average MMO subscription on the PC is $15, which I am willing to pay for a good MMO. If XBox Live and the MMOs can figure out a plan where I'm paying a similar price to play on the 360 instead of my PC, then I'd definitely try it out.
If that turns out to be $7 for live and $8 for the MMO, ok. If that's $15 just for the MMO and there's no Live service included, that's ok too. Anything over that monthly $15 mark and they can't expect players to opt for the 360 rather than the PC.
im already paying two monthly fees to play 360 online... to charge more would be a horrible decision; i dont know about everyone else, but my pockets arent deep enough right now
I don't play MMOs, anyway. But I don't see what the big deal is. If they charge, say, $5/month for an MMO on top of the $5 per month you're paying for XBL, that's $10 per month, and isn't that competitive with most PC MMOs, or not? I really have no idea.
The only people who would pay for an MMO out there are already playing it on the PC. Xbox Live already makes us pay to use our own bandwidth, given that I haven't seen any example of a good MMO is a long-ass time (admittedly I haven't played LotR yet) there's no fucking way - No. Fucking. Way. - I'd ever pay additional fees to play MMOs on the Xbox.
Don't Xbots always go on about how little XBL costs per month (roughly $4.16). If the cost is really that negligible, why complain about the additional MMO fee?
Some people(like me) don't have an internet connection in the same room they play their consoles. So some people have to pay $100 for the 360 wi-fi adapter. On top of that, they have to pay $50 a year for Xbox Live. And now, on top of that, they're supposed to pay an additional fee if they want to play MMOs?
If you add all that up, 360 isn't really cheaper than PS3. Microsoft nickels and dimes people every chance they get. If they try to charge more money for MMOs, I hope every MMO on their console if a miserable failure.
I wouldn't pay the industry standard $15/mo for an MMO on XBLive, no. I already pay for Gold. If there was an MMO I did want to play on 360 I might pay $5/mo in addition to my yearly XBLive sub but probably not more than that.
Bottom line is that Microsoft shouldn't make their customers pay another potential 15-20 bones to play a game that they paid for on top of a service that they pay 50 bones to use.
$110 is way too much to play an MMO as it is, so I wouldn't pay a monthly fee to play more of said MMO.
The charges are a turn off. If they were free to play like Guild Wars, I'd certainly try one of two. If they were more varied than fantasy cliches, again I'd try them.
Just think what would happen if we all started to play MMO's on our consoles? Retailers would suffer a huge blow.
Buying games cost money.
Paying for my broadband cost money
Paying for Live cost money, therefore I can't sink money into one game alone.
The only MMOs I like the look of is The Agency. Unfortunately its on PS3 which I don't have. Never mind.
I love the ideas behind MMOs, but I simply can't justify the monthly fees. Accepting those monthly fees on top of what I already pay for Gold is even more difficult.
Get me an MMO on the 360 where I don't have to pay every month, and I'm sold.
Doesn't Phantasy Star Universe and Final Fantasy XI only require a silver account at least to play online? (This does exclude the subscription fees of the MMO btw)
But I think that on a Gold Account, MMOs should be free or not expensive.
I regret buying my 360. I finished Ninja Gaiden and haven't touched it since. The majority of the games on the 360 are either a) available on PC or are b) hack'n'slash games not as good as Ninja Gaiden so they don't seem worth playing.
If anyone in Australia wants a limited edition red 360 with about 12 games (including RE5 and Halo Wars) let me know.
well most MMO's charge the monthly fee for maintenance of servers and keeping the game updated. Microsoft dosent want to split the money they are already getting per month obviously, and they shouldn't.
And you dont have to pay for live to play FFXI. so its buying the game + MMO fee just like on pc.
If they could work a deal so that the fee is cheaper when u have gold, all the better. if not ill just stop paying for live while im addicted to the MMO.
Bring me MMOS for my console that are worth a damn!!
I knew all the crybaby console kiddies would bitch about this. It's amazing that they would bitch about an MMO, but will funnel Microsoft points for DLC like nothing. Remember kids, you're *only* paying $4 a month for XBL...
I would certainly pay a monthly fee...Up to (but not over) $10 extra per month per MMO. That would equal out to $14 total per month ($4 for XBL + $10 for 1 MMO subscription). You console guys wanted your consoles to be more like PCs (DLC, online, patches, etc) and now here comes the thunder!
Hmph. This seems to me like double dipping. The things I pay for with XBL are the same things I pay for with an MMO. Maybe if the monthly fee was heavily reduced from the $15 standard, but otherwise no.
You would be paying for support twice basically, Xbox and the developer/publisher when ultimately I would be directed to one or the other should the need arise. That's why I would be ok with a small fee, one that pays for whatever xbox isn't already covering.
I wouldn't to be honest. We already pay enough for the game itself, I'm not paying more to play a MMO on my console. If I want to play a MMO, I'll play it on my PC.
I don't see why console players should get outta paying the monthly fees. It be like me buying an MMO then complaining that I have to pay for the internet to use it. Everyone keeps telling me that XBL fees are dirt cheap when I compare it to my MMO fees so if thats the case an extra $15 shouldn't hurt them at all.
the question isnt if you would pay to play an mmo. its if you would pay the mmo fee on a x360. seems like most of the people here are arguing they shouldnt pay to play a game, when that isnt the argument.
technophile said it the best
"You would be paying for support twice basically, Xbox and the developer/publisher when ultimately I would be directed to one or the other should the need arise. That's why I would be ok with a small fee, one that pays for whatever xbox isn't already covering."
It's been said before, but those who are crying about having to pay THREE fees (OMG, NOT THREE!?) need to wake up and realize how childish they're sounding. The majority of MMO players currently pay the three fees and you don't hear them complain about how many payments they make a month. Those three payments are: 1) The game itself. 2)Internet Fee. 3)Monthly fee. What would your fees be? 1) The game itself. 2)Xbox Live Gold. 3)Monthly fee. OMG THEY'RE SO DIFFERENT!
So all you hardcore gamers are whining worse then WoW players...grats for acting more childish then the demograph of people you make fun of.
As far as it's concerned, the fee itself has to be less then the average PC fee of $15 or else you stand to lose business. So long as the fee is less than or equal to $15, then I'm sure most gamers would give a console MMO a try.
I really don't understand why paying extra for an MMO on a console is a big deal. Millions of people do it every month on the PC. MMOs are a completely different ball of wax for the game developers than a FPS or RTS or whatever. There is much more support and whatnot required on their end. I've played numerous MMOs and paid for them and really never felt cheated. If I did, I quit paying for the game. I would agree that paying a full $15 on top of the Xbox Live Gold subscription would be overpriced, but paying an extra $8-$10 to me is not an issue.
I believe this is the company that makes the MMO that charges the money as the game would most likely run on their servers, MS wouldn't see a single cent of that money.
But by all means keep nerd raging against Microsoft, excuse me Micro$oft, see what I did there? I switched the S with an $ cause MS is greedy and only in it for the money and that makes me witty and cool. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE PEOPLE.
If Microsoft thinks that I'm going to pay two monthly fees they're mistaken. I've already bought their system and am paying the fee for gold, I will not buy a game that requires yet more of my money per month. Side note, somewhat related - I loath greedy people.
"Those three payments are: 1) The game itself. 2)Internet Fee. 3)Monthly fee. What would your fees be? 1) The game itself. 2)Xbox Live Gold. 3)Monthly fee. OMG THEY'RE SO DIFFERENT!"
Uhh... you left out the 'internet fee' the second time around there, chief. As much as I may wish broadband was free for all Xbox owners, snot the case.
And hey, again, I don't play the things, so I won't subscribe to the logic in the first place, let alone the additional fee. Call it what you want to, but Live Gold users already pay a fee that's supposed to support the network they use to play games, so they have a right to complain.
Then again, ten bucks says most of them are like me and don't give a rat's ass about MMO's to begin with, it's just that the principalities alone are ridiculous.
If I played MMOs no more than 5$ a month and only if the game was special. $50 bucks a year for XBL fair enough.
Still don't get why people shit on XBL. It is much better than $ony'$ [see what i did there kyousuke? nyuk nyuk] free PSN. That has been a load of crap to deal with. Oh wait, guess you get what you pay for... *shrug*
If you want an MMO with no fees, you're going to lose some features. Simple as that.
There wont be free chunks of content added in patches.
Patches will take longer, too.
No more in-game customer support with Game Masters to answer your questions at a moments notice.
Less complex features that require large server setups (which have maintainance costs associated with them)
You're going to lose a lot by cutting the monthly fee. It's there for a reason, and it's typically about $15 a month. You may thing your $50 for XBL is an investment, but a year of an MMO is $180... Do you really feel your $50 a year which is already going towards other current XBL upkeep costs can be able to cover that?
@Kyousuke Nanbu: I think it's more of a respect issue than about being witty and cool. But I know that no one around here (the internet) cares about respect.
I would try an MMO if it was included in my Xbox Live subscription cost, but I wouldn't even consider paying an additional fee. I bought a copy of FF XI for the 360 at launch and I still haven't even bothered trying to play it. I didn't know I needed to pay an additional fee when I bought the game and, as soon as I was notified, I decided it wasn't even worth opening.
That said, if there was no additional fee and the game was supported by selling substantial additional content, I might give it a shot. So long as I'm getting a substantial experience for my initial $60, I'm fine with buying more content to increase the longevity of the game. I'd probably be fine with $20 or so for additional content, but only if it has real substance--I refuse to be nickle and dimed with "special" items and other bullshit.
Listen, every person playing FFXI is paying for Live and a monthly sub, as well as the Phantasy Star U players. I would wager that a large number of WOW, Age of Conan, LotRO and others pay for Live and their respective MMOs. While I might not pay, and many of the people in this thread won't either, I'm sure there is a significant number of Live users that WOULD pay.
Well the way I see it, if I want to play an MMO on my PC I'm going to be charged the same thing, assuming the majority of the MMO's come out on both XB360 & PC, either way I'm going to have to pay the monthly fee and my Gold Live fee... so what's the difference really?
god microsoft pisses me of just asking this ridiculous question, microsoft should realize people don't like to pay three times for the same freaking shit!
i dont even know what the average price of an MMO is. And do gamers understand that the fee is to the game studio (Sega, Blizzard..), not for xboxLive. At least try to make the blog clear to everyone because alot of members here have already proven that they dont seem to get it and quickly jump on the "5 dollars is too much!" bandwagon.
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Contest:
4:10 PM on 04.02.2009
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I've always seen MMO's as an investment as you generally put quite some effort and time in them, as of yet i haven't seen one on consoles that's worth it. If they step up their game and make it a good service and above all a good game I don't have a problem with it at all.
*Final Fantasy XI
------------------------------------------
For some reason I foresee many people giving in to this. M$ has some magic that enables them to convince people to blow money on dumb shit.
Nowadays, I probably wouldn't unless the extra charge was lower than the PC standard. I would pay maybe like $5 a month IF the game wasn't heavily instanced. My justification for that being heavy instancing (like PSU does) is essentially just a different version of lobbies which lead in to the actual game with a small amount of players. There's really no difference between that and say Call of Duty's multiplayer system except the fact that you have avatars and the lobby has more people in it.
Ditto, and I don't even play MMO's. But if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't pay MORE to play it online... that's what Gold subscriptions are for.
Right?
If that turns out to be $7 for live and $8 for the MMO, ok. If that's $15 just for the MMO and there's no Live service included, that's ok too. Anything over that monthly $15 mark and they can't expect players to opt for the 360 rather than the PC.
An MMO on a home console ? Have fun trying to use a decent controller perhaps other than the Wii remote.
If you add all that up, 360 isn't really cheaper than PS3. Microsoft nickels and dimes people every chance they get. If they try to charge more money for MMOs, I hope every MMO on their console if a miserable failure.
Bottom line is that Microsoft shouldn't make their customers pay another potential 15-20 bones to play a game that they paid for on top of a service that they pay 50 bones to use.
$110 is way too much to play an MMO as it is, so I wouldn't pay a monthly fee to play more of said MMO.
Just think what would happen if we all started to play MMO's on our consoles? Retailers would suffer a huge blow.
Buying games cost money.
Paying for my broadband cost money
Paying for Live cost money, therefore I can't sink money into one game alone.
The only MMOs I like the look of is The Agency. Unfortunately its on PS3 which I don't have. Never mind.
I highly doubt anyone is going to shell out even more money to play an MMO.
Get me an MMO on the 360 where I don't have to pay every month, and I'm sold.
But I think that on a Gold Account, MMOs should be free or not expensive.
Granted, I'm the same cheap bastard who won't pay $15 per month for wow, or the $whatever for Everquest, or any other MMO.
I wouldn't put it past me to not bother paying for Xbox live. But I'm gonna need to get an Xbox before that's an issue.
If anyone in Australia wants a limited edition red 360 with about 12 games (including RE5 and Halo Wars) let me know.
And you dont have to pay for live to play FFXI. so its buying the game + MMO fee just like on pc.
If they could work a deal so that the fee is cheaper when u have gold, all the better. if not ill just stop paying for live while im addicted to the MMO.
Bring me MMOS for my console that are worth a damn!!
I would certainly pay a monthly fee...Up to (but not over) $10 extra per month per MMO. That would equal out to $14 total per month ($4 for XBL + $10 for 1 MMO subscription). You console guys wanted your consoles to be more like PCs (DLC, online, patches, etc) and now here comes the thunder!
You would be paying for support twice basically, Xbox and the developer/publisher when ultimately I would be directed to one or the other should the need arise. That's why I would be ok with a small fee, one that pays for whatever xbox isn't already covering.
technophile said it the best
"You would be paying for support twice basically, Xbox and the developer/publisher when ultimately I would be directed to one or the other should the need arise. That's why I would be ok with a small fee, one that pays for whatever xbox isn't already covering."
other then that no F'ing way I already have to pay for gold status now this
cut me some F'ing slack
So all you hardcore gamers are whining worse then WoW players...grats for acting more childish then the demograph of people you make fun of.
As far as it's concerned, the fee itself has to be less then the average PC fee of $15 or else you stand to lose business. So long as the fee is less than or equal to $15, then I'm sure most gamers would give a console MMO a try.
But by all means keep nerd raging against Microsoft, excuse me Micro$oft, see what I did there? I switched the S with an $ cause MS is greedy and only in it for the money and that makes me witty and cool. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE PEOPLE.
Uhh... you left out the 'internet fee' the second time around there, chief. As much as I may wish broadband was free for all Xbox owners, snot the case.
And hey, again, I don't play the things, so I won't subscribe to the logic in the first place, let alone the additional fee. Call it what you want to, but Live Gold users already pay a fee that's supposed to support the network they use to play games, so they have a right to complain.
Then again, ten bucks says most of them are like me and don't give a rat's ass about MMO's to begin with, it's just that the principalities alone are ridiculous.
Still don't get why people shit on XBL. It is much better than $ony'$ [see what i did there kyousuke? nyuk nyuk] free PSN. That has been a load of crap to deal with. Oh wait, guess you get what you pay for... *shrug*
There wont be free chunks of content added in patches.
Patches will take longer, too.
No more in-game customer support with Game Masters to answer your questions at a moments notice.
Less complex features that require large server setups (which have maintainance costs associated with them)
You're going to lose a lot by cutting the monthly fee. It's there for a reason, and it's typically about $15 a month. You may thing your $50 for XBL is an investment, but a year of an MMO is $180... Do you really feel your $50 a year which is already going towards other current XBL upkeep costs can be able to cover that?
That said, if there was no additional fee and the game was supported by selling substantial additional content, I might give it a shot. So long as I'm getting a substantial experience for my initial $60, I'm fine with buying more content to increase the longevity of the game. I'd probably be fine with $20 or so for additional content, but only if it has real substance--I refuse to be nickle and dimed with "special" items and other bullshit.