Thread: All Points Bulletin(APB)

Actually I was anxiously awaiting APB's release since even before the pod casts started. I applied for the beta the first day I could but I don't think they wanted me.

Now it doesn't really matter. They decided to make the game subscription based so there's no way I'm going to play it now, even though they do have lots of payment options. It's sad because I know a few people who were just as excited as me until they heard that news. It really doesn't make any sense to force players to pay for your game for different reasons.

1. As soon as you go subscription based, your taking on WoW (the #1 p2p MMO) and despite whatever your opinion of the game is, WoW will win and APB will lose because:
a) Players who don't mind paying monthly to play a game have already been playing WoW and have sank a lot of money into it.
b) The same is true for their time and effort to find and achieve whatever it is they want out of their MMO.

So when you compete with WoW you're basically asking players to either give up all they've invested in, both time and money being the investment, to come play your new game. Or, you're asking them to play both which means paying a subscription fee for two MMOs at the same time which only rich people and people with far too much free time will do. (Though WoW is the leader in p2p MMOs, this applies to players of any other p2p MMO because all of these games are a serious commitment for most people.)

2. The players who have no intention of playing any p2p games will not convert by the masses to play APB just because you can purchase blocks of times instead of pay for unused time in a month.

3. Even the players who do convert will be highly judgmental of the game and will be constantly checking to see if playing it is justified, and if it's not they'll drop it and return to their preferred p2p game or free game or whatever entertainment they relied on before.

What it boils down to is going subscription based as an MMO is really pushing on potential fans of the game to not only adopt the game but really stick with the game as long as the designers intend the game to last. But because of the things I outlined before it's a given the adoption and retention rates will seriously be limited, which could mess up their plan of maintaining support, adding content, and paying off game server bills using the subscriptions paid. None of this may be enough of an issue to bring them bankruptcy in their future, but it could, and if that starts to happen I really hope they don't do what some games, like Hellgate: London, do and completely shut down and screw loyal paying customers over.

I hope they follow the example of the Lord of the Rings MMO and redesign the way in which they'll make money off the game, so that the game can have a long and strong lifespan like it should. It wouldn't be that hard, there's always the annoying cash shop ideas which really ruin some games with less responsible developers, but there's also models which allow for optional subscriptions that don't give you anything exclusive, only make the game easier by increasing your luck and experience gain. Sure free players have to play more to earn the same things, but if the game is good then I hardly think that would be a bother. I'm just saying there's alternatives that undoubtedly attract larger player bases which yields a greater potential for revenue, and even if it's not a more "permanent" feeling subscription its the same risk of swim or sink because alternatives still rely on the free will of a player choosing to pay just like subscriptions.

I'm only speaking true to my heart, and from everything I've seen of APB I think it will be incredible, and hope that it can find its own player base to make sure it stays around for a long time for lots of people to enjoy... but as a WoW player I have to say, I would gladly play APB as well if it wasn't p2p and therefor a commitment I can't afford to have at the same time as WoW. Although being that it's such a great game, I'm sure people will go through the effort of putting up private servers and the game will his trackers with all kinds of cracks and apps/tutorials on how to connect to those private servers.