Troll Lord Games

WOTC to charge $14.99 a month for online play

Someone really needs to go to WOTC headquarters and let them know that online D&D != World of Warcraft.

No. I would not pay $14.99 per month to play C&C online. I find online play less than thrilling.

No. But then again, I wouldnt pay for WoW either so Im in the minority

Doesn't matter what it is, I wouldn't pay $14.95/month for any online game. Just not as fun as regular group gaming to me.
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Montague wrote:
WOTC to charge $14.99 a month for online play

Someone really needs to go to WOTC headquarters and let them know that online D&D != World of Warcraft.

I never played MMORPGs and don't intend on starting now. I actually enjoy 3rd edition, despite its changes from AD&D, but think that 4th edition no longer resembles the D&D that I have loved for over 25 years. As such, I won't be buying in this time around. That saddens me because, for the first time, it's clear that I'm not the "target audience" for the game that got me into roleplaying and fantasy lit.

Looks like C&C and 3rd edition will be the end of the D&D line for me (unless 5th edition REALLY goes retro... which I highly doubt).

serleran wrote:
No. I would not pay $14.99 per month to play C&C online. I find online play less than thrilling.

Agreed. I set up an online game with some friends around the country and while it had its moments it doesnt compare to the real thing. I can understand wanting to play with friends not in the area but paying THAT much money for it? No way. Heck you can get Fantasy Grounds for one full group for about $75 and you're done. That would only be one month's payment for a full group for WOTC.

Montague wrote:
WOTC to charge $14.99 a month for online play

Someone really needs to go to WOTC headquarters and let them know that online D&D != World of Warcraft.

That's the same price I pay for online games (no, not WoW).

They've really lost their perspective at Hasbro/WotC. You can't charge the same price as a full-featured graphical MMORPG for something that's just a virtual tabletop, where the users self-entertain. It's insane to expect that to be successful.

Oh, and if anyone should care, the fantasy MMO I do play most often, and feel strongest about, is Lord of the Rings Online. If you've only played it at launch, you might want to check it out now. They've added a lot of new content and features, and they really seem to care about the game and its players.

Plus, I love an online fantasy world that actually has a coherent story behind it all ...

But your tastes may vary, and that's perfectly cool.

TheNewGuy
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"But if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you"

Not to bash, but I wouldn't pay $14.99 for the 4e PHB

No here as well. MAptools is awesome enough, and free. I am also not interested in digital Dungeon and Dragon mags either.

However I am sure it will be successful. Just not with me and us.
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The Ruby Lord, Earl of the Society

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No, but my vote doesn't mean anything. I don't play RPGs online, let alone computer games in general. RTS games are more my cup o tea if I'm going to play on a computer, and I rarely play those.

As others have already said:

1. I wound't pay to play any rpg (other than purchasing books).

2. I wouldn't pay $14.99 for anything 4E

3. I don't do WoW or any of those types of games. If I want an rpg, I call my buds and we play an rpg.

4. When I do play computer games, there RTS games.

And to be perfectly frank, I agree that I am not the target market for 4E either. So while I will still play D&D (Basic/BECMI/AD&D) WoTC and I have parted ways. 4E is not what I think of when I think D&D.

Castle's & Crusades carries the mantle of D&D now, despite what copywrite laws, laywers, and WoTC may think. D&D as a copywrite belongs to them. D&D as a concept belongs to the Trolls.

But then, I'm a bit of a grognard, too.

Not even, like ever. Boo.

-O
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

Dude, I wouldn't accept $14.99 per month as payment to get me to play 4E online.

I'm with Tree on this one, MapTools is free and does everything that I need it to do for our online games.

And to Bighara: Right on, brother!

R-
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Rigon o' the Lakelands, Baron of The Castles & Crusades Society
The Book of the Mind

I have no interest in anyhting they have to offer anymore.

They lost my enthusiasm with long drawn out cumbersome battles.

They lost my business with 4 E.

Treebore wrote:
No here as well. MAptools is awesome enough, and free. I am also not interested in digital Dungeon and Dragon mags either.

However I am sure it will be successful. Just not with me and us.

Rigon wrote:
I'm with Tree on this one, MapTools is free and does everything that I need it to do for our online games.

And to Bighara: Right on, brother!

R-

I converted another two players.

I really like online 'RPGing', but paying for it wouldn't be an option for me, as I feel I'm already paying for internet access.

Montague wrote:
WOTC to charge $14.99 a month for online play

No. I wouldn't pay that to play C&C online either. I'm a tabletop guy all the way.

Dragondaddy wrote:
No. I wouldn't pay that to play C&C online either. I'm a tabletop guy all the way.

Yeah, and that was more my point rather than a jab at 4E. Hey I loves my C&C but I'm not paying $15 a month to play it online.

After reading some of the EN boards, there are major concerns whether this thing will even be ready to launch by June. I'd love to see their market research that said this pricing was a good idea. If they did any market research other than "Hey, WoW charges $14.99!" that is.

That's all I've got to say on ANYTHING d20 Vista related.
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My small homage to E.G.G.

If there was video and it was strip D&D with the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, in that case, yes, yes I would. Otherwise, no.
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Deserve has nothing to do with it, if you think you're entitled. You're not.

--Stephen Chenault

Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.

J. R. R. Tolkien

If I ever played online again, I'd play NWN, version I or II, both of which are free after the initial purchase.

But I'm not going to.

Harry Joy wrote:
If I ever played online again, I'd play NWN, version I or II, both of which are free after the initial purchase.

But

I'm not going to.

AMEN Brother.

I would not engage in such a horrorshow, even if family members were threatened with the Death of a Thousand Prods in the Navel if I refused to do so.

The only MMPOG I've ever engaged in is City of Heroes; and that game is so outright simple in terms of its set-up, mechanics and playability - and its pretty damned awesome graphics, especially the City of Villains spinoff - that it's almost in a class by itself.

A couple years ago I was persuaded to blow sixty bucks on D&D online; I played the game for two months, with an ever-increasing sense of boredom, and finally shut off the account and deleted the game from my hard-drive. I can't even remember where the damned game and its discs ended up after I moved in February of last year.

My familiarity with WoW is limited to the "Make Love, Not Warcraft" episode of South Park, and I'm perfectly content to let my acquaintanceship with that game lie there; I wasn't even aware that there was an LotR game online.

Finally, my interest in an online C&C game is pretty much nil; like many others here have stated, I think C&C was conceived as a pen-and-paper game, born as a pen-and-paper game, and should stay as a pen-and-paper game. Those who have embarked on the SKYPE version have, in my opinion, made the best of both worlds possible; cutting across civic, state (and even national, I would imagine) barriers to play together as humans rolling dice and engaging in imaginative description, not as digitially-projected images. Keep C&C as a game that human beings play face to face, if you will; I'm pretty sure that WotC will be more than happy to truck with electronic games for the forseeable future.

Not to sound like a supporter of Wotc's current planned business model but one has to keep in mind that it isn't just for the virtual gaming table/tools. The continued online content of Dragon and Dungeon that has become 'in-house' is also part of the package. If one gets a year subscription, it's $9.95 a month as opposed to $14.95

If you consider their past loyal customer base who were in the habit of buying the new "splatbook of x" then it is equally possible those are going to be keen on getting subscription to get access to 'exclusive' content and the like. In all probability, as time goes on and should this work out for them, we will start seeing fewer examples of books as people get used to the notion of getting their content in a digital form.

That said, I'm not a fan of MMORPG's in general and the typical pricing structure. However, I think the newer, and younger target audience will mind less about the digital nature of their content that they adopt.

As an aside, as much as I'd like to cut WOTC products from my spending budget completely, I previously admitted to being hooked on their plastic crack mini's. I also like the new set but at least I can take comfort in the notion that I use them exclusively for C&C!
M
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"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"

Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com

Um... I have some questions.

As has been mentioned on these forums before, there is a sizable chunk of the 3e community that plays using pirated PDFs. Now, I am not sure how large this segment of the community is. However, it seems to me that in a community that has a significant amount of piracy, as it appears the 3e community does, doesn't the $14.99 per month price tag seem somewhat outrageous? Will this price point really be attractive to the current 3e player community, even those that don't pirate?

Also, most of the gamers that I know have a very limited budget. Those gamers only play one MMORPG, if they play them at all. Many that I know, like many of the people commenting in this thread, refuse to pay a monthly subscription fee. Many can only buy a few gaming supplements per year.

I am not trying to bash anyone here, Based on what little I know of the RPG market, I just don't understand how WotC can build a business model around this.

Would I pay it?

Sure. IF it was fun enough. If it let me play great games that I had a blast playing then I would be all for it.

I play and pay for MMO's and have for the past 10+ years. Im a 40ish year old adult who works and has a lot on his plate. My friends adn I can meet face to face at most like once a month so if the WOTC thing let us get together for 2 or 3 nights a week for a few hours and longer on the weekend I would be more that happy to pay it.

Now being good enough also means being far better than the free to play ones out now and even the pay to play ones. I dont mean the same or near it but BETTER by a long shot.

I for sure will not knock it till I know more.
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Baron Golden, Knights of the Tin Palace (GameOgre)

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http://www.cncsociety.org

I won't pay it either, but I'm also in the minority that won't pay for WoW. I refuse to pay a monthly fee to play a game that I've already paid good money for, and my bf agrees. The only online rpg that I've gotten into is Shaiya, but that one's totally free.
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Put on your big girl panties and deal with it.

SilverFire85 wrote:
I won't pay it either, but I'm also in the minority that won't pay for WoW. I refuse to pay a monthly fee to play a game that I've already paid good money for, and my bf agrees. The only online rpg that I've gotten into is Shaiya, but that one's totally free.

I'm unfamiliar with Shaiya but I've heard of it. I'll need to check it out. I play Guildwars on and off -- a business model I can respect.

dkeester wrote:
As has been mentioned on these forums before, there is a sizable chunk of the 3e community that plays using pirated PDFs. Now, I am not sure how large this segment of the community is. However, it seems to me that in a community that has a significant amount of piracy, as it appears the 3e community does, doesn't the $14.99 per month price tag seem somewhat outrageous? Will this price point really be attractive to the current 3e player community, even those that don't pirate?

Well, don't assume that *everyone* pirates the material and doesn't buy any of the books. If no one bought any of the books, WOTC wouldn't have continued putting their stuff out. Delivery method may also end up being different from what one may expect. Their future plans also include the tools and not just electronic format of text. Sure... not everyone who's interested will buy-in to the whole subscription thing but since they will also be reducing their costs by going with this new model, it may and probably will still work.

Besides, recognizing the age of the younger audience being targeted -- they HAVE the disposable income. No rent... no bills... but all with ipods and other electronic gizmo's at younger ages. Like the tobacco companies, WOTC is endeavoring to get them while they are young!

M
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"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"

Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com

hi,

Heck yeah.

$9.99 (I can commit to a year) and I get:

Online version of every WOTC D&D book

Dragaon Magazine

Dungeon Magazine

Virtual Tabletop that I can use to play when the gang can't come over...

THAT I CAN EVEN USE TO PLAY C&C. (remember the VTT is does not adjucate rules it is strictly a get-together platform).

Wolfram