SC2 single-player campaign to be subscription based

[stgeorge78]

From a recent Latin America press release:

"With this purchase, players will have six months of access to the StarCraft II single-player campaign and multiplayer play through the new version of Battle.net®, the premier online gaming destination for Blizzard Entertainment gamers. Continued StarCraft II play beyond the time included with the initial purchase will be available via 30-day and 60-day subscription options. Pricing for these options will be announced at a later date."

Looks like they are testing this out in Latin America... won't be long before this is standard for all Blizzard games worldwide.

[darkfireyguy]

mmm

maybe but I doubt it

[danielakatoxic]

that would be really stupid. It's not an MMO and doesn't require as much maintenance, so why charge?

[Redcrow]

I don't think blizzard would shoot themself in the foot like this

[Gannandorf1]

i could only see this kind of a setup work in South Korea since they are crazy for Starcraft, but know way in hell id even buy the game if i couldn't play it after 6 months

[DreamOfTheRood]

Basic economics. A lot of players in SA want to play but generally don't have the purchasing power to spend 60 bucks at one time on a game. Spreading that cost out over a longer period of time allows them to play and also allows Blizzard to make money from them, rather than those players just torrenting the game. Everybody wins.

And it's an opt-in system. Buyers can either pay the lower monthly subscription fee or pay the 60 bucks up front.

[phantomlink]

Those who prefer to have unrestricted access to the single player campaign and the multiplayer features StarCraft II through Battle.net, they can buy and download an unlimited version of the game by Blizzard Entertainment for a similar price to U.S. $ 59.99 USD."

Pay twice the price to get unlimited gameplay I guess

[kerwyn]

Source. A link.

e: wait a tick. You're all retarded.


The obvious reasoning: a cheap version of the game, subscription based

Those who prefer to have unrestricted access to the single player campaign and the multiplayer features StarCraft II through Battle.net, they can buy and download an unlimited version of the game by Blizzard Entertainment for a similar price to U.S. $ 59.99 USD."

This is the same cost as the full version of the game we're getting. Nothing to see here, just a different distribution method for poorer countries. Move along.

[Pdiddimusx]

Everyone relax, this is a move from blizzard as they want to provide Latin America with a cheaper way of paying for their games.
Because of Latin america's lower income than in the northen states they are recieveing a cheaper but limited play time subscription based way of paying, sorta like WoW yes.

No this isnt going to move up to the northen states or anything, but yeah i read about this in a news post on Kotaku a while back. No one panic, and seriously, dont jump in the "greedy corporate Blizzard" Bandwagon just yet, this is only to help those with a lower income enjoy their games.

[pomop]

Source or bust imo

[kerwyn]

My favorite part about this is how the OP clearly intended to get a rise out of people by linking one part of the press release.

[PBitt]

I doubt this will go live with SC2, but TBH, I don't like single player games in particular to rely on internet access. I mean, you should be able to play it offline, as its SINGLE player, not multiplayer. Fine, don't give me achievements if I'm not online, yadda yadda, but I see a lot of games starting to go this way and in the future that will mean more games MMO subscription style imo.

[DreamOfTheRood]

OP's reputation is ruined. TAR AND FEATHERS

[Theliana]

To be fair it's no different then a lot...the majority?...of news media only telling part of the story. News these days seems to be more formulated then reported.

[kerwyn]

I doubt this will go live with SC2, but TBH, I don't like single player games in particular to rely on internet access. I mean, you should be able to play it offline, as its SINGLE player, not multiplayer. Fine, don't give me achievements if I'm not online, yadda yadda, but I see a lot of games starting to go this way and in the future that will mean more games MMO subscription style imo.

You have to log into bnet to register the game and launch it the first time, then (was confirmed in a QA but I'm too lazy to look for it) You can play single player in an offline mode.

The subscription thing is just for certain countries, since the whole press release hasn't been linked, my thought is something like $30 for 6 months of play, further play subscription based, $60 for the full game - THE SAME COST AS THE NORTH AMERICAN VERSION.

Jesus, there's nothing to see here.

[yuthirin]

You people are intelligent people.

The fact that some of you are actively considering that this could be in any way factual is insanity.

I see no links posted here. Troll thread.

[stgeorge78]

My favorite part about this is how the OP clearly intended to get a rise out of people by linking one part of the press release.

My original post clearly states it's a Latin America press release - I didn't want to spam an entire press release, you can go find it yourself very easily.

[kerwyn]

My original post clearly states it's a Latin America press release - I didn't want to spam an entire press release, you can go find it yourself very easily.

And you left out the most important fucking part.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/07/st...erica-asia-a/]
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/s...73&newsLang=en

A press release detailing plans for localization in Latin American Spanish for Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile covers the subscription model. By picking up the title for $299 MXN / $119 ARS / $13,900 CLP -- about $30 USD -- gamers will be given access to the single-player and multiplayer portions of the game for 60 days. Once that period ends, they can re-up their subscription for a fee (which hasn't been disclosed yet). The other option is to download the game directly from Blizzard for a one-time fee of $59.99 USD, granting permanent access to the title.

This means that NOTHING FUCKING CHANGES for 90% of the people who view this site, and for half price people in certain territories can get 2 months plus subscription, or pay full price and get unlimited access..


Again, there's absolutely nothing to see here, just a different payment structure for countries that have generally poorer populations.

edit: 2 months is not 6 months ffs

[DreamOfTheRood]

Burn the OP.

[z932074]

sorry OP: sauce or gtfo