New Pricing model for Classic only players

[Nicholaes92]

Do you think the difference between these games and MMO's justifies nothing vs. 13€/month? Honest question.

Yes, yes I do. ESPECIALLY for a game like classic that has no microtransactions, no box cost, and still has to maintain the massive load some servers put onto these servers.

100% it justifies it. $15 a month is fucking nothing for a game, especially one like wow that has so much endless playable.

[Monteverdi]

It seems to me that Blizzard created Classic as a value-add for the standard subscription. While a separate pricing model for Classic-only might seem enticing to a small subset of players, I doubt Blizzard has incentive to implement something like this.

[Unholyground]

Ah...the memories...brings me all back to "we need a subforum for Warhammer, Age of Conan, Aion.....because they all will crush WoW". Oh wait..they didn't? But Rift, Wildstar, Guild wars, Final Fantasy...they all will.

I mean..I get it. But in an age and time where even two MMos with a MASSIVE fanbase behind them "failed"?...a fanbase that should mean you basically print money..a fanbase that made companies BILLIONS of dollars...and yes...I am talking about SWtoR and LotrO faltered before WoW?

I find it hilarious that the ppl behind SWtoR are happy with the game making 1 billion dollars in 8 years when WoW made that amount from 1 year of WotLK (subs and box sales) - Honestly...I wonder why these companies aren't firing ppl left and right for sucking so much.

All that irony aside...do you seriously think removing the sub fee will be a good idea? Honestly I think that only paves the way to a FAR more predatory model of "free" to play.

I just think the money we all pay for the expansion itself and then to play the game does not equate to what we get in-game (never really has) . No one can really disagree with that, they make like 500+ mil a year and content is out in large chunks a few times per expansion. At the very least there should be bi-weekly patches bringing old dungeons/raids up to max level (outside of time walking which would still remain) and adding more QoL changes and class tweaks, new skins and customization etc. We just don't get what we all pay for from a basic value proposition. I know it is easy to say "Then stop paying for the game and move on" the issue with that statement is it doesn't detract from the truth of what I said it just makes the people who say it look complacent and weak.

[Djaye]

This thread did not go the way you thought it would.

actually it told me so much more than i was hoping.

people really do love being taken advantage of.
people love wasting their money.
people are so locked into our modern bullshit gaming business practices, they have no concept or vision of anything else.
people like paying for things they dont use.
people actually think spending over a $120 a year for a 15yr old game is a good value.

gamers have created our shitty landscape of buggy game releases, land of microtransactions, incomplete products and toxic communities.

while blizz laughs all the way to the bank.
you deserve the world that is left for you.

i have found most of your answers just sad. a society (herd) of complacent, fall in line, sheep.

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It seems to me that Blizzard created Classic as a value-add for the standard subscription. While a separate pricing model for Classic-only might seem enticing to a small subset of players, I doubt Blizzard has incentive to implement something like this.

this is one of the only intelligent responses i have seen to this thread.

[Kralljin]

Yes, yes I do.

You know what the lion's share of your sub covers?
New Content, Patches and so forth.

Content in the case of Classic however has been already created and is one button switch away from being accessible.
This is where your argument falls apart, as Classic doesn't have a team of 60+ people working on it 8h/day.

ESPECIALLY for a game like classic that has no microtransactions, no box cost, and still has to maintain the massive load some servers put onto these servers.

That's why it runs on the modern infrastructure, if Classic causes any significant maintenance cost, Blizzard sure as shit would slap another pricetag on it access to those servers.

But they don't, because they know the load of cost for Classic have been frontloaded and the rest is largely covered by their regular running cost.
They sure as shit know however that there are people that are willing to pay a monthly sub just for Classic, despite it actually not being that expensive to maintain.

They could ask you to pay a one time access fee...or just let you pay every month, pretty easy which is more profitable to them.

$15 a month is fucking nothing for a game, especially one like wow that has so much endless playable.

A price should still have some relation to the cost it takes to create, anything else is just a cashgrab, you're doing it because people will pay for it, not because the price is remotely justified.

Also, Classic is a finite game, once Naxx is out, the game is over, so that "endless playable" is just straight bogus because i doubt the sub will vanish after Naxx.

[Djaye]

And you get the chance to play retail if you so chose as well with those costs. You are still paying for the maintenance of those servers regardless. It doesn't matter if they had them up or not, they are providing you with this service, so they ask you to pay.

and i dont want both services, hence why i asked about the possibility of seperate services. why dont any of you realize this? why do you all enjoy paying for things you dont want so much????

[tangers58]

I mean if you want to pay $15 for just classic I'm sure blizz won't mind

[Varitok]

Don’t like the price don’t pay for it $15 dollars a month to play a game we’ve been asking to bring back for over a decade at this point is a small price to pay for them to develop and maintain these servers.

Christ the job of dealing with the babies who whine about the classic game itself is more than enough

Calm down my dude.

[Djaye]

Seems you want to consume too...just at a reduced rate. So man up and quit. Stick it to the man....because you can save 15 dollars a month that you then...dunno..guess spend on Coca Cola...McDonalds....Starbucks....Disney+...Netflix....Amazon....

ya, kinda my point. if the classic sub was only 8$ a month, i could go and get another streaming service that i would use rather than have access to a game i have no interest in playing.

cuz thats what happens when you dont have to waste your money on stupid shit you have no use for. you can spend it on other things.

remember that thing called cable that people have been ditching en masse? remember why its dying? because people started offering specific content that people wanted rather than paying for 90% crap you will never use.

retail is the 90% crap i dont want to use. i just want my choice content at a reasonable price.

this thought process is beyond the general masses apparently.

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I mean if you want to pay $15 for just classic I'm sure blizz won't mind

this is officially the dumbest response i have seen yet.

[Stickiler]

I just think the money we all pay for the expansion itself and then to play the game does not equate to what we get in-game (never really has) . No one can really disagree with that, they make like 500+ mil a year and content is out in large chunks a few times per expansion. At the very least there should be bi-weekly patches bringing old dungeons/raids up to max level (outside of time walking which would still remain) and adding more QoL changes and class tweaks, new skins and customization etc. We just don't get what we all pay for from a basic value proposition. I know it is easy to say "Then stop paying for the game and move on" the issue with that statement is it doesn't detract from the truth of what I said it just makes the people who say it look complacent and weak.

Whether the value proposition is worth it is really up to each individual person, regardless of your own feelings on the subject.

For me, WoW is the cheapest entertainment I currently spend money on, so it's extremely good value. On average, it costs me about 80c per hour I spend on the game, which far outclasses anything else I use for entertainment.

Also, claiming "infinite money equals infinite development" is just ignoring the realities of software development and team management.

[shise]

Wow is cheaper than other games, where you pay 60euro and kill them off in 2 days.

[Djaye]

I feel like you are paying for the game experience. Classic isn't a lesser game thus it shouldn't come at a lesser price. You are paying for Classic and getting Retail should you want it. Just like those who pay for Retail are getting Classic should they want it. 15 is fair in my mind.

are you joking?

classic is a single expansion

retail is 8.
hence classic is a smaller/lesser game. it has 1/8 the content.

less classes, less races, less dungeons, less raids, less profs, less EVERYTHING. hence less experience.

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Wow is cheaper than other games, where you pay 60euro and kill them off in 2 days.

im not even going to justify the list of games that speaks against this statement...

you do know that WoW game plus sub is over 180$ right? and that is not even a year of game time. at least the 60$ games you can play indefinately.

[Erolian]

are you fucking joking?

classic is a single expansion

retail is 8.
hence classic is a smaller/lesser game. it has 1/8 the content yet classic players are still stuck paying the full price.

less classes, less races, less dungeons, less raids, less profs, less EVERYTHING. hence less experience.

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im not even going to justify the list of games that speaks against this statement...

you do know that WoW game plus sub is over 180$ right? and that is not even a year of game time. at least the 60$ games you can play indefinately.

How much extra game time are you trying to add to come up with the 180$ figure? Currently on their shop they have the entire game, including gametime, and a shadowlands prepurchase for 90$ total

[Nicholaes92]

and i dont want both services, hence why i asked about the possibility of seperate services. why dont any of you realize this? why do you all enjoy paying for things you dont want so much????

I understand this, I’m telling you both are worth $15 a month. Even if it was separate, it would still be $15 a month just with no retail. How are you not understanding this? You’re getting more for less, if you don’t want the ‘more’ then don’t play it.

[Djaye]

How much extra game time are you trying to add to come up with the 180$ figure? Currently on their shop they have the entire game, including gametime, and a shadowlands prepurchase for 90$ total

wow full game = 60$
12months X 15$ a month = 180$

60$+180$ = 240$

240$>60$

go back to 2nd grade

read the post 'and that is with a year of game time'

seriously bro, do the math and read the post before you comment

and i might also add 90$ > 60$ as well

[anon5123]

Please, post the source that after release - classic costs Blizzard more or less 0.

He said "next to zero", not "zero". But thanks for losing your shit and getting triggered over it.

His point is that Classic doesn't have development costs. They're not developing new content, only bug fixes and other minor stuff. The only costs are electricity/internet costs to keep the servers online.

[Djaye]

I understand this, I’m telling you both are worth $15 a month. Even if it was separate, it would still be $15 a month just with no retail. How are you not understanding this? You’re getting more for less, if you don’t want the ‘more’ then don’t play it.

how are you thinking that a 15 year old game justifies a 15$ a month sub?????????
you people need to stop smoking so much shit, your brains are FRIED

[Nicholaes92]

You know what the lion's share of your sub covers?
New Content, Patches and so forth.

Content in the case of Classic however has been already created and is one button switch away from being accessible.
This is where your argument falls apart, as Classic doesn't have a team of 60+ people working on it 8h/day.

That's why it runs on the modern infrastructure, if Classic causes any significant maintenance cost, Blizzard sure as shit would slap another pricetag on it access to those servers.

But they don't, because they know the load of cost for Classic have been frontloaded and the rest is largely covered by their regular running cost.
They sure as shit know however that there are people that are willing to pay a monthly sub just for Classic, despite it actually not being that expensive to maintain.

They could ask you to pay a one time access fee...or just let you pay every month, pretty easy which is more profitable to them.

A price should still have some relation to the cost it takes to create, anything else is just a cashgrab, you're doing it because people will pay for it, not because the price is remotely justified.

Also, Classic is a finite game, once Naxx is out, the game is over, so that "endless playable" is just straight bogus because i doubt the sub will vanish after Naxx.

Oh you’re an expert huh? Just one button switch away? You know how easy it is to make this content and make sure it’s not buggy? Not to mention the expansions we are inevitably going to get? You know that these things are just a copy and paste process do you? Please this internet expert on how people think these things work is just such a bore.... please stop

Once again, no one is saying the sub is needed or the servers get shut down, please stop with this nonsense as well.

As for the

A price should still have some relation to the cost it takes to create, anything else is just a cashgrab, you're doing it because people will pay for it, not because the price is remotely justified.

You are right, it should, and classic does.

I actually find it kind of adorable how naive you are with this lol. Listen. You ARE paying for the service of the servers and the upkeep of the game.

Here let me paint a scenario for you.

You go into a restaurant, and a new dish comes out that you love. And here is the scenario that you are bringing up when talking to the owner.

“Hey why is this new dish so expensive? The ingredients cost nothing”

“Yeah but you are paying for the atmosphere, the staff, and the cost to keep the building up”

“YEAH BUT THIS PLACE WAS RUNNING BEFORE THIS DISH AND THE OTHER FOOD WAS PAYING FOR THE BUILDING FIRST SO WHY DO YOU CHARGE ME MORE FOR THIS WHEN EVERYTHING WAS ALREADY SETUP FOR YOU”

“That’s how the... real world works... you still get all the benefits from before but now you have an option to have something you may prefer besides our other...”

“THIS NEEDS DISCOUNTED RIGHT NOW IT COSTS NOTHING TO MAKE THIS AND THATS FINAL”

Seriously it’s like explaining basic business to a toddler lol.

[Djaye]

He said "next to zero", not "zero". But thanks for losing your shit and getting triggered over it.

His point is that Classic doesn't have development costs. They're not developing new content, only bug fixes and other minor stuff. The only costs are electricity/internet costs to keep the servers online.

which server transfers more than pay for... do people forget how much blizz charges for services?

[Nicholaes92]

how are you thinking that a 15 year old game justifies a 15$ a month sub?????????
you people need to stop smoking so much shit, your brains are FRIED

Because it... does? It was $15 in 2004 for the exact same experience no? If anything with inflation this is cheaper. Also you didn’t have to pay a box price