Runescape, are other MMOs now as exploitative & moneygrabbing?!

[sammyc]

Wandered into RS, which for a long time already has been pushing membership & paid-for extras to the point of annoyance, to find things are even worse. On top of the constant pressure to cough up for an endless stream of upgrades & cosmetic bits & bobs, I was really pretty appalled to find that in-game currency for these things (already no more than a straightforward real money swap) can now also be 'earned' by any manner of those sign-up for free video trials, download app, take surveys/enter competitions affiliate stuff.

Encouraging under-bank-&-paypal-age kids to maybe pester for subs and extras is one thing, & for older kids to pay up for items, but signing up for trials where payment will be ongoing if not cancelled, competitions that will get you onto mailing lists &c - just awful, beyond the pale. Actually quite a way beyond imo. A few years back RS was a perfectly decent f2p with the occasional nudge that you might want to be a member, mainly for expanded content, & any extras had to be earned in-game or were awarded for quests or random events. Is this the way of these things across the board now? Horrible if so.

[Ttaskmaster]

Happens a lot in some of these MMOey things, yeah. Why I don't play them.

[sammyc]

Guessed it would be an across the board thing, I was just taken aback quite how bad it had got since the first intro of cash for frills.

[Ttaskmaster]

No different to DLC, really.
£49.99 for new game plus eleven other purchases of £9.99, each of which are just the same gun you already have but in a different colour.

[big_hairy_rob]

Costs money to keep an MMO alive, what with the constant security & gameplay enhancement as well as the non optional bug fixes. Keeping a game updated increases the playerbase which is their core currency. I never had any issues with the subscription based model. Besides being occasionally hacked or the obligatory expansion day outages, mostly the games operate well and don't have hidden issues. (at least those which aren't player based). I suppose that subscriptions deter people who don't want to play.

The F2P model however still incurs the same costs. The playerbase is usually higher, but the company still needs to cover it's bills as well as the development. While some are capable of doing this through visual enhancements or pay to skip, others opt for a pay to win models which inevitably brings their downfall. The costs are usually lower due to more people, however they still rely on either peoples generosity, or their lack of patience.

Basically, if you don't like the games financial model, swap and play a different one. They all have to survive and your financial contribution helps, but don't be surprised if a company needs to make money. They've been hit as hard as the rest of us and wages keep increasing....

[sammyc]

Fair point, it isn't really the cost to an extent though in this case, it's the way they are going about it.. I have no problem at all with paid subs, subs having to increase etc, paid extras (as long as the arm-twisting is within reason), but the go & sign up to something iffy/free trials is just all a bit dubious. Paying upfront is one thing as it's clearcut but recurring 3rd-party-sub type stuff seems a step beyond, I'd rather just hand the cash direct to the game. And 'go elsewhere' is always a last resort when something you previously liked has been mucked around with (in your opinion) - & not that I play as such, it was an observation based on the changes since I did.

But granted, I accept they can probably not afford to just leave you quietly playing your f2p in a corner without some incitement to cough up, so money-grabbing is probably a bit harsh.

[Haxorus]

I have played Perfect World and that was another money sink. It is extremely hard to progress in the game without spending a sufficient amount of time and effort or else it will take forever to catch up.

[big_hairy_rob]

Ah. With you both now. Yes I have hit this same problem with lots of Mobile games. I suppose that there is a difference between "pay to progress" and "pay or else you need to invest months" to progress. Some of those most annoying apps require you to rank a game at 5*, or to pay money to buy the parts you need to progress. Games such as EA's Sim City Mobile is a good example. I stopped playing when I understood what playing it would entail.

On the flipside MMO's like Robocraft (think Minecraft meets world of tanks), I've sank nearly 200 hours into, and it doesn't ask you for money. You have the option to progress faster, but no boosts or anything that would give you an advantage. Paying it optional and not demanded. Others like Everquest 2 (free) hound you to upgrade of buy things every time you log on, or off, so quickly become off-putting.

[Jase N Status]

There are quite a few RS private servers on the go, which allow you to enjoy RS 'as it used to be'. Obviously the number of players isn't even close to that of the real thing, but some attract 1000+ people online at a time. These also have the option to buy in game items, but running a server isn't free so money has to be generated some way.

[sammyc]

As a follow-up, to give RS their due, after a less cursory look into things I see that you can in fact buy the currency you need for certain ingame stuff with the same 'bond' you can earn & exchange for membership - it would take a dog's age to get significant amounts (well it would me, maybe not the average player) but it is possible to not hand over real cash, so I stand corrected on that point.

[SlayerMatt]

Always enjoyed Runescape but I do understand the reasoning behind this move. Originally servers didn't have much load and probably were easier to run. With how much is spent in any MMO on development to keep it "relevant" and also attract new players, this extra revenue is probably around to make sure they can do this. Personally as long as I don't need to buy the stuff I don't really mind. People will always be willing to buy these little microtransactions and as long as they sell the devs have no reason to stop putting them out there. It's free money for them effectively.

[munib]

As soon as it was sold to an American company, this all started happening

[Jakeen229]

money drives the world. It is always about the money.

[Watevah]

That is called monetisation. Everyone does this to some extent, it's just some of them have no better way I'd doing this whole annoying you along the way. I think it's just how they are these days.

[Andy3536]

No different to DLC, really.
£49.99 for new game plus eleven other purchases of £9.99, each of which are just the same gun you already have but in a different colour.

Unfortunately very true.
One of my favorite game series has effectively become a DLC sales platform.
That is the total war series. Many of the DLC content is factions, that are already in the game but just unlocking them for the user to play.
Rome 2 Total war has 11 DLC downloads costing £59, Atilla Total war has 8 costing £51.
I did see a joke when referring to what the next total war game could be, "DLC, total war"

Unfortunatly it's become a cash cow for developers who seek to exploit it. And far too rarely is it used to add real gameplay additions extending the life of a game.