Comments on: … And We’re Gonna Try http://cogs.innocence.com/2009/03/and-were-gonna-try/ On the operation of massively multiplayer online games. Thu, 26 May 2011 20:53:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Monday Morning Followups @ Imaginary Cogs http://cogs.innocence.com/2009/03/and-were-gonna-try/comment-page-1/#comment-64 Monday Morning Followups @ Imaginary Cogs Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:10:53 +0000 http://cogs.innocence.com/?p=49#comment-64 [...] OnLive claims are continuing to spark debate. Mostly of the form “sha, right, that’s not [...] [...] OnLive claims are continuing to spark debate. Mostly of the form “sha, right, that’s not [...]

]]> By: Chris K http://cogs.innocence.com/2009/03/and-were-gonna-try/comment-page-1/#comment-32 Chris K Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:44:00 +0000 http://cogs.innocence.com/?p=49#comment-32 That's pretty much the system I was envisioning - I just think that someone who just wants to be able to play Crysis 30 hours a month will pay less than someone who wants to play every major release this month for 5 hours each. It will also be very easy for the former to decide he wants to be the latter, so he can make two separate $30/month decisions instead of one $60/month decision. ("Look at all these great games that were released in the past two months! Each retails for $50, but for $5 each, you can play all of them as much as you want*! * - premium account includes X hours per month.") That’s pretty much the system I was envisioning – I just think that someone who just wants to be able to play Crysis 30 hours a month will pay less than someone who wants to play every major release this month for 5 hours each. It will also be very easy for the former to decide he wants to be the latter, so he can make two separate $30/month decisions instead of one $60/month decision. (“Look at all these great games that were released in the past two months! Each retails for $50, but for $5 each, you can play all of them as much as you want*! * – premium account includes X hours per month.”)

]]> By: Bryant http://cogs.innocence.com/2009/03/and-were-gonna-try/comment-page-1/#comment-31 Bryant Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:03:08 +0000 http://cogs.innocence.com/?p=49#comment-31 I don't know if triple charges would fly. Double charges, maybe -- we pay for cable and then we pay again for On Demand, right? Except I just pay once for Netflix. You could maybe make the premium fee apply if you want to play more than X games, no matter which ones they are. I.e., it's a volume fee, not a premium game fee. I don’t know if triple charges would fly. Double charges, maybe — we pay for cable and then we pay again for On Demand, right? Except I just pay once for Netflix.

You could maybe make the premium fee apply if you want to play more than X games, no matter which ones they are. I.e., it’s a volume fee, not a premium game fee.

]]> By: Chris K http://cogs.innocence.com/2009/03/and-were-gonna-try/comment-page-1/#comment-30 Chris K Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:08:10 +0000 http://cogs.innocence.com/?p=49#comment-30 I don't think you'd go broke if you planned to lose a little money on the player who plays one game exclusively for, say, 30 hours a month - so long as you're not losing any more money if he goes on spring break and plays that same game for 60 hours in a week. I think the real money comes from charging people for getting bored - same as the price difference between basic cable and premium channels. Well, and charging people who forget to cancel their account, too. It seems like you just about have to charge people monthly, hourly, and per game in some way. The monthly charge has to be there to make money off the person who doesn't really have time to play but can afford to not cancel (both symptoms of having a job), the hourly charge has to be there to prevent a four-person dorm room from playing 20/hrs a day, and the per game charge has to be there (in some form, even if it's just a premium on the monthly fee to have access to more games) to make money off people who are willing to pay extra to play 20 different games in one month. I don’t think you’d go broke if you planned to lose a little money on the player who plays one game exclusively for, say, 30 hours a month – so long as you’re not losing any more money if he goes on spring break and plays that same game for 60 hours in a week. I think the real money comes from charging people for getting bored – same as the price difference between basic cable and premium channels. Well, and charging people who forget to cancel their account, too.

It seems like you just about have to charge people monthly, hourly, and per game in some way. The monthly charge has to be there to make money off the person who doesn’t really have time to play but can afford to not cancel (both symptoms of having a job), the hourly charge has to be there to prevent a four-person dorm room from playing 20/hrs a day, and the per game charge has to be there (in some form, even if it’s just a premium on the monthly fee to have access to more games) to make money off people who are willing to pay extra to play 20 different games in one month.

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