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Lifetime subscriptions a "financial disaster" says Rift developer
Posted: 26.10.2012 16:05 by Simon Priest Comments: 5
MMO Rift will "never" offer its player base the chance at a lifetime subscription, reveals Trion global brand director Jim Butler. He was "against the idea" when he was at MMO studio Turbine.

He pledges it won't happen "on my watch" at Rift's creator Trion. It has long-term repercussions for subscription-only outfits, which means it's a "bad deal for the consumer" too.

The constant stream of overhead costs for an MMO is crippling if lifetime subscriptions are being snapped up. MMOs like Star Trek Online and Champions Online offered the lifetime deal.

"Nope; never," Jim Butler adamantly told [a]listdaily in an interview.

"I was against the idea when we did it at Turbine, and it won’t happen on my watch here at Trion. Lifetime memberships are a great deal for consumers that plan to spend the next few years playing the game, and a financial disaster for subscription-only companies that have to continue paying for new feature development, salaries, server costs, marketing, etc. Ultimately, it’s a bad deal for the consumer in the long-term."

Typically the lifetime offers only ran for a certain period of time, mainly as a way to extract a large sum of money from those who may well end up losing interest and abandoning the MMO after a month or so. Some subscription-only MMOs have since switched to free-to-play, but lifetime users still need to pay for items. This is often mitigated by granting those few with a fixed income of in-game currency.

Rift from Trion Worlds launched back in March 2011 and by January this year it has earned $100 million in revenue.
Source: VG247

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Comments

By nocutius (SI Elite) on Oct 26, 2012
nocutius
I don't see how that can be a bad deal for the player, unless you realize you don't like the game. Those that bought Lotro lifetime got a fantastic deal.
By signatus (I just got here) on Oct 27, 2012
signatus
Well, I read it as it would be a bad deal as the game won't evolve as much as if it had a steady flow of money coming in. But I might be reading too much into it.
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Oct 27, 2012
nocutius
That's basically what he was saying and it makes sense but only when there are too many of such subs. They could always be sold in limited quantities so people would want them even more and would probably also be willing to pay more.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Oct 28, 2012
herodotus
Many who have bought lifetime subs for "STO" still openly do not regret it, though they may be just trying to persuade themselves that they are happy. I doubt they do regret it as I have seen many players of "DC UNIVERSE ONLINE" who were playing for Free posting that they had bought Lifetime subs.
Make a game Subbed, then F2P and then offer Lifetime Subs at a reaonable price. I'd bet many would plump for them then, as they are with "STO".
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Oct 28, 2012
nocutius
I almost bought one for STO, i'm very glad i did not :)