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Services align motivations of the developer and the customer most closely. Other business models would either work by addiction mechanics and whale chasing or

Services align motivations of the developer and the customer most closely. Other business models would either work by addiction mechanics and whale chasing or by marketing blitz with a big sticker price to entice you to buy but not hold your interest. Subscription games, to make money, require that you continue to want to pay monthly to continue to play. A developer that wants to hold my interest is one I'd like to invest my time in. I'm disappointed that subscriptions have fallen out of favor for games. They're replaced by more predatory business models. There are many games that would have been a much better purchase on a 15 dollars a month or even 5 dollars a week model. Most games don't last me more than an couple hours before I realize I have no interest in playing.

mangglee 6y ago
Aren't individual subscription games equally prone to "working by addiction mechanics"? There's a fine line between "hold my interest" and "maximize my 'engagement'", and the big subscription-based games (looter-shooters, MMOs) absolutely use "illegitimate" methods to retain their playerbase month after month, by creating endless progression treadmills and gating progression milestones behind daily/weekly limits. Are progression systems "legitimate" at all if they only change the numbers instead of the mechanics? On the other hand, there are the non-subscription games that captivate players for months or years, like Civilization or Street Fighter. These are the Photoshops of gaming - they hold player interest over long spans in "legitimate" ways, yet they would face an enormous backlash if they were to move to the subscription model that they "deserve" for achieving such high longevity without sacrificing product integrity. It seems services like Games Pass discussed in the article best address your gripes over individually purchasing short-lived games better, though it also introduces the issue of games having to compete for limited spots in the subscription service's roster. Games with shorter lifespans can offer a wider pallet of experiences than those designed with longevity in mind, and it would be a shame to abandon them.
fakedang 6y ago
> There are many games that would have been a much better purchase on a 15 dollars a month or even 5 dollars a week model. Most games don't last me more than an couple hours before I realize I have no interest in playing. Are you sure? I'd say there is a very limited number of games that works on subscription, with the vast majority of games easily under the buy model instead. Personally, I would prefer subscriptions for constantly patched and upgraded games (Hello EU4/Paradox games) but for games that aren't updated that often (AoE series) I would run away from a subscription unless they can show a history of constant free updates first.

mangglee 6y ago

Aren't individual subscription games equally prone to "working by addiction mechanics"? There's a fine line between "hold my interest" and "maximize my 'engagement'", and the big subscription-based games (looter-shooters, MMOs) absolutely use "illegitimate" methods to retain their playerbase month after month, by creating endless progression treadmills and gating progression milestones behind daily/weekly limits. Are progression systems "legitimate" at all if they only change the numbers instead of the mechanics? On the other hand, there are the non-subscription games that captivate players for months or years, like Civilization or Street Fighter. These are the Photoshops of gaming - they hold player interest over long spans in "legitimate" ways, yet they would face an enormous backlash if they were to move to the subscription model that they "deserve" for achieving such high longevity without sacrificing product integrity. It seems services like Games Pass discussed in the article best address your gripes over individually purchasing short-lived games better, though it also introduces the issue of games having to compete for limited spots in the subscription service's roster. Games with shorter lifespans can offer a wider pallet of experiences than those designed with longevity in mind, and it would be a shame to abandon them.

fakedang 6y ago

> There are many games that would have been a much better purchase on a 15 dollars a month or even 5 dollars a week model. Most games don't last me more than an couple hours before I realize I have no interest in playing. Are you sure? I'd say there is a very limited number of games that works on subscription, with the vast majority of games easily under the buy model instead. Personally, I would prefer subscriptions for constantly patched and upgraded games (Hello EU4/Paradox games) but for games that aren't updated that often (AoE series) I would run away from a subscription unless they can show a history of constant free updates first.