I don't have this idea fully fleshed out yet, but I feel that the ownership vs. rent preference is like the difference between resource model in StarCraft vs. T

I don't have this idea fully fleshed out yet, but I feel that the ownership vs. rent preference is like the difference between resource model in StarCraft vs. Total Annihilation (and their respective descendants). In StarCraft, the focus is on your absolute account balance; you think in terms of having N units of minerals/gas, and spending them on things that cost particular amount of resources to make. In Total Annihilation, the focus is on resource flow - you try to balance how much metal/electricity per second your mines/generators supply, vs. how much metal/electricity per seconds your factories and defenses consume. In my experience, the two approaches are ultimately the same - you could compute the resource flow for a StarCraft game, and you could pay attention to absolute amounts in Total Annihilation - but they yield entirely different game dynamics, and different player mindsets. Personally, my mind thinks more in StarCraft terms, but I imagine finance people think more in Total Annihilation terms, and in those, subscriptions are the natural mode of spending.