Elitism and subscription fees.

[endtherapture]

Basically I was interested in TESO until the P2P subscription fees announcement came.

Finally got round to unliking the page on FB today but not before commenting on a post they'd made expressing my distaste for the P2P system.

My post got tons of comments with people saying "cheap ass punk" "glad scum like you will be kept out of OUR game" "maybe you should get a better job if paying for a game is an issue", "glad we're paying fees to keep annoying kids out of the game" basically people thinking they are better because they're willing to pay for a game on a monthly basis whilst I'm not.

So anyway, why do some people paying a subscription fee think they're in the upper class of gaming and somehow elite and desirable? Just cos you pay a fee doesn't mean you're somehow a better member of the community. I mean surely the game will still have rude people etc.

 

[krazykidd]

Why , oh why would you subject yourself to that . On facebook no less. You'd think with all the shit slinging people would stop using social sites . Short answer , people are dicks and like to be pricks . There is no long answer . Also , no sane person really thinks people that pay more for a game is more elite than those that don't . We are still stuck on the childrens phase of :" my console is better than yours".

 

[endtherapture]

I've seen this behaviour a couple of times on The Escapist as well (sadly), mind you.

 

[TehCookie]

People will use any reason to act elitist, it's not limited to subscription fees. Look at new vs used buyers or platform preference, or what kind of games they enjoy.

 

[Voulan]

I'm bitterly disappointed about TESO as well, which is why I'm slightly annoyed by those comments. I've seen them prop up on the Escapist too. Perhaps it's along the idea that they are more willing to go the extra mile to be a fan and player of the game, while people not willing to are left behind, not being 'true fans' that aren't playing it for the right reasons. Like it's making sure the stereotypical dudebro or 10 year old won't ruin the experience.

 

[Bellvedere]

Well there's two things, not that I agree with either.

There's a perception that F2P models either unbalance the game (which they can) AND/OR they destroy the community (there's no entry standards therefore the standard of player must be lower). If you hold that view you must be of the opinion that people who pay are a higher class of player since you play a higher class of game and/or you are part of superior community thus the elitism.

The secondly elitism is built into the game in F2P models. That is people paying have access to more features (whether cosmetic/gameplay/other) therefore the people paying must be better in order to deserve all the extra stuff. Some players also have the notion that people that just take advantage of the F2P features without ever contributing financially to the game are leeching too.

 

[Roxas1359]

Sadly elitism is present is all forms of media and is especially prominent in gaming. We've got it with people who play on PC, Playstation systems, Nintendo systems, and on Microsoft systems. It's rather sad, but I try to ignore it, but I'm not always as successful.
As for the whole subscription thing really there are problems with most systems that I've seen, but then again I don't really play MMOs that much.

Coincidentally comments like that are another reason as to why I will never get a Facebook because that place is just vile and has caused nothing but drama in my family, which is sad because one of their hooks is something like "reconnect with distant family" or something. There's a reason as to why I don't talk with them Facebook. XD

People will use any reason to act elitist, it's not limited to subscription fees. Look at new vs used buyers or platform preference, or what kind of games they enjoy.

Welp, looks like you beat me to the punch again TehCookie.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

I don't mind buying a game, but paying to play it after buying it, piss off. That kinda stuff has always seemed silly to me.

 

[Doom972]

These guys are dicks, but monthly subs are a way of keeping certain people out (including people like me who won't pay subs).

Some think that this guarantees that only people willing to invest a lot money into the game will play it, which means that there's a bigger chance that each given user is an adult that would be on his best behavior and won't cheat because it could mean losing all that investment.

There are enough children and immature adults playing these games - not as much as in some F2P games, but still enough

 

[Maxtro]

I never understood that way of thought. I wounder if they would think the same if the sub was $5 or $35.

My way of thinking, is that $15 a month equals a new $60 game every four months. Is ESO going to have enough content to match buying a new game every four months? Never mind the fact that I played the hell out of Skyrim.

Lastly, I really hope that ESO isn't going to cost $60 upfront plus the sub fee. Final Fantasy XIV: ARR is only $30 if you get the PC version. I can't imagine paying twice that for ESO.

 

[endtherapture]

These guys are dicks, but monthly subs are a way of keeping certain people out (including people like me who won't pay subs).

Some think that this guarantees that only people willing to invest a lot money into the game will play it, which means that there's a bigger chance that each given user is an adult that would be on his best behavior and won't cheat because it could mean losing all that investment.

There are enough children and immature adults playing these games - not as much as in some F2P games, but still enough

I don't think that's going to be the case though. A lot of "mature" people are very busy people, with jobs, relationships, families etc. They either might not have the time or the funds to play the game.

Meanwhile spoiled little 10 year year old kid gets his subscription paid for him by his doting mother for 2 years. When I was about 13 and WoW was coming out, I wanted to play the game but my parents just wouldn't pay the sub fee for a game. However a lot of my friends who were pretty much annoying immature kids got their subs paid for by their parents.

Their logic simply doesn't make sense.

 

[Snotnarok]

I've never paid for a subscription, it's mental, yes I get what it's for, but I don't have any interest in paying for a game after I bought it. I have games I've owned for over 20 years and still get enjoyment out of them, buying a game and then paying constantly for it then there being an end to that enjoyment when the game does go away, and all MMOs do, it's just insane.

It's not cheapness just, I see money spent in better ways.

 

[Doom972]

These guys are dicks, but monthly subs are a way of keeping certain people out (including people like me who won't pay subs).

Some think that this guarantees that only people willing to invest a lot money into the game will play it, which means that there's a bigger chance that each given user is an adult that would be on his best behavior and won't cheat because it could mean losing all that investment.

There are enough children and immature adults playing these games - not as much as in some F2P games, but still enough

I don't think that's going to be the case though. A lot of "mature" people are very busy people, with jobs, relationships, families etc. They either might not have the time or the funds to play the game.

Meanwhile spoiled little 10 year year old kid gets his subscription paid for him by his doting mother for 2 years. When I was about 13 and WoW was coming out, I wanted to play the game but my parents just wouldn't pay the sub fee for a game. However a lot of my friends who were pretty much annoying immature kids got their subs paid for by their parents.

Their logic simply doesn't make sense.

I agree. That's what I meant in the last line I wrote.

 

[Bertylicious]

Aren't a lot of MMOs about the prestige one can attain? I seem to recall that strolling around Stormwind in one's epic raid gear in front of loads of big-eyed level 5 players was a big element of why people played, although apparently I am told one gets given epic loot just for logging on nowaadys. I don't know, I've never been into MMOs.

It makes sense though? I mean, you aren't going to complete the game, there's no personal story arc there and unless you're fully RPing it up you're never going to invest in a character beyond trilling at all the awesome shit they have. Truly, what are the other people but an audience for 'SpagBol425 The Defenstrator' to amaze by being top of the DPS table?

In such an environment, where the whole point of the excercise is amassing prestidge, it would be absurd for there not to be elitism over what pay model people use.

 

[Rob Robson]

why do some people paying a subscription fee think they're in the upper class of gaming

Ï hate to say it, and this will sound ugly; but they say that because more often than not it's true.

Unfortunately, a subscription is the best way to keep out many (not all) gold farmers, multi-boxers, hackers, language deficient, trollish and generally unwanted individuals.

I still have no interest in that game though. But when an MMO I really, really want has a subscription, I'll pay it happily.

 

[SeventhSigil]

As has been said, we are talking about Facebook here. xP When it comes to barrier of entry for civil discourse, can't get much lower in the bar than that.

I will chip in to say though, that I am part of that apparently relatively small group of people who honestly don't mind having a subscription fee. Well, to rephrase, I don't mind having a subscription fee when I consider the game worth it. And I haven't always.

City of Heroes? SO MUCH Enjoyment out of that game, even though today it's pretty long in the tooth and showing its age. But when I played it, it was absolutely glorious. Taking a new, fresh hero and going through one epic story line after another until you become an elite villain smashing warrior... NOM. Most of the instanced levels were randomly generated, which does occasionally seem tossed around as a bad thing, but what should be kept in mind is it allowed for hundreds of storylines, thousands of missions and encounters. Free content updates, many quite sizable, kept things fresh and expanding. And then City of Villains came out, and I had essentially two superpowered MMO's for the subscription fee of one. Throw in random goodies like epic sized monster battles in various sections of the overworld, such as a stadium sized octopus, or a single celled organism the size of an aircraft carrier, and that game had some freaking substance to it. I didn't touch a single other game during that period, and if any MMO can drag me back in like that, I consider it quite cost-effective.

By contrast, I picked up DC Universe Online back when it was pay to play. Didn't consider it worth the subscription, or for that matter even the initial purchase. =P I reach the level cap in three freaking days. And then, what, I get to grind the same raids and high-level missions over and over and over for COSTUME PIECES? Yaaay? After playing City of Heroes for MONTHS, I hadn't even scratched on all the cool stuff you could do. Of course, this was hardly the game's fault. They didn't use randomly generated levels, to my knowledge each level was built from the ground up. Which meant they looked much more varied and certainly prettier, but there was only a handful of storylines. More flash, less substance.

So for me, whether I hop aboard and pay the fee is going to come down to whether this game is offering substance or not. If it's a game that can offer me the sort of exploration and varied environments that Skyrim did, only on a truly epic scale, then I'm all in. Going from the icy lands of Skyrim to the burning deserts of Hammerfell, and everywhere in between? Yes pleases! But I'm going to wait and see if that's what it's offering, or if this is going to DCUO yet again.

 

[EeveeElectro]

Dude... it's Facebook.
This is what people on Facebook are like:

Spoiler

People who post of pages have collectively about 20 brain cells.

Elitism is everywhere. These people are paying however much a month which is going to add up a lot per year so of course they're going to feel the need to defend their decision to a stranger who doesn't agree.
I get people spending thousands on something then having a go at me for not doing the same. Lots of people are just stupid and will do anything to make themselves feel superior.
I'd personally just call them gullible mugs to be quite honest but they can spend their money on what they want, my opinion is unimportant.

 

[Caiphus]

Don't pay any attention to it OP. They aren't worth your time or emotional investment.

I mean, they don't even appreciate the irony of "glad we're paying fees to keep annoying kids out of the game" or "glad scum like you will be kept out of OUR game" . As if they themselves are assets to their communities by acting like that.

Or course, assuming OP's comment was polite and reasonable to begin with. And not "Lol, you guys all paying subscriptions are corporate whores." Or something.

 

[TrevHead]

If I was to sink a shit ton of hours into a MMO again like I did with Eve I would want it to be sub only, sure there are cheaper ways to game but if I'm playing the game non stop it's a small price to pay for an enhanced experience.