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Will WoW be pay-per-month? Since its a MMORPG, I assumed that it would be (meaning I probably couldn't play it), but I heard recently that they might not be making it pay-per-month.

Any info?

Ripped from Official WoW FAQ in Blizzard site :

Will there be monthly fee to play the game?
Yes; however, we are still investigating our business model and have not yet determined what the fee will be.

Why isn't World of Warcraft free?
World of Warcraft will require a fee to play. This fee will be used to support the costs associated with the high-quality levels of service, support, and ongoing content creation that we are planning for World of Warcraft.

Drat.

Do you think we'll have to pay up front for a number of hours or will the fee be on a monthly basis. It would be a bit of bummer to pay on a monthly basis considering there will be some months where the game sees little action. It would be nice to purchase time in 50 hour blocks, however, a monthly fee for players would certainly be easier to manage and administer.

As far as I've worked out from the tentative ideas Blizzard have put across, they aren't sure of the system they want. I think they'll go for the standard, Pay Per Month scheme, which might be good, but as you said in another thread, paying for a certain amount of hours may help avoid the addiction...

(I'd prefer to pay monthly and wonder the world...)

Perhaps we should start a poll. I'd vote for paying for blocks of hours. For example, with the summer here in the upper midwest US, I will spend little to no time gaming. Summer is too short and winter too long, and I prefer summer. Maybe I should live in a different geography, but I don't. That said, I don't want to pay for a service I'll barely use at certain times of the year.

True enough. I'd be the same, I'd rather limit the hours I use and save money if I'm not using it...

Just as a side note, The Sims Online will be using top up cards (similar to mobile phone top ups) which you can use to pay for your hours in advance if you don't have a credit card. I'm sure a similar system would be easy to use for WOW or any mmorpg.

Quick Question...

These top up cards.. They are a great idea, and I was wondering where the can be purchased for these MMORPG's?? I play Sims Online a lot at a friends house, and would purchase the monthly game if I didn't have to use a credit card.. Sims was never my thing... if you will. I am more of a D&D guy, but it is actually pretty cool. Can I get these pre-pay cards at a gaming store? Fill them up there or whatever and then enter a pin? Just wondering... Thanks.

wow..yeah i heard about those. like phone cards. i totally hope some of the big publishers will do that so you can buy a card for more than one game if you're like me and play alot of em.

In Anarchy Online you could you this method of payment.
The cards could be bought in most big computer stores, atleast the ones that sold AO.

Blizzard officials haven't made any comments on this subject yet as far as I know.

I would also vote for a pay per block of hours scheme, or something similar. It would prevent me from spending unnecessary money when I am away for a month on vacation for example. Also, it would form some kind of obstacle for people to spend there whole time playing, which is not good for those people and not good for the game because those people would become ultra powerful. Maybe there could be some kind of counter running when you are online? The counter should stop when the game is paused.

I think that WoW should be in a monthly basis of pay. The block idea is good, but it could end up costing way more if you get addicted. The idea would be good, but knowing blizzard they'll charge you at least for several hours even if you dont play.

I would prefer a pay-per-month plan. In the long run it might end up being cheaper because they will more than likely go for about 15 bucks a month or so. 15 dollars isn't that much money really, its just like a night at the movies for one person. I think its dumb when people complain about paying If you like the game enough you have to pay get over it.

[QUOTE=Kreemy]I would prefer a pay-per-month plan. In the long run it might end up being cheaper because they will more than likely go for about 15 bucks a month or so. 15 dollars isn't that much money really, its just like a night at the movies for one person. I think its dumb when people complain about paying If you like the game enough you have to pay get over it.[/QUOTE] I kind of agree here. The monthly 10-15 dollars really is just a night at the movies or 2/3 of the average kids lunch money for a week. The money goes to good things in WoW too. Like they create new quests and monsters daily. They also add to the storyline endlessly and eventually add new lands to explore. There wouldn't be much point for Blizzard to be doing all that for free. Also I think it will just be $10 a month. There will be a few 100,000 people playing so I think they will find $10 from each of them fair.

Who says you only have to use one mode.....

Why not Monthly or by block.
Monthly could simply be classed as unlimited hours.
Every month those you haven't paid the subscription simply get set to zero hours remaining.
You can even combine the two. Subscriptions for a few months, and then a couple on pay as you go when you know you won't be online much.

Ya pays ya money and ya take ya chances.
(Unless your playing as a thief in which case ya takes ya chances and ya takes their money...)

Cheers
Stuntie.
Cold beer and cold steel, all you'll ever need in life.