Poll: Monthly Fee or None

ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto,

Same here. I already paid for the damn game once!!

I think GW is better than all the subscription based MMORPG's.

That said, I still wouldn't pay monthly fee's for it. I really like the subscription-less service because of my more casual play time.

short answer:

HELL NO.

I'd be willing to bet we'll see optional monthly fees for extra storage space at the very least sometime in the future.

That's mainly why GW is free -- the fact that they don't need to store much about your character.

Even so, I think it's hilarious how GW has managed to make otehr MMO's look like pure greed. Honestly, even with all the character storage involved with a game like EQ2 or WoW, it's pretty clear the profit margin on these games month-to-month is sinful.

As both an EQ2 and WoW vet, I can say since GW arrived, I've been disgusted at how little has improved in both games considering the ungodly amounts of cash being poured into the projects. WoW comes out with their Battlegrounds PvP system (which isn't even cross-server, making for ridiculous que times to get in a match), that features a whopping TWO arenas to do battle in. Excuse me, Bliz, but you are raking in MILLIONS of dollars every month - in profits!! - and this is what we get?

Well, guess what. Guild Wars may not be up to par with your game, but at the price of free it makes your enterprise look like a corporate game of hit-and-run ala Sony Online Entertainment.

Not only is GW free of monthly fees, but it's worth the box price and a bit more. I can't help but think that if we did pay a monthly fee for GW, we might actually get to finally see what can truly be done with such resources, besides buying corporate swimming pools on the penthouse floor for some shmuck.

Monthly fee...NO WAY...Buy the expansions...Since I like the game and have found nothing that is a game stopper...probably

I agree. Really, if I could get anything I would buy Star Wars Galaxies for the community, the crafting and customizable features, the governmental founding and managment.

No way would I pay monthly for a game that only alloud you to fight. I wouln't even pay monthly for a game that allows you to do a ton of stuff O.x

I could not agree more. And besides, I paid 50 euros for the box and then they want me to pay another 10 to 15 euros each month? No thanks!

Tried WoW for a few months. SO NOT worth $15 a month. Still not sure if it was worth the $50 I paid for the box. GW is, hell GW is worth $15 a month, but the fact that it isn't just makes me happier every time I play.

This is a ridiculous line of questioning purely because Guild wars if a non subscription game and has been designed thus. Of course no one would pay an online fee!

Yep. That pretty much sums it up. All the changes combined with the current service makes for a poor reason to add a monthly fee.

Seriously, if a monthly fee was added do people think that ANet is going to completely restructure itself and how it applies itself to this game for a fraction of the player base @ $10/person? I think not. Who is going to pay for the current system just the way it is now?

Just today I was reading about the current expansion system for Star Wars Galaxies. Bottom line is ... a rushed job through and through and people are expected to pay for it. Some do, I call these people suckers since all susbscription payers are shelling out cash for is to be beta testers and guinea pigs.

Had I never discovered GW, I'd be playing WoW right now if not for its monthly fee.

I will not pay per month for a game. Period. Don't give me the lectures about how its "entertainment value" yadda yadda yadda. Its pretty colored pixels on a screen to me. It has no impact on my real life, on my girlfriend, on my work, or on any of my friends. Its just a game, like checkers or chess or monopoly. Therefore, it isn't worth it to pay another $50 for 3 months just to waste my time on a video game- the reason I play is out of boredom, and for a little bit of fun when I've got the time.

I'm better off putting that $50 towards a night out with a pretty girl and improving my relashionship with her than getting my uber-item.

Don't people do research?

ANet have NO plans to charge for the running of the game. You Buy the Game, and Expansion Packs (if wanted, they will be optional). The Servers are run free of charge.

I knew that 2 months before the game was even launched :S

The question was hypothetical, I think.

The monthly fees games have aren't spent on nothing. It's spent on server upkeep, new content, and support (GMs).

Let's compare it to something... It's like buying a Tennis racket and ball, then paying a monthly fee to rent the court, you're pretty much garuanteed usage unless there's a court downtime.

I would not prefer a monthly fee. Why? Well, because it would put me out business.

You see I am one of those people that runs a video game item brokerage company. You know, real money for pixel crack. How do I do it? It's usually just me and a few kids around the neighborhood playing GW nonstop. We build up wealth and items farming in some out of the way spots still not nerfed. Amazingly, these places are very close to a zone portal, so it's really easy to go back and forth and bank the items and gold.

Now with the sluggish economy and summer, I have an entire workforce. Teens are broke and it's either me or McDonald's. I can't offer them workers comp because they are considered private contractors, but they get to play the game as a job! And all wages are under the table, it's up to them to file their taxes not me.

Speaking of getting hurt on the job, there was an issue with this recently. One of my contractors, little Jimmy got a repetitive usage injury from sixty-five hours of gameplay in a week. That kid is a trooper, he didn't tell me abut the problem until like two days after it happened. I gave him $50, told him to take the week off, and ice the hand.

I also told him if his parents question the injury, tell them he got it after having to write a long term paper thanks to the No Child Left Behind Law.

Back on point here, I pull in about $4500 a week, I pay the 15 kids that work for me $2000 total and I keep the rest. It's bad enough the kids won't play for free, but volunteer doesn't work as well. Trust me, I tried the not paying people route. You get what you don't pay for as far as labor is concerned. You have to give them a wage, nothing too crazy, but competitive.

This is the only expense I want to incur. If I was to have to pay, then my additional costs would be another $208 a month at say, $13 a month for 16 accounts I'm estimating. I would have to fire my house keeper.

That will not due, so I say no increase.

I don't want to see the game going subscription, however, I would consider paying a small monthly fee - maybe $2 USD per month, for the option of playing on a "mature" server.

Sorry, but all that l337 speak makes my 45 year old head ache ;-)

Ciarre

Oh...someone after my own heart....my 44 year old head aches as well. The problem is how to ensure that those who pay that $2-5 a month are actually adults or mature enough to play there? Would it necessitate an "IG police force" (bad idea, IMHO)?

I would never pay for ANY game at ANY time beyond the box price.

I do not pay to play ever. I only bought this game because it was free to play. I'm sure they aren't considering charging monthly at all. If they did though, I would not play this game ever again. I too would sell my account.

Priceless lol

Yeah, no monthly fees please. Some of us just don't buy stuff over the internet. Old habits die hard.

EDIT: Plus I wouldn't pay monthly or even annually to keep playing a game.

I couldn't agree more! I would LOVE to try WoW, but the monthly fee is like stealing. You should NOT have to pay to keep playing something you already bought. WoW is just taking your money for no reason. GW proved that.