Video Game rant- my kid wanted this computer game

[SW FL Dem]

I bought it today, he tried to load it. He had to create an account and give a credit card number before he could play. There was a tiny disclosure buried in the paperwork saying you could get information on subscription fees online. When you sign on, you have to create an account and give a credit card number before they will even disclose the subscription fees. We signed on and they want 15 friggin dollars a month for my kid to play this stupid computer game. Needless to say, he uninstalled the software and we didn't give the credit card number. Who pays 15 bucks a month to play a single video game??

[KitchenWitch]

1. That is fucked up!

x(

[TimeChaser]

2. Umm..

Was it World of Warcraft? If so, I play it.

[SW FL Dem]

3. Nope Star Wars Galaxies.

The "game" was 20 bucks. How can they ask 15 bucks a month to play it??

[TimeChaser]

5. SWG isn't worth it

from what I hear. Some games are worth the fee, I think.

[ikri]

7. $15 per month for SWG used to be worth it

But Sony Online Entertainment, in their infinite wisdom, decided to massacre the game to appeal to a younger audience.

NY Times article on the game's death throes.
Gamespot.com review of the current game, these are reviews by existing, or recently canceled, players.

It's hard to play a multiplayer game when there are no other players.

[ContraBass Black]

4. A lot of games do that now.

Read up to see if they have single player before you buy.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

6. $15 a month is standard for MMORPGs.

It's not an unreasonable price if you plan to get lots of enjoyment out of it. What these games usually do is, they let you play the first month for free after you set up your account, so you don't waste any money beyond the retail fee for the software. Star Wars Galaxies is one of the crappier games out there at the moment, though.

Many online games (not including SWG, apparently!) will also allow you to pay without using a credit card. You buy a "Time Card" off the shelf at your local EB, Circuit City, or wherever. Access your account information on the game's web page, and type in the alphanumeric code on the card to renew your account for another 2 months, just like putting more minutes on a cell phone. It's completely secure, and costs about the same as you'd pay for those 2 months on your credit card. Just don't forget to buy new cards when your account is about to expire; even if it doesn't get cancelled, you'll be locked out of the game until you make another payment. Another downside is, if you're not paying credit, you have to buy at least one time card to set up your account, so the 1-month trial I mentioned above becomes three months for the price of two.

Like TimeChaser said, try World of Warcraft instead. Or if your son is new to the world of MMOs, City of Heroes or maybe Everquest 2 might present an easier learning curve. Guild Wars doesn't even charge a subscription fee, though I don't know how good it is.

[REP]

8. WoW is More Kid-Oriented than EQ2

If the player is an 8 year old, he'll have more fun with WoW than with EQ2; WoW is geared to younger players.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

10. I never played EQ2 myself...

but from what I've heard, it's easier to learn that WoW is. CoH certainly was, mainly due to the limited variety in its content, but by the same token it wasn't as much fun.

I've only been playing World of Warcraft for a couple of months now, and the learning process can be frustrating sometimes. Most of the people who play have been playing for several months already, and they tend to use a lot of gamer shorthand on the assumption that everyone will know what they're talking about. Once you get into a one-on-one conversation with somebody they'll usually be willing to explain a few things (there are always jerks, of course), but the whole thing can be intimidating if you're not used to it.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

9. Who pays $15/month to play a game? Millions upon millions of people.

[newportdadde]

11. Almost all Massive Muliplayer Online games will charge you.

Its the fee for them to administer and maintain an online world for you to play in/enjoy. I am glad to hear that your son isn't playing it though. These games can and will eat up your life, I played both EQ and DAOC, my wife hated those damn games and I can't even imagine trying to find time for them now with a 2 year old and twins on the way.

I use to stay up doing raiding and all that for stuff that was just imaginary, it was crazy. Playing casually it took me something like 25 REAL LIFE 24 hour days to max out my DAOC character that is INSANE. They aren't kidding when they say its adictive. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law play WOW and thats all they can talk about when we get togehter twice a year, forget having a normal conversation, thats all they do when they aren't working.

[DS1]

12. 15 sounds steep to me, but think about the long term

If all you had to pay was 20 bucks, a centralized server system would only last as long as new revenue was coming in, and if you're going to play for years someone's got to cough up the money to administer the main servers and access points.

That's why I play games that allow you to run your own server, publicly, freely. It doesn't have the stats system, but who cares, you can play for free as long as someone is running a game server - or set up your own.

[SW FL Dem]

13. I understand that. What really bugs me about this

is that they don't tell you what the subscription rates are until you create an account and give them a credit card number. They clearly want you to get addicted to the game and not pay attention to the fees. It took me nearly 20 minutes to find out what they were going to charge.

[DS1]

14. Understood, and if the subscription fee isn't clearly indicated

on the box I'd say that was outright fraud

[populistdriven]

15. You really should check out BF2 & the SF expansion pack

Frankly, it is jaw droppingly amazing in every aspect.

It is the best game out but requires a beefy PC.

Plus no recurring fees.

[Zookeeper]

16. We bought that game as a birthday gift for my son's friend.

Later, we heard that it required a fee to play it. I had no idea and my cursory reading of the box didn't tip me off. I was hoping we could buy some time for him to play it, but that doesn't sound possible. :-(