We weren't expecting it so soon, but it's done: MMORPG.com has just unveiled the economic model of WildStar following an interview with Jeremy Gaffney. WildStar will be offered at 44.99 € with aMonthly subscription :
- 12.99 € for 1 month
- 11.99 € for 3 month
- 10.99 € for 6 month
- € 9.99 for 1 year
The difference of approximately 1 € between the prices $ and € can be explained by the VAT.
But it will also be possible to play for free! The Certificate of Research, Exploration, Destruction and Development (or CREDD) is a monthly subscription unit that will be made available on the official WildStar website and may be resold in-game through the Commodities Exchange. This system will work a bit like the stock market:
CX is unique in the sense that when a player wants to buy a service, they can only buy the service at the lowest price, not knowing who is selling it. When there is no more stock at that price, players will be able to purchase the service at the next lowest price.
This allows players who are very invested in the game to never purchase a subscription. On the contrary, players wanting gold without spending a lot of playing time there can just buy a CREDD at 16.99 € and sell it on the Commodities Exchange. This system is very similar to what EVE (with PLEX) and TERA (with Chronoscrolls) offer. According to Jeremy, this system would avoid gold sellers while offering an alternative to players unwilling to pay.
According to the developers, the regular addition of content that is planned for Wildstar justifies this subscription of 13 euros, much more interesting according to them than some f2p games which tend to encourage the player to go to the store too much. However, by Jeremy's own admission, some free-to-play games do not fall into these excesses (LoL, Dota 2). According to him, regardless of the economic model, whether f2p or subscription, quality comes first.
Gamers have very strong opinions on business models and monetization in MMOs
explains Jeremy Gaffney, executive producer at Carbine Studios.
We believe we have struck the right balance by combining a classic subscription model and CREDDs. We really want to satisfy gamers who want the premium quality of subscription games, while giving those who don't like monthly subscriptions the option, thanks to CREDDs, to play to pay for their access to the game and to enjoy the same content.
Quality that involves regular addition of content, in order to keep players and make them pay more. According to him, an MMO should be updated regularly and frequently, and especially with quality content. One thing some past subscription MMOs f2p missed. WildStar will benefit from monthly updates, adding more content and progressing in the story. The development team benefits from very powerful tools, allowing them to deploy update after update, while keeping players happy.
Last point, to cut it short, there will be no in-game store, at least not at the start. The door is not completely closed, but if one day there is a shop, it will only offer cosmetics or services.
So, what do you think ?
