honestly I think you'd have to be damn, damn gullible to think that monthly fee is all about server maintenance, I just go by the notion of "if they can make money there they'll damn well try"
The real reason is due to programs like GHost++ and Listchecker for Warcraft3 that allow you to host through LAN and in some cases play with no CD keys. These programs when used allow you to play over Battle net but with next to no delay(lag).
Make no mistake about it. Blizzard's swimming in it. I agree that there are a lot of expenditures that are easily overlooked and yes, perhaps they make less money than we assume, though all this considered, they're *still* making a killing. It's the type of income you can expect to have if you control most of the market.
I can understand maintenance, but don't fool yourselves. For as many players as they have, 2 dollars per month would cover maintenance (perhaps even less). So where did they get 15 dollars from? Well lets just say that that's how much marketers felt most gamers would spend per month without dropping the game for another. I play guild wars often, and they offer relatively lag-less online service for free! All I paid for was the game itself, and that money, stretched out for as long as I've played it has won them the title of game of the year. They're coming out with a guild wars 2 which will not be "pay by the month." They're doing something right, and if my 50 dollars has stretched 4 years, then costs for 'maintenance' are a whole lot less than Blizzard would have you believe.
locallyunsceneFeeder of TrollsJoin Date: 2002-12-25Member: 11528Members, Constellation
<!--quoteo(post=1716715:date=Jul 10 2009, 08:05 AM:name=Hawkeye)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hawkeye @ Jul 10 2009, 08:05 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1716715"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Make no mistake about it. Blizzard's swimming in it. I agree that there are a lot of expenditures that are easily overlooked and yes, perhaps they make less money than we assume, though all this considered, they're *still* making a killing. It's the type of income you can expect to have if you control most of the market.
I can understand maintenance, but don't fool yourselves. For as many players as they have, 2 dollars per month would cover maintenance (perhaps even less). So where did they get 15 dollars from? Well lets just say that that's how much marketers felt most gamers would spend per month without dropping the game for another. I play guild wars often, and they offer relatively lag-less online service for free! All I paid for was the game itself, and that money, stretched out for as long as I've played it has won them the title of game of the year. They're coming out with a guild wars 2 which will not be "pay by the month." They're doing something right, and if my 50 dollars has stretched 4 years, then costs for 'maintenance' are a whole lot less than Blizzard would have you believe.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> This. I wouldn't bother comparing WoW to SC2's BattleNet. Blizzard undoubtedly rakes it in on WoW; MMO's are business models designed to print money. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just the way things are.
This is all a bit of a side track though. I don't mind connecting to BNet for validation as long as I can play a LAN game after that and use Hamachi or something similar for the actual game connection. I just want it to be easy to play with my friends, which is something BattleNet has not facilitated in the past.
Comments
<i>forget it - it's a pointless round-about stupid discussion. SC2 no lan? /discuss</i>
I can understand maintenance, but don't fool yourselves. For as many players as they have, 2 dollars per month would cover maintenance (perhaps even less). So where did they get 15 dollars from? Well lets just say that that's how much marketers felt most gamers would spend per month without dropping the game for another. I play guild wars often, and they offer relatively lag-less online service for free! All I paid for was the game itself, and that money, stretched out for as long as I've played it has won them the title of game of the year. They're coming out with a guild wars 2 which will not be "pay by the month." They're doing something right, and if my 50 dollars has stretched 4 years, then costs for 'maintenance' are a whole lot less than Blizzard would have you believe.
I can understand maintenance, but don't fool yourselves. For as many players as they have, 2 dollars per month would cover maintenance (perhaps even less). So where did they get 15 dollars from? Well lets just say that that's how much marketers felt most gamers would spend per month without dropping the game for another. I play guild wars often, and they offer relatively lag-less online service for free! All I paid for was the game itself, and that money, stretched out for as long as I've played it has won them the title of game of the year. They're coming out with a guild wars 2 which will not be "pay by the month." They're doing something right, and if my 50 dollars has stretched 4 years, then costs for 'maintenance' are a whole lot less than Blizzard would have you believe.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This. I wouldn't bother comparing WoW to SC2's BattleNet. Blizzard undoubtedly rakes it in on WoW; MMO's are business models designed to print money. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just the way things are.
This is all a bit of a side track though. I don't mind connecting to BNet for validation as long as I can play a LAN game after that and use Hamachi or something similar for the actual game connection. I just want it to be easy to play with my friends, which is something BattleNet has not facilitated in the past.