Syp recently posted an article that made some interesting points. I do not really agree with him, but one thing he said really stood out to me.
"After all, from the player’s point of view, MMOs are a serious investment."
MMO's are entertainment, not an investment. You invest in something to get future returns. Since a MMO may go away or change, there may be no future return. Many MMO's are subscription based, so you pay X amount of money for a month. There are other payment options, but this is the heart of the subscription model.
That month of play should stand on its own and be fun. If it is not, why are you paying it? After that, the MMO company and I are even. They do not owe me anything beyond that, no returns. If I am still having fun I pay for another month and the cycle repeats. If they change the game in a way I do not like, I cancel my subscription. I have not lost anything. I had fun for the months I had played, which is all I expected.
Some players develop attachments to their characters and get quite upset when changes are made. Does this somehow take away all the fun you had and paid for in all the time prior? I know for me it doesn't, as I don't consider time spent an investment.
Others get attached to a game due to the social bonds made, which is perfectly understandable. Luckily, we have many options to keep up communications with these people over the Internet. There was a time when very few options existed. Social connections are really starting to transcend individual MMO's.
"You do the grind now to invest in a better character for the future, when you’ll need it."
I play the game for now, not the future. If the now is not fun, why would I bother with this form of entertainment? Thinking about a MMO as an investment is a recipe for disappointment. Take it for what it is, entertainment. If the time you are spending in the game is not fun for you, then it ceases to become entertainment. If the time you spent up was fun, then you got what you paid for.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
MMO's are not investments
