Online Worlds Roundtable #14, Part Two

The second installment of RPG Vault's fourteenth Online Worlds Roundtable is now available, providing us with more developer perspectives on alternate MMORPG revenue models. Sony Online senior producer Scott Hartsman:
Your audience has the ultimate power here, the power of the pocketbook. If your model doesn't feel natural to them or goes against their core values, they have no problem voting with their wallets accordingly, especially in this world of increasing MMO choice. People will pay reasonable amounts of money to play online games if doing so "feels right" to them to do so. If it feels wrong, they'll go somewhere else.

As one example, the development assumption behind EverQuest II is that it is expected to be enjoyed by people who have had a fondness for the EverQuest franchise or other premium, achievement-model MMORPGs, customers who are accustomed to paying a flat monthly fee for their online gaming experience. As such, it's natural that we would follow a similar revenue model so as to most accurately meet the expectations of those who arrive to play.