SC2 Pay to play

[KaboomMaster]

Now I'm aware that this is a touchy subject so I feel the need to say that I'm not trolling and would appreciate if you all tried to be civil in this thread.

I am aware how Blizzard stated, "We will not charge a monthly fee for Starcraft 2 ever" but for anyone in the beta who has seen the latest patch may agree with me when I say I'm starting to doubt that. For anyone who hasn't seen there is a play time remaining message under the player profile in battle.net which blizzard stated has nothing to do with the beta and is a patch glich, however the fact that they have a profile play timer seems suspiciously like MMO pay-per-month online usage. Normally I wouldn't suspect Blizzard of this but ever since WoW and their acquisition by Activision I don't trust them as a company any more, so my question is what is your opinion?

 

[tagg1080]

I think it will come to paying for it also, has anyone else gotten the "Play Time has been added to your account, Enjoy!" message?

Gives me a bad feeling.

 

[Vengeancekael]

No i have not received that message, where do you 2 live?

 

[Zergleb]

I've gotten that message, but this close to the release they can't just all of a sudden spring that on people.

 

[Hiruty]

well they can but not tell us until we buy it D: and if they do. OMFG

SWEARING IS IN HERE :3

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[Doctor-Pepper]

The problem with that is that it will divide the user database by 3. Would be a shame.
In this case, i dont think they ment it this way. Blizzard is an awesome company, where quality meets the expectation. I trust them to do the right thing. They gave me no reason to doubt anything they did so far

 

[bboy-tiger-]

If they do that wont buy it. They shouldnt do that hm. Tho people will still pay for it and that will mean that its ok. And that people support them.

This kind of thing gives some motive to pirates to do bad things.

 

[MGCǂSpectre]

It's not pay to play blizzard specially said it. The playtime is just something they are testing for the Russian server that will have such thing. No other will have a WoW subscription..

“Account expire” text on the home page – this is not related to player beta accounts.

 

[Tleno]

It's not pay to play blizzard specially said it. The playtime is just something they are testing for the Russian server that will have such thing. No other will have a WoW subscription..

Nazies! This actually mean I can't get a Russian version altrough those are much cheapper... are you sure the function like this will exist? If yes, I' sure nobody will buy it, Russians hate monthly sbsciptions and prbably gonna write a petition or something.

 

[MGCǂSpectre]

It has been posted I think on Russian forums that it will be subscription just for Rus so that those that cant afford the game to pay low price for subscription. It will have a function to be able to upgrade your subscription to full game so that you can play vs rest EU instead of Rus server with subscriptions.

http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=24261056580&sid=5016&pageNo=9

Да, вы все правильно поняли. При апгрейде учетной записи до Европейской вам больше не нужно будет платить абонентскую плату.

 

[Bloody_Turds]

ah so its a 'rent to own' kinda setup.. hmm, i always figured that time remaining was just the time till they cut the beta off XD

 

[Tleno]

Oh, so that's what! Russian games are allways much cheaper that in other parts of Europe, so Blliard actually agreed to make it cheaper, but Russians won't be able to play multiplayer without subscibtions or upgrades to European version!
Well, seems I should better buy the overpriced European one then...

 

[KaboomMaster]

I saw the rent to own thread yesterday on the battle.net and originally was thinking that was the reason for the game time extension, however after thinking about it I'm still stumped by the "play as guest" button on the main screen that's disabled for beta. I can't think of any situation that would need a play as guest feature except for a pay-to-play trial account.

 

[mrzwach]

Alternatively you want to play offline/singleplayer but can't get on b.net/can't log on due to your internet being down, thus playing as a guest.

 

[KaboomMaster]

Is that what its for? They should really change the button label then. Also how would you access campaign if its linked to your profile and you're using a guest account?

 

[mrzwach]

The point is that usually this stuff would be stored online, so effectively if you wanted to play singleplayer offline you wouldn't be able to access any of this stuff.

I imagine its mostly for playing against AI and stuff, because you wouldn't be able to continue the campaign you were playing on your online profile.

 

[killer1390]

I highly doubt that they would go against there word when they said they would not have a monthly payment.

It could be absolutely anything, for example maybe there is a demo period for paid maps?(Just on the top of my mind).

 

[tagg1080]

I highly doubt that they would go against there word when they said they would not have a monthly payment.

You can trust them all you want, with the state of the game and the crap that they are trying to feed the community, I really wouldn't doubt anything.

 

[Dr Super Good]

It makes no sense for a pay to play RTS. Doing that would kill 99% of their market.

In WoW, you have a social time walking with people, meeting people and all your actions are run on your servers. In SC2 their servers purly are redirect and syncronization hosts with no actual gameplay calculations being run. There is no justification for a pay to play in SC2 thus it would kill them.

However they will probably add premium accounts instead, for extreem fans of the game with unique icons, more features and enhanced space for mods and stuff.

What would also be nice is if they could get the community involved in hosting large file content. Eg a redirect to a fan site server where a large 100 MB mod or map could be downloaded so that they need not spend the resources hosting it. Each site could have their own selection option (with blizzard warning saying they do not run the server).

 

[MGCǂSpectre]

if it were pay to play Blizzard wouldn't take measures like for Russia for those who can't afford it. I mean if they can't afford it now, they sure can't afford anything beyond.

 

[Tleno]

Well it would great if there would be a full version that doesn't require any payment for all countries and also for all countries a free multiplayer only where you have to pay to play. just a suggestion...

 

[Dr Super Good]

It is free the multiplayer for people who buy the full game.

However they will probably add bonuses to people who decide to pay monthly, which may include custom turniments, more and larger map slots and a whole number of things.

In the end, playing your SC2 DotA or what ever custom map, you will have the same advantages on a free account as someone who is paying for a premimum account.

 

[Grey Nightmare]

I doubt they'll do it - but don't put it past them, allowing premium maps is bad enough - We don't want to start paying for mods, so why should we for custom maps! Bah.

However I'm sure even Blizzard/Activision won't go back on there word this late in the game. Dr Super Good's right, they'd not shift anywhere near the same amount of copies as they would, should it remain free-to-play.


-> Perhaps it's something to do with WoW account integration/linking?

 

[elfian]

"This kind of thing gives some motive to pirates to do bad things."

Pirates will do 'bad things' even if the game is free. Ironically said. Anyways, russians and paying for games? Quite impossible Come on, they are teh most l33t3st hax0rz evar! :]

 

[Tleno]

"This kind of thing gives some motive to pirates to do bad things."

Pirates will do 'bad things' even if the game is free. Ironically said. Anyways, russians and paying for games? Quite impossible Come on, they are teh most l33t3st hax0rz evar! :]

Да комрад. They are definetly gonna do that, so making Russians pay more is quite mazochistic.
Wait, what if all the WoW player or something are gonna get some kind of limited-time Starcraft 2 version? Maybe that's for what is timer?

 

[PurplePoot]

I love all the sensationalism in this thread. P2P is for people who can't afford the full game, Play as Guest is for playing Single Player if you don't have internet access (it's labeled that because that way you won't get achievements etc seeing as you are not online).

Blizzard is not trying to eat your babies. Get over it.

Also, Premium Maps are a good idea in my opinion.

 

[Tleno]

I've just got a question will the buyable in shops Russian versionsl be P2P or not...

 

[Agarwa3n]

About the "play as guest" option, it might be there for net cafes, so you can play without actually owning an account.
60 euros are already more than enought for a pc game (wtf! is it blu ray or sth?).

I fear though Diablo 3 will be their new WoW with pay to play and the stuff.

 

[MGCǂSpectre]

If we have to be precise, the more a game is payable, the more it provokes hackers to make it 'free'. And vise versa, there would be less illegal stuff if it were free.

 

[KaboomMaster]

Honestly at this point I don't think anyone can say yes or no to Blizzard charging a monthly fee and you in fact can never say unless either you are high up in Activision or you are around when they cut SC2's servers to make room for some new Blizzard game.

Personally my worst case scenario is:
1. Activision allows free B.net for around a year
2. Due to lack of LAN people are all forced to use Battle.net
3. Activision springs an online fee citing server maintenance costs as reasoning
4. Legacy of the Void and Heart of the Swarm both are revealed to increase B.net functions such as max published map slots to entice buyers.

Now of course this is worst case scenario SC2 but based on how SC2 is already being screwed up game wise (ie. announcing two "expansions" before a game is released) I wouldn't put it past Activision.

(If however the moderators wish me to stop this topic I will abandon it.)

 

[mrzwach]

In reality, your average pirate doesn't really care how much a game costs because he isn't going to be paying for it anyways. Generally, price is merely an excuse they use to try and justify their actions.

EDIT: Also, you can stop making blind guesses as to how SC2 is going to become P2P. There is nothing that actually suggests they would do so, and a lot of reasons why it would never happen.

 

[PurplePoot]

If we have to be precise, the more a game is payable, the more it provokes hackers to make it 'free'. And vise versa, there would be less illegal stuff if it were free.

Not true. The Humble Indie Bundle allowed you to pay $0.01 and still 25% of people pirated it.

 

[KaboomMaster]

In reality, your average pirate doesn't really care how much a game costs because he isn't going to be paying for it anyways. Generally, price is merely an excuse they use to try and justify their actions.

Which is exactly why Blizzard's no LAN/B.net validation crap is complete bullshit because game developers are smart enough to account for losses due to "true" pirates (ones who pirate simple because they don't want to pay).

EDIT: Also, you can stop making blind guesses as to how SC2 is going to become P2P. There is nothing that actually suggests they would do so, and a lot of reasons why it would never happen.

This is a discussion, you know, where you discuss things.

 

[Dr Super Good]

Diablo III and SC2 will not be pay per month. They will be free to use after purchase.

However, they will probably add premium accounts, with more character slots and stuff to help cover server costs.

 

[KaboomMaster]

Diablo III and SC2 will not be pay per month. They will be free to use after purchase.

However, they will probably add premium accounts, with more character slots and stuff to help cover server costs.

Can I get a source on this or are you just pulling this out of your ass. Also in the interest of discussion why do you think Blizzard would need to have anything to cover servers when they've never charged for any of their RTS games before?

 

[mrzwach]

3. Activision springs an online fee citing server maintenance costs as reasoning

Can I get a source on this or are you just pulling this out of your ass. Also in the interest of discussion why do you think Blizzard would need to have anything to cover servers when they've never charged for any of their RTS games before?

so I feel the need to say that I'm not trolling

I lol'd.

 

[KaboomMaster]

I lol'd.

So did you miss the part where I said it was my OPINION on the worst case scenario or the part where Dr. Super Good who made a blatant STATEMENT and I asked for definitive proof?

 

[mrzwach]

There isn't definitive proof, however, there is strong evidence supporting it.

1UP: Speaking of the WOW experience, other action-RPG games have attempted a subscription model of sorts, can you talk at all about that for Diablo III?

RP: Well, ultimately, we’ll decide on the final business model of the game in the future, but I don’t think you’re going to see a subscription model in the realm of WOW. It’s a boxed product game, it will be more similar to say, the Diablo II or the StarCraft II model.

Starcraft 2 -- it would be an idiotic business decision, and considering what Blizzard has said regarding it I highly doubt it. In the end, if it does end up being P2P then I can play a different game.

 

[Rispetto]

Now I'm aware that this is a touchy subject so I feel the need to say that I'm not trolling and would appreciate if you all tried to be civil in this thread.

I am aware how Blizzard stated, "We will not charge a monthly fee for Starcraft 2 ever" but for anyone in the beta who has seen the latest patch may agree with me when I say I'm starting to doubt that. For anyone who hasn't seen there is a play time remaining message under the player profile in battle.net which blizzard stated has nothing to do with the beta and is a patch glich, however the fact that they have a profile play timer seems suspiciously like MMO pay-per-month online usage. Normally I wouldn't suspect Blizzard of this but ever since WoW and their acquisition by Activision I don't trust them as a company any more, so my question is what is your opinion?

NO - THIS MESSAGE IS TO MAKE YOU AWARE THAT THE BETA CLOSES ON JUNE 26TH, AS THE GAME COMES OUT ON JUNE 27TH.

I FEEL I MUST USE CAPS BECAUSE HALF THE POPULACE OF THE BETA HAS A KNOWN DISEASE RELATIVELY CALLED DOWNS SYNDROME.

The release date isn't hidden anywhere, and they didn't put it in JASS.
Use your brain, please. And stop wasting thread-space, for people who ACTUALLY HAVE IMPORTANT THINGS TO ASK / TALK ABOUT.

Thanks.

 

[KaboomMaster]

NO - THIS MESSAGE IS TO MAKE YOU AWARE THAT THE BETA CLOSES ON JUNE 26TH, AS THE GAME COMES OUT ON JUNE 27TH.

I FEEL I MUST USE CAPS BECAUSE HALF THE POPULACE OF THE BETA HAS A KNOWN DISEASE RELATIVELY CALLED DOWNS SYNDROME.

The release date isn't hidden anywhere, and they didn't put it in JASS.
Use your brain, please. And stop wasting thread-space, for people who ACTUALLY HAVE IMPORTANT THINGS TO ASK / TALK ABOUT.

Thanks.

Obviously you didn't read the patch 13 notes which said the expiration timer is a glitch due to the patch.

http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=25026323304&sid=5010

Check bullet point number three under battle.net

 

[Rispetto]

Yeah, and that's when the beta closes..
Caaauuussseee I'm prettttyyy suuurreee Future Shop said the 27th.
Whom to believe. Hmmm? You or FS?

 

[doombringer]

They ae just testing the pay to play function that is available in south america, africa, russia and a few other places because they have a cheaper version that is available (but not compolsury) in those countries that means people who might not be able to afford the full game can still play and enjoy the game for less

Dont worry there will be no compolsury pay to play

will try to find the blizzard thread later when my eyes are not so sleepy

EDIT woops didn't notice the other pages so ignore this if it has already been said

 

[KaboomMaster]

Yeah, and that's when the beta closes..
Caaauuussseee I'm prettttyyy suuurreee Future Shop said the 27th.
Whom to believe. Hmmm? You or FS?

Oh really because I found this nice little Blizzard dev post saying it ends on the 31st of May before being reopened for a few weeks before the release on July 27th. (Trust me I am fully aware of the irony of me quoting Blizzard in this thread.)

Oh my apologies Rispetto, I believe I interrupted you talking about how you being uninformed has lead you to believe that half the Beta population has down syndrome.

 

[PurplePoot]

It actually closes on June 7 (they just extended it from May 31).

 

[KaboomMaster]

It actually closes on June 7 (they just extended it from May 31).

I just saw your thread, and thanks for posting it or I would've never known.

 

[Cihparg]

Im pretty sure that they are going to use that very same battle.net in the very future, but the timer may have been a glitch in Starcraft II.

Most likely it was to time the beta end, but then it was changed and it got glitched.

In future games, if they use this same battle.net because it is good. The timer is most likely ONLY for mmo's, it is just based in there (This is the new B.Net, yes).

Diablo III is not an MMO remember that (Either is SC2). It prolly won't have monthly cost.
Blizzard already has a "Gold Mine" and it's called "WoW".

Making another "Gold Mine" would be just a waste.

~tired typod

 

[Doctor-Pepper]

I always get a double explasion

But no, im sure its for other games or as stated before, cheap versions of sc2 with monthly contract as in russia