On Jun 12, 2008, at 3:48 PM, SJS wrote:
You can charge for server usage, or you can sell the product and provide free server usage. The problem comes when you try to to both: sell the game *and* charge for server access (pisses people off) or give away the game *and* server access (no revenue stream). Blizzard has done both -- Diablo I and II provided pay-for-game and free servers; WoW is a free-as-in-beer game and a for-pay server.
That's not entirely accurate. Just like with my game EQ2, even with WoW you have to buy the game and then subscribe. You are probably thinking about the free trial CDs you can get just about anywhere these days; but if their model is still the same as ours (and I think it is) to active a full account you still have to buy a Key (which is really all you are buying when you buy the boxed game) and then start paying the subscription as well. Most of our income surges come from releasing new expansions and having good box sales (these are very noticeable on royalty checks), but the subscriptions work well to keep things running / keep development going.
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