It could cost Russians a lot to see this kind of action.
Ok, so the Soviet Union doesn’t exist anymore. Still, that’s a good joke – and in this case, it may actually be accurate.
As with the pre-release hype of all new games, there comes a certain amount of information that is more correctly call “disinformation” or “bull$#%^”. This information is disseminated up by people who misinterpret data put forth by the game company, or by Internet Trolls who think that making other people angry anonymously is the joy and spice of life (see: Passive-Aggressive).
A good example of this type of thing is when a persistent game such as World of Warcraft has information release about a new patch. There is often endless speculation about the exact wording of a particular line in the patch notes, one that may either make the Mage class truly and wholly redundant, or prop them up as kings of the arcane world. The devil, as they say, is in the details, and he’s having a great time in there.
So, when threads began to surface on the official forums about a potential “pay to play” model for multiplayer content that was going to exist in Russia, it was naturally assumed to be incorrect.
In a sad day for Russians everywhere, it was not.
Apparently, Russians are used to paying “micro payments” for services on the Internet that we here in North America and those baguette-eating Tea drinkers in Europe take for granted. This includes things like (anti)social network sites like Farcebook and Twotter, both of which we’ve deliberately misspelled out of a deep and misplaced hatred for the networking niche.
At any rate, this monthly charge is supposed to apply ONLY to the Russian version of the game, and will only kick in after a pre-determined period. The exact specifics have yet to be worked out, but the theory is that there will be two “Russian” versions, which will include either 120 days or 364 days of free gaming, depending on the price paid. Russians will also have the option to upgrade to the “EU” version, which will include unlimited access to the servers.
Speculation abounds as to which version of the game will allow access to what servers, but the general attitude is that this model sucks. Blizzard hasn’t been exact, but the noise they’re making seems to indicate that the idea is to offer Russians a version they can afford, while also giving the chance to upgrade.
We’ll be honest – we don’t know the average amount of expendable Rubles the average Russian has, but its likely less than our over-spoiled North American tweeners are carrying around, so maybe this model makes sense.
In some respects, it could be a good deal. Most games don’t get played for a month, let alone three months or a year, so most Russians will probably never notice when they reach the end of their free time. The flip side to that is of course the fact that Blizzard is trying desperately to make this game as insanely popular as the old one, an outcome which has yet to be assured.
At the end of the day, the Internet Trolls were right. Russians are going to get the cold sickle here, and have to pay out if they want to play with the rest of Europe. No plans for monthly fees in other countries have been announced, and if Blizz is smart they will keep it that way. Two years ago, SCBlog.com ran a web poll to see how fans would react to a monthly charge. The response was overwhelming – 72% of responders said they couldn’t or wouldn’t play the game if it required a monthly fee.
Sadly, this is the way games are going. Micro content – such as the new purchasable in-game mount which Blizzard released in WoW for a cost of 25 real dollars – is becoming the norm, and people are willing to pay for it. This mount, a flying horse that shoots out stars, has been nicknamed several unpleasant things by those who don’t like the concept, but also generated over 2.5 million dollars in revenue for Blizzard in just one day.
There was actually a virtual line-up in a virtual store to buy this virtual pet. Oh dear God, Armageddon is upon is.
No matter your attitude toward this kind of payment model, it is coming. The broad fees we pay for Internet access will likely stay the same, but the cost to play your favourite game is going to increase by a substantial amount in the next few years.
We gave some thought to ending this post with a joke about Blizzard Stalin for time or getting poor Marx for their decision, but we don’t want to be Putin them down.
Zing.
