Sub Thoughts?

[Kewhi]

As far as the above post saying there is nothing worth a damn that was free, I bg to differ. Guild Wars 1 and 2 were both amazing games using the buy to play model, and they rival WoW, sitting at number 2 with proven stats. Lastly Wildstar is NCSoft and I have read more then one article saying it will be a BTP model just like gw.

Comparing the success of World of Warcraft to that of Guild Wars 2 is like trying to compare the NFL to Pop Warner football. It is no secret that the popularity of Guild Wars 2 is quickly diminishing and I'm not sure what "proven stats" you are referring to as their player base is sub par compared to WoW.

Also, Wildstar is confirmed to be a subscription MMORPG http://www.gamespot.com/news/wildsta...ed-mmo-6413154

Another up and coming P2P MMORPG is The Elder Scrolls: Online. It would seem that the subscription based MMORPG model is very much alive & kicking.

Now as for your question about FFXIV going F2P, I read an interview from Yoshi P though I don't care to search for it right now. But to break it down, he did originally state that he'd shut the servers down before going F2P. However, he later went out to say that should he absolutely need to consider such a change in strategy then he would certainly do so. But it would be only under severe circumstances, and even then he would split the game up in the following manner: Separate servers for F2P & P2P players.

I think the subscription cost is a bit expensive. I know what a server costs to keep open and maintain, and if I compare it my other subscribed interests - this one is asking alot.
I feel brand recognition is what we're paying for.

$15.00 per month is the norm for a subscription based MMORPG. The cost to efficiently run and maintain a server that is equipped to handle this sort of stress is certainly no minuscule amount. And that subscription fee goes to more than just access to their servers. It also provides you with access to these forums, customer support, bug fixes, server improvements, and probably the largest benefit: regular major content updates.