So I just have to discuss something today, that frankly has me a little… confused. “Lord of the Rings Online” is an MMORPG that has been running for a very long time, since 2007. While it still has its fans, LOTRO has pretty much seen its days in the sun pass long ago, although to be fair Daybreak continues to develop new content for the game.
This is an elder MMO, no doubt about it. So why is it going up in price?
Yes, they are increasing the price of the three, six, and twelve month VIP subscriptions, starting July 1st. To which I just have to ask… What. The. F*ck?
Who thought this was a good idea? Yes, lets piss off the few remaining regularly paying customers, on a game that allows you to play completely for free? All that VIP sub gives you is some in-game currency you can spend on microtransactions, and the occasional free update… which are becoming more infrequent as time goes by.
So all this does is make the VIP more valuable for those of us who invested a few hundred in it years ago, when “Lifetime” subscriptions were still available. The $199 I dropped on mine back in 2008 sure was money well spent, especially now.
Frankly, I just don’t get it. Who does Daybreak think are going to pay this? The monthly subscription price is $15, and now the 3-month sub will be increasing from $10/month to $14/month. As for the six-month sub, it’ll be jumping from $10/month to $13/month, and the annual sub will be going from $8.33/month to $12/month.
In short, where is the discount? Why should LOTRO players invest in a 3, 6, or 12-month sub, when they will be saving almost nothing in the long run? Is it worth saving basically $36/year to buy into an annual subscription, when you can go month-to-month and have the freedom to drop your sub whenever you like and lose basically nothing?
Part of the draw to subscribe to a free-to-play MMORPG is the FOMO, or “Fear Of Missing Out” on the benefits that subscription gives you. But if the costs are roughly the same as a month-to-month subscription, suddenly that FOMO is effectively neutered. There is no reason to subscribe for a longer term anymore, not really.
So I’m wondering just why Daybreak would make such a choice? When the economy is getting worse, and players have less money than ever to spend on luxuries like MMORPG subscriptions like LOTRO’s, Daybreak should be encouraging players to subscribe by giving discounts, not jacking up prices!
This is ridiculous. Unless Daybreak somehow makes the value of the VIP subscription somehow way more valuable than it currently is, this is simply a bad move, and will strangle their subscription income at a time when they need it most. But then again, this is daybreak, so…