Age of Conan's retail, monthly subscription prices revealed
by Jason Dobson 
{ Apr 23rd 2008 at 5:00AM }
However, while the oft-delayed MMO has seen a healthy influx of interest during the game's beta test, this hasn't clouded Funcom's gift for the obvious, with the company stating in an investor update that "the success of the game will depend first and foremost on the response it receives from players after several hours of playtime of the finished product."
[Via Massively]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lonin @ Apr 23rd 2008 5:20AM
$59.99 is a $10 premium for a PC game. In fact, Gamestop has it listed at $49.99: http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=646875
bigsofty @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:41AM
"fuck off!"... ridiculous Euro conversion... not buying...!
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:55AM
It's been like that since...ever.
Guess we'll just have to beat it until they're REALLY ripping us off(a la Rock Band).
Destro @ Apr 23rd 2008 6:41AM
I think everywhere has it listed for $49.99. I haven't seen it at any other price yet at any rate.
Killswitch On @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:00AM
HA. $180 a year????? To play Conan?
Sorry but I dont think too many people will be falling for that. But then again, many people buy a bunch of DVDs and BluRay discs that theyll probably watch once or twice, so yeah I am sure there will be plenty of dummies that will be shelling out the dough.
I just fail to see the sense of it. Especially for Conan.
Purple Haze @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:40AM
I'm not big on MMOs, but based on the buzz I'm hearing for this it sounds stupid to discount it because of the license.
bigsofty @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:42AM
Agreed, rediculous... bye Conan... too greedy.. developers!
Rollins @ Apr 23rd 2008 8:52AM
You're saying that they should charge less than your standard MMO for some reason?
You haven't happened to notice some of the hype around the game, have you?
Oh, and there's no way in hell they're going to make retailers raise the price now (from $50 to $60). It's either a misprint or it'll be ignored.
Rick @ Apr 23rd 2008 9:55AM
Ok folks, before you get your undies in a bundle, take the time to go to ONE website and check what the game is actually retailing for. Gamestop has it for $49.99, which is what any other triple A mmorpg is going to cost. The monthly fee is the same as any other major mmorpg on the market. Funcom is right in line with the rest of the industry.
According to Gamestop, the Xbox 260 version will cost $59.99, but that's not shipping next month, it's listed for September.
Please, for the love of all that's well-researched, take a minute to Google things before you get all reactionary. Do you really believe that the hot girls in Match.com ads want to webcam with you, too?
Shagittarius @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:35AM
Have you guys ever played an MMO since the 90s? This isn't unusual, and this game is looking very interesting.
Don't worry I'm happy there will be less 13 year olds on the server anyways.
GRT @ Apr 23rd 2008 2:07PM
Rick: Sure, the price for the pre-order on Gamestop and such has been $49.95 for months, but the 'official' pricing came out yesterday. Pre-order prices are subject to change. So we'll have to wait and see if the price gets bumped up to meet Funcom's MSRP or not.
koehler83 @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:18AM
That's fuckin' STEEP!
FunkyFlyChicken @ Apr 23rd 2008 8:05AM
Steep? That's the same monthly fee for most commercial MMORPG's...
And why would this game fail solely based on it being a Conan game with a fee?
Just as with most other MMORPG's on the market, it's going to be judged on what it has available to the playerbase at launch, and over the first 6 months. That stretch of time (6 months), is going to make or break most MMO's. Is there enough content to keep you busy without feeling too repetitive? Are there differences in quests/areas depending on your race/class at the start of the game? How does the end-game play out?
If Conan really DOES deliver on the PvP aspects of the game, and can also still have a solid, fast-paced PvE experience, I actually think it will do quite well.
There are still people holding onto hope that Tabula Rasa will become the game people WANT it to be (And that it should have been on release), paying a fee to play what is essentially a closed beta of the game (in the first few months of release, almost every class has been gutted and refitted with new skills, taking skills away and tweaking the existing ones). But it's definately hurting in playerbase numbers, because of this.
Destro @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:45AM
It's $10 and the same monthly fee as every other MMO. Don't you guys have jobs?
koehler83 @ Apr 23rd 2008 8:30AM
$14.99 is $10?
GRT @ Apr 23rd 2008 8:47AM
It's a 20% premium over other PC games. It isn't the amount, its the message. The economy is in the toilet and Funcom launches its game at a 20% markup.
Guess what? If no one bitches, then Warhammer Online comes out at $69.95, and the next big game after that at $79.95. It won't be just $10 then.
Games sell for what the market will bear, and its up to consumers to not bear these hikes. After all, if their game is decent, people will be handing them $15/month for a long time to come. Doesn't it make more sense to get people into the subscription stream for as little as possible?
Destro @ Apr 23rd 2008 8:52AM
I won't deny being a upset by the markup, as I was with Doom3 and whatever couple other games I ended up buying at a premium for no particular reason. But the crux of what I am saying is that Conan has the exact same monthly charge as every other game.
I cannot fathom how someone could say "HA. $180 a year????? To play Conan?" Do you even HAVE a computer?
GRT @ Apr 23rd 2008 8:56AM
OK I'll agree with you there. Monthly fee doesn't phase me a bit; as many have said, that's a standard monthly fee for a top tier MMO.
BlaqueBeird @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:48AM
Steep? It costs the same as WoW or CoH, and from the beta it looks pretty bitchin'.
Btw, City of Heroes is better than WoW. *ducks*
SinHarvest @ Apr 23rd 2008 8:35AM
Its gonna be this or WAR. Plz plz plz plz plz dont suck.
Rollins @ Apr 23rd 2008 8:55AM
Having taken part in the PvP Beta Weekend they had a while back (for which the NDA has been lifted, btw), I can assure you the game does not suck.
In fact, from the limited parts we were allowed to play with, it was pretty fun. FC has some bugs to work out, but the last month or so of development is always for bugfixing/optimization.
I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up a little buggy at release, but it won't be remotely close to the unplayable mess Vanguard was.
Bmeist @ Apr 23rd 2008 8:37AM
It's not $59.99, check any retailer. They probably just announced the euro price and as usual it will cost more there if you do a straight conversion. That would make no sense to bring it out at 59.99, think about it.
GRT @ Apr 23rd 2008 8:49AM
The retailers estimate the price and reserve the right to increase it. Check the source:
http://www.funcom.com/funcom/frontend/files/CONTENT/Funcom_update220408.pdf
Quote:
Key pricing parameters for the game will be:
o The Standard game SKU will have a
Suggested Retail Price (SRP) of 59,99
USD in North America and at 49.99 Euro in
the European markets.
mocax @ Apr 23rd 2008 9:21AM
I guess I'll cancel my beta and wait for Guild Wars 2
Bucfann @ Apr 23rd 2008 10:36AM
Well if this is the price of your typical MMO then there are a lot of idiots out there. Pay about $50 for a game and then another $180 a year just to be able to play it.
Sorry, thanks but no thanks. All you who bitch about Xbox Live costing $50 a year, I wonder how many of you pay the prices of MMOs monthly. Jack nuts
Shagittarius @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:49AM
I would consider the amount of money you spend on hookers extravagant but to each his own.
Dracula Jones @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:05AM
Attn: New MMOs
You must be cheaper than WOW or you will fail. There is no other way to gain a foothold, no matter how great your game is.
Klepto @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:37AM
The monthly fee is fine, but that seems a bit steep upfront.
FunkyFlyChicken @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:06PM
Well, the additional 10 dollars up front isn't the norm currently with PC gaming, and I will admit that I don't like it (and admittedly, I most likely won't be playing Conan anyhow, since I tend to steer away from MMORPG's for the most part, as I have a life away from gaming, and don't make gaming my "life").
That being said, for those people who claim it is STUPID to pay to keep playing a game, how many rpg's have you played, that keep providing you with additional content on a regular basis? GM's online while you are playing the game, to help with issues you may experience, and to help drive in-game events?
Now, I will be the FIRST to say that most companies want to jump on the MMO Bandwagon WITHOUT providing all of that, which is why I'm out of the MMORPG market for the moment. Even to this day developers still have a hard time keeping the content coming fast enough, and diverse enough to maintain a successful fanbase.
And honestly, WoW is a fluke. WoW does NOTHING different than any other MMORPG that came LONG before it, and nothing different from what has come since. WoW is huge because it's Blizzard, and over half of their subscription numbers come from the asian market, who worship Warcraft and Starcraft (Blizzard won't make a Starcraft MMO unless/until WoW is completely dead, because they KNOW the Asian market would bury WoW to jump onto that).
Optimaximal @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:13PM
Look, wait until 2-3 weeks after launch and the upfront purchase price will drop by $10/€10 (unless the game REALLY takes off or something).
Common sense prevails as the game isn't going to instantly tank if people don't start playing straight away...
Maleko @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:31PM
If the game doesn't make me want to punch orphans, then paying $15 a month isn't a bother. And from all the sites I've visited, all viewed at 49.99 price for AoC.
Nalgae @ Apr 23rd 2008 1:59PM
It's 59.99 for the xbox360 version, 49.99 for PC. Doing it any other way would be suicide.
Mos @ Apr 29th 2008 12:50AM
Be happy! 50 euros equals 85 dollars with the current exchange rate. And the european monthly fee translates into $21.... You guys are getting the game cheap!
And its not really Funcom's fault that you lot goes to war screwing up your economy.
Wulf0r @ May 2nd 2008 2:27PM
It can't be cheaper than WoW for marketing reasons alone. MMORPGs are sooo big that it's hard to believe that there could actually exist more than one that is as polished and massive as WoW is, especially if you've played that game.
I'm looking forward to Conan myself but I admit I was skeptical as to whether FunCom could pull it off. The crappy website they had for the longest time and lack of videos etc aggravated that. It has gotten a lot better lately, with all the beta info streaming out and so forth.
If they'd offer the game for 5€ a month the risk would be high that people would be turned away by that alone. "Oh, only 5 bucks, this can't be a real MMORPG". People are weird that way. But ask yourself: any product, if you have a price in mind would you actually check out products that are half or a quarter of that price?
And to the people still arguing against subscriptions: It's really fine if you just don't like MMORPG games but for those who do it's a singular bargain. I know this from WoW: I didn't play (let alone buy) a single other game in over a year. You end up spending so much time in it (even if you aren't an uber-raid-freak) that the price per entertainment hour is lower than any other alternative. For christ's sake, going to the movies is almost the same as the monthly fee if you have popcorn and beer with your ticket.
Lot's of thing can be said against the likes of AoC or WoW but the cost argument is a little ridiculous.
dTracy @ May 22nd 2008 2:59AM
I am not so frustrated at the cost, but Blizzard did the marketing right with the "Try it FREE for 10 days" - limited to level 10.
If you want my $50 for a game that I HAVE TO PAY a subscription to enjoy, let me try it first. Otherwise, I'll continue to play my Sins of a Solar Empire and WoW.
I refuse to buy an MMO unless I can see it and play it. Otherwise, it's a $50 gamble that I'm not willing to make. It's too bad I can't download a limited time/level demo to take it for a test spin. That's how you get people sucked in.
About some of the reviews and E3 comments, I've seen several games that fell far short of expectations and play that were demonstrated or touted as "Best Game at ___". I won't buy it based on anything other than someone I trust saying it's good and letting me see his game.
I'm glad that they're able to make a dent in the MMO market though, it will only help the industry as a whole.
Jason @ May 22nd 2008 5:20PM
Weel in the UK here its like £24.99 and the subsription is only £6.50 so it isn't that bad. Of course for people who hav played WoW its a bit of a leap of faith to go straight into the game. Its kinda stupid they won't let u try it out though.