…and now I can’t get Y2K or YMCA out of my mind. Bleh.
Anyway, Gamasutra has a pair of articles up that piqued my interest:
I’m sure that proponents and detractors can make up their own arguments at this point, but I’ll chime in and note that Puzzle Pirates is one of only three MMOs that I’ve spent money on (the others being Wizard 101 and Guild Wars), and that this move for DDO might just mean I go check it out. If they have a reasonable scheme on the back end to capture some revenue, they might just be the fourth.
(And if SWTOR and Jumpgate Evolution have non-sub options, they might be fifth and sixth…)
Updated: Raph Koster has a blurb up on another Gamasutra article here:
Good stuff. Raph actually is neck deep in this sort of thing, what with Metaplace and all. It’s a good read.
Update 2, more data from a War Cry interview:
Update 3, more from the devs on why they are changing things up. Notable among reasons cited are the changing demographics, and the need for shorter session gaming, and the restrictive binary system of subscriptions (in or out). Someone gets it, and this is heartening to hear from the devs, since it’s part of what I’ve argued for a while now: