Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
Promotions/Press
Gamehackery: What Does the Subscription Boom Mean to Gamers?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Radiating Gnome" data-source="post: 7650748" data-attributes="member: 150"><p>It's not a coincidence that the new microsoft office (Office 365) and the recently announced Adobe Creative Suite (including Photoshop) are being offered as subscriptions (rather than products). </p><p></p><p>Everything is coming up subscriptions. You can subscribe to coffee, to tea, to cloud data services and to toilet paper. </p><p></p><p>No, seriously. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A15342981%2Cp_n_is_sns_available%3A2617006011" target="_blank">You can subscribe to toilet paper</a>. </p><p></p><p>So, it's no fluke that DDI was a subscription service. Don't expect that to change. From a pure business point of view, the subscription model is the most important development in the gaming industry in the past ten years. </p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]57483[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p><strong>Smoothing Out the Boom and Bust</strong></p><p></p><p>The big advantage of a subscription program is that it creates dependable revenue streams for the company. It may not be more than they would get selling products, but it's a lot easier to plan for and manage. </p><p></p><p>They may lose some subscribers, or gain some, each month, but even those changes will follow on fairly predictable trajectories. </p><p></p><p>It also means you have an ongoing relationship with that customer -- making it easier to continue to offer them additional products. </p><p></p><p><strong>A Subscription is a Relationship </strong></p><p></p><p>A purchase can be fairly anonymous. A fistful of lawnmower money may buy a players handbook, but it doesn't forge a connection between the purchaser and the company that produce the book. </p><p></p><p>A subscription, though.... that's a relationship. It builds a connection between company and customer that the company can use to offer additional products and services. </p><p></p><p>It's also a data mine that just won't quit. The company has your name, your address; they can build a history of your purchases and study what you're interested in. In the case of DDI, they're able to track what classes are being created, what rules are accessed in the DDI most often, and can get a pretty good idea of how many active games are going by studying the number of characters that are incrementally leveled up in a given month. </p><p></p><p><strong>What Will We Subscribe For? </strong></p><p></p><p>Assuming that we don't expect Charmin and Mountain Dew deliveries from our favorite game companies, what sort of things are gamers willing to pay an ongoing subscription for? </p><p></p><p>To date, the DDI has proven that we're willing to pay for digital tools. Character Builders, Online databases of game rules and data, etc. </p><p></p><p>Over at Paizo, though, is a towering demonstration of the power of good content to drive subscriptions. Paizo, by the way, will let you subscribe to just about anything they're producing -- including their <a href="http://paizo.com/products/btpy88r4?Pathfinder-Cards-Subscription" target="_blank">monthly card decks</a> (mostly item cards, with play support cards like chase decks and critical hit decks mixed in). </p><p></p><p>And that's not all. We've seen <a href="http://www.dungeonaday.com/" target="_blank">dungeon-a-day</a> and <a href="http://adventureaweek.com/" target="_blank">adventure-a-week</a>. New magazines are appearing. Subscribe to Obsidian Portal or one of the other campaign managers to track your game. </p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Fiddling with Knobs and Dials</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>So, the real alchemy that the brains behind the businesses we support is trying to strike the right balance of price and service for their subscription models. </p><p></p><p>For example, there's a limit to what we might be willing to pay to Wizards for DDI. From their point of view, any single individual's price point is not particularly interesting. They need to take a guess at what the numbers of their subscribers will be at each price point. </p><p></p><p>So, at the moment the price is $9.99. They've hit upon that price because they believe that more than half of the people who would pay $4.99 would also play $9.99, but less than half of those that would pay $9.99 are willing to pay 14.99.</p><p></p><p>Of course, they set that price during the 4e heyday, and now they're in the last trimester (we hope) of birthing their new version. But outside of the tabletop world, ideas about subscription services have changed. The Freemium/Free-to-Play model is becoming more and more expected across industries where a product's market position isn't so strong that there's no need for it.</p><p></p><p><strong>"I want to Buy it, not Rent it"</strong></p><p></p><p>Sure you do. And I don't blame you. But you're fighting a losing battle. </p><p></p><p>In typical subscription programs -- along the magazine model -- you get your content in the mail each month and it's yours to keep. But when we start looking at RPG Tools as a Service -- like DDI or Fantasy Grounds -- when your subscription ends you no longer have access to that data.</p><p></p><p>A subscription for a service offers so many benefits to the company (steady revenue, durable connections to customers, and awesome data) that it's critical for a company to propel you over those concerns. Maybe it's better price, or better services, or both. You can expect that companies with the necessary support structure to handle a subscription program of some sort to move in that direction. </p><p></p><p>What's more, as more and more products and services are available by subscription, fewer customers will balk at this sort of scheme. We will become used to subscribing to Microsoft Office, to Photoshop. It won't be unusual to have a subscription to <a href="http://www.manpacks.com/" target="_blank">underpants</a>.</p><p></p><p><strong>Other Models</strong></p><p></p><p>Here are a couple of other example subscription services that make interesting models for potential RPG/Gaming services:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://www.bespokepost.com" target="_blank">Bespoke Post</a> - Once a month subscribers are offered a "Box of Awesome". Past boxes have included wine decanter kits, a himalayan salt block, and high-end shaving kits. Subscribers can opt out of a monthly box if you're not interested. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Freemium Services - like <a href="http://dropbox.com" target="_blank">Dropbox</a> or <a href="http://evernote.com" target="_blank">Evernote</a>. Or Free-to-play games. (next week's column will look at micro transactions, so stay tuned)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="https://quarterly.co" target="_blank">Quarterly</a> - A wide variety of quarterly subscritions to themed boxes of odds and ends curated by interesting folks like <a href="https://quarterly.co/contributors/veronica-belmont" target="_blank">Veronika Belmont</a> (Tekzilla, The Sword and Laser)</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>You've Got Mail</strong></p><p></p><p>So, you tell me -- what's important for you in a service you'll subscribe to? Are you more interested in tools or content? What subscriptions do you maintain at the moment (besides your EN World subscription, right?)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Radiating Gnome, post: 7650748, member: 150"] It's not a coincidence that the new microsoft office (Office 365) and the recently announced Adobe Creative Suite (including Photoshop) are being offered as subscriptions (rather than products). Everything is coming up subscriptions. You can subscribe to coffee, to tea, to cloud data services and to toilet paper. No, seriously. [URL="http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A15342981%2Cp_n_is_sns_available%3A2617006011"]You can subscribe to toilet paper[/URL]. So, it's no fluke that DDI was a subscription service. Don't expect that to change. From a pure business point of view, the subscription model is the most important development in the gaming industry in the past ten years. [ATTACH=CONFIG]57483[/ATTACH] [B]Smoothing Out the Boom and Bust[/B] The big advantage of a subscription program is that it creates dependable revenue streams for the company. It may not be more than they would get selling products, but it's a lot easier to plan for and manage. They may lose some subscribers, or gain some, each month, but even those changes will follow on fairly predictable trajectories. It also means you have an ongoing relationship with that customer -- making it easier to continue to offer them additional products. [B]A Subscription is a Relationship [/B] A purchase can be fairly anonymous. A fistful of lawnmower money may buy a players handbook, but it doesn't forge a connection between the purchaser and the company that produce the book. A subscription, though.... that's a relationship. It builds a connection between company and customer that the company can use to offer additional products and services. It's also a data mine that just won't quit. The company has your name, your address; they can build a history of your purchases and study what you're interested in. In the case of DDI, they're able to track what classes are being created, what rules are accessed in the DDI most often, and can get a pretty good idea of how many active games are going by studying the number of characters that are incrementally leveled up in a given month. [B]What Will We Subscribe For? [/B] Assuming that we don't expect Charmin and Mountain Dew deliveries from our favorite game companies, what sort of things are gamers willing to pay an ongoing subscription for? To date, the DDI has proven that we're willing to pay for digital tools. Character Builders, Online databases of game rules and data, etc. Over at Paizo, though, is a towering demonstration of the power of good content to drive subscriptions. Paizo, by the way, will let you subscribe to just about anything they're producing -- including their [URL="http://paizo.com/products/btpy88r4?Pathfinder-Cards-Subscription"]monthly card decks[/URL] (mostly item cards, with play support cards like chase decks and critical hit decks mixed in). And that's not all. We've seen [URL="http://www.dungeonaday.com/"]dungeon-a-day[/URL] and [URL="http://adventureaweek.com/"]adventure-a-week[/URL]. New magazines are appearing. Subscribe to Obsidian Portal or one of the other campaign managers to track your game. [B]Fiddling with Knobs and Dials [/B] So, the real alchemy that the brains behind the businesses we support is trying to strike the right balance of price and service for their subscription models. For example, there's a limit to what we might be willing to pay to Wizards for DDI. From their point of view, any single individual's price point is not particularly interesting. They need to take a guess at what the numbers of their subscribers will be at each price point. So, at the moment the price is $9.99. They've hit upon that price because they believe that more than half of the people who would pay $4.99 would also play $9.99, but less than half of those that would pay $9.99 are willing to pay 14.99. Of course, they set that price during the 4e heyday, and now they're in the last trimester (we hope) of birthing their new version. But outside of the tabletop world, ideas about subscription services have changed. The Freemium/Free-to-Play model is becoming more and more expected across industries where a product's market position isn't so strong that there's no need for it. [B]"I want to Buy it, not Rent it"[/B] Sure you do. And I don't blame you. But you're fighting a losing battle. In typical subscription programs -- along the magazine model -- you get your content in the mail each month and it's yours to keep. But when we start looking at RPG Tools as a Service -- like DDI or Fantasy Grounds -- when your subscription ends you no longer have access to that data. A subscription for a service offers so many benefits to the company (steady revenue, durable connections to customers, and awesome data) that it's critical for a company to propel you over those concerns. Maybe it's better price, or better services, or both. You can expect that companies with the necessary support structure to handle a subscription program of some sort to move in that direction. What's more, as more and more products and services are available by subscription, fewer customers will balk at this sort of scheme. We will become used to subscribing to Microsoft Office, to Photoshop. It won't be unusual to have a subscription to [URL="http://www.manpacks.com/"]underpants[/URL]. [B]Other Models[/B] Here are a couple of other example subscription services that make interesting models for potential RPG/Gaming services: [LIST] [*][URL="https://www.bespokepost.com"]Bespoke Post[/URL] - Once a month subscribers are offered a "Box of Awesome". Past boxes have included wine decanter kits, a himalayan salt block, and high-end shaving kits. Subscribers can opt out of a monthly box if you're not interested. [*]Freemium Services - like [URL="http://dropbox.com"]Dropbox[/URL] or [URL="http://evernote.com"]Evernote[/URL]. Or Free-to-play games. (next week's column will look at micro transactions, so stay tuned) [*][URL="https://quarterly.co"]Quarterly[/URL] - A wide variety of quarterly subscritions to themed boxes of odds and ends curated by interesting folks like [URL="https://quarterly.co/contributors/veronica-belmont"]Veronika Belmont[/URL] (Tekzilla, The Sword and Laser) [/LIST] [B]You've Got Mail[/B] So, you tell me -- what's important for you in a service you'll subscribe to? Are you more interested in tools or content? What subscriptions do you maintain at the moment (besides your EN World subscription, right?) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
Promotions/Press
Gamehackery: What Does the Subscription Boom Mean to Gamers?
Top