Battle.net monthly fee ... in Russia

[celerisk]

http://www.incgamers.com/News/21948/starcraft-ii-monthly-fees-confirmed-in-russia

Strange idea.
While I could feel the pain for our Russian friends, this also sets a rather unsettling precedent.
Until now, battle.net's been free for all...

Still, what's your take on, for example, "free for basic play" - "fee for power play (ladders and such)"?

 

[Sevion]

If they make me pay for it, I'm not going to play Battle.net then... Premium Maps was eh.. But.. this... I'm not going to get any expansions either. I'd just torrent them...

 

[Admit]

They also said that the russian could buy the European version, if they do they get acces to European servers and dosen't need to pay a monthly fee.


*Edit

Blue post:

To clarify, this is the Russian pricing model you are talking about. This is a very special case for Russia only. All other European versions will be without a monthly fee.

For the Russian version the monthly fee also only applies after the free months that come with the box are over and are only for the online version of the game. They can then purchase online game time or upgrade to a full EU access, that will grant them the same access as all other European players have without further monthly fees.

From: http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=24262386737&sid=5010&pageNo=2

 

[INCINERATE]

the day they say everybody has to pay to play online will be the last day i ever play sc2

 

[Slapshot136]

if it was only for ladder I don't think I would be paying.. besides that, doesn't that imply the russian version is cheaper then the EU version, and they can upgrade for the difference in cost?

 

[DarkRevenant]

Pretty reasonable. Look at the pricing:

The DVD version will cost 999 ruble (£20 GBP or €25 EUR) and allow one year Russia-limited multiplayer access, and a jewel-case version will cost half that and allow limited multiplayer access for 120 days.

When the initial term has run out, a monthly fee will have to be paid to continue to play online. Blizzard has not confirmed exact price range, but StarCraft: IncGamers reports it would be around €3 EUR per month.

From purchase, players will be able to upgrade their game for an unconfirmed amount (possibly £25 GBP, €30 EUR) in order to play multiplayer forever and also play with other Europeans.

$34 to get a limited year-long contract or $17 for a third-of-a-year-long contract, plus $16 for a multiplayer renewal of the same length as the $17 version. However, they can't play with other Europeans or whatever. They can just buy the Euro version for $60 and be done with it, if they have to play with their long-distance friends. They can even upgrade later for $41 if they really want.

Blizzard is merely offering an option for Russians to use because they predict that they'll be more likely to use that option than other countries.

The only thing that worries me is that Blizzard may consider monthly fees for non-optional or highly-used-by-modders services. I refuse to pay to make free mods. This changes, obviously, if the mod is not free, but judging by the nature of premium maps, the mod has to be free (or unreleased and largely untested...) before it is given premium status.

 

[Arkless]

Well, it's probably prejudice but I think they are willingly offering all those russian hackers (I'm not saying all russians are hackers) a way to test their cheats without losing too much money...

17$...

 

[chanta45]

No one should pay, that's completely retarded, don't tell me they don't make enough money off WoW, and with premium maps i'm sure they'll make a decent buck.

 

[celerisk]

with premium maps i'm sure they'll make a decent buck.

I wouldn't count on that.
What kind of maps does it take to get there?
According to Blizzard, even something like WC3's current uber-map-that-owns-all-of-bnet doesn't qualify.

they predict that they'll be more likely to use that option than other countries

You mean it will be even cheaper for them to get to that predicted hacking with an official version?
Good plan.
Though, hackers aren't exactly known for needing a legit version (well, no more than one that is)

 

[chanta45]

Actually I would count on premium maps... Warcraft 3's DotA didn't make the cut because 1. Blizzard would prefer to use it to attract people to SC2 rather then make it a pay for feature, 2. DotA doesn't really do anything revolutionary with the engine.

Premium maps will be things like, a first person shooter made with the SC2 engine, or an aerial combat sim, or RPG's that span across several maps with tons of original storyline, abilities etc.

Basically, the map needs to do something truly original with the engine (and receive enough support from fans) to become a premium map. DotA is an amazing map because it epitomizes what video games are about, easy to get into, hard to master right... But it's not supa original

 

[DarkRevenant]

The only thing that has kept DotA:A alive this long is the constant updating and huge established fanbase. It keeps going under its own momentum. Give any map such conditions and it would end up being like DotA:A.

On topic, these monthly payments are an optional way to do the same thing as the one-time payment. Nothing to be concerned about yet.

 

[LurkerAspect]

Anyone else feel like sc2 is turning into a scam? Years of delays, sneak peeks, no LAN, and now this? How can you expect to force people to play online by abolishing network play, and then charge them as well? It also goes to show that Blizzard is very concerned about their long-term turnover from the game.

I'm not going to get any expansions either. I'd just torrent them...

This. If that's the case.

 

[Whitesock]

Are you guys reading the whole post? It clearly says that they still have access to starcraft with free internet, this is just a seperate option for russians who want to pay less for starcraft. The downside? They only get access to Russian servers which cost a month fee. They can still buy the European version which has free internet services.

Now if you finally get that then you probably missed post #3.

 

[Sevion]

I know that they can buy the Euro version, but I said

If they make me pay for it, I'm not going to play Battle.net then...

"If they make me" is the key.

 

[Whitesock]

They said they weren't if you were wondering.