MMOs:Like em' or not?

[BrianLeichty35]

Umm just bad do you think we are at math? I just assumed we had figured it out.

Imagine you played 2 MMOs and paid the full $15 each month.(I would think most people only play 1 and maybe pay a reduced rate.)
Thats only 360 dollars. Add $100 bucks if you bought a copy of each game that year.

For the ammount of hours leisure time, thats not bad.  But like I said I suppose a kid would see it different than an adult with a regular job.
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The only thing that I can see that you have is bad grammar.

[BrianLeichty35]

MMo's are cheaper than smoking, drinking, crank, meth...

MMO's are cheaper than season tickets to your favorite sports team.

MMO's are cheaper than buying gas for your car to take Sunday drives.
It's all a matter of priorities. :)
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The first ones you mentioned make me wonder about your values if you consider those worthwhile things to be doing.

[BrianLeichty35]

Dude, it's $12 a month. If $12 in a month is breaking the bank for you, perhaps you shouldn't be playing computer games at all and be concentrating on other things in your life.

I played DAoC for two years and do not consider *any* of it to be wasted money. I stopped playing for completely different reasons than money and no MMO to date has really caught my attention.
Umm, 12 * $12 = $144. What is there to "keep track of"?
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Yes and how much does it cost to purchase the game and then get the client installed on your computer. I'll bet that it isn't $12.

[BrianLeichty35]

Exactly.  I dont think the cost is at all prohibative. But I can think of many good reasons to say RL activities are better than any vidio game - even a free vidio game.
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But it isn't free.

[BrianLeichty35]

[quote=Mithrandir,May 9 2005, 09:20 PM]
What it comes down to, in the end, is that everyone is different. If you're happy with 200 DVDs and new silverware, that's great. If you're happy playing MMO's - hey, that's just great too. Not everyone likes watching movies and would rather spend money to play an online computer game... oh noes, the world is going to end because people are paying to play video games.
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If I am going to spend money to play a game, I would much rather do it in a Video Arcade than Online.
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[BrianLeichty35]

1. No, I would not pay a monthly fee, no matter how much I enjoy it, as I enjoy other games that don't require the fee equally as much, yet don't have to continue paying. Old, new, there are a LOT of games to play, and only the select few require monthly fees. What makes those few better than all the others? I have older games that are so incredibly much more playable (going all the way back to text-based). I have newer games equally as playable, that look better, in different genres as well as the same genres (spellforce beats WoW by my opinion, in looks as well as the variety of what you run into in the game, yet runs modified version of same engine).

2. Calm down. I said absolutely nothing about your usage of money. I do know that for me, it would not be worth it, that if I were to spend my money that way, I would be wasting it. If it works for you, and you enjoy the game, by all means continue! I'm not judging your play, I'm simply explaining why I do not like the games enough to pay to play.

3. Actually, there are some things I only do an hour a day, or an hour a month even, that I would be more than willing to pay for. Like cable internet for one. Again, the reason I can't justify the cost is the selection I already have would make that cost rather pointless.

4. I want everything. I want playable, I want beautiful, I want the best storylines, I simply want it all. You can't get it all from one game though. And Fallout 2 is not cheap, and it's graphics aren't bad, really. They aren't great, but even by today's standards, they really aren't bad. But Fallout 2 blows WoW out of the water in storyline and playability, in my opinion, and I'd be willing to dump a whole lot more time and money into it than the other. Which is why I've bought the game twice, when my first copy got broken.
As a response to what someone else said, no, I am not the exception. I don't know many people who don't play a good game for three years or longer. Look at Diablo 2 as an example. How about Unreal Tournament (the original is still going strong). Counterstrike anyone? Fallout 2 was one of those. The original Diablo? Starwars Galactic Battlegrounds? Warcraft 2? Hoyle Casino?

There's a lot of good good games out there. If I don't think I'll be interested in the game three years from now, I probably won't buy it.
Also, I AM one of the younger folks at this board. I'm only 22. Yet my game, dvd, and cd collections have been going since I was about 5. So try not to hit me with investments vs age too much. :)
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One game that I would like to try out when it comes out is Hellgate: London. What I have seen of that looks cool.

[jahcs]

(Ghostiger @ May 7 2005, 10:50 AM)
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quote=BrianLeichty35
The only thing that I can see that you have is bad grammar.

No need for insults. Constructive criticism is normally welcomed though.

QUOTE(jahcs @ May 7 2005, 11:18 AM)
...

quote=BrianLeichty35
The first ones you mentioned make me wonder about your values if you consider those worthwhile things to be doing.

I do not consider smoking, drinking, or doing meth to be positive activities. Everyone has their vices, for some it's computer games, sports, cooking, or the more destructive ones I listed. They were selected for humorous effect and because they are fairly common addictions in our society, just like gaming.

(Ghostiger @ May 7 2005, 11:31 AM)
Exactly. I dont think the cost is at all prohibative. But I can think of many good reasons to say RL activities are better than any vidio game - even a free vidio game.

But it isn't free.
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I believe Ghostiger was speaking in general terms that any real life activity is better for you than any video game, even if you found a video game that was totally free.

[Guest]

I believe Ghostiger was speaking in general terms that any real life activity is better for you than any video game, even if you found a video game that was totally free.
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Yes. Maybe not every possible RL activity is more healthy than gaming, but many of them are.

[Encore]

Well I have seen a lot of posts here that have been flaming many others, and have concluded that it all depends. Some people like to play even if they have to pay, while some don't. Some would love to play them but don't have the money to play, like me. It depends on age and time. Although I think I'm pointing out the obvious, so don't criticise me :angry:

[Mithrandir]

Yes and how much does it cost to purchase the game and then get the client installed on your computer.  I'll bet that it isn't $12.
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$50 once and a $30 expansion every year and a half or so. You're point? Playing MMO's is *still* one of the cheapest hobbies in existence, and this point is absolutely irrefutable.

If I am going to spend money to play a game, I would much rather do it in a Video Arcade than Online.

You're going to be spending *way* more than $12 a month in a video arcade to get in any appreciable amount of play. The point is moot however since you're stating a personal opinion which not everyone shares. Just because I personally don't like corn dogs doesn't mean lots of other people can enjoy them and can do so perfectly legitimately.

The first ones you mentioned make me wonder about your values if you consider those worthwhile things to be doing.

First of all, drugs have nothing to do with a person's values. Second, crystal meth is okay as long as you do it... FOR THE CHILDREN.

[Occhidiangela]

First of all, drugs have nothing to do with a person's values.  Second, crystal meth is okay as long as you do it... FOR THE CHILDREN.
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Someone finally added two new thoughts, in combined form, to this very tired, very old debate. You win, Mith. So, do you want your prize in crumbs, or in a whole piece of cake? :D

Occhi

[Nystul]

$50 once and a $30 expansion every year and a half or so. You're point? Playing MMO's is *still* one of the cheapest hobbies in existence, and this point is absolutely irrefutable.
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Is it? How about chess/checkers/go/shogi/othello. Playing cards. Shooting hoops. Stargazing. Rollerblading/skateboarding. Walking/jogging/biking. Swimming at the town pool. Casual tennis. Reading books from the library. Watching television. Bumping tunes on the boombox, or listening to the ball game. Sketching or writing. Frisbee. Jigsaw puzzles. Singing or dancing. Composing a symphony. Surfing the internet. Programming.

Playing any non-subscription PC game for longer than 2 months.

[Mithrandir]

Someone finally added two new thoughts, in combined form, to this very tired, very old debate.  You win, Mith.  So, do you want your prize in crumbs, or in a whole piece of cake?  :D

Occhi
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I thought the thread had gotten pretty stale, so I decided to give it a nudge in the right direction!

Is it? How about chess/checkers/go/shogi/othello. Playing cards. Shooting hoops. Stargazing. Rollerblading/skateboarding. Walking/jogging/biking. Swimming at the town pool. Casual tennis. Reading books from the library. Watching television. Bumping tunes on the boombox, or listening to the ball game. Sketching or writing. Frisbee. Jigsaw puzzles. Singing or dancing. Composing a symphony. Surfing the internet. Programming.

I have yet to meet anyone who plays board games for any other reason than to kill a random hour or two, so I don't know if they can really be qualified as hobbies that one would put the same number of hours into as a video game, sport, etc. The expense of playing cards is also quite dependent on how good you are at playing :)

Nonetheless, I stated that it was "one of the cheapest" not *the* cheapest. If you make a raquet yourself, use tennis balls from the lost-and-found, and play on a public court of course it's going to be cheaper. But if you want to be any good at said sport, you're going to need to sink money into it for lessons, team fees, court fees, etc. Same for many of those you listed above.

For every "stargazing" (with or without a decent telescope?) though, there's playing golf, or playing hockey, or doing drugs, or collecting baseball cards, or collecting comics, and so on and so on and so on.

Playing any non-subscription PC game for longer than 2 months.

Let's take a deeper look at actual time investment verse cost. Assuming $12/month subscription fee, one $30 expansion, a one-time $50 box fee, and a rather low assumption of an average of 2 hours played per night for a year and you're paying about 30 cents an hour.

Most games now-a-days seem to aim for ~30 hours of gameplay, but let's be generous and say that it takes you 60 hours to play through and you play the game twice. With a $50 box price, you're getting about 42 cents an hour - 140% of the price of the MMO... and the MMO lasted longer.

[Griselda]

I have yet to meet anyone who plays board games for any other reason than to kill a random hour or two, so I don't know if they can really be qualified as hobbies that one would put the same number of hours into as a video game, sport, etc.
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Oh, there's people who put a whole lot of time into playing board games. We're not talking "Sorry" though. Most gaming conventions have a board game element. When I went to Origins, I met people who travel around the country to play board games at a tournament level. Needless to say, they clobbered me. :P

When you're at the extreme of traveling around the country to play, it's certainly not going to be a cheap hobby. But there is a middle ground. I enjoy playing board games myself, and not just because I'm bored. :P

Now, finding a decent (old) copy of Robo Rally, that's an expensive hobby!

[Encore]

Hmm, tell me, how DO you pay for these MMOs?

[Bun-Bun]

Now, finding a decent (old) copy of Robo Rally, that's an expensive hobby!
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It'll be reprinted soon, so I hear.

[Bun-Bun]

Hmm, tell me, how DO you pay for these MMOs?
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My regular job makes $15 a month look like not so much money. One of the few benefits of seniority is an ascending wage scale; the not-so-great part is having to get old. 10 years to AARP and counting ...

[Griselda]

It'll be reprinted soon, so I hear.
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I hear it's so different that it's not even the same game, though. :(

[Encore]

What I mean as paying for it is how. You have 12 bucks in your hand, now are you going to drive over to Irvine and hand deliver it to them? It is Paypal or something else?

[Rinnhart]

What I mean as paying for it is how. You have 12 bucks in your hand, now are you going to drive over to Irvine and hand deliver it to them? It is Paypal or something else?
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Roadtrip! (BYOB)