There's gotta be a subscription fee or some other ongoing pay to win or advertising source of income for any publisher offering a hosted server based multiplayer game. Can't sell a game and continue to support it for years after sales have stopped.
I'm not saying it isn't fair. I'm saying it is a hard sell when you talk to people.
I think you can get away with subscription, but people would expect a product at the top of it's genre (gameplay and graphics), constant ongoing dev, constant new stuff\content coming out.
But they are comparing it to 1946. AH doesn't really beat it on graphics. Fully patched, 1946 and AH III look very similar. 1946 has a little better terrain and towns and rivers, and AH has a little better clouds and sky lighting. I think AH has a better FM, boats, GV but not a massive difference. I think 1946 patched had nicer sounds. Neither is really being developed further. But you can buy 1946 for $5 and never pay another dime, AH is asking $15\mo every month forever and the only visible development has been skins and player terrains..
Try convincing some people and see what reaction you get. I get:
1. Graphics look dated and UI is awkward. If I push back that 1946 is about the same, the reply is, yeah, that's why I am only willing to pay $5 for it.
2. Subscription? (Their expectation are shaped by WT, DCS, IL2. None of which are classic subscription model.) I try to explain to them it could be justified on the Historical Events alone, but not everyone (even in this community) are into those.
3. Is it still being developed? New features? New planes? Well, mostly just new player made content, skins and terrains. It is still being maintained against braking bugs. But I don't expect much new development.
I'm not sure what you do about it, but I definitely get push back on a subscription given the current state. Maybe someone else could give a better pitch. I have to admit up front I don't have a current subscription. I hoped that would increase my apparent objectivity but I'm not sure it helps. I explain like rib-eyes. Though if I ate rib-eyes for 20 years I'd eventually get tired of it and want sushi for a while. And that's true. I don't emphasize that it would take visible development to start again in earnest and numbers to get back up above 250 and I'd consider reopening an account, but if they asked what it would take I'd have to admit that.
But it's clear there is big resistance to a subscription. People are just so tired of everyone trying to get their hooks into them for yet another subscription. Like it or not, it is extra friction. Two week trial is not worth them bothering with. A F2P subset might make a difference. You could then at least push back and say just play the free parts. Decide for yourself if you ever want to subscribe to get all the rest later. That would help sidestep that friction point. But of course, that appears to not be an acceptable option. So, what are you going to say?
