The 30 dollar unlimited offer...

[popeye]

"A handful playing at $30.00/mo or an armful playing at $10.00-20.00/mo?"

I'll take the smaller number.  I have more fun in a good 1v1 or 2v2, against skilled opponents, than in huge furballs of baby seals.  Also, a smaller community will develop a more cohesive culture, than a large  transient group.  Do you have more fun with a few regulars at the local pub, or with a big crowd of strangers at MacDonalds?

My $29.95.

popeye

[rob53]

If the customers aren't there...then the whole thing goes under  ;(
So far everything here looks great and I hope they make it.  I hope there are enough customers to make it happen!!!!!!  1v1 or 2v2 is great fun, furballs suck, I AGREE!!
But if the customer base is low, then ACES HIGH will be ACES in the hole.

------------------
rob53
Maj Kram 428th RCAF
AW ETO2

[Curly]

 Rob53, I do believe the customers WILL be
there.  And at $30.00 per month <checks
Rob53's sig file> folks won't have to put up
with the type of kiddie crap that pervades
the RR arena you refer to. Not saying you're
the cause of that baloney. But you do seem
to proudly display your stomping grounds on
your posts and that would lead to guilt by
association. I for one would be embarrased to
add AW ETO2 or WB ACA to a sig file.
 Here's an honest question: Why would you be
interested in flying a MUCH tougher flight
model in Aces High if you don't even fly
under AWiers FR settings???  
 
  --Curly

[This message has been edited by Curly (edited 09-23-1999).]

[-kier-]

 

I'll take the smaller number. I have more fun in a good 1v1 or 2v2, against skilled opponents, than in huge furballs of baby seals.

And what's wrong with Baby Seals?  

------------------
-kier-
Baby Harp Seals

[phaetn]

I am in absolutely no way[/b] trying to sound elitist...

however, I think AH is designed to attract the hard core type player who is willing to pay a premium price for a premium product... premium to a point: it is flat rate so after the initial high cost there is no other additional cost and therefore will be seen as a benefit for those used to paying "per play" for long periods.

Curly makes a valid point, although perhaps he is not so subtle about it:  WB definitely has better physics modeling than AW3... this cannot reasonably be refuted.  Why do all AW players not flock to WB then?  Likely because of its higher cost; the extra realism isn't worth the price for them.  That's not who AH is marketing towards... they want people who are willing to pay for realism.

Since, then, AH is trying to attract a crowd willing to pay a premium, they have set WB as its major competitor (since WWII On-line hasn't announced details or pricing yet).  They had to make AH pricing competitive with WB, but still high enough to generate decent revenue.

A high flat rate does that (and gets rid of nasty billing code, too!).  It attracts people willing to spend $30/month for a top quality sim (quite a few WB'ers will do that) but then offers them added value by making it flat rate.

Again, I am not thumbing my nose at AW players, just suggesting why the pricing structure may be as it is.  Those that have powerful enough computers to run Aces High (D3D capable card required; P200 very, very minimum) probably have a higher disposable income than those that have slower ones and might be willing to fork out the extra shekels.  For some it would be a saving over WBs.  For others, like AW players on a budget, it would mean going to one less movie (plus the horrendously expensive concessions) a month and putting it towards AH instead.

The bane of WB in my experience is that it is too easy to rack up bills of vast proportions... and for what?  Transitory entertainment.  If one has already played a lot in a month then ability to pay becomes a big factor and limits more play.  A flat rate gets rid of that danger for a lot of people who just don't want to stop playing.  Same cost every month!  That may be attractive to more AW players than you think: they know they want to play 25 hours a month... in WB that is just too expensive ($37.50 on the platinum plan... more on a lesser plan) and what happens if one month they just have to play more (to cope with a divorce based on immaturity and financial neglect, for instance     )?  If they know that $30 is the ceiling, that might just be worth it to them.

There are lots of other variables to consider, too, apart from lower cost attracting more players.  Whether that is more profitable depends entirely on how many more are attracted, and how many are willing to keep accounts current.  Even then, its mere exclusivity can be attractive for some people, too (this doesn't have to do with snobbery, it has to do with game play).

To sum up, I think it would be a pity to just say "it's too expensive, I won't even try the Beta."  The Beta is free, why not try it?  Make an educated decision at that point: it is personally worth it to pay more for this simulation, or, alternatively, it's not.  The decision is based on the merits of the game.

Remember: whatever the market will bear...

[This message has been edited by phaetn (edited 09-23-1999).]

[Bax]

I guess it's all relative to where you've been. Those of us whom have been spending upwards of $50-100/month for years playing Warbirds feel like our ship has come in. Those whom have been paying $9.95/month for the past few years feel like their ship just struck an iceberg.

Like any other product or service, the people who make the product try to determine what price the market will bear, and those that can afford it will pay to play, while those that can't afford it(or choose to spend their money on other things) will not.

I'd love to drive a Mercedes Benz, but since I can't afford it, I've learned to be happy with my Saturn. Should Mercedes lower the price of their cars to $20,000 so I can own one? (I wish they would)

I wish all of you on a tight budget could find a way to afford to play, as it would be great to have you. But they are running a business, and if they are able to produce the best online flight sim, why shouldn't they be able to make a good profit?

Kier, as in Kieren? Is that you, bud?

Phaetn, excellent post. You are a very reasonable chap!  

------------------
Bax (-baxl-)



[This message has been edited by Bax (edited 09-23-1999).]

[Curly]

 Very nice (and diplomatic) way of putting it to say the least Phaetn  
 AH has announced (imho) a wonderful middle
of the road price. Escpecially for those who
have tired of an older sim and want an
something new. Who also want to rid
themselves of the 'quakerwarriors' scourge
but either could not afford $2.00 an hour
or did not feel the difference was worth that price.
 There are *alot* of AWiers for whom this
sim has definately caught thier eye.
  Sure it's more than $9.95 AWiers pay now
but the majority, of those who's eye this sim
has caught, signed onto GameStorm when the
intial flatrate was $39.95 per month a yeatr ago. In other words the veteran FR crowd. When Gamestorm went to $9.95 the community
changed worse than even the old DOS folks who
cringed at the coming of the Ten Thousand
Dweebs could forsee.
 The now the VAST majority of subscribers are
relaxed realism flying, baloney spewing, chest thumping immature cretins who now have
GameStorm by the balls because THEY are the
majority now. And the bean counters cater to
the majority. <rolls eyes>
 Here at AH many (many!) AWiers(and I imagine maybe Fighter Ace and other sim types) have
the chance to fly a potentially better sim.
 Everything from drop tanks, to
selectable load outs. -A- damage model!!
Selectable firing for cannon or machine guns! Many things WB'ers have had. At the same time I see AH has many things AW has had. Nice to see it all rolling into one product/sim.
 I'll cough up 30/month for peace of mind, even if I only fly 15 hours per month so that
I'm not constantly looking at the lock to count the minutes, not being constantly fearful of the next Visa bill and to also to know that when I log on I'm not going to run into a crowd of base porking, macro spewwing retards.
 
 --Curly  (the demure and grammatically challenged)
 

[phaetn]

 

I'll cough up 30/month for peace of mind, even if I only fly 15 hours per month so that I'm not constantly looking at the lock to count the minutes, not being constantly fearful of the next Visa bill and to also to know that when I log on I'm not going to run into a crowd of base porking, macro spewwing retards.

LOL!  Okay, Curly managed to paraphrase my whole post in "five lines or less".  So much for walking on eggshells!  

[Wizard]

WOW. I did the math again and found a major error in my hourly calculation.  I believe that you can fly for about 4 cents an hour  if you choose to fly 24 hours a day, 30 days a month.   Someone check my figures.

   

[-rkat-]

Just a point in relation to exchange rates.

I'm an Australian, and our exchange rate at the moment is approx. $1AUD = $0.75USD.

My maths (and I'm a shocker at maths!!   ) says if I play AH, I will get unlimited hrs for roughly $38ish Australian. If I play WB's , I get charged $13ish AUD, plus $2.50/hr. If I fly for say, 15hr's a month, that will equal $50ish Australian.

I'm starting to confuse myself here   but the point I'm trying to make, is that it is all relative to your countries exchange rate. ie. USD=USD no matter what your exchange rate is.

Do the maths - if you fly for approx 15 hr's a month, it will be cheaper to fly AH than WB's.

Confused? I am. I think I'm making sense. I think I'd better go to the pub for lunch. This is beginning to hurt my head.  

-rkat-



[This message has been edited by -rkat- (edited 09-23-1999).]

[-rkat-]

Oops - double post

[This message has been edited by -rkat- (edited 09-23-1999).]

[rob53]

Curly,
     I didn't want to make this a WB vs AW3 topic.  I for one am happy in AW3 and I DO fly FR with a decent kill ratio.  The squad I belong to is in the process of transition to FR.  FR is a blast, and challenging!!  Why do you wnat to knock the AW'rs?   Me Embarrassed??  HELL NO!!  I tried WB, it was good, but I couldn't justify the cost (married, with children   )  
Finances dictate my choice of gaming!  That's the reason I posted to this topic, and was hoping someone would agree that more customers paying less each would create more revenue fot Hitech Creations than less people paying more and then we could ALL together enjoy what appears to be a hell of a flight sim, mutually.  What it sounds like coming from you is that if you are not a WB'er then u ain't shi*!  C'mon!!  
Whatever the game, whatever the settings, we all enjoy the same thing---flying and the community within  , I definately enjoy the friendships in AW3 more than the game itself.  The game is just a medium.  Just recently, last weekend as a matter of fact, myself and 11 of my squadmembers got together in Toronto from all over the U.S. and Canada.  What a trip!!, meeting people that I've only talked to on vox and "flew" with, now that's community!!   (rambling now aren't I?)
OK, point being.......regardless of where we currently play, for whatever reasons we are playing there, it doesn't matter!  We are ALL looking for the same thing....A BETTER COMBAT FLIGHT SIM, and this one may just be it!!  But the cost is going to scare away MANY a potential customer!  If it's dweebs that you are worried about, do you honestly think the price is going to keep them out?  A few I'm sure, "classy" people also will not be there.  Dweebs usually burnout quickly and lose interest after a short time anyway.
  I say we all cut the cutting on where we are from and enjoy what is coming up!  
  --I salute you Curly--  (with all 5 fingers too)  
     

------------------
rob53
Maj Kram 428th RCAF
AW ETO2

[PIRATE AHA*]

i agree with Rob the price is not gonna keep the DWEEBS out. anywhere you got to play any online game there will be DWEEBS & Smartasses. 90% of the smartass dweebs  in aw3 are adults that are spoiled sports that squeak & whine about anything & everything.
as far as the Dweebs i can deal with but the smartasses i can do without & i dont understand why dweebs are such a problem? big deal there not as good as you at "the game" i supposed you learned everything on your first time up? just rember we were all dweebs at some point & time. i rember my first time on aw on aol smacked the ground hard trying to shoot my shadow after losin sight of the enemy SA SA lol..
<S>AHA*

[veltro]

 

You guys obviously forgot about our poor Italian friends, who'll have to spend MILLIONS of Lira every month...  (Image removed from quote.)

Yes, but not for flying in whatever simulation you like... only to be connected on the phone to the Internet...! Since in Italy you pay for the duration of your call on the phone (either speaking or connecting by modem it's the same...), bills are particularly high for Internet surfers. I personally spend over US $250 montly in phone bills (two hours online daily), so go figure!  

L'E' BUNA ! (not really...)

     _/_/_/_/
    _/ Ferdinando 'veltro' D'Amico
   _/_/_/'PR' of 4° Stormo Caccia
  _/e-mail: veltro@warbirds.org
 _/

[Kats]

I can't believe this thread is still an issue LOL!

$30 is is expensive? Relative to what???????

One day at the golf course costs that much!

As far as I am concerend $30 is very cheap for a hobby that provides so much enjoyment for enthusiasts and one which is always growing and improving to make your experience more enjoyable.