Interview reveals WAR subscription cost & more

Information from the event in Paris is still trickling out. A site known as Hexus interviewed Roland Cox, Product Manager, and received information on subscription costs, time to reach max level, and more. Here’s the good stuff:

HEXUS: So I’m not going to be able to reach level 40 (the top level) overnight, so to speak?
Roland We’re hoping it will take between 200-250 hours. Jeff, the executive producer’s current thinking is that to do all the really cool stuff in RvR (Realm vs Realm) you need to be level 40, so we are seriously looking at reducing that time so that people can enjoy the never-ending end-game.

HEXUS: Have you released details yet on the payment model that you’ll be implementing?
Roland The monthly fee will be around 14 Euros, but they’ll be quarterly and yearly payment plans also, pre-paid cards and territory specific plans. We’re planning on introducing some new things that we can’t talk about now, but we’ll have news on those soon. We can confidently say that we won’t be more expensive than any other MMO out there.

I’m please to see that the subscription model is going to be standard. I was worried that previous talks of possibly charging more per month would hurt WAR’s release. If this information is accurate, which I really have no reason to believe otherwise, then we can expect the standard $14.99 per month. I’m expecting Mark Jacobs to chime in on the forums with the usual “If it’s not from us” speech, but with something so standard as a subscription fee and the inevitable competition WAR will be facing with WotLK and AoC, I can’t see them taking any radical approach to the subscription model at this time.

Now the time it takes to reach max level is interesting. 200-250 hours is about 9-10 days played which makes it very close to World of Warcraft’s “average” — although it only took me 3-4 days played to max in WoW. Comparing this projection to the time it took me to reach max level in DAOC for the first few times, it’s a staggering difference. DAOC was easily 15-20 days played, but the PvE model was very archaic. All signs point to an easy leveling process, but that fits Mythic’s “The value of WAR is not in the leveling, it’s in the RvR” motto. Time will tell!

So what do we know?

  • WAR will cost €14/month and based on the interview likely no more than $14.99/month.
  • To reach max level it will take the average player 200-250 Hours. Roughly 9-10 days played.


As I find more information on the topic I’ll be sure to update the post and leave a comment.

  • 1 Euro = 1.5786 U.S. dollars

    Thats 22$ ;o

    Or did they explictly say that it would cost less in the U.S. ~14$ ?

  • You have to keep in mind that they have never directly converted the cost and kept things equal. Eve is 14 euros, WoW is 13 Euros, etc yet the U.S. subscription cost remains ~$15

  • Yes, like Keen said, Europeans pay more for their MMOs. Unless EA Mythic does something weird, I think we can expect a standard $14.99 subscription plan. As a direct competitor to WoW, I think they’d be unlikely to do otherwise.

  • WoW in the UK was about £9 per month, when you pay per month.

    At todays rates it is about 11.5 Euros per month. 14 Euros is £11.10, which is waaaay over-priced in my opinion. Going by that WAR will be 20-25% more expensive than WoW, so i hope that is incorrect.

  • I think $20/month for a game is a serious psychological barrier, and the first company to cross that line better have a darn good reason for it. If WAR is smart, they’ll stick to th $14-16 range and reap the profits.

  • Back in January I wrote a blog post all about the increase of subscription costs and it was in response to Mythic testing the waters:

    Q: Will the game require a monthly fee to play WAR?

    A: Yes, and EA Mythic’s President Mark Jacobs has stated that the subscription fee will quite possibly be more than the standard $14.99 that most MMOG’s charge.

    That said, I don’t expect it to be more than the normal price.

  • I doubt a single MMORPG could successfully raise the monthly fee above the $14.99 standard, which leads me to believe the MMORPG companies will eventually band together, like the oil companies, to increase subscription costs across the board.

  • Interesting little thing I found.

    Someone over at http://www.warhammeralliance.com has hacked the site and made every account on it, an admin. So what i’ve been doing with my new found powers is going into the secret forum and reading up on all their chit-chat. Here is something interesting I found.

    __________________
    “”Guys,

    Several of us have been talking on MSN and have come to a conclusion – WAR Sux.

    Lets look at the evidence:

    – It’s getting delayed again and again. Now the new release date is Q4 2008…obviously, the game sucks and they have begun from scratch more than once.
    – Did you see the graphics? No 2008 game is going to sell with those.
    – With the news of the Shadow Warrior getting stealth and a skill tree that gives him a chance to remain stealthed while shooting, it is pretty clear that there will be no balance in this game.
    – Mounts supposedly are only for Rank 40 and that’s only the slower ones. For the 200% speed mounts, you’ll have to grind Renwon until Renown Rank 75.
    – Elves are each going to be two classes short for release, Marauder mutations have been scrapped down to one, etc. etc.

    I know that each of us could continue that list forever.

    In conclusion, I think its best we change the game that we patronise, as this games bound to fail miserably. Remember a while back Garthilk sold this site to Curse for $75000 or thereabouts? Well that was for a site about a game that hasn’t been released, and only has 0.5 million “interested” players – judging by the beta signups.””
    ___________________
    ____________________
    “”So I’ve spoken to our Blizzard source yesterday. They say that if we can get enough beta leaks out that make WAR look bad before changing the site to WoW boards, they’ll give us free accounts with top gear templates for two classes of our choice. Sounds like a deal to me. I’m so going to roll a Bloodelf paladin.””
    _____________________

    THATS SO DIRTY!

  • I am thinking the same thing but if you look at those “secret forums” it is an extremely well planned and extensive one.

    I’m very impressed.