NEWS
by Mark Barley
No lifetime subscription coming for RIFT players
Trion global brand manager Jim Butler says the developer will "never" offer a lifetime subscription model to the their MMO, RIFT.
In a recent interview with the A List Daily, Butler stated that a lifetime model with be a "financial disaster";
“Nope, never,” he said. “I was against the idea when we did it at Turbine, and it won’t happen on my watch here at Trion.
“Lifetime memberships are a great deal for consumers that plan to spend the next few years playing the game, and a financial disaster for subscription-only companies that have to continue paying for new feature development, salaries, server costs, marketing, etc. Ultimately, it’s a bad deal for the consumer in the long-term.”
Most MMO's that offer a lifetime subscription only do so for a limited-time basis. Most of those titles also offered a "one time fee" instead of paying a monthly or quarterly subscription cost. “Lifetime memberships are a great deal for consumers that plan to spend the next few years playing the game, and a financial disaster for subscription-only companies that have to continue paying for new feature development, salaries, server costs, marketing, etc. Ultimately, it’s a bad deal for the consumer in the long-term.”
Some titles that have gone free-to-play lately after offering "lifetime subscriptions" are Star Trek Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and Champions Online.
Via VG247