Billing Feedback
We are doing well with billing integration and would like some feedback on new subscription offerings that we're considering. We have reduced the price of what we call a Basic monthly subscription and made a slight increase to what is called a Gifted subscription (as well as offering no automatic renewals on some subscriptions, different subscription features and a shiny new Ancient Subscription).
We're looking for your feedback.
Every business has to deal with the complicated decision of changing prices, both as operational costs increase and as a way to generate revenue for future projects. We are considering a change in subscription pricing so we're able to be more aggressive in creating updates for Horizons. We also wanted to create a new entry subscription that made it easier to bring in a friend or encourage a past player to try Horizons out again.
Most businesses can talk to a few customers and then make a decision. We are in the "interesting" position in that we can reach out to every customer - past and present - who reads these boards. We're sure this post will generate a lengthy discussion. As you're reading, please keep in mind that we're trying to do the right thing for Horizons - which at times can be a careful balancing act between the needs of the business and the needs of Istarians. There are many of you who read the boards and don't comment. Now is a very important time to let us know your opinion. If you're a past player, let us know if the new basic subscription would encourage you to jump back in. If you're a current player, tell us what you think about the Gifted and Ancient subscriptions. If you're a jaded player, well - be constructive. We are listening and would like to ask everyone to keep your comments, ideas, and feedback on topic and friendly.
Thank you,
Horizons Development Staff
You can also email to [email protected]
** All subscriptions can be stacked. Please see notes at bottom.
BASIC SUBSCRIPTIONS
1 Month Basic Subscription - $9.95
Automatic renewal each month
Comes with 3 character slots and 1 concurrent login
GIFTED SUBSCRIPTIONS
1 Month Gifted Subscription - $14.95 to $19.95?
Automatic renewal each month
Comes with standard plot, 10 consignment slots, 5 character slots, 1 concurrent login
6 Month Gifted Subscription - $79.95
No automatic renewal
Comes with standard plot, 10 consignment slots, 5 character slots, 1 concurrent login
12 Month Gifted Subscription - $159.95
No automatic renewal
Comes with standard plot, 10 consignment slots, 5 character slots, 1 concurrent login
ANCIENT SUBSCRIPTIONS
6 Month Ancient Subscription - $179.95?
No automatic renewal
Comes with standard plot?, ? consignment slots, ? character slots, ? concurrent login, special hatchling shoulder buddy?
12 Month Ancient Subscription - $259.95?
No automatic renewal
Comes with standard plot?, ? consignment slots, ? character slots, ? concurrent login, special hatchling shoulder buddy?
Examples of Stacking Subscriptions:
Two Gifted - You can own two plots, 10 characters, 20 items on consignment and have two characters logged in at the same time.
1 Basic and 1 Gifted - You can have one plot, 8 characters, 10 items on consignment and two characters logged in at the same time.
30 Gifted - Well Sheriff, you can do pretty much what ever you want - after all, it's your town.
----
If you're new to this thread, before you start to read everyone's replies and join in, we've compiled a few responses that touch upon a lot of the issues and concerns raised so far.
First off - Thank you everyone for your feedback.
We are considering an increase in subscription prices for one reason: staff. If the majority of players who used to pay 12.95 pay 14.95 (a $2 per month increase) then we can bring on more people to the team. More staff allows us to get updates out the door quicker, or add more to an update. If we leave the current pricing structure in place, updates will occur with the current team at their current pace (as of Aug 25, 2007 we have the next delta in progress and a new client being tested on Blight). We're considering this change in the interest of making Horizons a better game.
Subscriptions: Think of subscriptions as a set of services for your account. Two subscriptions provide twice the services.
Subscription Stacking: All subscriptions can stack. If you want 10 character slots or two plots, etc. add two Gifted subscriptions to your account. (We have modified the original post)
Basic Subscriptions: This subscription was created to encourage people to bring in a friend just to try it out, or for someone who hasn't played for a while to take a peek before making a larger commitment. There have been some very good points made about the basic subscription - even for a new player - really needing consignment. Thoughts on 5 consignment slots per Imperial Consigner?
Taxes: EU players (or anyone else in the world) do not have to add tax on top of listed prices.
Blight: Blight characters do not count towards your total character count.
Plot Types: A standard plot is any plot in the game, but we are thinking about adding some very large plots that would require a special subscription (like the Ancient subscription type). We're thinking these special plots would be equivalent to 2 large plots and possibly be located in special areas. We're open to suggestions.
Ancient Subscriptions: We agree that 179.95 ($30 per month) is a lot of money per month for a subscription. We're looking for ideas and feedback on what we add that would make this worth while, especially in light of the ability to stack two Gifted Subscriptions. We do not want to add anything that encourages the concept of money buying character advancement.
Military Program: We fully support the men and women of the United States military and will continue to show our support through this program. We are still determining the best way to maintain the spirit of the program and have it interface with the new billing system. Regardless of how we do it, all military personel will have a free account / concurrent login.
Types of Players: You hit the nail on the head. Currently playing elder, currently playing newbie, not playing elder, not playing Unity - and then a potential new customer. The different subscriptions we set up need to meet the needs of all these people. And we don't want to have 20 subscription types - then it would be like picking a cell phone plan. Just for the record, there is no way we will ever have overage charges. You will never get this email: "You have placed 14 items on consignment. You are over your 10 item limit and there's a $5 fee per item. $20 has been charged."
Consignment Slots: Everyone 'should' have 10 items, per subscription, per Imperial Consigner.
A La Carte Features: This is a tough one. We want to provide flexibility, but at the same time we don't want to see a drop in revenue. If 25% of players have two subscriptions because they want to have two plots and we change the pricing so that an additional plot is half of a normal subscription, we just reduced the amount of money we bring in each month. That's bad for Horizons because it means we have less money to add people to the team. We love the flexibility of a la carte, but want to be careful. We are considering changes to subscriptions as a way to increase revenue so we can bump up the development staff. It would be a serious disservice to Horizons if our changes ended up dropping revenue.
Item Purchases: We do not want to create an environment where money buys advancement. Items or special skills for sale are not part of the plan.
Gifted Subscription: We hear you loud and clear about $14.95 being the max.
Characters: We will not delete characters - ever. If you have 20 characters and only 5 character slots, the most we would do is make the final 15 not playable. We'd propose that selection of characters for activating / deactivating would be based on character age, but we'd put together our plan and check with the community for feedback.
Vault Space: Great idea - we're investigating.
Plots: Once we figure out billing, we'll move towards turning on the plot reclamation system. In the past, this proved to be a fair and reasonable system.
French Wine: Excellent idea.
We would really like to express that everyone's feedback is greatly appreciated. Nothing is set in stone at this time. We're getting exactly the feedback we need so a decision in the best interests of Horizons can be made. Thank you for your feedback - we're listening (and recovering a bit) but we want to say Thank You Very Much.
Horizons Development Staff
