Paradox fans....what do you think to this ?

[Dammit Carl!]

I don't discount subscription based services in total. I subscribe to the subscription services of EA and Microsoft and have found these to be very worthwhile and economically beneficial. However, these services give you access to nearly their entire catalogues, as well as of new games on release. If Paradox had something similar with a service that gave you access to their entire catalog, plus all new releases, it might start to look a little more attractive to me...even though their releases are sometimes few and far between.

Yeah.  This is more my way of thinking. 

[Surtur]

Hi guys, please allow me to chip in here.

First I would like to say that this is an optional thing. It will not replace good old purchases :)

One of the reasons we decided to experiment with these subscriptions, is that, as a result of all the DLC out there, the entry barrier was getting very high. People would see the sheer list of DLCs (and total price) and it would scare them. A monthly subscription can act as a great way to mitigate that somewhat. Jumping on for a month, seeing what DLC you think is worth it, and then continuing to purchase (or not).

[devoncop]

Hi guys, please allow me to chip in here.

First I would like to say that this is an optional thing. It will not replace good old purchases :)

One of the reasons we decided to experiment with these subscriptions, is that, as a result of all the DLC out there, the entry barrier was getting very high. People would see the sheer list of DLCs (and total price) and it would scare them. A monthly subscription can act as a great way to mitigate that somewhat. Jumping on for a month, seeing what DLC you think is worth it, and then continuing to purchase (or not).

Thank you for your explanation of the motivation for such a move.

If that is indeed your rationale then I see the logic......until the " auto renewal"  feature of the subscription  is brought into the equation.  Why not just have a pop up at the end of the subscription  asking the player to click to renew for another 30 days access ?
A cynic may think that the less organised customers would then not be able to passively continue to pay for access they may no longer want or even be using. ....

The reaction on the Paradox forums appears overwhelmingly  negative but no doubt the market will decide if it is a success.

[Anguille]

Hi guys, please allow me to chip in here.

First I would like to say that this is an optional thing. It will not replace good old purchases :)

One of the reasons we decided to experiment with these subscriptions, is that, as a result of all the DLC out there, the entry barrier was getting very high. People would see the sheer list of DLCs (and total price) and it would scare them. A monthly subscription can act as a great way to mitigate that somewhat. Jumping on for a month, seeing what DLC you think is worth it, and thren continuing to purchase (or not).

You are working for Paradox now?

[Surtur]

Thank you for your explanation of the motivation for such a move.

If that is indeed your rationale then I see the logic......until the " auto renewal"  feature of the subscription  is brought into the equation.  Why not just have a pop up at the end of the subscription  asking the player to click to renew for another 30 days access ?
A cynic may think that the less organised customers would then not be able to passively continue to pay for access they may no longer want or even be using. ....

The reaction on the Paradox forums appears overwhelmingly  negative but no doubt the market will decide if it is a success.

Yes, though it seems a lot of these reactions come from people who are afraid to see their preferred way of obtaining games will disappear. That fear is understandable, these are the most loyal fans, and they want to own games, not just rent/play them. But for them, little will change, as we will not stop offering software for them to buy. As for the subscription model, this is how Steam is set up for it. Though you can cancel directly after purchase, and so it will just stop after a month as you state. I actually just did this to try EA Play on Steam :)

@Anguille, yes since a couple of weeks. Not directly involved with monetization though, still working in production. But as a lurker here I figured I might as well contribute a little here.

[Ian C]

It's not unreasonable to speculate that this might be Paradox testing the water for a full roll-out of subscription-only titles.

One of Paradoxes Devs was talking about 'customer retention level' (how a typical customer remains loyal with a product and buys DLC etc.) and mentioned that their retention level for Hearts of Iron is 'like addicts on crack' (thanks). Putting their big titles on subscription-only might be an irresistible lure for them to capitalize on their titles with a sure-fire cash cow, but not so good if it's the only way to buy their games and DLC.  Considering how passionate HOI fans are and how volatile this issue could be, it could be quite controversial.

I'm a firm believer in having the option to purchase goods or services outright and if there is a buy-outright option as well as a subscription option, there shouldn't be a problem for Paradox.

It'll be interesting to see how this develops over the next couple of years.

[Anguille]

@Anguille, yes since a couple of weeks. Not directly involved with monetization though, still working in production. But as a lurker here I figured I might as well contribute a little here.

Interesting. You've been moving quiet a bit in the last few years.

[FarAway Sooner]

It's an interesting concept.  Speaking as a guy who did almost a decade in a professional pricing role, it's an interesting approach for a product that's in the "cash cow starting to show a little age" category.  Any product with a mature stable of DLC that's been out for 3-5 years can probably do this, and Paradox can see what the math looks like for CK II. 

I can't imagine that DLC is generating much incremental revenue these days, even among those folks who have the base game.

Going to a subscription-only model on a broader basis for existing clients would be a much riskier move.  Some firms do that and the transition works well for them (MS has had some success with Xbox), but this is the kind of thing that works much better when you have a really sticky client base (e.g., transitioning from Word to Google Docs can be a pain-in-the-ass whereas buying my next TBS game from a Paradox competitor is a lot less disruptive). 

It doesn't sound like that is planned by Paradox, which feels like a good business decision.  The blowback from their base if they tried that would be crippling, I suspect.

[Surtur]

Interesting. You've been moving quiet a bit in the last few years.

A little, was with Slitherine/Matrix for the last 2.5 years or so.

[Anguille]

Interesting. You've been moving quiet a bit in the last few years.

A little, was with Slitherine/Matrix for the last 2.5 years or so.

Yeah and for Iceberg before. I liked the let's plays your were doing back then.

[Surtur]

Ah yes, that is nice to read. I really enjoyed some of those, especially the Oriental Empires games :)