eSim Games offering Time Limited Licenses

[Jarhead0331]

eSim Games, the developer behind Steel Beasts is offering time limited licenses to its customers.  These licenses do not require the codemeter stick but are limited by time and may only be installed on one computer.  Esim Games will not support moving the license from one system to another.  The pricing scheme is as follows...

a one-month license for $10.-
a four-month license for $25.-
a one year license for $40.-

An upgrade of a prior Steel Beasts Pro license is $40 and the base purchase price for upcoming 3.0 version of Steel Beasts Pro is $115.

The logic behind this approach is supposedly to assist customers who cannot afford the $115 price of entry.  This may seem altruistic, but the whole concept of time limited licenses is frightening to me...personally, I hope that very few time limited licenses are sold.  I do not want this to serve as a model for other developers and future titles.  Eventually, all licenses will be limited by time, if some have their way.

[Nefaro]

Who would drop money on such rentals?  Especially when it's something that'll take a lot of time to learn properly?

I dunno what's going on with the marketing side of things at eSim but every time I hear about their DRM I don't even bother checking out the game.  This news doesn't change that, either.  ???

[Jarhead0331]

It will be interesting to see how the general community at Simhq feels about this.  I've already voiced my concerns in response to one absent minded poster who actually said he "loves" the idea!  I have a feeling SBPro has a lot of fanboi followers who will never say anything negative about the game or eSim Games.

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3805452#Post3805452

^Why on Earth would anyone ever support a concept like this? This is exactly the reason why licensing through DRM is so potentially harmful to the consumer. When you "buy" digital software, you are typically not actually "buying" the software, but rather, a limited license, or a right to use the software. You do not actually own anything tangible and the license is revocable.

This is the next evolution in the concept. You're now paying money to essentially borrow software for a month, four months, a year, whatever...soon, if this catches on, there will be no option to buy a license in perpetuity. All software will be limited by time. If you want to play for longer, pay up!

This type of scheme should not be condoned our lauded...it should be feared.

I get it, you get to have the product (if only for a few weeks) and pay less for it. But with a game like SBPro, this makes even less sense since there is such a steep learning curve and it takes days, weeks or months, just to fully learn how to take advantage of and get the most out of the product. Oh, and don't forget, no need for a codemeter stick! Yay! This is almost like an acknowledgement that this whole system of DRM is a completely unnecessary hassle.

I'm NOT suggesting that eSim Games is attempting this to purposely cash in or to somehow scam potential customers, but that is an unfortunate possible end result.

I say two thumbs down to temporary time sensitive licensing. BOOOOO!

[DoctorQuest]

I'll pass, thanks.

[Jarhead0331]

Check the Simhq thread.  Its shocking how many people are willing to hail this approach as a good thing for the community.  I just do not get it.

[republic]

Well, I can see a point.  I'd have liked the idea to pay $10 for a month to try War in the Pacific.  Though, it probably would have cost them a sale.

I think the one month license is a good idea for someone who wants to try an expensive game that does not have a demo.  Beyond that, I can't imagine anyone paying regularly.  I'd pay a small amount to try, but if I liked it I'd buy it outright.

[Jarhead0331]

That is a key point you just made..."that does not have a demo..."

It used to be the norm to release a free demo to permit potential customers to "try before they buy."  Now they are releasing, what is in essence, a demo, but they are actually charging for it and limiting the amount of time you can use it.  People in the SBPro community are apparently welcoming this approach with open arms.

[republic]

Ya I'm flummoxed as to why developers do not release a demos like they used to.

DCS has a good way of doing it.  Give away the engine and one airframe, then sell the 'games' as modules.  Anyone can play and take part in most of the online games out there without ever paying, but to fly additional hardware you pay.

If I could try Steel Beasts with 'less fun' hardware, like even a TOW equipped Humvee, I'd know more accurately whether it would be a game for me.  But instead I continue to hem and haw.

[Nefaro]

Check the Simhq thread.  Its shocking how many people are willing to hail this approach as a good thing for the community.  I just do not get it.

Obviously the die-hard fanboys are gonna praise anything that comes from there. 

The big question is whether very many will actually be using it.  Then again.. some of them have already gone for the DRM Dongle insanity, so their wariness of being raped as a consumer was sacrificed long ago.

[Huw the Poo]

Now they are releasing, what is in essence, a demo, but they are actually charging for it and limiting the amount of time you can use it.

That's my feeling too. That's exactly what they're doing; charging for a demo.  Thus, they can suck my balls.

[Skoop]

I bought SB in 09 and I've definately got the hours in to make it worth while.  Can't wait to finally see what an m1a2 sep can do against a t80 or t90.  I got into a heavy debate last year with bunch of russians when dcs combined arms was released.  They insisted that the t90 was the uber tank of the century, thats why they are so over done in CA.  Well now I can see what a military grade sim would say to this issue. 

The m1a2 sep fully modeled is worth price of admission for me alone.  Nothing out there models modern armor combat better, lot of good mid 80s wwIII senarios to play.  you can play this game like an rts and jump into any vehicle, mp is great but it still uses the archaic direct connect to a host.

The price does scare many away, it was tough for me to drop a hundred on one game.  In the end I took the risk and figured if it sucked I could ebay it for 50 bucks to make some money back.

The whole limited license thing ?  I would just release a limited license free as a demo, let the product sell itself.

[Toonces]

Ya I'm flummoxed as to why developers do not release a demos like they used to.

DCS has a good way of doing it.  Give away the engine and one airframe, then sell the 'games' as modules.  Anyone can play and take part in most of the online games out there without ever paying, but to fly additional hardware you pay.

If I could try Steel Beasts with 'less fun' hardware, like even a TOW equipped Humvee, I'd know more accurately whether it would be a game for me.  But instead I continue to hem and haw.

This is a great post.  I love the way both DCS and RoF allow you to try before you buy by offering a vehicle with which to use the full software. 

I think $125 is a very fair price for SB Pro and in fact I've spent more like $150 since I had to upgrade it recently and that cost $25. 

I fully agree with JH on this one. 

A more palatable approach, to me, would be to see SB go the DCS/RoF route and offer a free base game with paid modules that plug in.  As it is, it's like buying RoF with every available aircraft for $125...equivalent price but no real means to ease into it which scares customers off.

I am not sure I really understand the rage against the dongle, though.  I plugged it into the back of my computer in an open USB port and promptly forgot it was even there.  I don't see the big deal.  And they'll replace it if you lose it.

[phredd1]

L'm with JH one this one. If gaming takes this route, I won't be dealing with new games at all.

Imagine if TOAW 3 or the Campaign series were "rented" in this fashion, you'd have to play them constantly to play all the scenarios in a reasonable time frame. @ $10 per month, I know I couldn't do it in 4-5 months, which is the point where "renting" becomes more costly than an outright purchase.

I grant that not all games, especially some of the newer ones, have as many scenarios as those two, seeing as companies have "discovered" the "joys" of DLC to milk the title for all it can get.

If this becomes the industry standard, I suspect that the companies doing so, might find in the long run, that total income they will receive will be somewhat smaller than they imagine. Why? I'm sure that there aren't more than 10% of wargamers who immediately play their most recent purchase right away.  Most of us have many games we've bought and even loaded on our hard drives that have been put off for months if not years. If "renting" becomes popular even the wealthiest of us won't be able to afford that sort of behavior, the probable result will be fewer games being dealt with.

I sort of suspect piracy will become more intense as well, which will make even more DRM schemes coming to market.

My deepest loathing of the "renting" concept, is that, in the argument about whether we "own" a game we purchase in the same way we do a book. or whether it is just a license with restrictions, this reinforces the license view. 

Between DRM, DLC, and now this, my days as a game purchaser are reaching an end. Sigh..............

[republic]

On the flipside, if a game were to guarantee some level of constant expansion in exchange for my monthly/yearly fee that would be more palatable...but honestly there is already a mechanic for that with everyone pretty much onboard with DLC and expansions.

[MikeGER]

yes, its paying for a demo  >:(

and DCS is really a much fairer approach to sell their sim
...and i supported them with "nice to have module"-purchases instead of just the"I want most"-buy.

years ago (2006 ! go figure :o ) Yourstruly wrote in a discussion about DRM schemes (CD/DVD/DD) and the future of wargaming on the good old forum (when it was not plagued by lunatics and their ever resurfacing sock-puppets or editor in mischief exodus). 

i prefer DVD but i fear we are already at the eve of a time when we could only buy a 'key' (hopefully not monthly) and the bigger part of the game is always stored on all the games-company servers and you can download only the client and a small offline training part. the games will all be kind of 'massive multiplayer', even wargames. with never ending Civil War, WW I, WW II, Vietnam, Gulf, SF and other fictional conflicts,... empty slots are filled with AI-bots and you dont even know the difference (at least as a noob, or playing against one), even traditional games like 'future COTA' would be played online only against other humans or a AI which takes over when the opponent drops out (or if you chose to start with AI-option from the beginning) the benefits are world/planetary-wide rolling maps and that what you achieve does matter and contribute to the bigger picture of the ongoing 24/7conflict. the next step will be the 'arcade-pay-method' where we have to pay for every single match/minute.... "insert coin" "insert coin" (aka: put index finger, then thump on your FP-reader to approve the payment for the next 15 minutes)....Sigh!

http://www.wargamer.com/forums/posts.asp?t=205175&h=insert+coin+&pg=1#205195

INSERT  COIN

INSERT  COIN 

... like flashing on the screen in those old arcade machines some may remember from the past.

That is what they all wanted in the end, a 'mirco-pay by use' scheme, 
you generously provide the 'arcade hardware' at home, and insert the virtual coins (1-Click / paypal) by pressing a 'Coin' button twice, floating in the lower right corner of the screen.