2K Looking At Micro-Transaction and Subscription Possibilities

by pastapadre
Posted November 14th, 2008 at 8:13 am

Amongst discussion on how multiple companies including EA are attempting to combat the lost revenue from used sales comes more talk on the subject, this time from the head of Take Two Strauss Zelnick. The presentation at the BMO Capital Market’s Conference was accompanied by the image above which uses the example of 2K Sports’ MLB series and how they could benefit from micro-transactions.

When EA Sports canceled many of the PC offerings for this year I predicted a move towards free-to-play with micro-transaction and subscription based or advertising supported gaming in the future for the PC. It’s what has been done successfully in Asia with games such as NBA Street Online. While that shift has been used to counter piracy the same goals behind it could provide another way to compensate for the lost sales that are largely being caused due to the practices of Gamestop.

EA’s NBA Live 365 may be a blueprint of what 2K is looking at providing in the future with their mention of “updated player and game stats”. EA’s initial hope was to provide the feature free this year via code and then charge for it in the future. I think right now it has become apparent that while it is an excellent feature, few would pay for it on top of the regular purchase of the game. It is a fine line to walk in offering expanded content but avoiding alienating the general consumers.

EA Sports doesn’t have much of a different view from Take Two on where things are headed. In an interview with Peter Moore he stated that the future of gaming includes “the EA Freestyle label, subscription-based gaming, heavily online-oriented titles, content creation tools, and digital distribution.”

Ultimately it is the consumer that will decide the direction these companies take. If the game is good, and the offered additional content is good, people will probably support it. If the game is a disappointment or if the content isn’t compelling then people won’t pay for it and the companies will take notice of that.

Tags:

swizzy

if UR not 1st UR LAST

WESTSIIIIIIIDE
swizzy

if UR not 1st UR LAST

WESTSIIIIIIIDE
swizzy

if UR not 1st UR LAST

WESTSIIIIIIIDE
Paul

Gaming is going to hell. Screw them, if I want to play a subscription based game I would play WoW.
Paul

Gaming is going to hell. Screw them, if I want to play a subscription based game I would play WoW.
Paul

Gaming is going to hell. Screw them, if I want to play a subscription based game I would play WoW.
DaveDQ

You know what, fix your games first. I agree with Paul, gaming is going to hell. These profit hungry companies are killing the core of what gaming is.

You can kiss my digital ass before I subscribe to any of it.
DaveDQ

You know what, fix your games first. I agree with Paul, gaming is going to hell. These profit hungry companies are killing the core of what gaming is.

You can kiss my digital ass before I subscribe to any of it.
DaveDQ

You know what, fix your games first. I agree with Paul, gaming is going to hell. These profit hungry companies are killing the core of what gaming is.

You can kiss my digital ass before I subscribe to any of it.
ejnfl24

I’m so tired of these companies trying to “nickel and dime” the consumer every way they can. The games are already priced highly as it is. And now they want to charge some sort of fee to keep the game updated? This is getting out of hand, and it needs to stop. Seriously.
ejnfl24

I’m so tired of these companies trying to “nickel and dime” the consumer every way they can. The games are already priced highly as it is. And now they want to charge some sort of fee to keep the game updated? This is getting out of hand, and it needs to stop. Seriously.
ejnfl24

I’m so tired of these companies trying to “nickel and dime” the consumer every way they can. The games are already priced highly as it is. And now they want to charge some sort of fee to keep the game updated? This is getting out of hand, and it needs to stop. Seriously.
Uk II Gamer

So the price of gaming will decrease because they will use in-game advertising?
Uk II Gamer

So the price of gaming will decrease because they will use in-game advertising?
Uk II Gamer

So the price of gaming will decrease because they will use in-game advertising?
Jonathon

honestly though…i dont think video game companies are trying to dupe us (for the most part), but the amount of money poured into developing games is comparable to the amount of money going into blockbuster movies these days…and for the most part…the profits aren’t balancing out…for every bioshock there are 50 silent hills…the solution should be simple though…instead of looking for additional income by hosing the consumer…they should focus on quality of games rather than quantity of games…i mean, there is something to be said when the greatest game that i have ever played (storywise and pure fun factor) was released on the SNES…and many of the top ten games of all time are no more recent than the Nintendo 64…games today are about flashy graphics and outward appearance rather than true substance and deeply immersing gameplay…

btw…pasta…did you send out the invites for your online dynasty yet?
Jonathon

honestly though…i dont think video game companies are trying to dupe us (for the most part), but the amount of money poured into developing games is comparable to the amount of money going into blockbuster movies these days…and for the most part…the profits aren’t balancing out…for every bioshock there are 50 silent hills…the solution should be simple though…instead of looking for additional income by hosing the consumer…they should focus on quality of games rather than quantity of games…i mean, there is something to be said when the greatest game that i have ever played (storywise and pure fun factor) was released on the SNES…and many of the top ten games of all time are no more recent than the Nintendo 64…games today are about flashy graphics and outward appearance rather than true substance and deeply immersing gameplay…

btw…pasta…did you send out the invites for your online dynasty yet?
Jonathon

honestly though…i dont think video game companies are trying to dupe us (for the most part), but the amount of money poured into developing games is comparable to the amount of money going into blockbuster movies these days…and for the most part…the profits aren’t balancing out…for every bioshock there are 50 silent hills…the solution should be simple though…instead of looking for additional income by hosing the consumer…they should focus on quality of games rather than quantity of games…i mean, there is something to be said when the greatest game that i have ever played (storywise and pure fun factor) was released on the SNES…and many of the top ten games of all time are no more recent than the Nintendo 64…games today are about flashy graphics and outward appearance rather than true substance and deeply immersing gameplay…

btw…pasta…did you send out the invites for your online dynasty yet?
Matt

Like it’s not bad enough that sports games are only good for a year as it is, to have to pay more to keep it current longer than that is a step too far.
Matt

Like it’s not bad enough that sports games are only good for a year as it is, to have to pay more to keep it current longer than that is a step too far.
Matt

Like it’s not bad enough that sports games are only good for a year as it is, to have to pay more to keep it current longer than that is a step too far.
Mark

Online is overrated….the only reason I go online is for updated rosters…..It seems like game-developers are spending too much time making online components of the game instead of making gameplay a number-one priority….
Mark

Online is overrated….the only reason I go online is for updated rosters…..It seems like game-developers are spending too much time making online components of the game instead of making gameplay a number-one priority….
Mark

Online is overrated….the only reason I go online is for updated rosters…..It seems like game-developers are spending too much time making online components of the game instead of making gameplay a number-one priority….
Joe

agreed!
Joe

agreed!
Joe

agreed!
r00tabaga

What the hell happened to my beloved Buffalo Bills
r00tabaga

What the hell happened to my beloved Buffalo Bills
r00tabaga

What the hell happened to my beloved Buffalo Bills
http://www.easportsworld.com/ Pinder

Another good example is how Adidas Live Season is implemented in FIFA09. You get a free code to get updates for one league, but can optionally pay $6 for any other league or $20 for all the leagues.
http://www.easportsworld.com/ Pinder

Another good example is how Adidas Live Season is implemented in FIFA09. You get a free code to get updates for one league, but can optionally pay $6 for any other league or $20 for all the leagues.
http://www.easportsworld.com/ Pinder

Another good example is how Adidas Live Season is implemented in FIFA09. You get a free code to get updates for one league, but can optionally pay $6 for any other league or $20 for all the leagues.
pastapadre

@ Pinder:

Yeah, I wonder how many people have paid for additional leagues. I know soccer fans can be pretty rabid, but it’s hard to know how much appeal or value they would see in that.
pastapadre

@ Pinder:

Yeah, I wonder how many people have paid for additional leagues. I know soccer fans can be pretty rabid, but it’s hard to know how much appeal or value they would see in that.
pastapadre

@ Pinder:

Yeah, I wonder how many people have paid for additional leagues. I know soccer fans can be pretty rabid, but it’s hard to know how much appeal or value they would see in that.
boucher

YAA DIGG
boucher

YAA DIGG
boucher

YAA DIGG
bhurst99

Padre, what did you mean when you talked about the practices of Gamestop. Just curious. It wasn’t explained in your post.
bhurst99

Padre, what did you mean when you talked about the practices of Gamestop. Just curious. It wasn’t explained in your post.
bhurst99

Padre, what did you mean when you talked about the practices of Gamestop. Just curious. It wasn’t explained in your post.
pastapadre

@ bhurst99:

Gamestop is the main source of the problem because of how they push the used sales at the counter for like $5 less than new. That steals sales that would’ve gone to new copies. For the most part other ways of circulating old copies don’t hurt them that much. Someone who sells a game on ebay to someone else for $40, that person wasn’t going to buy it new anyway. Someone who rents the game for $8 wasn’t going to just go out and buy it new anyway. Theres a big difference between how Gamestop almost forces those used copies on people which takes away what would’ve been a new game sale, and people who are just looking to get a good deal.
pastapadre

@ bhurst99:

Gamestop is the main source of the problem because of how they push the used sales at the counter for like $5 less than new. That steals sales that would’ve gone to new copies. For the most part other ways of circulating old copies don’t hurt them that much. Someone who sells a game on ebay to someone else for $40, that person wasn’t going to buy it new anyway. Someone who rents the game for $8 wasn’t going to just go out and buy it new anyway. Theres a big difference between how Gamestop almost forces those used copies on people which takes away what would’ve been a new game sale, and people who are just looking to get a good deal.
pastapadre

@ bhurst99:

Gamestop is the main source of the problem because of how they push the used sales at the counter for like $5 less than new. That steals sales that would’ve gone to new copies. For the most part other ways of circulating old copies don’t hurt them that much. Someone who sells a game on ebay to someone else for $40, that person wasn’t going to buy it new anyway. Someone who rents the game for $8 wasn’t going to just go out and buy it new anyway. Theres a big difference between how Gamestop almost forces those used copies on people which takes away what would’ve been a new game sale, and people who are just looking to get a good deal.
Skihawks

I know that the cost of creating games is rising however if they make games that are good then they would make more money. MLB 2K is crap. Make it worth the money and I may spend $5 – $10 more on bonus content.
Skihawks

I know that the cost of creating games is rising however if they make games that are good then they would make more money. MLB 2K is crap. Make it worth the money and I may spend $5 – $10 more on bonus content.
Skihawks

I know that the cost of creating games is rising however if they make games that are good then they would make more money. MLB 2K is crap. Make it worth the money and I may spend $5 – $10 more on bonus content.
Josh

Mark wrote:

Online is overrated….the only reason I go online is for updated rosters…..It seems like game-developers are spending too much time making online components of the game instead of making gameplay a number-one priority….

Agreed!
Josh

Mark wrote:

Online is overrated….the only reason I go online is for updated rosters…..It seems like game-developers are spending too much time making online components of the game instead of making gameplay a number-one priority….

Agreed!