POLL: How many DIS are willing to pay to play Wizard101?

[Goofy05]

I don't understand how KingsIsle is the villain here. For one thing, they didn't have to make any content available for free after launch.

Of course it's a free trial. Its purpose is to entice people to subscribe to the full game. So what if they don't call it that? Online game free trials typically have a time-limit. Check out Yahoo Games, for example. You can download and play free trials there that end after an hour. Since W101 is not limited by time, the "free trial" period need never end. So why must they call it that?

And why should they give away a "free game that has an ending"? That makes absolutely no business sense to me. {"Oh, goody! I got to the ending of this part of the story without having to pay anything! Guess I'm done."} They made the game to (hopefully) make money. It wasn't designed as a "promotion".

True, KingsIsle's business interests might be better served by showing more content than just Unicorn Way and Triton. (Personally, I might have opened Cyclops and Firecat, instead of Triton.) BUT that is the business decision they have made. They were under no obligation to you, me, or anyone else to do otherwise.

FWIW, PotCO and TT also say they are "free to play" -- yet they severely limit you to only a few areas, levels, equipment, quests, etc. (I know that PotCO also makes you play in a window with advertisements running around the frame!) And just like those games, people will check out the free play on W101 and decide whether or not they are interested enough to pay for the full version. If not, they will move on.

Whoah! Chill a little! I was only stating that it is a FREE TRIAL and NOT a free to play game. I never said they were obligated to give me anything, just that they said there would be a 'free to play version' which it is not, it is a free trial version and yes, there is a difference.

 

[BriarRosie]

I think it was a bad move on on KingsIsle's part to limit chat on the free trial accounts. Those eligible for open chat should be able to play with open chat, period. It doesn't give a player a true representation of the game they'd be paying later for, otherwise.

Ok, I'm biased. I want to be able to talk with everyone.

 

[aengus]

I do think mim's point is valid, as well as yours littlewoodenhead and heres why.
(hah i guess everyones point is valid wether i think so or not )

I dont thnk kingisle did a very good job communicating what would happen after beta. I agree they dont have to give anything, for sure. I also agree they can have a free trial. I just feel most of us (and quite possibly wrongfully) assumed by what was written it was going to be a little more. This easily could have been corrected with a more clearly written note is all.

bad guys... nope. I love this game. I think they were very generous to us as well. I also think they really listened to the beta players concerns.

I defintely think the chat thing should be changed also. I feel it will hurt their chances of getting the new people to move from free trial to subscriber. Just an opinion that this is in their best interest not so much ours.

 

[aliceblue]

For any enemy encountered with a free account (except for maybe in the duel arena) Nature's Wrath would probably be overkill anyway.

However there is a way to get it (and much more) for just $5. It's limitations are that you have to be at least level 10 to use it and you will only get 1 spell per fight.

As you might have guessed from the above Professor Zeke in Wizard City has Master's Slippers of Wrath (boots) that include this spell. They cost 720 crowns (in any colors) and also include +30 health, +1% attack, and +4% shield.

Since you can get 2500 crowns for $5. you could get these and probably a coat and hat also.

Yeah, I know that Nature's Wrath is overkill in Wizard City; for that matter, so is Storm Shark, but I was not blocked from getting it. I just really like the spell. I had previously been considering buying $5.00 worth of crowns for just that purpose. I may still down the line; just a little cooled off towards the game at the moment.

And why should they give away a "free game that has an ending"? That makes absolutely no business sense to me. {"Oh, goody! I got to the ending of this part of the story without having to pay anything! Guess I'm done."}

That's where I think they miscalculated. New players testing the free account will not necessarily perceive blocked quests as an enticement to upgrade; I believe they are more likely to think there's something wrong with the game. I'm afraid this may backfire on KingsIsle.

For purposes of evaluation, it would leave a better impression if they only included specific quests in their entirety. A popup message when all "free" quests have been completed could alert players that more content is available by subscription.

I think it was a bad move on on KingsIsle's part to limit chat on the free trial accounts. Those eligible for open chat should be able to play with open chat, period. It doesn't give a player a true representation of the game they'd be paying later for, otherwise.

I agree. If I were an adult playing for the first time, I would not be inclined to upgrade based on the mode of communication observed in the game. It may be aimed primarily at the kids, but parents are the ones who will be scouting it out to see if the whole family can play. Adults need to see what they are getting for their money.

 

[bevgray]

One thing I have noticed with the Kingsale folks is that they seem very responsive to concerns/comments from their players. As things go along, I expect that they will tweak available areas, family subscriptions, etc. Could they have done it a bit better? Probably. But compare their prompt responses on their forums to the black hole of incommunicado we dealt with with VMK. A lot will depend on how many of us have signed up for the game. I imagine they have some sort of target and, if a lot of beta players don't sign up, they may go back and try to determine what they can do to make it more appealing. For example, if they get a lot of "trial" players who don't sign up from the limited area, they may decide to open all of Wizard City after all (rather like the Central Playground in Toontown). If they say they are working on someway to handle family accounts, I believe that they are. Game launches are always difficult, especially online, multi-player games.

 

[Cardinal]

I think that they know that having a cash shop and a subscription plan is a little ludicrous, which is why they don't allow non-members to post on the forums.

Non-members should be able to have free chat and forum posting abilities. In fact, the chatting was just about the only reason I would ever consider logging back into Wizard 101 again.

 

[JulyGirl]

I paid because I felt the price for a year's membership was very fair. However, I am very saddened that my friends who have not been able to purchase a membership yet are unable to truly communicate with me.

 

[sm4987]

Boy do I really want that family plan. Before they implemented the pay I had already made it to the last stages of Krok! I played with my kids. I am trying to figure right now if $180 is something that I want to pay for the three of us. DH has not really gotten into the game so I'm not worried about him. But the kids thinking that they have to get stuck just in wizard city is not sitting well with them at all. I guess I have to make a decision before the price goes up on the 8th.

 

[aengus]

Boy do I really want that family plan. Before they implemented the pay I had already made it to the last stages of Krok! i played with my kids. I am trying to figure right now if $180 is somehting that I want to pay for the three of us. DH has not really gotten into the game so I'm not worried about him. But the kids thinking that they have to get stuck just in wizard city is not sitting well with them at all. I guess I have to make a decision before the price goes up on the 8th.

yes the price goes up the 8th, but if you saw the email I received it sounds like some announcement is coming sooner. I would try and hold out if I were you

 

[sm4987]

yes the price goes up the 8th, but if you saw the email I received it sounds like some announcement is coming sooner. I would try and hold out if I were you

I read that and boy am I hoping. I will hold out until then. The new worlds looks great and they would rather lay this now then toontown!

 

[PrincessNoelle]

I have e-mailed them this question but have not received a response. Does anyone know if they will be able to transfer wizards from one account to another? I hate to keep comparing but TT can. If I am going to have one or two paid accounts, I have some other wizards that I would like to have added to these accounts.

 

[Belle1997]

I must say the consumer service is awesome compared to VMK. Everytime I have written I have gotten a response in less than a day. Yes I to got a response that the head wizards are meeting to discuss ways to implement a family plan as my son would join but would only be a casual player since he is not hook yet so looking for a family plan

 

[Dreamytime]

I have e-mailed them this question but have not received a response. Does anyone know if they will be able to transfer wizards from one account to another? I hate to keep comparing but TT can. If I am going to have one or two paid accounts, I have some other wizards that I would like to have added to these accounts.

Yes you can.
My nephew's account is under mine.

Just give them your email address and the log-ins for the accounts.

It helps for paying...just need to make 1 payment.

 

[disvaclub92]

I wish they gave more options to when they roll out the family plan. I would love a half year plan. My girls are tied up with sports so no real chance for them to play this fall but it would be a great winter game to do since we are inside. Time to send an email.

 

[PrincessNoelle]

Yes you can.
My nephew's account is under mine.

Just give them your email address and the log-ins for the accounts.

It helps for paying...just need to make 1 payment.

Maybe you should let them know. I asked them if wizards could be transferred, if paid accounts come with crowns and if there were another way to obtain crowns other than paying for them. This is the response they gave me:

Hi there!

At the moment, there isn't a character transfer tool. The idea is being seriously considered, however, so it's something you might see in the future. There is an allowance of Crowns that comes with the Subscription. I believe this is 300 Crowns per month, though I do not know yet how the system will be/has been implemented. I expect an announcement with further details on that in the near future. Crowns are only available through the Allowance the micro-transactions/purchase.

I hope this helps! If you have any further questions, just let me know!

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln

 

[aliceblue]

Maybe you should let them know. I asked them if wizards could be transferred, if paid accounts come with crowns and if there were another way to obtain crowns other than paying for them. This is the response they gave me:

Hi there!

At the moment, there isn't a character transfer tool. The idea is being seriously considered, however, so it's something you might see in the future. There is an allowance of Crowns that comes with the Subscription. I believe this is 300 Crowns per month, though I do not know yet how the system will be/has been implemented. I expect an announcement with further details on that in the near future. Crowns are only available through the Allowance the micro-transactions/purchase.

I hope this helps! If you have any further questions, just let me know!

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln

I'm curious; has anyone received crowns as part of their subscription?

 

[Goofy05]

I'm curious; has anyone received crowns as part of their subscription?

Well, I just purchased a one month's subscription and didn't receive any crowns over the 2500 I bought. So...I'm not sure what that email is all about. I've not heard of anyone getting any 'free' crowns with their sub.
I may buy one more month, it depends on a few things, but hopefully there will be a family discount plan in place before then. I'm curious to see when Dragonspyre is released and would love to see what they do for Halloween.
So, I guess I'll try Wizard for one, possibly two months, mostly to see how long it takes for new worlds to be introduced. Hopefully, they have a schedule of releases that will keep us non-year paying players interested in the game.

 

[PrincessNoelle]

I have been holding out on purchasing an annual subscription for as long as I can to see if they did come out with any kind of a family plan. At this point though the $60.00 per year per account is about as discounted as I am going to get. It's not a bad deal compared to other games I have paid for. My brain can be fuzzy at times but I could have sworn I read somewhere that crowns would come with a monthly subscription and that in the future there would be other ways to earn them. Oh well. I just found out too that I am a beta member for SmallWorlds, uh, nevermind.

 

[aengus]

I hope they make an announcement over the family plan before the deadline ends for the discount (tomorrow). I can understand it being the weekend why no progress has been made, and we can tell their good intentions by the email that was sent out.

Intentions are good, but its the action that really mean something.

I will say this, after playing for a few days with a subscription, I feel no regret at all. I am also very pleased to see that many of my friends also made the decision to subscribe. Normally I would second guess myself or maybe change my habits in the game feeling like I should play more because I am paying, but no. My gaming habits havent changed at all, like no difference. I sure did play a bunch of hours yesterday though Feeling like I needed to be higher before a grubb run haha.

If they straighten out the family plan I give KingIsle an A for the first semester of ravenwood

ETA: from reading one of the posted emails, it looks like the getting crowns thing as an allowance hasnt been implemented yet, it looked like something they were still working on.

 

[Lauralee]

Does anybody know for sure, is the deadline for the $60/year subscription over at midnight tonight or midnight tomorrow?