Vault Network’s readership includes a very large and still growing number of gamers who play one or more of the massively multiplayer online titles currently available in western markets. Such individuals are almost all familiar with the prevailing revenue model, which involves paying a set monthly fee, most often charged to a credit card, that covers as many hours as they wish. Some are aware that other parts of the world, such as the Far East, use different schemes like the pay by the hour and time card options available in Internet cafes. A few even know that in certain places, you can add such expenses to the bill for your mobile phone. However, it’s pretty easy to take little or no notice of these practices by more or less dismissing them as by-products of cultures halfway around the world.
On the other hand, it might come as a surprise to many online gamers in North America and Europe to learn that the “all you can eat” approach isn’t the only one used in these regions. Although it’s true none of the games that get the most exposure in the gaming media, including here at RPG Vault, diverge from charging a straightforward monthly fee, other approaches have been implemented, and perhaps with more success than a casual observer might think. It’s also a reasonable scenario, maybe even a likely one, to assume what we’re starting to see now is the beginning of a new trend toward offering consumers more and different choices that extend beyond the games themselves. In this special feature, we bring together representatives of three western providers currently using non-standard revenue models to tell us about them.
Note: Source: rpgvault

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