Why should I pre-order Darkfall?

Well, well, well ...

Looks like Darkfall Online has finally entered pre-order. I have been considering trying this game out for some time now, but now that the time to actually put the proverbial money where my mouth is, I'm not sure if I will actually do it.

The biggest reason is probably the price: not expensive comparatively to everything out there, but still the ~$54 buy-in with obligatory $15/month subscription fee  is coming at a pretty bad time. Then again, by this time next year it might be cheaper to play an MMO than eat. So why not take the plunge?

Another reason is, basically, what has come to be acceptable for an MMO launch. Meaning, often a steaming pile with an IOU tag affixed promising everyone the bugs will be fixed soon(tm). Why bother paying full-price for a game that may be wonderful, but is sure to fall into the range of non-optimal functionality to bug-ridden dung-heap?

I'm going to single Dungeons and Dragons Online out for a moment. While it's launch problems weren't the worst we have subsequently seen, it did have some issues.

Annoying graphical bugs and a client that stretched the average 2006 computer's abilities a tad too far (in my opinion). There was a backlash against it being an instanced MMO (which did not bother me), if I remember correctly. In fact, if memory serves, there was resistence to DDO's entire design from instancing to forced grouping. There was also a rather extreme dearth of content at release.

There were probably other issues I am not remember, but my aim isn't to rehash events of three years ago, but to point out that DDO has since risen up, refining it's design and adding many more things for people to do. The client works very well on newer computers and I'm sure they have streamlined it and the servers. In short, it isn't even remotely the mess it was at launch - quite the opposite.

The point of  this is that I, like many others, paid $50 to launch DDO and subsequently $15 a month to fund this streamlining. As of now players still must pay $15 a month, but you can buy in to the game essentially for free. It costs $14.99 and you get the first month for free.

I did the same with Warhammer Online, and did not play past the first month. In fact, I barely lasted a few days out of open beta. So that was another ~$54 dollars basically wasted. Unless I want to give in to fanboyism and think that it was magically invested in some shadowy future entertainment I will be receiving - and paying each month for like everyone else.

So what is my incentive to fork over $50+ for Darkfall, or any other MMO coming out in the future? Why not just wait six months or a year and pick up the game for $5 (like EVE's $20 buy-in) or even free (like DDO's buy-in)? If the game doesn't survive a year, then would it have been worth the $50 in the first place?

Money is tight for me right now, no doubt about it. I have a pretty good feeling it is tight for a lot of other people as well - and if you aren't one of them enjoy it while you got it. Rich or poor, prudence pays with extra dividends.

I know there is a lot of resistance to the RMT and micro-transaction model. I agree in many ways to the various criticisms of it as well. I need to end this post so I don't want to drag it out, but instead leave you with two questions:

1. Are micro-transactions the optimal payment method for online entertainment in a depressed economy in which many people survive on odd jobs rather than a steady paycheck?
2. Can a game that uses micro-transactions to generate income make money in an as-unobtrusive way as a game based on a monthly subscription? (By as-unobtrusive, I mean not a psychological burden on the players in the form of over-advertising or an aggressively-designed system that penalizes those who do not spend large amounts of money.) What characteristics do you envision in an unobtrusive micro system?

OK, that was three questions. Have a good weekend and maybe I'll see you in Darkfall next week!