News APB to include audio ads

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2010/06/24/apb-to-include-audio-ads/1

 

Just in case the mediocre action wasn't enough to put you off.

 

I don't see a problem with this, given GTA has a loop of purely humorous ads which nobody complains about. It's more the fact that it's a MMO that's put me off, shame we didn't get a clone of the arcade game for those that don't want to use MAME and rip it off.

 

Full retail box price
Ongoing fees
And in-game ads?

All this to play a multi-player shooter (with cool customisation) which they're pretending is a MMO?

 

lolz

 

In what i perceive to be the average gameplay session of an APB player this basically translates to 1 ad per day. And we get a pretty excellent VOIP system in return.

Nobody should QQ about this but i predict many will.

 

I think its the fact that rockstar wouldnt have received any income from the add in GTA, but this is a pay to play MMO, so why should ads be needed? maybe they're not expecting a big enough user base to make money?

 

I'd rather buy GTA 4 on Steam right now for 30$ including the new Liberty City Stories, or wait for em to go down on a special sale before july 4th than buy a PIMP MY RIDE and TOTAL MAKEOVER customization game that features shitty gameplay

 

Those are the key words there. The adverts in GTA aren't really adverts. They are entertainment. They are funny, non-profit and a feature that people actively look forward to.

Hell, I extracted the Vice City radio stations to my MP3 player once, ads and all.

 

The radio stations for GTA 3 on PC were just standard long MP3 files. Chatterbox was hilarious to just listen to regardless of situation!

 

I much prefer the pay for hours road for an MMO. The longest one I ever played was a good 100 hours, but spread over 12-14 months. Pay per hour would have been a lot cheaper

 

troll, have you even played APB? So far i have about 100 hours in the CB and PTW together, and i can hardly wait for it to go retail. Obviously it must be **** then.

 

I have!, and yes its pretty ****

But then again I'm not a MMO person and might have a slight bias.

 

And my prediction for the end of "Buy it once, play it forever" stands!

If you want ad free games they will be MMOs, stand alone games will most likely be episodic or have SOMETHING to bring money into the dev company.

What the negative nancys do not realize is that this is a GOOD thing, the devs need to be PAID to make ongoing content and patches.

PC Gaming is still one of the least expensive hobbies out there. For 800 pounds a year you can play quite well.

Enjoy!

 

While I think it is nice that they really are going you something free in exchange for the adds ie the voip there should also be an option for those who wish to save money and not have adds by not using the voip function and not hearing adds.

 

the initial APB code will cost $49.99/£34.99/€49.99 and will include 50 hours of gameplay in the 'action' districts, where players can compete in combat. After that you can buy an additional 20 hours of action gameplay for $6.99/£5.59/€6.29, or 30 days of unlimited action time for $9.99/£7.99/€8.99.

What the **** is this ****? In-game advertising, a certain amount of time you can play, AND a monthly sub? When you buy World of Warcraft, you get 30 days. I'm pretty sure heavy users could easily get through those 50 hours before a month is up.

In short, this feels like a scam. Take a look at EVE online. All you pay - all you EVER pay is the monthly sub; and that's if you don't make enough money. I've always taken the stance that if a game is going to actively advertise to me, it better be free to play. The only way I would accept ingame advertising is if it's laced into the ingame radio.

 

Bit of a gamble this one

 

It's either this or that, not both. You buy gameplay hours, or you pay the monthly sub.

...or you can sell your custom items in the marketplace and buy gameplay hours from those earnings.

 

I think you have miss understood. You get the choice between a monthly sub ( 30 days of unlimited action, however often you want to "buy" the option), or PAYG. It's just like with mobile phones. PAYG or contract. Not both.

Frankly, I think that they are really taking a stab at doing something different and potentially better. The option is still there for people who want to do 100 hours a month, but for those with less consistent free time, they can go the pre-paid route.

Having said that, I do have two issues, which could arguably be made in to one (namely price and value). I think when you pay the full price, you should get the month of unlimited if you hit the 50 hours of gameplay in that month. If you don't hit 50 hours of gameplay in the first month, you get whatever remaining hours left over as credit. This way, people who go balls deep from the beginning get a lot of value, but the people who don't have the time/lose interest/have pressing issues to attend to don't get the shaft.

Second, I think that the 20 hours pre-paid credit should be a lot cheaper. There is really little difference between the two payment options, which is likely to make people go for the monthly sub. If something like mentioned in the last paragraph happens (say, they have an accident meaning they can not play), well, they just lost a month of play, when the 20 hours pre-paid would still be credited to them had they gone that route. They need more differentiation.

EDIT:
Shame I don't actually like the game! But still, kudos for trying something different in terms of pricing.

 

Please, don't call this an MMO. This is far from an MMO.