Let's say I own a restaurant. I grill steaks like nobody else in town can, and my business grows astronomically. I expand the menu. My steaks are so good, a lot of people eat here every day.
I end up building 28 or so restaurants over the course of time. I let slide the service I provide my customers, meanwhile continuing to expand the menu. Other companies are starting to build steak houses like mine.
I begin plans for a more up-scale line of restaurants and decide I'm going to charge more in the original restaurant chain, a relatively substantial increase. My customer service virtually disappears.
The majority of my customer base is addicted to my steaks, but I begin to lose some, anyway. I know the reason can't be my customer service (can't very well blame CS if you don't have any).
I launch my new restaurant chain. I get an initial flood of customers, until they realize that despite the hype, my new chain doesn't meet the expectations of my customers, based on what my advertizing promised. More than a few decide to return to the old chain, which means my new one is not as successful as thought would be. I've spent a lot of money creating the new line.
Around the same time, another company opens a chain of steak houses similar to mine, but offer things I don't. Partly due to this, partly due to my own new chain, and partly because people are becoming bored with my menu, they stop going to my restaurants altogether, or reduce how many times they eat here.
I now have restaurants that are no longer profitable, so I have to begin consolidating or closing quite a few of them. Did I mention I keep adding to my menu but never vary the items already on it? Some items people rarely order anymore.
None of my restaurant chains are doing as well as they could be, but I think the best thing to do about that is to increase my steak prices again.
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I know this little scenario is a little simplistic, and doesn't take into account every little variable and timeline of MMORPG's, but let me ask you two questions.
Are you willing to keep paying increasingly higher prices for a lower quality steak, while dealing with debatable customer service?
Where are YOU going to get your steak from?
My final comment is this: SOE can only blame itself for losing customers, yet it remains determined to stay the course, regardless.
SOE, you shot yourself in the foot. It happens. But only fools keep pulling the trigger.
Pikya
Pricing Increase
Quick summary: EverQuest monthly fees are getting hiked from $12.99 to $14.99 per month effective June 12, 2005.
Original article from EQLive:
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Due to the increased costs of running the EverQuest game service, we will be increasing our subscription rates in June. Effective June 12, 2005, the new monthly subscription rate will be $14.99/month. While this announcement may be unpleasant, the cost of operating a top tier MMO has increased significantly over the past three years and this change will help us achieve our goal of seeing that every player has a consistently enjoyable experience in the world of EverQuest. We will continue to offer discounts from the new rate plan on multi-month subscriptions. The new price for a 3-month subscription will be $41.97, a 6-month subscription will now be $77.94 and a 12-month subscription will now be $143.88. The 24-month subscription will continue to be $199.95. You don't have to do a thing; you will automatically be migrated to the new billing structure under your current subscription plan when your current subscription plan expires. Subscription rates are subject to tax and value-added taxes, as applicable. These price increases will not affect the SOE Station Access? subscription rate.
New EverQuest rates as of June 12, 2005:
$14.99 per Month
$41.97 for 3 Months
$77.94 for 6 Months
$143.88 for 12 Months
$199.95 for 24 Months
Additionally we'd like to thank our current EverQuest players by offering a 6 and 12-month limited time promotional offer. For a limited time only, you can take advantage of 6 or 12-month promotional subscriptions and reap great savings. Between May 12th and June 11th, 2005, we're offering a special discount on the new monthly subscription price:
A 6-month subscription costs only US$69.99 ? that's a 10% discount off of the new monthly plan.
Even better, a 12-month subscription costs US$99.99 ? a 31% discount off of the new monthly rates.
And for those customers subscribing to other great SOE games this is also an excellent time to become Station Access Members. The Station Access subscription provides an easy gateway for SOE fans to a variety of SOE titles for $21.99 a month. The Station Access subscription is good for EverQuest, PlanetSide, EverQuest Online Adventures, EverQuest II, Star Wars Galaxies and the Station Pass games.
EverQuest subscriptions are recurring, meaning you will continue to be billed at the appropriate interval, until you affirmatively cancel your subscription. Note that purchasers of the full game will receive 30 days of game-play included with the purchase at no additional charge (subject to certain restrictions) after supplying valid billing information. If you cancel your subscription during the period of 30 days of game-play included with purchase, no charges will be made to your credit card.
Subscriptions are subject to tax and value-added tax, as applicable.
All subscription fees will appear on your credit card statement under the heading "SOE*EverQuest".
Please note:
The subscription charges are in addition to the cost of the game. You will need to purchase a copy of the game from a retail store or online at the Station Store (http://store.station.sony.com). The price of the game will vary depending upon the store.
