And that's how we end up here. Shrugging "mehs" as we justify it to ourselves.
10-20 years ago you had to buy a MMORPG, the expansions AND a monthly subscription.
20 years ago I bought Guild Wars. It didn't have a sub then and still doesn't. I bought it once and got a full game I could play online forever, and each expansion until the final was treated as a full separate game you could buy and play on its own. Heck I can still play it just fine and its got a solid population even now.
MMOs are also a unique beast designed to be obsessed over with their skinner box nature, knowing that FOMO power will both increase your chances of spending money on their cash shops with minimal dev time needed to keep them updating and running.
And that's how we end up here. Shrugging "mehs" as we justify it to ourselves.
20 years ago I bought Guild Wars. It didn't have a sub then and still doesn't. I bought it once and got a full game I could play online forever, and each expansion until the final was treated as a full separate game you could buy and play on its own. Heck I can still play it just fine and its got a solid population even now.
MMOs are also a unique beast designed to be obsessed over with their skinner box nature, knowing that FOMO power will both increase your chances of spending money on their cash shops with minimal dev time needed to keep them updating and running.