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My Name Is Gladiator

This week's Stratics article looks at the alternative means by which MMOG developers and publishers are generating revenue.
By Misty "Beans" Matonis

It's no secret that I love the film Gladiator, that sweeping "historical" epic of a lone fallen general who became more powerful than an emperor. I was highly amused by the first graphic GameSpy created for my previous article: a picture of actor Russell Crowe in full gladiator regalia with the caption "Gladiator -- Just like a MMOG." Perhaps it was some bizarre foresight on the part of GameSpy that they chose to promote the article as such shortly before RedBedlam announced Gladius Online.

A New Gladiator in the Coliseum

My first and very honest reaction when I received the press release was "Oh God, not another MMOG!" I figured that they really enjoyed the movie too, and decided to cash in on its popularity by developing a game that was "an historically authentic virtual recreation of Europe circa 180 AD when the Roman Empire was at the height of its power." A little research and a few snickers later I realized that, just like the movie, Commodus is Emperor in the game and is just as bad.

Anyway, I published the announcement on Stratics Central, filed the bookmark, and began my daily ritual of checking it for any new news. Eventually I started to become a little interested in the title. After all, I only saw the movie, what, 14 times?

One day something actually caught my eye. It was a small little PayPal graphic at the bottom of their home page. Curious, I clicked the link to see what that was about. It's not every day I see a MMOG looking for donations, you know.

This is What I Discovered…

Gladius Online will have a rather unique revenue system. Currently, they are looking for donations from potential customers (aka "community donations"), private contributions and corporations. Additional revenue will be generated from retail sales of the Gladius Online product; however, customers may also choose to download the client for free.

And, by the way, there are no monthly fees to play.

This also caught my attention:

After release, RedBedlam will be introducing an alternative revenue model that will allow us to maintain the game while keeping it free-to-play. Sound too good to be true? Well, it is good and it is true.

Unfortunately, I don't know what that means. Nor does anyone else, judging from those who frequent the official message boards. RedBedlam is rightly keeping mum on the question of what exactly this "alternative revenue model" is, and how players will or may be affected by it.

The Underlight Model: Pay for Better Play

Alternative revenue models are not new in online games however; we are used to paying $10 USD and upwards per month to play our favorite games. Underlight, which has been around since 1998, has one of the more interesting models I've seen. Underlight, from Lyra Studios, offers two types of accounts, the basic 'Dreamer' account, which is offered at a flat fee of $9.95 USD per month, and the advanced 'Player Mare' account. The Player Mare account comes in three variations where you are charged in blocks of 15-minute increments. Depending upon how much you are willing to pay for your play costs range from $0.95 per 15 minutes for the weakest account to $3.95 per 15 minutes for the strongest account. So, basically, the more you are willing to pay, the more opportunities you will have to get more from the game.

Another MMOG with an alternative revenue model is Jagex Software's Runescape, which is currently in open beta. Originally, Runescape was going to be completely 100% absolutely without a shadow of a doubt free to both download and play. Revenue was to be made through banner advertisements both through the official Website as well as from within the game client itself. However, recently, Jagex announced an "optional Runescape members service." Said service will cost $5 USD per month and will provide the following features not available to those who opt for the free service: more frequent updates, zero advertising, "good customer support" (that just sends shivers down my spine!), removal of scammers/cheaters, "and much more!"

That's great and perfectly understandable. In today's market, you'd be a fool if you based your entire revenue model on banner and pop-up advertising, especially to support a product that requires constant attention, development and support.

And then … then … there's …

The Entropia Model: Pay for l337 l00t

No discussion on alternative revenue models would be complete without mentioning MindaArk's Project Entropia, which Noel LeFevre covered previously. Project Entropia, again in beta, will be free to download, and free to play. Revenue will be obtained via player auctions of items for real life cash, with a portion of the proceeds going to MinkArk a la Ebay. Entropia … taking the bane of many MMOG player's experiences and turning it into a profit in a rather creative and necessary way.

SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS

And now we're back to Gladius Online, which is where I stole the above header (I don't know Latin). It means "The Senate and People of Rome," and rests atop their PayPal page. A fitting introduction to what is essentially their business concept as I see it.

As stated earlier, players will assist in the funding of Gladius Online via donations. Because of this, according to the Website, players will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of Gladius Online by having open discussions with fellow community members and the Gladius Online team through the official message boards. The model is reminiscent of old school business, when shareholder's still had a voice in how a company was run (in theory).

Perhaps that is the real alternative revenue model strongly hinted at by RedBedlam. Perhaps we, the player, the financial donator to the cause, are the shareholders with a strong say in how the game is developed? Perhaps RedBedlam will actually listen to us as we discuss what we feel would make good game features and systems? Perhaps they are hedging their bets on the fact that if we feel that we are being listened to we will be inspired to donate continuously to the development of the game? Or perhaps I'm just completely off base, and they truly do have something revolutionary up their sleeves?

Only time will tell…

Originally published on GameSpy 10/29/01