User blog comment:Ikabite/The Elder Scrolls Online: P2P or F2P?/@comment-76.126.159.62-20130402183047

As quoted from an article about the predications for 2013 about WoW's subscribers, "That’s what is in trouble. Activision has seen users drop to below 10 million users, down from a peak of 12 million. Mists of Pandaria boosted the number of subscribers up again, but not by much. Now, I believe, enough consumers are thinking that they won’t be going back to Warcraft that the subscription is not worth it. Their friends aren’t there enough any more. They are playing Guild Wars 2 or Rift. A few of them are playing The Old Republic. More of them are playing Clash of Clans and World of Tanks and League of Legends and CSR Racing.

It’s not that the core WoW fans aren’t there. It’s that those who are not so committed don’t see the point of paying for the option of playing. They will move in.

Warcraft will lost 3 million subs in 2013, and drop below 7 million."

Monthly subscriptions are slowly dying for the PC and many people are now using other easily accessible console systems to easily play with friends and not pay much for the same experience. People want to save money while also having the ability to play with friends. The one time purchase is still going to net you a lot of money. If I recall correctly Skyrim netted a huge profit from its release so what makes this game different that requires more money to keep it going? Charge $60 retail price with no monthly subscription and your going to catch the eyes of many people looking to find a new MMO experience that doesn't steal money away from them at $15 dollars a month. Free-to-Play is a horrible idea and no game should be completely free for the sake of the developers. If it's free to play the game is going to die out quickly, if there is a monthly subscription it's going to divert the eyes of casual gamers and medium-budget gamers. One time purchase is the way to go and it will definitely secure a purchase from me and a lot of my friends.

If this game is anything but one time purchase I am not going near it even though I love the Elder Scrolls franchise, it's that simple. Trust me, the majority of others think this exact way so put yourselves in our shoes and look at what the consumers could afford and what's practical for you and them.