Craylon wrote:

every other industy like telecommunications, video/music on demand... goes for flat fees, why does the mmo industry think its clever to completely go the other way ?


Every other industry, really? I'm guessing you don't mean that, since most commerce is not done by subscription, but by retail since it's just not as popular with consumers. You CAN buy groceries on subscription from a co-op, for instance, but almost nobody does, preferring to buy groceries individually.

As for digital media, iTunes is microtransaction based and is the largest seller of digital music. When I buy video games, I don't pay a subscription for all I can eat. I pay per game that I purchase, whether that's via Steam or at Best Buy. If I go to Popcap.com to play their games, I pay via individual transaction, not by recurring subscription. When I make a phone call from my home phone, I pay by the minute/by the call, etc etc.

There are reasons to be against MT, but the idea that most other industries use subscriptions is simply not true.

--matt