We've Heard You - No Zygor Subscriptions!

[darkanoid]

No subscription model is great news. I had already decided this wasn't for me and had - reluctantly - spent an evening looking at alternatives.

Thank you for listening to your customers this much - the ideal would be if you could support both models: subscriptions for those happy with that route and one-off for those like myself who would rather stick with current pricing.

[Cartman]

I get that they need to make money. But they should've planned it before announcing it. If $8 a month won't make profit, fine. But don't advertise it then take it back. Contrary to the statements of the army of yes men here, that's bad business.

I agree that this decision after that long discussion a while ago when a "new payment model" was announced should have been discussed better. Things look different from a company's point of view than a customer's.
But discussing something on a forum is nearly impossible. Too many people don't read anything and spam the threads with flameposts. I cannot count how many people complained about Zygor taking away something the paid for even though the first announcement made it clear that everyone who owns a guide will still own this guide and get his free updates.

The 8$ would most likely work for them but only if existing customers will switch to the subscription. But too many have paid for upgrades and new guides between the release of Cataclysm and now so the for those the only reason would be the new guides. This has not been taken into account at first.

[Tengu]

I'm glad you kept the old model since I purchased full horde and alliance guides. I do support the option of the subscription service also..if only to allow people to take a full 'test drive' of the past and future guides before purchasing the whole module. I love the idea of a vanity pets guide as I hope to collect or craft all I can.

[fordtheword]

Actually.. changing a businessmodel this quickly makes me wonder how well thought it it must have been in the first place. And sometimes it's best to follow one's own gutfeeling instead of changing just because there's an outroar from people. There's no chance people won't complain either way. Just go with it and perhaps actually choose to go with both models, so people can make up their own mind? I for one didn't like the idea originally, but would probably have subscribed, for a while. And I think a lot of people would. Stick with what you choose at least a while so you can evaluate, please.

[Cartman]

If we reintroduce subscriptions, we may add a way for you to choose which products would be included in the subscription, and the price fluctuates depending on that. This would solve the issue people have mentioned about how they feel like they're paying for guides they don't even want.

This would be the best way to introduce a new payment model.
With the new guides released you'll get enough cash to have some time to think about the how and when and maybe Blizzard surprises us all with a new addon coming before the end of 2012. The announcement of the next expansion at Blizzcon would be a good starting point for a subscription model. Just imagine the advertising: "Subscribe and you will get free UPGRADES for the next expansion".

[manicmaniac]

I get that they need to make money. But they should've planned it before announcing it. If $8 a month won't make profit, fine. But don't advertise it then take it back. Contrary to the statements of the army of yes men here, that's bad business.

[goodeggguy]

You've got to have a lot of respect for a company that's willing to do this - try new things and then to hold back and reassess when they get feedback from the customer base. Kudos to you and the team, John.

Personally, I was really looking forward to a sub in the way it was put forward - loved the idea, in fact. But I can see that some people didn't love it, and it's fair to offer both options. A 'per product' sub would be ideal, with an 'all-in-one' sub as an option too (that's still the option I'd use), so everyone can:

a) find the solution that suits them best

then

b) keep giving you the love - and their money (which is pretty important if you're going to put food on the table, pay the bills, and be able to keep doing great things for us).

[viruzzz]

Retracting the whole thing is good because it shows you heard the feedback, but to be honest, I don't see why you couldn't make multiple options for the guides, I'm sure there is a good reason, but I can't think of one

[sarg338]

To all asking about the subscription option, the truth is that it needs more thought. We need to be very certain of the price the subscription needs to be in order to realistically support all the demands of new content, new features, etc, that comes along with the word "Subscription". We've realized that expectations of what you get each and every month is incredibly higher simply by calling it a "subscription", even if it takes 3-4 years to pay the same price as buying all the products with one-time fees. This is just something we didn't think enough about, so we need to determine if it's realistically possible to maintain with those expectations with such a low fee. We simply don't know, and that's why we're holding back on that for now.

I do agree that a lot more is expected with a subscription, and I understand what you are getting at,

If we reintroduce subscriptions, we may add a way for you to choose which products would be included in the subscription, and the price fluctuates depending on that. This would solve the issue people have mentioned about how they feel like they're paying for guides they don't even want. Things like that have entered into our thought process and the honest answer is we really need to think hard about it. We were thinking of it simply as a lower barrier to entry to get our products, but it has become clear that many customers would not perceive subscriptions in that same way. So we just need to make sure we can meet those expectations at that price point.

I would TOTALLY love to see this. It would be amazing, and even better than just a flat rate for everything. Let the customer's choose! Love it if you guy can implement it!

We hope you understand and we really do apologize for the letdown. :-(

Letdown? You decided to try out a new payment plan, community didn't like it, and you decided to not give the green light on it because of us. If anything, you've gained MORE respect from me for doing this.

[mzanker]

since I have purchased all of the guides, I would hate to have to pay a subscription to keep those up to date, I prefer the new course

That was never the plan and it just makes me wonder how many of the people complaining about the subscription method really didn't understand how it was going to work.

[demon012]

To all asking about the subscription option, the truth is that it needs more thought. We need to be very certain of the price the subscription needs to be in order to realistically support all the demands of new content, new features, etc, that comes along with the word "Subscription". We've realized that expectations of what you get each and every month is incredibly higher simply by calling it a "subscription", even if it takes 3-4 years to pay the same price as buying all the products with one-time fees. This is just something we didn't think enough about, so we need to determine if it's realistically possible to maintain with those expectations with such a low fee. We simply don't know, and that's why we're holding back on that for now.

If we reintroduce subscriptions, we may add a way for you to choose which products would be included in the subscription, and the price fluctuates depending on that. This would solve the issue people have mentioned about how they feel like they're paying for guides they don't even want. Things like that have entered into our thought process and the honest answer is we really need to think hard about it. We were thinking of it simply as a lower barrier to entry to get our products, but it has become clear that many customers would not perceive subscriptions in that same way. So we just need to make sure we can meet those expectations at that price point.

We hope you understand and we really do apologize for the letdown. :-(

Hey Zygor,

Shove that in a mail so everyone sees it, that post imho requires a mail of its own (not everyone looks through all the pages in forums).

Thanks,

demon012

[manicmaniac]

Because there are people that wanted the subscription, which would have saved them money.

Exactly. Not everyone can afford $100+ for all the guides.

[Bomyne]

Why would you feel cheated when he has removed the Sub, and listened to the majority of the community?

Because there are people that wanted the subscription, which would have saved them money.

[jdgii]

So it's really about money? Ok...now I just feel cheated.

Glad I saved that first promo video.

Why would you feel cheated when he has removed the Sub, and listened to the majority of the community?

[sobeit81]

So it's really about money? Ok...now I just feel cheated.

Glad I saved that first promo video.

Wow, how did you get that from what he said? It's about supply and demand we pay 1 time upfront fee and he can focus on the next. What he was saying is "if people payed monthly" they would then be required to churn out products quite often to make it worth it. This isn't something a small company can do.