Netflix : Streaming :: Qwikster : DVDs

Summary: Providing both DVD and streaming options was really, really complicated for these two guys. So, they decided to divide the services into two different things, to make their lives easier.

Now, you might be wondering if this division is in any way beneficial to consumers.

And to that they say, "Fuck you."

Think of MMO Subscription Fees as Netflix

So, in avoiding my Buddhism paper I came across this article regarding how Age of Conan is a shitty game which no one plays. In the comments to this article were the predictably banal comments of "Subscription fees are stupid" played out in the predictably stupid manner in which such comments are often sustained. I've ranted about this before and non-bloggingly bitched about it to people.

The issue is that jackasses think that subscription fees for games are uncalled for, meanspirited, unnecessary, detrimental, or preventative; they want to pay for a game once and then play it unhindered by any monthly fee. I, on the other hand, am trying to explain why this mentality is juvenile, unrealistic, and best left in the 90s. So here is maybe another way of thinking about it: Netflix.

Given that you're reading a blog you know what Netflix is and how Netflix works. So, here's the question: How is $15/month to Netflix different than $15/month to WoW? Both fees are for a service. Both fees offer "unlimited" access to a given service (WoW is unlimited gameplay, Netflix is unlimited DVD exchanges). So what is the difference? How can Netflix be a reasonable service which affords users a great deal yet WoW be a waste of money?

Is it anything more than subjective preference? Neither service affords the user ownership; one does not own a rented Netflix dvd any more than one owns one's WoW character. Both services are monthly fees for an experience.

So if one wants to pay $15 a month to watch a bunch of movies and another wants to pay $15 a month to play a bunch of WoW what the fuck is the difference?