Hellgate London - Fee-based Multiplayer Confirmed @ Shacknews

Shacknews has a newsbit that confirms Hellgate: London will feature fee-based multiplayer after speaking to Bill Roper at CES:

Drawing similarities to ArenaNet's Guild Wars, Hellgate's online is heavily instanced. Group and solo PvE is the game's main focus; PvP will exist in a small scale form, but is not a major element of the initial launch. It will also feature a Hardcore mode similar to that found in Blizzard's Diablo II, a game on which many members of the Hellgate team worked. Hellgate's multiplayer will contain all of the missions and story from the single-player aspect of the game, as well as exclusive gameplay modes and content. Like the single-player game, it will be comprised of dynamically generated areas and items. Further content will be continually added over time by a dedicated Flagship team.
Flagship expects to launch an open beta prior to the launch of the game. Pricing details have not yet been determined, though Roper noted that there will be some kind of trial or free play system for those looking to get a taste of the game without commitment.

More information.

Suddenly the game is not as appealing anymore. I was at first drawn to it because I was hoping for "light" multiplay, like Diablo and Diablo 2 where you can just play for a few mins and come back after a month and still not feel like I need to catch up.

I won't pay for another online game, i'd rather go with a real mmo instead.

And I agree but for different reasons - I'm no fan of MMO's but like some occasional multi-player in my action games … but not enough to pay for it! I mean, I might as well get an XBOX360 and XBox Live!

I doubt we're talking MMO prices though, as they're not offering MMO services.

I think it'll depend on how good the game is and how much the fee is.

I have a feeling Bill Roper and Co have a big enough fan following to bleed afew coppers from them though.

Well, just to prove once again that 'internet facts' is an oxymoron, there is an interview here;

"Update: Since posting our original news item on the matter, Shacknews has been contacted by Electronic Arts, which is co-publishing the game along with Namco Bandai. EA noted that there has not in fact been any final decision made as to Hellgate: London's online pricing model, be it subscription-based or otherwise. We respect this situation, while maintaining that have reported fairly on statements we received. A full interview is forthcoming."

I think it got a negative response very quickly so yeah they talk it down.

Basically all that says to me is that they haven't decided on the fee yet.

Originally Posted by woges
Basically all that says to me is that they haven't decided on the fee yet.

That is what I think as well - they seem to be trying to find a middle ground between Guild Wars and general MMO's … get players to pay for the 'boxed content' which gives them SP and perhaps a timed tidbit of MP, then a small monthly payment for full MP access.

Which might not really be a bad thing, depending on the value they offer - but it could change the landscape of PC multiplayer in an instant …

I'm not sure if it's changing the landscape so to speak, you had to ptp UO and that’s how old now?

And before people say it’s not an MMO or whatnot there will probably be a lot of people playing and hacking Hellgate (see Diablo 2), more then most MMO's I'd think. So these servers will need to be supported.

To this day I'm sure afew D2 fans would pay a small fee for better support because the bnet servers have gone to the dogs recently.

Hellgate will have all the same server generated niceness Diablo2 had, and thats more interesting then most MMO's.

I remember played Sacred on its version of "closed" servers and they were laggy and overpopulated at times.

If HL would allow free play on "open" multiplayer games and a smaller fee for "closed" I would go for it as long as the monthly price were say…. < 5 bucks a month. It takes a lot of resources to keep a closed server system running.

They had better have FREE open though since that doesn't require any hardware support from the devs. If not they are money grubbing sons a bitches who won't get a purchase from me.