We all know how subscriptions work, right? Netflix for example, you pay every month and by giving Netflix your money they give you access to their service. Empire magazine is another example, subscribe to their magazine, pay them money at regular intervals, get a copy of the magazine, stop paying, don’t get a magazine.
The new version of Trackmania has a subscription model, pay once a year and then get access to the game. Except it’s not a subscription model. Amélie ‘Alinoa’ Castelnérac from Trackmania developers Nadeom which is owned by Ubisoft, has explained why it’s not.
Actually it’s not a subscription model but an access to the game for a limited time. You pay for having access to the game for one period and that’s it. When the time is over, you have to buy the game again for the time that you want to access it again.
It’s time’s this I wish there was some way of accurately conveying in writing a stunned silence. Quite why this not a subscription model is unclear but perhaps by redefining what a subscription is Ubisoft get round some legal requirements, that’s about the only reason I can think of.
Amélie’s response was in to a question posted on the Mania Planet forums that asked if there was going to be a way of just buying the game outright, but it appears no. There is a free tier to go with the paid versions but you do not get access to the track creator, the key feature of the game.
- Starter Access: Free for players to race solo or multiplayer on quarterly renewed official campaigns, including 25 tracks, allowing players to earn medals and record scores in the regional rankings. Players will be able to enjoy other player’s creations on the Arcade Channel, try various editors (tracks, replays and skins) and map review servers. The weekly Nations League is also available for casual competitions.
- Standard Access: In addition to the free content, Standard Access expands the content available with player creations, including the “Track of the Day” selection, and full access to replay, track editors and map review servers. Additionally, players can participate in daily competitions and keep every “Track of the Day” and “Official” campaign track. One year of standard access is available for $9.99.
- Club Access: Including the above, Club Access allows players to join their favorite clubs to access exclusive content and activities such as skin customization, special campaigns, online rooms, training tracks and competitions. They can also create their own club to share their creations and organize events. Players can participate in the Open Grand League, organized by Ubisoft Nadeo, and try to qualify for the Trackmania Grand League. One year of the Club Access is available for $29.99 or three years for $59.99.
Source: ManiaPlanet
WaxBull
It’s not a subscription*, it’s pimping out your their game, which will only lead to disease, regret and an empty wallet for the customer.
*Quite clearly a subscription.
TSBonyman
Trackmania? That game that i got free on PS plus and deleted after 20 minutes? The one that is engaging for approx one minute at a time? Annual subsciption? That’s hilarious.
Stefan L
I guess you don’t have to play it if you don’t like it? Haha.
MrYd
I can sort of see what twisted logic led to their conclusion it’s not a subscription. Even though it clearly is.
It’s free, but you can pay for extra stuff that only lasts a certain time. Sort of like a free game having a battle pass thing. (Speaking of which, can we just stop it with that shit now?). Does Fortnite have a subscription option? It’s got a battle pass you can buy that lasts a certain time.
Does Spotify have a subscription? You can use it for free, with adverts and some limits (but the browser version doesn’t have those limits or adverts). Or you can pay monthly.
They’re just playing with the words, really. Spotify clearly has a subscription option, and they call it that. Fortnite does too, although nobody calls it that and I don’t think they’ve denied it’s a subscription either. In this case, it’s clearly an (optional) subscription, but they’re stupidly saying it’s not. When it clearly is.
Stefan L
It just depends on whether or not you are charged and receive content on a regular basis. Strictly speaking, Trackmania isn’t a subscription, but it effectively is. Spotify Premium most definitely is a subscription, but battle passes which can only be bought one at a time are not.
Also, battle passes in many games actually have reward tiers for in-game currency to let you buy the next season. There will be many people who have only spent $10 to get their first battle pass, but have earnt each successive one.
MrYd
So are we saying all 3 of those examples effectively have a subscription, but only Spotify technically has a subscription option? Because it automatically renews every month?
Possibly complicated by being able to get Spotify Premium without it auto-renewing by buying Spotify gift cards from various places.
I just got another year of both PS+ and PS Now. Are they subscriptions? Sony says they are, but I got the PS Now one from Sony, and the PS+ one from Amazon. And there’s no payment method on my PSN account. So they’re not subscriptions because they won’t auto-renew? (Even though Sony turned auto-renew on for both anyway)
Starman
EA could probably do something like this with their annual sports games. Instead of pretending it’s a brand new game every year.