> {quote:title=macnbc wrote:}{quote}
> Just to be completely totally clear again..
> [b]Your current subscriptions are not changing, unless you choose to go to a new plan.[/b]

But which tier (plan) are the current plans going to fall in when the change occurs? Are the current gold accounts going to be in the top tier? Or am I going to end up in some middle or lower tier where I need to upgrade to a higher tier?

edit: (Sorry if I sound redundant as BurnedToast basically asked this already, but I'm worried this will happen.)

I think you guys are hitting the panic button way to soon on this mention of "additional subscription options."

mac said that the changes seem minor (to him) and even shot down the suggestion of tiered subscription a la Metaboli (for the time being). I'm thinking it's just going to be the regular "gold" subscription and they're going to add a mac/64-bit subscription with access to everything but the windows games, all with the current current $/month and $/year flavors.

note: [b]This is pure speculation on my part![/b]

I"m not informed on this, but I'm going to agree with Ninja Pirate on this one. I forsee a "everything" plan (i.e. gold) a "discount" plan that doesn't include the windows games (so all the 64 bit users can stop complaining about paying the same and not getting the same things.) And maybe a few "lesser" options just for fun (like Arcade Only or Sega Only or stuff like that). Not exactly the Metaboli model of pricing (which just confuses me.)

Note: Also Speculation

> {quote:title=LittlestCthulhu wrote:}{quote}
>there will be a subscription option that only includes current 64-Bit compatible game, Console, Arcade and DOS.
/\ from the blog comments

Green Members are now Free Sampler Package Subscribers and will continue to have access to the free selection of games.

Gold Members become Premium Package Subscribers and will continue to have access to the entire catalog, anyone currently paying $59.95 for their annual subscription will be locked in at that annual rate.

Classic Arcade Package -> All Console, Arcade, & DOS games. The package will be completely 64-Bit compatible.

Additional details will be posted on the blog Friday.

I think a lot of people are nervous and "hitting the panic button too early" because the GT press release is using the same language that both Verizon and Comcast uses before they make changes to their subscirption plans, and I've never been happy with a change they made.

It just sounds and feels too much like an internet service provider's "pre-colonic" language. When they are prepping you for the upcoming suckiness. If a significant other told me, "Hey, we need to talk" it might not actually be bad, but if they told me that weeks before the actual talk, i'd probably assume the relationship was in trouble.

Too few details allows minds to wander, and the last "great update" was not great. Past performance indicates this will not be a good update.

But it doesn't matter to me. I cashed in some prize points for a free year of Gold. If the new experience isn't enjoyable, well I'm not paying for it anyway and i'd just cancel when the free time runs out.

[b]Last note:[/b] I think the issue with tiered pricing isn't changing the PRICE people are paying but rather changing the SERVICE that is offered for each price. Nobody wants to either pay more or get less for their dollar.

+Will gold members get the same service for the same price... not just the same price?+

Learn to read, he JUST posted the tiers, current Gold members are top Tier with everything, then there's a consoles/arcade/DOS pack that doesn't correspond to a current subscription, and then free is like normal. There's a new cheaper subscription without Windows games that no one will be forced into, that's the tier change, something people have been asking for for a while.

There is so much information to get out to you guys we wanted to make sure you had plenty of notice, there was no ill intent. We didn't want to just spring this on you 2 days before the update.

> {quote:title=LittlestCthulhu wrote:}{quote}
> Green Members are now Free Sampler Package Subscribers will continue to have access to the free selection of games.

Is it just me or does "Free Sampler Package Subscriber" fail to roll off the tongue like "Green Member" does?

:P

I know it's got to be difficult Cthulhu. Though, I do believe that the GT community has always been a little resistant to change. Hell, that's how and why we still like old-school games.

The 3 packages are color coded, so you could keep using the "(insert color name) member" terminology if you like it :)

Awesome, I opt for the "Mac and Cheese" color package then, since my plan is to use the big crayon box to name the tiers.

Thinking about it, the Arcade & Console package is going to be a total sham. I bet that's where GameTap is going to make their serious money.

Really, think about it: GameTap hasn't released a new non-PC game in ages. Arcade and Console games are small in size compared to PC games. Here's where GameTap is going to be saving money on this:

-Not releasing new classic games and therefore not have any new licensing fees for it.
-Paying less for bandwidth for the games since they're smaller in size.

The users are going to be paying just to play the same games for a straight year. I wouldn't complain if GameTap would release a new Saturn, Arcade, or Dreamcast game every so often.

This particular package is going to be like subscribing to a magazine for a year, except you are sent the same issue every month.

I support the Electric Lime, Mango Tango and Laser Lemon plans myself.

Thanks LIttlestC

Wow, I didn't mean to start some kind of freak out... I just wanted to know as a consumer what my choices would be. Its simple: everyone that is worried, click like hell and get the yearly plan cuz its a steal. Ive been on since they offered it and I have never looked back. If that is going to stay the top tier you have my money.

> {quote:title=BetaWolf wrote:}{quote}
> -Not releasing new classic games and therefore not have any new licensing fees for it.

I would be shocked if GameTap doesn't have to pay licensing fees on an ongoing basis to continue having these titles.

> -Paying less for bandwidth for the games since they're smaller in size.

And thus, the consumer will also pay less. Win win!

> {quote:title=BetaWolf wrote:}{quote}
> -Paying less for bandwidth for the games since they're smaller in size.

Some of those Dreamcast games and Saturn games are darn big.

> The users are going to be paying just to play the same games for a straight year. I wouldn't complain if GameTap would release a new Saturn, Arcade, or Dreamcast game every so often.

Some people may be OK with this, after all it's going to have a lower price than Gold.

> This particular package is going to be like subscribing to a magazine for a year, except you are sent the same issue every month.

More like joining a book swapping club where they have a limited number of books (say 500) that are static, and you can borrow as many of them as you want, for a monthly fee. Sure they may not get new books all that often, but you knew that when you signed up. (After all they gave you a list of what was up.) Magazines are all about current events, (or in this case new games) this package (retroish) wouldn't be.

Still no word on if the Mac client is going to be just shut off in 2 weeks?

> {quote:title=Ghadius wrote:}{quote}
> Still no word on if the Mac client is going to be just shut off in 2 weeks?

Correct, there will be no Mac OS X support. If you're running a Windows environment on your Mac you have some options. You could boot natively into Windows with BootCamp, and you +may+ be able to use Parallels or VMWare, I'll let you know when I have tested it.

> {quote:title=macnbc wrote:}{quote}
> > {quote:title=BetaWolf wrote:}{quote}
> > -Not releasing new classic games and therefore not have any [b]new[/b] licensing fees for it.
>
> I would be shocked if GameTap doesn't have to pay licensing fees on an [b]ongoing[/b] basis to continue having these titles.

There's a difference here. It's still more expensive to get new titles on top of paying for the current ones, correct?

>{quote:title=tsrblke2 wrote:}{quote}
>Some people may be OK with this, after all it's going to have a lower price than Gold.
And others aren't okay with it. It's going to be upsetting for those people to hear "But others are okay with it!" when they inquire about not getting new console games. For a lot of people, classic games are the main reason for subscribing. The only other way to get a large amount of these games is by illegal means.

Others, such as Mac and Windows 64-bit users, cannot play Windows games, so they don't have a choice.

>Some of those Dreamcast games and Saturn games are darn big.
Well yeah, but those are the extremes... and once again, a three year old could add up the amount of games available for those systems. I bought an external hard drive to play GameTap on because of how much space PC games take.

Maybe I'm just being cynical. Honestly, I'm hoping that the availability of a console and arcade payment plan will mean more console and arcade games in this coming year. There are still some Saturn, Dreamcast, and Arcade games on the backlog, aren't there?

Thank you. While I do have a Vista installation via Bootcamp, I'm in OSX 99% of the time. I guess I'll have to cancel my service (...and done).

I'm glad found this out before I laid down the cash for a year's subscription. Just wondering, what would have happened if I had? Will other Mac users with months left be entitled to a refund?

If controls will not be customizable then I hope there will be no default gamepad controls or that they can be disabled so that we can use a program like xpadder. If there are none or they can be disabled, then I'm sorry to say that because it is currently so badly implemented it would be better than it is now. For gamepad controls I mean, it would not be better for keybord controls obviously.

Can only get so much use out of a program like xpadder if there are built-in gamepad controls interfearing with it.

On the controls issue, according the it looks like any currently customized controls will stick around during the migration. So it's reasonable to assume that if you get things working the way you want them for your favorite games, that control scheme will stick around until control customization is brought back.

I just posted a sneak peek of the new web-site if you guys are interested.

Making huge changes like this always means that it will take time to get things up and running. I wouldn't be surprised if us users have to deal with glitches and the like. I can be patient when I know something's coming :P

One thing though: Saturn and Dreamcast games are still going to launch in separate windows, right? It's impossible to run such complex games off of a browser. Unless... are your programmers gods?

> {quote:title=LittlestCthulhu wrote:}{quote}
> I just posted a sneak peek of the new web-site if you guys are interested.
>
>

Oh holy crap I love it. Filtering options? Search suggestions? Streamlining? Sign me up. Actually, I'll do it myself.

Give dinkywinkywhoohoo my thanks!