GDC 2010 - How Much Would You Pay for an iPhone MMO?

How much would you pay for an iPhone MMO? $5? $10? $100?

We'll find out when Freeverse (a recent acquisition by iPhone Super Studio, ngmoco) releases Castlecraft, a title that tentatively will charge players a subscription fee along with the option for paid DLC.

The subscription fee, tentatively set at $4.99 for a month, $5.99 for three months or $12.99 for a year, is priced like movie popcorn or toilet paper -- buying bulk is a boon.

That buy-in fee scores you a handsome, persistent world MMO where the game is in the name. Castlecraft has players craft a kingdom by expanding into and defending from online competitors.

He who has the land, they say, collects the Dragon Crystals, those being the game's currency, which can be had one of two ways. The first, by waiting ten to twenty minutes for a clandestine Dragon Crystal to clandestinely fall from the sky and then taking it upon your kingdom to risk life and land to venture forth and retrieve it.

The second option is the rub. For a price -- additional to your subscription cost -- you can purchase Dragon Crystals; 20 real dollars nets you 1,500 Dragon Crystals.

In a number of ways, the conversion rate is a steal. Only one Dragon Crystal plops from the clouds at a time. That some basic kingdom building options like building a small structure only costs a couple Dragon Crystals, that wouldn't be so bad.

Forming an alliance with a friend to attack another kingdom, though, will cost you a whopping 1,000 Dragon Crystals.

That of course, could be worth the investment, knowing the victor not only writes the history books, but receives the opponents Dragon Crystals. Alliance could prove high risk/high reward ventures for battle.

But what if an alliance attacks you? Theoretically, you might drop an Andrew Jackson for 1,500 Dragon Crystals only to have a sneak attack from a neighboring kindgom leave you bone dry.

Other paid DLC included server chat and the ability to leave messages for other players across the land.

While we enjoyed the look of Castlecraft, the Dragon Crystal system could use some rejiggering, or else players might find themselves paying more for an MMO on the iPhone than the big kids on the PC.