New Smartlaunch Pricing

[Alomax]

From their new pricing page :  http://www.smartlaunch.com/pricing

1 - 25 seats : $5 per license per month
26 - 60 seats : $4 per license per month
60+ seats : $3 per license per month

There is mention of a free version with some features removed, but they're not giving details yet.  Here's hoping they put all their new revenue to good use and patch some stuff!

[Deeds]

Gross Subscription Based.. Seriously?

Hrm so what happens to my old licenses?

-deeds

[RsteeleAUG]

Exactly what happens to the existing licenses that we have already purchased once...? I'm not interested in any more monthly payments.

At this point if they keep the pre existing ones working and transferable we'll be looking to purchase another 5 to 10 of the old licenses without the monthly fees.

Looks like a money racket to me.

[Alomax]

I don't know if 'racket' is the right word to use. Their business model of buy-once update-forever was not sustainable in the long run.  Especially since you could shuffle licenses around between owners for no charge.

@Deeds - AFAIK everyone who currently bought licenses will at some unknown point, find themselves with some features disabled (you revert to the 'freebie' version).  However : the current Beta patch is the one adding the functionality for them to be able to manage subscriptions like this.  If you never patch beyond what the current version is, I don't know if it will affect you.

I've been trying to extract more information from SL for a few days, but the people that I'm used to dealing with don't work there any more.   I'm trying to get more information on reseller pricing etc to see if I can offer a better price to some US centers.

[Deeds]

Hrm, there are other ways to continue generating money then paid subscription.  But, I guess since the Lan Center audience is limited it would be the easiest route to go.

We'll see what features are missing with the free version.

-deeds

[RsteeleAUG]

I've already purchased Smart Launch Licenses once and will not make monthly payments to them for any reason. So when/if this does effect us we'll find another solution like others already have. From the centers I've spoken with very few are interested in paying monthly fees for SL at this point.

We already deal with enough monthly/yearly fees by way of LIVE and STEAM at least STEAM offers new games once in a while.
If we had 100 stations we'd pay as much for Smart Launch as we do our internet service...I can do with out the former but not the latter.

When they implement this if the free version locks down too much be on the look out for a mass exodus of centers from the smart launch program.

[Alomax]

I'm speculating that if you just stay at the current version (4.1.362 I think) and don't upgrade, then you won't be hit with a subscription.  I have no information to back this up though, I'm just guessing.  Still no good info from SL, though they promised to send me an email with more information on reselling "soon".

[RsteeleAUG]

http://smartlaunch.helpserve.com/Knowledgebase/Comments/Submit/145/

They will systematically put themselves out of business. Unless they offer  A LOT more than they currently do there are very few people that will pay Between $50 and $160 per month for something that isn't an absolute MUST HAVE.

[Deeds]

Yeah for subscription based service it should have launchers for popular games for free.  I guess we'll just have to wait for time to tell

-deeds

[RsteeleAUG]

I can tell you right now that unless there is something that makes it worth it when they implement this new subscription based smartlaunch I will immediately stop using their software. I HATE when a company thinks it can do shit like this with no repercussions check out netflix for a reference they thought they were going to separate their streaming and DVD service...customer base put that to bed QUICKLY. Same deal here except LAN centers are the customer base.  I don't intend to let anyone complicate what we have going on...I'll find another way or make my own way...

[Alomax]

I look at this as a positive for two reasons :

1) The pay-once business model SL has been operating on forever has resulted in what we have right now : a stagnant software that doesn't really improve a whole lot with each patch, and key requested features are never implemented.  So having this steady revenue stream should (I hope) result in better features.

2) A lot of centers (like Rsteele) think a monthly fee is unreasonable and won't pay it, and will instead find another software, or write their own.  This increases the competition in the market, which is sorely needed.  One of the main reasons SL has been top dog for so long, is that there are only like 3-4 dogs to choose from.

[Deeds]

2) A lot of centers (like Rsteele) think a monthly fee is unreasonable and won't pay it, and will instead find another software, or write their own.  This increases the competition in the market, which is sorely needed.  One of the main reasons SL has been top dog for so long, is that there are only like 3-4 dogs to choose from.

I like that one.  Seriously, about time.

-deeds

[RsteeleAUG]

http://forum.smartlaunch.net/Topic26205-13-1.aspx

Again I foresee a mass exodus of lan centers from Smartlaunch if they require everyone to pay monthly on a product they have already purchased once. If they want to charge monthly for a new product that they sell to new lan centers more power to them. Just from igames chatter and that link I don't see anyone really willing to fork over that kind of cash for something that isn't that great to begin with.

I've never updated our SL program from the sound of it most of their updates cause more problems than what they solve. All I want it to do is manage the time and games licenses for the PC's. I can get another Point of sale rather easily. I was set to add another 10 to 15 PC's in the very near future. That will be put on hold due to them dicking with what was working just fine for me.

MASS EXODUS...like rats jumping from a sinking ship or animals fleeing a forest fire...just sayin...

[Alomax]

I started to type out a reply, and it got kind of out of hand. And I decided it fit better into SL's forum, so I posted it there too.  I encourage you to go comment on it there, in hopes that the Smartlaunch people see it.  Though they don't check the forum often. I'd recommend filing a support ticket here : http://smartlaunch.helpserve.com/Tickets/Submit with comments/suggestions, as it's a much more reliable method of communication I've found, though it's not public.  Post back with any information you learn.

http://forum.smartlaunch.net/FindPost26215.aspx

Here it is in case you don't want to go read it there :

Honestly, I think them moving to a recurring fee based model is a good idea, as it gives Smartlaunch a more dependable revenue stream to hire more programmers to help code what is a fairly complex program.  However, they got the rates completely wrong.  They should be looking at price per YEAR, not price per month.  Some quick math:

Average LAN size : 20 seats.
New price : 20 x $5 x 12 months = $1200
Old price : 20 seats x $40 = $800  (less with partner or reseller discounts!)

Some have used this software for over 6 years. That's $11 a month.  That's pretty cheap.

So even if you make the wildly unfounded assumption that we get enough bugfixes and feature additions every year to argue that we get an entirely new version, we're still paying 1.5 times the current prices for it. 

Lets bring this down to brass tacks shall we?  There is NO reason that Smartlaunch should charge on a per-seat basis.  There is ZERO functional difference between the Smartlaunch software that runs a 5 seat LAN Center, and one that runs a 100 station one.  ZERO.  The server is the same, the admin is the same, and the client is the same.  You don't get any bonus remote or phone support, there is no extra help, bonus features, ZILCH.  Nobody has made a big deal out of this giant defect in reasoning until now, because up till now, people where willing to stomach the ~$800 cost, because it was one-time and we never had to worry about it again.

Mr. Bodekær, you've obviously come back to Smartlaunch and made some hard decisions about the company's future.  I want to continue to use your software, because it is the best I have seen (so far), but it is far from perfect, and there are alternatives.  I also understand that your company needs to keep itself funded to keep fixing bugs and adding features.  I also know that the vast majority of LAN centers are TINY. Most are under 25 seats, and the vast majority of them, even if they have more than 25 seats, aren't making a lot of money (at least here in the US).  Smartlaunch needs to be aware of this, and the fact that most of the world's economies are still suffering.  The pricing that is being asked is, in my opinion, unreasonable.

Here's my alternate suggestion:
All prices are FLAT. The price changes per seats, but it does not cost PER seat.
Under 25 seats : $40 per month
25 to 50 seats : $60 per month
50+ Seats : $80 per month

[Deeds]

They had to know this wasn't going to go over well.

-deeds