It seems like everywhere you look; something requires a subscription.
As a matter of fact, between 2012 and 2021, the subscription-based economy grew by 446%.
From streaming to printers, to Twitter to YouTube to AI (OpenAI, Claude, MidJourney). Hell, even car functionalities are locking their things behind subscription models.
As I was researching this, I was devastated to learn that Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch require subscriptions just to access multiplayer functionality (apparently, I’ve been living under a rock).
Even the articles I used to get the above sources asked me for a subscription after I got finished scouring their content (and screw you, USA today + Forbes + MIT Sloan Review, you’re not getting a penny from me either).
Microsoft recently released a plan to continue support of Windows 10 under the guise you pay for a subscription.
The same people who basically said, “Screw you, you’re not getting an upgrade because your PC can’t handle our new terribly bloated and unoptimized operating system”, now wants to milk you even further because how dare you continue running an operating system without paying.
There have been talks of making Video games subscription based.
Here, the CEO of Take-Two details a wet, elaborate revelation he had, pointing a spotlight towards the problem in which players pay much less for a game they end up spending decades playing.
The fix for this is painfully obvious. The only thing holding the corporations back from pulling the trigger is outrage. But all it will take is one wise and subtle implementation – a catalyst for the snowball. The beginning stage for the boiling frog.
Someone is going to have to usher in the next generation of gaming with smarter NPCs (powered by LLM's à la ChatGPT), and those things are going to need to be powered via external servers, and guess what? AI thrives on the subscription model.
Amazon Prime Video (subscription based) wants to start showing you ads, unless you cough up even more cash. What did Cable/TV even die for?
Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber recently discussed the possibility of introducing a subscription-based "Forever Mouse". The concept involves a high-quality mouse that users would never need to replace, thanks to regular software updates delivered through a subscription model.
It is hellish.
Subscriptions are a blight on humanity. The people proposing this kind of stuff need to be put on terrorist watchlists.
Once upon a time we laughed when EA told us having to pay more (when we’ve already sold our arm and leg upfront) was intended to give us a sense of pride and accomplishment. Where did that crowd ever go? If anything, subscriptions are an even stupider hash of it. If I’m going to pay more, I should expect more. I’m not paying more just to continue having access to a product.
Of course, it’s one thing when they make it obvious, but never underestimate the slime and slither of the corporation. They find ways to push the “subscription model” philosophy down our throats even covertly. Read up on planned obsolescence – basically the intentional cheapening of a product’s build quality so you constantly find yourself in a store buying replacement parts.
You thought Capitalism was bad? Try Capitalism 2.0: instead of paying once, you pay forever.
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