Different BM for DCS World

1. DCS: A Way Out of
Endless Early Access

2. 1. Announce
Brand New,
Exciting
Module
2. Apocalyptic
Need of
Quick Cash
3. Launch as
Early Access
in Openbeta,
broken, full of
bugs
5. Everybody has
no choice but to
play Openbeta,
with full of bugs6. Don’t need to fix bugs, since
nobody is using stable release.
Meaning: these suckers will buy
anything even if it’s full of bugs.
7. NineLine, BIGNEWY
will handle the complaints.
4. All user servers
run Openbeta, since
all the new fancy
modules are there
1. Current DCS Business Model: Endless EA

3. Analysis of current BM
1. Is this a working BM?
a. Yes. Exploiting the customers is the natural form of any monopoly business
2. Is this a sustainable BM?
a. Yes, as long as ED has the monopoly, and it doesn’t seem like to perish soon
3. Is this the only way?
a. No. Actually this is a very unbusinesslike way to run a monopoly. It’s like deliberately selling
1 beer bottle per day when you are the only one who has the liquor license in the world.

4. Preparing To-Be
1. What should be the next BM?
a. Price Discrimination using (and/or abusing) the Monopoly Power
b. see: https://courses.byui.edu/econ_150/econ_150_old_site/lesson_08.htm
2. It does not look good for us, the customers
a. No it does not. The customers will always lose under a monopoly.
3. Then why do we (customers) need a new BM?
a. To break the vicious cycle of endless Early Access.

5. Preparing To-Be
4. How can we end the endless EA ?
a. To answer that, let’s first look into why we have endless EA in the first place.
i. Customer’s choice: everybody, every server runs openbeta version.
ii. Market Interpretation: new modules are attractive enough to ignore bugs.
b. Under this situation, the module makers have zero incentives to finish up the module :
i. Finishing the module doesn’t generate enough revenue to cover the cost.
1. Most of revenue is already happened since customers are very eager to buy the
module even with full of bugs. Also, moral obligation doesn’t exists in business.
ii. Brand damage from endless EA can be mitigated by yet another new EA module.
1. It’s just like launching new smartphones every month ..
Then how can we fix this?

6. 2. DCS Business Model To-Be : Multi-Tier Pricing
Casual Program Enthusiast Program
DCS World
+ Free Modules
DCS World
+ DCS World Openbeta Access
+ All DLC inc. Early Access
Play Now
with free modules
$499 / Month
● Free to play DCS World, The most
realistic sandbox combat simulator
● Fully working, professionally
detailed Su-25T and TF-51 Free
modules
● Buy and enjoy forever 100+ of the
most accurately simulated aircrafts
● Free to create and run multiplayer
servers
● DCS World Release access
● DCS World Openbeta access
● Access to All DLC, including early
access versions
● Can acquire Openbeta multiplayer
server license for additional $1,999 /
Month*
* See Appendix

7. Analysis of To-Be
1. WTF? $499 / mo for OpenBeta?
a. Yes and it should increase at least 10% annually. Bleeding edge new modules (even with full
of bugs) should deserve at least that amount, because, well, they are new and fancy.
2. How the fuck do I pay $499 / mo?
a. You don’t. Many of us (including me) won’t be able to pay that. Only very few rich enthusiasts
can join the openbeta program and that’s the whole point.
3. But modules don’t come out of Openbeta/EA for years!
a. It will get out of openbeta faster, because ED (and any business in general) is greedy. Once
they got their money from enthusiasts with half-baked EA modules, they will get them out of
EA as soon as possible, not because they fixed the bug, because they can extract more cash
from us.
Simply put, modules will come out of EA to sell them twice.

8. Analysis of To-Be
4. If DLCs are getting out of EA sooner (albeit with the same bugs), why pay for
enthusiasts subscription at all?
a. Duration of staying in EA = Interval of launching new DLC in EA. Again, DLCs will be out of EA
to sell it twice. That said, enthusiasts will stay in subscription if a new module enters EA at the
same time as previous DLC gets out of EA. If ED (and 3rd parties) can launch 4 new DLCs a
year, the duration will be about 3 months.
b. Enthusiasts (a.k.a. rich people) will want to tell others about how their new, expensive EA
modules are so much great (more so in the multiplayer), on forum, reddit, twich, youtube etc.
(We know some of us already have expensive joysticks, simpits, VR, 4080Ti, etc..)
i. This player spent $2 million in a mobile game
ii. Korean guy bragging about spending about USD 300k on a mobile game
c. In short, the poor have to wait about 3 months, the rich enjoy those 3 months for showing
off.

9. Analysis of To-Be
5. What if the poor waiting 3 months does not fix the bugs?
It will, at least a little better than before.
a. Recap: Endless EA can exist only because they have no obligation to fix bugs because
everybody is in openbeta, and fixing bugs dont give them any money.
b. But to get out of EA (to sell it twice), there must be some rules, regarding “reliability”,
“stability”, “bug-free”, or ED cannot maximize their profit by controlling them.
c. ED is greedy like any other business. Hence, they will strongly enforce “bug-free to get of EA
(to double sell) “ policy to other 3rd party module makers.
i. I think they should go far as “3rd parties should refund if not working as intended”.
ii. Naturally, those policies will only be applied to the 3rd parties, not ED itself.
1. Hence Viper may never be finished, ever..

10. 2. DCS Business Model To-Be : Cash Flow Diagram
New
Module
(with Bugs)
Module
Maker
Enters Enthusiast
(Early Access)
Program
$$$ $$ $
Monthly Revenue from Enthusiast Program
(Declines as usage reduces, due to newer modules, etc)
$$$
Enters Casual
(Stable/Release)
Program
Normal people
buy and enjoy
(same as before)
Pass ED
Requirements,
Transit and
Double-Sell
Fix as little as possible,
wait for the right timing
Fix more or not,
doesn’t really
matter (same as
before)
$
One time Purchase from
Casual Program
Module Makers earn new revenues (yellow),
Customers get the bottom line bug fix.

11. Appendix: Openbeta Multiplayer License
1. What’s with the ridiculous “Openbeta multiplayer server license for additional
$1,999 / Month” means?
a. ED can pretend that “they have to put resources to help running a service of an inherently
unstable version of their product” and require license fee to run openbeta servers.
b. As openbeta only comes with the enthusiast program, it gets rarer. Rare=Expensive. Why not
utilize it?