http://kotaku.com/5606757/how-much-would-you-pay-for-quake-live-pro
Well, it's finally happened. id is now offering two optional subscription packages for Quake Live. For $24 or $48 dollars a year, you get the choice of two different premium plans. Quake Premium (the cheaper one) will feature Premium-only maps that they will continue to add onto, "Freeze Tag" game mode, "premium level awards", the ability to make a clan and join up to five clans (who the hell rolls in multiple clans for the same game?), Custom wallpaper, and match stats stored for half a year.
If you want to go all out and pay $48 a year, you can get Quake Pro, which gives you server hosting (to clarify, they host a dedicated server for you and you choose where you want it to be), the ability to bring in non-paying players to Premium maps (but only three), "pro awards", the ability to join ten clans, and match stats stored for 12 months.
What do you guys think? Personally, while I enjoy playing the game, I feel like they need to keep your stats forever if you're paying, that this will stagnate the standard matches because all the new content will be for paying players, and that offering "level awards" and "custom wallpaper" isn't enticing at all. However, I do like the fact that they're basically asking for either $2 or $4 a month, because let's be honest, no one in their right minds is going to pay $10 or $15 a month to play a game that's been out forever without any subscription at all.
Last time we heard anything from id about Quake Live, they were talking about how the advertising revenue wasn't cutting it. Do you think enough people will subscribe to keep this project afloat, or will it be one of the earlier "free 2 play" casualties? I know Quake has a dedicated fanbase, but I'm not sure how willing some of them will be to jump in on this, and if it will cut the free players out of the loop entirely.

Not without mentioning some areas of quakelive like ping, the tiered ranks not working, have to be fixed if this is going to get suscriptions.

Well, that didn't stop Doom guy. Question is, does BoB Hope have what it takes to fight out of hell?

Figures. F2P my ass.

Fragmenting a userbase is one of the quickest ways to kill any online game. If they need to use paid subscriptions to remain in the black then so be it, but just go with a single subscription and have it be the only way to play (and be damn sure the service being offered is actually worth paying for). But having multiple subscription tiers is just going to split apart whatever kind of community exists for the game.

I don't need this crap. I already have my complete ID pack on Steam. Wish it on GoG soon.

For several months now there have been continual reports of various pay-to-play MMORPGs adding a free-to-play option (Dungeons & Dragons Online, The Lord of The Rings Online, etc.); doing the opposite is unthinkable--especially for a game like Quake Live, which has hardly any new content being added compared to a real MMOG (which was half the point of paying a subscription in the first place). This is a ridiculous move.

I already have Quake 3. There is no point for me to play Quake Live, not to mention paying for some premium features.

Quake 3 ftw. This kind of stuff makes me sick.

Something that should be said is that the different subscription levels aren't separated from each other in terms of what maps they can play. Their online experience together will be mostly similar.
One thing I've noticed while playing some Quake Live last night is that while us non-paying people have to wait through a ten second ad to get into a match, paying players can jump right in without a wait, meaning you could wait ten seconds for a server only to have it fill up on you.
EDIT: I'll also be attending QuakeCon again this year, so I think I may try to attend the beginning panel with John Carmack and see if he's greeted with boos when he explains the new model to the crowd.

This is ridiculous. This is a game which is basically Quake 3 on a browser. And Quake 3 is NOT worth a yearly subscription. At all.

They have also killed off Singapore's servers - despite the pleas of many local fans - which means the game basically shuts off any chance of fair competitive gaming for Asians not residing in Korea and Japan. Way to show off your dedication to your smaller but still significant fanbases.

Yeah, the ping is excruciating now. Actually, it always was.