Non-working game subscription cards

Haven’t much time for gaming in 2009 so far, hence my reason for not posting anything new here the last couple weeks, save for the VTOR author breakdown. Real life is taking me away from virtual worlds too. And other active VTOR author Darius is busy working marketing his business. It happens.

But subscriptions to MMORPG do go on and will even end if not renewed. I’ve been using the 30-Day Game Cards pictured right to juice my Everquest II account and one of them I paid for in the last batch didn’t work. I’m thinking maybe the scan at the register got hosed up somehow, but it’s $15 down the drain if I can’t take it back to the store and complain to have them fix. Other cards that were purchased at the same time worked.

One of the things about these 30-day game cards that my blurry photo doesn’t show is that you get an exclusive in-game item included with each card. Why don’t games do this for accounts that renew every month via other means?

2009 could prove to be a tough year for a lot of MMORPG. At least in my case, virtual worlds are taking a backseat to more pressing RL needs. Maybe the break will make for a fresher perspective.

What about you? Do you predict you’ll be spending less or more time in virtual worlds / MMORPG in 2009?