I was interested to note this little detail in a recent joystiq interview with the company operating WoW in China:

According to Blizzard’s and The9’s web sites, the subscription model for WoW in China is different from other parts of the world. Instead of a monthly subscription fee, Chinese gamers purchase WoW Points cards for 30 Yuan ($3.64) that are worth 600 points. Points expire at a rate of 9 per hour of play, so this amounts to 66 hours and 40 minutes of play for each card at an average of .45 Yuan ($.06) per hour.

I’m sure it’s a cultural thing but I’m surprised this hasn’t been tried over here. A recurring monthly fee is quite a barrier to entry with these games. Sure, that time is cheaper than buying a new game, but it’s still an extra monthly fee on top of the boxed copy. I guess the only barrier to trying this payment method over here is that it couldn’t co-exist with the monthly fee.