at first i was like, wow they don't limit how many bag slots we can fill like SOE games do. Then I realised they sucker ya, the only way to FILL those slots is spending money lol. So they actually do limit you to 2 bag slots like many other games, paying to unlock the other bag slots. very clever way to sucker some folks to 30-40 since they wouldn't want to just quit like it was level 20 or under, and many more people would be likely to buy a couple of bag slots rather than just quit as they could before their time investment. very clever idea, I'm interested in how this all plays out. if the prices will go down over time, or if people will pay up and they will stay the same, and other even more expensive items or functions will arise in time to test the waters again. Either way, I'm ashamed to say that later this afternoon I will probably be spending 10-20$ on zen haha. maybe 30 since I didn't know the only way to get more than 2 bag slots was another ten bucks.
This post really hurts to read, but it makes a very good point.
It is clever the way the entire game is technically free but the limitations only hit you once you have spent a fair amount of time in the game.
melisande77Member, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 2Arc User
edited May 2013
The prices are very high compared to STO. I love playing STO, and I do not mind spending money on the cash shop over there, as everything feels very fair. Sure you could construe buying ships as buying power, and in the case of cruisers and sci ships, it kinda is, but a Patrol Escort is still among the top in the game and that's free...and in general 25$ for a ship that is usable on all characters on your account and can last you far longer than the two months of an mmo sub is decent enough. Things like cosmetics are much cheaper; outfits only run 5.50$ which is a really good value, and I've bought quite a bit. I do not know off the top of my head how much extra inventory is, but paying the 15$ to sub gets you a very decent value in all inventories, so I haven't needed more than that.
Now coming to NW, the prices seem exorbitant. 30-40$ for a mount?! 20-30$ for a companion that is bound to one character? Outfits starting at 12$? These are the most cosmetic things that I would not mind buying, to say nothing about the cost of bags and the like. While 5$ for an outfit might be a low end for an outfit in STO, I would gladly pay between 5-10$ for outfits, same price as a skin in most moba games. But again in NW, these outfits are /per character/.
I do not really mean to compare to other games, but just compared to STO, the zen store here is very highly priced and very gougy, what with the high amount of per character items. If these things were per account, the price would be high but not nearly as gougy feeling. With the current set up you have both high prices, but also the need to buy these things for multiple characters should you ever feel like playing an alt.
I guess I want to emphasize that in STO I never felt compelled to spend any money at the store, and when I did, I got very good value out of it, so it made shopping there feel good. At the current price points in NW, I would never feel good buying anything from the store.
The prices are very high compared to STO. I love playing STO, and I do not mind spending money on the cash shop over there, as everything feels very fair.
Over on STO, there is a subscription option that generates revenue. A significant number of STO players make use of it. There are also still those who buy a lifetime subscription, which is yet another revenue source, all be it not as common. And we cannot forget that STO launched with a retail product AND mandatory subscription. Here on NW, there is no subscription option, and there are no retail box sales. There is only the cash shop.
What they have likely done is figured out how much revenue they need to generate over a given time, likely based on production costs minus what they made off the starter kit bundles they sold to a lot of people here. They likely used marketing research to determine which type of items sell the most in their other games' cash shops and have distributed their recovery figure accordingly.
In STO a combination of retail box sales and subscriptions for over a year helped them recover their development costs. Here in NW they have ONLY the cash shop to generate revenue with. Development costs have to be recovered before they even start showing a profit. They have started out in the red, folks.
This is where we must decide if the game is intriguing enough that we are willing to support it. If it is, then we should set ourselves a monthly budget of how much ZEN we will buy for use with NW. A fair amount would be 1500 points. If NW had a subscription and we would have subscribed, then treat it as if it does and allocate the equivalent of a sub fee towards cash shop spending. Help them get their production costs recovered.
As I have already said before, Cryptic is also known to sell cash shop bundled items at a discount as a way of reaching for the sweet spot between profit and customer satisfaction.
If this game had sub fees on top of a cash shop with prices as they are, I too would be furious. But the cash shop is NW's ONLY revenue stream. So I can accept things costing more in this case. However, once costs have been recovered and the game starts going into the black, then I would hope to see price reductions accordingly. At least through bundle-discounts.
I'm not really a John Galt,
but I play one on the forums...
:P
Comments
This post really hurts to read, but it makes a very good point.
It is clever the way the entire game is technically free but the limitations only hit you once you have spent a fair amount of time in the game.
Now coming to NW, the prices seem exorbitant. 30-40$ for a mount?! 20-30$ for a companion that is bound to one character? Outfits starting at 12$? These are the most cosmetic things that I would not mind buying, to say nothing about the cost of bags and the like. While 5$ for an outfit might be a low end for an outfit in STO, I would gladly pay between 5-10$ for outfits, same price as a skin in most moba games. But again in NW, these outfits are /per character/.
I do not really mean to compare to other games, but just compared to STO, the zen store here is very highly priced and very gougy, what with the high amount of per character items. If these things were per account, the price would be high but not nearly as gougy feeling. With the current set up you have both high prices, but also the need to buy these things for multiple characters should you ever feel like playing an alt.
I guess I want to emphasize that in STO I never felt compelled to spend any money at the store, and when I did, I got very good value out of it, so it made shopping there feel good. At the current price points in NW, I would never feel good buying anything from the store.
Over on STO, there is a subscription option that generates revenue. A significant number of STO players make use of it. There are also still those who buy a lifetime subscription, which is yet another revenue source, all be it not as common. And we cannot forget that STO launched with a retail product AND mandatory subscription. Here on NW, there is no subscription option, and there are no retail box sales. There is only the cash shop.
What they have likely done is figured out how much revenue they need to generate over a given time, likely based on production costs minus what they made off the starter kit bundles they sold to a lot of people here. They likely used marketing research to determine which type of items sell the most in their other games' cash shops and have distributed their recovery figure accordingly.
In STO a combination of retail box sales and subscriptions for over a year helped them recover their development costs. Here in NW they have ONLY the cash shop to generate revenue with. Development costs have to be recovered before they even start showing a profit. They have started out in the red, folks.
This is where we must decide if the game is intriguing enough that we are willing to support it. If it is, then we should set ourselves a monthly budget of how much ZEN we will buy for use with NW. A fair amount would be 1500 points. If NW had a subscription and we would have subscribed, then treat it as if it does and allocate the equivalent of a sub fee towards cash shop spending. Help them get their production costs recovered.
As I have already said before, Cryptic is also known to sell cash shop bundled items at a discount as a way of reaching for the sweet spot between profit and customer satisfaction.
If this game had sub fees on top of a cash shop with prices as they are, I too would be furious. But the cash shop is NW's ONLY revenue stream. So I can accept things costing more in this case. However, once costs have been recovered and the game starts going into the black, then I would hope to see price reductions accordingly. At least through bundle-discounts.
but I play one on the forums...
:P
Meh, I hate well thought out constructive posts. They always spoil the nerd-rage fests which are so much more entertaining
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