Concerns About Cash Shop Pricing

xarfox · September 2008

Hello Everyone,

We realize that there has been a lot of discussion recently regarding cash shop item prices. We here at Perfect World Entertainment wanted to give you guys an official response and address some of the feedback that you guys have been giving us.

Now a lot of you have noted that our cash shop item prices are more expensive than the prices of Perfect World Malaysia. Now initially one looks at that fact and two questions come to mind:
1. Why is PWE charging more?
2. Why should I play here when other regions have cheaper prices?

The answers to these two questions are actually connected.

There are a lot of factors at play when a company decides what prices to set for their game. You need to look at supply and demand, potential inflation, and characteristics of your region's economy.

According to the CIA's World Factbook, these are the figures for GDP per capita in the US and Malaysia:
Malaysia's GDP = $13,300
United States' GDP = $45,800

All of these are based on 2007 figures and can be found on the above links by searching for 'GDP - Per Capita.'

Per capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone.

Now what do these numbers signify? A number of things. The most obvious point that comes to mind is that, on average, an American citizen probably has a larger chunk of disposable income. However the more relevant point is that people in the United States are paid a higher salary on average when compared to Malaysia.

The cost of operating and maintaining an MMORPG in the US is much higher than it is over in Asia.

The average salary staff members is much higher.
High speed bandwith costs money.
Having enough staff to maintain optimal response times on e-mails costs money.
Having enough staff to monitor in-game for bots and gold spammers costs money.
Having GMs that are not corrupt that do not favor players or guilds costs money.

We just want to provide you guys with a glimpse from our side. We want you guys to understand our perspective on the matter.

We would be stupid to not listen to our community, and as it is our community that supports our company. You guys pay our salaries, and it's in our best interest to make sure that we provide you guys with the best experience possible. We value all the feedback that we've been getting and will continue to keep our ears to the ground.

Feel free to fill this thread with your feedback and suggestions.

kinetikop · September 2008

I'll just copy and paste what I had just posted in the other topic.

We understand these things cost money, that's why we are informing you how to make more money... If the prices were half'd you're profit would easily double or triple, if you would actually read the posts you would see that. I can guarantee you have already lost thousands of dollars with these cash shop prices, and the people who spent money wouldn't have spent less, if anything they would have spent more. Sorry for seeming angry but it seems you have ignored what we as a community are attempting to tell you, we don't want to hurt your game we want to help it and see it last as long as it can, so please listen to us.

You do understand things cost more in the United States for the Citizens aswell right? and we are definately in a hurting economy with high gas prices and high living costs to pay for. That means we can NOT afford to spend that much on casual things like games. And for those of us with money to spend on casual things are going to take that money to wherever we can get the most entertainment for our dollar.

EDIT: and with that I am logging out of the game and spending the rest of today and tomorrow searching for a new MMORPG with affordable rates.

catica · September 2008

Ill copy from another post as well:

You make more money by dropping the prices.

What would you rather have? The 100 guys willing to pay 1$ per 1 Gold or the couple thousand willing to pay 25 cents per Gold?

Let me do some math for you guys.

100 Guys buying 100 Gold @ 1 dollar = 10000 $

2000 Guys buying 100 Gold @ 25 cents = 50000 $

50000 > 10000

You're welcome.

Really if you continue to disappoint your customers, your not going to make any money when they all leave. PW should look at cost savings on their own budgets and not digging in the pockets of their consumers. I am not paying the current prices for Gold, time will not change my mind and if nothing else when the game gets boring or too much of a headache without cash shop items then I will move on and spend my time and money elsewhere.

xauss · September 2008

everyone is aware that GDP and disposable income is supposedly higher in the US than in many other countries. we are also aware that costs associated with running and maintaining a business is higher in the US than say, Malaysia, and thus a small premium is expected.

however, tripling the price of game-items on a US server, and justifying it because GDP per capita is approximately treble that of malasia does not stand up to any scrutiny when you compare the Japanese server pricing policies.

additionally, like it or not, you are in competition internationally with other PW hosts, and indeed othe F2P and MMOs with monthly subs. when many percieve you are not offering value-for-money, they will vote with their feet.

since 'creating' zen, is just a manipulation of data with virtually no variable cost associated per unit, you just need to find the balance that in the medium-to-long-term generates the most revenue without ignoring customer satisfaction (otherwise demand will contract)

the consensus is that you are currently strangling demand through inexplicably high prices, and a restructuring of the pricing policy will lead to a much greater uptake of zen purchasing and customer satisfaction

PWI - Zen Pricing and Revenue

poison · September 2008

xarfox wrote: »

Feel free to fill this thread with your feedback and suggestions.

PWE will do what PWE has to do. The players will have to do what the players have to do. Yes, my salary is quite a ways over GDP, but in the past nearly 8 years inflation has skyrocketed much faster than annual raises. This is true country wide, it's all over the news. Just because we make more, doesn't mean we have more to spend frivolously. Has anyone who came up with the pricing structure been paying any attention to the news? Possible recession, the Dollar losing so much against the Euro and the GBP, we even lost all of our ground against the Canadian Dollar which has been altering back and forth between being worth less and more, something that had not happened in decades. The cost of gas balloons, food costs more due to having to use more money transporting it, people are cutting out vacations, eating out, going to the movies, cable TV, and many other things just to keep surviving, do you think they are going to even consider paying this much for a game? Go look at the difference in prices between Dekaron and 2moons, you won't see that large of a discrepancy in prices even though 2moons is hosted in the US. Sure, Acclaim has more money to throw around than PWE does, but many of us here feel you've gone far beyond the point of being fair in your pricing, and while some of us who feel that way actually do want to see PWE and this game succeed won't be able to help you to succeed in any monetary way.

I understand perfectly why PWE can't match CubiSoft prices, however that doesn't mean they need to be 3x as much. As has already been pointed out, with prices as they are many players, myself included, will not be buying anything. I asked on my guild this morning about who was actually going to buy Zen, none of the 47 people online at the time said they were going to and many actually said no.

We can, and will for at least a short time, play the game without cash shop items, it won't be as enjoyable. The lack of lag, and the nicer admins and GM's will make up for some, but not all of that. Will we have fun? Yes. Will we have as much fun as we could potentially have, thereby staying longer before moving on and spending more money on the game? Unfortunately, no, as things currently stand, we won't.

Thank you for your time, and here's to hoping that you have enough success with the few out there that will actually pay these exorbitant prices to stay in business.

karmelia · September 2008

True, true...

But if the set price is too high and that it affect the sales to a point where there is not enough money that comes in....

If in the end, the servers are mostly populated by freeloaders because the players willing to spend money on a game went elsewhere where they have the feeling they'll get more for their money, the bandwith, the GM and the staff will be of no use.

You need to find an equilibrum between what the company need and what the consumers are willing to pay.

The real test for PWE will be the release of the prices on the European servers. If they are cheapers, PWE will be in a very bad position.

coldash · September 2008

How exactly did you answer question number 2?

I heard this is the US we have $$$ so we spend more $$$$ for ****, so we are going to *** **** you for the difference, because you have more $$$$ than poor Malaysians, but we didnt take into account that your $$$$ is stretched month to month and only kids who's parents give them $$$ who don't have a house note a car note an insurance note a grocery budget a gas budget an electric bill a phone bill a cable bill a doctor bill and **** that just comes up, will be the fewpeople that will be willing to pay your prices.

if you get 1000 Customers paying you 1 dollar vs 6,000 paying you 50 cents you have alot more money,

I'm more than willing to accept you have bills to pay but all of us here know your going for profit not just to pay your overhead, this is America afterall.

So until you stop treating us like open wallets and not valued customers i won't be spending 1 blue cent in cash shop

dagny · September 2008

Xarfox,

From numerous PMs from me that I am a huge supporter of PWI, including with money I have already spent in the cash shop. I appreciate you taking the time to address everyone's concerns. Just because I spent money on the game does not mean I don't share some concerns, but I want the game to survive and thrive so I am willing to support it to an extent.

Now, to be fair, I do have to take humbrage with one of your points. I do this humbly, but I consider myself a fair person, so please understand my issue is with something you said, not with you personally.

Your facts are great and I have used them myself to defend higher pricing in the US for the game... some of them. Your stats on higher operating costs are valid and make sense. That said, you would have done well to leave out the part about personal incomes.

Let me explain. I have friends who built a really beautiful home, something WAY beyond my means. They were having a driveway poured and got 3 people to come out and give estimates. 2 of the companies sent out reps who took one look at the size of the home and gave their estimate accordingly. One company came out and measure the length of the neededd driveway, compute costs, and gave an estimate.

My point? The last company who took time to figure out the value of their service got the job because their price had nothing to do with how much money my friends made. If an item in your shop is worth $5, it's not worth $15 just because we make more money. Using the logic that if you make 3 times as much money you can afford to pay 3 times as much is poor economic logic because you just nullified that persons 300% larger income. There is a reason we have a higher standar of living, using your logic our living conditions would match Malaysia because we would in reality make the same amout of money as them if our costs are 3 times as much as theirs.

You are selling virtual items that have no intrinsic value whatsoever. They are not worth anymore here than they are there. Period.

Now, you can justify higher costs because people playing here should have better pings and better service and a game where the translations make sense, etc.

But not 300%. It's wrong, and your customer base will bear this out.

I believe your customers will pay more than they did in Malaysia for what they are getting, but not that much more. I hope you understand this is not an attack. My degree is in economics and your company's rationalization for the higher costs will not bear out.

Keep in mind, it costs your company NOTHING extra to provide 10 cyber dresses or 50. You (your company) has to decide if you want "x" number of customers who can afford to pay, or several times that amount if the prices are maybe half what they are now.

You're making more money per transaction now, but your pockets will be more full if your prices are more affordable.

Just my 2 cents. I love your game and I'll be playing it awhile, but whether or not you'll see more of my money is your call.

Dagny

discoteka · September 2008

I am so tired about people complaining of zen prices.

These people have to make a living. Yes it could be cheaper...yes MY-EN prices are cheaper.

BUT!!!!!!!!!

Remember, we are in the US, we are in a RECESSION (did you take your economics class?) For all I know MY economy may be stronger, therefore exchange rate is different. Someone else in a different country may be paying 2-3 times what we are for this zen, or even for cubi in MY-EN.

It's a free game. You don't have to buy cash shop items. No one is forcing you. If you like MY-EN's prices for cubi, then play that then. Everything the devs and GM's do cost money, yet you can download the game for free. And you don't have to pay every month. And they are not twisting your arm to buy zen.

I put money aside each paycheck that I will spend on cubi/zen. And now that I know the prices, the amount I use will be different. I will not quit PWI because of the zen price. That's stupid. It's a free game. I am buying the zen because I want to and because it enhances my gameplay.

So get over yourselves, get a job, and quit complaining about something you can't change.

/soapbox

lnodiv · September 2008

If you expect people to pay 3x as much to play the game when some were already spending $100+ per week, just to avoid having lag and crappy customer service, dream on.
I guarantee you will make far less money with this Cash Shop then you would with everything, or at least the disposable necessities (Heiros etc), at half the price they are now.

Logging out till you guys figure out wth you are doing. Not going to MY either though. You guys don't seem to understand we don't have to play at all. I'm not dealing with their lag or GMs, or your Cash Shop.

I'll keep checking for updates.

coldash · September 2008

discot youtr arguement fails. They don't make more money this way so in a way we are helping them not complaining..

Btw the logic police would like to direct your attention to cubi prices on the firendz PW-EU network. Thank you!

syndicatearts · September 2008

Hmmmm, our national average is 3 times higher so we should be charged 3 times more.....
Well, we are charged over 3 times more. 3 times more for gas, 3 times more for food, three times more for electricity, plumbing, taxes, you name it!
Charging us 3 times more because we make 3 times more is really bad math. Whoever was the financial wizard that came up with that should be fired. Trust me, you would be making more money without people like that.
But I will say that we could afford to play a little bit more like 1.5 maybe even 2 times more(for some items) but the real issue is this...
PW(MY) is still up and running, the prices are 3 times less, Translations are bearable, and lag really isn't that bad to make me want to change to the exact same game where items are 3 times more expensive.
oh.... and....
PW(MY) has proven itself! YOU HAVE NOT! Don't think that people will come running because your servers are closer. Show me something different form the other versions, things unique, things made for us! Then and only then could you even THINK about charging that much for an item.

I would also like you to check my math.
If i had to buy $15 or more worth of mall items to make my play time enjoyable, why wouldn't I just pay $15, $12, or even $8 a month for any other of the main stream pay 2 play games?
Remember, your customers came to perfect world to begin with because they didnt like other MMOs charging high rates to play there games.

naris · September 2008

While I do understand the company's side in the matter, the fact that differentiated PW from other F2P games was its reasonable price (at least in the MY-EN version). Despite that price, many of us did indeed spend quite a bit more money there than we would here.

The fact of the matter is that most purchases in MY-EN are so cheap that they could be considered impulse buys, and that pretty much goads the gullible types (points at self) into buying more than they'd expect. Taking away that temptation is quite helpful to one's pocketbook, but certainly not for the company's one.

Look at Costco as an example. Much like PWE, Costco seems to care for its customers, and offers high quality products. They also tend to sell things in bulk quite cheaply. Do most people who buy the bulk really need it all at once? The answer is most likely no. Why do they do it then? I'd like to believe because it looks like so great a deal that people can't pass it up lest they feel foolish.

xarfox · September 2008

Let's look at the prices of Charms (Heirograms) in some of the other regions that have a comparable GDP to the United States:

Silver Charm
Japan - 300 Yen = $2.81
Korea - 3000 Won = $2.95
US - $2.50 USD

Initially we had our price for Silver Charms set to $3.00, as that was the standard set across the world for countries with similar GDP. However after hearing some of your feedback, we changed it to $2.50 at the launch of Open Beta.

ragingwind · September 2008

xarfox wrote: »

Let's look at the prices of Charms (Heirograms) in some of the other regions that have a comparable GDP to the United States:

Silver Charm
Japan - 300 Yen = $2.81
Korea - 3000 Won = $2.95
US - $2.50 USD

Initially we had our price for Silver Charms set to $3.00, as that was the standard set across the world for countries with similar GDP. However after hearing some of your feedback, we changed it to $2.50 at the launch of Open Beta.

That's good to know. However, you're competing with PW-MY's prices. Many people will gladly put up with the problems there just to get game gold for the right price.

lnodiv · September 2008

Seems the Admins keep trying to convince us this is fair, and we keep trying to convince them it's not.
I'm just glad we aren't the ones that depend on them for a paycheck.

harshva · September 2008

Just a quick question. The facts You (xarfox) put up on the first reply to topic are all about USA while the server is called " International ". So doesn't that mean everyone across the world should be considered rather than just USA? Or then you can call it PW-USA only. I am aware that servers are located in USA but since you call it International everyone is supposed to play in it.

rsn · September 2008

Using GDP as a base for the CS prices is not gonna work... GDP is irrevelant .
I mean at least half the player population must be a teenager.

and to those saying that you can play without CS item..wtf have you raid without a mp hiero or hp hiero? its just painful...etc.. etc..

zanril · September 2008

The prices are ridiculous. Just take a look, it's really quite amazing.

Do you really think that it should cost $60 so that, in a game, two people can get married? Are the benefits really worth $30 per person? It is something that I had wanted to do, if it were cheaper, but I'm not going to spend that much. I can pay for my girlfriend and I to get married, or pay for 4 months of WoW....isn't that a little strange?

If clothing were cheaper, over time I'd buy a variety of outfits. I'd be happy, because I feel like I got something out of it (the ability to customize my character). You ultimately end up with more money, because I've purchased so many pieces of clothing. On top of that, you can continue to add new clothing, and people will continue to buy!

Instead, your idea is to charge a premium for everything. $10 for a jacket? I'm not going to spend that kind of money on clothing just so I can look good. Sure, some people will, but they're not going to buy an entire wardrobe. Instead they'll probably buy a single outfit and stick with it for a long time.

I think the key is to have cheaper items that allow people to spend more money over time. As it is, the only things that I'd want to buy are inventory extensions, and I won't even need to buy them after I have enough space.

To sum up, people want to feel like they're getting their money's worth. You don't have to actually produce these items, since its virtual, so let people get more for their hard earned dollar. Think of it this way. Option A: People pay you $20, and feel satisfied. Option B: People pay you $20, and feel ripped off. They are reluctant to pay any more. Either way, you receive $20, but one option is clearly better for everyone involved.

haiz · September 2008

You do realize that the United States is in huge debt, a good majority of the population lives under poverty, most of our wealth is held by 5% of the population or so (don't remember the exact facts). There is hardly even a middle class in America, we have to pay for health care, our gas prices are high, our cost of standard of living is high and everything in America is high. Why do you think people go hire workers and build companies outside of the US now? Just because someone makes more money you think they can spend more? We make more money so we can live in a better house/neighborhood. Americans spend all that they make and it's obvious if you just look at how much we import compared to our export. Japan and Korea are in much better shape economic wise than we are. Have you even looked at how fast the dollar is dropping in value lately?

GDP and how the country is doing person by person are two very different things. You're looking at a macro perspective, except this is a micro area. The wealth in America is all held in big businesses, which I'm sure none are gamers. You're trying to reach the wrong crowd.

coldash · September 2008

lol, you still miss the point you can use your scales and numbers but if you dont calculate what people are actually willing to pay it won't make one bit of difference what you tell them to pay.

If people get more for thier money they will spend more money. Even if it is more than they would have spent if prices were higher. like for example If I could get 200 zen per dollar I would most likely spend 40 dollars whereas if I get 100 zen per dollar I wouldn;t even feel comfortable spending 30. So what youve done by giving me value is you've made yourself far more money than you would have if you had been the greed initiator rather than the greed reciever. Not only would the individual spend more money but you would have more individuals doing it.

mas · September 2008

I'm 20+ and employed, but there are also many children and adolescence that play this game. I don't have hard statistics, but I'd assume the majority of people playing this game are under 21.
Point being that GDP isn't really such a great thing to base prices on.
Many of these minors are probably unemployed and currently schooling; which in turn leaves them to get money from their parents or guardians. The U.S. GDP may be 45,000, but I could all but guarantee the average person in this forum is making half that.

I totally agree with the people behind PWE making a profit, for this isn't a charity, but it's usually the getting greedy variable that ends many potentially long lasting business endeavors...

Btw I was ready to buy zen, but I haven't even received my 40+ reward zen yet -_-

theteacher · September 2008

In PW-MY

31 USD = 100 exp scrolls OR 20 GOLD heirograms ( charms ) OR 33 Silver heiros ( charms )

PW-MY is english version too where players from anywhere in the world can play.

When in PW-MY players heard that PWI is coming most planned to move to PWI but now i seriously doubt they will move to here now. I am one of them. Its way too costly.

And i tell you.. all the new players who haven't played PW before .. in the later game as higher lvls .. you HAVE to use lots of Heirograms ( charms ) to continue playing "normally". Its like a necessity like you need food in real life.

And then you have to buy loads of cash shop items regularly to keep in competition with other players. For example if you want to refine the lvl of your items that needs hundreds of USD for each item refining ( that in MY server, here it would be thousands of USD )

So with this pricing of yen/cubi on this server, i would really recommend players not to waste time here before it gets too late and they realize its way to expensive game they ever played.

Unless you are super rich ofcourse

Its not like you buy few cash shop items then u think now i can continue playing freely and normally without spending much. This game needs constant LOTS of money spending and people get addicted ( as this game is good ).

Many thought cubi price in PW-MY were too expensive as people have to buy cubi's regularly to continue playing. Like TW/wars/Pking etc needs heiros and dolls. Otherwise you are just next to nothing if you don't use them. You will be most likely made fun of by others like "look that guy doesn't have a heiro, he's a noob! LOL "

It happens a lot, i am playing PW-MY now and i have a nearly 100 lvl warrior there.

Now, one suggestion to game staff here. This is no way to make money by increasing prices. You just don't know how to do business. By this pricing you will have less and lesser customers ( lesser as people will realize sooner or later and leave ). And these less people playing would by even lesser cubi/zen as itsso expensive.

Now if you lower the price of cubi/zen even lower than PW-MY .. you will have LOTS of customers. Not only players coming from PW-MY but also lots of new players as this game is really cool. Players count will increase 3-4 times atleast. And they will spend more and more as they get more value for their money.

You guys should stop worrying that people once buy cash shop items and they don't need to buy again so lets make them buy it for higher. Then you guys are wrong. Later in game everyone has to buy lots of cash shop items regularly .. very frequently. And its never ending. They will be tied to it and have to keep on buying. Go ask any lvl 90+ player in PW-MY and any player below lvl 70+ ..there is a huge difference.

The more players the more better.. the more is the interest of everyone playing game .. the less players its gets more boring and people who are playing they also consider quitting. Like its happening is PW-MY as players are dissatisfied with unfair and dumb GM's there. Lots of players are quitting. Now players who are left they spend lesser money. As there is nothing much to do .. no wars. TW/wars are the feature that makes this game owners rich as players spends LOTS cash every week.:D

Guess this post got too long

catica · September 2008

xarfox wrote: »

Let's look at the prices of Charms (Heirograms) in some of the other regions that have a comparable GDP to the United States:

Silver Charm
Japan - 300 Yen = $2.81
Korea - 3000 Won = $2.95
US - $2.50 USD

Initially we had our price for Silver Charms set to $3.00, as that was the standard set across the world for countries with similar GDP. However after hearing some of your feedback, we changed it to $2.50 at the launch of Open Beta.

I dont live in Japan or Korea but IF i did I wouldnt pay those prices there either and would just find another game to play.

syndicatearts · September 2008

This is absolutely amazing!!!! It really is!!!
What am I taking about????
Another F2P MMO doing the EXACT SAME IDIOTIC MARKETING that ever other F2P game did that came before it! And where are they? Games like Rappelz, ROSE, WarRock, Ect... all started out with a strong fan base. All great games and everyone loved them. BUT they all moved to American servers and set prices way too high! And what happened? Some of they games are still around, but where they had thousands of player, now have a few hundred and very few of them rarely buy anything, choking the games to death.

So before you start setting prices, stop looking at how much people make and focus on how much they are willing to spend. AND FOR GOODNESS SAKE! Learn your lesson from every other MMO that made the same mistake.

FYI gamers in Korea go and spend tons of money going to internet caffe's to play games. Americans buy computers and pay less money to play at home. You cannot expect to charge the same price in 2 different cultural areas and expect everything to be acceptable.

dagny · September 2008

discoteka wrote: »

I am so tired about people complaining of zen prices.

These people have to make a living. Yes it could be cheaper...yes MY-EN prices are cheaper.

BUT!!!!!!!!!

Remember, we are in the US, we are in a RECESSION (did you take your economics class?) For all I know MY economy may be stronger, therefore exchange rate is different. Someone else in a different country may be paying 2-3 times what we are for this zen, or even for cubi in MY-EN.

It's a free game. You don't have to buy cash shop items. No one is forcing you. If you like MY-EN's prices for cubi, then play that then. Everything the devs and GM's do cost money, yet you can download the game for free. And you don't have to pay every month. And they are not twisting your arm to buy zen.

I put money aside each paycheck that I will spend on cubi/zen. And now that I know the prices, the amount I use will be different. I will not quit PWI because of the zen price. That's stupid. It's a free game. I am buying the zen because I want to and because it enhances my gameplay.

So get over yourselves, get a job, and quit complaining about something you can't change.

/soapbox

No offense, but we are NOT in a recession.. and yes I majhored in economics. A recession is defined as 2 consecutive quarters of NEGATIVE growth.. we have not even hasd 1 quarter of negatvive growth. Growth has been slower but it is still positive.

be careful when you make statments and question whether people took economics.

moyles · September 2008

Im in the UK and due to current economic conditions our exchange rates suck,im happy that every teenage paperboy in the states earns $40000 a year but unfortunately in the real world this doesnt happen.
Only in your accountants mind does this happen,so lets be realistic for a minute.
People can not afford to spend this excessive amount of money on a game,the fact you have insulted our intelligence and even attempted to charge people this amount shows a severe lack of common sense.
Im not willing to pay anywhere near what you propose to charge so i too will look elsewhere for a game that isnt trying to **** me for what little cash is left each month.
And all those ppl who say "ITS FREE TO PLAY FFS!!!" get past lvl 60 and then post..

dagny · September 2008

haiz wrote: »

You do realize that the United States is in huge debt, a good majority of the population lives under poverty, most of our wealth is held by 5% of the population or so (don't remember the exact facts). There is hardly even a middle class in America, we have to pay for health care, our gas prices are high, our cost of standard of living is high and everything in America is high. Why do you think people go hire workers and build companies outside of the US now? Just because someone makes more money you think they can spend more? We make more money so we can live in a better house/neighborhood. Americans spend all that they make and it's obvious if you just look at how much we import compared to our export. Japan and Korea are in much better shape economic wise than we are. Have you even looked at how fast the dollar is dropping in value lately?

GDP and how the country is doing person by person are two very different things. You're looking at a macro perspective, except this is a micro area. The wealth in America is all held in big businesses, which I'm sure none are gamers. You're trying to reach the wrong crowd.

Ummm.. I'm on your side about the prices being too high, but your stats about the economy in the US are way off. The majority of people do not live in poverty, there is a middle class... you watch too much alphabet news. The sky is not falling. Times have been better, but the US is just fine.

syndicatearts · September 2008

Bottom line.....

Regardless of what we make WE DO NOT WANT TO PAY THIS MUCH FOR STUFF!
This isn't a DEAL WITH IT situation!
WE ARE YOUR INCOME! If you don't charge what the majority think is reasonable, you LOSE MONEY!
If you can't afford to price the same as MY, then COMPROMISE! Lower the prices as much as you can.
If you can't or WONT drop the price enough for the majority to accept, then do us both a favor and SHUT DOWN PWI.
There is no need for anyone to play an expensive COPY of a game we could play cheaper.

Your money comes from us, stop DEMANDING 3 times more and start ASKING for what people are willing to pay and what you could live with.

haiz · September 2008

dagny wrote: »

Ummm.. I'm on your side about the prices being too high, but your stats about the economy in the US are way off. The majority of people do not live in poverty, there is a middle class... you watch too much alphabet news. The sky is not falling. Times have been better, but the US is just fine.

I said there is hardly a middle class anymore, as in the numbers in the middle class are dropping and more are moving into lower class/poverty. Did you not even notice how even the mortgage companies are going bankrupt now?

Poverty in the United States is cyclical in nature with roughly 12% to 16% living below the federal poverty line at any given point in time, and roughly 40% falling below the poverty line at some time within a 10 year time span. Most, 58.5%, of all Americans will spend at least one year beneath the poverty line at some point between ages 25 and 75.[3

A majority is considered to be 50% or higher, but when poverty or unemployment is over 10%, there is a problem. I'm not saying unemployment is over 10%, I'm just saying when something bad is as high as one out of ten people, its enough to be considered majority in my own mind.

I don't think I watch alphabet news, I think the news you're watching likes to sugar coat things. That and they just like to wait till something bad actually happens before they do something. Prevention, that's my word for you.

greystok · September 2008

Xarfox,
While you do make many Valid points you are missing one big one.....
Many of us are not willing to pay what your asking.I mean no harm but with these prices I and many others will not be ABLE to afford things such as Zhen.....the main reason I liked PW -.-

That being said.....i'll start looking elsewhere for my entertainment till either PWe fails or prices drop...ALOT

To bad I loved perfect world

See ya

Concerns About Cash Shop Pricing

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