Concerns About Cash Shop Pricing

Anyone notice nobody from PWI is posting in this thread anymore? Seems like they consider it a dead issue and just stickied it so we have a place to complain.

i don't get the feeling anyone cares

mojin wrote: »

The more I read the more its clear, If the prices at PWI don't change, once PW EU hits open, if theres less lag then MY there for the US players (which is most likely the case), PWI could possibly die out shortly after just due to more affordable items and less laggy servers for NA players.

I know if its not laggy then I'll gladly move to EU servers just for affordability.

Actually if that happens the main company will force IP blocks on both versions to keep players where they want them and maximize profits. I know GMs on both sides said there won't be any IP blocks but the main company can change that anytime they want if it's necessary for their budget.

vigor wrote: »

Actually if that happens the main company will force IP blocks on both versions to keep players where they want them and maximize profits. I know GMs on both sides said there won't be any IP blocks but the main company can change that anytime they want if it's necessary for their budget.

But by that time don't you think most people would be angry at that main company and not want to support them, and with all of the new games that will be released by the time that has happened, there will be plenty of cheaper alternatives with just as good if not better of games.

naris wrote: »

Actually they probably couldn't. You see, both companies probably paid extra to not have an ip block, and assuming both companies aren't idiots they probably have it written in an ironclad contract.

And you enforce an ironclad contract against a company in a foreign country, how? United Nations Security Council?

vigor wrote: »

Actually if that happens the main company will force IP blocks on both versions to keep players where they want them and maximize profits. I know GMs on both sides said there won't be any IP blocks but the main company can change that anytime they want if it's necessary for their budget.

And how much profit would they get from people that didn't want to play here anymore anyways? If they can't play where they want, then there just going to quit and the profit will be nothing.

mojin wrote: »

And how much profit would they get from people that didn't want to play here anymore anyways? If they can't play where they want, then there just going to quit and the profit will be nothing.

You can't have a business without taking some risks. At first yes a lot of people would leave but new people would still keep joining over time on the version they're supposed to play. If everyone only played PW EU then this server would have no purpose and would need to shut down. Making IP blocks would be a measure they would have to take if they want to keep profiting well from both versions

ragingwind wrote: »

Are you predicting the future? Something like that just might happen. High prices drive people away. Even if they still play (for free), they won't be paying a cent for it.

I just want people to be aware of things that MIGHT happen in the future if things go bad

On a different note, PW has the potential to earn more money for the company than blizzard makes off of WoW. Take note of how many people spend $50+/month on other versions.
You make it to where people can get what is been deemed generally required , (health charms, dolls, xp charms, etc .. ), at an affordable rate (make it so people could survive on $15/mo lvl 90+) , and you will generate high income from a giant player base that WANTS to spend money on your game, which allows for a better reputation, thus more players, more players = even more income, then expand servers, more servers is more room for even more players, which incurs even more income, all by lowering the prices to an affordable rate for the casual player, and then you still make loads from people that can afford $50+ a month.

Either by tweaking the item cost or by given more zen per $1, or a mixture of both, you could earn loads of money from the players willing to pay for such a great game.

As you said, we pay your salary, so right now its like your fighting your boss over a higher paycheck, when your doing unsatisfactory work to start with.

WE aren't satisfied with your prices so, why should we pay you when we can get the same thing from a different employee (MY / soon EU ) for 3x less than it would cost to pay you?

bonghit wrote: »

hrmphh..........call me nuts but somehow i am just not pictuing a Bushman in the Khalahari playing this game on a T3 connection in the middle of the Savannah. If you meant the owner of a diamond mine in south aftrica then maybe i give you more props ok?

Sure it may not be likely, but you can't say it is impossible for someone from Africa to be playing this game, maybe not on T3, but it is possible. From the way you post you seem to like the prices and want the game to fail. Why not give constructive criticism instead of trying to tear down the other people in the community?

esux wrote: »

Then why is PW-EU going to be so cheap then? It's going to even cheaper than PW-MY. Nice try though. I will be keeping my money safely in my bank account unless the prices drop significantly.

how do you know what the prices are gonna be? post linky please. i'd like to do some comparison shopping and if what u say is true i will seriously consider swithcing sides to the French. but first i require proof!

phew just finished reading threw this thread from top to bottom or head to toe (if you will ). I gotta say that some people here are really bright and make some great points. other guys need to stop fronting and acting like they are econ PHDs when they clearly dunn know what they talking bout. I also see lots of fake info being posted (like saying france pricing gonna be cheaper then MY) wihtout any proofs. i hit level 19 yesterday and havent spent a dime yet. price stuff is not a big deal cuz i wanna enjoy and appreciates some free play so i aint sweating. i aint chaffing. i aint hating. so far daddy likes. but this discussion is good so i might subscribe to the thread if i feels the need. u feel?

koolk wrote: »

Everyone is talking about lowering the cost, but nobody is offering suggestions on a solution. The fact is: It will be very hard to host PWI using MY Prices. The cost and upkeep of the servers and employees is higher in the States then it is elsewhere.

We need to find a compromise.

Here's my first suggestion:

Lower Silver Heiro Prices to be around $1.50 - $2.00, scale accordingly. Heiros are a big backbone of the economy and most of the players are very sensitive to this particular cost. This will help retain more customers and make it easier. There is a high demand for this product and this item is very important is helping this economy grow.

My quick & easy solution? Double the gold per dollar or half the shop cost of everything. They still bring in more money than PW-MY, we get a far more reasonable value for our money. The difference between PW-MY and PWI is 300% right? Well, at 150% they still make more, and I would think that a good chunk of us would be appeased.

Heiro's alone might be all you, and a good chunk of people, are worried about, but that only appeases those players. I know people who burned through lots of money on mats alone. Lower heiro's would certainly help my Blademaster and Archer which I'm not sure I'll play much with current prices, but with my Venomancer it's not that huge a deal to go without. Can't really Zehn anyway, have a tanking pet and fox-form for HH so while a heiro would be convenient, I won't be going through them like candy even if they drop to 10 cents apiece, so heiros would be a very small part of what I would spend money on.

Other suggestions:

1) Make the world chat item more expensive but not make it a single use item, maybe a week or a month. That way you keep the disincentive for gold spammers to get them but in the long run people that use them a lot don't have to pay as much. Lack of WC drama has been nice but I know that people out there like to use them and this is a way of helping that group of people.

2) For the fashion centric crowd, drop the price by 1/3 or 1/2 do away with random dyes altogether allow purchase of individual specific color dyes, maybe even in "bulk" packs that are cheaper than X number of a single dye. This allows them to keep the cost of the clothing and dyes higher than PW-MY without making it hugely expensive for people trying to get a certain color by random chance, or an entire wardrobe full of clothing.

3) Storage/Inventory/Pet extention stones, add a "bulk" item to max your stashes while reducing cost over buying each stone/cage individually, again allows them to make more than PW-MY without driving away the customers that use them.

4) Heiros & fireworks drop 1/3 and offer a "bulk" number that's cheaper than individual. I know fireworks are 5 already, so make 50 cheaper than buying 5 10 times.

Things like portals, dolls, mats, marriage, restats, makeovers, mood auras and mounts? I can't think of any other way to benefit both parties other than simply halfing their cost. Maybe some sort of "starter kit" for each type of crafting or a mount for your class & one of each heiro kit, which end up being less than buying them seperately.

Now obviously they are not going to be able to make everyone happy with changes they make, even if they did go all the way down to PW-MY prices, people would still want them to be cheaper, they just need to find some sort of compromise between them and the maximum number of people they can get before they start losing profit. I myself am willing to pay more than PW-MY but not 300% more.

dagny wrote: »

And you enforce an ironclad contract against a company in a foreign country, how? United Nations Security Council?

That countries legal system, part of the "ironclad" is making the contract legally binding in both countries.

geneses wrote: »

I think everybody needs to settle down. You chose to play this game, nobody is making you pay for the game...if you whine on here saying "I'm not gonna buy anything, HAHA!"...you're not harming them at all. This is a free game, and for those who have a thick wallet get to enjoy the better things in life. Actually, thats a fact of life isn't it? I think its unfair that Chevrolet charges so much for a Corvette that I'm stuck buying a Cobalt, but you don't see me telling Chevy to lower their prices cause they'll sell more. Rich people get good things. I personally would rather drop $20 here and there then have to pay a monthly subscription for WOW, EQ2, and the likes. Everybody is making it sound like all Americans playing this game are poor, well...if you're poor, oh well, you don't get the nice pretty Dragon Mount, buy the horse in the game. Sucks, but that's all you can get. So stop whining.

Sure, the game is free. You keep telling yourself that all the way through the levels of your character. Gradually, as you climb higher, the enemies get more annoying, taxing your HP/MP restoration efforts until you start thinking that those item mall hierograms look mighty nice. Next, you do the unthinkable and buy one from a player thinking that you'll try it out for a while. Before you know it, you're hooked, buying tons of them directly from the cash shop. Yep, this game is free, all right.

bonghit wrote: »

how do you know what the prices are gonna be? post linky please. i'd like to do some comparison shopping and if what u say is true i will seriously consider swithcing sides to the French. but first i require proof!

BTW for those of you who don't believe the Perfect World Euro will have cheaper prices, here's a link for you.

You can do your own research if you want to know more. Oh and remember PWE that's your competition, so you might want to get your prices close to those.

kinetikop wrote: »

BTW for those of you who don't believe the Perfect World Euro will have cheaper prices, here's a link for you.

You can do your own research if you want to know more. Oh and remember PWE that's your competition, so you might want to get your prices close to those.

This is a very interesting post. Definitely changes alot of things on the CS prices if PWE goes through with it. However, until the game is released on PWE, we won't be able to make direct comparisons between item prices,etc. A GM's word isn't final.

I am very sure that PWI will be taking a look at PWE prices and making sure that the CS prices are within those parameters of PWE. But it may very well be weeks before we see that happen. PWE seems to be entering CB first and it's doubtful the shop will be open till OB.