Concerns About Cash Shop Pricing
Comments
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I would imagine that the higer prices will go a long ways to increase the companies stock price. I think I might have to buy a few shares in the company now
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]0 -
Xarfox (I realize there is more than just you, but you are the only one I know), I know you're familiar with the foreign versions of PW. If you log into any one there is a constant stream of world chat.
On Heaven's Tear, nobody has used a world trumpet in over 2 hours.
it's just too expensive to chat to the world and I know that's a big seller.
Just some data you can give to your marketing guys.
Dagny0 -
This is PW International, is it not? This is Mainly for U.S people, although this is an INTERNATIONAL game, and you need to understand people from other countries play this game also.
Another topic that needs to be brought to your attention is that, this game is supposed to be for fun! I understand that you need to make your money, but if you see that people with a low amount of cash cannot buy any gold, you have only a select few who can buy gold because they have a LOT of money. If you were to lower the prices as other people have said, a LOT more people would be willing to buy gold, and you would break EVEN, if not HIGHER.
Fun is a neccessity in a game, and grinding is freaking HARD! We need the heiro's but I am a college student, I got to school full time, I am a BioChemistry Major. I am pre-med. I have NO time to work. Although I get cash for financial aid, that money goes to books, food, housing, etc! I have to take out money that I need to PAY BACK. I mean, I have to pay the college money back, I have NO money to be spending on this game you know? The people at PWI need to rethink this and everything EVERYONE has said. People have actually even bought stock within this company. The cash shop in this game is complete ****. PWEurope is remaking their server, and creating NEW cash shop prices, (I have heard) that are CONSIDERABLY LESS than PWI. Pepole that have bought stock within this company, WILL sell because it is not a good investment. Who knows it is not a good investment? The people who play.. That is who. Thank you.0 -
you have only a select few who can buy gold because they have a LOT of money.
I just want to point out not all of us with lots of money are willing to waste that much on this game, so they don't even get all of the people who do have enough money to afford these prices because we don't want to pay that much either.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]0 -
wow, read the whole thread, and all i have to say is they wont learn their lesson, until it's too late.
Im not one to reign upon the company withought resolve.
For one their marketing people need to fire the harvard old farts and hire people that actually have experienced gameplay and cash shop economy in other games.
EX:
There is no items to impulse buy like one member mentioned in the shop.
There are no "Limited" items that are must have "perm".
There rate is fine but changes need to be made for things that are useful and things that people buy for fun.
($1=1zen but hiero = pink pants, WTF)
I understand the fact the everything in the company cost money, your people should have had that thought out prior to even starting the PWI game. Some company's know they will be in the bucket in the beginning, but later come out as conglomerates. WHY? cause they sell **** at loss in hopes to bring more customers attention. When the attention is there u slowly introduce sales that are actually a marked up product at a DC.
But seriously that's just the tip of the iceberg, and I don't know why a 22 year old is telling a company how it should work. I hope it works out guys, even though i supported my addiction to mmos and hieros, that's the extent to my spending on this game >.<, no fun stuff for cheap, no limited for perm items. You don't have a plan to succeed.
Another great idea for your Harvard old farts at the board meetings would be to test some theories out:
Try one month your way(high cost per items), and one month Our way(low cost for multiple and limited items).
One month is not going to hurt to test guys, stop crying >.< and try it see who's right :P
If you make more money one month over the other then go with it or do what you want, just have the balls to give us some data back o.O, >.<PINK BUNNY FTW ROAR0 -
I they sould make new cs items, if they want keep price up. I mean who will pay more for the same item. The thing they could do, is forget all old items, and make new mounts and clothes and all.
Then it will be easier to make people accept the new price.
By the way, i was wondering, if it would be possible to get glasses?
So what i sugest is, to take all old cs item out, and propose new items, same price, same lv..ect.
But charm's prices is still a problem. But by puting those price down, it could help the player too much, and could be unfair to player who doesnt want use cs.0 -
I would imagine that the higer prices will go a long ways to increase the companies stock price. I think I might have to buy a few shares in the company now
Business 101, A company with overpriced products makes less money than the company with reasonably priced products. Result - The stock value goes down. Investers may lose money. Buy high, sell low. (PWRD does not pay dividends at this time.)
However, maybe the niche market (wealthy people) will spend enough money, for big profits. Then a good investment strategy would be, buy now (approx. $20 per share), and sell when the stock has a higher value.
I hope this helps.Is this post appropriate?
Later0 -
Ill copy from another post as well:
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.
Yes i do agree i took some classes in marketing and this is teh best way to make money lower prices!! and the one thing this game has is a lot of players. do what you think will make more money. just think!!! Look at all the little adds they make money millions a a year just for having little ads every were if you lowed the zen gold price and kept the cost of the in game gold for items the same you would have a much funner game and better exp. right now the Malaya server charges .$33 per 1 gold0 -
Well the stock price had taken a 3% drop since around closed beta, my opinion is that as this is the beginning of the game the people will pay whatever the price to get an advantage over the other players. This will result in a short term gain at the end of the next quarter, and at $22.75 a share with a history over $35 you bet your **** I bought 100 shares just to see what happens next.
I figure the price of zen gets cut in half in about 2 months, the hard core gamers using Daddy's credit card would have blown their wads and the people who are frugal with their money will finally start spending. That should make an interesting end to the 4th quarter for the company. With any luck I'll make back my losses in the cash shop by getting in on the ground floor with their stock.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]0 -
SO you think THE US have 3 times GDP than MY so that everything should be 3 times more expensive than MY? NO!! IF it is so than US is NOT richer than MY
THEIR standard of living would BE SAME
ISNT IT SOUND JUST TOO FUNNY0 -
23 pages and still going strong!
Let it rest?
I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...Lead me not into temptation... I can find that myself0 -
I Have read some of these reply's
and i must say i am shocked with all the bad feedback & negativity
and it's hardly even been a week it's like you all are trying to kill a baby dear before it gets a chance to grow strong. It however seems more then one person feels this way.
but may i remind you who knows what the next day will bring or the many days following this one.
my best advice is let it be, Lets see what the upcoming Future will bring. I HOPE That everything will work out for each side. So both party's are happy, But may i remind you all you gotta spend a little money to get money.In this world everyone should know how fast the table turns and smacks you in the face:eek:
So For know Just be Cool... also show some RESPECT!:cool:0 -
In the last 6 hours on Heaven's Tear I believe I am the only one who has used a trumpet and that was once to ask for help killing Farnng.
Trumpets are one of the most purchased Cash Shope items overseas. Nobody is chatting in world.
That speaks volumes.0 -
I'm kind of sad about the prices.... I was actually willing to spend money on the cash shop, but items being that expensive has pushed me to continue being a freeloader.
I could make write up an entire paper on why prices should be lower, but I need to save that time for studying for school that costs me (someone without parents to pay for anything) $10k per year not including books, housing, bills, food, and all of the other necessities of life, only to get a fulfilling job that pays about $50k a year in the shelter area.
I hope this pricing thing gets fixed...[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Lost City PvP server
Teru ~ 6x cleric0 -
ragingwind wrote: »How does that prove anything? Here's the deal: This version and the Chinese version are the only ones in which the income goes directly to the parent company. For all other versions, a percentage of the income goes to the hosts of the game. That alone creates the competition. What else is there to debate on this issue?
*Sigh* I can understand how the admins and those in charge of the servers feel now having to deal with people that only listen to themselves.
Pay attention. People claim that if PW-US do not heed their demands they will go and play PW-MY. Therefore, according to that logic, PW-US and PW-MY are competing. This logic is flawed beyond belief. Since PW exist officially in the US now, PW-MY is not supposed to allow players from the US into their servers. But seeing how poorly they manage there already, they will, of course, fail to implement this policy. Meaning if this policy is ever implemented, all US players would be blocked from all other versions beside the US version. It doesn't mater where the money goes to, basically PW-US has a monopoly in the US on all things PW. The same is true for the EU version, the China version, the Mars version, etc. Going to play a different version will not hurt them because they're not supposed to be available to you. Going to play a different game, most definitely will hurt. I fail to see how this simple concept is so complicated to understand.0 -
Zen is just overpriced, I mean the way I usaly play these kinds of games I'de have to spend around $100 every week or so to stay competitive, but not many people have that kind of cash to waste.
If the zen - gold rate was about 20 zen = 1 gold then I'de probebly buy some but as things are now Ide rather spend my cash on luxerys like good food rather than an mmo.0 -
*Sigh* I can understand how the admins and those in charge of the servers feel now having to deal with people that only listen to themselves.
Pay attention. People claim that if PW-US do not heed their demands they will go and play PW-MY. Therefore, according to that logic, PW-US and PW-MY are competing. This logic is flawed beyond belief. Since PW exist officially in the US now, PW-MY is not supposed to allow players from the US into their servers. But seeing how poorly they manage there already, they will, of course, fail to implement this policy. Meaning if this policy is ever implemented, all US players would be blocked from all other versions beside the US version. It doesn't mater where the money goes to, basically PW-US has a monopoly in the US on all things PW. The same is true for the EU version, the China version, the Mars version, etc. Going to play a different version will not hurt them because they're not supposed to be available to you. Going to play a different game, most definitely will hurt. I fail to see how this simple concept is so complicated to understand.
That is... incorrect.
PW-MY paid a decent sum to have no ip block. They took the (wise) gamble that they'd have money pouring in from other areas of the world. As an official branch of PW Bejing, PWE has to respect PW-MY by blocking Malaysian IPs, as well as any other country hosting a variant of PW. To the best of my understanding, the European version won't have ip blocks either.
I do not pretend to understand the specifics of each company's contract, but I was under the impression that Cubinet (who run the PW-MY servers) is doing a form of long term rental agreement from the main company (Perfect World Bejing). Much of the money people would pay towards that version of PW would go straight to Cubinet, who would give a cut to PW Bejing. Here it is a direct link of profit to PW Bejing, so by pushing players back to PW-MY they are losing money overall.0 -
That is... incorrect.
PW-MY paid a decent sum to have no ip block. They took the (wise) gamble that they'd have money pouring in from other areas of the world. As an official branch of PW Bejing, PWE has to respect PW-MY by blocking Malaysian IPs, as well as any other country hosting a variant of PW. To the best of my understanding, the European version won't have ip blocks either.
I do not pretend to understand the specifics of each company's contract, but I was under the impression that Cubinet (who run the PW-MY servers) is doing a form of long term rental agreement from the main company (Perfect World Bejing). Much of the money people would pay towards that version of PW would go straight to Cubinet, who would give a cut to PW Bejing. Here it is a direct link of profit to PW Bejing, so by pushing players back to PW-MY they are losing money overall.
Can you please direct me to wher you got the information that says "PW-MY paid a decent sum to have no IP block?" Please, I am interested, as this is quite the interesting move if it is true.0 -
Wow.. I came over here from Dream of Mirror Online because I thought the pricing was ridiculous... ...I think I'll stick with DOMO and just use this to transform into a fox when i feel like it if they're going to ignore the living heck out of their customers just like the other company I came over from.
I live out-side the USA, to the north. I certainly don't think those numbers put out here from what I can even fathom for monetary salary .. ....... well basically its ..ridiculous.
I'm disappointed, you'd absolutely gold-dig into your own country-man's pockets. Even in a Guild you don't do that to your guild members.
Many people have already gone into detail so I wont.
But I will say to you that you're going about it all wrong, and I will also amend I wont spend one red/blue/any other colour cent in the cash shop after having taken a look at its prices (which is what drove me to search out this post). If I don't get to level -whateverhaveyou- then oh well.
Like I said.
9 lets me change into a fox.0 -
*Sigh* I can understand how the admins and those in charge of the servers feel now having to deal with people that only listen to themselves.
Pay attention. People claim that if PW-US do not heed their demands they will go and play PW-MY. Therefore, according to that logic, PW-US and PW-MY are competing. This logic is flawed beyond belief. Since PW exist officially in the US now, PW-MY is not supposed to allow players from the US into their servers. But seeing how poorly they manage there already, they will, of course, fail to implement this policy. Meaning if this policy is ever implemented, all US players would be blocked from all other versions beside the US version. It doesn't mater where the money goes to, basically PW-US has a monopoly in the US on all things PW. The same is true for the EU version, the China version, the Mars version, etc. Going to play a different version will not hurt them because they're not supposed to be available to you. Going to play a different game, most definitely will hurt. I fail to see how this simple concept is so complicated to understand.
You are mistaken, the people working on this version have made it VERY CLEAR that this is Perfect World INTERNATIONAL, not Perfect World United States. PWI needs to take into consideration foreign market as well, as quite likely, half of the players are NOT from the states, many of these other countries are paying MORE for the ZEN than we are thanks to the currency rates in other countries compared to the USA. So naturally to let more players afford the cash shop items, drop the prices so not only is U.S.A getting a good, fair price, but also other countries."Either you die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Harvey Dent - The Dark Knight
Phase 1 Dungeon Design Contest Winner!
Entry: Hall of Forsaken Souls, Twas fun to design.0 -
You are mistaken, the people working on this version have made it VERY CLEAR that this is Perfect World INTERNATIONAL, not Perfect World United States. PWI needs to take into consideration foreign market as well, as quite likely, half of the players are NOT from the states, many of these other countries are paying MORE for the ZEN than we are thanks to the currency rates in other countries compared to the USA. So naturally to let more players afford the cash shop items, drop the prices so not only is U.S.A getting a good, fair price, but also other countries.
Hmmm I wonder if they truly are international. From the perspective of the devs, it is international seeing they are in China. From that perspective: china ---> US = international. And judging from their actions thus far, they clearly have no intention of making PWI truly international, they might as well call it PWUS as the US was their intended target audience. Why else would they have used US GDP as the basis of the prices then?
So yeah, they may say one thing, but their actions speak a whole other language. Not very clear apparently.
[EDIT] Whoops, it appears that the term PWE is much more appropriate than PWI.
PWE (Perfect World Entertainment), a subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD), publishes free-to-play, online games and provides online services in North America. The Company primarily publishes three-dimensional, or 3D, online games based on the Perfect World proprietary Angelica 3D game engine and game development platform.
Perfect World Entertainment's goal is to provide North American users with perfectly polished gameplay, exceptional localization, the highest quality customer service, and an unparalleled online community experience.
http://www.perfectworld.com/about/0 -
20 bucks = 20 gold 2 silver spirit things =5 gold. and they only silver. this isnt the wal-mart version of PW, this is the Macy's
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Alright so I had a slight mistake in my post, and you have proven that. Even so, if it is for the US players than they should call it PW-US, even if the mods keep saying they want other countries to play here, and want them to stay, either way the shop prices need to be lowered, international or not :P"Either you die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Harvey Dent - The Dark Knight
Phase 1 Dungeon Design Contest Winner!
Entry: Hall of Forsaken Souls, Twas fun to design.0 -
Coming from a co-owner of a wonderfully successful company, I assure you that this is a bad business move, not only financially, but also for your reputation as a "fair" provider for some rather unhappy consumers. Raising prices because you presume that this country has more money to spend is something that a person taking, say, accounting 101 might attempt. PW MY-EN may have some flaws, but if you continue to ignore your customers and their concerns, you won't be around for long. I've seen far too many good ideas fail because of greed and the lack of interest for customer needs.....and WE ARE CUSTOMERS. We pay you for things we don't really need, but it's fun to have. If you must raise prices, try not raising them so drastically, and for two reasons.
1) Not all customers can afford inflation.
2)Not all customers who can afford inflated prices are willing to pay.
Personally, I can afford as much Zen as I want, but I absolutely refuse to pay 3 times what someone else is paying. This is an INTERNATIONAL game, let's have some INTERNATIONAL prices!0 -
I'm agreeing with the consensus of people here just because the USA GDP is higher doesn't mean anything. I am 18 and i have no income because i am a full time college student i don't have time for a job. What ever money i do get i get it from my parents or friends. I am currently playing
PW -MY and the prices on there are actually reasonable. i would say about 30 dollars on there would get u a good mount, good wings, and some fashion on here I'm guess it would get u what maybe just a crappy pair of wings?
This PW server needs to re-look their stance on this subject before you loose a lot of customers. People will just go back to PW-MY (even those the servers are laggy). I am considering right now after looking at the zen prices. I already have a high level character on the other PW. To me the only incentive to come over to this server is the lagg. But! i will not be buying anything until your prices drop, and if they don't i will just go back to PW-MY.0 -
Ooo, big word. Anyway, for those of you that are boycotting PW-IN ZEN until prices are lowered, POST NOW! Don't bend to their so-called reason! Take a stand! We may be playing the game, but we don't have to pay 3 times what someone else is paying. That's called prejudice, and I, for one, refuse to bow.0
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I think the biggest grip against PWI's prices that most people are having, that the team Seems to be totally over looking is PWint might be the only US based server option BUT it is not the only option. I mean When I go shopping for a skirt I don't always purchase it at the closest shop to my home, I look at prices of Other shops and if the gas I would burn to get to the further shop + the price of the item is lower I'll Drive to get it. Most people that would Spend money in PWI's Cash shop are willing to "Drive" to PW-MY because even including the drive they come out ahead.
As others have stated just because US players are working with bigger numbers don't mean we have more disposable income, with the prices your asking most could just as easilly play a P2P MMO that has better support and devs that not only listen but Act in response.0 -
To me the bottomline is simple, you are competing with other MMO here in the US. The going rate for a moderate speed leveling, overall satisfactory gaming experience and entertainment is $15 a month.
With current pricing e.g. $2.50 sliver heiros, with ten of those that comes to $25. That does not include prices paid for trumpets, miji scrolls and teleportation stones. This becomes more expensive that the normal MMO fee.
Even I who would shell out $15 a month since this is a good game have second thoughts. Speculation is that you will go belly up. I do not want to invest in any of your pixels if that is the case. So hope you reconsider your prices as it is better to take the initial hit on your capital and then recoup as you grow your player base.0 -
If PWI is paying attention to this forum, I hope they realize what's happening. When the tide of public opinion turns, it turns swifty and irrevocably. Look at how Flagship Studios plummetted from industry darling to closure, in large part because they changed their subscription policy from a one-time purchase (as was originally announced) to a monthly fee. We're facing a similar problem here; the CS is more expensive than folks were expecting. Has anything been learned from Flagship's demise, or will PWI follow the same path to oblivion?
It might be too late already. Once you anger customers, it's almost impossible to get back into their good graces. The only way to escape the backlash now is to apologize profoundly for the error in pricing, thank everyone for their feedback, refund all purchases made so far (or add extra Zen to them to make it come out right) and adjust CS prices to match the lowest-cost English-language version that most of us can access. "We really do listen," PWI could say. A lot of people would love them for that, perhaps even more so than if the whole mess had never occurred. But they need to do it FAST, because bad news spreads on forums like wildfire.
Note that I'm not suggesting the refund to get anything for myself. I haven't purchased from the PWI CS. (Nor am I likely to, given the current pricing.) I just think it's PWI's best hope of salvaging the community's good will. I'd like to see this beautiful game continue to grow and prosper.0 -
i would suggest that you put yourself into the customer's shoes and think about how much YOU would pay for the costly items that you posted. The GDP does not matter. I can even go as far to say that the Inflation and Supply/Demand Curve is somewhat irrelevant. Therefore, decide with what you think is just. The power is in your hands.0
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