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Something about Exclusives that Sounds horribly familiar... listen up Cryptic!!!
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Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
At the moment i am searching the net for new and old Star Trek Ships to put on top of my shelf...
while doing so i stumbled upon a review that somehow reminded me about the whole situation with STO and all the exclusives landing in the C-Store.
I Quote the intresting part for you:
"
Playmates screwed-up their massively successful run with the Trek license with the infamous 1701 debacle. Known to collectors as the "1701s" the release consisted of a limited production run of 1,701 of three figures: Tapestry Picard, Tasha Yar from Yesterday's Enterprise, and Barclay from Projections.
Collectors of the Playmates' Star Trek line were diehard completists by nature. Manufacturing three popular characters in a limited edition of only 1,701 units ****ed-off the Trek line's devoted consumer base to no end. These three figures were going for hundreds of dollars on the secondary market. Only the wealthiest collectors or those willing to max out their credit cards got one.
Playmates tried to make-up with their alienated customers by releasing the three non-serial numbered figures in a boxed set. Instead of mending fences with the completists that had already quit and sold-off their collections, they only succeeded in ****ing-off those devoted few who had dropped precious bank to acquire the elusive figures. Man, NO ONE was happy with Playmates. From that point on, it seemed they could do nothing right.
Playmates managed to further alienate collectors (Are you listening, Hasbro?) by switching from 4.5" scale figures to 6" scale figures with the First Contact movie line. The 6" scale figures didn't last very long. Poor sales of the 6" scale figures and a tidal wave of negative customer feedback resulted in Playmates switching back to the 4.5" scale. Finally, a smart move on Playmates' part, but it was too little, too late and as Guido has seen time and again, you must never underestimate the sheer idiocy of a toy company marketing department.
Playmates' marketing gurus finally succeeded in burying the Trek line by reintroducing the "limited-edition chase figure" marketing concept that had served them so well with the "1701s" faux pas to their re-launch of the 4.5" scale figure assortments. This was the final nail in the coffin for the Playmates Trek toy line. The Playmates run with Star Trek finally folded on September 17, 1999. The Trek toy license would lie dormant for the next two years.
"
source: http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_050907b.htm
...
Does this sound horribly familiar to anyone else?
while doing so i stumbled upon a review that somehow reminded me about the whole situation with STO and all the exclusives landing in the C-Store.
I Quote the intresting part for you:
"
Playmates screwed-up their massively successful run with the Trek license with the infamous 1701 debacle. Known to collectors as the "1701s" the release consisted of a limited production run of 1,701 of three figures: Tapestry Picard, Tasha Yar from Yesterday's Enterprise, and Barclay from Projections.
Collectors of the Playmates' Star Trek line were diehard completists by nature. Manufacturing three popular characters in a limited edition of only 1,701 units ****ed-off the Trek line's devoted consumer base to no end. These three figures were going for hundreds of dollars on the secondary market. Only the wealthiest collectors or those willing to max out their credit cards got one.
Playmates tried to make-up with their alienated customers by releasing the three non-serial numbered figures in a boxed set. Instead of mending fences with the completists that had already quit and sold-off their collections, they only succeeded in ****ing-off those devoted few who had dropped precious bank to acquire the elusive figures. Man, NO ONE was happy with Playmates. From that point on, it seemed they could do nothing right.
Playmates managed to further alienate collectors (Are you listening, Hasbro?) by switching from 4.5" scale figures to 6" scale figures with the First Contact movie line. The 6" scale figures didn't last very long. Poor sales of the 6" scale figures and a tidal wave of negative customer feedback resulted in Playmates switching back to the 4.5" scale. Finally, a smart move on Playmates' part, but it was too little, too late and as Guido has seen time and again, you must never underestimate the sheer idiocy of a toy company marketing department.
Playmates' marketing gurus finally succeeded in burying the Trek line by reintroducing the "limited-edition chase figure" marketing concept that had served them so well with the "1701s" faux pas to their re-launch of the 4.5" scale figure assortments. This was the final nail in the coffin for the Playmates Trek toy line. The Playmates run with Star Trek finally folded on September 17, 1999. The Trek toy license would lie dormant for the next two years.
"
source: http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_050907b.htm
...
Does this sound horribly familiar to anyone else?
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
I understand what you are getting at, but it doesn't apply to Cryptic at all. Manufacturing a limited number of an item, and giving bonus in-game items for certain purchases are different, especially since Cryptic did say these items will eventually reach the C-Store. It also says in the terms of service that anything is subject to change. If someone did not take the time to do their research it is there fault, not Cryptic's.
As a matter of fact, it is not Cryptic's fault AT ALL. Atari handles marketing so if you are going to blame anyone it should be them.
The 1701s run and the C-Store/Exclusives/Preorder/CO-Lifer thing are only tangentially related - a tenuous analogy that falls apart on closer inspection.
Cryptic, unlike Playmate, is making their items more accessible to general consumption.
and honestly i dont care who signs the paycheks of the marketing guys that keep TRIBBLE things up.
it's close enough i think.
first **** off the die hard collectors who just want it all...
then give it to them and **** of the ones that payed extra time and money to get those *exclusive* *special* or *limited* things.
and then repeat the whole process because you learned nothing from the first round.
and btw. if GMDestra is posting that "we are discussing to bring X to the c-store and want your feedback".... then this doesn't look like ATARI's work to me.
Cryptic is a medium between us and Atari. Who do you think they are discussing it with? The guy behind the counter at McDonald's? Cryptic gathers our feedback, all the nice corporate guys get together, review the feedback and make a decision. If they decide to release the Galaxy X into the C-Store then they tell the devs "hey put it in the C-Store for this much".
Much of what Cryptic's done was announced in advanced: from preorder FAQ to the terms and conditions of the RAF being pretty clear.
Also, all STO players have internet access (or know where to find it). This makes researching products (and reading said FAQs or the RAF terms and conditions) that much easier.
Even the power of Google isn't enough to help some of the player-base - and that's a pretty powerful tool for consumer research.
"further down the line" "maybe" "possible" "not for a long time"
...is what i remember about the Pre Order Items.
4 Month's is not a long time, that is pretty much imidiate after release.
And saying that those vague sentences in a FAQ "told you so" ... sorry that is just downplaying the Problem and ignoring the issue of BAD TIMING.
Also people do not tend to put every single word under the microscope.
The only thing about the Galaxy-X that ever indicated that it could possibly come to the C-Store was the word "Special" instead of "Exclusive" (and even that doesn't mean squat anymore).
Technically exclusive means particular to a certain person/group/thing used in this context. Therefore a preorder 'exclusive' should be something only availabe to those who preorder under the correct use of language.
I am more TRIBBLE off about the bigger picture. I am not too fussed about other having the same stuff I have and have no interest in lording over them as the white knights of the forum seem to scream while pointing fingers from their ivory towers. I am more concerned about the fact that everything is for sale. If you want to make it freely available then do it for everyone, in a patch, free for everyone.
The C-Store in my opinion should not even exist as this isnt a F2P model game (tempting fate) and we all pay a subscription fee, some as a lifetime payment which is not an insignificant investment. In the mean time I don't see an issue with having exclusives, real exclusives, available to a limited few for some particular reason whether it be an in game/financial/community contribution.
Exclusives add diversity, the C-Store helps destroy that while cynically ripping off everyone to milk more money from the consumer cash cow. And it is the ripping off that irritates me. While the game as a product continues to improve and evolve maybe it is time for the marketing guys to start thinking more in terms of subscriber loyalty and promoting it rather than driving away the remaining subscribers who seem to be ever dwindling in number. If the C-Store absolutely HAS to exist make it a forum for new and original things, don't make every preorder a rip-off over night by making their 'exclusives' available on there.
Fresh content is what keeps an MMO alive in any case.
When a select lucky or resourceful few got something special in relation to STar Trek, the rest of the fanbase whines for the same thing ( or something similiar) and when those who cried "foul" got what they wanted - then the few who earned thier "special items" cried foul in return for losing the "uniqueness" of the original item.
Seems like deja-vue.
That being said....
The majority of the people playing the game asked for these things to be on the C-store, Cryptic listened and did what was asked of them.
I purchased only one copy of the game that came with the items I wanted, knowing that it would be ignorant and utterly stupid of me to purchase several copies just to get access to things that would be in the C-Store.
Am I upset that the constitution class ship is in the C-store? nope, not one bit, because for me to deny other people the enjoyment of flying around in that ship would make me a greedy, elitist, bastich.
buying multiple copies of the game just so you can feel "special" and "show off" because no one else has those items is a bit ridicules don't you think?
Never Remove From Box
Agreed with this. I only purchased the Wal-Mart version because I honestly picked up Star Trek Online on a whim. I didn't even know STO had other things to give out depending on where you picked it up. I don't go into purchasing MMO's for the exclusives that can be given with going to a particular store. I get an MMO because I want to play a game with others that isn't just a SHMUP.
Like the Borg bridge officer would have been an android with the same stats that wouldn't stack with the Borg BO. That way the people who bought the games would still feel like theirs items were exclusive. People could still buy the games for the bonuses and I would probably bought the c-store bridge officer too.
cartman voice: "i reaaached thiiis kiiid"
this is about UNDERSTANDING the Fanbase.
It doesnt matter if it is action figures, limited edition DVD's or an exclusive Pre-Order DLC.
one could say
Same Sh*t, diffrent market.
Bottomline: "Exclusives" in the Box are a bad idea to begin with! (those are just there to cash in extra and with the games you realy want you will not care about money)
Changing the set RULES shortly after release is an even worse idea, it only shows that you dont know WTF your Company is doing and that you just bend over to anything if you smell Cash!
If they would have anounced that the Galaxy-X is coming to the C-Store when they introduced the RAF Program then a LOT of flamethreads would have been stopped before a fire even got started, nobody would have had the idea to buy multiple copys.... NO they had no idea this would happen 2 Months ago.
If they would have announced a DATE when the Pre-Order Exclusives will be made public nobody would have had a problem with it.
Beeing vague all the time about what you intend to do does not help here it makes the whole situation worse because from now on every Word you say will be disected under a microscope and nobody will believe you when you say the words "exclusive" or "special" ever again.
I have no problem with any of the items beeing exclusive or not... even if i feel TRIBBLE by some of those decisions and that i have flushed good money down the toilet for nothing. (seriously i can live with that, it is just money after all, you win some, you loose some.)
I have a problem with the way they *sold* the promotions to us and changed the rules right after people invested into it! (either by working for it or by spending money you worked for).
Well at least i got a few nice collector boxes on my shelf now ...and a T-Shirt ....which doesn't fit me.
Cryptic marketing is like a half-dead Vidiian still flailing around, trying to crit its subscribers with 9k damage by harvesting their "exclusives". But they're swinging at air with their half-rendered arm as I've beamed-out to explore OTHER strange new worlds.
As i said this is not supposed to be a complaint Thread...
i just wanted to point out the similarity in these 2 incidents that are only releated by the Star Trek license.
"So, you watch Star Trek?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Well, I heard you complain and I thought 'he must be a Trekkie'."
Gimme a break here... :rolleyes:
you should cuz they may very well be the one who say, and other suits will go along with it, STO will be F2P, and everything in the cstore will be free as well
You cant realy blame suits for making stupid decisions, that comes with the job description.
because... you know... the tie stops the bloodflow to the brain once you put it on, that is like a "common sense debuff" only that it is permanent.
You can see that happening with Politicians and people that work at Banks all over the world so dont tell me it's not true!
Those of you who whine and complain about the 'exclusives' and then demand compensation need to grow the hell up. I'm absolutely tired of your whining and constant complaining on these forums. You ruin an otherwise decent community with your antics. I feel for your children, if you should have any, because they're going to grow up thinking that this is acceptable adult behavior and just carry on with your 'legacy,' thus polluting the human race with even more jealousy, greed, and entitlement.
It's pretty sad when WORLD OF WARCRAFT has a better forum community than this game.
/rant
I support this post 100%
You would think fans of Star Trek might display some of the fine qualities of the people in those shows...
I guess they learned nothing from Star Trek....
You know, I bought multiple pre-order copies because I wanted the items that were advertised as "exclusive, pre-order bonus," not to show them off or feel elitist, but simply because I thought it would be fun to, say, have ToS uniforms with the ToS Constitution class.
To me, it was part of the entire idea of "immersion" (another utter failure, but that's a different topic) promised by Cryptic starting back in August of '08 at the Vegas convention announcement by Jack Emmert.
The "exclusive" situation that has me STOffed is the principle involved. See below.
What really annoys the heck out of me about this is the fact that yes, they said in the FAQ that these items might show up in the C-Store in the future, they also did not post that FAQ until well after many of us bought pre-orders with many retailers having a policy of non-refundability for digital download purchases.
Not only did they have non-refundable policies, but the charge from Atari showed up on my card 16 minutes after I placed the order (and I know I'm not the only one who got charged prior to when they should have because I saw the comments on that back on the pre-launch forums).
They had marketing with enticements to buy, but didn't provide full disclosure on the nature of the "exclusive" items until it was too late for some.
So yeah, I have issues with these items showing up in the C-Store.
And yeah, the OP's post is very familiar, despite those who would try to dismantle the point by arguing semantics or being unable to draw comparisons. Not going to argue that. I'm pretty sure that an inability to see the similarity in the "big picture" sense is due to a desire to not see it.
It pays to have money.... It really does!
A) Try decaf.
C) If you're absolutely tired of the complaints and feel that comments posted here ruin the community, um...why do you read them? I mean, it's pretty easy to avoid stuff that'd bother you on the forums. The topic title should have told you all you needed to know. Just curious.
D) Isn't your rant exactly the same kind of thing you're complaining about and stating as a cause of ruination for the forums?
E) I do so love watching hypocrisy in action.
F) Try decaf.
Anyway...
Funny.
Go look at steam.
The Deluxe Version is still listing its bonuses as "Exclusive"
FAQ's are fine and dandy, until you put on the boxes themselves that these items are exclusive, or tell your distributors(steam) to market them as such. Which was an outright lie.
I have no problem with any MMO developer attempting to pre-sell thier product by offering "incentives" to make one buy it. I did feel a small slight at the "bring 5 friends into STO" marketing idea though, as I should only spread the fun of the game based on how much I enjoy it and not becuase I had a carrot waived in front of me.
I also don't blame Cryptic for the sudden rush to put everything in the C-store for all to purchase. They are trying to satisfy a somewhat childish fanbase at times and doing the best they can.
I can blame Cryptic for not sticking to thier guns and making STO how they wanted too, instead of giving into demands and vague threats.
This is why we can't have nice things.