I apologize for the somewhat hostile tone below, but I do hope to get an answer to the question about Cryptic's current viewpoint on the c-store and on microtransactions.
Prelaunch this was Cryptic's stance on microtransactions
Bill and I have both posted over on the Champions boards to respond to questions raised by microtransactions. I'll just reiterate what's already been copied and pasted from Bill's State of the Game address on Champions:
The vast majority are aesthetic items, such as costume pieces, action figures, emblems, etc.
A very few are account-level management tools, such as being able to rename a character
Micro-transactions should never limit your ability to enjoy the game or reach the level cap
Any micro-transaction that has a game effect can also be earned in the game through play
The Siege Destroyer cannot be obtained through game play, nor can the GalaxyX, with their special abilities these affect game play. (something to work on - not my question for the thread though)
My real question is about all the expensive c-store items and how they can be considered micropayments or microtransactions (with reference using the game price of $9.99 that is now commonly found). c-Store credits are at a rate of $1.25 per 100 points. Some examples are below
Guramba Siege Destroyer & Galaxy X @ 2000 points = $25 ~ more than twice the game itself or a full month's subscription.
Ship Costume Packs (newer than 6 months) @ 1200 points = $15 ~ equal to a full month of play
NX Ship Replica & TOS Constitution @ 800 points is $10 ~ equal to the cost of the game
Some items that reasonably are microtransactions
Costume Packs @ 240-280 points = $3 to $3.50
Tribbles & Bridge Packs @ 120 points = $1.50
Ship costumes older than 6 months @ 160-240 points = $2 to $3
Given these examples, how can you consider many of these to be microtransactions when they cost more than the game itself? I can get a deluxe edition for the cost of the Galaxy X. I can understand these prices if this were a F2P game, but not for a subscription game. Or is the c-store no longer making a pretense at being about microtransactions?
Even PayPal doesn't consider anything over $12 to be a microtransaction.
Comments
The gal X was originally a referral bonus, people whined... so they put it in the c-store. The guramba should be a referral bonus for it is the kdf's version of the gal X. There has been enough threads on this, so lets move on.
I feel that your reading too much into the word "micro transactions" you might as well consider it a typo if you feel so inclined to believe that c-store items should be equal to or less then, they are still transactions that cost real money to get non-game breaking cosmetic/variety items
Also be aware that those 1200 point ships "costumes" are actually Ships with different BO layouts and abilities (3 of them can be acquired Via in-game means). There full blown ships with special abilities, not just a costume.
In the end, its a transaction, not a micro (well i supposed its not as expensive as buying the game at launch), i would just ignore the Micro part of it. Not like you actually have to buy any of that stuff to play the game.