So we've gone from "F2P sucks" to "Supermarkets suck" to "Walmart sucks"?
That's an odd derail, even for these boards
Its the same concept.
Atari days= local market. Quality is important, customer satisfaction is important, there is competition around the block to keep their focus on improving their services and selection. Price remains relatively stable and the store fails only when there is incompetent management.
PWI days= walmart. Quality is TRIBBLE, quality is important only as long as it gets sold, satisfaction is only important as long as it satisfies the shareholders, there is no competition to make them keep improving since a megacorp is propping up their costs while they turn their product (market) into a short-term profit maker that will be dumped by the megacorp when sales drop.
PWI days= walmart. Quality is TRIBBLE, quality is important only as long as it gets sold, satisfaction is only important as long as it satisfies the shareholders, there is no competition to make them keep improving since a megacorp is propping up their costs while they turn their product (market) into a short-term profit maker that will be dumped by the megacorp when sales drop.
I would say there is plenty of competition from other MMO's. Nowadays the MMO market is a cutt-throat business with every game competing for a relatively small pool of players. While you may expect MMO games to focus on pleasing the customer with lower prices and more/better content, it has really become about squeezing as much money from players as possible before they move on to the next game.
Free-to-play works in todays MMO market because it suckers people into the promise of a free game, and then lets them find they have to pay (or grind very long) for that (supposedly) better content. Players buy the things they want, get bored, and move on.
I would say there is plenty of competition from other MMO's. Nowadays the MMO market is a cutt-throat business with every game competing for a relatively small pool of players. While you may expect MMO games to focus on pleasing the customer with lower prices and more/better content, it has really become about squeezing as much money from players as possible before they move on to the next game.
Free-to-play works in todays MMO market because it suckers people into the promise of a free game, and then lets them find they have to pay (or grind very long) for that (supposedly) better content. Players buy the things they want, get bored, and move on.
I disagree. I think you have it backwards.
See, the only reason why a good number of MMO's are F2P is because they are high return for little cost in the short term. Aka, fast cash at little cost.
This system originated in asia with their craptastic MMO's geared to their populations. Microtransactions flourished there as in those countries the monthly fee system did not catch on..most of the population is not wealthy enough to afford it and their internet charges by the minute of usage (not unlimited as it is in the Americas). For their target market the best solution was a quick-fun game with no monthly cost but that made money selling little things here and there.
These games and companies build a game engine and make one incarnation of a game after another in sequence. Once one game's microtransaction numbers fall below a certain level the game is closed. Then a new game using the same engine is cobbled up and re-marketted. Cycle continues.
This is the PWI model. It is why STO has had such little improvements in the game itself yet tons of monetizing items added. It is also why the game has been dumbed down so much.
Now, that model was tried out in the US some time ago. The result (which US companies and Asian companies took good note of) was that when the market population does have unlimited internet and they are offered a 'free' game they can charge a LOT more for the same low cost to produce and they can re-peddle the product using the same engine just like they do in asia. However they first failed because they brought over asian MMO's which were quite lame. When the begun to buy out games that were failing (like STO) and prop them up and set them as micro-transaction squeezing platforms they have profits. lots of them.
The trend with these US-made, Asian-microtrans. model games is to monetize performance to the point where the game truly becomes pay-to-compete at which point players just leave. The game is then killed off, a new one written using the same old engine with some FX improvements and re-marketed. The cash they get from this is far more than they would if they simply improved STO for long term shelf life.
OTH, games that remain monthly fee do have very long shelf lives and flourish. There are some today that are over a decade old and still have a large player population. They keep being improved and the gaming experience made better.
For investors however, long shelf life means low returns over long time. Hence these games are phasing out. It is not for the making of games, not for the player satisfaction...its to maximize profits.
The gaming industry has finally prostituted itself. You go girl! :rolleyes:
So we've gone from "F2P sucks" to "Supermarkets suck" to "Walmart sucks"?
That's an odd derail, even for these boards
Not really. This is actually about on par for random derailments/comparison changes. Oddly enough, it actually makes sense if you read the posts leading up to it XD. THAT'S the odd part.
It is said the best weapon is one that is never fired. I disagree. The best weapon is one you only have to fire... once.
The sudden hate for F2Pers seems to have more than a bit of nostalgia heaped on it.
When I first started, back in the middle of Season 5 or so, I was told how badly the game sucked, how little content there was, etc. etc., and let's not forget the oft-lamented content drought when Atari had it. In fact I recall reading at least one article where they mentioned where Season 7 is now was "almost" what they should have launched with.
Now I keep hearing from people who were around during the Atari days how golden the game was then, an unblemished jewel where profit was secondary to content, etc. etc.
So it's very hard to take either of these assessments terribly seriously. I, for one, am trying to evaluate the game as it is now, and while I'm not an MMO expert, I keep logging in and I'm not planning on stopping any time soon.
As a note, I could be considered an "F2Per," since I came about a week before F2P, but I subscribe now, so I'm not really playing for free. I figure a few bucks a month is a reasonable price to pay to keep the game going.
... Lobi is "bought" with Zen. You can get Zen with Dilithium. Therefore, Lobi can be bought with Dilithium. Would you like me to work out the current exchange rate? :rolleyes:
Almost everything in the game can be had by a free to play player, eventually. And that's the way it should be. That's good F2P design.
Where criticism comes in is when some things have utterly ludicrous prices, even when those prices involve "premium" currencies. The lobi store ships, for example. At a cost of 800 lobi, that is 200 boxes opened, at 125 zen for a key, which means a lobi store ship costs 250$ dollars if you want to buy one that way. For a single ship that's bound to a single character, can't be transferred, and can't be reclaimed.
Basically, some things have extremely inflated prices for no apparent reason. And it annoys people. It's understandable and reasonable that items which cost premium currencies should be more difficult for free players to get, but the extremely erratic prices also affect paying players.
While I agree with Scarabpoet, you have a valid point, you have to spend over $200 for a lobi ship that only 1 toon can use. If it was account bound, or even better once you buy it, its like a Zen ship where you can reclaim it or any toon can get it. $250 is a lot of money for a "bound to char" ship
I would say there is plenty of competition from other MMO's. Nowadays the MMO market is a cutt-throat business with every game competing for a relatively small pool of players. While you may expect MMO games to focus on pleasing the customer with lower prices and more/better content, it has really become about squeezing as much money from players as possible before they move on to the next game.
This can be true of a lot of MMOs but you forget that Star Trek Online, well, it's Trek. It has die-hard loyal fans who play because it's the best Trek experience out there. Fans like me. If there was one that better represented Trek then I'd probably try it as a minimum but seeing as how tightly controlled the IP is I think that won't happen until after this game dies.
People forget that PWE, as a company, is well within its rights to set the prices on all of its products. They can make ships cost as much or little as they want. Whether you're prepared to pay that price is up to you.
In the real world this is the kind of attitude that will make a company fail. You want to set your prices high? Go ahead, you won't have customers or a business for long
People complain about this and say that everything should go in to the zen store. Well, I don't think PWE should put lockbox ships in the zen store if they don't want to. It's their business. They set their prices in accordance to their business model.
Its not about what they want or don't want to do, its about making common sense based decisions that don't alienate customers and end up costing them money, or worse. People are not complaining, they are stating that if it was there they would buy it. Common sense, and basic business principles dictate that when customers are flat out telling you that they would buy your product if you make it available to them, then you should make it available to them
As the owner of my own business I set my own prices on my services. Some people say I charge too much yet I still get more than enough business to sustain myself.
If you do not set reasonable prices you will have neither customers nor a business. When someone tells you your prices are too high, a good business owner listens carefully
. I'm sure as hell not going to listen the complainers as it's MY business and I ALONE will set my prices. This is the same as ALL business owners
People who do not listen to their customers do not have a business for long. Calling them 'complainers' shows you have no respect for people offering you advice - whats worse, they are your own customers. That attitude is setting yourself up for failure. Such an attitude is the same only with business owners that have failing businesses.
I've seen you all over this message board and comments trying to make excuses for PWEs actions
The thing that people don't realise is that going to F2P is PWE's decision, not the players. It's a company, not a democracy!!
Are you serious? The thing you don't realize is that the players are customers. The players very much do decide what PWE does, because if they don't like it they don't pay and then PWE stops making money. Such is the nature of business. So yes it is very much a democracy, one decided by the customers. A business that wants to survive does not dictate to its customers or it will soon not have them.
This posting was intended to help people understand, and give them something to think about when accusing the Devs and marketing people at PWE of "scamming" the players
Accusing eh? What they are doing fits the legal definition of a scam. There is no opinion on that, it is what it is.
Cryptic need to have something that only Gold members have access to and make it sweet, and they will increase gold and lifetime memberships.
This is exactly what they should not do. People would stop playing. This is a free to play game, its only attraction is that all of the content is supposed to be available without paying.
By that argument you'd also class a supermarket as closer to clubbing baby seals than the same non-profit you described as the supermarket exists to maximise profits and pays its employees the crappiest wages it can.
Circular logic and more excuses. Supermarkets do not scam people, nor do they run the kinds of scams PWE has been with STO. Buy a lottery ticket in a supermarket and you're going to see the odds clearly printed on it, as required by law. By a lottery box here and ask for the odds and you'll get the run around and claims from idiots that its legal, when it is not.
So we've gone from "F2P sucks" to "Supermarkets suck" to "Walmart sucks"?
That's an odd derail, even for these boards
Its to be expected. Though walmart is as shady as they come so I wouldn't be using them as an example. Need I point out those life insurance policies they got caught taking out on people?
Well at least until Stahl convinces you all to contribute to the STO Development KICKSTARTER.
Its not about what they want or don't want to do, its about making common sense based decisions that don't alienate customers and end up costing them money, or worse. People are not complaining, they are stating that if it was there they would buy it. Common sense, and basic business principles dictate that when customers are flat out telling you that they would buy your product if you make it available to them, then you should make it available to them
I disagree. You haven't seen limited edition things be put on sale? Even though customer demand may dictate there should be more limited items quite often a company won't release more. Like limited edition signed prints of art. This is how you command premium prices.
If you do not set reasonable prices you will have neither customers nor a business. When someone tells you your prices are too high, a good business owner listens carefully
I set my price as per what I know my time is worth. My product speaks for itself. If someone doesn't wish to pay for my work they go to a cheaper provider. It's their choice and I respect that.
As a hypothetical, imagine if DaVinci lived today and could be commissioned to do portraits. In that instance you can bet that he would charge a very premium price on his work. There would be heaps of people wanting him to lower his prices so they could afford him. According to your logic he should do just that to make his potential clients happy. This is where your reasoning fails.
Now, I am skilled at my trade but by no means am I a master!! i just used that example to illustrate a point. That being said, I am skilled enough to charge a higher price and even so I find myself with more than enough work.
People who do not listen to their customers do not have a business for long. Calling them 'complainers' shows you have no respect for people offering you advice - whats worse, they are your own customers. That attitude is setting yourself up for failure. Such an attitude is the same only with business owners that have failing businesses.
I listen to my customers. The paying ones, that is, as they're the ones that put food on my table and gas in my car. If they weren't happy they wouldn't come back. Seeing as my trade isn't as highly specialised as a Star Trek MMO it would be easy for them to do, too.
I've seen you all over this message board and comments trying to make excuses for PWEs actions
You may think that I make excuses for PWE but you're mistaken. I'm a principled person who is tired of the entitlement attitude that seems to be sweeping this world. Businesses have the right to make their own decisions. If they make the right decisions they live, if they make the wrong decisions they fold. Either way it's their decision to make. People seems to believe that they can make demands of a business as if they have sole discretion as to what the outcome should be. Then they're offended when their demands are not followed.
What you see is not me blindly following PWE but rather opposing an attitude which irritates me.
Wow...I had forgotten how annoying it can be to have a forum posting get hijacked by the trolls. At this point, I am sitting here and shaking my head at those of you that took this from a simple attempt to pass along some information that seemed to be lacking, to an argument over things that have absolutely nothing to do with the game.
Wow...I had forgotten how annoying it can be to have a forum posting get hijacked by the trolls. At this point, I am sitting here and shaking my head at those of you that took this from a simple attempt to pass along some information that seemed to be lacking, to an argument over things that have absolutely nothing to do with the game.
On that note, I am sorry that I brought it up.
Axe-grinders will grind axes, shocking.
I get your point -- the forum is littered with poorly thought out threads about "plz make lobi tradlble" and other assorted .. gems. I argue that, indeed, the dislike of the F2P has very little to do with being 'ripped off' -- since these ascetics clearly do not partake of such products -- and more to do with astoundingly thick rose colored lenses.
For those of you who have clearly forgot the old days, Atari AND Cryptic regularly lied, pulled stunts with pricing and promotions, and engaged in all kinds of other offensive things. They wouldn't produce a decent endgame or anything for people to do and getting them to actually communicate was very, very hard.
The old forums were , indeed, really indicative of what we were dealing with in Atari and how craptastic it was, and people seem to forget that. Is PW perfect, no.
Is the solution ideal? NO.
Was the game 'doing well' before F2P? NO. I submit people , as with everything else in life, look back fondly on the old days and discount anything that does not fit with the argument they wish to put forward.
I am growing extremely tired of illogical and frankly childish rants against profits and the ugly fact that gaming is no longer something done in a garage by enthusiasts. It's business. Subscription models have failed repeatedly because gaming companies will not produce enough content to satisfy massive numbers of players, and while the game can turn a profit it's so low order and long-term that it isn't worth it.
How dare companies try to make more money. The Wal-Mart comparison is apt. Let's forget the cost savings, let's forget the older 'local stores' were inefficient, didn't employ nearly as many people, and had limited selections. Let's set aside the fact that they were often badly mismanaged and (like the laughable Food Lion) were more concerned themselves with making money than public safety.
All that matters is someone has an axe to grind with big bidness, and if you seem to be posting something defending it, then you must be a <insert disparaging comment here>.
Don't let it get you down. The clear argument is dilithium buys zen which buys keys which opens boxes which contains lobi.
Arguments ignoring this and railing about gambling fail to point out that the system would be perfectly fine if ALL lockbox ships were simply lockbox lobi ships, with the current .0005% batch merely moved to the 1600 to 3400 lobi range.
My only gripe and two cents: They let the old stuff rust instead of up keeping it. There's less and less point in getting older content and more about drawing someone to get the latest and new.
Which doesn't make any sense even when everyone already has everything. Old player are going to new content because they want it, or snuff it because they don't want to get on the bandwagon of keeping up with the Jones. It effectively discourages new player from getting old content because it hasn't aged well.
In only one out of three cases is new content purchased, and in no case is the old stock seriously even looked at. When I got a D'Kyr and Intrepid refit because dilithium exchange dipped low enough I decided "If I'm ever going to get them, now would be the time". Now having? They're effectively ignored as I can find no use for them.
Things like the lock box rat race is business's death knell.
Edit: To put it another way, it creatures a bubble that must keep getting bigger and bigger until nothing can support it anymore and burst. Doing large sums of collateral damage.
Things like the lock box rat race is business's death knell.
Nexon would disagree with you.
F2P games like Atlantica Online have had lockbox type lottery cash shops for years. You want an outfit or a mount for your toon there? GL. Maybe you'll get it, maybe you won't.
I think a number of you are playing video games for the wrong reasons, as it's obviously stopped being fun years ago.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
500 years in the future and we still look like schmucks when getting our ID photos taken...
How dare companies try to make more money. The Wal-Mart comparison is apt.
I'm fine with companies trying to make money, as long as they do it ethically. The Walmart comparison is apt, because they have been known to resort to unethical practices for profit and to run their competitors out of business.
Companies that run free-to-play games frequently use unethical methods to make money. Zynga (known for Farmville and plagiarising games) and other similar companies target children with addictive games and then uses that addiction to try to get them to part with their pocket money (or their parents' money). Chinese companies that run f2p games (including Perfect World Entertainment) incorporate gambling into their games. Unlike actual casino's, they don't even tell you the odds. There's a reason a lot of gambling joints used to be run by mobsters. It's not a very ethical way to make money.
I'm glad STO went F2P. It saved the game from death (surely we can agree that after the year of hell the game would have died if nothing changed) plus it's brought so many new players to the fold.
I'm glad there's premium content as a) I've been fortunate enough to get some, and b) it funds the game and prevents it from dying.
Yes, I wish there was more in the game, but looking at the trends being set, this game is going to keep growing for a long time to come.
Comments
Its the same concept.
Atari days= local market. Quality is important, customer satisfaction is important, there is competition around the block to keep their focus on improving their services and selection. Price remains relatively stable and the store fails only when there is incompetent management.
PWI days= walmart. Quality is TRIBBLE, quality is important only as long as it gets sold, satisfaction is only important as long as it satisfies the shareholders, there is no competition to make them keep improving since a megacorp is propping up their costs while they turn their product (market) into a short-term profit maker that will be dumped by the megacorp when sales drop.
STO = Walmart.
People ***** and moan about the management, the products, the way the employees are treated.
Yet time and time again, people come back to the Walmart because that Whole Foods is just too darn expensive. :cool:
500 years in the future and we still look like schmucks when getting our ID photos taken...
Free-to-play works in todays MMO market because it suckers people into the promise of a free game, and then lets them find they have to pay (or grind very long) for that (supposedly) better content. Players buy the things they want, get bored, and move on.
I disagree. I think you have it backwards.
See, the only reason why a good number of MMO's are F2P is because they are high return for little cost in the short term. Aka, fast cash at little cost.
This system originated in asia with their craptastic MMO's geared to their populations. Microtransactions flourished there as in those countries the monthly fee system did not catch on..most of the population is not wealthy enough to afford it and their internet charges by the minute of usage (not unlimited as it is in the Americas). For their target market the best solution was a quick-fun game with no monthly cost but that made money selling little things here and there.
These games and companies build a game engine and make one incarnation of a game after another in sequence. Once one game's microtransaction numbers fall below a certain level the game is closed. Then a new game using the same engine is cobbled up and re-marketted. Cycle continues.
This is the PWI model. It is why STO has had such little improvements in the game itself yet tons of monetizing items added. It is also why the game has been dumbed down so much.
Now, that model was tried out in the US some time ago. The result (which US companies and Asian companies took good note of) was that when the market population does have unlimited internet and they are offered a 'free' game they can charge a LOT more for the same low cost to produce and they can re-peddle the product using the same engine just like they do in asia. However they first failed because they brought over asian MMO's which were quite lame. When the begun to buy out games that were failing (like STO) and prop them up and set them as micro-transaction squeezing platforms they have profits. lots of them.
The trend with these US-made, Asian-microtrans. model games is to monetize performance to the point where the game truly becomes pay-to-compete at which point players just leave. The game is then killed off, a new one written using the same old engine with some FX improvements and re-marketed. The cash they get from this is far more than they would if they simply improved STO for long term shelf life.
OTH, games that remain monthly fee do have very long shelf lives and flourish. There are some today that are over a decade old and still have a large player population. They keep being improved and the gaming experience made better.
For investors however, long shelf life means low returns over long time. Hence these games are phasing out. It is not for the making of games, not for the player satisfaction...its to maximize profits.
The gaming industry has finally prostituted itself. You go girl! :rolleyes:
Not really. This is actually about on par for random derailments/comparison changes. Oddly enough, it actually makes sense if you read the posts leading up to it XD. THAT'S the odd part.
My character Tsin'xing
Well at least until Stahl convinces you all to contribute to the STO Development KICKSTARTER.
hahahahahah
When I first started, back in the middle of Season 5 or so, I was told how badly the game sucked, how little content there was, etc. etc., and let's not forget the oft-lamented content drought when Atari had it. In fact I recall reading at least one article where they mentioned where Season 7 is now was "almost" what they should have launched with.
Now I keep hearing from people who were around during the Atari days how golden the game was then, an unblemished jewel where profit was secondary to content, etc. etc.
So it's very hard to take either of these assessments terribly seriously. I, for one, am trying to evaluate the game as it is now, and while I'm not an MMO expert, I keep logging in and I'm not planning on stopping any time soon.
As a note, I could be considered an "F2Per," since I came about a week before F2P, but I subscribe now, so I'm not really playing for free. I figure a few bucks a month is a reasonable price to pay to keep the game going.
While I agree with Scarabpoet, you have a valid point, you have to spend over $200 for a lobi ship that only 1 toon can use. If it was account bound, or even better once you buy it, its like a Zen ship where you can reclaim it or any toon can get it. $250 is a lot of money for a "bound to char" ship
This can be true of a lot of MMOs but you forget that Star Trek Online, well, it's Trek. It has die-hard loyal fans who play because it's the best Trek experience out there. Fans like me. If there was one that better represented Trek then I'd probably try it as a minimum but seeing as how tightly controlled the IP is I think that won't happen until after this game dies.
In the real world this is the kind of attitude that will make a company fail. You want to set your prices high? Go ahead, you won't have customers or a business for long
Its not about what they want or don't want to do, its about making common sense based decisions that don't alienate customers and end up costing them money, or worse. People are not complaining, they are stating that if it was there they would buy it. Common sense, and basic business principles dictate that when customers are flat out telling you that they would buy your product if you make it available to them, then you should make it available to them
If you do not set reasonable prices you will have neither customers nor a business. When someone tells you your prices are too high, a good business owner listens carefully
People who do not listen to their customers do not have a business for long. Calling them 'complainers' shows you have no respect for people offering you advice - whats worse, they are your own customers. That attitude is setting yourself up for failure. Such an attitude is the same only with business owners that have failing businesses.
I've seen you all over this message board and comments trying to make excuses for PWEs actions
Are you serious? The thing you don't realize is that the players are customers. The players very much do decide what PWE does, because if they don't like it they don't pay and then PWE stops making money. Such is the nature of business. So yes it is very much a democracy, one decided by the customers. A business that wants to survive does not dictate to its customers or it will soon not have them.
Accusing eh? What they are doing fits the legal definition of a scam. There is no opinion on that, it is what it is.
This is exactly what they should not do. People would stop playing. This is a free to play game, its only attraction is that all of the content is supposed to be available without paying.
Circular logic and more excuses. Supermarkets do not scam people, nor do they run the kinds of scams PWE has been with STO. Buy a lottery ticket in a supermarket and you're going to see the odds clearly printed on it, as required by law. By a lottery box here and ask for the odds and you'll get the run around and claims from idiots that its legal, when it is not.
Its to be expected. Though walmart is as shady as they come so I wouldn't be using them as an example. Need I point out those life insurance policies they got caught taking out on people?
Don't give him ideas
I disagree. You haven't seen limited edition things be put on sale? Even though customer demand may dictate there should be more limited items quite often a company won't release more. Like limited edition signed prints of art. This is how you command premium prices.
I set my price as per what I know my time is worth. My product speaks for itself. If someone doesn't wish to pay for my work they go to a cheaper provider. It's their choice and I respect that.
As a hypothetical, imagine if DaVinci lived today and could be commissioned to do portraits. In that instance you can bet that he would charge a very premium price on his work. There would be heaps of people wanting him to lower his prices so they could afford him. According to your logic he should do just that to make his potential clients happy. This is where your reasoning fails.
Now, I am skilled at my trade but by no means am I a master!! i just used that example to illustrate a point. That being said, I am skilled enough to charge a higher price and even so I find myself with more than enough work.
I listen to my customers. The paying ones, that is, as they're the ones that put food on my table and gas in my car. If they weren't happy they wouldn't come back. Seeing as my trade isn't as highly specialised as a Star Trek MMO it would be easy for them to do, too.
You may think that I make excuses for PWE but you're mistaken. I'm a principled person who is tired of the entitlement attitude that seems to be sweeping this world. Businesses have the right to make their own decisions. If they make the right decisions they live, if they make the wrong decisions they fold. Either way it's their decision to make. People seems to believe that they can make demands of a business as if they have sole discretion as to what the outcome should be. Then they're offended when their demands are not followed.
What you see is not me blindly following PWE but rather opposing an attitude which irritates me.
On that note, I am sorry that I brought it up.
Axe-grinders will grind axes, shocking.
I get your point -- the forum is littered with poorly thought out threads about "plz make lobi tradlble" and other assorted .. gems. I argue that, indeed, the dislike of the F2P has very little to do with being 'ripped off' -- since these ascetics clearly do not partake of such products -- and more to do with astoundingly thick rose colored lenses.
For those of you who have clearly forgot the old days, Atari AND Cryptic regularly lied, pulled stunts with pricing and promotions, and engaged in all kinds of other offensive things. They wouldn't produce a decent endgame or anything for people to do and getting them to actually communicate was very, very hard.
The old forums were , indeed, really indicative of what we were dealing with in Atari and how craptastic it was, and people seem to forget that. Is PW perfect, no.
Is the solution ideal? NO.
Was the game 'doing well' before F2P? NO. I submit people , as with everything else in life, look back fondly on the old days and discount anything that does not fit with the argument they wish to put forward.
I am growing extremely tired of illogical and frankly childish rants against profits and the ugly fact that gaming is no longer something done in a garage by enthusiasts. It's business. Subscription models have failed repeatedly because gaming companies will not produce enough content to satisfy massive numbers of players, and while the game can turn a profit it's so low order and long-term that it isn't worth it.
How dare companies try to make more money. The Wal-Mart comparison is apt. Let's forget the cost savings, let's forget the older 'local stores' were inefficient, didn't employ nearly as many people, and had limited selections. Let's set aside the fact that they were often badly mismanaged and (like the laughable Food Lion) were more concerned themselves with making money than public safety.
All that matters is someone has an axe to grind with big bidness, and if you seem to be posting something defending it, then you must be a <insert disparaging comment here>.
Don't let it get you down. The clear argument is dilithium buys zen which buys keys which opens boxes which contains lobi.
Arguments ignoring this and railing about gambling fail to point out that the system would be perfectly fine if ALL lockbox ships were simply lockbox lobi ships, with the current .0005% batch merely moved to the 1600 to 3400 lobi range.
Which doesn't make any sense even when everyone already has everything. Old player are going to new content because they want it, or snuff it because they don't want to get on the bandwagon of keeping up with the Jones. It effectively discourages new player from getting old content because it hasn't aged well.
In only one out of three cases is new content purchased, and in no case is the old stock seriously even looked at. When I got a D'Kyr and Intrepid refit because dilithium exchange dipped low enough I decided "If I'm ever going to get them, now would be the time". Now having? They're effectively ignored as I can find no use for them.
Things like the lock box rat race is business's death knell.
Edit: To put it another way, it creatures a bubble that must keep getting bigger and bigger until nothing can support it anymore and burst. Doing large sums of collateral damage.
F2P games like Atlantica Online have had lockbox type lottery cash shops for years. You want an outfit or a mount for your toon there? GL. Maybe you'll get it, maybe you won't.
I think a number of you are playing video games for the wrong reasons, as it's obviously stopped being fun years ago.
500 years in the future and we still look like schmucks when getting our ID photos taken...
Companies that run free-to-play games frequently use unethical methods to make money. Zynga (known for Farmville and plagiarising games) and other similar companies target children with addictive games and then uses that addiction to try to get them to part with their pocket money (or their parents' money). Chinese companies that run f2p games (including Perfect World Entertainment) incorporate gambling into their games. Unlike actual casino's, they don't even tell you the odds. There's a reason a lot of gambling joints used to be run by mobsters. It's not a very ethical way to make money.
I'm glad there's premium content as a) I've been fortunate enough to get some, and b) it funds the game and prevents it from dying.
Yes, I wish there was more in the game, but looking at the trends being set, this game is going to keep growing for a long time to come.