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Whales don't respond to expensive items
bwleon7
Member Posts: 310 Arc User
Interesting article on how much money whales will spend in games.
New data shows that, "very expensive individual items or bundles will not make an impact" on monetisation
High-spending mobile gamers aren't likely to respond to higher priced items, according to data from DeltaDNA, with more than half of all "whales" never spending more than $50 at a time.
Whales are commonly understood to be the minority of big spenders that keep most free-to-play games running, but DeltaDNA has addressed the "misconception" that they also spend indiscriminately, and, "can afford anything offered to them."
Data was collected from more than 1 million players who have spent more than $100 on free-to-play games since July 2015, and it shows a disconnect between how developers see whales and how those whales see themselves. Across all in-app purchases made by whales, the average transaction size is $20, with 54 per cent never spending more than $50 at one time.
The whales that spent more than $1000 in that period - the "mega whales" - did so from an escalating number of transactions that stays roughly in line with their lifetime value. The mega-whales are considerably more likely to spend above $50 on a single transaction, but they also engaged in around 72 per cent more transactions than whales with a spend of between $500 and $1000.
"These statistics reveal much about the mindset of whales: they do not set out to spend $100s in-game, but spend modest amounts over time that can add up to significant sums," DeltaDNA's Isaac Roseboom said.
"Very expensive individual items or bundles will not make an impact. Focus on building better long term engagement and a creating rewarding experience for all spenders as an effective strategy to maximise the potential of whales."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-04-29-deltadna-whales-dont-want-expensive-items
New data shows that, "very expensive individual items or bundles will not make an impact" on monetisation
High-spending mobile gamers aren't likely to respond to higher priced items, according to data from DeltaDNA, with more than half of all "whales" never spending more than $50 at a time.
Whales are commonly understood to be the minority of big spenders that keep most free-to-play games running, but DeltaDNA has addressed the "misconception" that they also spend indiscriminately, and, "can afford anything offered to them."
Data was collected from more than 1 million players who have spent more than $100 on free-to-play games since July 2015, and it shows a disconnect between how developers see whales and how those whales see themselves. Across all in-app purchases made by whales, the average transaction size is $20, with 54 per cent never spending more than $50 at one time.
The whales that spent more than $1000 in that period - the "mega whales" - did so from an escalating number of transactions that stays roughly in line with their lifetime value. The mega-whales are considerably more likely to spend above $50 on a single transaction, but they also engaged in around 72 per cent more transactions than whales with a spend of between $500 and $1000.
"These statistics reveal much about the mindset of whales: they do not set out to spend $100s in-game, but spend modest amounts over time that can add up to significant sums," DeltaDNA's Isaac Roseboom said.
"Very expensive individual items or bundles will not make an impact. Focus on building better long term engagement and a creating rewarding experience for all spenders as an effective strategy to maximise the potential of whales."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-04-29-deltadna-whales-dont-want-expensive-items
Dr. Miranda Jones: I understand, Mr. Spock. The glory of creation is in its infinite diversity.
Mr. Spock: And the ways our differences combine, to create meaning and beauty.
-Star Trek: Is There in Truth No Beauty? (1968)
Mr. Spock: And the ways our differences combine, to create meaning and beauty.
-Star Trek: Is There in Truth No Beauty? (1968)
Post edited by jodarkrider on
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http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline#/categories/information-and-discussion-ten-forward
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
And all it's really doing is changing the terminology from Whale to Mega-Whale. Which isn't needed.
I see what your saying but STO is a free to play game that follows this model. I think this falls into the board's description.
"This forum is for both the general discussion and feedback related to Star Trek Online"
It just happens that it is not just STO that it applies to.
If the Mods think it should be moved so be it but I think it does fit as being related to STO and could be very helpful in making the game more profitable and hopefully better in the long term.
Mr. Spock: And the ways our differences combine, to create meaning and beauty.
-Star Trek: Is There in Truth No Beauty? (1968)
Here is the problem: You didn't even mention this game *ONCE* in your OP. If you had used this article as some stepping stone to make some commentary about STO's model, that would have been one thing. But you didn't. You posted a thread on the STO discussion board but didn't even mention STO in your thread. You can't get much more off topic than that.
Also, this:
***edit***
Like I said above, it can apply to STO...if you actually discuss STO. You did, but the OP did not. Until your post, this thread contained no actual STO discussion.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
I have always felt that STO would generate far more money if they reduced their prices. $30 for a single ship is excessive, there are thousands of really good full version games on Steam that cost less then the cost of one ship in STO. I understand that this is how they make money since the game has no base costs, but personally, I believe people would spend more frequently if prices were lower.
I know personally, if there is a ship I just want for a cosmetic option, or for a console or trait.. I won't pay $30 for it. Typically, I'll just wait for a ship sale and then see how much Dilithium I have and use that. If however, the ship had a base price of say $15, that would be a different story. Ultimately, what you want is to encourage people to spend small amounts, frequently. It's far more effective then trying to get one large sum once. From a business perspective, it's better to make $15 twice then it is to make $30 once. Generating repeat purchases is where the real money is.
Overall, I think STO still has the best 'Free To Play' model I have ever seen in a game, ever. It's only glaring problems with it's system (in my opinion) are charging for character respecs and the high cost of individual end game ships.
So how comporable are things? Maybe the stuff that Cryptic is asking money needs to be there to compensate the other perks of its F2P system? The money has to come from somewhere.
I don't know if starships would really sell better if they were cheaper. We can pretty much only argue from a mix of ignorance and our own personal - but thus limited - experience.
If the prices were lower, maybe more people would buy ships - the question is - do these people exist in such numbers to compensate by the higher volume? How many people do not buy the ships they want? Would the game really attract more players with cheaper ship prices and free respecs? Or isn't it more like new players come for the F2P stamp and the potential of a Star Trek / Sci Fi / Starship MMO, and stay for the gameplay and the content, not the "store opportunities"?
This weekends sales is a good example of what I mean. The prices are lowered, and more ships are likely to be sold. So why keep the high prices after this point? And the prices of the older ships, I mean really? Cryptic, you expect me to pay that much cash for a t5 thats now been completely superceeded?
The good news is, life does not have to consist of polar opposites. If you think something takes too long to grind or too much to buy...do both. Grind part of the price, and pay part of the price. It's called a compromise; that way you don't have to go to either "extreme".
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
"Buh-buh-buh! It's the Interwebs! That place where no one is a moderate! Nor is it acceptable to take and hold the middle ground!"
I agree with you, Nagus. In fact, your description is exactly the method I prefer to use. I've been playing STO since February of 2012. I spend around US $60.00 a month on this game. I do not think of myself as a "whale". Although I can see where other people might view me as such when I look at the total amount of money I've handed over to Cryptic. I always save a bit of Zen for when there may be something appear which I want. I play the game and when I am done with a session, convert all my Dil into Zen. All four of my chars have at least two T6 ships which are fully kitted out because of this.
I am always amused whenever I see the term "whale" thrown about in these forums with such reckless abandon.
Now we should be calling them Mega-Whales though. Whales are just the rest of the people who spend 20 to 50 bucks on stuff now and again.
Here's some theorycraft that can justify that expense. New game costs 50 to 60 bucks. That new game gets, just a guess, 3 to 5 months of good play out of it.
Take that same 50 bucks, buy that 3 pack ... will it get 3 to 5 months of play from you?
If yes, then the expense can be internally justified to me.
If no, then I'd not spend the money.
That's usually how I approach microtransactions at that level.
I have bought some ships. I've only bought two 3-packs though. And none at T6.
Of course they have to make money. I never said they shouldn't charge for content, I just feel that they need to re-evaluate the structure they currently use in pricing.
STO is still running off the same general price system that the game launched with. The only real difference is that while the top ship used to be $25 (2500 Zen) now it's $30 (3000 Zen.) But here is the thing, originally, STO was a very different game and things were priced under the assumption that most players would get to end game and buy their one ship that they want, and that would be what they used every day. The system changed with the invention of 3 packs, the introduction of T6 ships with traits, and Admiralty. No longer are end game ships designed to be the one and only ship you use, now it's designed to where people are looking to collect ships. The pricing however, is still reflective of the old system and $30 a ship does not really make people want to stock up.
I admit, my opinion isn't based on a huge sample size, but most of the people I know only buy ships during a Ship Sale and even then they use at least 50% dilithium to cover cost. The current method right now (for a lot of people) is that you store dilithium until there is a ship sale, then you make your purchase using as little actual money as you can get away with. A lot of this stems from the high starting cost of ships to begin with. But what if ships were say half that? what if a ship was $15 instead of $30? Yes, it's half the profit, but the goal is to get people to make several smaller purchases instead of one larger purchase.
I would never say that everything should be free, that's just not realistic. But in my personal opinion, I think that STO could make more money with a more reasonable pricing structure. Even during this current ship sale, most of the ships I want are for either traits or cosmetic options. I already have my end game ship, I just want some of the 'shineys' but I'm not going to pay $24 per ship for that, much less $30. If the price were lower, I personally would have a much higher likelihood of playing 'collector' then I do right now. Even though, I admit.. over the years, I have bought way more ships then I intended.
I quit when Cryptic took over, and they made a couple of the ships I had paid money for "obsolete." Also, they changed the traits to the system we have now & made the time I spent essentially WORKING to achieve them similarly "obsolete." I never spent more than $20 at a time, and realize that I am not a whale. But the money I might have spent could have been whale worthy if they'd had some kind of respect for the fact that I was participating as a customer, and not just treated the situation like they did.
Do you get more money from a few whales, or from a multitude of happy fans?
Thats similar to how I approach it. Thats also where the hitch happens... Ive been enjoying STO less and less. DR had a good plot and enemy hidden under a gods awful mess of padding(patrols... with WAVES). But after that the writing tanked, and quality of content in general went south. My opinion of course but that affects my spending habits, and I'm down to a few hours a week on STO, where once I played daily for several hours. I have a hard time justifying $30 for pixels on a good day with a game I love. For one I am barely playing? Nope, not gonna happen. I can get an entire new game, or two if I shop smart, for that money which will give me a much better return on my spending.
STO, again in my opinion, needs to wake up to this. Even playing as little as I do, I would have happily spent cash on the Mirror outfits, I fully expected to spend around $15 for all 3 factions. Instead they threw em in the Lobi store and will not see a penny from me because of it. (The absurdly craptastic level of quality on the KDF and RR ones being a separate issue)
Umm..Cryptic's been here from the start. Do you mean Perfect World?
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What do you mean, "essentially"? What content in this game has to be paid for? I've been playing darn near since F2P launched, and I just spent my first cash today ($20 for a 2000-Zen Arc Card, so I could get the T6 Yorktown-class for my main - got tired of trying to grind up 900k Dil for the Zen). Played all the way through the Klingon War, the Romulan Mystery, the Cardassian arc... started with the Borg, got sidetracked by a few other things, now I'm flying around the Delta Quadrant when I'm not fighting enemies outside our own time. None of the content, not even the Iconian War or the Temporal Front, cost me a damn dime.
(Ships aren't content, especially when you can get them for free up through T5, and with such a minor "grind" it barely counts as one for T5-U or T6 ships during the summer event - it makes the ice races in winter look like work...)
My sample size is probably lower than yours (e.g. 1 person
All Zen you can get from the Exchange is Zen someone paid Cryptic for (except the very few special rewards where people get Zen without spending any money). So it is not really a big concern to Cryptic whether people use Dilithium to lower their Zen cost - they still get their due.
The problem is all we can have on the pricing scheme are opinions. Without access to sales numbers, we can just express opinions. Cryptic and PWE's bean counters also are capable of having opinions - but they also have access to numbers. If they haven't massively lowered the prices so far (and instead basically raised them by 20 %), they probably have data suggesting it to be a good idea to do it this way. Maybe they're wrong, but I don't think we are going to convince them of anything unless we can give them data - not opinions - they haven't considered before.
And the thing about ship packs sales... People think they get a ship for free, or 20 % off, but Cryptic is receiving money for 2 ships or 80 % of a ship. Since Cryptic controls the price point of all of this, I think they probably know why they put it where they did put it.
Individual items, special boff powers, costume pieces, and special ground kits seem like a big opportunity for smaller transactions that are being passed up.
Nope they keep the Lockbox key market alive as most of the thing above you mention are bought with Lobi - and the only real way to get Lobi is to buy Master Keys and open Lockboxes.
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."