Prizing and composition of Mudd's bundles 2023

ee3452p · August 2023

Hi all,

Community contributor STU1701 recently released a Youtube video called "The Problem with Mudd's Market". One day after, more than 150 comments appear under this video, most of them basically agreeing with his thesis.

Therefore I would like to use this opportunity to start a discussion about the prizing and composition of Mudd's bundles.

The goal is A ) to make Cryptic aware that a lot of people are not happy with the current state of Mudd's bundles and bundles in general and
B ) to find a constructive, better way that benefits both the customer and also Cryptic.

I think we all understand that Cryptic is a company that has to pay its employers, so it has to make money. My personal viewpoint is that a lot of these bundles, especially recent bundles, leave a lot to be desired. If they would suit the taste of the customers more, it would mean that MORE people would buy these bundles and hence, Cryptic would get MORE MONEY and also have MORE SATISFIED CUSTOMERS than now.

SO I HOPE TO MAKE CLEAR THAT IT IS IN THE INTEREST OF CRYPTIC AS A COMPANY TO PAY ATTENTION TO THIS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLY IMPLEMENT POSITIVE CHANGES TO THEIR SALES RELEASES.

People, I understand that some of you may be frustrated with recent bundles. Please be civil and constructive in your comments.

leemwatson · August 2023

You start a discussion, but don't provide a potential solution, nor even discuss the video!? It would help the community if you can elaborate on your greviances.

The price these bundles are set at, are done for for a reason, and I think they are fairly priced in comparison to forking out £200 to buy keys to line another player's pocket for a single ship that is not an account unlock, whilst that person then buys keys and gets more ships and EC WITH YOUR MONEY! If you don't like the price, don't buy it. There is nothing essential in the packs and not having one will not affect your game. Cryptic is more than aware of what makes them their money, and capping a sentence declaring it's in their interest is not going to be effective, and it is not constructive.

phoenixc · August 2023

With the EU making noises about outlawing lockboxes game companies had to scramble to come up with alternatives, and Mudd's Market seems to be the one Cryptic implemented as a fallback for if the EU ever does get around to banning the boxes entirely. Making Mudd's ships account unlocks is a nice touch though.

On the other hand, I don't really have a dog in this fight, since (except for the campaign event tokens) getting ships from either of those sources is way beyond budget for me, even during a Mudd's "sale" event, so I don't have any suggestions for a solution.

ee3452p · August 2023

Two major points of the video are that

One the ships and bundles are too expensive. You have to buy a lot of stuff that people don't want in order to get what you want. The second point is that the COMPOSITION of the bundles is very poorly designed, basically mixing together stuff that doesn't fit together.

I hope its okay that I'll post a link to the video so everyone can see oneself:

(Linked video removed. - BMR)

Also take a look at the comments, there are a lot more comments on Youtube than may appear here on the forum.

leemwatson wrote: »

Cryptic is more than aware of what makes them their money, and capping a sentence declaring it's in their interest is not going to be effective, and it is not constructive.

I heavily disagree with that statement. I know for certain that I'm not giving them the money they could get for me, exactly for these two reasons: Too expensive and too badly composed. And basically all of the comments for the Youtube video seem to share the same sentiment that this drives people away from actually buying items in the Mudd's store. If Cryptic could get these people, including me, to buy stuff, I have the strong impression that they could make more money than now.

p331 · August 2023

The value of something is highly subjective between different people and 150 comments to a youtube post is not really representative of the player base as a whole. Only Cryptic actually knows what the sales numbers are on the Mudd's Bundles. It would seem to me though, that enough people are buying the bundles to make it worthwhile to Cryptic or else they would not continue with this marketing strategy.

baddmoonrizin · August 2023

The marketing stratgey behind Mudd's was discussed thoroughly back when it launched: You're not ever meant to buy anything in there at full price, but wait until one of the numerous sales comes along. This was a headache of an argument the first time around, we're not going to have that happen again. Suffice to say, yes, there are a number of players not thrilled with the full prices, but Cryptic has no plans at this time to change anything about Mudd's Market. /thread

Prizing and composition of Mudd's bundles 2023

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