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ArenaNet is really generous o_o
Serelisk
Member Posts: 836
in Guild Wars 2
I've been realizing lately that, for some reason, ArenaNet is allergic to money...
Here, we have a massive triple-A game with an extensive system of over 1500 scalable, chainable, branchable, cooperable, and repeatable dynamic events at launch, spanning 25 incredibly large zones that also hold 6 capital cities and 8 dungeons that each have a story version then 3 challenging explorable mode versions (that's roughly 32 unique dungeon experiences, 24 of them very difficult)...
Astride that is a personal storyline with branching decisions and more voice acting than any other MMO not named Star Wars: The Old Republic...
A massive form of 3 faction PvPvE complete with castle sieges, guild owned keeps, supply lines and mercenary camps...
Completely equalized competetive PvP with hot joinable matches, custom made matches, automated tournaments and a ladder system...
I mean, seriously, it seems to me each one of the things listed here could be it's own game! But they're not. It's all one game, and it'll likely be sold for $60 for the standard edition.
Where I'm going with this is, there's no subscription fee. We know this. There's something that was in Guild Wars 1 that I was soo positive would be in GW2 though, and would've had no qualms about it. Skill and item unlock packs for PvP. They could've been gotten through the PvE or PvP through the investment of time, and it didn't take very long either, but nope! In Guild Wars 2, you get EVERYTHING you'll need for competetive PvP right off the back. Then there's server transfers. On most other subscription MMO's, you also have to pay some ridiculous charge to the tune of about $25 or so just to move servers and play with your friends. Not in Guild Wars 2 though, which is something I'm sure they could've gotten away with(you still need to pay to change your home server to play wuv wuh). They even changed their stance on transmutation stones! They're available through karma vendors instead of the cash shop.
They've also promised us there will be free content updates after the game is released, such as added dynamic events to older areas, guild halls & personal housing, and possibly some of those other things they've mentioned during game conventions that they were meaning to implement but aren't focused on pre-release, such as an observation mode for competetive PvP like the first game.
I don't want to sound like I'm hyping them up to be "good guy ArenaNet" or something, but seriously? And where is NCSoft in all of this? The initial content you're getting in this game looks to be so extremely satisfying for just $60. And everything I listed at the top will only ever have costed you $60... so I reitterate my quandry, is ArenaNet allergic to money?
Comments
Youre also forgetting thats 25 bucks for each character and in GW2 it will be an amount for your full account
It may seem generous, and Anet does look like they actually care about their game and their fans, however the reason why they put in so much stuff for such a price is eventually because they expect that will earn them a lot of money.
Expansions will be out every 3-4 months to offset the subscription lost.
It will work out the same as a subscription way if you want to keep up with the game and stay competative.
So rather than take your money by subs they will get if from expansions.
Looking forward to it though, eyes wide open.
Meh, I'll enjoy it when TOR's servers are down.
Looking forward to it none the less.
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
The only way for them to make money off of their content at launch in a manner that's not completely assholish and a complete disregard to their previous mode of business would be to make large content packages or expansions and sell them.
It's up to you as a player to decide if their content is worth your money, but if you've already fallen in love with their game, you'll definitely be inclined to get more of it, I'm sure. They're making content that people would want to buy, and if people complain about that, then they're just being greedy or selfish or something. I have no other way of describing them.
Subscriptions are a disgrace which can barely be legitimized, and it's refreshing for a company to not try and bleed their audience dry.
For me it depends on how its priced.
10$ for what would have been a content patch in a P2P MMO? Sure, 5$ for a dungeon or two? NTY.
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
You'll never fall out of competetiveness. Maybe you'll be missing out on some sweet armor designs, but the PvE and PvP in this game are not carrots on a stick. Max statistical value gear is easily obtainable in PvE at max level of 80, which they have no reason to raise with each expansion. And in PvP, you get everything you need the moment you enter the PvP lobby, even right after tutorial. :O
And it will and deservedly so. More content in this game than most p2p MMO's that have been released in the past few years, and those p2p MMO's charge for server changes/character name changes/expansions etc plus added cash shops.
Going by reactions from the beta weekend, there's rumors Arenanet only really made this game so they could play it themselves ...
People paid $20+ for a mount so i'm sure they could sell small content for $5
I wasn't being negative about it, just realistic. I love Anet and their games (and the pricing model they use), but Anet is still a company (or rather a branch of a company).
Its ok don't take it wrong way, just following up.
I never paid a dime towards that kinda stuff.
one of the reasons I dislike B2P model, sure its not as bad as F2P but the fact that its still there annoys me. Also since GW2 is an actually MMO its goign to require more money to add more content, and you can only get so much from box sales.
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
Know who else is really generous?
Not really... most games give a large amount of content to that degree. In terms of B2P you need to keep in mind that sure, your going to buy it and not have to pay another cent for it, but any big updates will need to be purchased. $50 doesn't sound like much but 6 months later you might need to pay $50 more for an expansion and then $50 more for an expansion 6 months later. While I doubt it will be done in that exact way, its more then likely you will be actually paying for content in this game more often then you might see in a traditional p2p MMo. The cash shop is likely going to alleviate this to some degree but I am sure they will be doing this yearly or at least every 2 years. With that method, its very unlikely many content updates will be released in order to preserved the content for a paid expansion.
They're focusing on putting things in the cash shop that people want to buy. They've said time and time again they'd never put something in the cash shop that players were forced to buy to enjoy the game. So if there's nothing you want to buy, move along. Hopefuly, they get enough money from the people who do buy things that they can continue adding content. And the B2P model has proven itself with the first game that box sales can go a long way.
Edit: Also, they'll more than likely be making large expansions packed with content. You'll likely want to buy these because they'll be worth the price for an addition to an already incredible game.
ANet is one of the few companies that I actually don't mind using a cash shop for, because I like the detailed cosmetic offerings that they sell, and the price is reasonable. I look forward to the ideas they will come up with for GW2. I hope they are even more elaborate than the ones they currently offer for the original Guild Wars.
Will save my judgement for when GW2 is out for some time.
Besides I don't think NCSoft / Arena.net want to earn LESS , imo expansions / cash shop might be more aggressive than in GW1.
People tend to not realize how much money f2p games can make from small transaccounts. Similiar to paying for phone apps people get a few new apps for a dollar a piece every week. The small costs adds up over time and you end up paying alot for it.
Due to it being free after buy the game the mmo will have a larger playerbase than most other p2p game. So even if only 1/4 of the players are buy cosmetic gear they are still making a decent profit. After cosmetic gear Arenanet will still put out a expac every 6 months or so. Overall Arenanet will make more money with a f2p model than with a p2p one and keep more people happy since they know what they are paying for.
People "want" to buy a lot of things and to me that does not sound good at all.
Also GW1 was no where near the size of 2, and with that I assume the cost is much much higher.
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
So what your saying is there is no progression lol I really don;t get wtf u pvp for in guild wars 2 if not for gear what can u offer me that would make me wanna do pvp if it's not gear? I think alot of people are going to really displeased wiht the pvp side of things it' s being limited way to much so they can be lazy and not have to balance much. Also no raids so whats the point of gearing up in a regular dungeon sorry but wihtout somesort of progression nobody is going to hang around long after max lvl. RThe reason they get away wiht no trinity is becasue there is no progression at max lvl or the content is super easy.
Anet isn't generous it is clever. F2P/B2P models are more profitable in long run compared to P2P. Not to mention risk free.
Lets look at GW1 nos how much did I spend.
GW + Factions + Nightfall+ eye of the north = $200 approx.
PVP/PVE skill and gear packs =$50.
Account storage = $10
Other novely costumes =$40
So I paid out of my choice around $300 for GW
For other games I paid only for the game and maximum 4 to 5 months subs that is around $100 to $125 max for games like AOC or WAR or RIFT or AION etc.
And the thing is I still love GW even today while others have left a bitter taste for me