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Looks like a Microtransaction blog from Anet is coming
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There you go
http://www.arena.net/blog/mike-obrien-on-microtransactions-in-guild-wars-2
No ArenaNet said they could fund the entire game, all of the developments and the servers off of the box sales. They did it with Guild Wars 2. Now they're looking to get a bit greedy... or they misunderstood their own business model.
Website: http://www.thegameguru.me / YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/users/thetroublmaker
So it's the equivilent of Plex in EVE.
I'm sure this has already been pointed out, but all of a sudden this makes it ok to sell items that give more than cosmetics in the cash shop, because anet will just claim "oh but you can get the gems to buy it with in game gold so it is ok now.
In b4 people either have to spend rl money, or slave away a ton to get enough gems to stay equal.
A snipit
---Here’s our philosophy on microtransactions: We think players should have the opportunity to spend money on items that provide visual distinction and offer more ways to express themselves. They should also be able to spend money on account services and on time-saving convenience items. But it’s never OK for players to buy a game and not be able to enjoy what they paid for without additional purchases, and it’s never OK for players who spend money to have an unfair advantage over players who don’t.----
This is all well and good as long as they stick to it. But TBH, I've seen this before.
http://forums.anarchy-online.com/showthread.php?t=583369
says they won't sell "power" and yet. in another post.
http://forums.anarchy-online.com/showthread.php?t=583660
I quote Means--
If my explanation of this in the previous thread caused any confusion I apologize as it was not my intention to deceive anyone on the subject. It is already possible to generate a great deal of this "advantage" through the expenditure of credits in-game and I'm certain we can all admit where some of these credits are coming from...this is a much more secure alternative for everyone.
Yeah, Secure for FC maybe.
It's just another roundabout way to buy ingame credits through the devs.
Exactly...they can cover their costs with box sales, but - surprise surprise - they're a business looking to make a profit. That's generally the idea behind a company in today's world, is it not?
They aren't being remotely ridiculously with the manner in which they've implemented microtransactions, but of course people will complain when they're not the ones with investors to impress.
Equal in what way? You can't buy power
I'll bet you anything the MT's in GW2 are just cosmetic sets (which may be exclusive to the store) and stuff like xp potions. The standard MT items for any game. Nothing I have ever cared about being in an MMO before.
Only thing which WILL bug me is if they start selling cosmetic sets for stuff like hard mode dungeons, pvp etc. Cash grabs like that would make me quit but I think ArenaNet will have the common sense to stay away from stuff like that.
This is FAR WORSE than I could have imagined. Now every item available for purchase in game can be bought for real life money. It's Arenanet sanctioned RMTing.
Real money to Gems to Gold to whatever you want. An awful system.
Now why would you think that? Is a company which breaks even the only definition of a successful business? I don't quite understand why profit = evil. People are quite happy for anet to raise JUST enough from box sales and expansions to maintain the game and develop further expansions, pay salaries, keep the lights on and the servers running but the second they set out to make a profit people freak out. Why shouldn't they be allowed to profit? Seriously I don't get it.
One of life's lil hand grenades
What more can you buy with money in game? Cant have better, more powerful equipment. Cant buy better weapons. You can only buy more mini pets and vanity items.
With gems is the same. (Speculating cus I dont know what they will sell in the shop yet) You can earn ingame gold and buy Gems in order to buy from the Shop. That way you can spend zero Real money, even from Character slots and Bank space. It probably will be much slower, but if its like in EVE, you can play totaly for free that way.
Nope and you can't buy skill either
One of life's lil hand grenades
It would be valid concern if not some factor people who use it often forget about it.
Gear progression is limited in end game, being focused more on variations rather than linear upgrades. And two, structured PvP has pre-made gear putting You on equal stats with everyone else there.
They pretty much said the cash shop will be vanity, account services (name change, transfers, etc.) and convinience items (exp boost, maybe valor boosts for faster cosmetic upgrades in PvP, portable trading post/bank items). SO far nothing that would upset the "balance" part of gameplay really.
Of course a lot depends on how it will turn out in the end and half year down the road, but until I see something that really affects it I don't see much reason to worry. Western developers learned over last years how to construct cash shops and there is a lot less of the "korean" model going on.
You guys think this is ANet calling the shots?
It''s NCSoft.
It's NCSoft who wants to see the numbers. They control the buisiness of it.
Two equal skilled players.
One spends a ton of real money on gems, converts gems to gold, buys better equipment than the other player.
Game over.
I would like to buy a reasonably priced keychain authenticator, please. After that, well, maybe some costume packs if I like any of them. I expect that changing home server will be in there, too, hopefully with a price tag and wait period hefty enough to prevent the cheesier members of the community from hopping to whatever home server is winning that week. Otherwise, I honestly don't care what's in the cash shop as long as none of it crosses the pay to win line.
I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.
~Albert Einstein
Better equipment? I think you have your games confused.
I suggest you use Google and read up on gear in GW2
There is no better equipment
Thats the point. Players with more in game money cant be more powerful in any way.
Except in structured PvP, as in the one that is competitive, You don't use the gear You gain in-game. You use pre-readied gear, same for everyone else. No matter how much You spend You will have exactly same base stats (affected only by your trait build) as another player of same profession.
There will never be a killer weapon/set of armor in this game that will over ride ability, forward thinking and reaction to situations. Wrong game.
One of life's lil hand grenades
there is not "better equipment" in this game when u reach cap....
you can buy a amazingly looking shiny armor...but not with "better" stats.
It doesn't matter if you can't buy power directly, you can buy power through what parts of the game you can play, we all known DLCs are coming, now anet can sell dungeons without feeling guilty because they will justify it by saying players who don't wanna pay rl money can play enough to get enough gems to get the DLC.
Also to the person that mentioned ncsoft, you are damn straight it is ncsoft. This news is coming from mike obrien himself, do you think his underlings devised this? No it is above his head, and who is above his head? The parent company.
But anyone with a clue how businesses work knew that ncsoft had power over anet, only the fanbois thought that ncsoft would have zero impact on an anet developed game.
Everyone thinks Cash Shops are ONLY about gear.....
They aren't
The danger is in the "Meta-Game" What kind of indirect influence will the cash shop have on the overall community as a whole? It' s less about individual players and more about the playerbase at large.
TBH the only downside I see is the hole in the economy that players who pay with money will have advantage over the rest. Can speculate and drop or rise the prices.