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Acceptable and Unacceptable Cash Shop Items
jalexbrown
Member UncommonPosts: 253
(First time posting here, by the way)
Out of the following list of items I've seen put up in cash shops, which of the following do you think are most and least acceptable in a free to play MMO?
- Content packs/Expansion Packs
- Races
- Classes
- Global chat tokens
- Experience potions
- Revival items
- Ability to use higher-tier weapons/armor/spells
- Lock box keys
- Mounts
- Cosmetic pets
- Cosmetic equipment
- In-game currency
- Enchantment items / Ability to enchant equipment
- Name/gender/appearance changes
- Server changes
- Instant level-ups (never seen this before, but it surprises me that I haven't)
- Character slots
- In-game housing/Other non-combat elements
Again, which of these would you consider most and least acceptable in a free to play MMO? For the sake of some semblance of consistency, let's assume the cost of each of the above isn't a relevant factor (i.e. "Instant level is okay if it's expensive"); we're just evaluating rather or not the ability to buy the above cash-shop items (and conversely the ability to be locked out of those things by not buying) make or break the game for you. Also let's assume you can't earn cash shop money through any sort of in-game means.
Comments
Edit your first post, It should allow you to change the title.
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Thanks. I was able to change it after all.
IMO, F2P should simply be a trial OR limit access to chat and messaging.
IMO, F2P MMOs need to simply be B2P with a low cost to entry ($5-$20). This increases cash flow substantially and VASTLY improves on common issues in F2P games (botting, gold selling, etc.)
"As you read these words, a release is seven days or less away or has just happened within the last seven days those are now the only two states youll find the world of Tyria."...Guild Wars 2
I noticed you didn't have the "Rent this item (whatever it may be) for a week for $10!" ...
I absolutely LOATHE games that have items like this for sale. If I'm going to spend money on something in your cash shop, like a mount, bag space or hell even armor dye, In my opinion it should be there permanently.
It's interesting; other than being a "standard charge" of the MMO industry, I sometimes wonder why almost everyone is okay with paying for server transfers. Other than moving bits of character information from one database to another (which I suspect is highly automated and requires no manpower whatsoever), the company is doing absolutely nothing to get that money.
P2w items are the only things on a cash shop that will make me walk away from a game. I don't consider items like xp boosts p2w but anything that gives a player a real advantage that a free player can never get. xp and gold boost are just a matter of spending more time in game.
P2W items are things like health boosts, damage boosts, better gear than what drops in game ect.
Content packs and such are up to each game to decide how they distribute it. It's something people know going in. But I think it really benifits the game if they let any item in the cash shop be sold by players ( who buy it with real money ) to other players. It also means there is nothing in the game only a paying player can get.
The company sells more of them and people have the option to play totally free. It's the ballance between people with more money than time and people with more time than money.
Botters don't care about losing 5-60 dollars because usually botters are gold sellers so your logic is flawed there and the cash flow does not increase substantially by having a barrier to entry, these things are not cause and effect type deals. You're likely to reduce your long term cash flow by increasing your short term like that.
If you want a real head scratcher, ask this crowd what they don't like about F2P and then ask them if they would pay for an expansion.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
UNACCEPTABLE
Your mother.
ACCEPTABLE
Anything else.
All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.
I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.
I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.
I don't hate much, but I hate Apple© with a passion. If Steve Jobs was alive, I would punch him in the face.
Unacceptable? how about action bars?
I just logged into SWToR after quite a long time and realized that I couldn't see most of my skills. After some rummaging around it seems that I must buy an action bar (s?) in order to have access to most of my skills.
Unless there is something I'm missing.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I was just chuckling at the fact that I didn't think to add that for laughs. But I thought they removed that restriction after all the ruckus over it.
Wait...that's a true story?
"As you read these words, a release is seven days or less away or has just happened within the last seven days those are now the only two states youll find the world of Tyria."...Guild Wars 2
I was just chuckling at the fact that I didn't think to add that for laughs. But I thought they removed that restriction after all the ruckus over it.
Wait...that's a true story?
Yeah, butfor people who paid to unlock them, Idont think they refunded the money.Welcome to MMORPG.com Jalex! ;-)
In general, I think anything game-breaking is unacceptable. gPotato is one that's know for it very well, with items that raise the chane of success for enchantments, crafting and such. Also, selling (over powered) gear in a cash shop is a huge no-no for me (EQ2X did that for a while and AoC still doing it).
Of your list I can only think of
Ability to use higher-tier weapons/armor/spells
In-game currency
Enchantment items / Ability to enchant equipment - Already mentioned above
Instant level-ups (never seen this before, but it surprises me that I haven't) - Age of Conan uses this for subscribing players with characters over level 30
The expansion packs you mentioned are a bit of a gray area... They do give the players that have bought them an advancement if it includes also a new level cap (which is mostly true). If there's no raise in level cap, or the raise is for all players and it's only the content that's new, then I'm okay.
What's acceptable..? Everything fluff! And you'd be surprised how many players buy that stuff, just to look different from the rest of the players.
I also like it when companies allow players to sell cash shop stuff, or allow the players to trade the cash shop currency in-game. This way every player has a way to obtain the extra stuff in the cash shop, where some can take the easy way (pull the wallet) and others do it the hard way (grind for money in-game).
Not completely... non-subscribers have only 4 bars, while subscribers have 6 bars total...
Cash shops are evil by their very nature, and should never be in any MMO ... of course this is my opinion.
Here is a bit of information that most people may not really know about cash shops. There are more items in the cash shop that the normal user sees. Cash shops work in many ways like the secret menu at a Chinese food joint. People who have spent $1000 in the last month might have access to special items that all the Free people do not even know about. Spend $10,000 and even more items appear. When you hear stories of people spending $35,000 in a game, you ever wonder what they spent it on? I know of one company that offered the entire catalogue of items to one user that had spent over $100,000 on the game.
We as gamers in a game with cash shop never get to decide what should or should not be there. There will always be people willing to buy something we refuse to, and since the goal of the cash shop it to make money, they will try and sell what they can without going too far into the p2w area for most players. All bets are off for the whales as they get better deals.
The fact tht a cash shop exists in a game means it is only a matter of time before it starts down the dark path.
I which case there are some shenannigans going on.
I clicked the "+" to expand my hot bars and got a spiel about buying them in the store. I'll have to investigate that. Thanks guys.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Everything cosmetic is acceptable. These things are not needed to actually play. They are only personal preferences and are completely personal, your preferance is not mine.
Basic mechanics are a slope for me. I play SWTOR and my lvl 50s have no problem with 2 bars, mostly because it is only 2 active bars, you can have many bars configured, and rotate them for different play styles.
Paying for races.. well if you give me at least a few basic choices I can live with special races locked. I'm not loosing any sleep because I cannot play Borg in STO.
Character slots, gimme at least 2, FFXI even as a sub I had to unlock a 2nd character slot and I hated it, it felt far more restrictive than many of the current f2p.
All bosts I'm fine with being in the shop, I do not consider exp boosts pay to win as doesn't really give any true advantage in actual gameplay, only in leveling and that is a personal preference. Some think games let you level to fast, others think it is to slow, but they are the same rate actually
Things I'd like to be in a cash shop. limit unlocks. You have a wallet that only holds 200k, let me buy an unlock so I can add a bigger wallet. Not being able to do that really does piss me off.
--> http://www.swtor.com/r/nBndbs <--
Several Unlocks and a few days game time to make the F2P considerably easier
Unnacceptable: SWTOR, Age of Wushu, Rune of Magic
Acceptable: The Secret World, Fallen Earth, TERA
Joined 2004 - I can't believe I've been a MMORPG.com member for 20 years! Get off my lawn!
I only wish it were a fairy tale ... I 've worked in the game industry for 15 years, and have programmed a few cash shops ... so I do know how they work, in fact I bet you have played a few of the games I have worked on.
Of the ones on that list the ones I personally have a issue with are.
Lock Box Keys. They would be fine if the publishers had to tell us the odds but than no one in their right minds would use them if they had to do that.
In-Game Currency is a slipperly slop and down right economy breaking if you let people sell gear in any way (though auction houses or chest loot rights in channels)
Enchantment Items again is pretty cut and dry P2W in my book
Instant Level-ups kind of defeats the whole purpose of the game dosn't it?
Other than that I think everything else is fair game. I don't mind spending money on a Free 2 Play game as long as I am getting preceived value out of it.