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[Interview] ArcheAge: XLGAMES Address Monetization Worries
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
ArcheAge in Korea currently utilizes a rather complex monetization system. In a brand new interview, we spoke with Executive Director of XL Game ArcheAge Division Yinzi Cheng about the complicated system and about player concerns with it. Read on and then leave your thoughts in the comments.
MMORPG.com: Could you please explain to our readers how the dual currency system of ArcheAge works? What is the interplay of real money, arcs, crystals, and in-game gold, and what can each get you?
Yinzi Cheng: There are Crystals which is equal to real money, Arcs and in-game gold (gold) in ArcheAge. Crystals could be purchased by real money, and Arcs could be purchased by Crystals. Crystals can be used to buy premium costumes (Avatar) and Arcs. Arcs will be used to purchase premium in-game premium contents, and gold is the currency of buying general in-game contents. For example, Crystals could be used to purchase premium costumes (Avatar). Arcs could be used for inventory extension, skill points reset, and etc. Gold is used to repair characters’ gears, purchase seeds, animals for farms and craft materials, and etc.
Read more of Victor Barreiro Jr.'s ArcheAge: XLGAMES Address Monetization Worries.
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Comments
Ohhh my god, this is the business model they wanted to force on the Russians, but they have revolted against this decision and convinced Mail.ru and XLGames to go with the traditional Korean F2P model for the Russian release.
Hope they are not planning on forcing this for Trion, because it won't end well for them, nor for Trion!
As per Yinzi Cheng "Arcs could be earned by purchasing Crystals, by enjoying some contents such as catching boss monsters, or by trading with other users"
So instead of farming gold from regular mobs, bots will farm Arcs exclusively from bosses? That doesn't bode well.
Arcs seem more valuable than Crystals as they are used for game content and convenience features where Crystals are used for cosmetic items. I don't think they thought this one out fully...
What are you talking about? What aren't they going to accept? It looks just like the standard F2P model we have here in other titles in NA. Not to mention Trion doesn't have a single sub based game left in it's inventory and stated pretty much right after Rift's launch all future titles would be F2P, B2P, or Freemium in one form or another.
Steam: Neph
It doesn't look like a standard F2P at all, since you can't use gold to buy stuff ingame, everything you buy has to be with "arches", which you get by spending RL money, which is a fully P2W model.
This how the Russian model looked like before the revolt:
F2P games are just rotten to the core, just like a bad apple, still looks good from the outside until you take a bite. So many potentially good games being ruined design wise molding their game play into the cash shop. Not to mention every player needs a degree in currency trading in order to play.
So much for unrestricted exploration, fun, and character development for one low fixed price. There are still a handful of sub only games with no in game cash shop and that's where my money goes. Once a month automatically with no worries, no daily calculations to see how much fun I can afford. Never is the word, diamonds for crystals used in the same sentence as real money. Just the whole game and every item attainable in a very reasonable amount of time for one low price.
I don't need someone else to spend more than is logical so I can pick up the bread crumbs of a game for free. That's just a peasant mentality.
My biggest problem with F2P is the massive price gouging. To get an equal experience with pay to play you have to spend WAY more than the usual $15/mo. F2P always ends up being so much more expensive.
Disclaimer: I have pulled the following numbers out of my F2P violated orifice.
$5 for a bag here, $10 for a horse there, $5 for a respec here, $10 for marginally improved farming/crafting/whatever rates, $10 to avoid impossibly slow leveling rates for like 3 days?!, perhaps $100 (7 months sub fee) for in game currency that will only last a month spending frugally, $5 bank access, $5 make a guild, $10 additional character slot, $10 additional class, $10 fast travel capability, etc, etc, etc.
It's always awful.
About the code, I understand your point. My point is to the monetization system. XL will tell Trion, and whoever else host their mmorpg how it will make money.
I've been playing Age of Wushu, so I understand this system and can stomach it if the game is good and if XL is not greedy.
This will not be the last time we see this model under various names and ways. Everything rest on the cash to arc conversion ratio. They closer to 1:1 this ration gets the more influence cash will have in the game, this is XL's greed factor.
I know a lot of you don't understand, but on it's surface this system can work just fine, even be something you learn to like. The devil is in the details though. We will not know until we play the game.
Problem with archeage is that it was built from ground up as a P2P game.
Then it didn't launch as successful as was hoped and blam it got the fast f2p rushdown.
F2P doesn't fit the game, will be interesting to see how it goes :j
Does Trion even know they are responsible for launching the game ?
This.
I have yet to play a F2P game that has a value quotient in the paying customer's favor.
Sounds almost as complicated as the nonsense in Neverwinter and we all know how well that went over in the west.
Probably won't bother with the game if this is what Trion uses to monetize the game.
1. Crystals
2. Arcs
3. Gold
That makes it a TRIPLE currency system, goddammit..
Also you still can trade Gold using the Auctionhouse.
And much more important!
The Bot user will now simply farm Stuff and sell it for Arcs,
because they are tradeable and they are worth more then Gold because you can use it to unlock Stuff.
The only bloody difference is that XL will now profit from the Bot users
because the people who buy stuff from them will have to do it with Arcs!
That guy is spouting so much typical ignorant marketing nonsense it hurts my eyes.
It's not complicated it at all. There is player currency, and npc currency. Npc currency is you traditional in game gold. It will be used to purchase things like profession tools. Player currency (Arcs) will be used for nearly everything. Cash shop crystals are just that for cash shop only.
Where things could go potentially bad is the crystal to arc conversion. If the the conversion is "too good" you will get the feeling of needing to buy crystals to convert, because everyone will be doing it. If it is bad, people wont convert directly, and instead spend their crystals in the cash shop then sell those items to the player base via the market.
In theory you will never need to spend a penny on crystals, because all cash shop items can be sold in game and purchased with arcs earned through trade and crafting.
You failed the moment you said Rift.
Next time try again with Path of Exile.
Did you read the article or look at your own infographic? It says gold is used to buy items from NPC's however you state "you can't use gold to buy stuff ingame." Also you can obtain arches without spending RL money just like you can obtain other F2P games currencies in other methods as well. Like I said before this is basically the same old F2P model as every other title out there. Is it exactly the same? No, but at that point we're pretty much nitpicking over details IMO. So again I fail to see how NA players are going to revolt over this at all.
*Please keep in mind at no point am I stating I'm for or against the model I just fail to see what all the fuss is about compared to any other F2P on the market.
Steam: Neph
I'm guessing you have never played Rift's f2p.
Path of Exile is far worse
What a mess...
"Arcs will be used to purchase premium in-game premium contents"...
You make me like charity
Nope but i informed myself about it and i cant be arsed to run wow2.0
It is quite simple.
The bots will now farm items from the environment and mobs (wood, ore, cloth etc.) and then transfer the items to another bot who will sell the items on the AH. That way they will not need or use gold. Goldsellers will become Arch sellers.
The AH will be flooded with very cheap basic items and the economy will go down the drain very fast - like it already has in Korea because of the number of bots.
You can please some MMO-players all of the time and you can please all MMO-players some of the time but you can't please all MMO-players all of the time.
People do a lot of that around here....
OT: this looks a lot like how PWI does things with its zen and AD. Those games always feel like a job to me. When it has a direct conversion to real money I can't help but think " oh that quest was worth $0.03 and it took almost an hr to finish "
I hate the immersion argument but, that does kill it for me.
True, being able to see the actual $$ worth of an item can do that.
If you are able to make arcs at a reasonable rate in game, It should boil down to play the game or pay the game. People who play the game in theory will never need to spend $$. Those who want ____ now, or as they say "don't have time" will be the ones paying the game.
So mr. "I don't have time" will buy stuff for mr. gamer. Mr. Gamer should not feel like he's spending $$ because he will be buying everything with currency he earned in game.