1) Because $25 to me is about what I pay for lunch and not a big deal
2) Because it looks awesome
3) Because I wanted to annoy those who "work" for things?
You don't want to know what people are going to think of you when they see you on your $25 mount.
Same reason people buy hummers, really. I can't afford a hummer, but I can buzz you with a steed. Kinda a hidden desire to annoy the basement people because they always judge everyone and have this "I am better than you" air about them. I want to get under their skin a bit and it seems that it is.
I have yet to understand how people let themselves get ripped off $25 for ONE mount when the monthly fee is $15 and pretty much gives you access to anything.
Just what the industry needed to see. God I hate Blizzard. It wasn't like they hadn't already chummed the water with fresh bait and caused the 'WoWification' of the MMO genre, but now they've gone to show that having a paid sub + cash shop can really be profitable.
[Mod Edit]
Will they? If the proper market research and application isn't applied, I doubt the results would be anything like as successful as World of Warcraft has been. As for "WoWification" thats simply human nature. Investors look for the best Return On Investment thay can get their hands on(its in their self interest). Thus, someone who intones the mystical phrase; "Its just like World of Warcraft", gets truck loads of money thrown at them. ^^
Of course, so far no one has managed to get all of the complex variables aligned that made WoW such a sucess in the first place. But they keep trying. At this point in time, the only real threat to World of Warcraft is Blizzard itself. But if they keep demonstrating such a keen eye for their player bases demand, they aren't going away anytime soon.
The thing is, what WoW did was bring a totally different gamer with a totally different mind set into MMO gaming. Several resposes on this very thread have talked about how 'They don't play games for a sense of achievement.' Why? Because they aren't Role Playing Gamers at heart. To the RPGer it's all about the 'grand struggle'. The grizzled vets recanting tales of how they faced down innumerable odds to finally win their way into the heart of the dungeon and make off with the golden cloak of whatchamacallit. And that cloak would be a great trophy to show off because it took a lot of time and effort to get and not many people had it. Now these new gamers can't be bothered with struggle or time investment, if it exists and someone else has it they deserve to have it too, so why not just buy it? The entire principle of Role Playing is being tossed out the window in favor of instant gratification.
The thing is, what WoW did was bring a totally different gamer with a totally different mind set into MMO gaming. Several resposes on this very thread have talked about how 'They don't play games for a sense of achievement.' Why? Because they aren't Role Playing Gamers at heart. To the RPGer it's all about the 'grand struggle'. The grizzled vets recanting tales of how they faced down innumerable odds to finally win their way into the heart of the dungeon and make off with the golden cloak of whatchamacallit. And that cloak would be a great trophy to show off because it took a lot of time and effort to get and not many people had it. Now these new gamers can't be bothered with struggle or time investment, if it exists and someone else has it they deserve to have it too, so why not just buy it? The entire principle of Role Playing is being tossed out the window in favor of instant gratification.
Not at all, I played table top, I did LARP, I play on an RP server and have written fan fiction. You are way off. What many people are rebelling against is the constant short term achievements and long term grinds. I want to enjoy the content as much as you, but only if it takes less than 10-15 hours a week, anything over that is Blizz agressively stealing my time from my baby and my wife and I won't have that.
I love epic battles over weeks and months, but in chunks so it won't take over my life.
Originally posted by Wraithone I might recommend the same to you... Blizzard is provding a quality *service* that a LARGE number of people have found value in for more than 5 years. They have demonstrated themselves to be past masters at providing for the demands of various aspects of their player base. This has nothing what so ever to do with "integrity"(beyond your own personal value judgement) and much to do with effective market research and application.
The quality service they're providing is subjective.
They should start providing quality service to the people on Cho'gall who have had ridiculous server imbalance for far too long. They should start banning local chat spammers and people slinging racial slurs around. They should fix the exploits that have plagued battlegrounds and Wintergrasp since their inception. They should have quality customer service that doesn't place you on hold for hours waiting to talk to someone.
It's quite easy to go on, but I think you get the point.
You can dance around all you want, but someone's $15 paid the employees who created this out of game item and I highly doubt any of the return profits will ever make a noticeable impact on a player's game.
Instead of Blizzard fixing the problems with the game, whats to stop them from making a flying roll of toilet paper that you all can ride on from level 1 to 80? They've proven you'll all buy it. I'm not slamming them for that - that's the end user's fault. I doubt major research went into testing these waters - it's a simple bait and switch with pretty pixels that you'll all willingly buy into. Enjoy it while it's still considered a game. Maybe five years from now you can all be investing stocks into raid guilds on who can finish Blizzard's elaborate mazes the quickest, instead of actually playing a game as a game.
Originally posted by Vannum I see what people are getting at with this cash shop thing in WoW but I figured if you didnt like something the company is doing you would stop subbing and move on. If you dont like it, stop your sub, me I will continue playing the game because the fluff is exactly like its definition - "of little or no consequence".
Nah, it's a lot better to throw a little vocal around because Blizzard has a influence over other developers and their choices. If my opinion isn't made then what else do I have? My $15 bucks is all I have to talk with.
edit: Trying to fix the awful formatting these forums have, sorry.
It is impressive but it also shows that Blizzard lacks integrity and is motivated souly by greed and it shows the people that brought it lack integrity and are motivated by vanity . Would we be as impressed if we saw Blizzard bring in player housing at a premium and a furnature cash shop ? .
In the end its upto people what they do with their own money but as the old proverb says "a fool and his money are soon parted" and in this case never a truer word was spoken .
.I want to enjoy the content as much as you, but only if it takes less than 10-15 hours a week, anything over that is Blizz agressively stealing my time from my baby and my wife and I won't have that.
I love epic battles over weeks and months, but in chunks so it won't take over my life.
Blizzard has no control over your family values. If a game requires too much time to advance, and it takes away from your family, and you let it, that's your fault, not theirs. It would be in your best interest then to find another game to progress through requiring less time.
If you invest time in the game and it takes away from your baby and wife, you should make the active decision to cancel the subscription and put more time in your family. Blizzard aggressively stealing your time would be them forcing you to sit on for 4-6+ hours a day. That decision on you. You would be effectively and aggressively stealing time from you real life responsibilities.
I don't go sky diving every weekend because it's quite expensive and I need that money for my responsibilities at the house, the money needed for taking care of a family. But I don't blame the companies offering the sky diving services for aggressively stealing my money. It would be my choice to blow a wad of cash that big every weekend.
.I want to enjoy the content as much as you, but only if it takes less than 10-15 hours a week, anything over that is Blizz agressively stealing my time from my baby and my wife and I won't have that.
I love epic battles over weeks and months, but in chunks so it won't take over my life.
Blizzard has no control over your family values. If a game requires too much time to advance, and it takes away from your family, and you let it, that's your fault, not theirs. It would be in your best interest then to find another game to progress through requiring less time.
If you invest time in the game and it takes away from your baby and wife, you should make the active decision to cancel the subscription and put more time in your family. Blizzard aggressively stealing your time would be them forcing you to sit on for 4-6+ hours a day. That decision on you. You would be effectively and aggressively stealing time from you real life responsibilities.
Agreed. That is why I like the changes wow made, if you asked me 4 years ago I would not have. But I have a family to take care of now and I still can have my hobby, blizz makes money, and the only people upset are those that get some strange validation for their suffering and pixels they get that others don't get.
As it stands I enjoy my raiding guild who only raid for 5 hours two days a week and some minor farming, and I get a lot done outside game. If it took more time to enjoy that content then I would be forced to choose. And I for one would cancel. But many wouldn't. That's why the badge system and graded difficulty raids exist. It's a welcome change.
This mount hits a nerve with those who are "hardcore" and "earn it"
The truth remains that if people want something and if a company sells it to them then it is good business. Plain and simple.
There is a huge segement of the world that thinks sinking money into a game in general is foolish. A online game with a monthly fee even more so and lastly that paying for a game, then for access to it's servers and then buying more stuff after all that is the height of stupidy. That segement is neither right or wrong expect in relation to it's own values.
I have done so many times. So to them I'm stupid. I can live with that because I don't care what other people think of how I use my money.
It's your money. Spend it how you see fit. If you feel you are getting value for what you spend than do so. If not vote with your wallet. If you feel a company is not putting enough effort into the game you have already bought and paid for then stop playing it and stop paying to access their servers. I have done this with numerous games.
However I do not begrudge companies their desire to make money and to add revenue streams to it's bottom line. I will decide when and if I add to it or not. I see nothing unfair or wrong with that.
Blizzard caters to a lot of different styles of players. from children to adults who have children who play.
Blizzards business model is very sound and successful. I could go either way, my wife likes the game and wants the mount she will get one. But RL accomplishments beat a Game accomplishment any day of the week. I play a game to have fun, second it is a way of life or job it is time to go ...
Getting married and having bills to pay does tend to change priorities in life ... So yea ... Figure things out for yourselves and form opionions ... fact that some hate or love the model blizzrd is using ... well for me it is a good read and I thank you as i have a slow day at work
Originally posted by zerorez Agreed. That is why I like the changes wow made, if you asked me 4 years ago I would not have. But I have a family to take care of now and I still can have my hobby, blizz makes money, and the only people upset are those that get some strange validation for their suffering and pixels they get that others don't get. As it stands I enjoy my raiding guild who only raid for 5 hours two days a week and some minor farming, and I get a lot done outside game. If it took more time to enjoy that content then I would be forced to choose. And I for one would cancel. But many wouldn't. That's why the badge system and greded raids exist. It's a welcome change. This mount hits a nerve with those who are "hardcore" and "earn it" The truth remains that if people want something and if a company sells it to them then it is good business. Plain and simple.
Except by you purchasing these bandaid solutions to your enjoyment from Blizzard you are supporting a reason for Blizzard to continue these minor transactions to the point where they don't even need a fun core game.
If grinding isn't fun to you, why do you continue to give Blizzard your money on temporary passover until their next store pet? If they're so in tune with their community, shouldn't they be solving the issue of fabricated achievements that you seem to have an issue with?
I'm just trying to see your reasoning here. You're trying to invalidate a virtual achievement's worth but you're also defending the purchase of virtual assets for what you'd seemingly like to call fabricated enjoyment.
Here's food for thought:
$25 for a mount. That's only $15 shy of a WoW expansion when first released. Maybe they should up the price?
If you're a gamer, you should defend your right to be as equal in a P2P game as everyone else. But some specifical posters in mmorpg.com forums seem to fiercely defend cash shops in P2P games.
Instead of asking game companies for stuff to be added into the game, they defend them for putting content to item shops. In fact they argue so hard as if item shop would be their most desirable thing.
I have no idea, how blind a person should be to not understand what mmos are turning into.
Also it's no secret some games have their posters in some popular forum boards.
I wonder what all the item shop nay sayers will have to say about this. Especially the ones that play WoW. I think Blizzard sees that cash shops do generate money and this will be a trend that continues. Not to a point where anything crazy is put up there like the best weapon in the game. Though it is a 310% flying mount and a 100% land mount that is bound to your account so that every single character you have or will create will automattically have one of the fastest mounts in the game. Usually to get this type of mount you have to work at it now you can pay $25 and move at top speeds. Interesting.
This is just a thought. So please don't blow flames at it. I am not for or against item/cash shops. This mount looks pretty cool and even had me thinking of getting one just so that I can collect it.
The mount isn't 310%. It's 280%, UNLESS you own a 310% mount. I own a 310% mount so my Celestial Steed is 310%.
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
Come Join us at www.globalequestria.com - Meet other fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!
Except by you purchasing these bandaid solutions to your enjoyment from Blizzard you are supporting a reason for Blizzard to continue these minor transactions to the point where they don't even need a fun core game.
If grinding isn't fun to you, why do you continue to give Blizzard your money on temporary passover until their next store pet? If they're so in tune with their community, shouldn't they be solving the issue of fabricated achievements that you seem to have an issue with?
I'm just trying to see your reasoning here. You're trying to invalidate a virtual achievement's worth but you're also defending the purchase of virtual assets for what you'd seemingly like to call fabricated enjoyment.
Here's food for thought:
$25 for a mount. That's only $15 shy of a WoW expansion when first released. Maybe they should up the price?
I bought that mount because it was singularly beautiful and I loved it! I didn't buy any in game pets or plushies or anything else. For me to pony up the money (excuse the pun) it has to be fantastic.
Except by you purchasing these bandaid solutions to your enjoyment from Blizzard you are supporting a reason for Blizzard to continue these minor transactions to the point where they don't even need a fun core game.
If grinding isn't fun to you, why do you continue to give Blizzard your money on temporary passover until their next store pet? If they're so in tune with their community, shouldn't they be solving the issue of fabricated achievements that you seem to have an issue with? I'm just trying to see your reasoning here. You're trying to invalidate a virtual achievement's worth but you're also defending the purchase of virtual assets for what you'd seemingly like to call fabricated enjoyment. Here's food for thought: $25 for a mount. That's only $15 shy of a WoW expansion when first released. Maybe they should up the price?
I bought that mount because it was singularly beautiful and I loved it! I didn't buy any in game pets or plushies or anything else. For me to pony up the money (excuse the pun) it has to be fantastic.
You said you play on a roleplaying realm, yeah?
How do you go about explaining how this mount came to be while maintaining character?
If she bought a WOW T-shirt, she should feel guilty wearing it because you couldn't buy one?
It's merchandise, you aren't forced to buy it.
If someone has the funds to get what most players have the time to get, then so be it.
My wife is a mom, an employee and a volunteer. She can pull off getting this mount with out being a child living in their parent's basement playing 12 hours a day to get all the cool things.
I think what scares people about cash shops and the like is that they may come to dominate all MMOs, even the AAA ones like Warcraft. I think one reason many people like MMOs - particularly WoW - is that you can achieve things in the game world in a relatively short space of time, providing you are dedicated enough and have a reasonable amount of skill. In other words, you can anything in the game providing you work at it. Contrast that with real life, where even with all effort and talent in the world, you may still walk away empty handed. MMOs of the WoW variety offer you a goal, which you can definitely attain... until they start introducing cash shops.
Once the cash shop is in game, people with money will start to take the easy way out and just buy the goodies. People who can't afford or can't justify spending $25 on an imaginary horse will then think "Why should I bother putting in hours of effort to get such-and-such item when so-and-so got it in 30 seconds with the help of his credit card? I'll look like a mug." Add to that a system where some items can only be bought and not earned and the whole game starts to go down the toilet. Instead of being about dedication and a degree of skill, the game then simply revolves around money. And those players who invested time and effort feel like they've just been slapped in the face if they can't stump up $25.
Some games like DDO have got the balance right: the prices are reasonable and you can buy things like mission-packs which don't make-or-break the game. DDO offers value for money and the cash shop doesn't belittle the players who've put a ton of effort into pimping their character through hard work. What would concern me about this move by Blizzard - if I played WoW - is the ridiculous amount of money they feel they can charge for such an item. The fact that so many players have bought one suggests that this won't be the last time an offer like this appears for WoW gamers.
Aryas
Playing: Ableton Live 8 ~ ragequitcancelsubdeletegamesmashcomputerkillself ~
I'm surprised blizzard hasn't implemented housing yet. A lot of people would like it, then they could sell a ton of crap in their store to decorate your house. They would make a nice chunk of cash, people would argue about cash shops, others would say its fluff and doesn't affect gameplay and the whole slippery slope argument comes in.
ooo, what fun! I can just see it, and in the end, the winner... Blizzard.
Heh, if I still played I would like housing and wouldn't mind its creation stemming from their cash shop. Wouldn't buy anything, but would still love the housing.
Except by you purchasing these bandaid solutions to your enjoyment from Blizzard you are supporting a reason for Blizzard to continue these minor transactions to the point where they don't even need a fun core game.
If grinding isn't fun to you, why do you continue to give Blizzard your money on temporary passover until their next store pet? If they're so in tune with their community, shouldn't they be solving the issue of fabricated achievements that you seem to have an issue with?
I'm just trying to see your reasoning here. You're trying to invalidate a virtual achievement's worth but you're also defending the purchase of virtual assets for what you'd seemingly like to call fabricated enjoyment.
Here's food for thought:
$25 for a mount. That's only $15 shy of a WoW expansion when first released. Maybe they should up the price?
I bought that mount because it was singularly beautiful and I loved it! I didn't buy any in game pets or plushies or anything else. For me to pony up the money (excuse the pun) it has to be fantastic.
You said you play on a roleplaying realm, yeah?
How do you go about explaining how this mount came to be while maintaining character?
Probably in the same manner someone would roleplay a rouge after buying a book.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
This is (honestly) a travesty for the indistry. Those that cannot/do not see how this is furthering us down the slippry slope of being nickled and dimed above and beyond the a monthly fee are blind.
The real problem with this is that the community is NOT outraged- That they acctually supported this to the tune of over 2 million dollars...Get ready for a time in the near future where every cool looking armor set, Mount, Weapon etc. is Ca$h $hop only. Sure you will be able to get bland gear with similar stats from actually playing but the BEST looking stuf will be reserved for those who will PAY.
At this point in time, I really feel that my MMO days are nearly at an end. I have played these games since 1998 (I am 35 years old) and in the last 3-4 years the indistry has shown almost no innovation in GAMEPLAY but lots of innovation in finding new ways to charge people for content ABOVE AND BEYOND a monthly.
I know they are a buisness, I know they are in it for the money- BUT there is a difference between providing a good or service for a profit and just sticking it to your customers....
This is (honestly) a travesty for the indistry. Those that cannot/do not see how this is furthering us down the slippry slope of being nickled and dimed above and beyond the a monthly fee are blind.
Meh, we as a player-base have been doing it to ourselves for years through IGE, Ebay or what have you. Sure Blizzard may set an official precedent with this. However, it's us who have shown these developers we're willing to pay RL cash for in-game goodies or gold.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Some games like DDO have got the balance right: the prices are reasonable and you can buy things like mission-packs which don't make-or-break the game. DDO offers value for money and the cash shop doesn't belittle the players who've put a ton of effort into pimping their character through hard work. What would concern me about this move by Blizzard - if I played WoW - is the ridiculous amount of money they feel they can charge for such an item. The fact that so many players have bought one suggests that this won't be the last time an offer like this appears for WoW gamers.
Aryas
I'm sure at least one bean counter at Blizzard is saying "why put in any pets or novelty items EXCEPT through the shop? People will clearly pay for them."
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
You do realize Bilizzard just made two million dollars for making a database entry in a few files. That's truly obscene when you think about it. Nothing real was actually made or sold. No lives were substantially improved. No real work of any sort was done. Think how much work goes into a simple loaf of bread and what it costs. Think of how much difference that loaf of bread could make in the life of a child doomed to starvation by an accident of birth. And Blizzard reaped two million for moving a few electrons. It's insane.
Meh, we as a player-base have been doing it to ourselves for years through IGE, Ebay or what have you. Sure Blizzard may set an official precedent with this. However, it's us who have shown these developers we're willing to pay RL cash for in-game goodies or gold.
Not US, because I have never bought any in-game item. For any game. Other than that , I agree. It IS the player's fault for buying these things.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Comments
You don't want to know what people are going to think of you when they see you on your $25 mount.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Same reason people buy hummers, really. I can't afford a hummer, but I can buzz you with a steed. Kinda a hidden desire to annoy the basement people because they always judge everyone and have this "I am better than you" air about them. I want to get under their skin a bit and it seems that it is.
I have yet to understand how people let themselves get ripped off $25 for ONE mount when the monthly fee is $15 and pretty much gives you access to anything.
Desire is such a powerful thing, eh?
The thing is, what WoW did was bring a totally different gamer with a totally different mind set into MMO gaming. Several resposes on this very thread have talked about how 'They don't play games for a sense of achievement.' Why? Because they aren't Role Playing Gamers at heart. To the RPGer it's all about the 'grand struggle'. The grizzled vets recanting tales of how they faced down innumerable odds to finally win their way into the heart of the dungeon and make off with the golden cloak of whatchamacallit. And that cloak would be a great trophy to show off because it took a lot of time and effort to get and not many people had it. Now these new gamers can't be bothered with struggle or time investment, if it exists and someone else has it they deserve to have it too, so why not just buy it? The entire principle of Role Playing is being tossed out the window in favor of instant gratification.
Not at all, I played table top, I did LARP, I play on an RP server and have written fan fiction. You are way off. What many people are rebelling against is the constant short term achievements and long term grinds. I want to enjoy the content as much as you, but only if it takes less than 10-15 hours a week, anything over that is Blizz agressively stealing my time from my baby and my wife and I won't have that.
I love epic battles over weeks and months, but in chunks so it won't take over my life.
The quality service they're providing is subjective.
They should start providing quality service to the people on Cho'gall who have had ridiculous server imbalance for far too long.
They should start banning local chat spammers and people slinging racial slurs around.
They should fix the exploits that have plagued battlegrounds and Wintergrasp since their inception.
They should have quality customer service that doesn't place you on hold for hours waiting to talk to someone.
It's quite easy to go on, but I think you get the point.
You can dance around all you want, but someone's $15 paid the employees who created this out of game item and I highly doubt any of the return profits will ever make a noticeable impact on a player's game.
Instead of Blizzard fixing the problems with the game, whats to stop them from making a flying roll of toilet paper that you all can ride on from level 1 to 80? They've proven you'll all buy it. I'm not slamming them for that - that's the end user's fault. I doubt major research went into testing these waters - it's a simple bait and switch with pretty pixels that you'll all willingly buy into. Enjoy it while it's still considered a game. Maybe five years from now you can all be investing stocks into raid guilds on who can finish Blizzard's elaborate mazes the quickest, instead of actually playing a game as a game.
Nah, it's a lot better to throw a little vocal around because Blizzard has a influence over other developers and their choices. If my opinion isn't made then what else do I have? My $15 bucks is all I have to talk with.edit: Trying to fix the awful formatting these forums have, sorry.
It is impressive but it also shows that Blizzard lacks integrity and is motivated souly by greed and it shows the people that brought it lack integrity and are motivated by vanity . Would we be as impressed if we saw Blizzard bring in player housing at a premium and a furnature cash shop ? .
In the end its upto people what they do with their own money but as the old proverb says "a fool and his money are soon parted" and in this case never a truer word was spoken .
Blizzard has no control over your family values. If a game requires too much time to advance, and it takes away from your family, and you let it, that's your fault, not theirs. It would be in your best interest then to find another game to progress through requiring less time.
If you invest time in the game and it takes away from your baby and wife, you should make the active decision to cancel the subscription and put more time in your family. Blizzard aggressively stealing your time would be them forcing you to sit on for 4-6+ hours a day. That decision on you. You would be effectively and aggressively stealing time from you real life responsibilities.
I don't go sky diving every weekend because it's quite expensive and I need that money for my responsibilities at the house, the money needed for taking care of a family. But I don't blame the companies offering the sky diving services for aggressively stealing my money. It would be my choice to blow a wad of cash that big every weekend.
Agreed. That is why I like the changes wow made, if you asked me 4 years ago I would not have. But I have a family to take care of now and I still can have my hobby, blizz makes money, and the only people upset are those that get some strange validation for their suffering and pixels they get that others don't get.
As it stands I enjoy my raiding guild who only raid for 5 hours two days a week and some minor farming, and I get a lot done outside game. If it took more time to enjoy that content then I would be forced to choose. And I for one would cancel. But many wouldn't. That's why the badge system and graded difficulty raids exist. It's a welcome change.
This mount hits a nerve with those who are "hardcore" and "earn it"
The truth remains that if people want something and if a company sells it to them then it is good business. Plain and simple.
There is a huge segement of the world that thinks sinking money into a game in general is foolish. A online game with a monthly fee even more so and lastly that paying for a game, then for access to it's servers and then buying more stuff after all that is the height of stupidy. That segement is neither right or wrong expect in relation to it's own values.
I have done so many times. So to them I'm stupid. I can live with that because I don't care what other people think of how I use my money.
It's your money. Spend it how you see fit. If you feel you are getting value for what you spend than do so. If not vote with your wallet. If you feel a company is not putting enough effort into the game you have already bought and paid for then stop playing it and stop paying to access their servers. I have done this with numerous games.
However I do not begrudge companies their desire to make money and to add revenue streams to it's bottom line. I will decide when and if I add to it or not. I see nothing unfair or wrong with that.
I hope you all have a great day / evening.
Blizzard caters to a lot of different styles of players. from children to adults who have children who play.
Blizzards business model is very sound and successful. I could go either way, my wife likes the game and wants the mount she will get one. But RL accomplishments beat a Game accomplishment any day of the week. I play a game to have fun, second it is a way of life or job it is time to go ...
Getting married and having bills to pay does tend to change priorities in life ... So yea ... Figure things out for yourselves and form opionions ... fact that some hate or love the model blizzrd is using ... well for me it is a good read and I thank you as i have a slow day at work
Happy friday everyone!
Artorus Giltanus - Ranger EQ1 Retired
Arturien - 90 Deathknight WoW
Except by you purchasing these bandaid solutions to your enjoyment from Blizzard you are supporting a reason for Blizzard to continue these minor transactions to the point where they don't even need a fun core game.
If grinding isn't fun to you, why do you continue to give Blizzard your money on temporary passover until their next store pet? If they're so in tune with their community, shouldn't they be solving the issue of fabricated achievements that you seem to have an issue with?
I'm just trying to see your reasoning here. You're trying to invalidate a virtual achievement's worth but you're also defending the purchase of virtual assets for what you'd seemingly like to call fabricated enjoyment.
Here's food for thought:
$25 for a mount. That's only $15 shy of a WoW expansion when first released. Maybe they should up the price?
Exactly.
It's beyond my understanding.
If you're a gamer, you should defend your right to be as equal in a P2P game as everyone else. But some specifical posters in mmorpg.com forums seem to fiercely defend cash shops in P2P games.
Instead of asking game companies for stuff to be added into the game, they defend them for putting content to item shops. In fact they argue so hard as if item shop would be their most desirable thing.
I have no idea, how blind a person should be to not understand what mmos are turning into.
Also it's no secret some games have their posters in some popular forum boards.
The mount isn't 310%. It's 280%, UNLESS you own a 310% mount. I own a 310% mount so my Celestial Steed is 310%.
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
Come Join us at www.globalequestria.com - Meet other fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!
I bought that mount because it was singularly beautiful and I loved it! I didn't buy any in game pets or plushies or anything else. For me to pony up the money (excuse the pun) it has to be fantastic.
You said you play on a roleplaying realm, yeah?
How do you go about explaining how this mount came to be while maintaining character?
I think what scares people about cash shops and the like is that they may come to dominate all MMOs, even the AAA ones like Warcraft. I think one reason many people like MMOs - particularly WoW - is that you can achieve things in the game world in a relatively short space of time, providing you are dedicated enough and have a reasonable amount of skill. In other words, you can anything in the game providing you work at it. Contrast that with real life, where even with all effort and talent in the world, you may still walk away empty handed. MMOs of the WoW variety offer you a goal, which you can definitely attain... until they start introducing cash shops.
Once the cash shop is in game, people with money will start to take the easy way out and just buy the goodies. People who can't afford or can't justify spending $25 on an imaginary horse will then think "Why should I bother putting in hours of effort to get such-and-such item when so-and-so got it in 30 seconds with the help of his credit card? I'll look like a mug." Add to that a system where some items can only be bought and not earned and the whole game starts to go down the toilet. Instead of being about dedication and a degree of skill, the game then simply revolves around money. And those players who invested time and effort feel like they've just been slapped in the face if they can't stump up $25.
Some games like DDO have got the balance right: the prices are reasonable and you can buy things like mission-packs which don't make-or-break the game. DDO offers value for money and the cash shop doesn't belittle the players who've put a ton of effort into pimping their character through hard work. What would concern me about this move by Blizzard - if I played WoW - is the ridiculous amount of money they feel they can charge for such an item. The fact that so many players have bought one suggests that this won't be the last time an offer like this appears for WoW gamers.
Aryas
Playing: Ableton Live 8
~ ragequitcancelsubdeletegamesmashcomputerkillself ~
I'm surprised blizzard hasn't implemented housing yet. A lot of people would like it, then they could sell a ton of crap in their store to decorate your house. They would make a nice chunk of cash, people would argue about cash shops, others would say its fluff and doesn't affect gameplay and the whole slippery slope argument comes in.
ooo, what fun! I can just see it, and in the end, the winner... Blizzard.
Heh, if I still played I would like housing and wouldn't mind its creation stemming from their cash shop. Wouldn't buy anything, but would still love the housing.
Probably in the same manner someone would roleplay a rouge after buying a book.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I happen to play a rogue.
I stole it from Algalon.
This is (honestly) a travesty for the indistry. Those that cannot/do not see how this is furthering us down the slippry slope of being nickled and dimed above and beyond the a monthly fee are blind.
The real problem with this is that the community is NOT outraged- That they acctually supported this to the tune of over 2 million dollars...Get ready for a time in the near future where every cool looking armor set, Mount, Weapon etc. is Ca$h $hop only. Sure you will be able to get bland gear with similar stats from actually playing but the BEST looking stuf will be reserved for those who will PAY.
At this point in time, I really feel that my MMO days are nearly at an end. I have played these games since 1998 (I am 35 years old) and in the last 3-4 years the indistry has shown almost no innovation in GAMEPLAY but lots of innovation in finding new ways to charge people for content ABOVE AND BEYOND a monthly.
I know they are a buisness, I know they are in it for the money- BUT there is a difference between providing a good or service for a profit and just sticking it to your customers....
Meh, we as a player-base have been doing it to ourselves for years through IGE, Ebay or what have you. Sure Blizzard may set an official precedent with this. However, it's us who have shown these developers we're willing to pay RL cash for in-game goodies or gold.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I'm sure at least one bean counter at Blizzard is saying "why put in any pets or novelty items EXCEPT through the shop? People will clearly pay for them."
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
And that was just in the first four hours!
Not US, because I have never bought any in-game item. For any game. Other than that , I agree. It IS the player's fault for buying these things.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2