...and this is where everyone should read very carefully what they actually said.
"We will be revealing more information about the store at a later date, but what we can say for now is that it will focus mostly on convenience item and character customization items such as clothing - of which The Secret World will offer a ton of variety! As developers we are being very careful in making sure that items purchased through the store does not give players any unfair advantage against those who do not use the in-game store"
Right there you have it from FC, mostly does not mean only fluff items. It just does not, no matter how you spin it.
How they define unfair advantage is also completely their decision, if they think selling armor and rare weapons is not an unfair advantage as you can get them in game as well (just that you have to run raids for 2 weeks) then by their definition thats fair.
I am not saying they do this with malicious intent, but one has to wonder why they phrased it like that.
It is just being smart to word things so you always have room to change. Otherwise, they if in the future they added something or even went F2P, the statement would then be a lie.
I am not worried about P2W showing up in the store. I imagine they may have some consumables which can effect your character instead of NPC vendor items or perhaps EXP/Progression enhancers. Even though most won't like these type items, they don't really give an unfair advantage as far as game mechanics and play goes.
This is one of the games I'm looking forward to, but I just have to say I won't be paying more than 9.99 a month to sub to it. Also that would be after much consideration if it was worth it or not.
Cash shop + sub + box = a failed business model now a days.
I mean I'm sure it'll do okay, and I think of all the upcoming MMOs they've had the most clever marketing to hype up some core gamers.
But they would need something financially significant to stand out from the competition.
Guild Wars 2 (sorry for dropping another game's name) is going to smother a lot of these type of MMOs with their B2P model combined with the expected quality of the game.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
The debate over cash shops in a game all comes down to personal preference. Funcom chose the type of priceing that will occur for this game. It really doesnt matter if you like it or not because....there it is. It all comes down to 2 choices. Play the game or dont play the game.
Im gonna play the game for what it is. Im not gonna use the cash shop unless I get free points with my sub.
***Raises plunger in slaute to 3 factions!***
All my opinions are just that..opinions. If you like my opinions..coolness.If you dont like my opinion....I really dont care. Playing: ESO, WOT, Smite, and Marvel Heroes
The debate over cash shops in a game all comes down to personal preference. Funcom chose the type of priceing that will occur for this game. It really doesnt matter if you like it or not because....there it is. It all comes down to 2 choices. Play the game or dont play the game.
Well there's that discussion going on, and yes. Of course. If it goes forward with a dated pricing model there are better choices out there. As a consumer it's just wise.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
How about having players craft and make all those awesome vanity items for their hard-earned sub money rather than trying to tap into an extra revenue source to make us bleed some more?
Disgusting move, Funcom. Not buying into this scam.
prolly gunna get the game, play it avoiding that cash shop like the plague and the second i feel like im pressured buying something on there to remain competitive ima gtfo and look for a proper game elsewhere... microtransactions bleeding me dry at every corner is getting old...
A box price, a subscription AND a cash shop seems a little hairbrained. Now, they haven't clarified either way, but if they don't give you a monthly allowance of cash shop credit, then they're basically cheating you. No other game works like that, because in games with cash shops and subs the subscription should cancel out the need for the cash shop.
I really dont understand why you guys are whining and "well I'm not playing it now". They are putting it in for those who would like to use it, if you dont want the items in the shop them dont buy them and just play the game. Frankly I am kinda happy becuase if you trolls cant see the value of more options and choices a company can bring you and its your choice if you want to use it or not, then I dont want you playing the same game I am going to enjoy.
Will items they'r selling in the cash shop also be available for in-game purchase, using in-game money?
If so, then I have no complaints.
If they're exclusive to the cash shop and I wouldn't have access to them without spending real cash - on top of paying them a box fee and a subscription - then I will complain.
If the cash shop sells items that are better/nicer looking than what you can get in-game with in-game money (something they sorta did in Anarchy Online with vehicles), then I will complain.
Of course they're excited at the prospect of having a cash shop from day 1... More potential cash coming in from the start for them. Translated simply: Cha-ching!
Adding a cash shop is 100% to benefit themselves. They're basically rewarding themselves with more player money... simply because they can. There is *zero* benefit to the player having a system like that. Unless there really are that many people who are that impatient about getting a new jacket for their character that earning/saving the in-game money to buy one is that intolerable...
In Anarchy Online, their own MMO, they had an immense amount of "cosmetic" clothing. They made up entire designer clothing lines. Everything from 'classy', to 'casual', to 'crazy' was available. It allowed players to develop their own look/style, within the game. And every single thread of every single clothing item, was all for sale in the game's shops, using in-game currency that players earned by playing the game. If they could do it in AO without requiring cash shop purchases, they can do it in TSW without requiring cash shop purchases. It's a greed-driven move, 1000%.
This is a really disappointing bit of news to me, to see yet another long-time MMO developer who used to value providing ample content and gameplay in return for people's money jumping on the greed bandwagon.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Ugh and I was kind of looking forward to this game, too. But what this means is that they will be taking things out of the game and making them only available with RL money.
Oh sure, you will get some points every month for subbing, maybe 30 points or so, so getting that neat pair of pants that cost 400 points will only require you to be subbed for over a year! Woooo awesome!
Seriously, this is a dumb move on their part and only the most die-hard fans will end up playing it now.
I had to laugh when I was reading the forum for this game, people there are saying that this game will give SW:TOR competition.. That's pretty funny!
This "it's only vanity items" point is a bit flawed to my mind. True if you choose not to buy the stuff it shouldn't impact upon your gaming, but the fundamental point is that we used to get all that vanity stuff with the subscription. How the hell can people be happy paying extra for shit they used to get as part of a sub cost?
Secondly, do people really think that we will not slip further down the slope to having all cash shops provide gear and game changing items? We will see it come into being more and more in F2P and if sub games still exist a few months/year down the line we will see gear and items come into their cash shops as well it is pretty much inevitable.
Just because the industry is pushing in this direction doesn't mean it is a good thing. They are not charging you for your extra wizard hat because they want to help you out, they are charging you extra because they want to screw every single last penny out of you. For some, mmos are addictive, the gear grind and shiny grabbing urge of the current day gamer points to that. Cash shops are merely the companies exploiting that factor.
"Come and have a look at what you could have won."
Waiting for a company that has the balls to start out at a 29.95 sub without microtransactions and the skill to deliver a game and content that is worth such a sub.
will be the same model as inAoC i guess, and that works splendid.
Just to point out, in AOC you can buy epic pvp gear from the cash shop. It will start out as clothing and haircuts, then as the games falters it will become exp and power boost potions.. finally it will be endgame gear. Like they said though, it is nice that they can launch the game with the interface in place to go free2play a few months after launch..
err.. you might want to hold off buying those 12 month subscription plans with this one.
MMOs have been pretty much the same price for a decade.
Not surprised there trying to get more money somehow.
People are making more (if you have a job) than they did 10 years ago, doesn't really make sense for MMOs to stay 15 bucks a month too much longer. They'll either go free with a cash shop that probably racks in a good amount of money, or they'll go monthly sub with some sort of cash shop that doesn't really effect gameplay. Free mmo cash shops entice you because in some of them you need those items to compete eventually.
Who says that one cannot get many if not most/all of those aesthetic items in game?
Will TSW "compete" against SWTOR... of course. TSW is more free... SWTOR is more...usual. TSW won't be as big as SWTOR, though. Name has bigger enticement than originallity/innovation and SWTOR has Star Wars AND BioWare. Honestly SWG -->was<-- more innovative than SWTOR.
Originally posted by DarkPony How about having players craft and make all those awesome vanity items for their hard-earned sub money rather than trying to tap into an extra revenue source to make us bleed some more? Disgusting move, Funcom. Not buying into this scam. *throws up*
How about you stop eating those drama pills? "Bleed you" really???
The game hasnt even launched and considering your sig it is clear which game you're going too. You dont see me cry bleeding dry and yet i bought the TOR CE edition! Maybe i should go complain about the exhorbitant price they are charing for the CE edition... When most CE are in the 100$ range.
Ultimately whether you like it or not, the game will launch, people will play it and some wont. You bitching that you are being "bleed" is dramatic and not needed since every post you made are against the game and how terrible a crime they are committing against gamers of the world.
How about having players craft and make all those awesome vanity items for their hard-earned sub money rather than trying to tap into an extra revenue source to make us bleed some more?
Disgusting move, Funcom. Not buying into this scam.
*throws up*
How about you stop eating those drama pills? "Bleed you" really???
The game hasnt even launched and considering your sig it is clear which game you're going too. You dont see me cry bleeding dry and yet i bought the TOR CE edition!
Maybe i should go complain about the exhorbitant price they are charing for the CE edition... When most CE are in the 100$ range.
Ultimately whether you like it or not, the game will launch, people will play it and some wont. You bitching that you are being "bleed" is dramatic and not needed since every post you made are against the game and how terrible a crime they are committing against gamers of the world.
How about having players craft and make all those awesome vanity items for their hard-earned sub money rather than trying to tap into an extra revenue source to make us bleed some more?
Disgusting move, Funcom. Not buying into this scam.
*throws up*
How about you stop eating those drama pills? "Bleed you" really???
The game hasnt even launched and considering your sig it is clear which game you're going too. You dont see me cry bleeding dry and yet i bought the TOR CE edition!
Maybe i should go complain about the exhorbitant price they are charing for the CE edition... When most CE are in the 100$ range.
Ultimately whether you like it or not, the game will launch, people will play it and some wont. You bitching that you are being "bleed" is dramatic and not needed since every post you made are against the game and how terrible a crime they are committing against gamers of the world.
I agree that the "bleeding" sounds overly dramatic but it serves the purpose of propagating my utter contempt for this move. I reacted the same way in EVE's recent cash shop addition; a game which I played and loved for years.
I'm lucky enough that the cost wouldn't be an issue for me personally. And of course you can choose not to use the shop just like you can choose not to buy the SWTOR CE edition (which I personally didn't). But my main gripe is about already paying for a game as well as for having continued access, only to have them try and lure you into a store to buy appealing stuff which should have had a realistic gameplay related source in the first place.
Box price + subs should provide plenty of revenue to merrit all content having realistic, rpg worthy, gameplay related sources. A cash shop on top of that is simply tapping into an extra revenue source at the cost of the total game experience.
I am looking forward to this game. I am a payer, I gladly pay for ingame crap. If I really like a game I will also pay a subscription fee. If I don't enjoy, then I don't pay and move on.
I just don't understand people who complain about the cost of games. The cost of gas and groceries is a far more important thing to gripe about. I don't have to play a game to survive, but I gotta eat.....
I am looking forward to this game. I am a payer, I gladly pay for ingame crap. If I really like a game I will also pay a subscription fee. If I don't enjoy, then I don't pay and move on.
I just don't understand people who complain about the cost of games. The cost of gas and groceries is a far more important thing to gripe about. I don't have to play a game to survive, but I gotta eat.....
You are absolutely right. But once you have wasted 6-72 months into a game and they mess with that by selling it, then i guess you would feel cheated too. If that happened once, then you wont put any efford into any game anymore that has a shop. Even if it has no shop, you will always watch your back for a shop patch. Which, in the end, hurts the whole industry. Thats why a sub is what we need, even if that means a box is 90 and a monthly is 19. They just need to release trials at start, so people wont waste 90 for nothing. Quality has to come back or the genre dies withing 15 months.
MMOs have been pretty much the same price for a decade.
Not surprised there trying to get more money somehow.
People are making more (if you have a job) than they did 10 years ago, doesn't really make sense for MMOs to stay 15 bucks a month too much longer. They'll either go free with a cash shop that probably racks in a good amount of money, or they'll go monthly sub with some sort of cash shop that doesn't really effect gameplay. Free mmo cash shops entice you because in some of them you need those items to compete eventually.
Who says that one cannot get many if not most/all of those aesthetic items in game?
Will TSW "compete" against SWTOR... of course. TSW is more free... SWTOR is more...usual. TSW won't be as big as SWTOR, though. Name has bigger enticement than originallity/innovation and SWTOR has Star Wars AND BioWare. Honestly SWG -->was<-- more innovative than SWTOR.
For 15 years to be exact, yes. But what really made Meridian 59 and then UO having monthly fees at all was the huge costs of bandwidth and server space at the time.
Today do most FPS games host their own servers fine on just B2P becuase it is a small expense today. the development cost is covered by the box price and future updates is covered by the cost of the expansions.
Nah, the thing is that companies like EA and Activision is not doing great so they try to get in more income from their games by adding micro transitions. In Activisions case is it no the MMO part that goes badly either, they just milk out more money from their cash cow.
MMOs have been pretty much the same price for a decade.
Not surprised there trying to get more money somehow.
People are making more (if you have a job) than they did 10 years ago, doesn't really make sense for MMOs to stay 15 bucks a month too much longer. They'll either go free with a cash shop that probably racks in a good amount of money, or they'll go monthly sub with some sort of cash shop that doesn't really effect gameplay. Free mmo cash shops entice you because in some of them you need those items to compete eventually.
Who says that one cannot get many if not most/all of those aesthetic items in game?
Will TSW "compete" against SWTOR... of course. TSW is more free... SWTOR is more...usual. TSW won't be as big as SWTOR, though. Name has bigger enticement than originallity/innovation and SWTOR has Star Wars AND BioWare. Honestly SWG -->was<-- more innovative than SWTOR.
For 15 years to be exact, yes. But what really made Meridian 59 and then UO having monthly fees at all was the huge costs of bandwidth and server space at the time.
Today do most FPS games host their own servers fine on just B2P becuase it is a small expense today. the development cost is covered by the box price and future updates is covered by the cost of the expansions.
Nah, the thing is that companies like EA and Activision is not doing great so they try to get in more income from their games by adding micro transitions. In Activisions case is it no the MMO part that goes badly either, they just milk out more money from their cash cow.
Might add that back then the costs for just being online exceeded the monthly sub. In the UO days you had 5 hours online time for 29 U$ with compuserve and each additional hour was some 2.50 U$. That plus telephone costs per minute. It the US it was a bit cheaper but noch much. The only who had it cheap have been students with free online account from the university. But even those paid telephone per minute if playing at home.
The problem with EA and Activision is the same as everywhere. To many chieftains, to few injuns and a greedy horde of shareholder who give a *bleep* if EA/Activision sells video games or boot polish. Profit > game fun/quality. Profit is a necessity but.. hello ? .. balance ?
Hey maybe FC will set a trend here with the 3 pronged charges, with GW2 and SWOR following suit lol.
After all we know what MMO companies are like, all playing follow the leader. One of them introduces an item shop = all of them introduce an item shop. One of them sets their sub at £9.99 = all of them set their sub at £9.99, etc etc.
Oh hang on, there are games that do this already, Wow, to name the main one. Move along please nothing to see here......
If they do implement an in-game store, they should make it that ALL the items obtainable there are also obtainable through in-game hard work, appearance-only or not. This would not apply for an F2P game because they truely rely on microtransactions (and you get an otherwise free game in return) but that's not the case here.
Being *forced* to spend money to get any virtual item in a sub-based game is, quite simply, rediculous. If I want that ninja outfit I shouldn't *have* to pay for it, but giving others the option wouldn't bother me as much as it being the only means available.
Now, of course, this shouldn't go for all appearance items. Some (most?) should still be obtainable in-game only, to motivate people to keep on playing. If you can just buy everything appearance wise, alot of people will be done with this game faster than u can say "Item shop done gone dug this game's grave."
MMOs have been pretty much the same price for a decade.
Not surprised there trying to get more money somehow.
People are making more (if you have a job) than they did 10 years ago, doesn't really make sense for MMOs to stay 15 bucks a month too much longer. They'll either go free with a cash shop that probably racks in a good amount of money, or they'll go monthly sub with some sort of cash shop that doesn't really effect gameplay. Free mmo cash shops entice you because in some of them you need those items to compete eventually.
Who says that one cannot get many if not most/all of those aesthetic items in game?
Will TSW "compete" against SWTOR... of course. TSW is more free... SWTOR is more...usual. TSW won't be as big as SWTOR, though. Name has bigger enticement than originallity/innovation and SWTOR has Star Wars AND BioWare. Honestly SWG -->was<-- more innovative than SWTOR.
For 15 years to be exact, yes. But what really made Meridian 59 and then UO having monthly fees at all was the huge costs of bandwidth and server space at the time.
Today do most FPS games host their own servers fine on just B2P becuase it is a small expense today. the development cost is covered by the box price and future updates is covered by the cost of the expansions.
Nah, the thing is that companies like EA and Activision is not doing great so they try to get in more income from their games by adding micro transitions. In Activisions case is it no the MMO part that goes badly either, they just milk out more money from their cash cow.
Huh? Actually EA and especially Activision are doing great. Basic figueres are publicly avabile and they're having great revenue & profits.
Comments
It is just being smart to word things so you always have room to change. Otherwise, they if in the future they added something or even went F2P, the statement would then be a lie.
I am not worried about P2W showing up in the store. I imagine they may have some consumables which can effect your character instead of NPC vendor items or perhaps EXP/Progression enhancers. Even though most won't like these type items, they don't really give an unfair advantage as far as game mechanics and play goes.
This is one of the games I'm looking forward to, but I just have to say I won't be paying more than 9.99 a month to sub to it. Also that would be after much consideration if it was worth it or not.
Cash shop + sub + box = a failed business model now a days.
I mean I'm sure it'll do okay, and I think of all the upcoming MMOs they've had the most clever marketing to hype up some core gamers.
But they would need something financially significant to stand out from the competition.
Guild Wars 2 (sorry for dropping another game's name) is going to smother a lot of these type of MMOs with their B2P model combined with the expected quality of the game.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
The debate over cash shops in a game all comes down to personal preference. Funcom chose the type of priceing that will occur for this game. It really doesnt matter if you like it or not because....there it is. It all comes down to 2 choices. Play the game or dont play the game.
Im gonna play the game for what it is. Im not gonna use the cash shop unless I get free points with my sub.
***Raises plunger in slaute to 3 factions!***
All my opinions are just that..opinions. If you like my opinions..coolness.If you dont like my opinion....I really dont care.
Playing: ESO, WOT, Smite, and Marvel Heroes
Well there's that discussion going on, and yes. Of course. If it goes forward with a dated pricing model there are better choices out there. As a consumer it's just wise.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
How about having players craft and make all those awesome vanity items for their hard-earned sub money rather than trying to tap into an extra revenue source to make us bleed some more?
Disgusting move, Funcom. Not buying into this scam.
*throws up*
My brand new bloggity blog.
prolly gunna get the game, play it avoiding that cash shop like the plague and the second i feel like im pressured buying something on there to remain competitive ima gtfo and look for a proper game elsewhere... microtransactions bleeding me dry at every corner is getting old...
A box price, a subscription AND a cash shop seems a little hairbrained. Now, they haven't clarified either way, but if they don't give you a monthly allowance of cash shop credit, then they're basically cheating you. No other game works like that, because in games with cash shops and subs the subscription should cancel out the need for the cash shop.
Will items they'r selling in the cash shop also be available for in-game purchase, using in-game money?
If so, then I have no complaints.
If they're exclusive to the cash shop and I wouldn't have access to them without spending real cash - on top of paying them a box fee and a subscription - then I will complain.
If the cash shop sells items that are better/nicer looking than what you can get in-game with in-game money (something they sorta did in Anarchy Online with vehicles), then I will complain.
Of course they're excited at the prospect of having a cash shop from day 1... More potential cash coming in from the start for them. Translated simply: Cha-ching!
Adding a cash shop is 100% to benefit themselves. They're basically rewarding themselves with more player money... simply because they can. There is *zero* benefit to the player having a system like that. Unless there really are that many people who are that impatient about getting a new jacket for their character that earning/saving the in-game money to buy one is that intolerable...
In Anarchy Online, their own MMO, they had an immense amount of "cosmetic" clothing. They made up entire designer clothing lines. Everything from 'classy', to 'casual', to 'crazy' was available. It allowed players to develop their own look/style, within the game. And every single thread of every single clothing item, was all for sale in the game's shops, using in-game currency that players earned by playing the game. If they could do it in AO without requiring cash shop purchases, they can do it in TSW without requiring cash shop purchases. It's a greed-driven move, 1000%.
This is a really disappointing bit of news to me, to see yet another long-time MMO developer who used to value providing ample content and gameplay in return for people's money jumping on the greed bandwagon.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Ugh and I was kind of looking forward to this game, too. But what this means is that they will be taking things out of the game and making them only available with RL money.
Oh sure, you will get some points every month for subbing, maybe 30 points or so, so getting that neat pair of pants that cost 400 points will only require you to be subbed for over a year! Woooo awesome!
Seriously, this is a dumb move on their part and only the most die-hard fans will end up playing it now.
I had to laugh when I was reading the forum for this game, people there are saying that this game will give SW:TOR competition.. That's pretty funny!
This "it's only vanity items" point is a bit flawed to my mind. True if you choose not to buy the stuff it shouldn't impact upon your gaming, but the fundamental point is that we used to get all that vanity stuff with the subscription. How the hell can people be happy paying extra for shit they used to get as part of a sub cost?
Secondly, do people really think that we will not slip further down the slope to having all cash shops provide gear and game changing items? We will see it come into being more and more in F2P and if sub games still exist a few months/year down the line we will see gear and items come into their cash shops as well it is pretty much inevitable.
Just because the industry is pushing in this direction doesn't mean it is a good thing. They are not charging you for your extra wizard hat because they want to help you out, they are charging you extra because they want to screw every single last penny out of you. For some, mmos are addictive, the gear grind and shiny grabbing urge of the current day gamer points to that. Cash shops are merely the companies exploiting that factor.
"Come and have a look at what you could have won."
Waiting for a company that has the balls to start out at a 29.95 sub without microtransactions and the skill to deliver a game and content that is worth such a sub.
Still will try TSW. Looks quite good atm.
Just to point out, in AOC you can buy epic pvp gear from the cash shop. It will start out as clothing and haircuts, then as the games falters it will become exp and power boost potions.. finally it will be endgame gear. Like they said though, it is nice that they can launch the game with the interface in place to go free2play a few months after launch..
err.. you might want to hold off buying those 12 month subscription plans with this one.
MMOs have been pretty much the same price for a decade.
Not surprised there trying to get more money somehow.
People are making more (if you have a job) than they did 10 years ago, doesn't really make sense for MMOs to stay 15 bucks a month too much longer. They'll either go free with a cash shop that probably racks in a good amount of money, or they'll go monthly sub with some sort of cash shop that doesn't really effect gameplay. Free mmo cash shops entice you because in some of them you need those items to compete eventually.
Who says that one cannot get many if not most/all of those aesthetic items in game?
Will TSW "compete" against SWTOR... of course. TSW is more free... SWTOR is more...usual. TSW won't be as big as SWTOR, though. Name has bigger enticement than originallity/innovation and SWTOR has Star Wars AND BioWare. Honestly SWG -->was<-- more innovative than SWTOR.
How about you stop eating those drama pills? "Bleed you" really???
The game hasnt even launched and considering your sig it is clear which game you're going too. You dont see me cry bleeding dry and yet i bought the TOR CE edition!
Maybe i should go complain about the exhorbitant price they are charing for the CE edition... When most CE are in the 100$ range.
Ultimately whether you like it or not, the game will launch, people will play it and some wont. You bitching that you are being "bleed" is dramatic and not needed since every post you made are against the game and how terrible a crime they are committing against gamers of the world.
^^^This +1
I agree that the "bleeding" sounds overly dramatic but it serves the purpose of propagating my utter contempt for this move. I reacted the same way in EVE's recent cash shop addition; a game which I played and loved for years.
I'm lucky enough that the cost wouldn't be an issue for me personally. And of course you can choose not to use the shop just like you can choose not to buy the SWTOR CE edition (which I personally didn't). But my main gripe is about already paying for a game as well as for having continued access, only to have them try and lure you into a store to buy appealing stuff which should have had a realistic gameplay related source in the first place.
Box price + subs should provide plenty of revenue to merrit all content having realistic, rpg worthy, gameplay related sources. A cash shop on top of that is simply tapping into an extra revenue source at the cost of the total game experience.
My brand new bloggity blog.
I am looking forward to this game. I am a payer, I gladly pay for ingame crap. If I really like a game I will also pay a subscription fee. If I don't enjoy, then I don't pay and move on.
I just don't understand people who complain about the cost of games. The cost of gas and groceries is a far more important thing to gripe about. I don't have to play a game to survive, but I gotta eat.....
Life is Short, Read a Book.
You are absolutely right. But once you have wasted 6-72 months into a game and they mess with that by selling it, then i guess you would feel cheated too. If that happened once, then you wont put any efford into any game anymore that has a shop. Even if it has no shop, you will always watch your back for a shop patch. Which, in the end, hurts the whole industry. Thats why a sub is what we need, even if that means a box is 90 and a monthly is 19. They just need to release trials at start, so people wont waste 90 for nothing. Quality has to come back or the genre dies withing 15 months.
The Secret World, now free to play!
They know it will happen so why not integrate the sore from the start.
For 15 years to be exact, yes. But what really made Meridian 59 and then UO having monthly fees at all was the huge costs of bandwidth and server space at the time.
Today do most FPS games host their own servers fine on just B2P becuase it is a small expense today. the development cost is covered by the box price and future updates is covered by the cost of the expansions.
Nah, the thing is that companies like EA and Activision is not doing great so they try to get in more income from their games by adding micro transitions. In Activisions case is it no the MMO part that goes badly either, they just milk out more money from their cash cow.
Might add that back then the costs for just being online exceeded the monthly sub. In the UO days you had 5 hours online time for 29 U$ with compuserve and each additional hour was some 2.50 U$. That plus telephone costs per minute. It the US it was a bit cheaper but noch much. The only who had it cheap have been students with free online account from the university. But even those paid telephone per minute if playing at home.
The problem with EA and Activision is the same as everywhere. To many chieftains, to few injuns and a greedy horde of shareholder who give a *bleep* if EA/Activision sells video games or boot polish. Profit > game fun/quality. Profit is a necessity but.. hello ? .. balance ?
Hey maybe FC will set a trend here with the 3 pronged charges, with GW2 and SWOR following suit lol.
After all we know what MMO companies are like, all playing follow the leader. One of them introduces an item shop = all of them introduce an item shop. One of them sets their sub at £9.99 = all of them set their sub at £9.99, etc etc.
Oh hang on, there are games that do this already, Wow, to name the main one. Move along please nothing to see here......
Very interesting indeed.
If they do implement an in-game store, they should make it that ALL the items obtainable there are also obtainable through in-game hard work, appearance-only or not. This would not apply for an F2P game because they truely rely on microtransactions (and you get an otherwise free game in return) but that's not the case here.
Being *forced* to spend money to get any virtual item in a sub-based game is, quite simply, rediculous. If I want that ninja outfit I shouldn't *have* to pay for it, but giving others the option wouldn't bother me as much as it being the only means available.
Now, of course, this shouldn't go for all appearance items. Some (most?) should still be obtainable in-game only, to motivate people to keep on playing. If you can just buy everything appearance wise, alot of people will be done with this game faster than u can say "Item shop done gone dug this game's grave."
Huh? Actually EA and especially Activision are doing great. Basic figueres are publicly avabile and they're having great revenue & profits.