Expansions will be out every 3-4 months to offset the subscription lost.
It will work out the same as a subscription way if you want to keep up with the game and stay competative.
So rather than take your money by subs they will get if from expansions.
Looking forward to it though, eyes wide open.
Sorry, but source?
Going from the GW1 model there will be an expansion about every year or so, and it won't come anywhere near the cost of a $15 a month subscription (12 x $15 = $180 vs. $60), or be required to stay competative (you just won't have access to new classes).
That said I wouldn't mind a more frequent release of new content, though I don't see how you could charge for it unless it was instanced off, which would suck (or not work at all in the case of events).
Either way, as the OP said, you still get a hell of a lot for the box price alone. Also I don't see that it's in their interest to nickle and dime players, as that will only drive them away and give critics fuel for the fire, which in the long run is only going to lead to less sales.
I've been realizing lately that, for some reason, ArenaNet is allergic to money...
Here, we have a massive triple-A game with an extensive system of over 1500 scalable, chainable, branchable, cooperable, and repeatable dynamic events at launch, spanning 25 incredibly large zones that also hold 6 capital cities and 8 dungeons that each have a story version then 3 challenging explorable mode versions (that's roughly 32 unique dungeon experiences, 24 of them very difficult)...
Astride that is a personal storyline with branching decisions and more voice acting than any other MMO not named Star Wars: The Old Republic...
A massive form of 3 faction PvPvE complete with castle sieges, guild owned keeps, supply lines and mercenary camps...
Completely equalized competetive PvP with hot joinable matches, custom made matches, automated tournaments and a ladder system...
I mean, seriously, it seems to me each one of the things listed here could be it's own game! But they're not. It's all one game, and it'll likely be sold for $60 for the standard edition.
Where I'm going with this is, there's no subscription fee. We know this. There's something that was in Guild Wars 1 that I was soo positive would be in GW2 though, and would've had no qualms about it. Skill and item unlock packs for PvP. They could've been gotten through the PvE or PvP through the investment of time, and it didn't take very long either, but nope! In Guild Wars 2, you get EVERYTHING you'll need for competetive PvP right off the back. Then there's server transfers. On most other subscription MMO's, you also have to pay some ridiculous charge to the tune of about $25 or so just to move servers and play with your friends. Not in Guild Wars 2 though, which is something I'm sure they could've gotten away with(you still need to pay to change your home server to play wuv wuh). They even changed their stance on transmutation stones! They're available through karma vendors instead of the cash shop.
They've also promised us there will be free content updates after the game is released, such as added dynamic events to older areas, guild halls & personal housing, and possibly some of those other things they've mentioned during game conventions that they were meaning to implement but aren't focused on pre-release, such as an observation mode for competetive PvP like the first game.
I don't want to sound like I'm hyping them up to be "good guy ArenaNet" or something, but seriously? And where is NCSoft in all of this? The initial content you're getting in this game looks to be so extremely satisfying for just $60. And everything I listed at the top will only ever have costed you $60... so I reitterate my quandry, is ArenaNet allergic to money?
As for the text marked in red......i even remember blizzard promised housing and stuff in vanilla wow.....it never came.
I'll be waiting untill they actually implement these features.
Look at diablo3 now......the game is being stript down to make it ready for launch......so let's wait for launch and not just create more hype about GW2 ok.
So what your saying is there is no progression lol I really don;t get wtf u pvp for in guild wars 2 if not for gear what can u offer me that would make me wanna do pvp if it's not gear? I think alot of people are going to really displeased wiht the pvp side of things it' s being limited way to much so they can be lazy and not have to balance much. Also no raids so whats the point of gearing up in a regular dungeon sorry but wihtout somesort of progression nobody is going to hang around long after max lvl. RThe reason they get away wiht no trinity is becasue there is no progression at max lvl or the content is super easy.
Expansions will be out every 3-4 months to offset the subscription lost.
It will work out the same as a subscription way if you want to keep up with the game and stay competative.
So rather than take your money by subs they will get if from expansions.
Looking forward to it though, eyes wide open.
You'll never fall out of competetiveness. Maybe you'll be missing out on some sweet armor designs, but the PvE and PvP in this game are not carrots on a stick. Max statistical value gear is easily obtainable in PvE at max level of 80, which they have no reason to raise with each expansion. And in PvP, you get everything you need the moment you enter the PvP lobby, even right after tutorial. :O
So what your saying is there is no progression lol I really don;t get wtf u pvp for in guild wars 2 if not for gear what can u offer me that would make me wanna do pvp if it's not gear? I think alot of people are going to really displeased wiht the pvp side of things it' s being limited way to much so they can be lazy and not have to balance much. Also no raids so whats the point of gearing up in a regular dungeon sorry but wihtout somesort of progression nobody is going to hang around long after max lvl. RThe reason they get away wiht no trinity is becasue there is no progression at max lvl or the content is super easy.
A clear troll post. Even if you arent looking at GW2 this is a troll post. You have no clue how hard or easy the content will be. Why will people continue to play? For fun I would guess. Not everyone needs a shiney new piece of armor every time they look at a mob or kill a person like you clearly do. Infact I bet there are more people out there who just play games if they are having fun than because they "got a cool piece of gear". People actually PvP for the competition as well. Its people like you that WOW clearly ruined with the "carrot on a stick" crap. And dont tell me you never played WOW. You would be lieing and thats not nice.
Anet isn't generous it is clever. F2P/B2P models are more profitable in long run compared to P2P. Not to mention risk free.
Depends on cost, say GW2 cost 100million, and they sell 1 million copes at 60USD, .5 Million copies at 40USD and another 1 Million at 20USD.
They just broke even, then there is more content that needs to be developed and what not.
B2P Has is perks but I am skeptical as to wheather or not it will be as profitable as a p2p game in the long run.
A P2P game with 300K subs makes 27 million every 6 months.
So its kind of a catch 22 for GW2 IMO.
I hardly doubt that a popular game like GW2 would just break even. I believe GW2 is going to sell like hot cakes on release. But one thing to remember is that MMOS are long terms business and make profits over time. It is not like buying Battlefield or Call Of Duty for once and then get done with it.
GW has sold 7 million copies i doubt GW2 would do worse than that.
I don`t know how you got those numbers, but I can only say, a purely cosmetic cash shop woul still give them a nice profit.. The better looking that stuff is the more profit obviously. And I have to say, my Girlfriend bought herself that Dwayna costume, it looks really amazing. So with a cosmetic cash shop i think they will be fine, especially if they bring out some content updates that are paid for. It would be nice if they are of similar magnitude as nightfall and factions and EOTN were in GW1. In that case no one would complain about spending the money.
Other games take a monthly fee, have an expensice cash shop... thinking of purely cosmetic pets cosing at least 10-15 bucks and still charge for expansions. So I really hope that arena net has a great success with this game, so that other companies will more or less be forced to rethink their business models.
As for the text marked in red......i even remember blizzard promised housing and stuff in vanilla wow.....it never came.
I'll be waiting untill they actually implement these features.
Look at diablo3 now......the game is being stript down to make it ready for launch......so let's wait for launch and not just create more hype about GW2 ok.
Yeah, I hesitated to bring it up, but it's the notion that the promise is there. That they had the initial intention to give players a boat load of content for free. There's no evidence that they'll try to encroach on our wallets in some criminal way. But they have quite a few reasons to seeing as, like mentioned earlier, this game has no subscription fee, but looks a lot more expensive than Guild Wars 1 and all it's parts combined.
I don't mean to create more hype, but it's the fact that they're selling those 4 things listed that make up the vast majority of the game, and at launch for only $60(assumed price).
Expansions will be out every 3-4 months to offset the subscription lost.
It will work out the same as a subscription way if you want to keep up with the game and stay competative.
So rather than take your money by subs they will get if from expansions.
Looking forward to it though, eyes wide open.
You'll never fall out of competetiveness. Maybe you'll be missing out on some sweet armor designs, but the PvE and PvP in this game are not carrots on a stick. Max statistical value gear is easily obtainable in PvE at max level of 80, which they have no reason to raise with each expansion. And in PvP, you get everything you need the moment you enter the PvP lobby, even right after tutorial. :O
So what your saying is there is no progression lol I really don;t get wtf u pvp for in guild wars 2 if not for gear what can u offer me that would make me wanna do pvp if it's not gear? I think alot of people are going to really displeased wiht the pvp side of things it' s being limited way to much so they can be lazy and not have to balance much. Also no raids so whats the point of gearing up in a regular dungeon sorry but wihtout somesort of progression nobody is going to hang around long after max lvl. RThe reason they get away wiht no trinity is becasue there is no progression at max lvl or the content is super easy.
A clear troll post. Even if you arent looking at GW2 this is a troll post. You have no clue how hard or easy the content will be. Why will people continue to play? For fun I would guess. Not everyone needs a shiney new piece of armor every time they look at a mob or kill a person like you clearly do. Infact I bet there are more people out there who just play games if they are having fun than because they "got a cool piece of gear". People actually PvP for the competition as well. Its people like you that WOW clearly ruined with the "carrot on a stick" crap. And dont tell me you never played WOW. You would be lieing and thats not nice.
Been a while since I posted so why not,
In his defense the content in GW2 cannot be difficult due to how the games dynamic events are set up, which from what I have seen they are more akin to pugs then anything, also unlike WoW or RIFT fights can't be all too complex due to the aggro mechanics (Who evers standing closer).
As for the carrot on the stick, I actually agree. Whats wrong with horizontal progression? it keeps people playing longer and was because of the lack of it is why I gave up GW1. If you're playing the (end) game from start then you've already done most of what you'd do anyways.
Am I the only one that sees the flaw in GW2's design? If this game where p2p would any of you be supporting this?
If you're comparing Arenanet to Blizzard then you know absolutely nothing about Arenanet.
Not being able to keep promises isn't soemthing exclusive to Blizzard. Thats is what he was saying..promises are meant to be broken. And yes a lot of us don't know anything about Anet because they have one CRPG on their resume called GW... but we will know more about Anet once game releases. Some of you guys talk here as if you know Anet personally.
Anet isn't generous it is clever. F2P/B2P models are more profitable in long run compared to P2P. Not to mention risk free.
Depends on cost, say GW2 cost 100million, and they sell 1 million copes at 60USD, .5 Million copies at 40USD and another 1 Million at 20USD.
They just broke even, then there is more content that needs to be developed and what not.
B2P Has is perks but I am skeptical as to wheather or not it will be as profitable as a p2p game in the long run.
A P2P game with 300K subs makes 27 million every 6 months.
So its kind of a catch 22 for GW2 IMO.
I hardly doubt that a popular game like GW2 would just break even. I believe GW2 is going to sell like hot cakes on release. But one thing to remember is that MMOS are long terms business and make profits over time. It is not like buying Battlefield or Call Of Duty for once and then get done with it.
GW has sold 7 million copies i doubt GW2 would do worse than that.
GW1 sold 7 million over the corse of what has it been 7 years? and they counted every game in the series counting EOTN IIRC.
Anet isn't generous it is clever. F2P/B2P models are more profitable in long run compared to P2P. Not to mention risk free.
Depends on cost, say GW2 cost 100million, and they sell 1 million copes at 60USD, .5 Million copies at 40USD and another 1 Million at 20USD.
They just broke even, then there is more content that needs to be developed and what not.
B2P Has is perks but I am skeptical as to wheather or not it will be as profitable as a p2p game in the long run.
A P2P game with 300K subs makes 27 million every 6 months.
So its kind of a catch 22 for GW2 IMO.
I hardly doubt that a popular game like GW2 would just break even. I believe GW2 is going to sell like hot cakes on release. But one thing to remember is that MMOS are long terms business and make profits over time. It is not like buying Battlefield or Call Of Duty for once and then get done with it.
GW has sold 7 million copies i doubt GW2 would do worse than that.
GW1 sold 7 million over the corse of what has it been 7 years? and they counted every game in the series counting EOTN IIRC.
Yes over the period of seven years and it was GW. So you can imagine the sales of GW2 and its expansions. Also cash shop will be lot more bigger with lot more choices than GW this time.
I've been realizing lately that, for some reason, ArenaNet is allergic to money...
Here, we have a massive triple-A game with an extensive system of over 1500 scalable, chainable, branchable, cooperable, and repeatable dynamic events at launch, spanning 25 incredibly large zones that also hold 6 capital cities and 8 dungeons that each have a story version then 3 challenging explorable mode versions (that's roughly 32 unique dungeon experiences, 24 of them very difficult)...
Astride that is a personal storyline with branching decisions and more voice acting than any other MMO not named Star Wars: The Old Republic...
A massive form of 3 faction PvPvE complete with castle sieges, guild owned keeps, supply lines and mercenary camps...
Completely equalized competetive PvP with hot joinable matches, custom made matches, automated tournaments and a ladder system...
I mean, seriously, it seems to me each one of the things listed here could be it's own game! But they're not. It's all one game, and it'll likely be sold for $60 for the standard edition.
Where I'm going with this is, there's no subscription fee. We know this. There's something that was in Guild Wars 1 that I was soo positive would be in GW2 though, and would've had no qualms about it. Skill and item unlock packs for PvP. They could've been gotten through the PvE or PvP through the investment of time, and it didn't take very long either, but nope! In Guild Wars 2, you get EVERYTHING you'll need for competetive PvP right off the back. Then there's server transfers. On most other subscription MMO's, you also have to pay some ridiculous charge to the tune of about $25 or so just to move servers and play with your friends. Not in Guild Wars 2 though, which is something I'm sure they could've gotten away with(you still need to pay to change your home server to play wuv wuh). They even changed their stance on transmutation stones! They're available through karma vendors instead of the cash shop.
They've also promised us there will be free content updates after the game is released, such as added dynamic events to older areas, guild halls & personal housing, and possibly some of those other things they've mentioned during game conventions that they were meaning to implement but aren't focused on pre-release, such as an observation mode for competetive PvP like the first game.
I don't want to sound like I'm hyping them up to be "good guy ArenaNet" or something, but seriously? And where is NCSoft in all of this? The initial content you're getting in this game looks to be so extremely satisfying for just $60. And everything I listed at the top will only ever have costed you $60... so I reitterate my quandry, is ArenaNet allergic to money?
To be honest I think they owe me money as of now, as I gave them good money for that travesty called GW1, which was in my opinion the worst MMO ever created. Every minute I played GW1 it was a painful unenjoyable experience, as I stared at the most horrible UI ever created, at a MMO with only instances and no real persistance, static MOBs, invisible walls everywhere, no ability to jump, etc.
If they do provide extra value this time, then I'd say we are even...
Now I will say GW2 features seem pretty cool, and I do have some hope for it, but I don't have nearly as much confidence in ANet that they can deliver. They have yet to deliver an enjoyable game for me at least...
GW2 "built from the ground up with microtransactions in mind" 1) Cash->Gems->Gold->Influence->WvWvWBoosts = PAY2WIN 2) Mystic Chests = Crass in-game cash shop advertisements
I've been realizing lately that, for some reason, ArenaNet is allergic to money...
Here, we have a massive triple-A game with an extensive system of over 1500 scalable, chainable, branchable, cooperable, and repeatable dynamic events at launch, spanning 25 incredibly large zones that also hold 6 capital cities and 8 dungeons that each have a story version then 3 challenging explorable mode versions (that's roughly 32 unique dungeon experiences, 24 of them very difficult)...
Astride that is a personal storyline with branching decisions and more voice acting than any other MMO not named Star Wars: The Old Republic...
A massive form of 3 faction PvPvE complete with castle sieges, guild owned keeps, supply lines and mercenary camps...
Completely equalized competetive PvP with hot joinable matches, custom made matches, automated tournaments and a ladder system...
I mean, seriously, it seems to me each one of the things listed here could be it's own game! But they're not. It's all one game, and it'll likely be sold for $60 for the standard edition.
Where I'm going with this is, there's no subscription fee. We know this. There's something that was in Guild Wars 1 that I was soo positive would be in GW2 though, and would've had no qualms about it. Skill and item unlock packs for PvP. They could've been gotten through the PvE or PvP through the investment of time, and it didn't take very long either, but nope! In Guild Wars 2, you get EVERYTHING you'll need for competetive PvP right off the back. Then there's server transfers. On most other subscription MMO's, you also have to pay some ridiculous charge to the tune of about $25 or so just to move servers and play with your friends. Not in Guild Wars 2 though, which is something I'm sure they could've gotten away with(you still need to pay to change your home server to play wuv wuh). They even changed their stance on transmutation stones! They're available through karma vendors instead of the cash shop.
They've also promised us there will be free content updates after the game is released, such as added dynamic events to older areas, guild halls & personal housing, and possibly some of those other things they've mentioned during game conventions that they were meaning to implement but aren't focused on pre-release, such as an observation mode for competetive PvP like the first game.
I don't want to sound like I'm hyping them up to be "good guy ArenaNet" or something, but seriously? And where is NCSoft in all of this? The initial content you're getting in this game looks to be so extremely satisfying for just $60. And everything I listed at the top will only ever have costed you $60... so I reitterate my quandry, is ArenaNet allergic to money?
To be honest I think they owe me money as of now, as I gave them good money for that travesty called GW1, which was in my opinion the worst MMO ever created. Every minute I played GW1 it was a painful unenjoyable experience, as I stared at the most horrible UI ever created, at a MMO with only instances and no real persistance, static MOBs, invisible walls everywhere, no ability to jump, etc.
If they do provide extra value this time, then I'd say we are even...
Now I will say GW2 features seem pretty cool, and I do have some hope for it, but I don't have nearly as much confidence in ANet that they can deliver. They have yet to deliver an enjoyable game for me at least...
LOL, you failed.
GW was never or claimed to be an MMO. It was and is still a CORPG.
Expansions will be out every 3-4 months to offset the subscription lost.
It will work out the same as a subscription way if you want to keep up with the game and stay competative.
So rather than take your money by subs they will get if from expansions.
Looking forward to it though, eyes wide open.
You'll never fall out of competetiveness. Maybe you'll be missing out on some sweet armor designs, but the PvE and PvP in this game are not carrots on a stick. Max statistical value gear is easily obtainable in PvE at max level of 80, which they have no reason to raise with each expansion. And in PvP, you get everything you need the moment you enter the PvP lobby, even right after tutorial. :O
So what your saying is there is no progression lol I really don;t get wtf u pvp for in guild wars 2 if not for gear what can u offer me that would make me wanna do pvp if it's not gear? I think alot of people are going to really displeased wiht the pvp side of things it' s being limited way to much so they can be lazy and not have to balance much. Also no raids so whats the point of gearing up in a regular dungeon sorry but wihtout somesort of progression nobody is going to hang around long after max lvl. RThe reason they get away wiht no trinity is becasue there is no progression at max lvl or the content is super easy.
The fun of it?
The challenge to taking on real opponents that you can't just facerole with suprior gear?
The fun, challenge and excitement of winning one (or more) of the many tournaments and knowing that it was your skill and teamwork, rather than your gear and the hours grinding it, that got you there?
Also, if your only motivation for doing anything is 'better gear', what happens when you get the 'best gear'? Gear grinds are a flawed, and lets face it, pointless system from the start, so why bother? At least in GW2 (like in GW1) you know everything is going to stay challenging and fun.
PS. The reason they got away from the trinity system is because it's boring and lame, not to mention been done at least a donzen times before in big name MMOs (including GW1), so at the very least group (this is an MMO after all) combat in GW2 will be different if not better than trinity style MMOs.
Expansions will be out every 3-4 months to offset the subscription lost.
It will work out the same as a subscription way if you want to keep up with the game and stay competative.
So rather than take your money by subs they will get if from expansions.
Looking forward to it though, eyes wide open.
also they never drop the prices, so youll still be spending over 100$ a year to play if you want to buy the xpacks to keep up with everyone else, and they dont do shit for dynamic updates like mmos do, they just add new xpac zones and classes with no interrim updates outside of glaring bug fixes that would cost them future xpack customers.
ArenaNet only seems generous because most other companies seem like they are trying to pry every dollar out of your wallet using as few systems as possible and by using arbitrary limitations. The difference is the philosphy in the company itself. Each company has it's own design process and company motto.
These are my personal feelings on how each company faces development.
Blizzard (minus WoW) - Quality and Production Value.
They will pour millions into developing new technology in order to create the game they envisioned. Starcraft 2 is a beautiful example of the effort that goes into a (good) Blizzard game. They will not release products early just to get our money. Blizzard could have released Diablo III by now it seems but they have decided to keep it in house and work on it for just a little longer to make it absolutely stunningly beautiful and perfect.
EA - Minimum cost for mamimum profit.
If it has sold before it will sell again. That's not to say everything they produce is rubbish but the majority of the games seem like rehashed systems with slightly better graphics.
ArenaNet - Quality and Innovation.
ArenaNet is striving to make the best game they can possibly make while defying as many existing conventions and obstacles as possible. They do not have a strong foothold in the industry yet and I feel they are counting on this one product to establish them as a new 'big company'. From the website it seems NCSoft is so trusting of ArenaNet they have unlimited financial backing and no production limitations. NCSoft appears to recognize the quality and seems to let Arena do their own thing. They are passionate about their product to the point where most of the company enjoys playing their own product. They make a game THEY want to play and that in turn makes a game that WE want to play as well.
Play for fun. Play to win. Play for perfection. Play with friends. Play in another world. Why do you play?
Anet isn't generous it is clever. F2P/B2P models are more profitable in long run compared to P2P. Not to mention risk free.
Depends on cost, say GW2 cost 100million, and they sell 1 million copes at 60USD, .5 Million copies at 40USD and another 1 Million at 20USD.
They just broke even, then there is more content that needs to be developed and what not.
B2P Has is perks but I am skeptical as to wheather or not it will be as profitable as a p2p game in the long run.
A P2P game with 300K subs makes 27 million every 6 months.
So its kind of a catch 22 for GW2 IMO.
I hardly doubt that a popular game like GW2 would just break even. I believe GW2 is going to sell like hot cakes on release. But one thing to remember is that MMOS are long terms business and make profits over time. It is not like buying Battlefield or Call Of Duty for once and then get done with it.
GW has sold 7 million copies i doubt GW2 would do worse than that.
GW1 sold 7 million over the corse of what has it been 7 years? and they counted every game in the series counting EOTN IIRC.
Yes over the period of seven years and it was GW. So you can imagine the sales of GW2 and its expansions. Also cash shop will be lot more bigger with lot more choices than GW this time.
Yes the 7 million figure is inflated due to them boxing three games into one for 30USD. Released back in mid 08 IIRC. So if they sold a million of those then its inflated to 3 million.
As far as sales and x pacs goes I think it depends on how often the realease and wheather or not x pac 3 needs 2 and 1, I think that will really hurt them.
ArenaNet only seems generous because most other companies seem like they are trying to pry every dollar out of your wallet using as few systems as possible and by using arbitrary limitations. The difference is the philosphy in the company itself. Each company has it's own design process and company motto.
These are my personal feelings on how each company faces development.
Blizzard (minus WoW) - Quality and Production Value.
They will pour millions into developing new technology in order to create the game they envisioned. Starcraft 2 is a beautiful example of the effort that goes into a (good) Blizzard game. They will not release products early just to get our money. Blizzard could have released Diablo III by now it seems but they have decided to keep it in house and work on it for just a little longer to make it absolutely stunningly beautiful and perfect.
EA - Minimum cost for mamimum profit.
If it has sold before it will sell again. That's not to say everything they produce is rubbish but the majority of the games seem like rehashed systems with slightly better graphics.
ArenaNet - Quality and Innovation.
ArenaNet is striving to make the best game they can possibly make while defying as many existing conventions and obstacles as possible. They do not have a strong foothold in the industry yet and I feel they are counting on this one product to establish them as a new 'big company'. From the website it seems NCSoft is so trusting of ArenaNet they have unlimited financial backing and no production limitations. NCSoft appears to recognize the quality and seems to let Arena do their own thing. They are passionate about their product to the point where most of the company enjoys playing their own product. They make a game THEY want to play and that in turn makes a game that WE want to play as well.
I agree with just about everything you said, with the exception of WoW. At least in the beginning, when Blizzard first entered the MMO arena, everything you wrote about them applied to WoW as well. It was only later patches and expansions that gave the perception that they failed, primarily because they catered to the lowest common denominator.
I think this is where it will be interesting to see how ANet follows up with their claims to strive for a different experience.
From what source are we getting this info that we will have to pay for any new content that comes out and hence offsetting the money from sub fee ? As far as i know GW1 released in 2005 and since have come out with just 3 more expansions, like any other game ( for Eg WoW, who also came out with 3 more expansions at a further cost) one had to pay for it. So how this off set Sub fee is still beyond me. Next Cash shop, yes i get it here is where ANET wants to make money and is completely justifyable. Novelty items, custom die etc with no game breaking mechanics aka pay to win is fine. Some one who doesnt like a different looking armor set doest have to pay a dime. And who says ANET dont like money ? they will be making it from cash shop, and you would not be from this gaming planet if you believe people dont like to pay to look kooler! Just look at League of legends, they make millions just from selling skins, which give no ground breaking advantage when it comes to gameplay. yes you can get a new hero by paying money as well, but my account has all heros possible and i havnt spent a $ on it. i get a new hero every time it comes out because of the games i play (IP). Also my frnd who doest play as much also gets all heros he wants but by spending real cash, because he doesnt play as much(does it give him an advantage in a game ? Nope). And Micro transactions are huge money maker just by novelty, as i remember one skin in LoL was out when Japan Tsaunami happened (Akali Nurse Skin) for a week at maxx and they made 160k+ $ from it which cost less than a dollar to get.
So ANET doesnt like money ! not true just that they know they can make more by selling die/armor looks than they can from Sub fee. Give players choice at the same time make more money as i see it a win win for all. You rather have a player base of 5-6 million with a chance of spending 1 $ in cash shop each month than have 1,000,000 player base paying 14 $ a month. yes you make a lot more when the game starts, but past the retention period you are down making less with a player base of 100-200k.
So Retention is ANet priority, thats is when they can make money, So yes they have a chance of making more money but they will have to work harder than most MMO to keep retention, which from a player POV is great.
So is ANET taking a bigger risk yes, but is it more rewarding in the long run hell yes! NO Risk no Gain in business.
Expansions will be out every 3-4 months to offset the subscription lost.
It will work out the same as a subscription way if you want to keep up with the game and stay competative.
So rather than take your money by subs they will get if from expansions.
Looking forward to it though, eyes wide open.
You'll never fall out of competetiveness. Maybe you'll be missing out on some sweet armor designs, but the PvE and PvP in this game are not carrots on a stick. Max statistical value gear is easily obtainable in PvE at max level of 80, which they have no reason to raise with each expansion. And in PvP, you get everything you need the moment you enter the PvP lobby, even right after tutorial. :O
So what your saying is there is no progression lol I really don;t get wtf u pvp for in guild wars 2 if not for gear what can u offer me that would make me wanna do pvp if it's not gear? I think alot of people are going to really displeased wiht the pvp side of things it' s being limited way to much so they can be lazy and not have to balance much. Also no raids so whats the point of gearing up in a regular dungeon sorry but wihtout somesort of progression nobody is going to hang around long after max lvl. RThe reason they get away wiht no trinity is becasue there is no progression at max lvl or the content is super easy.
A clear troll post. Even if you arent looking at GW2 this is a troll post. You have no clue how hard or easy the content will be. Why will people continue to play? For fun I would guess. Not everyone needs a shiney new piece of armor every time they look at a mob or kill a person like you clearly do. Infact I bet there are more people out there who just play games if they are having fun than because they "got a cool piece of gear". People actually PvP for the competition as well. Its people like you that WOW clearly ruined with the "carrot on a stick" crap. And dont tell me you never played WOW. You would be lieing and thats not nice.
Been a while since I posted so why not,
In his defense the content in GW2 cannot be difficult due to how the games dynamic events are set up, which from what I have seen they are more akin to pugs then anything, also unlike WoW or RIFT fights can't be all too complex due to the aggro mechanics (Who evers standing closer).
As for the carrot on the stick, I actually agree. Whats wrong with horizontal progression? it keeps people playing longer and was because of the lack of it is why I gave up GW1. If you're playing the (end) game from start then you've already done most of what you'd do anyways.
Am I the only one that sees the flaw in GW2's design? If this game where p2p would any of you be supporting this?
No your aren't. It is one of my biggest concerns too. I don't really see what will keep people (PVE) playing after the first month or so if there isn't constant PVE material being added. Dynamic events seem alright, but who wants to do them over and over after you've seen how they play out. I can see people just running by or intentionally losing trying to get it to go a different way to see something different. I am not too keen on scaling as it does remove that sense of progression though I can understand how it is necessary because of the way this game is set up.
To the OP: I was a big fan of Guild Wars, and played it for a long time. I also was a big fan of WOW, and played it a long time. I spent MUCH more money on Guild Wars than I ever did on WOW/month. It wasn't even close. WOW was price break for me to play for those years. So if you're concerned about getting so much for so little, just wait.
I've got money hidden away in swiss bank account for GW2.
Nothing is wrong with horizontal progression if you like that kind of thing. But you are only going to be on top of that game if you have enough time to keep up with the hamster wheel.
If you work full time like I do you come to appreciate games where everyone has the same chances. Im thinking fps games here. There pretty much only skill matters. In GW2 I will know if I get beaten it is not because the other person has had better gear because he spent more time in the game. If he is better then me because he spent more time in the game its fine, because he is actaully better than me. But I would hate to loose to someone who is a worse player then me even tough he spent a LOT more time than me in the game, but still wins because he has superior gear.
But I know people who have absoloutely no skill, but they spent tons of time in a game and they own you just because of gear. Perfect example for this is Aion, where when you are up against someone in superior PVP gear you don`t stand the slightest chance even if you are a lot better player then him.
Comments
Sorry, but source?
Going from the GW1 model there will be an expansion about every year or so, and it won't come anywhere near the cost of a $15 a month subscription (12 x $15 = $180 vs. $60), or be required to stay competative (you just won't have access to new classes).
That said I wouldn't mind a more frequent release of new content, though I don't see how you could charge for it unless it was instanced off, which would suck (or not work at all in the case of events).
Either way, as the OP said, you still get a hell of a lot for the box price alone. Also I don't see that it's in their interest to nickle and dime players, as that will only drive them away and give critics fuel for the fire, which in the long run is only going to lead to less sales.
Depends on cost, say GW2 cost 100million, and they sell 1 million copes at 60USD, .5 Million copies at 40USD and another 1 Million at 20USD.
They just broke even, then there is more content that needs to be developed and what not.
B2P Has is perks but I am skeptical as to wheather or not it will be as profitable as a p2p game in the long run.
A P2P game with 300K subs makes 27 million every 6 months.
So its kind of a catch 22 for GW2 IMO.
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
As for the text marked in red......i even remember blizzard promised housing and stuff in vanilla wow.....it never came.
I'll be waiting untill they actually implement these features.
Look at diablo3 now......the game is being stript down to make it ready for launch......so let's wait for launch and not just create more hype about GW2 ok.
Cause true RPG progression = getting better gear
A clear troll post. Even if you arent looking at GW2 this is a troll post. You have no clue how hard or easy the content will be. Why will people continue to play? For fun I would guess. Not everyone needs a shiney new piece of armor every time they look at a mob or kill a person like you clearly do. Infact I bet there are more people out there who just play games if they are having fun than because they "got a cool piece of gear". People actually PvP for the competition as well. Its people like you that WOW clearly ruined with the "carrot on a stick" crap. And dont tell me you never played WOW. You would be lieing and thats not nice.
I hardly doubt that a popular game like GW2 would just break even. I believe GW2 is going to sell like hot cakes on release. But one thing to remember is that MMOS are long terms business and make profits over time. It is not like buying Battlefield or Call Of Duty for once and then get done with it.
GW has sold 7 million copies i doubt GW2 would do worse than that.
I don`t know how you got those numbers, but I can only say, a purely cosmetic cash shop woul still give them a nice profit.. The better looking that stuff is the more profit obviously. And I have to say, my Girlfriend bought herself that Dwayna costume, it looks really amazing. So with a cosmetic cash shop i think they will be fine, especially if they bring out some content updates that are paid for. It would be nice if they are of similar magnitude as nightfall and factions and EOTN were in GW1. In that case no one would complain about spending the money.
Other games take a monthly fee, have an expensice cash shop... thinking of purely cosmetic pets cosing at least 10-15 bucks and still charge for expansions. So I really hope that arena net has a great success with this game, so that other companies will more or less be forced to rethink their business models.
Yeah, I hesitated to bring it up, but it's the notion that the promise is there. That they had the initial intention to give players a boat load of content for free. There's no evidence that they'll try to encroach on our wallets in some criminal way. But they have quite a few reasons to seeing as, like mentioned earlier, this game has no subscription fee, but looks a lot more expensive than Guild Wars 1 and all it's parts combined.
I don't mean to create more hype, but it's the fact that they're selling those 4 things listed that make up the vast majority of the game, and at launch for only $60(assumed price).
If you're comparing Arenanet to Blizzard then you know absolutely nothing about Arenanet.
..Cake..
Been a while since I posted so why not,
In his defense the content in GW2 cannot be difficult due to how the games dynamic events are set up, which from what I have seen they are more akin to pugs then anything, also unlike WoW or RIFT fights can't be all too complex due to the aggro mechanics (Who evers standing closer).
As for the carrot on the stick, I actually agree. Whats wrong with horizontal progression? it keeps people playing longer and was because of the lack of it is why I gave up GW1. If you're playing the (end) game from start then you've already done most of what you'd do anyways.
Am I the only one that sees the flaw in GW2's design? If this game where p2p would any of you be supporting this?
Not being able to keep promises isn't soemthing exclusive to Blizzard. Thats is what he was saying..promises are meant to be broken. And yes a lot of us don't know anything about Anet because they have one CRPG on their resume called GW... but we will know more about Anet once game releases. Some of you guys talk here as if you know Anet personally.
GW1 sold 7 million over the corse of what has it been 7 years? and they counted every game in the series counting EOTN IIRC.
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
Yes over the period of seven years and it was GW. So you can imagine the sales of GW2 and its expansions. Also cash shop will be lot more bigger with lot more choices than GW this time.
To be honest I think they owe me money as of now, as I gave them good money for that travesty called GW1, which was in my opinion the worst MMO ever created. Every minute I played GW1 it was a painful unenjoyable experience, as I stared at the most horrible UI ever created, at a MMO with only instances and no real persistance, static MOBs, invisible walls everywhere, no ability to jump, etc.
If they do provide extra value this time, then I'd say we are even...
Now I will say GW2 features seem pretty cool, and I do have some hope for it, but I don't have nearly as much confidence in ANet that they can deliver. They have yet to deliver an enjoyable game for me at least...
GW2 "built from the ground up with microtransactions in mind"
1) Cash->Gems->Gold->Influence->WvWvWBoosts = PAY2WIN
2) Mystic Chests = Crass in-game cash shop advertisements
LOL, you failed.
GW was never or claimed to be an MMO. It was and is still a CORPG.
The fun of it?
The challenge to taking on real opponents that you can't just facerole with suprior gear?
The fun, challenge and excitement of winning one (or more) of the many tournaments and knowing that it was your skill and teamwork, rather than your gear and the hours grinding it, that got you there?
Also, if your only motivation for doing anything is 'better gear', what happens when you get the 'best gear'? Gear grinds are a flawed, and lets face it, pointless system from the start, so why bother? At least in GW2 (like in GW1) you know everything is going to stay challenging and fun.
PS. The reason they got away from the trinity system is because it's boring and lame, not to mention been done at least a donzen times before in big name MMOs (including GW1), so at the very least group (this is an MMO after all) combat in GW2 will be different if not better than trinity style MMOs.
also they never drop the prices, so youll still be spending over 100$ a year to play if you want to buy the xpacks to keep up with everyone else, and they dont do shit for dynamic updates like mmos do, they just add new xpac zones and classes with no interrim updates outside of glaring bug fixes that would cost them future xpack customers.
ArenaNet only seems generous because most other companies seem like they are trying to pry every dollar out of your wallet using as few systems as possible and by using arbitrary limitations. The difference is the philosphy in the company itself. Each company has it's own design process and company motto.
These are my personal feelings on how each company faces development.
Blizzard (minus WoW) - Quality and Production Value.
They will pour millions into developing new technology in order to create the game they envisioned. Starcraft 2 is a beautiful example of the effort that goes into a (good) Blizzard game. They will not release products early just to get our money. Blizzard could have released Diablo III by now it seems but they have decided to keep it in house and work on it for just a little longer to make it absolutely stunningly beautiful and perfect.
EA - Minimum cost for mamimum profit.
If it has sold before it will sell again. That's not to say everything they produce is rubbish but the majority of the games seem like rehashed systems with slightly better graphics.
ArenaNet - Quality and Innovation.
ArenaNet is striving to make the best game they can possibly make while defying as many existing conventions and obstacles as possible. They do not have a strong foothold in the industry yet and I feel they are counting on this one product to establish them as a new 'big company'. From the website it seems NCSoft is so trusting of ArenaNet they have unlimited financial backing and no production limitations. NCSoft appears to recognize the quality and seems to let Arena do their own thing. They are passionate about their product to the point where most of the company enjoys playing their own product. They make a game THEY want to play and that in turn makes a game that WE want to play as well.
Play for fun. Play to win. Play for perfection. Play with friends. Play in another world. Why do you play?
Yes the 7 million figure is inflated due to them boxing three games into one for 30USD. Released back in mid 08 IIRC. So if they sold a million of those then its inflated to 3 million.
As far as sales and x pacs goes I think it depends on how often the realease and wheather or not x pac 3 needs 2 and 1, I think that will really hurt them.
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
I agree with just about everything you said, with the exception of WoW. At least in the beginning, when Blizzard first entered the MMO arena, everything you wrote about them applied to WoW as well. It was only later patches and expansions that gave the perception that they failed, primarily because they catered to the lowest common denominator.
I think this is where it will be interesting to see how ANet follows up with their claims to strive for a different experience.
From what source are we getting this info that we will have to pay for any new content that comes out and hence offsetting the money from sub fee ? As far as i know GW1 released in 2005 and since have come out with just 3 more expansions, like any other game ( for Eg WoW, who also came out with 3 more expansions at a further cost) one had to pay for it. So how this off set Sub fee is still beyond me. Next Cash shop, yes i get it here is where ANET wants to make money and is completely justifyable. Novelty items, custom die etc with no game breaking mechanics aka pay to win is fine. Some one who doesnt like a different looking armor set doest have to pay a dime. And who says ANET dont like money ? they will be making it from cash shop, and you would not be from this gaming planet if you believe people dont like to pay to look kooler! Just look at League of legends, they make millions just from selling skins, which give no ground breaking advantage when it comes to gameplay. yes you can get a new hero by paying money as well, but my account has all heros possible and i havnt spent a $ on it. i get a new hero every time it comes out because of the games i play (IP). Also my frnd who doest play as much also gets all heros he wants but by spending real cash, because he doesnt play as much(does it give him an advantage in a game ? Nope). And Micro transactions are huge money maker just by novelty, as i remember one skin in LoL was out when Japan Tsaunami happened (Akali Nurse Skin) for a week at maxx and they made 160k+ $ from it which cost less than a dollar to get.
So ANET doesnt like money ! not true just that they know they can make more by selling die/armor looks than they can from Sub fee. Give players choice at the same time make more money as i see it a win win for all. You rather have a player base of 5-6 million with a chance of spending 1 $ in cash shop each month than have 1,000,000 player base paying 14 $ a month. yes you make a lot more when the game starts, but past the retention period you are down making less with a player base of 100-200k.
So Retention is ANet priority, thats is when they can make money, So yes they have a chance of making more money but they will have to work harder than most MMO to keep retention, which from a player POV is great.
So is ANET taking a bigger risk yes, but is it more rewarding in the long run hell yes! NO Risk no Gain in business.
No your aren't. It is one of my biggest concerns too. I don't really see what will keep people (PVE) playing after the first month or so if there isn't constant PVE material being added. Dynamic events seem alright, but who wants to do them over and over after you've seen how they play out. I can see people just running by or intentionally losing trying to get it to go a different way to see something different. I am not too keen on scaling as it does remove that sense of progression though I can understand how it is necessary because of the way this game is set up.
To the OP: I was a big fan of Guild Wars, and played it for a long time. I also was a big fan of WOW, and played it a long time. I spent MUCH more money on Guild Wars than I ever did on WOW/month. It wasn't even close. WOW was price break for me to play for those years. So if you're concerned about getting so much for so little, just wait.
I've got money hidden away in swiss bank account for GW2.
Nothing is wrong with horizontal progression if you like that kind of thing. But you are only going to be on top of that game if you have enough time to keep up with the hamster wheel.
If you work full time like I do you come to appreciate games where everyone has the same chances. Im thinking fps games here. There pretty much only skill matters. In GW2 I will know if I get beaten it is not because the other person has had better gear because he spent more time in the game. If he is better then me because he spent more time in the game its fine, because he is actaully better than me. But I would hate to loose to someone who is a worse player then me even tough he spent a LOT more time than me in the game, but still wins because he has superior gear.
But I know people who have absoloutely no skill, but they spent tons of time in a game and they own you just because of gear. Perfect example for this is Aion, where when you are up against someone in superior PVP gear you don`t stand the slightest chance even if you are a lot better player then him.
maybe you are the one that needs to do some homework on this m8......arenanet is ex-blizzard guys.
I dont mean they will be the same......i think arenanet can have a bright future idd....i hope soo for them.