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Guild Wars 2: 'Microtransactions Should Unite the Community'
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
In a new interview at PCGamer.com, Arena.Net's Mike O'Brien kicks off a new discussion about the recently announced microtransactions in Guild Wars 2. In it O'Brien fleshes out a bit more of the design team's philosophy: If players can spend time playing to get what they want, perfect. If players don't have that kind of time but want those same things, they have microtransactions.
O’Brien acknowledges, however, that players will need convincing. “The reaction we expect from the world is scepticism. It should be that way because there are a lot of games out there that are doing really dicey things with microtransactions. We hold ourselves to high standards, and as we’ve tested things, we’ve put this stuff in front of our core beta test group and said, ‘you guys should be holding us to [those] high standards.’”
Read the full interview at PCGamer.com.
Comments
It all depends on the balance. If it takes Hardcore Player A an entire week of mob killing to earn a certain cape OR Softcore Player B $5.00 via Paypal, then the balance is bs.
MicroTransactions is the worst thing that has ever happened to gaming. However, I can eat here simple because there is no monthly fee.
"Microtransactions should unite the community"
LOL
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
sorry anet you made nearly an identical model to that of Runes of Magic. Don't turn yourself into frogster. You have failed us with this design. Defend yourself all you want. We would have preffered p2p.
Hero Evermore
Guild Master of Dragonspine since 1982.
Playing Path of Exile and deeply in love with it.
lol ikr. such a joke. anet went coocoo for cocoa puffs...
Hero Evermore
Guild Master of Dragonspine since 1982.
Playing Path of Exile and deeply in love with it.
Samething thing I was thinking.
Really?
To quote the great Johny Cash. "I see that train a coming, its rolling down the tracks........."
They aren't yet ready to talk specifics on what will be and what will not be on sale until they are sure. So long as it does not affect PVP then its okay because that is the only area where you'd be competing with players. The coop mechanics in PVE do not exactly make you clash and compete against other players unlike other MMOs where there are issues like kill stealing.
Playing now: Cities: Skyline / Ori and the Blind Forest / Banished
I agree MT should unite the community against it.
@mmoDAD You contradict yourself, Micro Transactions are causing more games to go to f2p because companies can make money without monthly fees. Its that very reason that more people can justify playing even if they only play a couple hours a week.
The whole pay to win thing is just overly winey people. I've played atleast a dozen micro transaction games and even the worst ones like voyage century and atlantica online, only cause you to have an advantage at low levels. In any game that is even remotely balanced the amount of money it takes to make a high level char have an advantage is in the thousands of dollars and if they want to spend that much well then I don't really care if they beat me.
The words "microtransactions" and "holding ourselves to high standards" in the same paragraph... oh the irony.
Standards, of any (positive) form, are absolutely guaranteed to go out the window and down the drain the moment microtransactions appear.
Right now I could not be more happy to not be a fan or follower of Guild Wars 2. You guys are in for a very ..."special" treat though. Say hello to nickle and diming left right and center, plus of course BWW, Bigger Wallet Wins, aka pay to win.
New working title for the game: "Guild Wars: the online store"
For those interested in how a "very small and cosmetic stuff only!" microtransaction store will evolve over time: take a look at one of the worst games around: Star Trek Online. Their store (also known as junkyard) started out with just two races (essentially player character skins).
Over time they started smelling profit and well, the ultimate result was the complete dominance of the store over all other development efforts.
It is simple: there will always be a lot of guillible people willing to throw money at a company. The company realizes how much easier and faster they can make a profit by simple focusing their development time on items to be sold in the store instead of general additions to the game. Again: there is never a shortage of people with too little of an educational background to realize what they are doing that end up paying money for junk.
It all comes down to this:
"If people value the work that we’re doing, then they’re going to pay for the work that we’re doing.”
lol@Guild Wars; the online store
flawless victory.
Mission in life: Vanquish all MMORPG.com trolls - especially TESO, WOW and GW2 trolls.
Because they're actually playing the game and earning their progression?
Guys stop being so butt hurt over micro transactions, its this or p2p there is no feasible way of keeping the game alive if they are only making revenue from the actual purchase of the sale whilst keeping it f2p, they are keeping f2p as they want people to transfer easily from gw1, that game had micro-transactions and from what i saw it was just cosmetics.
Above i saw a coment about it maybe taking a week for a hardcore player to get a cape, whilst a softcore player could get it for £5, This is fine in my opinion if its just a cosmetic, from what ive seen they are trying to not make it pay to win, which i trust them not to.
A week of grinding for a cape is a choice of the player and yes i guess it gets rid of the sense of achievement when you see people with the cape who just simply bought it. But you should still feel a personal sense of achievement and not care of how other people acquired it, you would be showing a sense of jealousy and this is why the online community is so harsh towards eachother, its because they see other people more successful then them or with better items/gear then them and automatically lash out on something you feel isn't normal about them.
Overall i believe unless they went p2p (which in the current state of most games is fading away) They will need this microtransaction system to keep the game going, that or you having to pay for each update they release which would otherwise be free.
Allow me to provide you a different perspective. I am employed older and stable. I can't spend 40 hours a week on a game, never have been able to really. I make more than enough money to really win in a pay 2 win type game, especially given that most of my competition would consist of teens and 20 somethings either still living at home or living on rammen noodles. I am against cash shops because you're bringing real world economic(purchasing) power into my fantasy world, you know the place I go to get away from it all. A game in my eyes is sullied by the addition of cash shops. This is just my opinion. I will get flamed for this, but this is how i feel about it.
Looks like time to sharpen up the old plus 5 credit card of game play avoidance. The really scary "lawn rake lying in the weeds for the unwarry" about this system is that the customers who don't have time, or just don't feel like actually playing the game will become the favored demographic as they will be the ones pumping in the most money. All the poor schlubs with the time or desire to actually PLAY THE F*CKING GAME, will just be dead weight in the long term.
I can understand the MMO platforms shift to more casual-centric gaming, but this is just taking the piss.
"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves, we were called by the Admin of the site . . . "
I hear the train a comin'...It's rollin' 'round the bend"
Sorry, I had to do it. Fail of that magnitude cannot go without correction.
Then why charge us 60 dollars for the box? other f2p titles seem to make money while not charging for the box. This is what makes it almost offensive. Somehow they've convinced you all that b2p but really they're selling you a F2P game. It is madness. How do you not get this?
Seriously. That's is just plain, flat out spin-doctoring to cover what is a pretty standard cash shop scheme.
What's the next spin, ANet, "Microtransactions cure cancer and bring world peace"?
GW2 is just like any other F2P game with cash shop, except with a box price for the game.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
Go back to your p2p games. Kthxbye.
Lol at all the same Cash Shop Boys spamming.
Get over it guys.
Pardon my English as it is not my 1st language
I guess I thought ArenaNet would never stoop to offering xp, faction rep and magic find boosters like most other cash shops do. I dont have any issues buying extra character slots, costumes or bag storage but offering boosters is just wrong.
Grim Dawn, the next great action rpg!
http://www.grimdawn.com/
Gw2 has a cash shop. DEAL WITH IT! or gtfo ->
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