If you can’t afford it, you will soon.
One of the oddest things I get to witness is North American MMO players attempting to grasp the new wave of cash-shop based games. Not only am I referencing Allods Online, but also the dozen or so other games that had the same issues with pricing and yet, for some reason, have done quite well. Look at Free Realms, DDO, Mabinogi, Wizard 101, EQ/EQ2/SWG TCG and others.
Granted, some of these games have more of a “velvet rope/freemium” type of arrangement, but the issues still get discussed. Essentially, the main issue seems to be “Now that we have found a cash-shop game that we like, why is the cash-shop so expensive?”
And, once again, the cash-shop items are seen as “unfair advantages” or as a simple way to buy yourself to the top of the game. The funny thing is, as a cash-shop gamer for the last 8 years, I have never found the absolute need for cash-shop items. Do some games have some of the best gear in the cash shop? Yes, yet most have an in-game method to gain the items, or something equivalent (including Allods.) Also, who ever said that gaining gear and getting the most kills were the most important (or forced upon) goals?
I have found that usually these outcries come from the PvP crowd. The most important thing to a PvP’er is to kill the other player before they kill you, to gain some kind of tactical advantage, or to rack up the most number of kills.
But again, there is no forced goal put upon the player to achieve these specific goals, they are simply an option. The PvP’er seems to think that not only others would care more about his/her achievements than about their own, but that someone will never be able to top that specific achievement.
In other words, there will always be someone better, and someone more willing to achieve an even higher goal.The pursuit of a PvP goal is, in reality, useless. (Note: I didn’t say that they were not fun, though.)
So why would buying healing potions or (in the case of all the Allods steam) extra inventory slots be seen as some advantage? Why would anyone care if they couldn’t afford the item? How is that not fair?
After all, if you had a buddy telling you that it was unfair to charge a monthly subscription fee, would you give in and hand him the money he needed? No way..you would tell him to get a job. And in 99.9 percent of F2P games you can access all content and play through most areas without having to pay anything or, if you do have to pay, by paying a very small fee (still less than a standard subscription.)
Look at this way: if you cannot afford the item, move on. Remember, also, that in the case of a cash-shop based game that prices not only change, but that that pricing is not in any way an exact science. I have played Mabinogi (and spent money in about 13 other cash-shop games) for quite a while, and over that time they have changed the price of some of their most popular in-game services at least three times. The developers talk about the difficulty in pricing, and I promise you that no amount of forum posting or blog-writing will change things.
If you want to change it, don’t buy it. Move on. Trust me, they will see that item making no money at all.
Or, in the case of some “I love this game, even though it’s a cash-shop!“ (as though they need to apologize to their readers) type of bloggers, you can suggest something as silly as tearing up pre-purchased gift cards, or boycotting the cash shop by continuing to play the game without buying anything in it!
Here’s the news, for all players that, (like that blogger) seem to be almost completely clueless about how cash-shop crowds tend to work. The fact is that most players do not spend money in the cash shop. This is something that I have heard, with my own ears, from developers of cash-shop games. Most players play the game and enjoy it without spending a dime. The few that do spend money, though, spend well enough to make up for it. This is common knowledge in the F2P community.
So, boycott it all you want, don’t spend the money. But let’s not act as though these prices (or these experiments with prices) are anything new. They will adjust the price, and you will buy the item then.
Don’t tear up that gift card just yet.
Beau
PS: OK, I am going to go to sleep now, I promise!
I buy potions and things like that in DDO and have stocked a Free Realms card but i have most assuredly gotten as far as I wanted without using the cash shop. The only problem is when some of the games makes NOT using the shop a hindrance to your leveling and punishes you for it
On one hand, you are correct. This is not the end of the Allods Online and they will adjust the price. Thank you for being the one with a cooler head to point it out. On the other hand, this rage is not about the prices, at least not for me, it is about online gaming and bad business practices that have started to tint online gaming.
I believe, that MMO gaming is about community and the relationship between the game makers and their customers. Lack of communication and sudden changes to the game disturb that relationship and bound to create distrust and discontent. The sudden raise in prices in Allods Online cash shops was one of those moves and the backlash is something to be expected. It will calm down and the prices will be lowered, but the trust will not be restored, at least not completely.
So what you are saying is that when they might make a mistake (if this is one) that it is not simply something that happens to everyone every-day, but is a sign of the downfall of gaming?
If you didn’t know, Allods has actually been (go ask Keen! lol ) one of the most communicative companies I have come across. So has Nexon (Mabinogi) SOE (Free Realms) and you would not believe how connected-to-the-community Kingsisle is.
I understand that some people want to make it seem like they suddenly attempted to “rip-off” or “gouge” players, but the operative word here is “optional.” Just like an expansion pack or a digital booster pack, this is optional content. While the price can be tossed about, in the end no player has to buy it. This has more to do with (like I said) an in-exact science of, basically, guesswork than with a company trying to stick it to their players. From what I have seen from the developers (and from the dealings I have had with them,) they are doing nothing but attempting to entertain you.
Beau
Beau,
What I am saying is that while this is not a downfall of gaming in general, it is a sign that MMO games becoming less and less entertaining, at least for me. I remember the times when MMOs were the worlds that could keep me entertained for while and not minding paying for it, not anymore. Maybe because of market saturation or maybe because of lack in quality/innovation, the sense of wonder is gone and now it feels like business. And when entertainment is being more and more like a business, the gamer in me becomes a consumer. And consumers worry more about good deals than about what they are buying.
Well, that sucks. Sorry to hear that you are not enjoying yourself as much. You have to admit, though, that MMO gaming is actually more popular now than ever, so these kind of things might happen. I would hope that you see it in many forms of entertainment, and just know to avoid the ones you don’t like?
Yes, seems that Borderlands with friends works out much better than any MMO right now, although I keep trying to get into MMOs as new ones get released. Maybe because new MMOs are targeting the mass market, the results have been quite disappointing so far. Current state of MMO market reminds me of comic books production inflation in the 90s when there was so much trash produced the customers were not willing/could not pay for it.
Allods team has already posted that this is not a mistake and they are killing all forum posts discussing this issue. This is the price they set and while they are free to charge whatever, no game is immune to going under, not even Allods.
I spend money in cash shops to support a game I enjoy but $20 for 6 extras spaces in a single bag on a single character? I’d go back to WOW before I’d give them the single that charging that sort of price is okay. I dropped 3x that much in a couple of weeks in ROM for many more items and conveniences. Seriously, 6 extras spaces in a single bag?
Player should get loud over it. If the players of CO hadn’t pitched a fit, they’d be paying for an expansion that contained a lot of content promised to them in the original release. Vocalizing your opinion and displeasure is how you let them know it ain’t okay, on top of not buying. I was just waiting to buy a bag. It was the first things I wanted. Now I won’t buy anything at all – nothing, unless the change the pricing structure. Now who loses out more if upset players leave all together while generating bad buzz about a F2P? Me, who can afford to go back to a sub game if I choose? Or them, when development and keeping an online game running is on the line? This already came up on massively.
The days of few choices in the MMO space have come and gone. Players aren’t nearly as patient with their money or their time. However, it appears that developers and publishers are still operating as if UO, EQ and AC, are all we have to choose from. Like it or lump left the building. Games are closing. Game development companies are laying people off, being taken over and closing. Games are being shutdown. This their way or the highway is more likely to leave them on the highway than the players.
I think you are speaking to one of a million possible scenarios. I never said, or thought, that any game was immune to closing. But I think that the game obviously has something “special” to allow it to “cross-over” as it has into the P2P crowd, and speaking up and threatening boycotts, in my opinion, mean nothing. It’s like watching somebodies therapy session. To me, if you don’t like the art, go to the next gallery.
Thing is, when I protest the protesters, people seem to think that I am somehow avoiding the obvious issue or mistake that was made. I am not. I am fully aware that it might be a mistake (and looks like it was intended, but still a mistake) but would that stop me from liking the game? The problem I have with the protesters is that they have said the same thing, quite literally, for dozens of F2P titles. And yet, none of those titles have done poorly at all.
And why compare the money you spend in a cash-shop game to a sub? Forget the fact that it’s a cash-shop game. Accept the fact that you are the type that would spend money and just call it a “sub.” Essentially, the game has to get paid somehow. Either enough people support the cash shop or they switch to in-game advertising or to a sub.
Also, look at the language you are using. You have never seen that type of language used before? It’s very dramatic (no, I am not making fun) but we have seen it before. Hell, most of us have used that language before too. But the games have survived, everything did OK and we had a good time. The fact of the matter is that games are actually doing much, much better than they ever have. Name how many games have closed down in the last 3 years, and compare that number to how many came, took chances and are still being played.
Let’s count the games that started with bad press at release and struggle them there after to regain their footing. The outrage of a charged for CO expansion did work. If players had said nothing at all the publisher wouldn’t have changed their tune. Boycotts do work that is why they exist and people motivated enough participate in them. They don’t always work but they will never work if not even attempted. Those motivated enough will boycott the CS while consuming server resources by playing. So we shall see where it all shakes out. No one has a problem with a sub or CS. We are boycotting the prices, and especially in comparison to the Russian prices and other games. People who are okay with $20 for 6 bag spaces will pay it. Others who don’t like it won’t and the posts about their displeasure will get attention.
If you’re still playing even for free you ARE supporting them.
The presumable business model here is for a minority of players to spend a LOT. It’s only worth spending a lot to be a lord amongst peasants.
By being a non-paying participant you are one of those peasants. Without you and others like you there’s no point the “lords” buying stuff that makes them better than everyone else.
I’m not saying quit, play if you’re having fun and don’t let all this bother you. But if you can’t play without it getting under your skin.
But I don’t think angry posts have much effect unless supported by the revenue statistics. We don’t have inside info on CO but I suspect the reason they reacted to fan outrage was because the revenue men agreed revenue would go down. This may not be the case with Allods.
Some people I’ve known would love to spend $6980 if it meant they always kicked your butt.
It’s not an issue with the concept of cash shops. I know you think they are great, and I personally am entirely neutral on them. It’s an issue of the specific pricing in this one game.
Allods is a very enjoyable, well-done fantasy MMO, but it isn’t twenty times better than any of its competitors. If it chooses to set prices at that level, it will either have no players, or only players who don’t pay any money to play.
I work in a bookshop. We have trouble competing with online booksellers selling books at two-thirds to half of our prices. How well do you think we’d do if we chose to react to that competition by raising our own prices tenfold?
I’m not playing Allods at the moment because the EQ2 expansion launched on the same day and its very good. I was going to play Allods when I am done with that, which probably means April or even May. At the moment I am not convinced Allods will even exist by the time I’m ready to play it.
I’m not saying boycotts cannot work or that all protests are not heard. I am speaking to this very specific case, though, and you need to ask a question: Even though they released a press release, what did they do to change the situation? As far as I know, the prices remain the same and they said this: “Over the next several weeks we will continue to evaluate the details of our item shop and we will begin to introduce new items to help assist you throughout your Allods experience.”
Now, that could mean “new prices on the same old items” or “new cheaper items.”
Either way, obviously they are not hurting that bad. Even if they are, go log in. There are plenty of players running around playing like crazy. I am not using this as some kind of definitive proof, but it is the only proof we have right now. I am also not saying this as though I care about which way it comes out, I do not. This is (like I said) normal stuff for cash-shop games. We all should know this by now.
What you seem to be forgetting is that, like I pointed out, most players will not use the cash shop anyway. And a good deal of the PTP players represent those players that weren’t paying anyway, and didn’t intend to. So, they lost nothing if the players that were against cash-shop games didn’t pay anything. They would not have paid in the first place, or would have paid minimally.
All I am saying is that to not pay it is fine. That’s normal. If the item doesn’t sell, they will change it or remove it, trust me. But to think that there aren’t others who are fine with the prices, or with the prices for the rest of the items in the cash shop, is to be blind. There are players that will spend thousands of dollars, literally, for their favorite game. (Especially on the first few days. Again, this is something that most F2P dev’s know about. This happens after new patches or when new items come out.) I will promise you that the game’s popularity already, without being in actual release, shows that they will at the very least, be one of the more popular cash-shop games in NA. That says a lot, if you know the market.
Of course, I could be wrong and the game could close down within 3 weeks, all due to an optional backpack being too expensive. But, call me nuts, but didn’t we enjoy this game without that backpack, for the last 4 closed betas?
We can make a bet, if you’d like! lol
I disagree stabs. The lording over opportunities don’t arise until PVP and end-game purchases. It’s the bags, keys, etc. that people might be tempted to buy just to ease the leveling process. If they find that the vast majority of pre PVP players are not buying the one thing everyone should need, which is bags, it will send a signal. More so than if all those people leave and the few that would buy them do. You’d have a high percentage of buyers versus players pre-end game and PVP playing but forgoing the options for revenue stream. I’ll play until I get tired to shuffling to the NPCs to vendor crap because I have so little bag space. The other side effect is that I closed the shop without even looking at any other items. Because at this point, many of us are doing a full on boycott of the CS.
The only signal it will send is to change the price of the backpack. They will do it, and people will buy it. All it took was a single price change and suddenly people decide to continue to play it? That’s nothing more than what happens everyday in the supermarket, yet people are talking about “losing their faith” in a company?
That’s so odd.
@ Saylah You disagree because you’re too nice to see it. For some people if they knew they had a bigger backpack than almost everyone else they’d be a really smug dickhead about it. They’d love it. The principle of exclusivity in marketing is well-established. Historically many marketed products have sold a lot more when the price is raised with no value added.
@ Beau It’s not about the specific product it’s about social status in the virtual world. Most of us are used to feeling amongst the aristocracy of our MMOs. If we want something we could, theoretically get it, just that we choose not to hardcore raid or whatever.
This is very blatantly saying to people with a normal sense of financial proportion you’re peasants here. Run around and heal or get slaughtered by our REAL players, the VIPs, the rich guys.
The backpack represents work. Less bag space is more trips to town is more work for the same in-game revenue generation. If you have to work harder than more privileged players you’re a peasant.
Marxism, baby, brought to you live from Russia!
I’ll write a blog about it. It is my feeling that, as usual with these MMO dramas, too much is being made of it.
I don’t get where the claim that the Allods GMs are ‘censoring’ CS debate on the forums comes from… there are plenty of topics discussing it (some quite heated) and several have been active since the CS went live. There isn’t any ‘dissent crackdown’ going on.
@Stabs – Eww, hadn’t looked at it that way about the bags and that certainly doesn’t make me feel any better about it. LOL