10$ "Discount"
I dont think anyone can say what the bonus would be for existing player in the next expansion but if i had to guess it can be all bettwen 100-2000 gems depending to how low the hot bundle have been discounted before it hits.
Ya know… even my butt twitched when I found out I got another character slot, and yes, I mean ANOTHER, my husband and I bought the $99.99 version. I had 22 characters, now with 24 slots, I needed another slot like I need kitten- in the head. Wasn’t quite the apology I looked for but… ya know, at least they gave us one.
It is a game of no monthly fee, I feel as if we’re only allowed so many number of complaints on this. These games are highly expensive to even make. I know where my money is going toward. I’m not gonna sit here and continue to be discontent when they DID address the issue.
I can always use another char slot.
Most MMOs are doing this. Not to screw over loyal players. Here’s your options. You can wait 8-10 years till there are no more expansions, buy the last expansion and start playing the game 10 years from now, or you can buy the games when they come out and enjoy them from the beginning, during which time you can accumulate wealth, among other things.
Just for logging in, I got all of Living Story Season 2 unlocked. I got to see all of the living World Season 1 which can’t even be experienced by new players. I was at the Southsun Karka event. I’ve played a PvP map that doesn’t exist anymore. I was there for orbs in WvW. There are a ton of experiences I’ve had new players will never have. There’s a boatload of wealth I’ve gotten new players won’t have. Hell I have six legendaries.
Most MMOs are going this route, because imagine, 8 years from now, if a new player had to buy four or five games just to play with everyone in the new content. It’s a barrier to entry that’s bad for the company. But it’s not just bad for the company. It’s bad for veterans, because due to natural attrition in all games, we NEED new players.
WoW is doing this. EQ is doing this. It’s becoming normal for a company to remove barriers to get new players into their game.
Why is this so hard for people to understand?
Most MMOs are doing this. Not to screw over loyal players. Here’s your options. You can wait 8-10 years till there are no more expansions, buy the last expansion and start playing the game 10 years from now, or you can buy the games when they come out and enjoy them from the beginning, during which time you can accumulate wealth, among other things.
Just for logging in, I got all of Living Story Season 2 unlocked. I got to see all of the living World Season 1 which can’t even be experienced by new players. I was at the Southsun Karka event. I’ve played a PvP map that doesn’t exist anymore. I was there for orbs in WvW. There are a ton of experiences I’ve had new players will never have. There’s a boatload of wealth I’ve gotten new players won’t have. Hell I have six legendaries.
Most MMOs are going this route, because imagine, 8 years from now, if a new player had to buy four or five games just to play with everyone in the new content. It’s a barrier to entry that’s bad for the company. But it’s not just bad for the company. It’s bad for veterans, because due to natural attrition in all games, we NEED new players.
WoW is doing this. EQ is doing this. It’s becoming normal for a company to remove barriers to get new players into their game.
Why is this so hard for people to understand?
Because if they actually cared about attracting new players AND retaining vets, everyone would get the same deal: pay for the core, get added content at no change.
Instead, loyal longtime players get double charged, which would do nothing but accelerate that “natural attrition” you mentioned.
You didn’t get double charged… Sometimes i really fear for the people who call themselves veterans in this game.
new players do not immediately get past living story seasons upon obtaining new expansions.
Most MMOs are doing this. Not to screw over loyal players. Here’s your options. You can wait 8-10 years till there are no more expansions, buy the last expansion and start playing the game 10 years from now, or you can buy the games when they come out and enjoy them from the beginning, during which time you can accumulate wealth, among other things.
Just for logging in, I got all of Living Story Season 2 unlocked. I got to see all of the living World Season 1 which can’t even be experienced by new players. I was at the Southsun Karka event. I’ve played a PvP map that doesn’t exist anymore. I was there for orbs in WvW. There are a ton of experiences I’ve had new players will never have. There’s a boatload of wealth I’ve gotten new players won’t have. Hell I have six legendaries.
Most MMOs are going this route, because imagine, 8 years from now, if a new player had to buy four or five games just to play with everyone in the new content. It’s a barrier to entry that’s bad for the company. But it’s not just bad for the company. It’s bad for veterans, because due to natural attrition in all games, we NEED new players.
WoW is doing this. EQ is doing this. It’s becoming normal for a company to remove barriers to get new players into their game.
Why is this so hard for people to understand?
Because if they actually cared about attracting new players AND retaining vets, everyone would get the same deal: pay for the core, get added content at no change.
Instead, loyal longtime players get double charged, which would do nothing but accelerate that “natural attrition” you mentioned.
Are you then saying the 3 years past progression in the game means nothing to Vets? That you would be willing to give it all up for a free copy of the base game and expansion(s)? I know I wouldn’t. I’m perfectly willing to pay $80 dollars (my initial cost) for 3 years of enjoyment. I can honestly say, there is no way I would give up what I have accomplished and accrued in the past 3 years for a free expansion. Thus, I will pay $50 – $75 – $100 each 3 years, two years, even 1 year…for the package that suits me best…each and every time. ymmv
Well but you do get double charged. But on the other hand if u have the money to buy it, then why not? If u gots the monies then who cares, right? It surely will be great and they did adress the issue somewhat (man i really dont need the core game again, also ppl talkin bout the extra char slot like that 1 slot=HoT? what is wrong with you?) I myself will be buying it when the price tag has lowered a bit. Just that that core game stuff makes it so unappealing to me. On the other hand new players will get the full experience, so i guess thats nice. Aaah im so perplexed about this whole ordeal.
I’m a new player and I picked up the core game on sale for 15 bucks a few months ago. I wasn’t expecting much given that I don’t really enjoy mmo’s but boy was I pleasantly surprised. I’ve found that I really enjoy the game and have 5 characters at level 80. I’m not sure how many hours I’ve sunk into the game but I feel that my adventures so far have been an awesome value for the money. When they announced the HoT bundles I wasn’t upset and I’m more than willing to pay for the expac because I feel confident that I’ll get many more hours of entertainment for my dollar.
Maybe I have different expectations than others but I grew up with NES/SNES and I’ve always felt that if I pay 50 bucks for a game than I should be able to expect at least 40 hours of entertainment. GW2 has given me much much more. Now I know that my expectations are different than others but I remember as a kid in school I saved my lunch money every day, skipped my meals, until I had enough to purchase FF6.
I feel that in terms of bang for your buck, GW2 is unmatched.
As I said in another thread, I have no problem with them discounting the core game for new players, or having a starter combo pack that heavily discounts it, but I still feel like including it with the expansion, with no discount for existing players, is asking me to re-purchase a game I already bought. They could sell the core for $1 and the expansion for $49 and as long as I didn’t have to pay that $1 I’d be ok with it. Not overjoyed, but at least they’re paying something for the game I paid $80 for, and I’m not being asked to pay a purchase price that includes the value of that game again. Instead they’re going this route, so I won’t buy it. That’s all I’m saying. If other MMOs are doing it, I wouldn’t make a purchase from them either. I’ll just keep spending my money on expansion episodes for The Secret World, since their pricing methods don’t make me feel devalued as an existing customer.
Most MMOs are doing this. Not to screw over loyal players. Here’s your options. You can wait 8-10 years till there are no more expansions, buy the last expansion and start playing the game 10 years from now, or you can buy the games when they come out and enjoy them from the beginning, during which time you can accumulate wealth, among other things.
Just for logging in, I got all of Living Story Season 2 unlocked. I got to see all of the living World Season 1 which can’t even be experienced by new players. I was at the Southsun Karka event. I’ve played a PvP map that doesn’t exist anymore. I was there for orbs in WvW. There are a ton of experiences I’ve had new players will never have. There’s a boatload of wealth I’ve gotten new players won’t have. Hell I have six legendaries.
Most MMOs are going this route, because imagine, 8 years from now, if a new player had to buy four or five games just to play with everyone in the new content. It’s a barrier to entry that’s bad for the company. But it’s not just bad for the company. It’s bad for veterans, because due to natural attrition in all games, we NEED new players.
WoW is doing this. EQ is doing this. It’s becoming normal for a company to remove barriers to get new players into their game.
Why is this so hard for people to understand?
Because if they actually cared about attracting new players AND retaining vets, everyone would get the same deal: pay for the core, get added content at no change.
Instead, loyal longtime players get double charged, which would do nothing but accelerate that “natural attrition” you mentioned.
Then wait until the last expansion for the game is released, let’s say in 2020, and buy it so you get everything else for free.
Everyone else who wants to play the game NOW will get the game NOW and get their money’s worth in play time and enjoyment til the next expansion.
As I said in another thread, I have no problem with them discounting the core game for new players, or having a starter combo pack that heavily discounts it, but I still feel like including it with the expansion, with no discount for existing players, is asking me to re-purchase a game I already bought. They could sell the core for $1 and the expansion for $49 and as long as I didn’t have to pay that $1 I’d be ok with it. Not overjoyed, but at least they’re paying something for the game I paid $80 for, and I’m not being asked to pay a purchase price that includes the value of that game again. Instead they’re going this route, so I won’t buy it. That’s all I’m saying. If other MMOs are doing it, I wouldn’t make a purchase from them either. I’ll just keep spending my money on expansion episodes for The Secret World, since their pricing methods don’t make me feel devalued as an existing customer.
You are paying for the years of enjoyment and gameplay until the next expansion hits. The question is simply, is 50$ a good price for the content you get in-between the expansions? If the answer is yes then you got your money’s worth, until the next expansion comes and so on.
If it’s not worth it then you can either not buy the current expansion and wait for the next one to get both at the same price, or simply wait for a discount some months after expansion release.
As I said in another thread, I have no problem with them discounting the core game for new players, or having a starter combo pack that heavily discounts it, but I still feel like including it with the expansion, with no discount for existing players, is asking me to re-purchase a game I already bought. They could sell the core for $1 and the expansion for $49 and as long as I didn’t have to pay that $1 I’d be ok with it. Not overjoyed, but at least they’re paying something for the game I paid $80 for, and I’m not being asked to pay a purchase price that includes the value of that game again. Instead they’re going this route, so I won’t buy it. That’s all I’m saying. If other MMOs are doing it, I wouldn’t make a purchase from them either. I’ll just keep spending my money on expansion episodes for The Secret World, since their pricing methods don’t make me feel devalued as an existing customer.
I’m not sure I fully follow you on this. They are not asking you to pay for the core game again. They are charging 50 bucks for HoT and are also bundling the core game for new players to ease the transition into the game. I’m pretty certain that their goals are to remove hurdles and barriers for new folks to step in and play. I think that’s good for everyone! For example, I’ve never played WoW but I did have an interest, but when I browsed the site and saw soooo many expansions I decided not to bother. As a new scrub, I didn’t know what I needed to buy (at the time) to get a good start, so I didn’t bother getting started at all!
I’m all for bringing new players in because ultimately it’s better for everyone. Just my opinion.
I mean, as a brand new player without an ounce of knowledge, imagine your browsing the website considering the game. Oh, I can buy HoT and get the core game free, but what are these living story episodes? Do I need to buy those too? How much does it cost to have everything I need to get a good solid start? I can totally see why they decided to bundle the core game with the expac to help new players settle in. I know for me, when I’m browsing Steam sales I tend to pick up bundles. I just want to pay one flat price to experience all of the game. I don’t want to be confused with how many expacs do I need to buy. A new player to any game is not familiar with the lingo or terminology. Keeping it simple is the best way to get new buyers.
(edited by Lambo.1405)
You are paying for the years of enjoyment and gameplay until the next expansion hits. The question is simply, is 50$ a good price for the content you get in-between the expansions? If the answer is yes then you got your money’s worth, until the next expansion comes and so on.
If it’s not worth it then you can either not buy the current expansion and wait for the next one to get both at the same price, or simply wait for a discount some months after expansion release.
That’s the real question isn’kitten I for one, enjoyed almost none of the living story releases, and I also consider them funded by the cash shop, not my initial purchase. So my initial payment was really for the core game and enough slots to have one of every class. I don’t feel I paid for three years of enjoyment, what I did with the game I purchased was my business. I purchased the content. I feel that was money well spent. Now, I’m being asked to spend another $50 for, essentially, the content of the expansion. Unless the living story quality makes huge improvements I’m definitely not paying for that ridiculous mess. So, is there $50 worth of material in HoT alone? A whole new full retail games worth of content? We’ll see. My fear is that the $50 price tag was based on at least a $15 valuation of the core game, as it was available for not too long before this pre-purchase started. If that’s the case, then they think they’ve got about $35 worth of content in the expansion. Sounds reasonable to me, but asking existing players to pay $50 for it if that’s the case strikes me as wrong. So I’ll be keeping an eye on reviews, and if what I’m hearing is that the expansion includes as much content as an A+ retail release I might change my mind. Otherwise, they’re ripping people off, and I’ll wait until it hits a price I don’t feel insulted by.
(edited by imsoenthused.1634)
I’m not sure I fully follow you on this. They are not asking you to pay for the core game again. They are charging 50 bucks for HoT and are also bundling the core game for new players to ease the transition into the game. I’m pretty certain that their goals are to remove hurdles and barriers for new folks to step in and play. I think that’s good for everyone! For example, I’ve never played WoW but I did have an interest, but when I browsed the site and saw soooo many expansions I decided not to bother. As a new scrub, I didn’t know what I needed to buy (at the time) to get a good start, so I didn’t bother getting started at all!
I’m all for bringing new players in because ultimately it’s better for everyone. Just my opinion.
The only way this argument makes sense is if you are saying that the core game has zero value. Otherwise, you are paying for that core game. Part of that $50 price tag is based on the valuation of that core game. As a result, any existing players making that purchase are paying some unknown portion of that cost for content they already own.
I understand some people don’t see it that way, especially people who game from terribad monthly fee games and the laughable idea that they are paying AHEAD for future expansion. Those of us who gave five or so years of our lives to the original Guild Wars expect for developers to make expansions and then charge us fairly for the content they have created. None of my money is being paid for pipe dreams.
Most MMOs are doing this. Not to screw over loyal players. Here’s your options. You can wait 8-10 years till there are no more expansions, buy the last expansion and start playing the game 10 years from now, or you can buy the games when they come out and enjoy them from the beginning, during which time you can accumulate wealth, among other things.
Just for logging in, I got all of Living Story Season 2 unlocked. I got to see all of the living World Season 1 which can’t even be experienced by new players. I was at the Southsun Karka event. I’ve played a PvP map that doesn’t exist anymore. I was there for orbs in WvW. There are a ton of experiences I’ve had new players will never have. There’s a boatload of wealth I’ve gotten new players won’t have. Hell I have six legendaries.
Most MMOs are going this route, because imagine, 8 years from now, if a new player had to buy four or five games just to play with everyone in the new content. It’s a barrier to entry that’s bad for the company. But it’s not just bad for the company. It’s bad for veterans, because due to natural attrition in all games, we NEED new players.
WoW is doing this. EQ is doing this. It’s becoming normal for a company to remove barriers to get new players into their game.
Why is this so hard for people to understand?
Because if they actually cared about attracting new players AND retaining vets, everyone would get the same deal: pay for the core, get added content at no change.
Instead, loyal longtime players get double charged, which would do nothing but accelerate that “natural attrition” you mentioned.
No one is getting double charged. At very least, the price of the new game would have come down to $10 anyway, so that’s the most you’d be overcharged, except that no one is raising their price to give the game away. You’re not being overcharged. You’ve paid for a game and you’ve played it. They can play it much much later and miss stuff. You can too, that’s your choice.
Saying you’re being overcharged because an older version of the game is no longer being sold is a very narrow and selective view of reality.
I’m not sure I fully follow you on this. They are not asking you to pay for the core game again. They are charging 50 bucks for HoT and are also bundling the core game for new players to ease the transition into the game. I’m pretty certain that their goals are to remove hurdles and barriers for new folks to step in and play. I think that’s good for everyone! For example, I’ve never played WoW but I did have an interest, but when I browsed the site and saw soooo many expansions I decided not to bother. As a new scrub, I didn’t know what I needed to buy (at the time) to get a good start, so I didn’t bother getting started at all!
I’m all for bringing new players in because ultimately it’s better for everyone. Just my opinion.
The only way this argument makes sense is if you are saying that the core game has zero value. Otherwise, you are paying for that core game. Part of that $50 price tag is based on the valuation of that core game. As a result, any existing players making that purchase are paying some unknown portion of that cost for content they already own.
I understand some people don’t see it that way, especially people who game from terribad monthly fee games and the laughable idea that they are paying AHEAD for future expansion. Those of us who gave five or so years of our lives to the original Guild Wars expect for developers to make expansions and then charge us fairly for the content they have created. None of my money is being paid for pipe dreams.
The core game has zero cost, which can be different from zero value. Because value and cost have very little to do with each other.
Value is what someone puts on something, cost is what someone pays for it. I’ve gotten stuff for free that has value to me in the past.
The core game has zero cost, which can be different from zero value. Because value and cost have very little to do with each other.
Value is what someone puts on something, cost is what someone pays for it. I’ve gotten stuff for free that has value to me in the past.
If it has value, then part of that value is in fact “costing” you a portion of the price tag of the expansion. They’re just not giving vets the ability to opt out as a way of subsidizing new players purchases. If other MMOs are doing it, then they are doing a bad thing as well. Value and cost have everything to do with each other.
That’s the real question isn’kitten I for one, enjoyed almost none of the living story releases, and I also consider them funded by the cash shop, not my initial purchase. So my initial payment was really for the core game and enough slots to have one of every class. I don’t feel I paid for three years of enjoyment, what I did with the game I purchased was my business. I purchased the content. I feel that was money well spent. Now, I’m being asked to spend another $50 for, essentially, the content of the expansion. Unless the living story quality makes huge improvements I’m definitely not paying for that ridiculous mess. So, is there $50 worth of material in HoT alone? A whole new full retail games worth of content? We’ll see. My fear is that the $50 price tag was based on at least a $15 valuation of the core game, as it was available for not too long before this pre-purchase started. If that’s the case, then they think they’ve got about $35 worth of content in the expansion. Sounds reasonable to me, but asking existing players to pay $50 for it if that’s the case strikes me as wrong. So I’ll be keeping an eye on reviews, and if what I’m hearing is that the expansion includes as much content as an A+ retail release I might change my mind. Otherwise, they’re ripping people off, and I’ll wait until it hits a price I don’t feel insulted by.
I think your problem here is your assumptions. You are guessing. Perhaps they think they have $50 worth of expansion. But they sit there and know that if they sell them separately there will be lots of people who will continue to just buy the original game for $15 just to try it out. So what they do is they include the original in the expansion price, because they know lots of people will instead go straight for expansion if it nets them the original too. They write that $15 off as a loss so that they get more people spending $50.
It’s a common tactic in sales. Stuff like “buy two get one free” sales are predicated on it. They don’t randomly up the price of two to cover the three, they absorb the loss for the increased profit in selling more. And that’s a very profitable tactic even with tangible goods, it’s even more so with intangible goods like a digitally distributed game.
The core game has zero cost, which can be different from zero value. Because value and cost have very little to do with each other.
Value is what someone puts on something, cost is what someone pays for it. I’ve gotten stuff for free that has value to me in the past.
If it has value, then part of that value is in fact “costing” you a portion of the price tag of the expansion. They’re just not giving vets the ability to opt out as a way of subsidizing new players purchases. If other MMOs are doing it, then they are doing a bad thing as well. Value and cost have everything to do with each other.
No, they don’t. There are times I’ve given something away that has value at no cost to customers. I’ve done it personally. The value of the object had nothing to do with the cost of the object.
There are a number of reasons why people give away things below cost or even free. That’s the real world.
1. the one who will buy the last expansion will do the best deal since events don’t give you weapons/armors…that are better then what you can get through crafting/finding.
Yes, ignoring the few thousand of hours other people out of their earlier purchase, ofc.
Your pick whether that’s worth it to you or not.
Some people are never happy. I’m sure someone would complain even if the expansion was free.
Feel free to /w me in game and ill be happy to send you a few packets of salt.
DPS Benchmarks, Raids, Low-mans etc.
When waiting long enough after any release, you will Always find a bargain price. That is nothing new. Is it worth to wait? Depends how you like the game. Some are eager to get it at once, paying the full price where others take their time. Anyway, there is nothing wrong with the idea of including all earlier sets in a new release.
Waaah! A new game is coming out, and it’s CHARGING ME DOUBLE because HOW DARE THE COMPANY SELL IT LATER FOR CHEAPER
This is unacceptable!
Nobody is charging you double.
If you buy a Tesla Roadster S now and next year they come out with a cheaper version which can last longer. Basically the core product plus extra features. Will you whine at Tesla for needing to buy a new car those features?
I am more then fine with this arrangement, I get to play now and new players get to enjoy the game without spending 120 bucks from the start.
Rare is coming out with a collection where you get 30 games from the price of 1. Go whine at them because you have been playing there games for the past 30 years and paid for them individually. Talking about being a veteran.
Seriously stop whining and take up a course in Economics or PLC strategies.
Welcome to the concept of value decreasing over time.
Look at WoW, they were doing a promotion for new players to get them in to the game where if they paid $60 for WoD, they get EVERY SINGLE OTHER EXPANSION EVER RELEASED (several hundred dollars going by each expansions release price) for just $5.
That’s the way the world works, with exception to a very small amount of items, the value of products tends to decrease over time.
How I see it is that MMOs are some of the most expensive games to develop and maintain, so $50 for an expansion does not seem too unreasonable base game or not, especially when they are relying on nether a subscription fee or an aggressive cash shop. Including the base game in their price tag indirectly helps veteran players as the new users are on a similar page as us, so we are not completely separated. As soon as they are 80, they can jump into the new content and we can teach them the ropes, helping us out.
There is no denying that it is more economically sensible to wait out as long as you can to get the best deal, but does someone really want to waste possibly several years waiting for the ideal opportunity when they can be enjoying the very thing they want now?
Before HoT:
> ANet should release a paid expansion..
After HoT:
> ANet should make all expansions free!
Some people…
Why do so many people on these forums not understand basic economic principles? If you bought the game 3 years ago, you have 3 years of play time more than a person who bought the game 1 day ago. Value for a product depreciates over time, and you playing the game is investing time (time = money) into the product. A new player has not done this yet, so why should they not get it for less?
They recently were putting the core game up for sale for $10, so that means they ultimately value the core game at $10. Why should anybody pay more than that 3 years later? Seriously, if you don’t want to pay for the expansions, don’t. Wait the 10+ years for all the previous expansions’ values to decrease so that you can buy all of them at once for 50 bucks. At that time, 10 years later, you could continue to play the game. If you don’t feel like waiting 10 years to play, then that’s your choice too.
Going forward it seems the offer should be separated into “xpac-only” or “new purchase”.
New purchases pay some value, say $50 for the core game which includes the current Xpac. You don’t want to charge too much as you won’t attract new players.
Upgrades for existing players at a reduced amount, say $35 or $40. At that point they can offer additional “bonuses” in tiers ($35/$65/$95 for instance). This way existing players feel that they’re paying for an expansion and not “re-purchasing” the game.
I recently joined GW2 by purchasing the Deluxe version for $15. I’m sure some people feel slighted about this because they paid $60 a week, a month, a year before. Fact is, that price brought me here. In the days of f2p where you can try a game out before deciding to spend money, it’s hard to swallow a $60 price tag to test something out. I figured for $15 I can’t go wrong…that’s the sub price of many games (or at least close to it).
At this point I have no idea what I’d get for pre-ordering since I’ve only been here for a little over 2 months. I don’t really care…I don’t feel entitled to anything probably because 1) I’m new and 2) I paid very little for the game. Although I’ve already spent $75 on the gem store so I’ve invested in this game beyond my original purchase. Not sure if I’ll pre-order or wait until release, but I will buy HoT at some point.
I’ve played enough games to know that pre-purchases of any xpac tend to bring severe debates, rage quitting (or threatening to), and at least a lot of bantering. This is nothing new to GW2 or Anet.
TBH I expected a revision to their pricing model for HoT because, again, I’ve seen it before. A “token” to show the community that they’re listening and they care. I’ve also seen the opposite where the developers ignore the community and people do in fact leave due to complacency by the company. Anet seems to be involved with this community, which I greatly appreciate. Before coming here I left Swtor mostly because of frustration related to lack of communication/damage control. I’m glad it’s not that way here.