Q:
Confused about new Expansion pricing
A:
By folding the vanilla game into the expansion at no extra cost ANet did something really good for the game and its future, but with their usual ability to step in it they succeeded in annoying large numbers of people. It didn’t help that they also were going to charge $10 extra for a character slot for the new profession on the basic expack. That really ticked off large numbers and fanned the flames.
What they should have done was anticipate how this would look to charge a new person one price and they get vanilla and the HoT and a veteran player the same price and they only get HoT (and they should have added the character slot to all 3 expansion prices).
Before they released the expansion, say about a month, they should have written a blog post explaining why new players get vanilla + HoT and why vets get HoT for the same price. They should have laid out how it will benefit the game to have a low barrier to entry for new players. Posting this information with their candid explanation as to why the pricing is good for the game and letting people hash it out on the forum ahead of time would have saved them a fair amount of ill will and anger. Hitting people with the price, new players getting vanilla for free and no extra character slot all at the same time with minimal explanation was guaranteed to maximize player outrage.
Be careful what you ask for
ANet may give it to you.
ANet may give it to you.
The price for the expansion is $49.99. The cost to upgrade to the expansion is thus $49.99. The core game is now free to make it easier for new players to start playing. Whether or not the price for the expansion is fair considering the amount of content is a different discussion, but there’s no reason people who already own the game need to be charged less for the expansion. The core game is not included in the $49.99 price of the expansion.
Brother Gilburt – Guard / Agent Gilburt – Thief
The expansion alone costs $50. Everyone, new player or veteran, has to pay the same amount for the expansion.
The core is now free.
I’m not sure why WoW is a good example of fair pricing.
Yes, you can pre-order Legion without the rest of the game… but wait, what is that price? USD 49.99 That number sounds awfully familiar.
Note, if you’re a new player, you’re also required to buy base WoW and Warlords (~$20 each). That’s an awfully high price of entry without even considering the subscription.
(edited by onevstheworld.2419)
even WoW dont make people do that to upgrade from one expac to another, they only charge existing client base for new addon.
Yes they do. If you want to upgrade an older account, you have to buy the base game/expansions again. They offer the current expansion, the last expansion and the rest of them bundled together. All games with expansions eventually bundle them. GW2 simply did it faster.
The core game is $0 and they do offer an upgrade option, which can be found within the game.
So would you pay $15 a month, each and every month to play Guild Wars 2, if you could get the expansion for $15 less? lol
The comparison between the two games is way off.
So would you pay $15 a month, each and every month to play Guild Wars 2, if you could get the expansion for $15 less? lol
The comparison between the two games is way off.
Nah. He’d rather non-HOT people pay $19.99 before they’re allowed to buy HOT for $49.99.
Frankly, I think they could have sold the base game for $30 and HOT and all future expacs for $20, while not requiring previous Xpacs to play the new one, and instead gating Xpac maps, Elite Specializations, and crafting recipes (Including legendaries) behind owning that Xpac.
So would you pay $15 a month, each and every month to play Guild Wars 2, if you could get the expansion for $15 less? lol
The comparison between the two games is way off.
Nah. He’d rather non-HOT people pay $19.99 before they’re allowed to buy HOT for $49.99.
Frankly, I think they could have sold the base game for $30 and HOT and all future expacs for $20, while not requiring previous Xpacs to play the new one, and instead gating Xpac maps, Elite Specializations, and crafting recipes (Including legendaries) behind owning that Xpac.
Hopefully Anet learned some lessons in the process and they won’t suffer the same type of negative publicity for the next expansion.
ok, I am confused, where is the “Upgrade to Heart of thorns” Pricing for Existing core purchasers?
If i was new i could buy whole game (Core + Thorns) for $49.99
Existing who already bought core for $39.99 has to ALSO buy the whole game again ???even WoW dont make people do that to upgrade from one expac to another, they only charge existing client base for new addon.
What gives here A Net ??
One very kittened off player and I bet I am not the only one here
man this is old, but one again : the average price of an AAA mmo expansion is $40-60. For new players they get the base game for free to encourage them to try the game out (bigger population is good for all)
and in wow you also MUST pay $100+ a year just to logon right.
“Trying to please everyone would not only be challenging
but would also result in a product that might not satisfy anyone”- Roman Pichler, Strategize
As of today, to buy the legion expansion, it will cost you $49 + cost of WOD+cost of vanilla + $100+ a year to play it.
Hot $49 for everyone, that’s it.
“Trying to please everyone would not only be challenging
but would also result in a product that might not satisfy anyone”- Roman Pichler, Strategize