Guild Wars 2

Having to dish out real $$ or 100+ gold for a different hair style is kind of ridiculous.

no, you want cosmetic things you gotta pay. It helps the devs pay for things like patching bugs and adding new content.

You’ve presented two different issues in your title and opening post, making things a bit confusing and misleading. I agree with your title – an in-game npc who cuts your hair would be interesting. How much that npc would cost is another debate altogether, but some cost should probably be involved.

It is kinda ridiculous but there are people who think everything in this game should cost money for some reason.

ElectricGoat.8253:

no, you want cosmetic things you gotta pay. It helps the devs pay for things like patching bugs and adding new content.

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

Vyrulisse.1246:

It is kinda ridiculous but there are people who think everything in this game should cost money for some reason.

No one thinks that everything in the game should cost money. A lot of people accept that a buy-to-play game needs to make money from something besides just box sales.

Calydro.7268:

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

I’d be interested in hearing your proposal for how ANet could maintain its current income (and therefore level of development) without a cash shop.

Calydro.7268:

ElectricGoat.8253:

no, you want cosmetic things you gotta pay. It helps the devs pay for things like patching bugs and adding new content.

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

I think he was being sarcastic…least I hope so.

I mean it’s not like there aren’t other single player games that allow you to customize your character without paying the dev every time you want. You know games like Skyrim or even further back Fable…………you know games where the design wasn’t ‘hey let’s have the paying customers pay (i.e. buy the game)….in order to have the privilege of paying us! (putting everything worth a kitten without months of grinding in the gemstore and adding anti-consumer ‘1 time only’ restrictions’

A reasonable system imo would be to have a barber that allows you to change your looks for gold and adopt a card system like Fable, where the newly released hair styles and whatnot sold post-launch are sold in the gemstore. When these style cards are bought you unlock that hairstyle for the barber on your account. Boom, you have your gem sales and you have a gold sink.

But we can’t have nice things in game that don’t involve grinding now can we…..

You get hair kits for free from AP rewards, while logging in is a huge grind to some I frankly don’t see it.

They should just stick it under the wardrobe and sell the exclusives like skins.

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Vyrulisse.1246:

It is kinda ridiculous but there are people who think everything in this game should cost money for some reason.

No one thinks that everything in the game should cost money. A lot of people accept that a buy-to-play game needs to make money from something besides just box sales.

Calydro.7268:

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

I’d be interested in hearing your proposal for how ANet could maintain its current income (and therefore level of development) without a cash shop.

Are you aware of the period when MMO’s did not have in game stores? It existed.

Calydro.7268:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Vyrulisse.1246:

It is kinda ridiculous but there are people who think everything in this game should cost money for some reason.

No one thinks that everything in the game should cost money. A lot of people accept that a buy-to-play game needs to make money from something besides just box sales.

Calydro.7268:

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

I’d be interested in hearing your proposal for how ANet could maintain its current income (and therefore level of development) without a cash shop.

Are you aware of the period when MMO’s did not have in game stores? It existed.

Did they have subscriptions, instead?

Zoltar MacRoth.7146:

You’ve presented two different issues in your title and opening post, making things a bit confusing and misleading. I agree with your title – an in-game npc who cuts your hair would be interesting. How much that npc would cost is another debate altogether, but some cost should probably be involved.

If you’re confused that is on your side my friend. Can’t have been more plain.

Calydro.7268:

Zoltar MacRoth.7146:

You’ve presented two different issues in your title and opening post, making things a bit confusing and misleading. I agree with your title – an in-game npc who cuts your hair would be interesting. How much that npc would cost is another debate altogether, but some cost should probably be involved.

If you’re confused that is on your side my friend. Can’t have been more plain.

It’s possible that some forum dwellers are unaware that some other MMO’s, notably World of, refer to the in-game hairstyle change NPC as a barber. In such a case, confusion is not only possible, but likely. You made an assumption that people might know this tidbit. That’s not necessarily so. So, yes, you could have been more clear.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Calydro.7268:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Vyrulisse.1246:

It is kinda ridiculous but there are people who think everything in this game should cost money for some reason.

No one thinks that everything in the game should cost money. A lot of people accept that a buy-to-play game needs to make money from something besides just box sales.

Calydro.7268:

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

I’d be interested in hearing your proposal for how ANet could maintain its current income (and therefore level of development) without a cash shop.

Are you aware of the period when MMO’s did not have in game stores? It existed.

Did they have subscriptions, instead?

He will not answer your question because doing so will completely invalidate his point therefore I will; yes they had subscriptions.

Calydro.7268:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Vyrulisse.1246:

It is kinda ridiculous but there are people who think everything in this game should cost money for some reason.

No one thinks that everything in the game should cost money. A lot of people accept that a buy-to-play game needs to make money from something besides just box sales.

Calydro.7268:

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

I’d be interested in hearing your proposal for how ANet could maintain its current income (and therefore level of development) without a cash shop.

Are you aware of the period when MMO’s did not have in game stores? It existed.

Yes, I remember quite clearly when MMOs didn’t have game stores. Of course back then almost all of them had subscriptions. Free to play MMOs, as soon as a they came out, had cash shops.

So yes, if you charge a subscription you can get away without a cash shop.

And you know, once movies were a nickle and you could stay there all day. My dad told me about that. We can’t do that anymore.

I remember lots of stuff that are no longer possible. What’s your point?

I recall there was an MMO that you can change hair style by paying in game gold.

PSO – Phantasy Star Online

you can pay 100k for a hair style change, and account bound maximum in game gold cap is 999k

it was also a sub based MMO for your information.

Pifil.5193:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Calydro.7268:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Vyrulisse.1246:

It is kinda ridiculous but there are people who think everything in this game should cost money for some reason.

No one thinks that everything in the game should cost money. A lot of people accept that a buy-to-play game needs to make money from something besides just box sales.

Calydro.7268:

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

I’d be interested in hearing your proposal for how ANet could maintain its current income (and therefore level of development) without a cash shop.

Are you aware of the period when MMO’s did not have in game stores? It existed.

Did they have subscriptions, instead?

He will not answer your question because doing so will completely invalidate his point therefore I will; yes they had subscriptions.

A nice but arrogant try. Guild Wars 1 had no cash store for years.

Calydro.7268:

Pifil.5193:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Calydro.7268:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Vyrulisse.1246:

It is kinda ridiculous but there are people who think everything in this game should cost money for some reason.

No one thinks that everything in the game should cost money. A lot of people accept that a buy-to-play game needs to make money from something besides just box sales.

Calydro.7268:

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

I’d be interested in hearing your proposal for how ANet could maintain its current income (and therefore level of development) without a cash shop.

Are you aware of the period when MMO’s did not have in game stores? It existed.

Did they have subscriptions, instead?

He will not answer your question because doing so will completely invalidate his point therefore I will; yes they had subscriptions.

A nice but arrogant try. Guild Wars 1 had no cash store for years.

Your memory may be fuzzy:

The Guild Wars In-Game Store (formerly called “The Guild Wars Official Store”), introduced in the July 28, 2006 update.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Guild_Wars_In-Game_Store

In other words, just over 1 year.

Things like the gem store are necessary for upkeep of games like this. Yes Fable and such had features like ingame hair stylists for free, you know what fable did not have? Constant updates, live multiplayer, weekly patches and bugfixes, free updates that added content regularly, 3 different game modes to play and balance for…Need i go on?

Saying the cash shop isn’t necessary is as ridiculous as people complaining about a cosmetic thing being purchasable with real money.

Also this

I recall there was an MMO that you can change hair style by paying in game gold.

PSO – Phantasy Star Online

you can pay 100k for a hair style change, and account bound maximum in game gold cap is 999k

it was also a sub based MMO for your information.

BTW, u can transfer gold to gems if you want, and it isn’t even as expensive as that if what you’re saying is true.

Calydro.7268:

Pifil.5193:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Calydro.7268:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Vyrulisse.1246:

It is kinda ridiculous but there are people who think everything in this game should cost money for some reason.

No one thinks that everything in the game should cost money. A lot of people accept that a buy-to-play game needs to make money from something besides just box sales.

Calydro.7268:

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

I’d be interested in hearing your proposal for how ANet could maintain its current income (and therefore level of development) without a cash shop.

Are you aware of the period when MMO’s did not have in game stores? It existed.

Did they have subscriptions, instead?

He will not answer your question because doing so will completely invalidate his point therefore I will; yes they had subscriptions.

A nice but arrogant try. Guild Wars 1 had no cash store for years.

A nice but arrogant try on your part too. It came out a year after launch and Guilds Wars 1 was not even an MMO so it doesn’t have anything like the same server and network maintainance costs that an MMO has.

GW1 was cheaper to maintain and catered to a smaller population. It also wasn’t an MMO, or at least in the same respect.

In Anarchy Online, before there were cash shops (which it later added), you could change your face to a cost of 50 million credits. At the game’s peak, 50 million was probably the equivalent of 100 gold here in GW2.

So there is precedent for pre-cash shop games to charge the same amount for style changes (back then face/hair changes were fixed together).

Whilst I’m not against an in game barber, there are things to bear in mind;

- it is a non-essential social item. Therefore prime for Anet to make money from since they have no sub. This is where they have to make their money from for the game to be funded.

- You already can get it for free. These style changing kits can drop from BL chests, keys for which can be obtained free in game via map rewards and story. In that respect they are making you play to get what you want here. That’s not a bad thing for them to expect.

- adding in a barber would likely incur a gold sink anyway. My barber in real life refuses to cut my hair for free, despite my protestations…

I think the consensus here is that we would rather pay $$ for haircuts. I’m glad we made a decision.

Ranlares.2513:

Things like the gem store are necessary for upkeep of games like this. Yes Fable and such had features like ingame hair stylists for free, you know what fable did not have? Constant updates, live multiplayer, weekly patches and bugfixes, free updates that added content regularly, 3 different game modes to play and balance for…Need i go on?

Saying the cash shop isn’t necessary is as ridiculous as people complaining about a cosmetic thing being purchasable with real money.

Also this

I recall there was an MMO that you can change hair style by paying in game gold.

PSO – Phantasy Star Online

you can pay 100k for a hair style change, and account bound maximum in game gold cap is 999k

it was also a sub based MMO for your information.

BTW, u can transfer gold to gems if you want, and it isn’t even as expensive as that if what you’re saying is true.

Bugfixes? We’re praising bug fixes now? They’re bugs-they should never have been there in the first place. I also like how you completely ignore the fact that I said post launch hair styles will still be sold exclusively in the gem store. Why is it that most defenders like to selectively ignore people’s counter arguments?

1. Changing hair styles in fable was not for free.

2. Bug fixes are the devs fixing their own mistakes-it’s not some feature we should pay for.

3. Weekly patches are mainly to the cash shop to get you to spend more money while not getting anything new to play.

4. What does the game type have to do with anything? That’s like saying it’s OK to sell costumes in a fighting game vs RPG because it has multiplayer and if you think otherwise you are stupid…of course the person will just say ‘Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution’ then you’ll have to generate some other stupid point. However even using that argument, Starcraft 2 has two different overarching game modes (pve and pvp) and a multitude of pvp modes (as opposed to the two here) to balance for, without some invasive cash shop to support the game-and that’s a multiplayer title with constant updates. However as I said…the game genre doesn’t exclude it from NOT constantly trying to steal money from you. You unlock the vast majority of skins via playing the game and once unlocked you’re actually free to apply them as you wish.

5. Ah, this argument. ‘I don’t care for cosmetics so anyone who does is stupid in some way’. Well some people don’t really care for mechanics and are more interested in the aesthetics for a game…so how about we make all the cosmetics game content and lock mechanics behind a paywall? How does having to pay real life money to use paying to use dodge? It might restrict the way you play, but I get the aesthetically driven experience I paid for and you’re stupid for complaining, calling it p2w because you can dress up to look as cool or silly as you want-and that’s the point of the game. Furthermore I can say use thief or mes for invulnerability, ‘git gud’ and suck it up-you don’t need to be able to dodge without spending currency.

Maybe you forgot, but you paid $50 for this game at some point-$100 if you bought the dlc. I find it asinine that people can really say that holding one game you paid $50 for to the same fun experience you had when you paid $50 for another game is somehow unreasonable.

This is why the game will never reach it’s potential. Some people are so busy protecting their happy place they don’t dare to dream that their happy place can become a happy continent and actually lash out at people who are actually trying to make their own gaming experience more enjoyable. Talk about the scorpion stinging the frog……

Imbune.5497:

Ranlares.2513:

Things like the gem store are necessary for upkeep of games like this. Yes Fable and such had features like ingame hair stylists for free, you know what fable did not have? Constant updates, live multiplayer, weekly patches and bugfixes, free updates that added content regularly, 3 different game modes to play and balance for…Need i go on?

Saying the cash shop isn’t necessary is as ridiculous as people complaining about a cosmetic thing being purchasable with real money.

Also this

I recall there was an MMO that you can change hair style by paying in game gold.

PSO – Phantasy Star Online

you can pay 100k for a hair style change, and account bound maximum in game gold cap is 999k

it was also a sub based MMO for your information.

BTW, u can transfer gold to gems if you want, and it isn’t even as expensive as that if what you’re saying is true.

Bugfixes? We’re praising bug fixes now? They’re bugs-they should never have been there in the first place. I also like how you completely ignore the fact that I said post launch hair styles will still be sold exclusively in the gem store. Why is it that most defenders like to selectively ignore people’s counter arguments?

1. Changing hair styles in fable was not for free.

2. Bug fixes are the devs fixing their own mistakes-it’s not some feature we should pay for.

3. Weekly patches are mainly to the cash shop to get you to spend more money while not getting anything new to play.

4. What does the game type have to do with anything? That’s like saying it’s OK to sell costumes in a fighting game vs RPG because it has multiplayer and if you think otherwise you are stupid…of course the person will just say ‘Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution’ then you’ll have to generate some other stupid point. However even using that argument, Starcraft 2 has two different overarching game modes (pve and pvp) and a multitude of pvp modes (as opposed to the two here) to balance for, without some invasive cash shop to support the game-and that’s a multiplayer title with constant updates. However as I said…the game genre doesn’t exclude it from NOT constantly trying to steal money from you. You unlock the vast majority of skins via playing the game and once unlocked you’re actually free to apply them as you wish.

5. Ah, this argument. ‘I don’t care for cosmetics so anyone who does is stupid in some way’. Well some people don’t really care for mechanics and are more interested in the aesthetics for a game…so how about we make all the cosmetics game content and lock mechanics behind a paywall? How does having to pay real life money to use paying to use dodge? It might restrict the way you play, but I get the aesthetically driven experience I paid for and you’re stupid for complaining, calling it p2w because you can dress up to look as cool or silly as you want-and that’s the point of the game. Furthermore I can say use thief or mes for invulnerability, ‘git gud’ and suck it up-you don’t need to be able to dodge without spending currency.

Maybe you forgot, but you paid $50 for this game at some point-$100 if you bought the dlc. I find it asinine that people can really say that holding one game you paid $50 for to the same fun experience you had when you paid $50 for another game is somehow unreasonable.

This is why the game will never reach it’s potential. Some people are so busy protecting their happy place they don’t dare to dream that their happy place can become a happy continent and actually lash out at people who are actually trying to make their own gaming experience more enjoyable. Talk about the scorpion stinging the frog……

1. They were paid for with an imaginary currency, which you can also do in GW2

2. Putting out and maintaining an MMO and a live world is immensely more complicated than publishing a game meant for a playthrough or 2. Not to mention the fact that a lot of single player RPG’s DO bundle bug fixes and such into expansions/DLC

3. Content comes in many forms, and it may be hard for you to understand but A LOT of people really enjoy gem store updates.

4. Starcraft 2 is not an MMO, does not require the maintenance and MMO does, nor is it nearly as difficult to balance for as something with 9 classes and kitten loads of abilities for. I think you think every game requires the same amount of effort put into it and that is just ridiculous. Take a minute to stop kittening about having to pay 4 dollars to change a hairstyle and look at what these people have made and keep up for you. EVERYTHING in the gem store is a luxury, NONE of it is required. They can charge whatever the hell they please and I’m glad they do because they know what it takes to maintain this game and make a profit, and you and I don’t.

5. This is all just ridiculous. First of all, Mechanics are 100% necessary for a combat oriented game, hair styles are not. You could be bald and still have the game work 100% perfectly for the type of game it is. That wouldn’t hold many people though, because people like hair. People would leave because they don’t like the way it is…Nudge Nudge. Hairs and cosmetics are not essential to a game running, mechanics ARE.

Also, i have bought the highest edition available of both the launch and HoT, spent a couple grand on gems, and support Anet in anyway i can. I spent a couple hundred dollars on gems to open my black lion chests to get my permanent hairstyle kit, because Anet deserves it. I have played every MMO out there and I can not tell you how much Better this game is simply because of the fact that Anet has so much faith in the game they let you play it after buying it once. The fact that they ask for a little more to support this game with the gem store? Perfectly fine, Take my money Anet.

Also, I am not rich, I am a college student working 40 hours a week and I live to play the games I love and support their upkeep. I will gladly live off of ramen noodles for a week if i can get more bank slots and help Anet out.

Also also, NOTHING in this game is not obtainable with gold in one way or another, so quit wasting your time arguing with me, and go farm bud.

Calydro.7268:

I think the consensus here is that we would rather pay $$ for haircuts. I’m glad we made a decision.

Would rather? no. Keep in mind that it’d very likely be required? yes.

Game developers need resources to produce games, patches, updates, etc. Resources are not free as with anything else, so an income or some kind of revenue is needed to fund development and resource to produce.

Cash shop or in-game fees along with hard box/digital purchases exist as highly sought options; unless someone could point out some overly generous game supporter that willingly throws thousands of dollars towards game developments.

Main point to get across is, nothing is free. Something or another requires a cost regardless if time or money. Simple economics.

/facepalm

You can’t really ask for anything additional in this game without the forum warriors defending it as if they made it themselves. You guys kitten any progress that could be made in this game. Stand by the gem store all you want, but cash stores ruin immersion and keep content OUT of the game. There was a time when all in-game items were earned through merit. Now you can swipe a credit card and buy armor. Its a depressing thing to look at in any game.

Otherwise i’d be interested to hear how so many have intimate knowledge of Ncsoft’s revenue sources insofar that you could confidently make the claim that cash stores are an absolute crux for the survival of any buy to play game. As far as I know, they don’t release that data. If you want to stand by that claim, i’d really be curious to know how console games were ever successful.

I’m willing to support this game. I’m not willing to buy haircuts, but I do get them when buying keys occasionally anyway. I still have one left over which I don’t have a character I fancy using it with. If you don’t want to pay IRL money, there’s always the Gold > Gems conversion for it.

You can also farm your tail off if you wish, for the Permanent Hair Contract with in-game gold if you want to keep changing your hairstyle.

Vayne.8563:

Calydro.7268:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Vyrulisse.1246:

It is kinda ridiculous but there are people who think everything in this game should cost money for some reason.

No one thinks that everything in the game should cost money. A lot of people accept that a buy-to-play game needs to make money from something besides just box sales.

Calydro.7268:

Poor guy thinks in-game stores are necessary

I’d be interested in hearing your proposal for how ANet could maintain its current income (and therefore level of development) without a cash shop.

Are you aware of the period when MMO’s did not have in game stores? It existed.

Yes, I remember quite clearly when MMOs didn’t have game stores. Of course back then almost all of them had subscriptions. Free to play MMOs, as soon as a they came out, had cash shops.

So yes, if you charge a subscription you can get away without a cash shop.

And you know, once movies were a nickle and you could stay there all day. My dad told me about that. We can’t do that anymore.

I remember lots of stuff that are no longer possible. What’s your point?

I agree that gw2 needs to make money but most mmorpgs bwyond this one and maybe eso are huge rip offs compared to sub based mmorpgs period, in older sub based you git everything and new content each month, and yes some if them released expansions but I hardly ever ran out of things to do before I even needed almost od the expansion’s anyways.

You know what his point is, stop trying to fight.

Calydro.7268:

If you want to stand by that claim, i’d really be curious to know how console games were ever successful.

Console games are mostly Release, and coast games. Other than the infrequent bug fixes that were required they didn’t require upkeep. This isn’t some insider knowledge, It is common sense that maintaining something over time costs more than releasing something and moving on.

Ranlares.2513:

Imbune.5497:

Ranlares.2513:

Things like the gem store are necessary for upkeep of games like this. Yes Fable and such had features like ingame hair stylists for free, you know what fable did not have? Constant updates, live multiplayer, weekly patches and bugfixes, free updates that added content regularly, 3 different game modes to play and balance for…Need i go on?

Saying the cash shop isn’t necessary is as ridiculous as people complaining about a cosmetic thing being purchasable with real money.

Also this

I recall there was an MMO that you can change hair style by paying in game gold.

PSO – Phantasy Star Online

you can pay 100k for a hair style change, and account bound maximum in game gold cap is 999k

it was also a sub based MMO for your information.

BTW, u can transfer gold to gems if you want, and it isn’t even as expensive as that if what you’re saying is true.

Bugfixes? We’re praising bug fixes now? They’re bugs-they should never have been there in the first place. I also like how you completely ignore the fact that I said post launch hair styles will still be sold exclusively in the gem store. Why is it that most defenders like to selectively ignore people’s counter arguments?

1. Changing hair styles in fable was not for free.

2. Bug fixes are the devs fixing their own mistakes-it’s not some feature we should pay for.

3. Weekly patches are mainly to the cash shop to get you to spend more money while not getting anything new to play.

4. What does the game type have to do with anything? That’s like saying it’s OK to sell costumes in a fighting game vs RPG because it has multiplayer and if you think otherwise you are stupid…of course the person will just say ‘Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution’ then you’ll have to generate some other stupid point. However even using that argument, Starcraft 2 has two different overarching game modes (pve and pvp) and a multitude of pvp modes (as opposed to the two here) to balance for, without some invasive cash shop to support the game-and that’s a multiplayer title with constant updates. However as I said…the game genre doesn’t exclude it from NOT constantly trying to steal money from you. You unlock the vast majority of skins via playing the game and once unlocked you’re actually free to apply them as you wish.

5. Ah, this argument. ‘I don’t care for cosmetics so anyone who does is stupid in some way’. Well some people don’t really care for mechanics and are more interested in the aesthetics for a game…so how about we make all the cosmetics game content and lock mechanics behind a paywall? How does having to pay real life money to use paying to use dodge? It might restrict the way you play, but I get the aesthetically driven experience I paid for and you’re stupid for complaining, calling it p2w because you can dress up to look as cool or silly as you want-and that’s the point of the game. Furthermore I can say use thief or mes for invulnerability, ‘git gud’ and suck it up-you don’t need to be able to dodge without spending currency.

Maybe you forgot, but you paid $50 for this game at some point-$100 if you bought the dlc. I find it asinine that people can really say that holding one game you paid $50 for to the same fun experience you had when you paid $50 for another game is somehow unreasonable.

This is why the game will never reach it’s potential. Some people are so busy protecting their happy place they don’t dare to dream that their happy place can become a happy continent and actually lash out at people who are actually trying to make their own gaming experience more enjoyable. Talk about the scorpion stinging the frog……

1. They were paid for with an imaginary currency, which you can also do in GW2

2. Putting out and maintaining an MMO and a live world is immensely more complicated than publishing a game meant for a playthrough or 2. Not to mention the fact that a lot of single player RPG’s DO bundle bug fixes and such into expansions/DLC

3. Content comes in many forms, and it may be hard for you to understand but A LOT of people really enjoy gem store updates.

4. Starcraft 2 is not an MMO, does not require the maintenance and MMO does, nor is it nearly as difficult to balance for as something with 9 classes and kitten loads of abilities for. I think you think every game requires the same amount of effort put into it and that is just ridiculous. Take a minute to stop kittening about having to pay 4 dollars to change a hairstyle and look at what these people have made and keep up for you. EVERYTHING in the gem store is a luxury, NONE of it is required. They can charge whatever the hell they please and I’m glad they do because they know what it takes to maintain this game and make a profit, and you and I don’t.

5. This is all just ridiculous. First of all, Mechanics are 100% necessary for a combat oriented game, hair styles are not. You could be bald and still have the game work 100% perfectly for the type of game it is. That wouldn’t hold many people though, because people like hair. People would leave because they don’t like the way it is…Nudge Nudge. Hairs and cosmetics are not essential to a game running, mechanics ARE.

Also, i have bought the highest edition available of both the launch and HoT, spent a couple grand on gems, and support Anet in anyway i can. I spent a couple hundred dollars on gems to open my black lion chests to get my permanent hairstyle kit, because Anet deserves it. I have played every MMO out there and I can not tell you how much Better this game is simply because of the fact that Anet has so much faith in the game they let you play it after buying it once. The fact that they ask for a little more to support this game with the gem store? Perfectly fine, Take my money Anet.

Also, I am not rich, I am a college student working 40 hours a week and I live to play the games I love and support their upkeep. I will gladly live off of ramen noodles for a week if i can get more bank slots and help Anet out.

Also also, NOTHING in this game is not obtainable with gold in one way or another, so quit wasting your time arguing with me, and go farm bud.

However looking good is a bigger deal in mmorpgs because your doing it in front of other people in the game, yea it’s shallow but it’s a huge staple in mmorpgs, except some of us are use to only earning those epic weapons and armor from inside the game only and not a gem shop, it does kind of say something when you actually earn it then simply buy it off a shop, but as I said gw2 needs money and since they don’t have a sub based mmorpg, they don’t have any other way at the moment.

Ryou.2398:

However looking good is a bigger deal in mmorpgs because your doing ir in front of other people in the game, yea it’s shallow but it’s a huge staple in mmorpgs, except some of us are use to only earning those epic weapons and armor from inside the game only and not a gem shop, it does kind of say something when you actually earn it then simply buy it off a shop, but as I said gw2 needs money abd since they don’t have a sub based mmorpg they don’t have any other way at the moment.

I know it is, I am a huge advocate of things looking good, IE why i spend all my time in Gw2 doing the things that get me pretty things. I just don’t think it’s fair to ask Anet to give up income because you want a different hairstyle, when there are already ways for you to get it for free.

Calydro.7268:

Otherwise i’d be interested to hear how so many have intimate knowledge of Ncsoft’s revenue sources insofar that you could confidently make the claim that cash stores are an absolute crux for the survival of any buy to play game. As far as I know, they don’t release that data. If you want to stand by that claim, i’d really be curious to know how console games were ever successful.

GW2 is an MMO. There’s the hardware costs MMOs require a large number of servers and a lot of network equipment. This hardware has to be upgraded and maintained. Parts occasionally fail and have to be replaced. All costs that must be paid for somehow.

Then there are the continuous costs, server farms like those used by MMOs require a lot of electricity and a decent staff to maintain them. There’s also the network costs. Not cheap. They must also be paid for.

The game development must also be paid for. Programmers, artists, designers and so on aren’t free. Neither is the office space they use.

The box sales will be used to cover the development costs but won’t be enough to keep the servers running without either an in-game store to pay for the servers or a subscription model.

Console games don’t require the large server farms that MMOs do, most online console games work off peer to peer networking so console game makers don’t have the same costs that MMO game makers do.

While I do like the idea of having the hairstyle tied into the wardrobe system (so that the styles are purchased from the gem shop and the transmutation stones are used to apply them), I think at this point it wouldn’t work since they would have to restrict access to the existing styles as they have made so many already available that they likely would not be able to add enough new ones to justify the lost revenue on the kits.

Randulf.7614:

GW1 was cheaper to maintain and catered to a smaller population. It also wasn’t an MMO, or at least in the same respect.

In Anarchy Online, before there were cash shops (which it later added), you could change your face to a cost of 50 million credits. At the game’s peak, 50 million was probably the equivalent of 100 gold here in GW2.

So there is precedent for pre-cash shop games to charge the same amount for style changes (back then face/hair changes were fixed together).

Whilst I’m not against an in game barber, there are things to bear in mind;

- it is a non-essential social item. Therefore prime for Anet to make money from since they have no sub. This is where they have to make their money from for the game to be funded.

- You already can get it for free. These style changing kits can drop from BL chests, keys for which can be obtained free in game via map rewards and story. In that respect they are making you play to get what you want here. That’s not a bad thing for them to expect.

- adding in a barber would likely incur a gold sink anyway. My barber in real life refuses to cut my hair for free, despite my protestations…

I don’t remember anarchy online ever having a cash shop with cosmetics or anything like that, this must of been something they added in the last couple of years because it was not there when I tried to get into it again then that I remember.

This could never be a free feature. And incidentally, despite all of the claims about how optional cosmetics are, let’s not kid ourselves – aesthetics make up at very least half of the appeal in an MMO.

I think a happy medium would involve Anet selling a cash only, account bound permanent stylist. (I actually support this system for all of the essential services)

Ryou.2398:

Randulf.7614:

GW1 was cheaper to maintain and catered to a smaller population. It also wasn’t an MMO, or at least in the same respect.

In Anarchy Online, before there were cash shops (which it later added), you could change your face to a cost of 50 million credits. At the game’s peak, 50 million was probably the equivalent of 100 gold here in GW2.

So there is precedent for pre-cash shop games to charge the same amount for style changes (back then face/hair changes were fixed together).

Whilst I’m not against an in game barber, there are things to bear in mind;

- it is a non-essential social item. Therefore prime for Anet to make money from since they have no sub. This is where they have to make their money from for the game to be funded.

- You already can get it for free. These style changing kits can drop from BL chests, keys for which can be obtained free in game via map rewards and story. In that respect they are making you play to get what you want here. That’s not a bad thing for them to expect.

- adding in a barber would likely incur a gold sink anyway. My barber in real life refuses to cut my hair for free, despite my protestations…

I don’t remember anarchy online ever having a cash shop with cosmetics or anything like that, this must of been something they added in the last couple of years because it was not there when I tried to get into it again then that I remember.

It’s been there for maybe 5 years roughly. Maybe slightly longer. It’s also one of the worst and most expensive cash shops I’ve seen, although it has improved it’s stock over the last 2-3 years.

It’s not obvious it exists since the button is a bit hidden and it isn’t heavily advertised compared to say GW2, Lotro or FFIV

Randulf.7614:

It’s not obvious it exists since the button is a bit hidden and it isn’t heavily advertised compared to say GW2, Lotro or FFIV

Everquest 2’s button is the biggest button on your UI lol

Hair style kit is 250gems, which at the moment is about 80g. You can get that in about 5h of very very very very casual play or 2-3h if you tryhard, I don’t think it’s unreasonable.