Is Anet afraid of expansion not selling?
Why is the game so gold-driven? Thats not fun but then people are more likely to buy gems to convert to gold.
It’s worth noting that gold is the single most widely-rewarded currency. Pretty much anything you do (other than sPvP) rewards coin, unlike most other forms of currency (badges of honor, fractal relics, guild commendations, dungeon tokens,) that can only be earned through more narrow kinds of content. Laurels and karma are pretty flexible, too, but still not as flexible as coin. (And laurels are time-gated, to boot, which a lot of players don’t seem to like for content.)
A lot of things charge coin, which you can get for real money through gems, but there’s a huge amount of content that rewards coin, too, so it only makes sense that a lot of items should cost gold. It’s the basic, content-neutral currency. Is the fact that gold can be bought with gems considered? Likely. But it’s not the only factor.
That’s like asking why the game is so XP-driven, and then pointing fingers at the sale of XP boosters. Yeah, I guess that can be a factor, but it’s a core system of the game, and just because real money can be involved doesn’t mean it’s the only practical way to play the game.
Why isn’t there a barber in the game where you can change your hair for 15 silver? Because then they will sell less make-over kids.
That’s like asking why all DLC packs in games aren’t free. Just because a company could include something in the base game doesn’t mean they have a responsibility to, or that the game is necessarily a bad product without the DLC. I know that galls people who can’t stand DLC (“Extra fighting game costumes should be free!”) but that’s the business.
Why are so many mini’s in the gem-store and not in the world so it it fun to collect them? Because then they can’t sell them in the gem-store.
I think it’s worth noting that few of the GW1 minis were readily available in-game. I guess you count birthday presents, which were the primary source for them, but given that birthdays are some of the most extremely time-gated content, I think it’s safe to say collectors were generally buying them off other players who didn’t want their birthday presents…Which isn’t that different from the minis market now, except now minis are linked to a mix of the gem store (and trading post aftermarket sales, most of which are surprisingly cheap,) and living story releases, which are in-game, as well as adding temporary ones to the gem store.
So, yeah, minis weren’t exactly a coin-free collecting hobby in GW1, either, and it didn’t sell them in a gem store.
Why do they work so much with temporary content. So they have an excuse to put items in the gem-store and take them back out.. this to create a feel of urgency.
So the world feels like it is constantly changing, compelling people to continue to log in to experience new things? That sounds bad, but if people are going to complain that mid-level zones are abandoned, constantly providing a new carrot to drive players into different zones is a way to solve that problem and keep the game active. It’s going to burn some players out if they try to do everything, but for those who don’t need to do everything (I skipped Super Adventure Box and basically all of Wintersday, for example,) it’s a way to keep providing new content for people with different interests.
If they just wanted to toss in limited time gem store products, they could, easily, without half the non-gem-related content included in the living story releases. They don’t need an excuse for it, and lots of F2P games work on that model, for better or worse.
If the question is “how do we get people to buy gems” you get this sort of stuff in the game.
You must understand Anet is a commercial company that needs to make money. The way they do it effects the game. The living story fits to there gem-store focus for income so if you don’t like many of those negative side-effects that is also a reason to prefer expansion so Anet can and should focus on that to generate income.. Of course then they should also stop with the gem-store focus and change all the bad effects of it that are now in the game.
I’m tired of hearing the “money poisons everything” argument. Does it poison some games? Yeah, and that’s why F2P games (which GW2 is not, since there is a ~$50 base game,) have such a bad reputation. That doesn’t mean every game with a cash shop is inherently tainted, or that the cash shop is the sole factor in every single design decision. It’s more complicated than that.
~The Storyteller – Elementalist – Jade Quarry~
(edited by Redenaz.8631)
Why is the game so gold-driven? Thats not fun but then people are more likely to buy gems to convert to gold.
It’s worth noting that gold is the single most widely-rewarded currency. Pretty much anything you do (other than sPvP) rewards coin, unlike most other forms of currency (badges of honor, fractal relics, guild commendations, dungeon tokens,) that can only be earned through more narrow kinds of content. Laurels and karma are pretty flexible, too, but still not as flexible as coin. (And laurels are time-gated, to boot, which a lot of players don’t seem to like for content.)
A lot of things charge coin, which you can get for real money through gems, but there’s a huge amount of content that rewards coin, too, so it only makes sense that a lot of items should cost gold. It’s the basic, content-neutral currency. Is the fact that gold can be bought with gems considered? Likely. But it’s not the only factor.
That’s like asking why the game is so XP-driven, and then pointing fingers at the sale of XP boosters. Yeah, I guess that can be a factor, but it’s a core system of the game, and just because real money can be involved doesn’t mean it’s the only practical way to play the game.
Why isn’t there a barber in the game where you can change your hair for 15 silver? Because then they will sell less make-over kids.
That’s like asking why all DLC packs in games aren’t free. Just because a company could include something in the base game doesn’t mean they have a responsibility to, or that the game is necessarily a bad product without the DLC. I know that galls people who can’t stand DLC (“Extra fighting game costumes should be free!”) but that’s the business.
It is mainly currency driven indeed but gold is still the most important currency of them all. You can better farm for gold and they buy what you need then farm for the item. Mostly in MMO’s it’s the other way around. Farming for gold to get what you want is extremely boring and thats part of the reason you can find so many farming grinding complains in this game.
About the DLC. DLC indeed should be free (it shows a company cares) and it was untill just a few years ago. But thats more something for other games. I do understand a company needs to make money and that can be done with expansion. That barber and the hair will be paid for.. with the expansions!!! I did say that already so why are we even having this discussion?
There are multiple ways of making money and that way effects how the game works. Put it all expansions and you get it that way. Make money like gems and they lock it all behind gems. It’s that easy.
The problem with adding a new race, means re-designing every armour to fit
The problem with adding a new race, means re-designing every armour to fit
Which amounts to too much work.
“Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.”
– Euripides
– Euripides
~
the rest you added.
First of all I was not talking about GW1. I would also not name presents ingame and yes I do name the ones in the living story ingame but that was nearly all temporary and so not fun again.. you can not go collect mini you need to farm living story’s and farm gold to buy them. Thats now fun. How many mini’s are there now really in the game that can drop? I don’t know but I think of the many many mini’s we have maybe 5 are really available ingame. I am one of those persons who enjoys farming mini’s in other games but here… well I buy a few that I like but collecting them is boring so no thanks. That are the facts.
So yeah.. I wasn’t talking about GW1. The only think I really liked about guild wars one was the payment model. Needles to say I did not play it. I did buy it just for the HoM after I pre-ordered GW2. I did know GW1 and that was because of it’s famous B2P payment model.
“So the world feels like it is constantly changing“ No thats the excuse not the reason. You know what changed the world. The lost shore event and while that event was temporary the content that came with it was mainly permanent and that should be how it works. Some events that happens (no achievements, no rewards) and then that ends with a big chuck of new content. Temporary content that gets removed does not change the world at all because it is removed.
“It’s going to burn some players out if they try to do everything, but for those who don’t need to do everything (I skipped Super Adventure Box and basically all of Wintersday, for example,) it’s a way to keep providing new content for people with different interests. “ They ‘need’ to do it now because else they miss out on it totally.. Thats why they don’t like temporary content. SAB and Wintersday.. you know thats not temporary right? Thats returning every few months / year.
“If they just wanted to toss in limited time gem store products, they could, easily, without half the non-gem-related content included in the living story releases. “
They could but this go’s nice with it. And indeed many F2P games do.. Thats why I do NOT like F2P games and thats why I did go for GW2 because it was knows for there B2P model and by asking money for the game they make it seem as if GW2 would use the same system. But it now indeed looks like the many bad F2P systems out there. Thats the problem, you see. You are confirming here what I say.
It is like in many F2P games. I prefer B2P games I hate F2P games for these sort of things!
“I’m tired of hearing the “money poisons everything” argument. “ luckily you will never hear that from me. I even say I understand Anet needs to make money. But there are differed ways of making money and they effect the game in differed ways. Thats a fact and that does not mean money poisons everything. The F2P payment model GW2 has now adapted does poisons the game indeed.
(edited by Devata.6589)
What is the next expansion going to be about? Queensdale 2 where people run in a circle killing the same 5 mobs over and over?
(edited by Gitchy.7941)
Oow and then there is this area in Queensdale where you get LITERALLY kicked out when you try to enter. You need some ticked they sold in the gem-store and the presents for gem-buyers… We love you more. It’s the same bad behavior we indeed see in all the F2P games but that does not make it good. Anet had a name for a good B2P model but GW2 has become a bad F2P model with all those negative side-effects. You might not see gold-driven system, locking stuff behind gems in stead of expansions and a non-fun mini structure a problem but I for sure do.
Some people indeed do not see the connecting but companies also don’t want people to see it. It might not work so good anymore because then they might feel as being cheated into buying something.
Gold is the most important currency, thanks to how flexible it is to use, and I think it should be, since it’s the most flexible to obtain.
“DLC should be free” is a strange attitude to me. Free DLC is a great bonus, but I don’t think we should forget the days when there was no DLC; a game shipped as-is, and if something wasn’t ready by the time the game went into manufacturing, it would have to wait for the sequel, if the game got one.
If I pay $50 for the game without a barber, and it’s still a good game for the money (which is a personal judgement call for every individual,) the fact that the game would be an even better value with a barber, for the same money doesn’t make the $50-no-barber game a poor value.
That’s like ordering a pizza and demanding extra cheese be free, just because it would be a friendly gesture on the part of the company. Yeah, that would be nice, but there’s nothing wrong with charging for extras, as long as the base product is worth the base price.
An expansion is, ultimately, a $40 DLC pack. Instead of having the option to get any of it for free (as with Living World,) players either have it or they don’t, dividing the player base into those with access and those without, whereas the gem store offers lots of DLC in small chunks to those who want it, while the Living World offers new content as a bonus. The included DLC can be more ambitious and coherent in an expansion than Living World releases usually are, but they’re not as flexible in release or capable of offering as much free new content.
GW2 is trying out a different release model than GW2, one that has its pros and cons. I don’t think enough people appreciate the nuances and advantages of the new model. It’s not a F2P model (because there is a base purchase,) but it’s not a traditional “Buy it once, by the sequel or expansion a few years later if it gets one” model, either.
~The Storyteller – Elementalist – Jade Quarry~
Any expansion they release will probably sell pretty well tbh.
Don’t listen to the forums, typical whiny vocal minority really. Expansion would bring back players as well.
Considering how much entertainment/content you get for the price, it’s a pretty great return.
Don’t see why it would necessarily bring back players. I’ve not played for months although I could if I wanted and it wouldn’t cost me anything.
If I can’t be bothered to log into GW2 now as it is, what makes you think an expansion would change that? They might get some back for an expansion but I doubt they would keep them for long, not unless things really improve with this game.
Any expansion they release will probably sell pretty well tbh.
Don’t listen to the forums, typical whiny vocal minority really. Expansion would bring back players as well.
Considering how much entertainment/content you get for the price, it’s a pretty great return.
Don’t see why it would necessarily bring back players. I’ve not played for months although I could if I wanted and it wouldn’t cost me anything.
If I can’t be bothered to log into GW2 now as it is, what makes you think an expansion would change that? They might get some back for an expansion but I doubt they would keep them for long, not unless things really improve with this game.
At this point, if they make an expansion, we’d most likely get the same kitten we’re getting now. We’d probably get a new class, race, and a few skills.
It would just be there to get revenue from box/digital sales and nothing would change. All this talk about “the game’s only a year old, give it time” shows how the changes will be.
We would get a LS for the new region though! Oh think of all the people who would flock to the gem store! All that money going into rehashed content! Isn’t that exciting?
“Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.”
– Euripides
– Euripides
Expansion=same kitten you’re getting right now.
They are likely worried it won’t sell that well, yes.
arenaNet hasn’t even put together 1 content patch’s worth of equivalent WoW content yet, and they’ve been our a whole year.
The game is in trouble, IMO.
~
The problem is, it is so importand you can better farm gold to buy what you need then try to get hat you need.
““DLC should be free” is a strange attitude to me. Free DLC is a great bonus, but I don’t think we should forget the days when there was no DLC; a game shipped as-is, and if something wasn’t ready by the time the game went into manufacturing, it would have to wait for the sequel, if the game got one.”
No if a product was not like it should be they fixed it for free and they would usually also throw in some other extras like extra maps and so on. Thats the ‘free DLC’ I am referring to. Because DLC now is basically the same with the difference that they now ask money for it. The free patch bounds people to a game and company and in that way they where more likely to buy new games of expansions. However DLC is something we talk about in other games not in MMORPG’s so not the point here.
No the 50 dollar is fine for a game.. and then they add new stuff making the game better and then the game might be worth more and the company should and must be rewarded for that. If they put in gems they get rewarded for it with the money people spend on buying gems. But then they have to lock it behind a gem-store and so the game as total does not improve. Or they generate the main income by expansions and lock it behind that expansion then you would of course also have the barber without the expansion but it would have less hairs to pick from. But a game with barber is indeed better then one without. Now because of the gem-focus it’s not there.. they could put it in and still lock the hair behind gems but still that would make it less fun. When playing the game you should not run upon that sort of stuff that makes it less fun. For me it does. Not for everybody but thats why I never play F2P game.
“That’s like ordering a pizza and demanding extra cheese be free, just because it would be a friendly gesture on the part of the company.”
It’s not really a good example because a pizza would not have the negative side effects but just to make them up in the pizza… no it’s like buying a pizza or a pizza the luxe (thats the one + expansion). And the gem option is the pizza where you have to pay extra for all the possible additions (that together make the Pizza the luxe ) but because you order everything sperate the pizza gets cold before they have put everything on it. (that last makes no since but like I said, a pizza is not a very good example)
“An expansion is, ultimately, a $40 DLC pack. Instead of having the option to get any of it for free (as with Living World,) players either have it or they don’t, dividing the player base into those with access and those without” dividing the player-base up. Something Anet also always talks about and I think it is a little nonsense and overflows do that as well you know. Locking it somehow is the same with the gem-store. Not everything is for free but indeed you only have access to the new content with the expansion. I don’t see how that is a problem everybody gets what he paid for but you don’t have the bad side-effects so the total game because better because of it. Thats the difference between F2P and B2P yeah. Like I said I prefer B2P and since I did pay for GW2 I think I am allowed to ask for that.
Besides in practice how many people would not by the expansion? Maybe not all on the same time but people who play it will eventually buy it The fact that they not all to it together is a plus.. partly because it spreads out the player-base. When you get people all to the same place on the same time the other places are empty. Of course you will not get all people there so many people still see the empty places but because you focus on that the empty places will be more empty and so more of a problem. I would think you want to spread out the playerbase over the whole map. Thats also something Anet said with there down-scale thing.
BTW I see a difference between DLC (what is a very small addition that a few years ago was free) and a expansion (big addition that never has been for free).
The payment model shows how a company generates income. At this moment Anet does that by making money on a cash-shop. That is F2P. It does not suddenly not become F2P because you did buy the initial game.. I see people saying this multiple times. But if they talk about WoW it’s P2P but uhhm you buy the game there as well. So by that logic WoW would not be P2P, thats of course not how it works. What is the main way GW2 generate income. Cash-shop so F2P model. The name F2P is just because games that don’t require purchase always use the cash-shop. So GW2 is not trying something new they are using the same bad system many other companies also have. They just also charged money for the first sale.
(edited by Devata.6589)
No I am pretty sure there is a little discussion happening between Arenanet and NCSoft. NCSoft doesn’t want GW2 to have an expansion, especially next year when their baby WildStar will be released. It can be a cash cow with subscriptions and stuff.
NCSoft is probably more concerned with funding WildStar with all the buzz it is getting than funding GW2. So they stuck with WildStar and put GW2 on the backburner.
I don’t trust NCSoft.
The problem with adding a new race, means re-designing every armour to fit
Which amounts to too much work.
They don’t bother with the Charr, so I don’t see a new race anytime soon.
Where do people learn all this inside information about the relationship between ArenaNet and NCSoft, and what influence the development of WildStar has on ArenaNet?
I can’t comment one way or the other on it, but I see it mentioned often enough that I wonder if there are any interviews, investor reports, or anything else that people are referring to, or if it’s just speculation.
So…sources?
~The Storyteller – Elementalist – Jade Quarry~
You really think that ArenaNet, being afraid that their expansion might not sell well, decided to instead add free content to the game instead (which still costs them the same to build in terms of manpower)?
Just think about that for a second. Does your premise still make sense now?
Yes I do.
GW2 has core problems and patch after patch it is getting worst (condition damage/vertical progression) it was a better game at release.
what they are giving now is not free someone is paying for it. but how many wings and bag items they are going to buy without new players that will decrease.
instead of going for more audience they decided to keep what they have now.
what we are getting from LS has nothing to do with GW2 lore. who is going to invade the next city the green pirates from Mars.
But why do you believe it? Yes, there are gemstore items. Yes, people buy them. But there’s no reason to assume there wouldn’t be gem store sales if there were an expansion. Even World of Kittencraft, which has a monthly subscription, sells ingame vanity items for real life money.
Living Story = Expansion, only released in multiple small chunks instead of one big chunk. And it’s free.
If you can read this then it is proof that ArenaNet’s moderators just, kind and fair.
Where do people learn all this inside information about the relationship between ArenaNet and NCSoft, and what influence the development of WildStar has on ArenaNet?
I can’t comment one way or the other on it, but I see it mentioned often enough that I wonder if there are any interviews, investor reports, or anything else that people are referring to, or if it’s just speculation.
So…sources?
It is all speculation. This whole thread is speculation. But why would NCSoft want two competing products going against each other next year?
Can we let them fix the broken aspects of this game first before they release an expansion?
Just saying… it might be better if they fix what’s there first before dumping more stuff on top of it.
You really think that ArenaNet, being afraid that their expansion might not sell well, decided to instead add free content to the game instead (which still costs them the same to build in terms of manpower)?
Just think about that for a second. Does your premise still make sense now?
Yes I do.
GW2 has core problems and patch after patch it is getting worst (condition damage/vertical progression) it was a better game at release.
what they are giving now is not free someone is paying for it. but how many wings and bag items they are going to buy without new players that will decrease.
instead of going for more audience they decided to keep what they have now.
what we are getting from LS has nothing to do with GW2 lore. who is going to invade the next city the green pirates from Mars.But why do you believe it? Yes, there are gemstore items. Yes, people buy them. But there’s no reason to assume there wouldn’t be gem store sales if there were an expansion. Even World of Kittencraft, which has a monthly subscription, sells ingame vanity items for real life money.
Living Story = Expansion, only released in multiple small chunks instead of one big chunk. And it’s free.
No living story is not free. It cost money to make that and so the company needs to make sure they get that money and so they need to convince people to buy gems and so in influence the game in a bad way.
Can we let them fix the broken aspects of this game first before they release an expansion?
Just saying… it might be better if they fix what’s there first before dumping more stuff on top of it.
They will but very slow as you can see. Fixes does not make them money as it won’t sell them any gems. But when then can work on an expansion they can and must (to prevent negative feedback on the expansion) also handle much of those bugs.
Can we let them fix the broken aspects of this game first before they release an expansion?
Just saying… it might be better if they fix what’s there first before dumping more stuff on top of it.
They will but very slow as you can see. Fixes does not make them money as it won’t sell them any gems. But when then can work on an expansion they can and must (to prevent negative feedback on the expansion) also handle much of those bugs.
And making fixes would take resources away from the expansion you are convinced MUST happen to save this game. Meanwhile, MMO players are NOT patient. They will NOT wait for an expansion if they are bored.
25 missions in Prophecies and 13 missions in Factions compared to how many personal stories?
Oh, is that all there was to those two games? Just the missions? Heh.
The table is a fable.
Can we let them fix the broken aspects of this game first before they release an expansion?
Just saying… it might be better if they fix what’s there first before dumping more stuff on top of it.
They will but very slow as you can see. Fixes does not make them money as it won’t sell them any gems. But when then can work on an expansion they can and must (to prevent negative feedback on the expansion) also handle much of those bugs.
And making fixes would take resources away from the expansion you are convinced MUST happen to save this game. Meanwhile, MMO players are NOT patient. They will NOT wait for an expansion if they are bored.
Seeing as how well the fixes are going, I’d rather the resources be put into an expansion. Oh wait, fixes aren’t happening either. Well then, I’m at a loss.
“Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.”
– Euripides
– Euripides
Can we let them fix the broken aspects of this game first before they release an expansion?
Just saying… it might be better if they fix what’s there first before dumping more stuff on top of it.
They will but very slow as you can see. Fixes does not make them money as it won’t sell them any gems. But when then can work on an expansion they can and must (to prevent negative feedback on the expansion) also handle much of those bugs.
And making fixes would take resources away from the expansion you are convinced MUST happen to save this game. Meanwhile, MMO players are NOT patient. They will NOT wait for an expansion if they are bored.
Not really. Remember the question would change from "how to get people to buy gems’ to “how to get people to buy the expansion”. I think fixing bugs fix in both but I also think it fits better in the second question.
+ what Skan said. The fixes are slow at this moment so it’s not like it now go’s faster. Sadly enough problems are not just bugs it are also missing features have for example a look at the list on this page https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2 . Half of it might be nice to haves but the other half is just thinks you might expect and need.
Then you have thinks like that one person is ‘owner’ of a dungeon. Officially thats not a bug but it does not work so should change.
Mobs that spawn to fast.. no real bug but needs attentions.
Mobs that run away when you get to far and then regenerate and become invulnerable. Bad design because you might get out of the circle on accident.
Al that sort of thinks are bad but not official bigs so if bugs are so slow how about those thinks.
Personally I think a expansion would also be a good moment to have a second look at that. They did lose people because of bugs and those thinks. If it is done better in an expansion they can advertise it so it makes sense but people who left won’t see the LS patches so you won’t get them back so easily.
(edited by Devata.6589)
Can we let them fix the broken aspects of this game first before they release an expansion?
Just saying… it might be better if they fix what’s there first before dumping more stuff on top of it.
They will but very slow as you can see. Fixes does not make them money as it won’t sell them any gems. But when then can work on an expansion they can and must (to prevent negative feedback on the expansion) also handle much of those bugs.
And making fixes would take resources away from the expansion you are convinced MUST happen to save this game. Meanwhile, MMO players are NOT patient. They will NOT wait for an expansion if they are bored.
Not really. Remember the question would change from "how to get people to buy gems’ to “how to get people to buy the expansion”. I think fixing bugs fix in both but I also think it fits better in the second question.
Answer to “how to get people to buy the expansion”: Another Manifesto filled with sweet, sweet lies that people will eat up and then be severely disappointed with.
“Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.”
– Euripides
– Euripides
Can we let them fix the broken aspects of this game first before they release an expansion?
Just saying… it might be better if they fix what’s there first before dumping more stuff on top of it.
They will but very slow as you can see. Fixes does not make them money as it won’t sell them any gems. But when then can work on an expansion they can and must (to prevent negative feedback on the expansion) also handle much of those bugs.
And making fixes would take resources away from the expansion you are convinced MUST happen to save this game. Meanwhile, MMO players are NOT patient. They will NOT wait for an expansion if they are bored.
Not really. Remember the question would change from "how to get people to buy gems’ to “how to get people to buy the expansion”. I think fixing bugs fix in both but I also think it fits better in the second question.
Answer to “how to get people to buy the expansion”: Another Manifesto filled with sweet, sweet lies that people will eat up and then be severely disappointed with.
Possible and it would work for the first expansion. But if the expansion would be really bad it would not work again for a second expansion so it would be a very bad idea. If there goal is to keep on going with this game for many years that is. So I would hope they would do better. Anet build up a good name with GW1 so something there must be good.
Answer to “how to get people to buy the expansion”: Another Manifesto filled with sweet, sweet lies that people will eat up and then be severely disappointed with.
Sometimes I wonder if people get what a manifesto is. It’s a statement of intention, of goals, not a specific promise of execution. If I declare that “I’m going to write the best-selling fantasy novel of all time, full of realistic world-building, fully-developed characters, and themes that resonate with every human soul,” and I fail at that, I’m not a liar: I’m overly optimistic at best, or sorely mistaken at worst.
It’s like product creators aren’t allowed to get excited and rhetorical about anything anymore or have ambitious goals, because people will throw it back in their faces if they ever have to compromise, or if things don’t turn out as expected. I’m baffled by the people who treat shortcomings in the game as acts of malicious neglect, rather than practical shortcomings.
~The Storyteller – Elementalist – Jade Quarry~
(edited by Redenaz.8631)
I already paid for a expansion in gems!
I would never give currency to a company that does not fix major issues in game after a bloody year.
The games not as broken as you think.
As soon as you have a paid expansion, the game improvements such as LFG and the wallet no longer come free. They come in the paid expansion. That’s how marketing guys make sure you buy expansions.
The Living Story has problems but a paid expansion is not a solution we should be asking for.
I’m more than willing to buy expansion, especially Cantha.
As soon as you have a paid expansion, the game improvements such as LFG and the wallet no longer come free. They come in the paid expansion. That’s how marketing guys make sure you buy expansions.
The Living Story has problems but a paid expansion is not a solution we should be asking for.
Yeah so what. Then we have all that stuff in the expansion and a better game for it.
Now we get a few thinks ‘for free’ but a lot is locked behind gems. Skins, mini’s, hairstyles and much more plus they make changes in the game based on getting you to buy gems that are not good for the game itself.
I would much rather pay for an expansion to get all the stuff in the expansion and not having the bad side effects from them trying to convince you to buy gems then having 3 things for free, another many thinks not for free and having a lesser game because of the compromises they make on the ground of convincing you to buy gems.
Every MMO that i have played till now always took it’s sweet time to release an expansion.I don’t expect GW2 to be different.
Normally from release till 1st expansion of MMO it takes 2 years.
As i heard only EVE is different because they release expansions every 6 months
TxS – Tequatl Slayer Alliance (EU)
Every MMO that i have played till now always took it’s sweet time to release an expansion.I don’t expect GW2 to be different.
Normally from release till 1st expansion of MMO it takes 2 years.
As i heard only EVE is different because they release expansions every 6 months
Depends. Games that base there income on subscriptions usually take about 2 to 3 years indeed.
If you base you income on expansions (like GW1) you should do it faster once every year / year and a half.
Anet however stated that they prefer to have the living story and no expansion. (so they would then base there income on the cash-shop like F2P games). Reading your post you are not aware of that statemet but thats what many people are so negative about.
I don’t know about EvE but a real expansion every 6 months?
Every MMO that i have played till now always took it’s sweet time to release an expansion.I don’t expect GW2 to be different.
Normally from release till 1st expansion of MMO it takes 2 years.
As i heard only EVE is different because they release expansions every 6 monthsDepends. Games that base there income on subscriptions usually take about 2 to 3 years indeed.
If you base you income on expansions (like GW1) you should do it faster once every year / year and a half.
Anet however stated that they prefer to have the living story and no expansion. (so they would then base there income on the cash-shop like F2P games). Reading your post you are not aware of that statemet but thats what many people are so negative about.
I don’t know about EvE but a real expansion every 6 months?
Yup, literally every six months, in fact the newest just got released, huge graphical updates, new items for the economy, etc
However yeah, GW2 needs new lands to explore
The world was teased (as someone posted it above) and a lot of the community got excited about how big the world outside of Tyria/Elona/Cantha really was and how much we’d have to explore
Owner and GW2 DJ, Sanitarium.FM
Guild Leader – Wolf Pack Samurai
Owner and admin, The Guild-Hall2.net
Guild Leader – Wolf Pack Samurai
Owner and admin, The Guild-Hall2.net
Mike Zadorojny (Anet exec) said that income from the gem store is “absolutely enough” to sustain the 2 week update schedule so obviously as of right now they have no financial problems.
They’ve added fractals, guild missions, lots of skins, 2 temp dungeons and 1 perma dungeon path, revamped one dungeon, revamped world bosses (including total Teq overhaul), revamped WvW map, WvW exclusive skills and traits, added several PvP maps, one perma new PvE zone, several new mini games, new skills and traits will also come by the end of 2013, tons of quality of life updates (wallet!).
That’s pretty good if you ask me and I am positive an expansion will sell like hot cakes.
If you base you income on expansions (like GW1) you should do it faster once every year / year and a half.
And then you have a community spread all over the place, which was one of the main problems of the expansion system of GW1. Also, players not being able to play together was another big issue, I had loads of guildies with access only to Prophecies that couldn’t come to play Factions, while other newer players started with Factions. The regular expansion system has lots of benefits yes but it also has loads of drawbacks too.
IMO, I don’t believe that A-net thinks an expansion will not sell. So many requests for it and an expansion would mean being able to charge the player-base for content; from the company’s perspective, what’s not to like? Also, I just don’t see the next dragon released in temp content.
The problem I think is that they have nothing (or not enough in quantity to define an expansion anyway) right now that’s the same quality as the base game. That’s going to take a lot of time to produce and polish. I hope that when they do release an expansion, it will be as immersive and beautiful as the vanilla.
So in the meantime, they try to keep us busy with distractions like the LS and grind like Ascended gear.
Just my theory.
The players they’ve lost won’t come back for an expansion.
The new players they get can’t even keep up with the new content.Wrong, most players who have left would only come back with a decent expansion. 80% of my guild stopped playing and waits for either a good new MMO or an expansion worth of content. LS only offers new content for some hours a month. This might be enjoyed by active players, but nobody who has already left really cares for this temporary mini content.
The point is: GW2 currently lacks competition. There will be some bigger titles in the next half year and GW2 will loose big chunks of players, if they don’t offer (much)more than they do now. I would buy an expansion, just to be able to play with my guildmates again for a longer period of time. I would buy another promising game for the same reason as well. I am not the only one thinking this way.
I just wanted to point out that the above is pretty much nonsense.
Most people who have left GW2 and have not come back at all for the Living Story stuff would not come back for long, if at all, for an expansion. This is because they are not looking for a game with slow, limited vertical progression, or where you are meant to keep looking around the world, exploring, doing new stuff and so on.
They are looking for a game with strong, steady/rapid vertical progression, where you burn through content, then largely sit around and wait for more, whilst raiding a couple of nights a week.
Even if GW2 released an expansion full of new content, all that is going to happen, best case scenario, is that they will buy the expansion, realize that the game still doesn’t have much vertical progression (and that it is slow and time-gated, and they’re waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay behind on it, because they quit months ago, and will thus take months and months of time-gates to catch up), and then quit again.
Worst case scenario, and more likely, they just completely ignore the expansion just like the ignored the living world.
I do think the Living Story, so far, is seriously lacking in one area: “New lands!” as my Norn would put it. But that’s really the only way in which it is lacking. If we don’t see some new zones fairly soon, I could see that having a negative impact when new MMOs are coming out, but at the same time, maybe the ArenaNet want to play it smart.
Here’s a secret: every time a new MMO comes out, a bunch of people will want to play it, no matter how much they like their “current” MMO.
They will go and play it for 2-3 months until they are bored, burnt-out and generally feeling “meh” about it. The first month or so they will be intensely positive about it, telling everyone “OMG THIS GAME IS GREAT!”. Second month they’ll tone it down, and by month three, well, they’re apathetic.
It is at this point that they will either return to their previous MMO, or move on to yet another MMO.
So when releasing stuff which is actually exciting, like new zones, it could be smart to time it appropriately. Which may mean waiting to “lose” players to TESO and WildStar and the like, before drawing them back.
Speaking of which, I’m already seeing people drifting back in from FFXI Reborn – just for the living story stuff – even if they don’t play it, they are aware of it, and it keeps them thinking about the game.
The players they’ve lost won’t come back for an expansion.
The new players they get can’t even keep up with the new content.Wrong, most players who have left would only come back with a decent expansion. 80% of my guild stopped playing and waits for either a good new MMO or an expansion worth of content. LS only offers new content for some hours a month. This might be enjoyed by active players, but nobody who has already left really cares for this temporary mini content.
The point is: GW2 currently lacks competition. There will be some bigger titles in the next half year and GW2 will loose big chunks of players, if they don’t offer (much)more than they do now. I would buy an expansion, just to be able to play with my guildmates again for a longer period of time. I would buy another promising game for the same reason as well. I am not the only one thinking this way.
I just wanted to point out that the above is pretty much nonsense.
Most people who have left GW2 and have not come back at all for the Living Story stuff would not come back for long, if at all, for an expansion. This is because they are not looking for a game with slow, limited vertical progression, or where you are meant to keep looking around the world, exploring, doing new stuff and so on.
They are looking for a game with strong, steady/rapid vertical progression, where you burn through content, then largely sit around and wait for more, whilst raiding a couple of nights a week.
Even if GW2 released an expansion full of new content, all that is going to happen, best case scenario, is that they will buy the expansion, realize that the game still doesn’t have much vertical progression (and that it is slow and time-gated, and they’re waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay behind on it, because they quit months ago, and will thus take months and months of time-gates to catch up), and then quit again.
Worst case scenario, and more likely, they just completely ignore the expansion just like the ignored the living world.
I do think the Living Story, so far, is seriously lacking in one area: “New lands!” as my Norn would put it. But that’s really the only way in which it is lacking. If we don’t see some new zones fairly soon, I could see that having a negative impact when new MMOs are coming out, but at the same time, maybe the ArenaNet want to play it smart.
Here’s a secret: every time a new MMO comes out, a bunch of people will want to play it, no matter how much they like their “current” MMO.
They will go and play it for 2-3 months until they are bored, burnt-out and generally feeling “meh” about it. The first month or so they will be intensely positive about it, telling everyone “OMG THIS GAME IS GREAT!”. Second month they’ll tone it down, and by month three, well, they’re apathetic.
It is at this point that they will either return to their previous MMO, or move on to yet another MMO.
So when releasing stuff which is actually exciting, like new zones, it could be smart to time it appropriately. Which may mean waiting to “lose” players to TESO and WildStar and the like, before drawing them back.
Speaking of which, I’m already seeing people drifting back in from FFXI Reborn – just for the living story stuff – even if they don’t play it, they are aware of it, and it keeps them thinking about the game.
So basically you’re saying most people who left GW2 want a WoW clone
Well they have one coming with Wildstar
Owner and GW2 DJ, Sanitarium.FM
Guild Leader – Wolf Pack Samurai
Owner and admin, The Guild-Hall2.net
Guild Leader – Wolf Pack Samurai
Owner and admin, The Guild-Hall2.net
You really think that ArenaNet, being afraid that their expansion might not sell well, decided to instead add free content to the game instead (which still costs them the same to build in terms of manpower)?
Just think about that for a second. Does your premise still make sense now?
Yes I do.
GW2 has core problems and patch after patch it is getting worst (condition damage/vertical progression) it was a better game at release.
what they are giving now is not free someone is paying for it. but how many wings and bag items they are going to buy without new players that will decrease.
instead of going for more audience they decided to keep what they have now.
what we are getting from LS has nothing to do with GW2 lore. who is going to invade the next city the green pirates from Mars.
I have been playing through through the Living Story, and I still no not understand how it has nothing to do with the lore? I have asked this many times, and nobody has ever said how the living story has nothing to do with the lore.
So basically you’re saying most people who left GW2 want a WoW clone
Well they have one coming with Wildstar
Yep and yep. And right now at least WildStar is like WoW plus massive time requirements. Be interesting to see how that does with people with jobs/kids/friends.
So basically you’re saying most people who left GW2 want a WoW clone
Well they have one coming with Wildstar
Yep and yep. And right now at least WildStar is like WoW plus massive time requirements. Be interesting to see how that does with people with jobs/kids/friends.
I was genuinely gutted that Wildstar was going to be a standard pay to play sub game, it looks fantastic, and annoyingly, the dev from Wildstar I said that to after the gW2 dev chat at eurogamer was surprised to think anyone would want it free to play
Owner and GW2 DJ, Sanitarium.FM
Guild Leader – Wolf Pack Samurai
Owner and admin, The Guild-Hall2.net
Guild Leader – Wolf Pack Samurai
Owner and admin, The Guild-Hall2.net
Yes I’m very sure Anet is afraid of an expansion not selling, considering GW2 alone is the fastest selling MMO of all time
really now
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[Currently Inactive, Playing BF4]
Magic find works. http://sinasdf.imgur.com/
[Currently Inactive, Playing BF4]
Magic find works. http://sinasdf.imgur.com/
So basically you’re saying most people who left GW2 want a WoW clone
Well they have one coming with Wildstar
Yep and yep. And right now at least WildStar is like WoW plus massive time requirements. Be interesting to see how that does with people with jobs/kids/friends.
I was genuinely gutted that Wildstar was going to be a standard pay to play sub game, it looks fantastic, and annoyingly, the dev from Wildstar I said that to after the gW2 dev chat at eurogamer was surprised to think anyone would want it free to play
Well, I feel you on not wanting to pay a sub. I wish the standard was more around 8 bucks a month instead of 15, but it’s kind of taking the good with the bad…free 2 play games, yes they are awesome they are free, but they are really just games that want to milk you for everything you are worth, nickel and dime.
In Wildstar thy are having an incredible player housing system and if it were a free to play game I bet most of the stuff to decorate, instead of going out in the world and finding, would just be sold off a store. Also, f2p games notoriously bring in the worst gamers imaginable. All said and done, I’d much rather pay a sub if it’s a good game than to deal with all the nickel and diming.
I haven’t done any LS and will never do.
I certainly am not going to do this one, it’s an insult to us all the way they made it. Plenty of people were running the previous dungeons they didn’t need to put the items in this dungeon for people to notice it and they are still ignoring a large portion of the populus who bought their original game, open worlders who never wanted to set foot into a dungeon again. Maybe their expansion has too many new dungeons and not enough open world stuff, so yeah more of the same.
Balance Team: Please Fix Mine Toolbelt Positioning!
See OP
Before GW2 was released Anet said that they have no intention of using the same expansion model as GW.
In GW you had the base game (GW- Prophesies) and then two stand alone games (Factions and Nightfall), with one expansion- being Eye of the North.
This divided the player base and in the case of GW it was not really an issue since the game is largely instanced.
When they made GW2, they made it persistent, open-world and as such, an expansion model consisting of either stand alone games or an add-on is not ideal from that stand point.
So since they do plan on releasing content that would usually fit into those models- they have to find a way to do it within their existing game model- everyone in the same world and on the same page more or less.
They are still deciding how exactly to achieve this.
I will bet you however that they are already developing the things that you would associate with a boxed expansion
Gunnar’s Hold
I don’t think GW2 needs an expansion, it’s barely been out for a year yet and they’re still shaking the bugs out.
They’ve said multiple times they’re not sure what they’re gonna do. They’re considering LS, which they’re working on already to contain expansion like features or work on an expansion.
They just don’t know.
/thread
Blood And Metal is a guild on Gunnars Hold that is all about metal, punk,hard rock etc.. Join us!
So basically you’re saying most people who left GW2 want a WoW clone
Well they have one coming with Wildstar
Yep and yep. And right now at least WildStar is like WoW plus massive time requirements. Be interesting to see how that does with people with jobs/kids/friends.
I was genuinely gutted that Wildstar was going to be a standard pay to play sub game, it looks fantastic, and annoyingly, the dev from Wildstar I said that to after the gW2 dev chat at eurogamer was surprised to think anyone would want it free to play
Well, I feel you on not wanting to pay a sub. I wish the standard was more around 8 bucks a month instead of 15, but it’s kind of taking the good with the bad…free 2 play games, yes they are awesome they are free, but they are really just games that want to milk you for everything you are worth, nickel and dime.
In Wildstar thy are having an incredible player housing system and if it were a free to play game I bet most of the stuff to decorate, instead of going out in the world and finding, would just be sold off a store. Also, f2p games notoriously bring in the worst gamers imaginable. All said and done, I’d much rather pay a sub if it’s a good game than to deal with all the nickel and diming.
Look, I see what you’re saying, but the subscription model is in the decline, it’s time for the MMO industry to get with the times and find a better way to do it than pay to play or cash shop
GW1 had the right balance, they had a cosmetic cash shop yes (and I bought ALL the costumes), but they also had the pvp unlock packs, a god send for pvp’ers and those who use heroes by unlocking all the skills (normal and elite skills), this gave pvp characters and heroes access to all the skills straight away and allowed pve characters to go cap them as normal
Star Wars The Old Republic is a brilliant example of HOW NOT TO DO IT
The went free to play, but most of the content is locked off unless you pay Elite (basically pay a sub)
Ridiculous…
Eve Online goes the other way, you don’t need to actually buy it, the cash shop (ignoring the monocle debacle) has minor stuff you can ignore and you ONLY pay the sub
But they also are actively involved in the community, I goto EvEFest every year, even though I haven’t played EvE for two years now
Owner and GW2 DJ, Sanitarium.FM
Guild Leader – Wolf Pack Samurai
Owner and admin, The Guild-Hall2.net
Guild Leader – Wolf Pack Samurai
Owner and admin, The Guild-Hall2.net