Guild Wars 2

I’m thinking possibly Anet will hold back already made content when HoT is released so they can do a new LS update based on it a month after then every so often after that again. Wouldn’t this mean if others decide to buy it at later dates they will have to pay for HoT and the following LS episodes on top of that too? Am I right Anet?

I’m just thinking Anet are concocting a no win situation here. Even if they do eventually reduce the price of HoT the fact that we have to buy the LS Story updates as well will make it more expensive than ever. I think Anet thinks this is great crafty idea but such a cost will be forever prohibitive to me and maybe others too and will further their reputation in a downward spiral. It looks like I will be sticking with a rival MMO.

So no one else cares that not only you have to pay £34.99 or $50 but that if you wait until you get the HoT package later you will need to spend even more if you want to continue through the Living Story (which I know is not new)? This mean in a years time you may have to fork out possibly a £100 (around $150 odd) to get everything from this point in. It’s a no win situation and I’m sure Anet will hold content back so the first LS (first extra cost)will happen only a month after HoT is released.

ArenaNet stated long ago that the Living Story would continue after HoT is released. I would not expect them to change the way one can obtain the LS chapters. It wasn’t considered a ‘scam’ before by most; why would it suddenly be a ‘scam’ in the future?

Everyone can make a decision on when to purchase (or not purchase, at all) an expansion. Pre-purchase and receive pre-purchase bonuses, purchase at release and any advantages that may entail, or purchase long after release and any benefits that might entail.

Choice for everyone. Nothing more to it.

I never once mentioned this is a scam. Read my posts. I’m just making sure this is not overlooked because the attention is just on the initial package cost. I did say Arena net think this is crafty as its another way to pressure current customers to buy the initial HoT at full price. This is not new but it was all planned a long time ago when they had the idea to charge for old LS.

“Pressuring” customers into buying your product is sort of what companies are supposed to do. There are a number of ways to accomplish it, and pretty much all companies use some of them.

In subscription MMOs, you’ve paid them so much, you can’t just walk away from the investment in money. I’ve seen it happen with my kids after years of WoW, even when they’re bored and hating it, they were still paying. It’s a form of manipulation.

Every MMORPG uses some sort of pressure to get people to buy their expansions. Even new professions are like that.

But the best reason to buy MMO expansions when they come out isn’t the cost in dollars. It’s the cost in time/energy to get new things in game. Every MMO I’ve seen has some sort of inflation in it and as time goes on, stuff gets more expensive to buy on the trading post. It becomes harder and harder for new players to get into the game.

That’s why I’m not upset when Anet does something to remove entry barriers for new players.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

ArenaNet stated long ago that the Living Story would continue after HoT is released. I would not expect them to change the way one can obtain the LS chapters. It wasn’t considered a ‘scam’ before by most; why would it suddenly be a ‘scam’ in the future?

I’m with you here, but if they’ve cut some stuff out of HoT and re-packaged it as Living story, it’ll look an awful lot like on-disk DLC…

that said, while I’m pretty kittened at Anet over the pre-purchase debacle, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt over future living story updates. provided they don’t drop suspiciously soon.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

ArenaNet stated long ago that the Living Story would continue after HoT is released.

That’s VERY unlikely.

Let’s be honest here – the Living World was a failure. ArenaNet got a lot of backlash over how transitory Season 1 was, and the subdued nature of Season 2 made it look more like small DLCs than a prime way to add content to the game.

More importantly, both failed to prevent GW2’s earnings from falling, despite the help of the China release.

This is why we’re getting an expansion now, despite how ArenaNet had already said that they could add everything an expansion has to the game through the Living World.

If HoT is a success – especially under this scam-like overpriced model they’re trying to sell us -, it will cement the success of the expansion model over the Living World model, and thus ArenaNet would very likely focus on a new expansion instead of in making more Living Story seasons.

In the end, what we are buying with HoT is likely only HoT itself. Unlike the core release of GW2, which gave SOME of us access to some of the Living World.

“Living World was a failure”

Based on what we’re seeing here in the forums regarding the expansion (which hasn’t even launched, and is the same kind of backlash), the expansion has already failed.

So I guess Anet should just pack up and close the doors?

“This is why we’re getting an expansion now, despite how ArenaNet had already said that they could add everything an expansion has to the game through the Living World.”

Yes, Anet said they could deliver many of the same things an expansion could give through the LS. They never said they absolutely would. They also never said they would never do a boxed expansion. There were a lot of statements about not having a decision one way or the other though.

I don’t feel LS failed, personally. I do feel like a part of the reason we’re getting an expansion is because we whined, kittened, moaned, and hollered about one. Its the same reason we got ascended if you’ll recall. Make enough fuss, eventually they’ll cave. As sad as that is.

Still, I have always felt (and continue to feel) that their best option might be to do a combination of LS and expansions, which they’ve sort of started on that path with LS2 leading into HoT. We’ll see how things progress after the expansion finally drops.

Yeah I’m not feeling the pain on this. I honestly think being able to buy LS episodes is a good thing. And so far, all you’ve had to do to ge them for free is log in once every two weeks, which takes just a few minutes (not seconds though cause you have to download those pesky game updates!). What makes me sad is that we’ve been in a total DROUGHT for content for months now. The lack of all content is not getting me hyped in the least for HoT. I think this is just another way ANet shows how little they pay attention to their current players at any given time.

They will be spreading out content releases over the life of HOT until they decide to make another expansion. LS will most likely continue however be added in as content updates to HoT not a pay wall DLC. They tried Base+Gem Store+LS as income source, now they are going to do Xpac+Gem store from what it appears.

Well first regarding the pressure and manipulation. Just because it happens does not mean its right or acceptable and if Anet sell HoT as standalone for a cheaper price because the consumer exercises their right to complain and not buy the bundle then its a win for common decency and a strike against companies and organisations just taking the mickey

I am sure Anet will bring out more LS as they probably have already got more material than what comes out with HoT and as I said its more pressure on people to buy HoT at the current price as waiting for it to be cheaper means those players will need to pay for LS.

Ozmian I don’t mind if people miss LS content they pay to have it but its the fact that Anet have been able to make such a high package price because if long time players don’t want to pay that price now they will have even more to pay later. They are banking on most every player giving in to their current price because the other option to hold off is even worse.