Guild Wars 2

http://www.pcgamer.com/guild-wars-2-players-rightly-upset-by-heart-of-thorns-pre-purchase-scheme/

That link, and others have already had topics devoted to them, and been included in the main threads. It’s developing into quite a gaming-media storm at the moment.

A gaming website is reporting on new announcements for a game? Whatever next?

Seriously though this is nothing unusual. They probably aim to report on every major development (and the reactions to them) in at least all the major PC games. That’s their job.

If it made it to the mainsteam media – general purpose news sites, actual newspapers etc. that would be surprising.

Release the got darn elite specs already!!!!

I’ll start worrying when it ends up on CNN.

Celtic Lady.3729:

I’ll start worrying when it ends up on CNN.

Twitter can make that happen if enough people tweet Don With the PCGamer story….

;-)

I wonder what Arena’s reaction would be? “We know our playerbase for the nice kittens with extra money they are, they will eat up any unfair pricing and ask for more”?

I like this comment made on that news posting :

I really hope their strategy ends up luring tons of new people because that’s going to be their only saving grace once a bunch of us veterans abandon this game for good, all due to their shady practices and lack of explanations. The fact they’re all hush-hush about what else is new on the expansion doesn’t make things any better… probably because there’s nothing else that justifies the price they’re asking.

I believe that that is the big problem right there :

- you have several people saying “over 90% will buy HoT” while it’s obvious to anyone with a brain that is isn’t so. Compare the numbers that played gw2 1 year ago to those that play it now, it’s far less populated because you have “veterans” waiting for an expansion to play the game again.

-adding an expansion and announcing it without players even knowing what is in it plus the fact they say “it’s smaller but has depth” doesn’t add much to keep veterans in the game and willing to buy HoT.

- when you actually play the game on different hours you can see that it asks you to change maps(several times in a row) because there’s NO population present. It’s only during certain hours and on certain maps that you see people roaming the lands. Otherwise, it’s a complete dead zone. I can run around any random map and only encounter ‘maybe’ 10 players.

Finally, consider this :
New players do get a great deal for the 50$ or whatever they spend on it, and they will venture in the new zones…where NO veteran is waiting for them to explain things or showing them the ropes. Veterans will be more like : “gtfo, do it yourself, why should i care about a newbie” because they will still be P. off and usually NOT be IN the starter maps.

The longer the discussion about the expansion lasts, the less they actually tell people what is in the expansion, the bigger the rift between old and new players will become.
As a new player, i immediately found a guild, got help from everywhere and was genuinely surprised at the amazing community.
Now this crap happens and trust me, like it’s obvious in the forums, it does create a rift.

And then there’s those that already preordered their HoT copy and are exited for it. I’m happy for them, i truly am, but i just hope that it will be worth the wait. Something which i’m still doubtful of.

Sthenith.5196:

I like this comment made on that news posting :

I really hope their strategy ends up luring tons of new people because that’s going to be their only saving grace once a bunch of us veterans abandon this game for good, all due to their shady practices and lack of explanations. The fact they’re all hush-hush about what else is new on the expansion doesn’t make things any better… probably because there’s nothing else that justifies the price they’re asking.

I believe that that is the big problem right there :

- you have several people saying “over 90% will buy HoT” while it’s obvious to anyone with a brain that is isn’t so. Compare the numbers that played gw2 1 year ago to those that play it now, it’s far less populated because you have “veterans” waiting for an expansion to play the game again.

-adding an expansion and announcing it without players even knowing what is in it plus the fact they say “it’s smaller but has depth” doesn’t add much to keep veterans in the game and willing to buy HoT.

- when you actually play the game on different hours you can see that it asks you to change maps(several times in a row) because there’s NO population present. It’s only during certain hours and on certain maps that you see people roaming the lands. Otherwise, it’s a complete dead zone. I can run around any random map and only encounter ‘maybe’ 10 players.

Finally, consider this :
New players do get a great deal for the 50$ or whatever they spend on it, and they will venture in the new zones…where NO veteran is waiting for them to explain things or showing them the ropes. Veterans will be more like : “gtfo, do it yourself, why should i care about a newbie” because they will still be P. off and usually NOT be IN the starter maps.

The longer the discussion about the expansion lasts, the less they actually tell people what is in the expansion, the bigger the rift between old and new players will become.
As a new player, i immediately found a guild, got help from everywhere and was genuinely surprised at the amazing community.
Now this crap happens and trust me, like it’s obvious in the forums, it does create a rift.

And then there’s those that already preordered their HoT copy and are exited for it. I’m happy for them, i truly am, but i just hope that it will be worth the wait. Something which i’m still doubtful of.

Also I would like to say this…

“How many new players does anybody believe will be willing to stay once they purchased HoT, after all the NPE grind gates are in place? Most of them will leave just like most new GW2 players currently are leaving. It’s foolish plan to try to milk them in. Learn from the biggest MMO of them all World of Warcraft. When they tried to put all their resources into gaining new players, they lost a load of the vets and went down hill from there (CATACLYSM Xpac). They saw from data just like GW2 developers, that most new players quit the game within the first 20 levels of playing. So they tried to revamp the starter levels to make it more appealing to them while leveling, and boom, the vets left, due to lack of features for endgame people that don’t enjoy leveling. The new players still left. Same will happen here in GW2 due to the grindy gated nature of the NPE.”

Rainbowsand.2438:

I wonder what Arena’s reaction would be? “We know our playerbase for the nice kittens with extra money they are, they will eat up any unfair pricing and ask for more”?

I highly doubt Anet has expected such a reaction from the ‘masses’, and if i were the boss there, i’d slap a few heads together thinking about the possible loss in revenue (the players that decided to leave and the new ones that think ‘maybe i shouldn’t buy a game that has so much controversy and trouble) and mostly , giving Anet a really bad rep. Because players really freaking out about this and seeing it on the websites everywhere, does give a bad aftertaste.

If people say ’don’t buy it, it’s not worth it’, of the 100 possible customers only 3 don’t, that’s a loss of 3% of revenue. Sure, you’ve sold 97%, but if you’d done it the smart way, you would have had it all.
If instead of adding friends to the game you tell em to stay away cause you’re going to leave it, then that too is a loss of possible revenue. Not just the buying price : the cash they spend ingame.

Sthenith.5196:

Rainbowsand.2438:

I wonder what Arena’s reaction would be? “We know our playerbase for the nice kittens with extra money they are, they will eat up any unfair pricing and ask for more”?

I highly doubt Anet has expected such a reaction from the ‘masses’, and if i were the boss there, i’d slap a few heads together thinking about the possible loss in revenue (the players that decided to leave and the new ones that think ‘maybe i shouldn’t buy a game that has so much controversy and trouble) and mostly , giving Anet a really bad rep. Because players really freaking out about this and seeing it on the websites everywhere, does give a bad aftertaste.

If people say ’don’t buy it, it’s not worth it’, of the 100 possible customers only 3 don’t, that’s a loss of 3% of revenue. Sure, you’ve sold 97%, but if you’d done it the smart way, you would have had it all.
If instead of adding friends to the game you tell em to stay away cause you’re going to leave it, then that too is a loss of possible revenue. Not just the buying price : the cash they spend ingame.

NC Soft knows all they have to do is pay off a few journalist to mute the drama and make the consumers look like the victimizer while constantly hyping up the players with new Elite spec info and new legends for Revenant,,, then this forum will forget the drama.

Remember the long Dragon Hunter name drama? That’s completely gone now…..see how that works?

“How many new players does anybody believe will be willing to stay once they purchased HoT, after all the NPE grind gates are in place?

My estimate, and that is purely subjective and based on all the other games(mmo) i’ve played over the last 25 years :

- 50 to 60% of the new players will leave within 3 months.
- about 5 to 10 % of the veterans will leave before the expansion comes out.
- about 20 % (maybe even more) will leave within 3 months after the expansion has been released.

This is based on the time it takes for people to explore and gain max level, the time it takes for them to get bored completely and the discrepancy between old and new players. Slightly taking into account the uproar currently going on. But that doesn’t have a huge impact.

NC Soft knows all they have to do is pay off a few journalist

1. paying off a “journalist” means that person isn’t even considered one.

2. they can only influence “sponsored” websites, not news reporting websites.

3. who the hell would risk exposure like “company x tried to bribe…” " company x has tried to stem the tide by…." , seriously ?

I think you’re overestimating the power or influence of a gaming company.

Remember the long Dragon Hunter name drama?

Not even comparable. Honestly.

Knighthonor.4061:

Sthenith.5196:

Rainbowsand.2438:

I wonder what Arena’s reaction would be? “We know our playerbase for the nice kittens with extra money they are, they will eat up any unfair pricing and ask for more”?

I highly doubt Anet has expected such a reaction from the ‘masses’, and if i were the boss there, i’d slap a few heads together thinking about the possible loss in revenue (the players that decided to leave and the new ones that think ‘maybe i shouldn’t buy a game that has so much controversy and trouble) and mostly , giving Anet a really bad rep. Because players really freaking out about this and seeing it on the websites everywhere, does give a bad aftertaste.

If people say ’don’t buy it, it’s not worth it’, of the 100 possible customers only 3 don’t, that’s a loss of 3% of revenue. Sure, you’ve sold 97%, but if you’d done it the smart way, you would have had it all.
If instead of adding friends to the game you tell em to stay away cause you’re going to leave it, then that too is a loss of possible revenue. Not just the buying price : the cash they spend ingame.

NC Soft knows all they have to do is pay off a few journalist to mute the drama and make the consumers look like the victimizer while constantly hyping up the players with new Elite spec info and new legends for Revenant,,, then this forum will forget the drama.

Remember the long Dragon Hunter name drama? That’s completely gone now…..see how that works?

you have a rather naive perception how PR and media work. I don´t need my corporate communications background to understand this, it is really common sense. You can probably buy one journalist. Maybe, just maybe, even one medium, but chances are, someone over there will spill the beans. The backlash of such an endeavour revealed is massive. Noone in their right mind will try something like this, it is the recipe for a scorched earth scenario.

Algreg.3629:

Knighthonor.4061:

Sthenith.5196:

Rainbowsand.2438:

I wonder what Arena’s reaction would be? “We know our playerbase for the nice kittens with extra money they are, they will eat up any unfair pricing and ask for more”?

I highly doubt Anet has expected such a reaction from the ‘masses’, and if i were the boss there, i’d slap a few heads together thinking about the possible loss in revenue (the players that decided to leave and the new ones that think ‘maybe i shouldn’t buy a game that has so much controversy and trouble) and mostly , giving Anet a really bad rep. Because players really freaking out about this and seeing it on the websites everywhere, does give a bad aftertaste.

If people say ’don’t buy it, it’s not worth it’, of the 100 possible customers only 3 don’t, that’s a loss of 3% of revenue. Sure, you’ve sold 97%, but if you’d done it the smart way, you would have had it all.
If instead of adding friends to the game you tell em to stay away cause you’re going to leave it, then that too is a loss of possible revenue. Not just the buying price : the cash they spend ingame.

NC Soft knows all they have to do is pay off a few journalist to mute the drama and make the consumers look like the victimizer while constantly hyping up the players with new Elite spec info and new legends for Revenant,,, then this forum will forget the drama.

Remember the long Dragon Hunter name drama? That’s completely gone now…..see how that works?

you have a rather naive perception how PR and media work. I don´t need my corporate communications background to understand this, it is really common sense. You can probably buy one journalist. Maybe, just maybe, even one medium, but chances are, someone over there will spill the beans. The backlash of such an endeavour revealed is massive. Noone in their right mind will try something like this, it is the recipe for a scorched earth scenario.

Huh? Is that your defense?

Years ago IGN was busted for this same thing, and they are one of the biggest game sites out there. So please go back and get your degrees, because this is reality. Been a known that they allow shills as well on certain sites. MMORPG.com did just this…

Algreg.3629:

Knighthonor.4061:

Sthenith.5196:

Rainbowsand.2438:

I wonder what Arena’s reaction would be? “We know our playerbase for the nice kittens with extra money they are, they will eat up any unfair pricing and ask for more”?

I highly doubt Anet has expected such a reaction from the ‘masses’, and if i were the boss there, i’d slap a few heads together thinking about the possible loss in revenue (the players that decided to leave and the new ones that think ‘maybe i shouldn’t buy a game that has so much controversy and trouble) and mostly , giving Anet a really bad rep. Because players really freaking out about this and seeing it on the websites everywhere, does give a bad aftertaste.

If people say ’don’t buy it, it’s not worth it’, of the 100 possible customers only 3 don’t, that’s a loss of 3% of revenue. Sure, you’ve sold 97%, but if you’d done it the smart way, you would have had it all.
If instead of adding friends to the game you tell em to stay away cause you’re going to leave it, then that too is a loss of possible revenue. Not just the buying price : the cash they spend ingame.

NC Soft knows all they have to do is pay off a few journalist to mute the drama and make the consumers look like the victimizer while constantly hyping up the players with new Elite spec info and new legends for Revenant,,, then this forum will forget the drama.

Remember the long Dragon Hunter name drama? That’s completely gone now…..see how that works?

you have a rather naive perception how PR and media work. I don´t need my corporate communications background to understand this, it is really common sense. You can probably buy one journalist. Maybe, just maybe, even one medium, but chances are, someone over there will spill the beans. The backlash of such an endeavour revealed is massive. Noone in their right mind will try something like this, it is the recipe for a scorched earth scenario.

You have a degree, yet you know nothing about how the gaming media works. How odd. They are easily bought off by advertising revenue.

Sthenith.5196:

Rainbowsand.2438:

I wonder what Arena’s reaction would be? “We know our playerbase for the nice kittens with extra money they are, they will eat up any unfair pricing and ask for more”?

I highly doubt Anet has expected such a reaction from the ‘masses’, and if i were the boss there, i’d slap a few heads together thinking about the possible loss in revenue (the players that decided to leave and the new ones that think ‘maybe i shouldn’t buy a game that has so much controversy and trouble) and mostly , giving Anet a really bad rep. Because players really freaking out about this and seeing it on the websites everywhere, does give a bad aftertaste.

If people say ’don’t buy it, it’s not worth it’, of the 100 possible customers only 3 don’t, that’s a loss of 3% of revenue. Sure, you’ve sold 97%, but if you’d done it the smart way, you would have had it all.
If instead of adding friends to the game you tell em to stay away cause you’re going to leave it, then that too is a loss of possible revenue. Not just the buying price : the cash they spend ingame.

There’s also all those people who would have bought immediately, but will now wait for a discount. How many of these will drift away from the game and end up not buying at all?

Sthenith.5196:

NC Soft knows all they have to do is pay off a few journalist

1. paying off a “journalist” means that person isn’t even considered one.

2. they can only influence “sponsored” websites, not news reporting websites.

3. who the hell would risk exposure like “company x tried to bribe…” " company x has tried to stem the tide by…." , seriously ?

I think you’re overestimating the power or influence of a gaming company.

Remember the long Dragon Hunter name drama?

Not even comparable. Honestly.

I take it Gamer Gate has somehow passed you by with a discreet WHOOOSH. Or maybe, to make things considerably simpler, it didn’t and instead you white-knighted for your corrupted idols

Knighthonor.4061:

Remember the long Dragon Hunter name drama? That’s completely gone now…..see how that works?

It’s gone because most people don’t care about the name. I recall that thread having a majority of its posts being done by the same 20-25 people with occasional visitors popping in to say their piece but never commenting again. The DH name and the HoT pricing structure are light-years apart from each other in terms of importance and size.

Its good that this issue is getting attention out of the forums. Im all for supporting a dev and their work but don’t come with such marketing tricks cause that’s when the bridges will start burning.

pcgamer blog website =/= actual journalism/news.