Guild Wars 2

Coulter.2315:

My mum used to give my sister and I a small gift on each others’ birthdays when we were young.

The game will be good, try to get past the tiny disappointment that you didn’t get a present. We should be excited as a community this mess is very depressing. Hope you all feel better – just try to keep it in perspective.

That’s not how this works. Acquiring HoT is a financial transaction. I will therefore treat it as one.

Allowing yourself to be ripped off by a company because you like them and they’re not ripping you off ‘too much’ is just being irresponsible with your money, and set a precedent for the future.

Coulter.2315:

Guys this stink you’ve made over essentially nothing (its £5 you’re screaming about and new players getting something free) could really damage the company now… Stop it.

Guild Wars has been an excellent franchise for 10 years, don’t drag it through the mud because you ‘feel’ you’re owed something more (again this something more is TINY). Its not worth the damage.

We don’t need to drag it through the mud. Corporate is doing fine job of it on their own.

Coulter.2315:

My mum used to give my sister and I a small gift on each others’ birthdays when we were young.

The game will be good, try to get past the tiny disappointment that you didn’t get a present. We should be excited as a community this mess is very depressing. Hope you all feel better – just try to keep it in perspective.

here’s the perspective: two different groups of people buy the same product for the same price in the same time period, one group arbitrarily receives a bonus on their purchase; the other does not

we are paying for this, and trying to defend out rights as customers, people should get the same value for their money regardless of their background; it is a question of principle

Coulter.2315:

My mum used to give my sister and I a small gift on each others’ birthdays when we were young.

The game will be good, try to get past the tiny disappointment that you didn’t get a present. We should be excited as a community this mess is very depressing. Hope you all feel better – just try to keep it in perspective.

So if you buy a car and then a year later they sell an upgraded stereo system so you go in to buy it and notice another guy buys the same stereo system and they go “Oh, this stereo system comes with the whole car!” So you’re like “Sweet! an extra car!” But then you get to the guy and hes like “Oh… you already own this car, so you just get the system but have to pay the same as the last guy who got a whole car”. And then you’re just standing there scratching your head.

Coulter.2315:

Pretty Pixie.8603:

Coulter.2315:

Guys this stink you’ve made over essentially nothing (its £5 you’re screaming about and new players getting something free) could really damage the company now… Stop it.

Guild Wars has been an excellent franchise for 10 years, don’t drag it through the mud because you ‘feel’ you’re owed something more (again this something more is TINY). Its not worth the damage.

How about you point your little finger at Anet? They’re the ones not giving existing customers value for money.They had 3 days to adress it, and have remained silent.

This is a situation of their making. Loyalty is earned, not given.

If you could give an example of a Guild Wars product in the last 10 years that hasn’t been worth the box price I’ll stop. Since you won’t be able to THAT earned loyalty – good products consistantly (not some extra fluff for launch).

If you could give me an example of a Guild Wars product that has been worth the box price since NEXON, the makers of Maplestory, became involved in the game (Nov. 2012), then we’ll all stop. Since you won’t be able to, THAT loyalty must be earned all over again. This is not a good start.

Coulter.2315:

People have been swept up in a wave of emotion over very small issues (no extra presents for preordering). It is just a marketting choice (arguably the wrong one) but not worth the bad press for OUR game.

While I do agree that many people are letting their emotions get a bit out of control, I think your point about how small the issues are is actually something that reflects just as poorly on ANet.

ANet could easily have given their existing customers something small (like, oh, I don’t know, a character slot, maybe?) as a gesture of appreciation for their continued patronage over the years, but either the thought never even occurred to them, or they considered it, but decided to prioritize their short-term profit margins instead of customer loyalty (which, in the long run, is usually a bad move).

I actually have no objection to the base game given out as a freebie. That’s cool. I hope the new customers that receive it enjoy the heck out of it. But for pete’s sake, why be so stingy with your established supporters? It just reeks of corporate greed. If they didn’t want the bad press, they should have made different choices.

nah, I highly suspect the game psychologist has his hand in this …. it’s pvp

Let’s flip the script, let’s get everyone to stop talking about it, it only promotes the game more .

At this point, a small gesture to fix it is expected. Make a huge mess, then when you stop making a mess, people say thank you….. to kittens with that…. I don’t want a small gesture …I want an omg Anet really loves us gift.

I want a gift so kitten big, it makes front page news on CNN.

That’s incredibly grimey and unfair to the vets. now im not sure if im gonna buy it or not

KGS.9842:

Coulter.2315:

My mum used to give my sister and I a small gift on each others’ birthdays when we were young.

The game will be good, try to get past the tiny disappointment that you didn’t get a present. We should be excited as a community this mess is very depressing. Hope you all feel better – just try to keep it in perspective.

here’s the perspective: two different groups of people buy the same product for the same price in the same time period, one group arbitrarily receives a bonus on their purchase; the other does not

we are paying for this, and trying to defend out rights as customers, people should get the same value for their money regardless of their background; it is a question of principle

Business services do it all the time. I got my gym membership for $0 and pay $20 every month for a year a few years back but eventually discontinued service as my job took me away from such a routine for extended periods of time. I come back, it cost $25 to get a membership and $25 a month with a 9 month contract. A few weeks ago, they offered promotional memberships with no membership fee and a $25 per month fee with no contract.

The thing about being a consumer is, you have the power to not pay something you don’t find fair but it’s also the producers’ right to charge what they feel the product is worth. Don’t pretend you’re standing up for consumer rights because the deal being offered isn’t unfair. And remember, there is a difference between being unfair and being too much.

Coulter.2315:

Guys this stink you’ve made over essentially nothing (its £5 you’re screaming about and new players getting something free) could really damage the company now… Stop it.

Guild Wars has been an excellent franchise for 10 years, don’t drag it through the mud because you ‘feel’ you’re owed something more (again this something more is TINY). Its not worth the damage.

Coulter.2315:

You have played the game for up to 3 years, LS1 (new people cannot play), LS2 (new people must pay), got a level 80 ready to jump into the new content, have in game financial headstart on the new people. Old players are not subsidising new ones – new ones are just not being asked to pay for the core game (which they are getting 3yrs late).

They haven’t announced enough to get you to preorder – thats entirely logical and fine – you don’t then cause such an outcry that its being covered by the media (its the outcry they are covering not the preorder).

Again the extra char slot is £5 is it worth the damage of the Guild Wars name? When people google “GW2” you know what they’ll see? Lots of screaming from people and they’ll be put off… This is bad for the game.

Think more long term than £5, the shock and damage to the Guild Wars reputation as a good game – and it is, look how many people are posting so passionately – will really hurt its future. I hope no one here would want that.

I want to repeat to you something I’ve said in another thread. ANet has no moral duty to us, and their past actions have proven that they feel no need to act as if they do. We, likewise, have no moral duty to them.

If a company messes up enough to kitten off customers and lose business due to the bad press, then that’s what they’ve earned. It is the business’s job to keep itself afloat, not the customers’. If they sink, they sink. It’s not like they’ll be the first game devs ever to find themselves unemployed.

Please note that I say this as someone that will most likely buy the expansion fairly soon. I have character slots set aside for the new class as well, as I didn’t want to rely on getting a free one. The price is at the upper end of what I consider acceptable, though I did expect them to do a better job of defending the price if it was that high.

Palador.2170:

Coulter.2315:

Guys this stink you’ve made over essentially nothing (its £5 you’re screaming about and new players getting something free) could really damage the company now… Stop it.

Guild Wars has been an excellent franchise for 10 years, don’t drag it through the mud because you ‘feel’ you’re owed something more (again this something more is TINY). Its not worth the damage.

Coulter.2315:

You have played the game for up to 3 years, LS1 (new people cannot play), LS2 (new people must pay), got a level 80 ready to jump into the new content, have in game financial headstart on the new people. Old players are not subsidising new ones – new ones are just not being asked to pay for the core game (which they are getting 3yrs late).

They haven’t announced enough to get you to preorder – thats entirely logical and fine – you don’t then cause such an outcry that its being covered by the media (its the outcry they are covering not the preorder).

Again the extra char slot is £5 is it worth the damage of the Guild Wars name? When people google “GW2” you know what they’ll see? Lots of screaming from people and they’ll be put off… This is bad for the game.

Think more long term than £5, the shock and damage to the Guild Wars reputation as a good game – and it is, look how many people are posting so passionately – will really hurt its future. I hope no one here would want that.

I want to repeat to you something I’ve said in another thread. ANet has no moral duty to us, and their past actions have proven that they feel no need to act as if they do. We, likewise, have no moral duty to them.

If a company messes up enough to kitten off customers and lose business due to the bad press, then that’s what they’ve earned. It is the business’s job to keep itself afloat, not the customers’. If they sink, they sink. It’s not like they’ll be the first game devs ever to find themselves unemployed.

Please note that I say this as someone that will most likely buy the expansion fairly soon. I have character slots set aside for the new class as well, as I didn’t want to rely on getting a free one. The price is at the upper end of what I consider acceptable, though I did expect them to do a better job of defending the price if it was that high.

I would be upset, as would everyone who has posted on these forums making any argument, if Guild Wars suffered because of something so small. Moral duty doesn’t need to feature, just desire to keep something important to us in a good position.

Coulter.2315:

I would be upset, as would everyone who has posted on these forums making any argument, if Guild Wars suffered because of something so small. Moral duty doesn’t need to feature, just desire to keep something important to us in a good position.

That’s just it though. Some of the people making noise feel that the game is going the wrong way right now, and won’t stay in a good position if it continues.

Honestly, I think this isn’t really just about HoT. It’s about the sale on town clothes shortly before the Wardrobe system was announced. It’s about the changes to the gems/gold transfer, which they were never fully candid about, and never fully reverted. It’s about selling RNG in the gemstore, and a dozen other little things that have worn on people. There is a growing feeling that ANet is simply dishonest with the players. Now people feel like they’re being dishonest again, and they don’t want to let it slide.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe that’s not what’s happening. But if it is, then GW2 really isn’t in a good place, and staying quiet won’t fix it.

Gray.9041:

I ran the numbers a while back, and I think between the tax differences and the currency conversion, it works out about the same.

For the standard edition, the price in euro is a direct conversion. It doesn’t add up.

Aria.5940:

I’m starting to actually see a point why they are not addressing the issue yet. As much as I hate to say it, every article about this mentions how great value it is to new players. So I guess it’s possible anet want as many potential players to hear about this and so caused the uproar deliberately.
I really do hope that’s not the case, as that would be reason enough to walk and not look back and might also leave potential new players wondering if they can trust anet.

Honestly though, if you were a new player, would you join a 3 year old MMO in the middle of a kittenstorm?

Explodie.9428:

Okay after reading this i found out we in europe have to pay more then americans do?

Normal pack costs $50 wich is € 44.07 and we have to pay € 44.99 wich is $ 51.08 ( $1.08 more Its nothing to say about that is normal)
The deluxe version costs $75 wich is € 66.06 we have to pay € 74.99 wich is $ 85.14 ( $ 10.14 more its huge!!)
The ultimate version costs $100 wich is € 88.08 we have to pay € 99.99 wich is $ 113.53 ( $ 13.53 more, its huge)

(I’ve converted this with the status for 20-6-2015 at 00.22 GMT+01)

The most common reason for that is because people in Europe forget about VAT. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value-added_tax So you guys essentially have to pay an extra tax for stuff.

kittenstorm ? that position doesn’t fly for me, it would excite anyone to see an active community trying to make things better for everyone.

We go in game, and start killing things the second we land.

We are Klingons, We are born for kittenstorms!

so , no…just no.

Bad pr, is a quiet forum. I’ve seen many of those that I didn’t care to play.

Leo G.4501:

Business services do it all the time. I got my gym membership for $0 and pay $20 every month for a year a few years back but eventually discontinued service as my job took me away from such a routine for extended periods of time. I come back, it cost $25 to get a membership and $25 a month with a 9 month contract. A few weeks ago, they offered promotional memberships with no membership fee and a $25 per month fee with no contract.

The thing about being a consumer is, you have the power to not pay something you don’t find fair but it’s also the producers’ right to charge what they feel the product is worth. Don’t pretend you’re standing up for consumer rights because the deal being offered isn’t unfair. And remember, there is a difference between being unfair and being too much.

You are comparing apples to socks.

There is no time difference. Neither the vets nor the newcomers own the product yet, they are only potential buyers, and while they pay the same price, the vets get less.

So, you go to the gym to renew your membership, and you take your friend with you, who hasn’t been there before. They ask the same price from both of you, but since your friend is new, they throw some “free” shoes and a towel in to sweeten the deal. And then they tell you you won’t be needing these, since you already got them when you first signed up a few year back.

Charrbeque.8729:

The most common reason for that is because people in Europe forget about VAT. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value-added_tax So you guys essentially have to pay an extra tax for stuff.

That doesn’t explain the standard edition.

RabbitUp.8294:

Gray.9041:

I ran the numbers a while back, and I think between the tax differences and the currency conversion, it works out about the same.

For the standard edition, the price in euro is a direct conversion. It doesn’t add up.

Aria.5940:

I’m starting to actually see a point why they are not addressing the issue yet. As much as I hate to say it, every article about this mentions how great value it is to new players. So I guess it’s possible anet want as many potential players to hear about this and so caused the uproar deliberately.
I really do hope that’s not the case, as that would be reason enough to walk and not look back and might also leave potential new players wondering if they can trust anet.

Honestly though, if you were a new player, would you join a 3 year old MMO in the middle of a kittenstorm?

that’s true. Most ppl probably would hesitate at that. That said, at least it proves that the community does care about the game’s direction. I find silent forums worse because that’s usually when the community just doesn’t care anymore

A company goes to e3 to generate buzz. This is certainly not the buzz they were hoping for.

Palador.2170:

Coulter.2315:

I would be upset, as would everyone who has posted on these forums making any argument, if Guild Wars suffered because of something so small. Moral duty doesn’t need to feature, just desire to keep something important to us in a good position.

That’s just it though. Some of the people making noise feel that the game is going the wrong way right now, and won’t stay in a good position if it continues.

Honestly, I think this isn’t really just about HoT. It’s about the sale on town clothes shortly before the Wardrobe system was announced. It’s about the changes to the gems/gold transfer, which they were never fully candid about, and never fully reverted. It’s about selling RNG in the gemstore, and a dozen other little things that have worn on people. There is a growing feeling that ANet is simply dishonest with the players. Now people feel like they’re being dishonest again, and they don’t want to let it slide.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe that’s not what’s happening. But if it is, then GW2 really isn’t in a good place, and staying quiet won’t fix it.

Oh my GOSH. This. This answer is a thing of beauty. It is rational, and well-stated and so completely true.

Last year undermined so much of my good will. Balance changes and the trait fixes that are incoming have repaired some of that, but certainly not the vast majority.

This is not just about the lack of a character slot, it’s about how ANET has handled themselves in the recent past.

RabbitUp.8294:

Leo G.4501:

Business services do it all the time. I got my gym membership for $0 and pay $20 every month for a year a few years back but eventually discontinued service as my job took me away from such a routine for extended periods of time. I come back, it cost $25 to get a membership and $25 a month with a 9 month contract. A few weeks ago, they offered promotional memberships with no membership fee and a $25 per month fee with no contract.

The thing about being a consumer is, you have the power to not pay something you don’t find fair but it’s also the producers’ right to charge what they feel the product is worth. Don’t pretend you’re standing up for consumer rights because the deal being offered isn’t unfair. And remember, there is a difference between being unfair and being too much.

You are comparing apples to socks.

There is no time difference. Neither the vets nor the newcomers own the product yet, they are only potential buyers, and while they pay the same price, the vets get less.

So, you go to the gym to renew your membership, and you take your friend with you, who hasn’t been there before. They ask the same price from both of you, but since your friend is new, they throw some “free” shoes and a towel in to sweeten the deal. And then they tell you you won’t be needing these, since you already got them when you first signed up a few year back.

That happens too. Consider the promotional offer with 0 membership fee + no contract also comes with a discount on your first set of personal trainer fees. Technically, the offer still applies to me since I don’t use a personal trainer but had I used any such services before, I couldn’t apply for the same discount.

Again, this practice isn’t illegal nor is it really mean-spirited. It happens and is usually a tactic to get more people to use the service. You aren’t missing out on anything. As to the players who recently purchased an account, just remember the expansion hasn’t been released yet. You don’t have to purchase it to play GW2. And if the expansion is so small (as people keep reiterating) then it must not be a huge deal to focus on the standard GW2 and move onto HoT at a much later date (when the price likely will go down).

Palador.2170:

It’s about the sale on town clothes shortly before the Wardrobe system was announced. It’s about the changes to the gems/gold transfer, which they were never fully candid about, and never fully reverted. It’s about selling RNG in the gemstore, and a dozen other little things that have worn on people. There is a growing feeling that ANet is simply dishonest with the players. Now people feel like they’re being dishonest again, and they don’t want to let it slide.

Actually, this stuff shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone who has followed the involvement of Nexon in GW2. For instance, the person who is largely seen as responsible for most of your complaints is a former Maplestory Dev who was installed as GW2’s “monetization manager” when Nexon became involved: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/hidden-arcana-developer-spotlight-on-crystin-cox/

“Monetization manager” is the person who runs the Gem Store, basically, and decides on things like “Put all the outfits on sale quick, before we announce that wardrobes will be account bound!”

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

Leo G.4501:

Again, this practice isn’t illegal nor is it really mean-spirited. It happens and is usually a tactic to get more people to use the service.

It also isn’t illegal or mean-spirited to ask for a better value (I know you didn’t say that it was, but hear me out for a sec, lol).

A few years back I realized that I wasn’t really comfortable with what I was paying my cellphone carrier, so I found a better deal elsewhere. When I called the company to cancel my cellphone service, they were suddenly very interested in saving me money to keep me as a customer. Miraculously, they were able to switch me to a “loyal customer” plan that was not only cheaper, but gave me more minutes.

Obviously, they would not have lifted a finger to give me a better value had I not contacted them.

Another example. My mother called her cable television company to express how unhappy she was with her rates going up. To persuade her to remain a customer, they lowered her monthly bill for a period of 6 months. Again, this only happened because she took it upon herself to ask for a renegotiated rate.

Yes, there are lots of companies (like your gym) that have various promotions that award certain advantages to one group or another at various times. But many of these companies (the smart ones, at least) also understand the need to be flexible and responsive to what their customers are willing to pay for their service.

ANet, as a company, can also choose to be responsive to customer concerns regarding the value of the service they are selling. But they aren’t going to do this out of the goodness of their hearts. We have to let them know how we feel.

And that’s what the community is doing, all over the internet.

Edit to add:

Ricky.4706:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

I’ve heard this quote before, and it is so, so true. ANet should engrave this on a plaque and hang it on their office wall.

all while testing the limits lol frog in hot water test for the win!

“oh no, they aren’t frogs, they are gremlins! quick, dump the hot water!!”

Otokomae.9356:

Actually, this stuff shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone who has followed the involvement of Nexon in GW2. For instance, the person who is largely seen as responsible for most of your complaints is a former Maplestory Dev who was installed as GW2’s “monetization manager” when Nexon became involved: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/hidden-arcana-developer-spotlight-on-crystin-cox/

“Monetization manager” is the person who runs the Gem Store, basically, and decides on things like “Put all the outfits on sale quick, before we announce that wardrobes will be account bound!”

While it’s tempting to point at a specific person and say that’s where the blame lies, we can’t really do that. It’s not as if she was given total authority over the game, after all. Nothing was done without the approval of others within ANet. There may be a few decision makers more responsible for problems than most of the employees, but no one person can take all the blame.

It’s better to address the company as a whole than to try to single anybody out. I’m sure the devs at ANet are very skilled, we’ve all seen that. And when the company’s moving in the right direction, they’ve shown that they can produce some pure gold, including the people in charge of the gem store. We just need them moving in that direction again.

no blame needed. This is a wonderful opportunity to create understandings and draw lines. Yay!

this is how healthy relationships flourish! <3

we the people……

Leo G.4501:

That happens too. Consider the promotional offer with 0 membership fee + no contract also comes with a discount on your first set of personal trainer fees. Technically, the offer still applies to me since I don’t use a personal trainer but had I used any such services before, I couldn’t apply for the same discount.

Again, different. You were fully aware that the discount is a one-time-only deal when you first signed up and accepted it, so you are not entitled to it any more each time you renew your membership.

Nobody told us we were going to pay for the game again for each expansion, but not only receive it once.

RabbitUp.8294:

So, you go to the gym to renew your membership, and you take your friend with you, who hasn’t been there before. They ask the same price from both of you, but since your friend is new, they throw some “free” shoes and a towel in to sweeten the deal. And then they tell you you won’t be needing these, since you already got them when you first signed up a few year back.

Actually, this is not the same situation. You bring your friend, he pays the same price as you, but he can make use of that shiny new device, while you have to pay an extra $10 for it.

minbariguy.7504:

It also isn’t illegal or mean-spirited to ask for a better value (I know you didn’t say that it was, but hear me out for a sec, lol).

I hear ya, and agree. The only thing I argue against is when you’ve got people in droves accusing Anet of malpractice, giving them a raw deal and somehow cheating people as if they are literally steal money out of our pockets. I think, as the situation is brought more to the forefront by more people, that less rational argument is pushed back by more civil reason and discussion on the subject. You’ll hear less about people shouting how loyal they are and how they deserve something or how this or that is unfair and you’ll hear more people looking at the expansion pack with an objective (or at least moreso) viewpoint, asking is all this and that actually worth such and such amount of money.

I think some people will find it’s still within a reasonable price range and just bite the bullet while people (like me) will just wait until the full picture is shown then judge with our wallet.

minbariguy.7504:

ANet, as a company, can also choose to be responsive to customer concerns regarding the value of the service they are selling. But they aren’t going to do this out of the goodness of their hearts. We have to let them know how we feel.

And that’s what the community is doing, all over the internet.

And I guess that community needs people like me to reign in their torches and pitchforks so they sound less like an unruly mob and more like a logic-driven unsatisfied customer.

RabbitUp.8294:

Leo G.4501:

That happens too. Consider the promotional offer with 0 membership fee + no contract also comes with a discount on your first set of personal trainer fees. Technically, the offer still applies to me since I don’t use a personal trainer but had I used any such services before, I couldn’t apply for the same discount.

Again, different. You were fully aware that the discount is a one-time-only deal when you first signed up and accepted it, so you are not entitled to it any more each time you renew your membership.

Nobody told us we were going to pay for the game again for each expansion, but not only receive it once.

You aren’t paying for the game again…

LadyRhonwyn.2501:

RabbitUp.8294:

So, you go to the gym to renew your membership, and you take your friend with you, who hasn’t been there before. They ask the same price from both of you, but since your friend is new, they throw some “free” shoes and a towel in to sweeten the deal. And then they tell you you won’t be needing these, since you already got them when you first signed up a few year back.

Actually, this is not the same situation. You bring your friend, he pays the same price as you, but he can make use of that shiny new device, while you have to pay an extra $10 for it.

This would only work as a theoretical analogy if we’re talking about a new player who buys the pre-purchase now vs someone who purchased the game at some point post release and DOESN’T buy HoT. Technially, you both spent money for a box but the new player gets all the new areas and features while the vet player still gets just the base game…along with whatever fun they had playing the game for however long they owned it. It sucks, sort of, but a cut off date has to exist somewhere. I’d imagine there’s a 15ish or more day policy where if you bought the game that recently, you can just get refunded and flip it to help pay for HoT pre-purchase. But again, there has to be a cut off date somewhere and those few that fall just beyond it will feel it worse, but it happens.

It’s then in Anet’s hand how those cases are handled, not the moralness(less) of the customer.

Leo G.4501:

RabbitUp.8294:

Leo G.4501:

That happens too. Consider the promotional offer with 0 membership fee + no contract also comes with a discount on your first set of personal trainer fees. Technically, the offer still applies to me since I don’t use a personal trainer but had I used any such services before, I couldn’t apply for the same discount.

Again, different. You were fully aware that the discount is a one-time-only deal when you first signed up and accepted it, so you are not entitled to it any more each time you renew your membership.

Nobody told us we were going to pay for the game again for each expansion, but not only receive it once.

You aren’t paying for the game again…

So they say and obviously they would say that. We are either paying for it again when we don’t need to thus being overcharges or the expac really is $50 on it’s own and in that case we are also being overcharged so…. pick your poison.

this would have played out different if it were 2 products, because then the vets would have had the option to start a new un-upgraded vanilla account or gift the extra version and encourage the new user to purchase the expansion, and each new expansion purchased would have created a new giftable account. That would have been a perpetual fan marketing move.

heck, i could have used that free account to hold a twitter or youtube contest or something.

Zalavaaris.5329:

Leo G.4501:

RabbitUp.8294:

Leo G.4501:

That happens too. Consider the promotional offer with 0 membership fee + no contract also comes with a discount on your first set of personal trainer fees. Technically, the offer still applies to me since I don’t use a personal trainer but had I used any such services before, I couldn’t apply for the same discount.

Again, different. You were fully aware that the discount is a one-time-only deal when you first signed up and accepted it, so you are not entitled to it any more each time you renew your membership.

Nobody told us we were going to pay for the game again for each expansion, but not only receive it once.

You aren’t paying for the game again…

So they say and obviously they would say that. We are either paying for it again when we don’t need to thus being overcharges or the expac really is $50 on it’s own and in that case we are also being overcharged so…. pick your poison.

I already have (as I stated multiple times over), I feel the expansion costs too much.

But I’m still willing to pay that much if the devs prove (moreso) that what is in it will be worth that price.

Coulter.2315:

If you could give an example of a Guild Wars product in the last 10 years that hasn’t been worth the box price I’ll stop. Since you won’t be able to THAT earned loyalty – good products consistantly (not some extra fluff for launch).

I have mixed feelings about whether GW2 was worth the $60 purchase price… the only part of the game I really liked was WVW, the PVE and LS is/was pretty disappointing and sPVP was a huge letdown (and still is).

The lack of attention to balancing unused and buggy skills & traits has also comfortably been the worst of any game i’ve played. Living Story updates, which weren’t very good anyway, basically sucked up all the resources and left WVW/PVP to rot.

Coulter.2315:

Again the extra char slot is £5 is it worth the damage of the Guild Wars name?

TBQFH, it’s Anet’s greed and casual dismissal of its existing playerbase that’s caused this PR disaster, not the players.

charging $50 for what appears to be a really thin expac doesn’t help either.

warbignime.4610:

You know what’s funny? most people in comment section are defending Anet. Goes to show how mad GW2 community became. Sad to see but the problem is on community not Anet.

Can you show me that “most” ppl? I’v seen some defending comments yes, but the majority of the comments are rather negativ about how ANets acting with HoT.

50.00 for a B2P expansion is really reasonable, they are asking you for 50.00 to play what content they have created for the expac + LWS3 + LWS4 + any feature packs that come out after HoT.

the problem is value for money where the existing player base is getting shafted.

The only one not talking about this is ANET, lol

Jordo.5913:

50.00 for a B2P expansion is really reasonable, they are asking you for 50.00 to play what content they have created for the expac + LWS3 + LWS4 + any feature packs that come out after HoT.

the problem is value for money where the existing player base is getting shafted.

it’s reasonable if they’re making content that you want to play… but LS content does nothing for me, i don’t want to play it nor pay for it…. all i want is timely WVW and balance updates and we sure as kitten have NOT been getting those (key word there being “timely”).

not to mention they can’t really exclude people who don’t buy the expac from future content either, unless they want to sacrifice players.

Thank yo pc Gamer mag!

Palador.2170:

That’s just it though. Some of the people making noise feel that the game is going the wrong way right now, and won’t stay in a good position if it continues.

Honestly, I think this isn’t really just about HoT. It’s about the sale on town clothes shortly before the Wardrobe system was announced. It’s about the changes to the gems/gold transfer, which they were never fully candid about, and never fully reverted. It’s about selling RNG in the gemstore, and a dozen other little things that have worn on people. There is a growing feeling that ANet is simply dishonest with the players. Now people feel like they’re being dishonest again, and they don’t want to let it slide.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe that’s not what’s happening. But if it is, then GW2 really isn’t in a good place, and staying quiet won’t fix it.

Don’t forget the Infinite Continue Coin. That gem store item they took real world money for which has been useless for more than a year and a half.

Ricky.4706:

I’m starting to wonder if they did this on purpose for free press lol

You mean, there’s no such thing as bad publicity? lol

This is all just a PR mistake. If Anet would have said the expansion is $50 but if you don’t already own the base game they’ll give it to you for free then none of this would have ever happened.

Good article. I admired the way he made his case. There’s no doubt Anet could have made better decisions regarding the purchase bundles and been more forthcoming ahead of time.

Explodie.9428:

Okay after reading this i found out we in europe have to pay more then americans do?

Normal pack costs $50 wich is € 44.07 and we have to pay € 44.99 wich is $ 51.08 ( $1.08 more Its nothing to say about that is normal)
The deluxe version costs $75 wich is € 66.06 we have to pay € 74.99 wich is $ 85.14 ( $ 10.14 more its huge!!)
The ultimate version costs $100 wich is € 88.08 we have to pay € 99.99 wich is $ 113.53 ( $ 13.53 more, its huge)

(I’ve converted this with the status for 20-6-2015 at 00.22 GMT+01)

You cannot take converted money into account you have to take in things like how much does the average consumer make. If you make on average 8 pounds an hour and the average north American make 7 dollars an hour, we are in fact paying more. Which for most products is usually the case.

Figuring for exchange would only factor if you had to import the product which you don’t a dollar is a dollar here and a pound is a pound there.

Giland.4507:

Explodie.9428:

Okay after reading this i found out we in europe have to pay more then americans do?

Normal pack costs $50 wich is € 44.07 and we have to pay € 44.99 wich is $ 51.08 ( $1.08 more Its nothing to say about that is normal)
The deluxe version costs $75 wich is € 66.06 we have to pay € 74.99 wich is $ 85.14 ( $ 10.14 more its huge!!)
The ultimate version costs $100 wich is € 88.08 we have to pay € 99.99 wich is $ 113.53 ( $ 13.53 more, its huge)

(I’ve converted this with the status for 20-6-2015 at 00.22 GMT+01)

You cannot take converted money into account you have to take in things like how much does the average consumer make. If you make on average 8 pounds an hour and the average north American make 7 dollars an hour, we are in fact paying more. Which for most products is usually the case.

Figuring for exchange would only factor if you had to import the product which you don’t a dollar is a dollar here and a pound is a pound there.

Just for your information, he is comparing dollars to euros. Not pounds. That’s the UK only.

€ = Euro
£ = Pound

Just so you know

We had the forum explode, Face book soon followed. Twitter was ablaze, and Reddit was on fire! PCGamer weighs in:
http://www.pcgamer.com/guild-wars-2-players-rightly-upset-by-heart-of-thorns-pre-purchase-scheme/

“Guild Wars 2 players rightly upset…”

“People who don’t yet own Guild Wars 2 are getting an amazing deal. People who do—who have potentially supported the game for three years—are not.”

PC Gamer gets it. Why doesn’t Anet?

Gehenna.3625:

Giland.4507:

Explodie.9428:

Okay after reading this i found out we in europe have to pay more then americans do?

Normal pack costs $50 wich is € 44.07 and we have to pay € 44.99 wich is $ 51.08 ( $1.08 more Its nothing to say about that is normal)
The deluxe version costs $75 wich is € 66.06 we have to pay € 74.99 wich is $ 85.14 ( $ 10.14 more its huge!!)
The ultimate version costs $100 wich is € 88.08 we have to pay € 99.99 wich is $ 113.53 ( $ 13.53 more, its huge)

(I’ve converted this with the status for 20-6-2015 at 00.22 GMT+01)

You cannot take converted money into account you have to take in things like how much does the average consumer make. If you make on average 8 pounds an hour and the average north American make 7 dollars an hour, we are in fact paying more. Which for most products is usually the case.

Figuring for exchange would only factor if you had to import the product which you don’t a dollar is a dollar here and a pound is a pound there.

Just for your information, he is comparing dollars to euros. Not pounds. That’s the UK only.

€ = Euro
£ = Pound

Just so you know

I’d say the point still stands regardless. Not to mention people truly like to ignore the difference between VAT and US taxes. VAT is from my understanding already included in the marketed price. US taxes vary by state/city/etc so that is impossible so our marketed cost is pre-tax.

I still disagree with you. I believe $50 to be a fair price, and with all the threads out there you really didn’t need to make another one.

because they have recieves 3 years of endless rewards for $60 already ohsnapwhydoievenbothernevermind