Is A.net Becoming a Sell Out?

The relationship between Arenanet and its consumers is representative of any consumer relationship that exists nowadays. Many before me have claimed that Arenanet's only goal is to make profit, but how exactly do they intend to do that? Obviously, by churning out a product which its consumers find superior, more convenient, and more desirable. Supply/demand relationships do not have to be entirely parasitic in nature; not one side has to lose while the other side gains. The OP seems to believe he has been a victim of this relationship, that Arenanet has been abusing its role as a company, that they've been neglecting their role as the supplier. Please list how/when Arenanet has made this catastrophic shift from consumer-wary company to capitalistic gaming mogul, because I'm frankly not seeing your point. The goal of any company is mutualism, where both sides are pleased with their profits/product. If any of you don't feel like Guild Wars is the best game for your personal tastes/wallet at the moment, by all means, make the switch to another game. As a consumer, you have every right to do so.

I would say that Anet is not a sellout. In fact they listen to the customers too much, the crackpot ideas and obsessive whining of some of the community gets much more consideration than it deserves. Give some people an inch and they take a mile. Many good ideas and brilliant suggestions come from the community, but some of garbage that people talk about and the mean-spiritness in which they do so , is characteristic of inmaturity, childishness, and self-delussion,yet Anet handles the stupidity in a respectful manner with grace and style. They have proven that beyond a doubt they respect their customers even when the customers don't respect themselves. A true class act imho.

Personally, I wouldn't say ANet is selling out. They are a business after all, whose top priority is not your enjoyment, but to make money. I do not believe ANet is privately owned, and its parent company NCSoft is most likely a public company. If ANet were privately owned, then it may have more leeway in terms of maximizing profits; however, as a publically traded company, ANet/NCSoft must also answer to their stockholders, which inevitably means maximizing revenue and profits. So no, I don't think ANet is selling out. ANet may have changed its direction in terms of how it chooses to conduct business, but they're well within their rights to do so.

That being said, whether this is a sound business decision remains to be seen. ANet does not want to alienate its players and customer base. Whether deviating from their original claim will or will not hurt ANet in the long run still remains to be seen.

QFT

and to the OP, I hate to tell you this, I really do, but your bubble needs bursting.

In the real world of adults and big money, these things called companies are set up, their aim is to simply amass as much money as possible for its bosses, its staff and its share holders. Companes choose different ways of doing this, but they still do it.

Anet cant sell out when they have always been about making money for themselves. Now im not saying they are greedy, and maybe they are gamers at heart wanting to offer us a great experience, but it comes down to this.

A better customer experience means more good press, means more possible audience, means more sales, means more money for Anet

Thats why they sometimes give us what we ask for, or throw random events into the game, not (atleast not totally) because they are ncie people, but because they see it as a money making oppertunity.

I'm sick of the naivety that some people show around these parts when it comes to businesses and what not.

Anet is not a charity, so dont expect anything for free, and when you do get something for free, be thankful that someone decided free things for current players would mean more new players paying for the game.

all you need to know is that when the massive amount of idiots who couldnt get items for themselves and were convinced that they "need" gold items in order to operate bitched and moaned to anet, anet made it happen. first they complained and got their greens, but that wasnt good enough, and anet made ch2 items drop so much that by ch3 you'll probably be seeing 2 golds for 1 ecto sales. yes, anet is in it to make profit, which si why they cater to the needs of idiots, but at the same time they are driving away the "core" players of a game, ones who love to pvp, collect items, etc...because they are making everything easy so that anyone who is looking to buy GW will think "man, i can be uber inside of 3 days!" and 12 year olds like that. mature people who like to actually have to work towards a benifit, do not. is anet catering to its profits first and the games true fans seccond? yes. is this expected of a corporation? yes. does it mean we shouldnt complain about it? hell no.
need i say more?

I didn't like Factions and what came from it. I'm not sure I will buy Nightfall as soon as it comes out.
I have a ton of rants about Anet.
But....
Just compare with other MMORPG. A-net has mixed their profit with their (and our) passion.
I completely disagree with those saying "A company=money, it's normal". No. A company is based on an idea, great or not, a will to add something to the world. It needs money because it costs money. If it succeeds, cool. Benefits can be re-invested to increase the quality of the product. Most bosses don't create companies "to make money", but because they want to create something that is primary theirs. Money comes after.
So, is A-net is thinking about making profits instead of improving the quality of GW? Maybe. But in this case, it will be suicidal, as customers will choose a new game. But until now, A-net is the only MMORPG company that succeeded to meet so well the players' need.
If you stop to like what is done with GW, simply don't buy it. If you like it, continue to play and buy their extensions. Their success comes from their understanding of the player base needs. Should they fail in this, and they will disappear.

But ActionJack. you have to remember the point that company is trying to make here. That is to make profits. Look from this point of view, A-Net is charging nothing for us to play Guild Wars online. They could have charge us from the beginning but their goal (from what i think) were to provide a MMORPG that is fun to play and don't cost monthly fee. Here the number game, each copy cost at least $54 dollars (plus tax). This ensure you to be able to play online for as long as you wanted. Lets look at the character slots.... There is certainly a demand for it since peoples are running out of room to make different characters. So they put up the $10 dollar slots into Guild Wars Store. You can say that this is to make profit but that is the exact point. They're meeting the demand by giving peoples the opinion to buy extra slots.

What about the in-game drops. i have to disagree that it is a plot to get people to buy more characters slots. For one reason, i think all these special event are to attract more players into Cantha. Not neccessary to waste your storage space. Not to be rude but.. these extra items can be sold to other players in game meaning you get golds in return. You don't have to keep them with you forever? I think we're loosing sense of what Guild Wars is about. It a free online RPG where players can enjoy the fun of playing with others online without paying monthly fee. I think A-Net has the right to charge us for anything as long as players has demands for it.

Anet, NCSoft and GuildWars are not 'OSS' free software efforts. They're certainly within their rights to charge for things they feel they can get paid for. Character slots were a requested item - why buy an entire game to merge in a couple more slots? Buy two for $20 instead if you really need 'em.

I'm sure they're keenly aware of what they feel they can charge for, and what might alienate their customers. Right now, you can buy the games and character slots. I don't smell 'selling out' in that alone.

They have asked us, the community, what we'd like to see in the store. Good move, IMHO. They are constantly updating the game, and streaming us the next chapter so we can effortlessly unlock it and play without an install when each chapter is released. We requested, as a group, more events, which they provided. We wanted some help with storage, we get material storage for up to 250 of each material item. They added new facility to the guild halls. They got rid of the hideous 'refund points', which we all hated.

Sounds like a customer-focused company to me. Now, let's see what they can do with Nightfall and the Dervish, with us getting stuck in guild halls, and the ever-increasing Err 7 problem. I'll be there on opening night...

Auto Assault is doomed, however City of Heroes/Villains is said to make a comeback sometime next year with a new expansion. But its not in danger of being canned "yet".

Tabula Rasa is probably doomed before it hits the gate but people are drooling over Aion because of the Crytec engine being used. So it will be strong out of the gate.

Guild Wars is set to be Am Doom3d too if they don't make some overhauls within the next two expansions/chapters. Graphics engine is still safe but effects and a huge number of internal things need to be done.

The best developers are, as a rule, gamers at heart. Yes, money is always going to be an issue, and I wouldn't go so far as to say the money is ever simply a side-effect, but I think there can be a fuzzy line for every business between when providing a good service to your customers is the primary objective and making money is the secondary objective, and vice versa. It is worth noting, however, that success in the first does require a certain minimum level of success in the second - a company that goes bust can't provide any level of service to the customer at all. (This is what makes it a hard line to draw - at what point is that new fee being levied to provide some benefit that may not be obviously connected to the original fee, as opposed to that revenue going straight to the shareholders?)

Seconded. Besides, extra character slots ARE more storage. At present, I generally have all but one or two characters (out of 6 - I haven't arranged to acquire extra slots yet) completely loaded at any given time. More storage is always welcome, but remember that every additional piece of information they have to store in their servers costs them a little bit more. The recent crafting materials update looked to me like a very effective way to achieve maximum results for minimum disk space, and certainly eased a lot of the storage pressure I was feeling. (There was a point when I could barely scrounge a row of empty slots, and now, between making an additional character and the storage upgrade, I can generally get the backpack empty and, if I could be bothered doing the storage juggling required, all but a single bag as well.)

On an auction house: Clearly some people feel differently, but I put it in the 'nice, but not necassary' category. I've survived, and built up an adequate platinum reserve and suitable equipment for my characters, without any trading so far - generally, good equipment I don't need myself gets donated to a guildie. However, I'm not going to experience a primary Ritualist or Assassin in PvE until I finally get around to getting those slots.

To the OP, I would say that A-Net is definitely not selling out. They have employees to pay and development to fund, and despite all the changes, they are keeping the game very well balanced. We have A-Net people who read the forums and pass on suggestions, they sponsor that shindig for the PvP players, they have a website that is almost always up and up to date, etc. I won't even go into the little things like keeping the requirements to run the game low... but there's that too All in all, A-Net has struck me as a company that goes above and beyond when it comes to keeping their customers appeased.

As for the definition of 'selling out', I'd liken that to what Microsoft has done with the Mechwarrior brand. Mechwarrior has been on computers since the old 386/** days, maybe even earlier. Sales for the computer games were on par with other major titles, but since X-Box generates more profit than PC games, all we see now are those lame Mech Assault games for X-Box. The PC gamers got left in the cold.

The difference between A-Net and MS? Begging and pleading got us nowhere with MS, while a simple suggestion or two goes a long way with A-Net. There is really no way A-Net could be called a sellout, and I'm surprised this thread can even exist with all that they do.

Anet isn't the sellout, NCSoft is. Aion looks like a rip off of GW.

-But think. They have to make money, right? How many times have you bought something and then you didn't really like it, or it wasn't all that you thought it would be? Did you complain to the company or post on their message boards?

With video games it is survival of the fittest, and they have to do what they have to do.

I agree with you on most of your points, but I can't blame Anet.

They are not a sell out. They have continued to do what they said they would do from the very beginning. Besides as already stated... people have different meanings for what it means to sell out (which I agree with the whole musican thing) but it's a company so obviously they are trying to sell... so yeah it's over used like the word "noob" and "newb" in GW and in a company aspect I don't think they could sell out on a game in particular. The company could be a "sell out" i suppose but Guild Wars can't become a sell out.. I hope that make sense. o_O It did to me at least.

Edit: I also agree with the below ~

Everything Anet has done so far including nerfs has logical merit and it is one of the best values in mmo gaming.

Even if they put skill packs in the shop, additional storage, character name changing.. or anything else.. I would point out that these are NOT things you MUST buy in order to enjoy the game.

They are merely things which enhance it, unlike other free games where, if you dont spend your money, you have no access to parts of the game.

I love the shop, I cant wait until they put more stuff that I can buy, instead of boring slots

Point is, if they sold everything in the shop that you can just as easily obtain in the game, I dont regard it as a sell out. because I have a choice. Such as skill pack, Key packs, Ale packs even gold... whatever..

I would rather spend my money in the ANET shop than on Ebay!

I dont really think Anet is the type of company that will f.ex put ingame rare weapons pack or new content pack for sale in the store. For all companies the main goal is to make their product a success and gain profit on it. In order to do that you must listen to your customers and still keep it fresh and exciting. So if making decisions on whats making money its not bad at all since in the bottom line it all depends on what the customers want . Most people should know that dirty tricks never last long.

For those that are continuing the chapters! If you are buying the chapters then in a way you are paying your monthly fee, albeit stretched over a 6 month period until the next one comes out!

It is your choice to buy a new character slot or buy the next chapter for the extra slots as well as new content!

You can still go out and buy the original GW and stick with that, once again your choice.

ANET, do not force you to buy the add ons. The community has asked for them and they have provided some of the list, yes some were not on the original list but were easier to implement.

As for the auction house, how long do you think it would take to set something like that up, a few weeks or several months? Think about all the possible things that will happen! "Billy no mates" decides to bid on you uber 133t axe of noob bashing and bids 10 gazillion k for it! Knowing full well that he does not have it! How do they deal with that? They need a system that they can use that when you place your max bid, then you put the money in reserve for the bid (cos you can borrow the money from a guildie to show you have it, then give it back once you've bid) If you win then you go back in the auction house to collect your purchase and any remaining gold. What if they introduce Trade houses as well. Then throw into the mix of trading across multiple districts etc... It will come but it will take time to get something even remotely worth showing to the community.

Sell out, there is no such thing anymore! Everyone is in it for the money, if you don't believe that then your living in a dreamworld! Lets see the same theory put into practice in the game world then! Next time you see someone selling their fellblade walk up to them an offer them nothing for it, I mean it's not as if they need it any more is it? It did not cost them anything did it really?

It is a supply and demand process, if people want it then they will come up with a way to supply it, provided it does not impact on other players!

With the greatest respect as well, don't label all kids as running around shouting noob all the time! We have a fair few "kids" younger members in our guild and they are just as adult in their ways than the adults are! All you see is a bunch of letters typed up on screen how do you know it is a 12 year old or a 40 year old?

If you think this is bad for people running around name calling etc.. then you should try xbox live and halo!

We all buy the game for our own reasons, for me it is because I've enjoyed it from the first time I played it! I will continue to play it, I play it more now than when I first started it so the game has lost none of it's gameplay value to me!

Let's look at the definition of the phrase "sell out" from Dictionary.com:

Now let's see if what ANet did fits this definition.

First, who are ANet's colleagues? It's their employees and shareholders, not their customers. Has ANet betrayed them in any way? I don't think so.

Second, what is ANet's cause? As a company, ANet is out to make money for its employees and shareholders. Has ANet betrayed that cause in any way? I don't think so, either. ANet never said its cause is to bring affordable MMORPG gaming for all, and it has upheld its promise not to charge a monthly fee. I don't see where the "betrayal" lies.

So in my opinion, no, ANet is not selling out.

Selling out is a concept which really does not make sense.

ZOMG THEY CHANGED MUSIC STYLE!!!!111oneoneone. So what? Every artist does something different once in a while.

THEY'RE DOING IT FOR THE MONEY NOT THE IDEA!!!111oneoneone. And? Money lubricates the axle on whic the world spins. You may not like it, but that's the harsh reality. Even if ANet have 'sold out', they'd be making a perfectly valid choice.

anyone who's goal is to make money is a sell out in one way or another

What if Anet ( Guild wars to be more precise) would become -maybe already is- the sole "money-maker" for NCsoft? Wouldn't that put Anet in a powerful position within NC-soft's business structure ??

In fact: wouldn't it be possible for A-net to "buy out " NCsoft if that was to be the case??

I have watched all those new NCsoft titles in various magazines and none of them seem to be even close - in terms of sales and popularity- to GW's success .Isn't that in itself putting a lot of pressure on the devs ?? They need to "produce the goods " with every new GW-chapter ,not only for us ( the critical players ) but also to maintain NCsoft's competiveness.I think that's a far more dangerous thing than the argument of being a "sell-out " .Having one branch of a company having to produce the revenue to keep all others alive is never a good thing .

If you are complaining about the online store. Take one Big Look at it.

Do you see any in game items in there? Do You see anything that might tip the balance? Gaile grey herself stated they would never EVER add items that might tip game balanced, Or make it unfair for others. Games like maplestory and runescape are really cheap with the way they give free acess, But to actually do anything you need to pay for it.

Anet isnt becomming a sell out. And if your complaining about events.. We or atleast I have been waiting for events for a while and Atlast Anet delivers.
Thank you ANET.

Clearly you have no idea how corporate politics work, whoever running Anet is not more powerful now, contrary the heat is just turned on in Anet, because any mistake that results in loss of revenue at this stage will really be amplified many fold. Noticed why Nightfall is supposedly PvE orientated now? I wouldn't even be surprised if they eventually get rid of the red headed stepchild known as PvP altogether and make GW into a a WoW clone.

Fact: PvE sells. People pay money for the RPG in MMORPG. Nobody pays money for stuff like Counterstrike.

Good gravy, I WISH!

No, I wish skills weren't locked in the first place. That's the one huge thing that makes this game a grind (despite ANets lie that it GW is not a grind).

I'm quite happy to pay $10 per character slot.

Given how much time I've spent on GW, the overall cost of the game results in a very very low $ per hour of entertainment. Complainers these days are just cheapskates.

It's grind yes... but not grinding compared to pay-per-month such as FFXI, Wow, EQ, etc. Coming from FFXI grind to GW = no grind to me.

They have implemented Faction Balthazar (it didn't exist), x2 it's reward latter (way before the x2 faction event). With factions you can even earn this in AvA and now (you have pvp toon access) Fort Aspen & the other one .. that not many play.

Also with factions is the shift towards unlocking quickly... if you have enough gold and skill points, the faction skill trainer in Kai Center giving you most of them right off the bat.

I have to agree, every other mmo-style game I have tried since playing GW has a very distinctive kind of grind which is SO easy to spot now.

GW has kinda ruined the enjoyment I thought I was having with other MMO's lol

Even if im battling away in AvA for hours at a time, Each battle is very different and has a unique story to tell.

NCSoft makes enough money from the Lineage series for each of its workers to go home and roll around in pools of cash.