Increase Bonus Mission Pack Buying Options

Methods to include in the distribution of the Bonus Mission Pack:

1. Spend $29.99 in the Online Store between July 5 and October 31 and get it free.

Like they currently have it.

2. Allow the purchase from the Online Store as a stand alone expansion available permanently for a reduced price: around $14.99.

For those that want the box from a retailer and don't need/want anything else from the Online Store.

3. Make it available like a time card with an access code from any of the retailers for a reduced price: around $19.99.

For those that can't/won't buy from the Online Store.

4. Include it as bonus material for a GW:EotN CE.

For those that would like a Collectible Edition to be put out.

The Online Store needs to increase the options for payment to accommodate the international community.

While I agree with your here Totally, it seems very clear that ANet is attempting to increase direct sales through the online store.

Maybe this is an attempt to get people to look there and see that the PvP packs, extra slots and so forth are there or maybe just a marketing idea to increase revenue by decreasing the cost of packaging and shipping.

I doubt this will ever be available in anyother way then this online promotion. Personally I feel that if it is to be made available anyother way ANet should tell us so that we know prior to the GW:EN pre-release.

/signed for the idea of increased payment options. Some people can't buy things online or don't feel safe doing it, and I see no reason to exclude them from the store bonus.

I also /signed on a somewhat similar idea here. Here is my response:

Please let us have a boxed game AND the bonus missions. I don't mind paying a bit for it either, but just make sure it's also available in the regular shops. Please. The bonus mission pack contains considerable storyline parts that I don't want to miss.

Please don't exclude all your regular retail customers from the mission pack!

/signed wholeheartedly

Some like to have the boxes
Some like to have the Mission pack
All of us like to have choices.

Current choices are causing headache.
At this time, I am weighing the current options that we have for the mission pack.

However, this is something I would like to see as an option or solution to obtaining the mission pack.

so....long winded way to say

/signed.

/signed

I like the boxed games, I like reading the lore in the manuals... but unless they change something, it looks like I'm going to have to choose between getting to see everything GW has to offer, or getting to have what I buy in the format I find most appealing.

Just bumping this back up in case some haven't seen it yet.

The choice is not hard for me.

Its either

Get a useless CD and a manual that tells me how to play a game I've been playing for two years

or

Get a mission pack that I can actually use and have fun playing.

I was planning on buying GWEN from the online store even before they announced the mission pack, so I didn't have to go to the store and deal with trying to find a preorder pack. Now I have even more of an incentive to buy from the online store.

The mission pack is there to try to bring more customers to their online store. They're not going to make it available in stores.

Although I wouldn't mind if after the promotion they had the mission pack for like $10.

/signed. I want to get a box, but I don't need any of the stuff in the store. Got enough slots, got GotY upgrade, got all games, don't need PvP editions. Leaves me with a problem. Having it possible to have it included in the pre-order pack (is that available in normal stores, not just GW one btw?) makes more sense, as a lot more people will get it. Including it later as a separately purchasable product, both from the GW and off-line stores, so it's possible to purchase other missions would make sense and be more fun

Why would any business limit their clientele by refusing to reach as many consumers as possible?

It would be nice if they informed the community of this eventuality so some players don't go and waste money on slots they'll never use. Granted, it's a great money grab by anet, but it would be more beneficial for Anet to not slap their customers in the face like that.

Because its an online promotion. They're offering a FREE bonus for people who buy straight from them. It's supposed to encourage buying from the online store, which cuts out the middle man and gets them more money.

You people have to understand that ANet is trying to make more money. This bonus mission pack isn't meant for everyone, its meant for people who buy stuff from their online store. It's a promotion, not a scam, and ANet isn't being evil. They're not trying to get more money out of us, since GWEN is going to cost the same amount as it would in other places when the game first comes out. The difference is that ANet gets more of the money that we pay, so in turn they're giving us a small free bonus.

Yes, and if market a product, that required development, properly, you can reach thousands, if not hundreds of thousands more customer that would be willing to BUY the Bonus Mission Pack, thus Anet gets a hell of a lot more money then by pushing your face into paying >$29.99 in the Online Store for a freebie.

Allow players to buy it from the Online Store and other retailers to maximise your potential profit.

It's a win/win situation if done properly.

Whats the diference between what ANet are doing and Steam?

Well since I wasn't really familiar with Steam, but now have researched it a bit, the difference would be specifically that the Bonus Mission Pack could be bought on it's own, either through the Online Store or from a retailer.

Therefore, those customers that prefer to have the boxed version of GWEN and do not need/want anything that the Online Store currently offers, can still get access to the Bonus Missions.

I am not opposed to what Anet is doing by offering the Bonus missions as a freebie for using the Online Store.

I am opposed that this is the only way to gain access to this extra content.

I do want the box and manual. Anet employs personel that put out high quality art and content. I like to have the physical manifestation of the game.

I also want the Bonus Mission Pack. I currently have 11 slots, all skills unlocked, and all weapon mods unlocked, therefore do not need the PvP Unlock Packs, or additional character slots.

That said, I cannot get access to the Bonus Missions because I will be buying GWEN from a retailer.

I am willing to buy the Bonus Mission Pack on it's own. I do not fall into the consumer misrepresentation that the focus is on the savings and not the expense.

Yes I do get it for free if I spend >$29.99. But I don't want it for free. I want to buy the product I want to use - Bonus Mission Pack.

And at this moment, that is not possible.

Best promotion I can think of is offering a currency option that doesn't triple the price for Australians. *hmph*

Well.. I finally had to make one thing:
- Get a Prepaid Credit Card.
You get in in few bank stablishments. It's a 'fake' credit card usable only to buy online. No account required.

This may be your solution. I got 3 slots and the million upgrad this way.

By packaging it as a freebie if you spend more then $29.99, Anet has blinded the customer to the actual value of the Bonus Mission Pack.

Allow me to buy the Bonus Mission Pack for what Anet deems it to be valued at.

Id really like another option too, i like to read the lore in the books that come packaged with the games as a nice prequel to playing the game. I really want the bonus missions too... so does that mean i can only choose one thing that i want to get?

Blinded us by giving it to people who buy EotN via the Online Store when it comes out?

They give you a free box when you buy it from a retailer. Has that blinded the customer to the actual value of the box? (Seriously, the box has got to be worth $1 max)

/signed

Once these bonus missions are made available, Arenanet & NC-Soft could bring out an Eye of the North "Bonus Edition" box:
no Collector's Edition-sized box, nor collector-goodies; just an ordinary box with a "Bonus Edition" stamp and the Bonus Missions key-code in addition to what comes comes with a non-Collector box.
Something like this shouldn't increase production costs into being prohibitive.

Buy a prepaid card and order GW:EN from the online store. Wait... you want a box? Ok, then never mind. Go play with your box while the rest of us are playing the bonus missions.

/signed. I like my boxes

Hmm, I'm with Series here. I didn't mean to /sign another topic begging for the mission bonus to be packaged and sold at a retailer. I meant for ANet to make an option for payment by check, money order, other forms of currency so the Aussies don't get screwed, etc.

This is an offer from the online store, people. They're trying to get people interested in buying directly from them. ANet's not going to package the Bonus Missions with GW:EN; they're not gonna make it a standalone purchase available at FYE and Best Buy. If they do, they're going to lose the trust of the people who already spent/are planning to spend $30+ in their store with the understanding that they're taking advantage of a special, limited-time offer.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not against people wanting the bonus mission pack in a box, but that goes against everything this deal's about. I do think they should have better payment plans in place for the people who can't/are too paranoid to use their credit cards online.

/not signed...

Right, something interesting and quite similar happened in the Uk yesterday (Sunday)

Prince, a very big world wide and well known recording artist and musician released his new album, FOR FREE! However, to get it, you needed to buy the Mail on Sunday...

Now prince is getting slapped around by the music industry for supposedly, "degrading his work and making it worthless", to which he responds, "I love my work, i know my fans love my work and I have enough money already, I paid for this to be produced, i did all the work and as my work, i can market it as i want and i wanted to give it away for free"

Now why can't ANet do something similar? Ok, its a bit more than buying a magazine or paper, but its still the same thing and i can pretty much guarantee that more people got prince's new album in the UK alone than there are players of Guild Wars

(and for anyone wondering, the new album is called Planet Earth and its awesome)

I am looking forward to playing GW:EN and the bonus pack. But, I would like to see another option for getting the bonus pack.

So far, I have purchased 4 copies of prophecies, 3 copies of factions and 2 copies of Nightfall. Two of these accounts were gifts and the other 2 I play. On my main account, I have all weapon mods and almost all of the skills unlocked (a title in progress) as well as 16 character slots. I am guessing that there will be a pre-order bonus for GW:EN so I'm planning on buying it at a retailer.

Truly, I see no need to spend more money in the online store at this time. How about rewarding those of us that have been using the online store all along? Maybe you could offer the bonus pack for free to those people who have already spent $X.xx in the store.

As I understand it, Arena net isnt the richest gaming compony out there, compared to the Blizzard, Nintendo etc Giants that are out there, does it really make sense that they are getting picky and greedy over how we purchase their products?

Also, there are millions of people out there that do not believe in online shopping, they dont want to give away their credit card info, whether the people "claim its safe" or not.

Ive heard people talk about this being a reward. Really? Do you honestly believe this is a reward? Ive played Guild wars since it first came out, ive pre-ordered Factions, Bought Collectors edition nightfall, and have turned several of my friends into Guild Wars fans, adding hundreds if not thousands of dollors that Arena Net has gained because of my loyalty to their game. But now I can't play this Mission pack, because i dont have a Credit card? Its not fair, I deserve to play this just as much as everyone else. They can make a ton of cash by making this available at retail locations, but instead they get picky and will probably not even make half that, because of how they want to be payed, it's lazy, and a scam.

Ive seen several discussions, suggestions and threads being made into petitions, and I think this is definatly something that should get a petition. I am not against the Pack, i am against this being the only way to get it. According to people who agree with this, only people who give their credit card info online, truly deserve this content, even if they just started playing Guild Wars yesterday, then are buying the PVP edition in a month, as a pose to someone who has bought almost everything available in a store since it Came out. Ive Bought the Collectors edition of Nightfall, and the staff of Arena net in the video made it crystal clear "We are here to serve the players, especially the ones who have been there from the beginning". Really? Ive been there from the beginning? Ive stated to everyone ive met who plays games "Guild wars is one of the best games ive ever played". But i guess i dont deserve this pack because I dont have a silly litttle piece of plastic with numbers on it that Saps my money away.

If Arena Net plans on keeping this an online offer ONLY, then I have lost faith in Arena Net in a customer and player friendly compony.

Im going to search around to see if any petitions are formed, and I engourage any one to start one. The reason I dont, is iI dont know how, but if I dont find one soon, ill have to try.

I don't mind using the online store but I agree with Kronic. I have already spent 30+ dollars in the guild wars store and there is nothing else I really need from it. So its at the point of them forcing me to spend more money even though I've already spent a good amount of money. I wouldn't mind maybe a reduced price even if it was 5-10 bucks but forcing me to buy more character slots or pvp sets for a game that won't matter come GW2 doesn't make much sense to me.