Discussion: Mini Pets Access In And Out Of Game

I was just wondering all your thoughts on whats coming to be the one of the most commonest sales in the game, mini pets were added in the game one year after the orginal Guild Wars release and they were a sign of accomplishment to say 'look my characters one year old' these of course were going to be traded around to get rid of this status factor they could of provided but I doubt that was Anets main intention with them, I think thats what titles were introduced for.
Then aswell as the second year bunch of mini pets arriving there were other ways to access these pets such as games tournments in which such a small amount of these were added and games conventions which you could try to get a key (please correct me if any of this is wrong). Anet then started to sell the keys to magazines (which is what they do so the magazine will sell to GW players) and these opened access to new mini pets which could only be gotten without in game purchase with an OUT OF GAME PURCHASE.

Now to the point, Im wondering if you guys agree with the way anet have distributed these items, firstly the purchasing of magazines to get the pet is technically in the same league as buying items of ebaying except you dont get banned for this, secondly the rarest ones cost such a high amount only a few players will ever have access to these. Wouldnt these items be much better just given on birthdays and game events or part of completing the campaigns or doing special quests rather than making out of game purchases? Whats next will they give away gold in a new magazine deal because these players can sell these items in game which is the same as buying gold right?

Please dont mistake me for bashing anet, im just wondering what you think also these items have never intrested me and I own three from three of my characters one year birthdays .

I always believed that you should only get minipets for a characters birthday..

No, buying a magazine with a pet code in it is definitely not the same thing as ebaying. You are buying the magazine, not the code, which is a promotional aid. I really dislike it when people try to blur the line between these two actions.

True but if the GW player is purchasing the magazine for the key then that is essentially the same is it not? They can then go on to sell the item in game which they didnt get from playing they got from purchasing a magazine for a key to the item they are selling.

I think in-game tourneys are a good idea, however Im not a big fan of minis (lol how many 1st year toys did i trashcan?)

Keep in mind that they boost the sales, most likely a 2-way door with companies like pc gamer magazine (only ever bought 2 pc gamers, guess which 2)

Considering the remarkable commonality of any mini available through a magazine purchase or the like I really don't see it as a problem.

I don't have a problem with ANET giveing them away to mags so much as I do with these US or asian ONLY ones. GW is a global game so any give away should aslo be global.

As long as everyone can get them at some point, it doesn't matter to me.

@Spike: Giveaways and contests are subject to many different rules across all the various countries. Gaile explained this before.

adding keys to magazine = more sale of magazines = more money company
I'm sure Anet doesn't add keys purely for being nice to the community, but getting benefits from their magazine (eg money, good review, etc)

as for birthday, keeping your char and sell the pet may be a good reward as well: get money if you keep your chars long enough (tho I prefer to keep them, only get whites anyway)

D< ANET should be banned!

Eh, I think they should only have them for birthdays and events and really don't think any pet should be as rare as the panda or ghostly. And making pets only available in a certain counrty is just BULLSHIT in my opinion.

Just because you don't have one. Its nice to have a pet thats that rare, especially if, like me, you actually won it, rather than simply buying it.

Birthdays, quests (such as black moa) and online giveaways (ceratodon) would probably work better, but prob won't happen. ANET get publicity (and money?) from allowing magazines to carry codes

Why not give players more of what they want?

They discovered that releasing gimmicky objects such as minis can cause elation across the masses of players that have become obsessed with collecting them, so they are trying to cash in by using it as a marketing ploy. They're just doing business.

McDonald's does it too by including a miniature "toy of the month" with every happy meal. lol (Not the best analogy, buy you get the picture).

Out of all the magazine promotions for mini.. I have yet to buy a single magazine just for the minipet.. Why? well.. it's not very worth spend money on a magazine I probably won't read.. and to spend 6$? on a minipet that is something that I won't keep.. and for selling purposes only? I don't really think that's worth it.. HOWEVER! If it was a mini that i've always wanted! Of course i'll buy the magazine for the mini.. (i still regret not getting the mini asura )..

So far the only promotion i've done via a "magazine" was the gamerzine.. but thats because it was free.

the thing about the mags is that they are realseing them to a huge amount of people so the only people who make money off of the mag minis are the people who get it right away and sell right when it comes out other wise for the most part the pice of these minis is at best 10k

I prefer the way mini pets are usually given out in WoW: quest rewards for holiday events, quest rewards for high end missions, loot drops from high end mobs, or purchased from in game merchants.

That sets up three tiers - common pets for the merchant ones, uncommons for the holiday ones, and rares from the high end missions and loot drops.

WoW does also give out some for out of game events like card games, convention promos, and so on - and I don't like that method.

I don't like how GW ties them to birthdays and collectors events, as it makes them both too uncommon in a general sense, and then uncontrolled once they do show up (which you get is random). By tying them to quests, WoW makes them a part of gameplay. By having some common ones around to buy, WoW lets every player who wants one get at least something cute to drag around.

The out of game methods of both games (GW from mags, WoW from conventions and card games) bring in a sort of outside world economy and geographic luck that I don't like having in the game.

Mini Pets should be from B-Days or "hidden" quests in game. Gaining special ones from PVP tournaments is a good idea as well.

But, i'm against the concept of paying for these, even if a magazine isnt expensive, it's still making people buying pixels. Country restriction aint good either

Also, limited editions, such as Pandas and stuff should be customized to the account and not tradable. Those should be (useless?) trophies at best.

ebayers will say they are paying for the time and effort the farmers spent, not on the virtual item.

I loosely agree with what is said here.

Yeah, but that time and effort spent by the farmers is still spent on a.net's property (aka their servers). So that arguement, though it sounds convincing, legally has no standing.

does it really matter? sure mini-pets are fun, but they dont actually have any use, and are rarely even very noticable. better anet uses these as magazine promotions than exclusive armor, weapons, etc that actually has a use in the game.

I'm fine with ANet giving out minipets in magazines. This gets them money from two kinds of people, those who hope they can make a fortune from selling, and those who actually care about minis. I am neither of those. In terms of the game economy (that isn't really an economy), minipets have at least added some variety. Aside from a few collectables, they are the only high-priced commodity in the game with no statistical benefit to the owner. At least you can kill things with rare weapons, albeit just as well as with collectors' weapons. Minipets are pure eye candy.

The "Karate fight to the death contest" for a mini was fine in Asia but frowned upon in the UK

You mean.. like the pvp ghostly mini? and the one you can get in the high areas of nightfall? (forgot the name) and the celestial pig for the holidays? Oh.. and the mini moa which is a quest? .. ok, so no pets are available from the merchant..

I agree with you too.

Edit: removed out of context quote >.<

Personally, I'm find with Arena.net promoting the game by handing out promo goodies. Don't care about what country gets what either really. It's the same with any global business, different promos for different regions. I don't think it's very realistic to expect a company to spend a fortune on legal consultation just for the sake of a few pixels.

Oh and seriously, no-one is "making people buy pixels". You're not being marched to the counter and forced to buy the magazines.

While it's cool that ANet is offering and allowing these "special edition" minis, I kinda still wished that you got them for a birthday. Makes them seem more authentic, imo.