Online Store - More In-Game Content?

Mods: This may sound like a suggestion, or even a repeat of many other threads, but this has a discussion element to it, as well as a clear purpose. Please, read on.

I am currently working on my Bachelor's of Science in Advertising degree, and in our Bus 101 course, we were instructed to highlight a specific business, and work on a mock business plan. The business we chose had to be one we are very familiar with, and would one day like to work for. Of course, I chose Arenanet. Now I am in Bus 121, and continuing with Arenanet, I have reached an assignment that takes me out to find a 'focus group' and throw out some ideas to get consumer opinions on. Consumers such as, well, everyone here at Guru.

The idea here is to find out how to basically make more money for Arenanet in this lull period before GW2 (which could conceivably be 2-3 years away - a large lull period for any business, especially video games). The online store and expansions onto GW are probably the top ideas, with brand awareness and merchandise down at the bottom (more people knowing about Anet and GW isn't likely to make their numbers jump dramatically). Online store expansion is what I want to focus on as a primary strategy, and there have been many ideas in Sardelac and now with the BMP promotion on how this could happen. I want to consolidate these ideas, stir up an environment to come up with more, and discuss them with everyone to help make some of this possibly happen, and find out if it's worth it - with the end goal of a good bit of info for my assignment


tl;dr version - Let's talk about what in-game content we would like to see in the in-game store. This helps me with my project at school, and helps Anet better serve us!


Some things to consider:

BMP being offered as a separate purchase - these threads are everywhere, which leads me to believe it would be very lucrative for Anet to do this. USD $5? $10? Should this be delayed for a bit to retain a certain amount of 'specialness' for those who bought into the promotion? How long? A month? 6 months?

Weapon packs - basically things like the "Game of the Year" weapons. /bonus and you get 7-10 new-skinned items customized and stuff. USD $5, just like the GotY items.

More mission packs - More stuff like the BMP purchasable for what, USD $10. Problem here: would this pay off for how much coding/art/etc that would need to be accounted for? Something to consider, especially if enough people like the idea.

Skill packs - Not what we already have, but a small pack of about 100 skills (what GW:EN was released with), no elites. Something that would be easy to balance (hopefully). USD $5


What else? More storage? Festival hats? CE-like special dances/effects? Any problems/concerns that could be had with this? Discuss!

The opportunity cost of putting BMP in the store as a separate purchase is 0. It is purely profitable (with the exception of perhaps extra data storage, which would probably take place anyway).
The others, probably not. That would overanger the player base and completely reverse the whole underlying concept of GW - one time fee, free to play.

Payment methods - those without possibility to use credit/debit cards are going to be quite pissed off.

If Anet is going to make this online store work in a larger scale they should sell credit points through retailers, you know like Nintendo does with Wii.

QFT

They really should broaden the way people in non-american countries can make payments.

None of these purchases would be required to play, though. Since there will no longer be any more campaigns (and likely no expansions, either), these small purchases would replace that as drops of content, possibly on a more frequent basis, yet cheaper.

Still, you do present a way of thought that players may share. This would be a change in the business model, if ever slight. I mean, it is still "one time fee (purchase of campaign), free to play," this just adds extra, optional one time fees. The original business model was kinda blown away, anyway, when they chose to quit making campaigns 'every 6 months.' I'm sure something has to replace that lost revenue.

EDIT:Excellent point, as well, thank you! That is a really good idea. And with that, maybe they could include with every box purchase of any GW product, a $5 card that can be used in the online store? Anything to promote the store further, I guess.

i agree to this tho they are working on it.... tho i havent seen a payment method added like "click and pay" wich is used at gamedevelopers as EA.

Regarding this, why din't they still make it so when u buy Proph, Factions, or Nightfall, and you already have it added to the account, that u instead get 4 char slots? Or a purchase for 40 euro's (eq amount in $) from the ingame store.

You've already added a factions key to your account -> Would you like to add 4 char slots instead?

You've already added a factions key to your account -> Would you like to upgrade your store credit with x Dollar/ Euro / Tokens?

Now that would rock

buy heroes in online store

nice idea arcane btw.

Thanks! I just read through that thread, and I like the idea, kinda. There were some good points in there that it may offer an advantage, and I'm not sure something like that would go over well. Then again, a new skill pack would offer a similar 'advantage,' even if it just offers alternate, balanced, normal skills.

Also, I see this and the new skill pack I mentioned as good replacements for full expansions. Essentially, it would be like purchasing GW:EN, but not getting any PvE zones/missions/quests, and just getting the character content, perhaps seen by the game as upgrading 'Core' content - available from any campaign. Buying these things in the store would be just like buying seletcive parts of a campaign or expansion at a lowered price relative to the content purchased.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it. Pretty cool idea, Sleeper.

Actually I think they can get $40 for the BMP because it is better then GWEN. If we paid $40 for GWEN, why not $40 for the BMP?

We are in 2007, nearly everything you buy on the internet is paid with creditcards. I'm dutch and have a cc for ebay, or online orders outside of my own country. Don't be cheap like most dutch, just get urself a CC.

This is a joke right?
They are having issues being on top of the skills that are already in the game and you want to add more?


On-topic - I don't care really. I wouldn't buy it so no need to go to extra lengths to make this happen on my account.

True, but I don't think any of those problems are from the GW:EN skills, but rather from older skills and even entire professions (Necro, Sin and Paragon, namely). It seems that they did pretty good with the delicate balance of the new, non-elite skills. More like that can't hurt, can they?

they have since 08/02/2007

you can use PaySafe through the PlayNC store
http://www.developmag.com/press-rele...ng-paysafecard
no credit card needed

The PlayNC store, while similar, isn't the GW store--a crucial difference.

Ability to buy new ingame stuff which other players cannot have acces too would ruin the game.

We bought the game, and now we will have to pay to get more? bah...
GW would be like any other free mmorpg, like dungeon runners for example...

buy more storage tabs through the online store...

true but purchases at PlayNC did count towards GW BonusMissionPack credit


I agree its inconsistent,
Guild Wars Store should also support Paysafe

Oh that's so nice, to bad there are no sale points in the netherlands for the card! http://www.paysafecard.com/nl/privat...verkooppunten/
Now what?

There's a difference between being cheap, and being smart. I don't need a cc for all my other internet purchases, nor normal purchases. A bankdeposit / paypal suffices for me. So getting a cc for just 1 purchase is being cheap? I think not.

can buy the card online (like Paypal)
https://www.wertkartenverkauf.com/

Bolded and underlined
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I've been wanting A-Net to add more in-game content in the online store for a long time. Why? Since GW is not equipment-dependant, it would give people a nice way to buy weapon packs like GOTY or mission packs, should they choose to do so. Not to mention it would a good way to give extra content to GW1 while they actively work on GW2.

Obviously this discussion has heated over the BMP, and rightfully so. In my opinion, A-Net should've just put the whole deal in the online store right away, instead of a promotion deal. I also think that the price for BMP in the online store could be the same amount that had to be used to acquire it in the first place, to keep things fair. Even for someone like me who didn't use the promotion, prices like 5$ and 10$ for BMP sound too low considering those who did take the promotion.

Wrong Gaile Gray say that there are a strong possibilities to put bmp in store since they have retired pvp pack.
From Gaile Grey

kinda seems like gw is turning into every other mmorpg... pay to play, except more of , pay to get cooler stuff, which seems kind of like... hax... nubz get best stuff =(

This is meant as no offense, but how exactly is that any different than how GW has been for the past two and a half years? The only thing this changes is what players choose to purchase, instead of feeling obligated to buy the new campaign, but rather only the parts of the 'new campaign' they want.

Get with globalization if you want to be a part of the global economy. I have family and friends in the US, Peru, China, Korea, Thailand, Germany, Japan, India, and Malaysia.

We can manage it. So can you.

Get a cash card - spend some cash and get a 16-digit VISA pin good for that amount. Get one online through paypal if you have to. Don't tell me Europe is so backwater it can'tr participate in the global economy... even people in Uganda can manage these things - and they're a heck of a lot more third world.



Now all of that said... I'm strongly opposed to Guild Wars becoming a 'micro-economy' game. All those game where play is free but if you spend a little offline real world money you can get a bunch of extra features - items, armors, loot, pets, etc... Really annoying.

The BMP was about the limit of my tolerance, if only because I can mentally manage to call it a limited offer expansion.

But if they started selling max-stat gear, armor, PvE use skills, and so on... I'd find an ethical line crossed.


You want to know how Anet makes money? It makes it on the basis of having a positive image with its community that drives up its reputation which in turn generates future sales of the existing products.

Go grab a dictionary and learn the meaning of opportunity cost. The person you were responding to was spot on in their concept of an opportunity cost, and your comment had all of zero to do with the part your quoted. It was like they were talking about environmental impacts of crab fishing and you responded about a Paris Hilton video... It just made no sense.

BTW, there is a potential opportunity cost in putting the BMP up for sale - the goodwill of those who expected it to be a limited bonus item. Losing that goodwill is an opportunity lost if the BMP does become a general sale item.

I gave up the GWEN box, canceled my pre-order with my usual retailer (losing my deposit) and purchased GWEN online to get the BMP. I really wouldnt mind if Anet turned around and sold the BMP in the Online Store. Limited content in this game does not have the same meaning to me as it did in something like M:tG. Nothing is collectible or exclusive in GW really (yes, skins are, but I simply mean in terms of editions). It really doesnt matter if the so-called limited BMP turns out to be unlimited.

They have no obligation to provide means alternate to a credit card, as I am aware of other MMOs that only operate on credit cards, but its an outstanding issue I hope they address. It may be something they dont resolve and implement until GW2, due to it apparently moving slow as well as costing them resources, so I dont know what that means for potential GW in-store add-ons and this topic.

That said, my favorite ideas have been long standing community desires: stylist, armor storage or armor NPC similar to the Festival Hat NPC, and finishing the rest of the realms of the gods. Any further content I might get as well, but the previous ideas certainly.