new business model for guild wars 2.
warcrap
you know anet has a business model of releasing an expansion/chapter every 2 years but for gw2 how about we try a new payment method here is my idea.
you have purchased gw2 now 2 years have gone by and they have released an expansion but you don't wanna pay 50 dollars up front to expand your world so instead you'd rather do a layaway type of deal.
its like a monthly fee but not really.
the expansion is released and anet is allowing us to pay as little as 4$ a month for it until we pay it off completely.
we get to play the expansion while paying for it.
you may pause your payment at any time and you may not enter the expansion again until you resume payment.
so you buy the expansion box at the store or micro payment it little by little using surfpin, credit card, or any other payment method.
it should in no way be an obligation to keep paying.
you have purchased gw2 now 2 years have gone by and they have released an expansion but you don't wanna pay 50 dollars up front to expand your world so instead you'd rather do a layaway type of deal.
its like a monthly fee but not really.
the expansion is released and anet is allowing us to pay as little as 4$ a month for it until we pay it off completely.
we get to play the expansion while paying for it.
you may pause your payment at any time and you may not enter the expansion again until you resume payment.
so you buy the expansion box at the store or micro payment it little by little using surfpin, credit card, or any other payment method.
it should in no way be an obligation to keep paying.
doomXL
I like it! it makes sense.
Nevin
That would result in people paying $4 dollars for 1 month. Then just rushing through to get the armor and/or end game weapons. Not a good idea. Hardcore gamers can do in a month what it takes casual gamers a whole year.
warcrap
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nevin
That would result in people paying $4 dollars for 1 month. Then just rushing through to get the armor and/or end game weapons. Not a good idea. Hardcore gamers can do in a month what it takes casual gamers a whole year.
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as long as they introduce huge new features like maybe if the expansion offers some type of flying then if they stop paying they lose the ability to do that.
so as long as they offer a crucial feature with every expansion this problem will be avoided.
Zinger314
If you are too poor to purchase a $50 dollar product upfront, you might want to GET A LIFE.
warcrap
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zinger314
If you are too poor to purchase a $50 dollar product upfront, you might want to GET A LIFE.
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unnecessary flaming will do you no good.
Zinger314
Quote:
Originally Posted by warcrap
why do you think gw has no monthly fee its a game designed for poor people.
unnecessary flaming will do you no good. |
Lonesamurai
Quote:
Originally Posted by warcrap
why do you think gw has no monthly fee its a game designed for poor people.
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honestly? are you really being serious?
go look up Guild Wars and the ethos behind it and stop spouting drivel you have no comprehension of please
CyberMesh0
Quote:
Originally Posted by warcrap
why do you think gw has no monthly fee its a game designed for poor people.
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I have to agree though with the previous posts, they'd have to do a lockout on all campaign/whatever-specific items if you don't have an active payment so as to keep the money flowing in.
Cargan
How about when you're given like a years noticed that there's going to be an expansion, stick $4 a month in a jar and buy it when it's released. You've heard GW2 is expected to be released sometime late 2009, start saving now if you're really that poor. Although, to be honest, if you're that poor then you should maybe start thinking about cutting out unnecessary expenses, like your internet provider.
Jake_Steel
I'm gonna go with no on this one. I'll pay for my Gw2 and expansions up front and hopefully never have to pay to access them. (short of the money I give Comcast every month got Cable Internet)
Lord Darksoul
I say still pay upfront.
The hardcore gamers running through the game in a month WILL happen. I say add new expansions and make people pay upfront for them, and once a while, make some stuff like the BMP for us to buy for cheap while waiting for the next expansion.
The hardcore gamers running through the game in a month WILL happen. I say add new expansions and make people pay upfront for them, and once a while, make some stuff like the BMP for us to buy for cheap while waiting for the next expansion.
Personette
I very strongly suspect that we're not talking here about somebody being poor here, we're talking about somebody on an allowance. If you're a kid, and your parents give you limited spending money, scraping together $50 could seem like quite a chore (though a chore easily solved by the piggy bank suggested by Cargan).
Anyway, if you ask me it's not a good idea to price items so that children can pay for them on an installment plan.
Anyway, if you ask me it's not a good idea to price items so that children can pay for them on an installment plan.
zxuy
good for us not for anet. i think the current scheme is more than reasonable. good idea though, but i see no reason why anet would implement
Neo Nugget
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nevin
That would result in people paying $4 dollars for 1 month. Then just rushing through to get the armor and/or end game weapons. Not a good idea. Hardcore gamers can do in a month what it takes casual gamers a whole year.
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Reminds me of factions headstart lol.
Terraban
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zinger314
So...your solution is to ADD A MONTHLY FEE?!
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Vale Todo
Just save a dollar a week from now until 2009 and you should have $52 saved up!
Fates
Ya, how many people would continue to pay $4 a month for GW:EN for 10 months to pay for it? Your "new" business model would bankrupt them.
HawkofStorms
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zinger314
If you are too poor to purchase a $50 dollar product upfront, you might want to GET A LIFE.
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It isn't like you are refinancing a house or buying a car.
It is $50 people. That's less then one day's work even at minimum wage. If you don't have dispossible income enough for that, then you shouldn't even own a computer that can run GW...
maraxusofk
im pretty sure this idea is epic fail b/c ppl will pay 4$ for 1 month and beat the game to get everything. yeah they will have paid the 4$ but that isnt nearly enuff to reimburse the cost of MAKING the expansion. if it was, they would sell the game for 4$.
=HT=Ingram
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nevin
That would result in people paying $4 dollars for 1 month. Then just rushing through to get the armor and/or end game weapons. Not a good idea. Hardcore gamers can do in a month what it takes casual gamers a whole year.
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while I like the idea of having a more affordable game now and again, I say this to you... look at the game today. Most retail stores sell Prophecies and factions for 29.99 or less, and the expansion for around $20. just to get it off the shelf... so there are bargains out there... Beware of Amazon marketplace and Ebay however cause those are almost certainly scam artists selling illegal USED games! Which they can hijack back and loot at a whim...
But ultimately Its by far the cheapest top selling MMO out there today. When compared to any subscription model out there, GW even if you get Collector editions of everything, you would have still saved more the 1/2 the money you could have wasted on a subscription game paying every month, AND forced to buy $50 games and expansion on top of that for that matter...
Hyper.nl
The current business model is my favourite; as I don't like to buy time but products. No need for change imo.
Rhedd
I sure am glad people keep making posts like this one, because, as we all know, game publishers make all of their financial business decisions based on posts by random people on teh internetz.
How else would they manage?
How else would they manage?
Redfeather1975
I'm actually the one who calls the shots.
And I drop a pencil on a giant sheet of ideas in order to do it.
GW2 will use the jelly bean business model.
So stock up on jelly beans everyone.
And I drop a pencil on a giant sheet of ideas in order to do it.
GW2 will use the jelly bean business model.
So stock up on jelly beans everyone.
Nevin
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terraban
OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!!!!!!!111
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HuntMaster Avatar
two reasons i do not like this idea.
1. requirement of a credit card. those of us without some form of credit card would not be able to make payments.
2. i like going to the store and buying a game in a box, i like getting my game manual and installing the game using a cd. i like having the security of knowing if my pc blows up or my HD stops working i can always install the game on a new pc.
also being "poor" isn't the problem. and is quite offensive to say if i can't afford 50 bucks for a game i need to get a life. bills stack up, cost of rent, utilities, gas, food, child care and many other things leave my wallet sorely thin. its better to say if you can't afford 50 bucks then try budgeting alittle bit so you can. whats with people being so hostile and offensive?
lay-a-way gaming is a bad idea because you never know what next month will bring, you may lose your job, insue new bills or just be unable to make the payments. then you can no longer play the game.
1. requirement of a credit card. those of us without some form of credit card would not be able to make payments.
2. i like going to the store and buying a game in a box, i like getting my game manual and installing the game using a cd. i like having the security of knowing if my pc blows up or my HD stops working i can always install the game on a new pc.
also being "poor" isn't the problem. and is quite offensive to say if i can't afford 50 bucks for a game i need to get a life. bills stack up, cost of rent, utilities, gas, food, child care and many other things leave my wallet sorely thin. its better to say if you can't afford 50 bucks then try budgeting alittle bit so you can. whats with people being so hostile and offensive?
lay-a-way gaming is a bad idea because you never know what next month will bring, you may lose your job, insue new bills or just be unable to make the payments. then you can no longer play the game.
Malice Black
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhedd
I sure am glad people keep making posts like this one, because, as we all know, game publishers make all of their financial business decisions based on posts by random people on teh internetz.
How else would they manage? |
artay
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zinger314
If you are too poor to purchase a $50 dollar product upfront, you might want to GET A LIFE.
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It's not your fault Russia!
Avai
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zinger314
If you are too poor to purchase a $50 dollar product upfront, you might want to GET A LIFE.
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captain_carter
From my interpretation of this, you would like the merging of 2 purchasing systems.
The kind of deal where you pay a certain amount per month for 1 or 2 years at which point you would have paid off everything is well known and widely used. I have never heard of this system not involving interest (except for short periods of time). This kind of credit offer is usually available(and with good reason) on goods that have a high value. They would benefit the company by allowing them to sell their product to a market that would otherwise be unable to buy from them because they cannot afford the huge one-time cost. This is a succesful and useful deal when purchasing cars of sofas.
A monthly subscription to a game or other online service involves paying for the content each month, you pay for access that month and that month alone, if you stop paying you lose access. This appears to be a succesful model, many consider it the only option for MMOs(an asumption which GW proves wrong).
Merging these 2 models/things in the way you propose does not seem like I good idea for the company.
The "monthly fee" proposed is not sufficient to cover producing and delivering the service if the full value is not payed eventually. This would seem likely to occur with this system as many people would be able to get all they want from the expansion in 1-6 months, then they can stop paying and the company recieves only up to one half of the money they "need".
As for it's similarities with the first model I described, there is the option to stop paying. This never happens with this deal, you always have to keep paying even if the car breaks down, you still have to complete your payment, just as if you borrowed a book from your library and burnt it, you would have to pay for the replacement. You cannot simply say "I'm not going to sit on the sofa again so I won't continue to pay".
The model you propose is, IMO, a flawed and impracticle merging of 2 distinct systems. I would be very surprised if this idea was adopted by any online game.
The kind of deal where you pay a certain amount per month for 1 or 2 years at which point you would have paid off everything is well known and widely used. I have never heard of this system not involving interest (except for short periods of time). This kind of credit offer is usually available(and with good reason) on goods that have a high value. They would benefit the company by allowing them to sell their product to a market that would otherwise be unable to buy from them because they cannot afford the huge one-time cost. This is a succesful and useful deal when purchasing cars of sofas.
A monthly subscription to a game or other online service involves paying for the content each month, you pay for access that month and that month alone, if you stop paying you lose access. This appears to be a succesful model, many consider it the only option for MMOs(an asumption which GW proves wrong).
Merging these 2 models/things in the way you propose does not seem like I good idea for the company.
The "monthly fee" proposed is not sufficient to cover producing and delivering the service if the full value is not payed eventually. This would seem likely to occur with this system as many people would be able to get all they want from the expansion in 1-6 months, then they can stop paying and the company recieves only up to one half of the money they "need".
As for it's similarities with the first model I described, there is the option to stop paying. This never happens with this deal, you always have to keep paying even if the car breaks down, you still have to complete your payment, just as if you borrowed a book from your library and burnt it, you would have to pay for the replacement. You cannot simply say "I'm not going to sit on the sofa again so I won't continue to pay".
The model you propose is, IMO, a flawed and impracticle merging of 2 distinct systems. I would be very surprised if this idea was adopted by any online game.
Shadow Spirit
There's nothing broken with the current system. Monthly fees FTL...
Mordakai
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avai
I agree with you; I believe I make around 50 USD sitting in front of my PC reading GW Guru for about two hours? Getting a life isn't required...just get a job like mine.
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But on topic, micro-transactions (like $30 over time to get the Bonus Mission Pack), could be the way GW2 floats.
So I wouldn't denounce the idea too strongly.
quicksilv3r
no1 going buy GUILDWARS 2, so y even talk about it, or try to promote it WITH MONTHLY FEE!
people goin on strike and going Protest GW2 to make the dev's come back to gw1 and edit/ make new expansion for it.. we dont need better graphics
death to gw2.
people goin on strike and going Protest GW2 to make the dev's come back to gw1 and edit/ make new expansion for it.. we dont need better graphics
death to gw2.
netniwk
Quote:
Originally Posted by quicksilv3r
no1 going buy GUILDWARS 2, so y even talk about it, or try to promote it WITH MONTHLY FEE!
people goin on strike and going Protest GW2 to make the dev's come back to gw1 and edit/ make new expansion for it.. we dont need better graphics death to gw2. |
/applause
kingoffly
really i don't like the idea at all!!!
i played Wow and quited because of the fees (didn't know GW back then )
so if anet add a monthly fee then they are going to have alot of games who are turning to other games
there are plenty of fee-less games on the market!
i played Wow and quited because of the fees (didn't know GW back then )
so if anet add a monthly fee then they are going to have alot of games who are turning to other games
there are plenty of fee-less games on the market!
Lonesamurai
Quote:
Originally Posted by quicksilv3r
no1 going buy GUILDWARS 2, so y even talk about it, or try to promote it WITH MONTHLY FEE!
people goin on strike and going Protest GW2 to make the dev's come back to gw1 and edit/ make new expansion for it.. we dont need better graphics death to gw2. |
b, GW1 is dead, long live GW2
Aerian_Skybane
Did you ever hear of this invention called a credit card? Its this plastic thing with numbers on it that you can use to buy things without "paying" for it right away. Instead, you can pay it off in a month, or you can pay the minimum payment, with an interest (APR) charge, over time. Its called financing, and ANet shouldn't be doing it for us.
If you are not old enough to have a credit card, then you are clearly not old enough to choose a financial business plan for a major software company...
Oh and to remove some of the venom from this thread, has anyone else been freaked out by the classmates.com ad up above where the two dreamboats pics are freaking the F out and shaking like they had serious vitamin deficiency?
If you are not old enough to have a credit card, then you are clearly not old enough to choose a financial business plan for a major software company...
Oh and to remove some of the venom from this thread, has anyone else been freaked out by the classmates.com ad up above where the two dreamboats pics are freaking the F out and shaking like they had serious vitamin deficiency?
tmr819
This may be a bit off-topic, but I have sometimes wondered if some sort of "a la carte" menu for expansions/campaigns might be workable.
As an example, WoW's monthly fee included a lot of updates that I, as a casual player, would never see and really did not want to pay for, e.g., the development 20- to 40-man raid instances (Naxxramas, Ahn Qiraj) back in the "old days" of lvl-60 cap WoW meant nothing to me, as a casual player.
I wonder how successful WoW would be if they offered "package deals" on expansions in the same way a cable TV company might do by offering "standard" (base expansion) and "deluxe" (base expansion plus raid/elite content) options.
Likewise, if GW had operated like that, and UW, FoW, and similar instances of that ilk had been optional and offered like a kind of "$5 to $10 Bonus Instance Pack," I would not have purchased them, not because they aren't good but because I know I would not be able to play them.
Say, The Burning Crusade had been offered as a tiered expansion:
(1) Tier 1: 2 new playable races plus Outland regions/all base instances
(2) Tier 2: Tier 1 plus high-end raid content.
I wonder how a model like that would have affected sales -- and, in turn, I wonder how such a model would affect future WoW expansions and development?
My theory is that the high-end raid content does not make money for WoW, though it might, and that the high-end content is being heavily subsidized by the basic content in much the same way all those "junk channels" you get from your TV cable company are being paid for by the channels you actually want and watch and are willing to pay for.
Personally, I would like to see high-end content (particularly anything that is not soloable) be made an optional add-on in any and all MMOs.
For example, you might pay $30 for the base expansion and an additional $10 for the high-end content associated with said expansion if you wanted it. Some MMOs are already dabbling in having players pay-for-specific features, and I do not like that idea much, but the idea of offering "tiers of game service" does appeal to me somewhat.
As an example, WoW's monthly fee included a lot of updates that I, as a casual player, would never see and really did not want to pay for, e.g., the development 20- to 40-man raid instances (Naxxramas, Ahn Qiraj) back in the "old days" of lvl-60 cap WoW meant nothing to me, as a casual player.
I wonder how successful WoW would be if they offered "package deals" on expansions in the same way a cable TV company might do by offering "standard" (base expansion) and "deluxe" (base expansion plus raid/elite content) options.
Likewise, if GW had operated like that, and UW, FoW, and similar instances of that ilk had been optional and offered like a kind of "$5 to $10 Bonus Instance Pack," I would not have purchased them, not because they aren't good but because I know I would not be able to play them.
Say, The Burning Crusade had been offered as a tiered expansion:
(1) Tier 1: 2 new playable races plus Outland regions/all base instances
(2) Tier 2: Tier 1 plus high-end raid content.
I wonder how a model like that would have affected sales -- and, in turn, I wonder how such a model would affect future WoW expansions and development?
My theory is that the high-end raid content does not make money for WoW, though it might, and that the high-end content is being heavily subsidized by the basic content in much the same way all those "junk channels" you get from your TV cable company are being paid for by the channels you actually want and watch and are willing to pay for.
Personally, I would like to see high-end content (particularly anything that is not soloable) be made an optional add-on in any and all MMOs.
For example, you might pay $30 for the base expansion and an additional $10 for the high-end content associated with said expansion if you wanted it. Some MMOs are already dabbling in having players pay-for-specific features, and I do not like that idea much, but the idea of offering "tiers of game service" does appeal to me somewhat.
Mordakai
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmr819
For example, you might pay $30 for the base expansion and an additional $10 for the high-end content associated with said expansion if you wanted it. Some MMOs are already dabbling in having players pay-for-specific features, and I do not like that idea much, but the idea of offering "tiers of game service" does appeal to me somewhat.
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I've been thinking about Wrath of the Lich King for WoW, and if I don't have a level 70 by then, there's no reason to buy it.
But, I can't see Blizzard lowering their monthly bill just because I don't do high-end raids. It's not like they're starving for new players....
As for GW2, it depends on how many people play the elite areas: ie, would Anet make enough money by selling access to elite areas to justify the cost?
The Great Al
I can't say I like this. You do realize that you can make $50 in less than a day, right?