BMP for sale

All the initial release of this said was that it was available through a limited time sale and had no plans of selling it on its own. There was never anything that said this was a one time only deal that it would never be sold again.

So many people took the gamble and waited either for a valid reason or just would wait to see how it played out, and this time the gamble worked.

Even with having it on sale, there will still be some people that either cannot get it, or will not get it from past issues they have had with the online store.

It's also being released in certain stores.

lol so selfish....
u guys fell unhappy because other ppl will get BMP?

please review ur valors...

thx anet

No argument from me, hence my use of the word could.

There was never any official confirmation one way or the other - either side could have been screwed.

Actually, I was one who supported the BMP going for individual sale.

I'm just surprised it's only $10 - the same price as a character slot, and only twice as much as the GOTY weapon upgrade!

Precisely. And as it turns out it is those who fulfilled the terms of the promotion are the ones who got screwed. So for showing loyalty and supporting Anet we have actually been penalised instead of rewarded.

Anyway, in a weird way it has set my mind at peace. I no longer have to fret over whether I should buy GW2. I no longer need to stress over getting my HOM complete. I won't buy GW2 or any other anet products, because they can't be trusted.

Actually, I didn't "jump right in".

I waited until the very end of the promotional period to buy 3 (as of yet unused) character slots, after following all the hullaballoo on the protest threads and petitions with great interest. Those were going nowhere; the only sounds coming out of ANet at that time were angry diatribes by Gaile, passing off each and every posted suggestion regarding an alternative distribution as not feasible.

At the time, there was no reason at all to assume the pack would go on sale separately. Also, I had no reason to assume that ANet would try to trick me out of my money at that particular time, using base marketing ploys. They never had before. Naive? That's an easy accusation to make with perfect hindsight.

Given how incredibly swift they're doing a one hundred and eighty degree turn on their "not-feasible"-stance, even suggesting they might offer the pack in retail after Gaile posted about the sheer impracticality of this option in minute detail, I can only conclude they were at the time masking their true intentions with no other goal than to make us spend money in their online store. Lieing, as some would have it.

Well, they got me fair and square. I fell for the deception. Stupid me, let's all point and laugh for a minute.

It was the last money I'll ever spend on their product though.

Are there rare drops in the BMP that will unbalance the game? I don't see what the big deal over some new mission content is?

Actually you aren't. You're getting off much cheaper than someone who waited for the BMP. Say you bought GWEN from the online store during the BMP offer. You now have the BMP for free, to where others that chose to wait now have to pay more money for it.

I dunno why you continue with this story.
Bmp will be released on 28th jen.
You don't like this?
Well leave guild wars and play wow or anything else or don't buy GW2
First, anet don't offer bmp and there are a lot of unhappy people
Now that they offer it there are also a unhappy people.
Is it a time to stop all cry?
Imho they take the right decision but remember.....gw is only a game.

There are no drops of any kind in the BMP.

You complete the mission to get a book that can be turned in for a customized item.

I agree 100% with that last part!

But I would BEG a-net to please allow all rewards to be earned by each character. That gold helps defray the cost of all those custom hero weapons

(I'm referring to the weapon mods, I know the wepons are free with a completed story)

Ok thanks. As someone new to GW (from WoW). I've already finished Prophecies, GWEN, NF (tonight) and then onto Factions. I'm glad I can buy the BMP b/c I wasn't a GW player when it was available. It's a great way to experience more of the story and the lore.

Thanks Anet.

Very well said. And again, this isn't anything like the divine auras, or other collectors edition items, that should be kept exclusive. These are new missions that extend the lore of the game, and while they may not be necessary, it should be something that everyone can enjoy.

I do understand why some people are unhappy about being mislead, but seriously these discussions have gone on long enough and it seems the majority of people against it, just don't want other people to have access to the weapon skins. Those of you claiming to be quitting over something as trivial as this, are rather immature. But it's cute that you think your departure would have even the slightest impact on the game, or to the developers. (Who probably aren't even incharge of making the decision to sell it)

First of all I don't care that more people get the BMP, that's not my concern. If you can get it great! My concern is that Anet intentionally used deceptive advertising to get people to spend money. They intentionally let people believe that the only way to get this was by spending in the store during a limited time period. Even questions asked specifically to Gaile were returned with this falseness.

Everybody from the people who were complaining about not being able to buy at that time period to the people who said they didn't need anything in the store would have benefited from a simple statement from Anet that the BMP would/could be obtained at a later date or through a different means.

I see this as no different than if Anet now decided to sell any of their exclusive offers through the store. Why not make the divine auras, or other collectors edition items available for purchase. Just because you bought a certain edition of the game shouldn't make it exclusive to you. See it works both ways. I wonder how many people would be making the same argument we are making if (and when) those went on sale also.

I guess what it comes down to for us who feel that we have been misled is this: Don't trust Anet in the future when it comes to promotions, special offers. Will this keep me from purchasing from them in the future? No, I will simply be more wary and careful. All in all its Anet who loses the most from this whole deal. The trust of some of their customers.

They did not use deceptive advertising. I already gave a thorough legal analysis of the offer and it is in fact valid and it's your fault for not foreseeing the most reasonable actions which ANet has undertaken to increase the marketability of their product. Do not act as though you know what deceptive advertising is.

Gaile is a know-nothing PR person who isn't even communicated information by the developers. Nothing she says should be taken as fact until confirmed by the majority community.

Woot! The not-so-popular weapons are now even LESS popular!

Uh what?

Some of the skins look great.

But that's exactly what we're angry about. Not so much the money, or anything like that, but the fact that we actively chose to support a company, even though we knew we were probably losing out financially...in fact we WERE losing out financially. It's nothing to do with wanting the content earlier, or now being greedy. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I'd be perfectly content if they simply ran the promotion again with other payment options allowing other people to give their support.

Gaile said it herself in a quote posted earlier in this thread that the BMP was meant as a thank you for those who chose to support Anet by using the online store. I don't know how much more explicit you can be, but stating it exactly as a thankyou certainly doesn't suggest it will be available for sale immediately after the promotion period.

Turns out this "thankyou" for supporting them was in fact a turn around and "screw you suckers." Like I said, i'm not sure if I'm more angry at Anet, or at myself for falling for Gaile's bullshit again (don't defend Gaile to me, she's the messenger, but that's her job, and lately she certainly hasn't been doing it well...and just you watch, now that I've personally offended her she'll be here in this thread she's chosen to stay silent in like a flash - this is not trolling mods, she's as much part of the anet team as the dev's, not just another player on this board and I think I have a right to show disappointment in how she's handled this situation).

Either way, whether it be through the BMP's wording, or Gaile's comments throughout this ordeal we most certainly were mislead. While you may have chosen to take the risk, those of us that qualified for the promotion chose to show our support of a company we have grown to admire over the years... and quite frankly, that company screwed us and told us they don't need our support through their actions.

Arena net: Thank you for using the online store. heres a token of our appreciation FREE BONUS MISSION PACK.

2 months later BMP is put ON SALE FOR A PRICE.

FREE to players who use the online store during the time limit. WITH A PRICE TAG for players who did not use the online store.

hrmz thats pretty easy to understand don't you think.


the problem i see now is, everyone who complain did not set out to help the online store, they buy the slots/GWEN/ or whatever item from the online store just so they can get the Bonus, hence to these players the price paid equal in their mind is to pay for the BMP which, if you stop to think YOU DID NOT PAY FOR THE BMP, it is given to players who use the online store during the promotion period and it is FREE AND ALSO WE GOT IT EARLIER BY 2 MONTHS. << that is the thank you.

the thank you IS NOT arena net stop selling their product to other players.

just remember none of us pay for the BMP, we pay for something else. now whoever is getting it have to pay for them.

@ pumpkin pie

They didn't say "WITH A PRICE TAG later for players who did not use the online store".

If they did, this thread wouldn't exist. If they did, the other thread with people asking Anet to redo the BMP due to technical/location/payment difficulties wouldn't exist. They wouldn't have been upset if Anet put in that line. They would just know for sure that it would be available later. But no, Anet made them upset by not stating that it would be redistributed later. Anet made them upset by not redoing the promotions -immediately- after they fixed the online store flaws. They did not have to wait 2-3 months to suddenly tell the community that they're reselling the BMP because barely now they're acknowledging how those people who couldn't get it before (through no fault of their own, I might add) were effected. Now they have 2 groups that are upset for circumstances relating to the same issue: they could have just added the line that you can buy it later if you didn't take part in the promotion.

First of all I never said anything about what they did as being illegal so spare me the "legal analysis". Secondly Gaile is as much a part of Anet as anybody else so when she says something its the same as coming officially from the company, since that is her job by the way. And lastly don't persume to be aware of what I know or don't know about deceptive advertising.

Anet knew through Gaile that alot of their customers were asking the question about whether or not this was an exclusive one time offer or not. They chose to talk around the subject and let alot of customers believe that it was limited and exclusive. I believe this was to generate as much money as possible in the store. Quite a few people spent $30 on items they didn't necessairly want just to get the BMP. To me (and alot of others) this was deceptive.

Its fine if they offer it now but in the future they need to be more explicit about their offers and stand by them.

sorry a lot of people feel that way. cos if you do, then you have a lot of company and merchant you need to get angry and upset with.

What makes you think we aren't? Besides, do you know how many companies and merchants have gone out of business because of stunts like this? This is now half a loyal player base that has been royally pissed off...these players are actually thining twice about making future anet purchases...these people have friends who might think of buying the game and be cautioned otherwise...

I'm not saying I'm in this category, since I'm willing to forgive anything once, but don't you see that comments like that are simply stupid? Anet DID screw up, as is evidenced by the amount of angry people. They didn't technically do anything 'wrong' but from a business perspective that is hardly the point.

I doubt this situation will spell the end for Anet, I'm just trying to show that marketing has to be handled a certain way. Once you've alienated your player base it's unlikely you're going to be getting them back.

Quote from BMP FAQ on July 5, 2007

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10216946

Quote from Gaile Gray on November 11, 2007- After the promotion was over.

--
It was not very clear when the promotion first occurred that the BMP would be available at a later date. No one could seriously tell me that from what Gaile said when the information was first released that they could have thought it would be released at a later time, even if it wasn't free. While I don't believe it is necessarily a scam for releasing it now, I do feel like I was kind of shafted. It seemed that the BMP would only be released at that point and the only way to get it would be through that promotion. I agree that the fancy text only says that implies it would be offered for free, but from Gaile's original posts, it seemed that it would not be released at a later time. Only after the large complaints came (and some of them very justified), that it seemed it would be released. When news of the BMP came and how to qualify many responses were like this:

1. I will qualify for the promotion by whatever means possible (buying a campaign, character slots, GW:EN, etc.)

2. It's not worth it because the missions will probably suck

3. The rewards will probably suck further (see Endgame Greens, "Not another mini...")

4. The content itself is not worth what I would need to buy in the online store

5. I can't because I don't have access to a credit card, my credit card got rejected due to fraudulent claims, support issues.

Once the rewards were released, it caused a huge uproar. No one expected them to be as good as they were. I was quite surprised as well, but I wanted more playable content from the BMP, the rewards were a non-factor for me.

I'm not complaining about it being re-released for purchase, and please do not accuse me of doing so. I just think there were a lot of discrepancies about the BMP for both sides, and I'm sort of pissed about it.

If you're going by those quotes to form this opinion, I really don't see what you mean. She says quite clearly that "there are currently no plans," and "I do know there are no plans at present;" and neither say "we will not offer this again," or "there are no plans, nor will there ever be plans," etc. Instead of trying to read into her quotes, you could just plain read them as they are. There is that possibility that maybe, just maybe, they really didn't have plans to release the BMP later at that point in time. You think?

I don't see lies, or false advertising, or scam, or even a stretch of the truth in any shape or form.

At least be angry at the right party, read booooYA's Gaile Gray quotes.

What pisses me off about your post is that you assume that I have zero reading comprehension. Basically, what I said in my post was that it was completely unclear as to whether or not it would be available in the future, so those who jumped on early should not get bitched at for making a bad decision. I thought there was no other way, and it was not until after the promotion was over, when the complaints really started rolling in, that I felt it would be released. I'm not calling false advertising, lying, or scam so please don't put words in my mouth. I even said I don't believe it's a scam in my post. Gaile's first quote implies to me that I had to act during the promotion to ENSURE and be 100% CERTAIN that I would have access to the BMP. That's my biggest gripe.

I'm just saying I could have saved myself some cash if I had known what I do now. Being a poor college kid making minimum wage, paying $10 (for the BMP only) versus $40 for GW:EN + the BMP would have been nice.

my god...they're the same party...Gaile is hired by Anet to do the job that she is doing. She speaks for the company in these matters just as she speaks for us TO the company. She is not exclusive to Anet...she IS PART OF Anet. Therefore that point is completely moot...

But the thing is, that is the 100% truth about it. You did have to jump on it to be sure. They didn't know, so we didn't know. No one knew! So, am I to understand that you're not necessarily upset with Anet, you're upset about the uncertainty of the situation? They purposely left it open because they wanted that possibility to be there in case they decided to release it another time. Again, I don't see anything wrong with that at all.

Who, besides Anet, is getting bitched at, here?

I'm not angry, I'm disappointed. I am a little upset over how they handled it. I am a little upset when they mess with people's emotions. People who post here are GW fans, some are new some are old. We're FANS. We love Guild Wars. They don't have to beat around the bush to say what they don't mean but only put it that way to make me believe what they're saying. I'm a fan and I love Guild Wars, I do. I've been here nearly 3 years. I want to know a company's opinion when a FAN says: I don't trust you. I don't believe you. Can I really take what you're telling me at face value?

Fans don't need to be jerked around. Some have the opinion that Anet didn't mislead anyone with their legal jargon and have legal backgrounds to support this. I'm sorry but I'm not a legal anything. I'm a GW fan that needs 'Guild Wars for Dummies' when advertising is going to be presented, apparently.

I understand that a company is a company and they're out there for the almighty buck like any other company if they are going to be able to sustain their player base. I am not ungrateful that this game has no monthly fees. I love it because I would never play a game that had them. I like how they're techies are always trying to improve the game. I understand that it may not happen in the time we think it should, but hello all of us spoiled GW fanatics, this is a WORLD WIDE game. I'm not a techie but I do respect those that are because I at least have the concept that it's a hell of a lot of work. If I can't understand whatever C++ and other coding stuff is, then more power to the people that do. People are thinking: wow look at all these naive crybabies that thought this would never be sold in stores. Hello, nobody knew if they would or wouldn't but based on the PR it sure as hell seemed that way.

I've read all the Gaile bashing and I don't think it's placed appropriately. I do feel that Anet doesn't tell her as much as she's supposed to in order to accurately do her job. That isn't my relationship with Gaile, that is Gaile's relationship with the company. I understand that they may want to treat her as any other player so that she can experience things in the game on her own. However, given that she -is- the PR person, they can't really do that for her, as much as they'd like to. Why? Because the way we percieve our relationship with Anet is through Gaile as the medium. Anet doesn't tell her everything and therefore she ends up making false or misleading statements? That's Anet's fault. And if they think oh well, Gaile will take the blame for that one, then I'd have to say: wrong. How Anet treats Gaile also influences how I percieve them as a company. A company that possesses humanity or a company like any other and is driven solely by money instead of the human soul. Some may say it doesn't make a difference, and to some, it doesn't have to because your relationship with that company is different than my relationship with that company.

Those that knew this was gonna happen and that naive people that trust, like me, were going to get disappointed...good for you. You know how the world works, you can't trust anyone, and the world revolves around money. Please do me a favor and next time give me a head's up on the legal advertising jargon that is clear that I don't understand. I urge you to remind me that situations like this happen to stupid trusting people.

I hope that Anet remembers that a fan will trust and follow because they have a love for the game and it's best interests. There is no need or reason to do shady things to get us to fork over more money. If we do, it's because we enjoy this game and wish it to continue. If we do, it's because we think you're doing a great job with the game and want to see more of it and don't want it to end. This is not about the have's and the have not's. True, I made a decision and the decision was my own. I -chose- to buy $29.99 worth of stuff just to get a BMP. Did I believe it was now or never? Yes. As I stated before, I'm naive and I guess stupidly trusting to a fault. I gave up my love for having a box on display in my bookcase for the sake of getting something I thought I'd miss out on, that would no longer be available. For the sake of giving my money straight to a company that allows me to play a game I love, and eliminating the middle man.

Anyway, this is a long thread. A lot of thoughts/emotions/opinions. Based on our experiences, it's evident that we aren't going to agree on our perceptions on what is and is not misleading/implied/shady/etc.

No matter what our stance on this topic, I hope that we at least agree that it could have been handled differently and it could have been presented more clearly without so much uncertainty.

Now that I've let these feelings out, I'm going to go back to playing the game. My trust waivers and I'm not exactly the happiest person at the moment. I wonder if that matters to Anet, maybe I should ask them.

-------
Dear Anet,

I'm a GW fan and I love the game but I'm really disheartened over how the BMP situation was handled. My trust is waivering and I'm unhappy. What do you feel in knowing this? Does it impact you in any way or am I just being stupid and too trusting? Am I too naive and should grow up to how the real world is run and just expect that things like this are common and every day company practices?

Signed,
Stupidly Trusting/Believing/Fill in the Blank.
-------

*stops self from rambling more things!**presses 'post quick reply' for a reply that...wasn't so quick >.>* >.<

Look, for the record, I personally also thought it was my only chance to get the BMP, and I did spend the money in time to get it. I'm in the 'same boat,' here, but I just don't see any reason to complain. I was able to enjoy the BMP way before others that didn't get it during the promotion because I took part in that promotion. I was able to get it "free" with my purchase, instead of spending $10 USD because I took part in that promotion. I don't feel jipped, or cheated, or scammed - at all. I guess I'm just having a hard time trying to understand why others do. Just seems like a huge misunderstanding and assumption that led to feelings of regret.

I wanted EotN... I got the BMP with it. I have nothing to be angry at now that people can get it elsewhere.

What I am bothered over is the skins for Undead gold items. Rather... lacking...

Many people are saying, you should have known, it's your own fault, etc.

I just find it incredibly annoying that I wasted money that I did not need to spend because there was at first no mention of any other means of the BMP becoming available. This is honestly hard for me to explain, because I can justify it in my mind but it's hard to express it in words everyone else can understand. I guess Gaile's quote forced me into thinking that I better act right away, rather than wait, due to the fact that I would miss out completely since she really makes no mention of possibilities in the future. You can imply that no current plans means just that, and that it can mean things will change. I don't think there should be any uncertainty in situations like these. Like, "For a limited time we will be offering the Bonus Mission Pack for free with any $29 USD purchase from the online store. At a later time after the promotion is over, the BMP will be offered as a standalone at a cost of $10." If I had known that, I could have made a different decision regarding the way I acquired GW:EN and the BMP.

I can understand this was an experiment. Basically, this is just for future reference, since obviously nothing can be done now.

And edit for arcanemacabre's last post: The major gist of the reason I am annoyed by this is because I had no intention of buying GW:EN upon release because I didn't have the money for it; however,I really wanted those missions because they sounded totally awesome (forget about the rewards!). In order to do this, I had to borrow money off a friend, and spend more money. If I had known that they would have released it at a different time, I know I could have saved myself some money and I wouldn't have had to borrow any. Working a minimum wage job at only 20 hours a week (more like 10 now that the holidays are over) while you're in college sucks. The $10-$20 I could have saved goes so far.

Well, alright, I can see why you and others would be upset. However: upset at the situation, not Anet. These things happen. I don't think Anet, or Gaile even, should be blamed for this situation, though I do understand the frustration and anger needs to be vented somewhere.

I just remember back when I collected comic books and collector cards, there were many promotions similar to this - you buy so much, or a certain thing, and you get a special card or comic, whatever. The companies weren't as connected to their customers as Anet, so there wouldn't be any public announcements about what is special, or limited, or exclusive and what isn't. It would just be "collector" or "promotion" and many would get the idea that was it; this is your only chance to get this card or comic.

So, if it ever happened that that card or comic or whatever became available a different way, say mass-produced, or second run, or alternate printing, well, you'd just have to suck it up and deal. You'd get mad because you wasted money, or maybe got up real early to be at the store before others, only to have it re-released and your efforts wasted.

I can definitely understand the situation, and why people would be upset about it (I'm not on this situation since I was planning on getting GW:EN at release, anyway), but it's just not Anet's fault. I think Gaile worded her posts well, and I think they were very honest - they probably didn't know at the time, like I said. I also think it was a good decision by the company itself, both for their own profits, and for those who weren't able to get the BMP or just decided not to at the time.

But, I do see what you're saying. Maybe, in the future, they could have a more concrete plan, and make it clear what it is. It might have been better to offer this promotion and offer it in the store for $10 at the same time. So people could choose to get it 'free' with purchases they would normally make or buy it separately. Maybe, but as it stands, it's an inconvenience and it stirs up anger and frustration, but maybe some people (not saying you!) are taking it a bit too far and pointing fingers a bit too much.

Im actually really annoyed about this. I really only bought GWEN via their online store as I was led to believe I wouldn't be able to get hold of this bonus pack unless I did. I much prefer retail purchases. I like boxes for some reason.

I should of known they couldn't help themselves and cash in on it.

ANET you really have let us down this time.

As far as I can see the main difference falls into that "trust" category. Anet has, in most of those nearly three years I've been here now, earned said trust. As you seem to agree that they implied it was a limited time once only chance to get the BMP It just doesn't bother you that you were mislead. That reason seems to be that you always thought they would do such a thing so it's simply par for the course.

I really didn't blink when they asked me to purchase through the online store to get the BMP - they have always done as close to the right thing as they could. I have a certain amount of respect for a company that does that - especially as they get to a larger size (I expect that of locally owned stores - that is what you are spending extra over the chains for). Heck, if they had simply been up front I probably would have still done the same thing and been happy (again, more than happy to pay more for a company that I can trust). Even now there are ways to re-release the BMP that didn't make me feel lied too and yet they did about as wrong as that as they can (the whiners that felt the stuff would suck and let us pay for a beta are the ones that really made out - if it *had* sucked they would have called us chumps for purchasing it also).

However, this time not only were they less than direct (I wouldn't call it up to a lie, but misdirection) but called me stupid for believing them as apparently I am failing to understand what a promotion is. OK, I'll take their advice, call myself stupid, and know in the future to simply not trust them. I really can't see how they *ever* thought this would turn out well.

Gaile told me that is what I should do as an official response from Anet, then so be it. I don't know who that whole series of posts came from - from her mind or if that was simply passing on what she was told too. As such I can't blame her and see no reason to hammer her *specifically*. Of course, she is the liaison between us and the rest of Anet so the crap gets funneled to her even if I don't hold anything personal against her. I *do* hold something personal against those that thought this whole thing was a grand idea but I don't know who they are and since Anet (as a whole) supports it then I can't say I'm happy with them.

*shrug* they don't seem to be bothered that for the majority of people who found them a trustworthy company they moved into the standard "don't believe anything they tell you" and have catered to the "don't believe anything they say" crowd. As to if that will be bad or good in the long term I can't say, but I suspect that future "promotions" will have to be handled VERY differently or it will not sale well at all.

I do think what they are doing is par for the course, I just don't call what they are doing "misleading." Think about the Game of the Year. Were the in-game items that came with it a special bonus? I think so. Did they choose to re-release them as a separate store purchase? Why yes, yes they did.

If it wasn't for the people already bought the game, the GOTY edition wouldnt exist. Not offering to sell that to existing customers would have been daft.

Saying one thing and doing another is a whole new ball game though which seems to be what's getting up everyone's back here.

It was for sale for anyone who wanted to buy it. Not sure what you're getting at there. All they did is offer to sell the special items separately.

Also, they didn't say one thing and do another. You think they did by your understanding of what was said. That is the short and sweet of it.

EDIT: With regards to the GoTY edition: I'm not saying the situation is the same, though it is similar, my point is that looking back on it, selling the BMP in the store has a distinct echo of this past behavior. It doesn't seem like a stretch at all that Anet would do something like this, it's in their nature. How it was done may be pissing people off, but the actual act of re-releasing it is very much how Anet is - they want more people to have access to the content.

They worded it like that and from how it reads even Gaile had said in previous posts it seems she believed it too. I doubt they ever intended too resell it but they obviously changed their minds. From now on people will be untrusting when they say they are only going to offer A+B together only and not B on its own.

I know your trying to suggest that we read it wrong, but even their own staff read it wrong? Clever wording I guess leaving them with a small get out clause.