Originally posted by Euphoryk

Charging players 2/3s of the monthly sub fee for a single pet is absolutely ridiculous.

Are you or anyone else being forced to purchase those pets? They aren't called *vanity* pets for nothing. Vanity can be rather expensive...

 Did anyone see the part saying that some of the proceeds are going to the Make A Wish Foundation?

Or is that just another way Blizzard is going to "soften" up the community for the eventual cash shop?

And yet again, I didn't see anything stating that you are forced to buy the pets. 

_{good article.. I totally agree with it/.. and see no harm in sellin g the pets, if daoc did that and made it to make a wish foundationn. i would  buy one in a heartbeat...}

Originally posted by Bruwin

 

People always forget about the TCG loot items.

Like it or not, a lot of players have been asking for this very thing for a long time. As long as TCG has been around, in fact. Many collectors don't like having to sift through dozens upon dozens of cards to get that shiny piece of in game loot that they were looking for. They've been asking Blizzard to just cut out the middle man and offer vanity items for sale. Now they have.

Let's be entirely realistic here. Blizzard would never have implemented this if there was no market for it. But I've been a long time reader of the WoW forums, longer than I've played in fact. There has been people asking for this. And if there was enough posts of that nature for me to notice, then surely the people who get paid to read those forums and communicate with the rest of the WoW team has noticed them to. They judged that there was enough of a market to make a profit with it.

People complain about the evil bloodsucking corporation, but I've read literally dozens of posts from people excited about their new pets. And those are the people that Blizzard implemented this for.

Eventually all MMO's will have some form of RMT it is a cash cow,  just look at DDO they were dead for years and now the same game has to open new servers to keep up with demand. I play Perfect World and  the community there is awesome mainly because the Epeen factor has been removed.  Warhammeronline has already announced a Free 2 Play Model and there are rumblings about a cash shop as well...also look at SOE they are steeped in RMT right now. You really can't blame Blizzard for somthing that has already happend.

Edit:oops sorry replied to the wrong post but the sentiment stands :)

Originally posted by masterbbb26  people are sheep and will buy cash shop items + buy the game + pay subscription + buy expansions b/c thats the way of the flock

No they will buy the xpac, game, and subscription for the same reason everyone else buys things... the people that develop/make/gather those things have supply and there is a demand and therefore they have value.

Originally posted by Slampig

 Did anyone see the part saying that some of the proceeds are going to the Make A Wish Foundation?

 

Or is that just another way Blizzard is going to "soften" up the community for the eventual cash shop?

 

And yet again, I didn't see anything stating that you are forced to buy the pets. 

 

That is just a tax break, with your money.  You don't get the tax savings because you didn't contribute, Blizzard did.

Originally posted by colddog

Originally posted by Troneas

[quote=Jon Wood]When you go to the movies, you pay for your ticket. You expect that you're going to go in, have a seat to sit in, the movie will play properly, the sound will be working and all that jazz. Everything you need to have watched the movie. That's what the ticket covers. Now, the theatre also offers you the option of buying some popcorn, at a remarkably high makrup. You don't need that popcorn to get your money's worth out of the ticket you bought. You don't need that popcorn to enjoy the movie but it might just enhance your movie-going experience. Nobody yells at the kid behind the counter because it isn't included in the ticket price. It's business. I could completely see your beef though if you bought your ticket and they made you pay extra once you got there for sound.[/quote]

 

you are completely missing the point jon.

yes pets and decorative items can enhance your playing experience like popcorn in a cinema,

 

BUT

 

paid popcorn cannot be nerfed,

paid popcorn cannot be made obsolete with a new bigger paid popcorn during the movie session

popcorn does not affect your status in the cinema

etc etc

a better comparison would be:

 

movie ticket : $10

buy special goggles to enhance your viewing experience $1

you dont NEED to buy the goggles, but not doing so will prevent you from enjoying the movie the same way as the guy with goggles sitting next to you.

 

besides, we all know very well what an apparent harmless rmt pet could mean.

next you have a bigger pet on the rmt, then the accessories for the pet, suddenly the pet requires food to live which you need to RMT buy, then you can buy the small pet house...

i was surprised you are being so short sighted on this one.

 

 

 

I think his analogy was spot on. I think that having a vanity pet does not improve the gaming experience at all in any way. Just like I don't think popcorn does. 

 

Your analogy is the one that got off base and acted like it was offering a "feature". It is not offering a feature.

no it wasnt spot on

having a vanity pet improves your experience in the same way for some as having a vanity armor with the exact same stats than the one next to it but looks cooler. status is very important in an mmo.

and my analogy was spot on because popcorn, unlike the special goggles is consistant.

just like they can introduce a new vanity pet down the line, the cinema can introduce a new special goggle to replace the old one.

Originally posted by Troneas

Originally posted by colddog

Originally posted by Troneas

[quote=Jon Wood]When you go to the movies, you pay for your ticket. You expect that you're going to go in, have a seat to sit in, the movie will play properly, the sound will be working and all that jazz. Everything you need to have watched the movie. That's what the ticket covers. Now, the theatre also offers you the option of buying some popcorn, at a remarkably high makrup. You don't need that popcorn to get your money's worth out of the ticket you bought. You don't need that popcorn to enjoy the movie but it might just enhance your movie-going experience. Nobody yells at the kid behind the counter because it isn't included in the ticket price. It's business. I could completely see your beef though if you bought your ticket and they made you pay extra once you got there for sound.[/quote]

 

you are completely missing the point jon.

yes pets and decorative items can enhance your playing experience like popcorn in a cinema,

 

BUT

 

paid popcorn cannot be nerfed,

paid popcorn cannot be made obsolete with a new bigger paid popcorn during the movie session

popcorn does not affect your status in the cinema

etc etc

a better comparison would be:

 

movie ticket : $10

buy special goggles to enhance your viewing experience $1

you dont NEED to buy the goggles, but not doing so will prevent you from enjoying the movie the same way as the guy with goggles sitting next to you.

 

besides, we all know very well what an apparent harmless rmt pet could mean.

next you have a bigger pet on the rmt, then the accessories for the pet, suddenly the pet requires food to live which you need to RMT buy, then you can buy the small pet house...

i was surprised you are being so short sighted on this one.

 

 

 

I think his analogy was spot on. I think that having a vanity pet does not improve the gaming experience at all in any way. Just like I don't think popcorn does. 

 

Your analogy is the one that got off base and acted like it was offering a "feature". It is not offering a feature.

 

no it wasnt spot on

 

having a vanity pet improves your experience in the same way for some as having a vanity armor with the exact same stats than the one next to it but looks cooler. status is very important in an mmo.

and my analogy was spot on because popcorn, unlike the special goggles is consistant.

 

just like they can introduce a new vanity pet down the line, the cinema can introduce a new special goggle to replace the old one.

I could give a rat's arse about status, i just like having a pandaren pet, not because others will think im cool (stopped caring about that around age 20) I just like the pandaren and their appearance.

Edit: and as far as status goes: to a mature rational player, status comes from ability and personality not what your gear looks like or what pets follow you.....   Otherwise I wouldn't group with my friends I'd Merc out and find a "hardcore" guild.

 Man so many only want to look at the negative of everything, no wonder nobody is happy around here.

here's the arguement-- they are just selling fluff items, argument against, but but but! they could do this and that and blah blah blah, until they do it i don't really care.  there here comes people --but if we don't cry about it now they will do whatever they want blah blah blah, guess what, they will do whatever they want anyways.

People have been screaming about what companies do with their mmo's for years now and yet no matter how much doom and gloom is spit out, they are still here, these companies will have enough people playing their games, the minority that hate RMT will just have to go back to buying single player games and paying for the extra content from the CE's..shh just don't tell them paying for extra content in a CE is basically like RMT.

Originally posted by Ruyn

Originally posted by Slampig

 Did anyone see the part saying that some of the proceeds are going to the Make A Wish Foundation?

 

Or is that just another way Blizzard is going to "soften" up the community for the eventual cash shop?

 

And yet again, I didn't see anything stating that you are forced to buy the pets. 

 

 

That is just a tax break, with your money.  You don't get the tax savings because you didn't contribute, Blizzard did.

That is a cop-out. The fact is they are donating proceeds from these sales to charity which is not a bad thing at all. I don't care about getting a tax break. The point I am making is that it isn't just a completely money grabbing act on Blizzards part, but then again trying to make people see things like that around here is tantamount to bashing my head against a brick wall.

This thread is bringing back terrible flashbacks from the SWG "Vets" forum...make it stop....

Originally posted by thg7f

Originally posted by Troneas

 

you are completely missing the point jon.

BUT

 paid popcorn cannot be nerfed,

paid popcorn cannot be made obsolete with a new bigger paid popcorn during the movie session

popcorn does not affect your status in the cinema

etc etc

a better comparison would be:

movie ticket : $10

buy special goggles to enhance your viewing experience $1

you dont NEED to buy the goggles, but not doing so will prevent you from enjoying the movie the same way as the guy with goggles sitting next to you. 

besides, we all know very well what an apparent harmless rmt pet could mean.

next you have a bigger pet on the rmt, then the accessories for the pet, suddenly the pet requires food to live which you need to RMT buy, then you can buy the small pet house...

i was surprised you are being so short sighted on this one.

 

 

 

No it is you that is missing his point.  He is saying yes there is a potential for all of this, but he still finds it unlikely.  Until it gets a little further along the slope, that getting upset is actually counter-productive to the masses that are mad.

 

edit:

And as far as adding more pets and accessories.  Once again, they did not, do not, and will not ever be game-affecting.  They are called non-combat pets for a reason, they give no stats, they don't let you into special dungeons, or fetch epic gear, they are bop so people wont sell them in game for ridiculous prices.   So if they add 1 pet or 1 million pets the differnce would absolute 0.

in-game houses also dont allow you into special dungeons, or have stats, or fetch epic gear.

how would you feel to have to buy an rmt house in your mmo?

the character and its immediate wears are NOT the only relevant posession in an mmo. the rest of the fluff is there for a reason, and if it werent they wouldnt be trying to sell pets would they?

They're vanity pets people, calm down. They have absolutely no effect on your character's abilities so it's not like Blizzard is executing a micro-transaction business model where only the players who make purchases can stay competitive. Some people like to collect the pets, and it's really not that different than the TCG rewards(all of them cosmetic/vanity) and the Blizzcon gifts (also cosmetic/vanity pets/mounts) given to attendees.

You know what I find funny?

People claiming that Blizzard doing this is nothing big, but you'd be wrong.

They CAN sell gear in these shops if they chose to, you know what it would be? Heirloom gear, instead of adding in more, they could simply tack on a $5 tag to the item ($7.50 if it adds to gained xp) to these. They aren't required now are they? Its just Heirloom gear right? Well, the current heirloom gear wont scale past 80, they've already admitted that, so whats to stop them from doing this with the next set, or adding a price to "upgrade" the gear so it does.

Besides, the pets in the store DO affect the game. The pets count towards achievements, and as they add more pets to the store, what's going to happen?

Either the pet achievements will have to be doubled to reflect this (making it even harder, if not near impossible, to get this without spending $20+), or they will just include crappy pets into it (like they do already).

They could also start selling mounts too, those dont affect the game either.

People really need to start looking at the implications of this in the context of WoW and the new money-grubbing Acti-blizz.

As for the TCG pets and mounts, guess what? Its a card-game, they chose to give you a bit more of an incentive if you are a WoW player to try the card game. IF you enjoy it, guess what?   Then if you do get a loot card, its a bonus. If you just enjoy the cardgame, well you got a gift for a friend if he plays WoW (or free cash on ebay :P)

I think a good deal of the issue is that it does have a detrimental effect on the gameplay for some people. Everyone knows there are people out there who will want one of these pets, but they do not want to give into the the "machine" that is blizzard. They would feel dirty by paying for an extra, but at the same time they want the item really bad to stand out from the crowd in a way. Other people who get to stand in town showing their pet off will make them rage and thus ruins the game.

Everyone else who either buys a pet, or knows they have zero need or want for it will not be affected at all.

Personally although I don't play WoW nor anything else at this point in time, I don't get why all the hate towards blizzard for selling a permanent item available to all characters for $10. Maybe you all missed the news that it will cost you $12.50  to get a 1 time retcon for your Hero in Champions Online, and sure, you can do that ingame as well, which will be an arguement for some. But that makes it worse because 1) its not needed and should be earned ingame and 2) it DOES have an effect on gameplay, by giving some people the ability to switch to FOTM while still keeping their ingame gold for other things.

Originally posted by Troneas

Originally posted by thg7f

Originally posted by Troneas

 

you are completely missing the point jon.

BUT

 paid popcorn cannot be nerfed,

paid popcorn cannot be made obsolete with a new bigger paid popcorn during the movie session

popcorn does not affect your status in the cinema

etc etc

a better comparison would be:

movie ticket : $10

buy special goggles to enhance your viewing experience $1

you dont NEED to buy the goggles, but not doing so will prevent you from enjoying the movie the same way as the guy with goggles sitting next to you. 

besides, we all know very well what an apparent harmless rmt pet could mean.

next you have a bigger pet on the rmt, then the accessories for the pet, suddenly the pet requires food to live which you need to RMT buy, then you can buy the small pet house...

i was surprised you are being so short sighted on this one.

 

 

 

No it is you that is missing his point.  He is saying yes there is a potential for all of this, but he still finds it unlikely.  Until it gets a little further along the slope, that getting upset is actually counter-productive to the masses that are mad.

 

edit:

And as far as adding more pets and accessories.  Once again, they did not, do not, and will not ever be game-affecting.  They are called non-combat pets for a reason, they give no stats, they don't let you into special dungeons, or fetch epic gear, they are bop so people wont sell them in game for ridiculous prices.   So if they add 1 pet or 1 million pets the differnce would absolute 0.

 

in-game houses also dont allow you into special dungeons, or have stats, or fetch epic gear.

 

how would you feel to have to buy an rmt house in your mmo?

 

the character and its immediate wears are NOT the only relevant posession in an mmo. the rest of the fluff is there for a reason, and if it werent they wouldnt be trying to sell pets would they?

Well as opposed to not having one available... I'd gladly pay an extra couple bucks a month for a house, or guild house for that matter.  Granted player houses do give some in-game benefit.. ie place to store things etc.

Ask yourself this... Did BLizzard setup item shop to sell just two pets ever? 

You all know the answer to this dont you ?

Making the assumption - just like John - that MMOs need to make more profit, then everyone should also know where it will lead.

But I think Im not the only person in the world today that feels like the last fortress of true gamers has fallen.   BLizzard as a company was build by gamers - for gamers.  Thats what made their game popular.  They were not doing anything else than createing unconditional fun in games.  And if it wasn't fun -then it simply wasn't there.

Blizzard has sold out - and at the same time changing the face of WOW forever.  Before WOW was a game where the GAMER could while playing get everything in the game.  This fundemental thing has now changed.  Some ppl are talkin about the card game pets beeing exactly the same.  Thats simply not true since ppl that bought the Card game were not nessiserily WOW players - they were buying a card game.  

This is a sad day in more ways than one.  BLizzard has always been the icon of what was possible to do when the gamers were in control.  They are no longer in control at BLizzard.  The company is now driven by other means than what it was built on.  This is a fundemental change - and is sadly just the start of what is to come from the company. 

Will ppl really belive that diablo 3 or starcraft will be created for the gamers now ?  Or even cataclysm?  How many items will only be available through items shops ?  How many maps will be released in SC and how many will you have to pay extra for through the new Blizzmalll that are forced to go through now? 

And where will it stop?  Vanity items ... as in look of gear ?  Can ppl buy diffrent colours on armor ?  Even diffrent looking pieces that can be added to the tier armor already in the game?   Its endless questions and we all know by now that there is no limit or a line that wont be crossed - Cause BLizzard has already crossed it.  Now its only a questino how much the buisness model can push the true gamers working at BLizzard.  And tbh - there seems to be very few of those left.  If any.

Originally posted by Troneas

 

no it wasnt spot on

 

having a vanity pet improves your experience in the same way for some as having a vanity armor with the exact same stats than the one next to it but looks cooler. status is very important in an mmo.

and my analogy was spot on because popcorn, unlike the special goggles is consistant.

 

just like they can introduce a new vanity pet down the line, the cinema can introduce a new special goggle to replace the old one.

Yep I think this has been put into perspective now...this is the sentiment from an MMOfringe devotee...the same website that was formed simply to bash SOE by the Whineass  SWG vet community.  So folks if you are crying about vanity pets you are basically hitching your wagon to Internets  lunitic fringe

Originally posted by thg7f

Originally posted by Troneas

Originally posted by colddog

Originally posted by Troneas

[quote=Jon Wood]When you go to the movies, you pay for your ticket. You expect that you're going to go in, have a seat to sit in, the movie will play properly, the sound will be working and all that jazz. Everything you need to have watched the movie. That's what the ticket covers. Now, the theatre also offers you the option of buying some popcorn, at a remarkably high makrup. You don't need that popcorn to get your money's worth out of the ticket you bought. You don't need that popcorn to enjoy the movie but it might just enhance your movie-going experience. Nobody yells at the kid behind the counter because it isn't included in the ticket price. It's business. I could completely see your beef though if you bought your ticket and they made you pay extra once you got there for sound.[/quote]

 

you are completely missing the point jon.

yes pets and decorative items can enhance your playing experience like popcorn in a cinema,

 

BUT

 

paid popcorn cannot be nerfed,

paid popcorn cannot be made obsolete with a new bigger paid popcorn during the movie session

popcorn does not affect your status in the cinema

etc etc

a better comparison would be:

 

movie ticket : $10

buy special goggles to enhance your viewing experience $1

you dont NEED to buy the goggles, but not doing so will prevent you from enjoying the movie the same way as the guy with goggles sitting next to you.

 

besides, we all know very well what an apparent harmless rmt pet could mean.

next you have a bigger pet on the rmt, then the accessories for the pet, suddenly the pet requires food to live which you need to RMT buy, then you can buy the small pet house...

i was surprised you are being so short sighted on this one.

 

 

 

I think his analogy was spot on. I think that having a vanity pet does not improve the gaming experience at all in any way. Just like I don't think popcorn does. 

 

Your analogy is the one that got off base and acted like it was offering a "feature". It is not offering a feature.

 

no it wasnt spot on

 

having a vanity pet improves your experience in the same way for some as having a vanity armor with the exact same stats than the one next to it but looks cooler. status is very important in an mmo.

and my analogy was spot on because popcorn, unlike the special goggles is consistant.

 

just like they can introduce a new vanity pet down the line, the cinema can introduce a new special goggle to replace the old one.

I could give a rat's arse about status, i just like having a pandaren pet, not because others will think im cool (stopped caring about that around age 20) I just like the pandaren and their appearance.

 

 

Edit: and as far as status goes: to a mature rational player, status comes from ability and personality not what your gear looks like or what pets follow you.....   Otherwise I wouldn't group with my friends I'd Merc out and find a "hardcore" guild.

well im sorry, that may be your taste but why do you think developers bother to produce better looking armor and wears as your character levels up? or badges to show off? or bigger and better houses?

just because it doesnt affect you it doesnt make it any less true.

The issue for which most people have, Jon, is something that seem to have eluded you entirely.

In MMORPGs there are two business models. One that wants you to pay a monthly fee and one that wants you to pay for items or other ingame stuff, so called RMTs.

What is slowly happening now, started with Champions Online, is that companies are now trying to do both. They want to both eat the cake (have monthly subscription fee) and have the cake (income from RMTs).

Nice speech about companies having to worry about their bottom lines but the fact is that games, most of games, charged only ONCE for the game and then never again. MMORPGs stretched that by requiring a monthly fee, allegadly for the infrastructure and other costs related to maintaining an MMORPG. But now they want all three, first a one time payment, then a subscription fee and now also RMTs.

Now you may try to convince us that this is "bussiness as usual" (maybe because MMORPG.COM lives on ad money from said companies) but anyone with half a brain realises that if games were profitable before then why do they now all of the sudden require all this extra income? Is it for surviving? Does anyone really think that WoW with its 11 million subscribers (with all the millions coming in every month from those people) are really hurting for money?

No, it is all about greed and about companies that have alot but wants more and more. Which coincidently is one of the reasons for why the world economy is in the state it is. Greed and more greed.

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Its amazing people are STILL going on with the irrational hyperbole.

 

Nice rant, Jon, but the first sentence contains an error so massive it makes you look foolish right out of the gate.  Yesterday Blizzard announced that the BLIZZARD STORE would be selling in-game pets (vanity pets) that are BoA.  They did NOT say they were putting in an in-game store (we call them vendors) where you would spend real money (secure transactions are secure?) to buy vanity pets.  The pets are available from the online store (http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100000763 for the Pandaran Pet and http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100000762 for the Mini-K.T. pet) for $10US a piece.

The part that amuses me to no end is people like the first poster in this thread, who somehow think that getting another vanity pet at a discount is a bad thing.

Discount?

Yes, discount.  I paid $30US each for my collector's edition vanity pets, and the one that came with Vanilla WoW made me have to make a choice between one of three (you couldn't have all three like you can now) so I had to have alts to show off all three of them.  That's $90US shelled out for a special pet only a handful of players like myself would be able to show off.  Even considering 5 pets for that price means I still paid $18US each for them, or nearly twice what they're asking for the new pets.

CRY

ME

A

RIVER.

If you don't want to spend the money, don't.  Just don't expect them to hand the pets over for free.  Blizzard may not be about item mall-based games, but they know what people will pay money for and they don't change their pricing over whiners.

Anyway, not a bad article otherwise.  Keep up the good work and get someone to proof/fact check your work so you don't make this kind of mistake again.

Originally posted by Troneas

Originally posted by thg7f

Originally posted by Troneas

 

you are completely missing the point jon.

BUT

 paid popcorn cannot be nerfed,

paid popcorn cannot be made obsolete with a new bigger paid popcorn during the movie session

popcorn does not affect your status in the cinema

etc etc

a better comparison would be:

movie ticket : $10

buy special goggles to enhance your viewing experience $1

you dont NEED to buy the goggles, but not doing so will prevent you from enjoying the movie the same way as the guy with goggles sitting next to you. 

besides, we all know very well what an apparent harmless rmt pet could mean.

next you have a bigger pet on the rmt, then the accessories for the pet, suddenly the pet requires food to live which you need to RMT buy, then you can buy the small pet house...

i was surprised you are being so short sighted on this one.

 

 

 

No it is you that is missing his point.  He is saying yes there is a potential for all of this, but he still finds it unlikely.  Until it gets a little further along the slope, that getting upset is actually counter-productive to the masses that are mad.

 

edit:

And as far as adding more pets and accessories.  Once again, they did not, do not, and will not ever be game-affecting.  They are called non-combat pets for a reason, they give no stats, they don't let you into special dungeons, or fetch epic gear, they are bop so people wont sell them in game for ridiculous prices.   So if they add 1 pet or 1 million pets the differnce would absolute 0.

 

in-game houses also dont allow you into special dungeons, or have stats, or fetch epic gear.

 

how would you feel to have to buy an rmt house in your mmo?

 

the character and its immediate wears are NOT the only relevant posession in an mmo. the rest of the fluff is there for a reason, and if it werent they wouldnt be trying to sell pets would they?

Fluff is there for a reason. Would you care to know that reason? It's really quite simple...

People like fluff!

That's all there is to it. I know lots and lots of people who enjoy having things for the sake of having them. Status doesn't enter the picture. In wow, I stalked the time lost protodrake for 2 weeks, not because it would raise my status, but because I liked the model, and I think the gold and black coloration is the best combo for that model.

I'm really sorry that it's difficult for you to understand, but people really do enjoy having certain things for the sake of having them.

Originally posted by Troneas

Originally posted by thg7f

Originally posted by Troneas

Originally posted by colddog

Originally posted by Troneas

[quote=Jon Wood]When you go to the movies, you pay for your ticket. You expect that you're going to go in, have a seat to sit in, the movie will play properly, the sound will be working and all that jazz. Everything you need to have watched the movie. That's what the ticket covers. Now, the theatre also offers you the option of buying some popcorn, at a remarkably high makrup. You don't need that popcorn to get your money's worth out of the ticket you bought. You don't need that popcorn to enjoy the movie but it might just enhance your movie-going experience. Nobody yells at the kid behind the counter because it isn't included in the ticket price. It's business. I could completely see your beef though if you bought your ticket and they made you pay extra once you got there for sound.[/quote]

 

you are completely missing the point jon.

yes pets and decorative items can enhance your playing experience like popcorn in a cinema,

 

BUT

 

paid popcorn cannot be nerfed,

paid popcorn cannot be made obsolete with a new bigger paid popcorn during the movie session

popcorn does not affect your status in the cinema

etc etc

a better comparison would be:

 

movie ticket : $10

buy special goggles to enhance your viewing experience $1

you dont NEED to buy the goggles, but not doing so will prevent you from enjoying the movie the same way as the guy with goggles sitting next to you.

 

besides, we all know very well what an apparent harmless rmt pet could mean.

next you have a bigger pet on the rmt, then the accessories for the pet, suddenly the pet requires food to live which you need to RMT buy, then you can buy the small pet house...

i was surprised you are being so short sighted on this one.

 

 

 

I think his analogy was spot on. I think that having a vanity pet does not improve the gaming experience at all in any way. Just like I don't think popcorn does. 

 

Your analogy is the one that got off base and acted like it was offering a "feature". It is not offering a feature.

 

no it wasnt spot on

 

having a vanity pet improves your experience in the same way for some as having a vanity armor with the exact same stats than the one next to it but looks cooler. status is very important in an mmo.

and my analogy was spot on because popcorn, unlike the special goggles is consistant.

 

just like they can introduce a new vanity pet down the line, the cinema can introduce a new special goggle to replace the old one.

I could give a rat's arse about status, i just like having a pandaren pet, not because others will think im cool (stopped caring about that around age 20) I just like the pandaren and their appearance.

 

 

Edit: and as far as status goes: to a mature rational player, status comes from ability and personality not what your gear looks like or what pets follow you.....   Otherwise I wouldn't group with my friends I'd Merc out and find a "hardcore" guild.

 

well im sorry, that may be your taste but why do you think developers bother to produce better looking armor and wears as your character levels up? or badges to show off? or bigger and better houses?

 

just because it doesnt affect you it doesnt make it any less true.

Buying one of these pets will effectively give you less status. In WoW, you will be considered a wannabe scrub.

Hoorah Jon Wood!

It is incredible to me the level of childish, anti-capitalist nonsense that people can spout. As if a for-profit company should'nt make more money! Your comparison to buying popcorn to go with your movie is right on the money - pun intended :D

Originally posted by Yamota

The issue for which most people have, Jon, is something that seem to have eluded you entirely.

In MMORPGs there are two business models. One that wants you to pay a monthly fee and one that wants you to pay for items or other ingame stuff, so called RMTs.

What is slowly happening now, started with Champions Online, is that companies are now trying to do both. They want to both eat the cake (have monthly subscription fee) and have the cake (income from RMTs).

Nice speech about companies having to worry about their bottom lines but the fact is that games, most of games, charged only ONCE for the game and then never again. MMORPGs stretched that by requiring a monthly fee, allegadly for the infrastructure and other costs related to maintaining an MMORPG. But now they want all three, first a one time payment, then a subscription fee and now also RMTs.

Now you may try to convince us that this is "bussiness as usual" (maybe because MMORPG.COM lives on ad money from said companies) but anyone with half a brain realises that if games were profitable before then why do they now all of the sudden require all this extra income? Is it for surviving? Does anyone really think that WoW with its 11 million subscribers (with all the millions coming in every month from those people) are really hurting for money?

No, it is all about greed and about companies that have alot but wants more and more. Which coincidently is one of the reasons for why the world economy is in the state it is. Greed and more greed.

Very nicely summed up.  Best post thus far in thread.