General Discussion

Originally posted by Guintu

 

Originally posted by Sylvanus

 

Originally posted by Guintu

 

But then we're just hoping the money is going to be spent to make the game better.  Look at our government and all the propositions we have every year.  How much money actually gets spent on things that are promised instead of a nicer hourse or car for the fat cats?  What are they going to do give a $5 a month raise to people and the rest will go to the CEO of Ncsoft?  Plus just because you give someone more money doesn't make them more creative, unless they have people threatening to leave the company unless they get a raise.  What are they going to do with the extra money they make?  Give raises?  Hire more people?  Build a nicer lounge?  Buy Rock Band so people can play it when their not working? 

 

The questions they should be asking to see if this is going to actually help is:

1.  How many people will actually keep the ads on?

2.  If we made a F2P server with ads how many of the P2P people would move to F2P?  I would think it would be about 1-3% because most people would pay to not have ads in a game.

3.  How many new players would they get if they made a F2P server with ads (I think this is the big question)?   I think the game population would double if not triple. 

4.  When Champions comes out (and if its good) how many people will leave COH/COV?

You're dizzying yourself with questions.  You have a simple choice if you're a subscriber.  Ads on or off.  Make your choice.  If you find you don't care for the decisions made down the road, you don't have to remain a subscriber.  While it might be a fun mental exercise, chasing your tail with possibilities you can't answer is pointless.  The only way you'll be able to find out it through time and patience.

 

So, until then... Game on! 

X-Play had a conversation about ingame advertising today and Morgan Webb said that if their is ads in a game the gamer should get something for having to look at them.  I agree.  We pay for cable tv and on most stations we still have ads, movie prices go up and their playing ads before the movie even starts, plus more and more movie and tv shows are using product placement.  We're so use to paying for watching ads that now their are people who are letting this happen in games.  We're paying for the game and they hope that we keep the ads on.  I'll turn them off thank you.  If they give me something to leave the ads on then I'll turn them on.

 

Even free games like 2moons let you turn off the ads, but if you leave them on you get double expeience.  The whole idea is give the gamer something, say thank you for playing the game and leaving the ads on.  Thank you for upping my pay check so I can buy a BMW 500 series instead of the 300 series.  Thank you for giviing me more money so I can send my kid to USC instead of Csun.  Don't just say here are ads, you can turn them off, but if you leave them on we'll make more money.

So re-investing all the money made back into the game to deliver you a better gaming experience is not something for you?

Ever since NCSoft took over the game completely, we are slowly starting to see more micropayment (wedding pack anyone?) and alternate revenue streams.  Makes me wonder if the game is losing subs and therefore not as profitable as NCSoft thought it would be.

At any rate, it's an optional function but...

I can't help but think this is a slippery slope.  I can't help but think NCSoft is just experimenting on how much the playerbase is willing to accept.  Before NCSoft took over, the devs said there would be no in-game advertising but now there will be.  I expect to see more micropayment options like the wedding pack in the near future which were generally free before.

I don't like the trend.

Originally posted by SpectralHunt

Ever since NCSoft took over the game completely, we are slowly starting to see more micropayment (wedding pack anyone?) and alternate revenue streams.  Makes me wonder if the game is losing subs and therefore not as profitable as NCSoft thought it would be.

At any rate, it's an optional function but...

I can't help but think this is a slippery slope.  I can't help but think NCSoft is just experimenting on how much the playerbase is willing to accept.  Before NCSoft took over, the devs said there would be no in-game advertising but now there will be.  I expect to see more micropayment options like the wedding pack in the near future which were generally free before.

I don't like the trend.

 

 Now that you put it that way, I do tend to agree with you...

if there is in-game advertising in an MMO, why do I need to pay a monthly fee? That doesn't make much sense to me at all.

Wow... some people just want to be terminally unhappy and disgruntled.  It never ceases to amaze me the level of angst, bitterness and outright anger (not to mention suspicion and distrust) there is pervasely running through *gaming* forums.  GAMING.  As in a recreational activity that is a pure luxury OPTION in your life.

Some of you people really are emotionally disturbed.  And it is perfectly valid to make this judgement based solely on what you post here.  Internet postings are more than enough to identify a chronically unhappy and obsessive personality.

When a company decides to test the waters with an OPT-IN system of ad supported revenue and your reaction is resentment, rage and deep seeded suspicion, it is time to step AWAY from the keyboard.  When you find yourself saying things like "ALL OF THESE DAMN IDIOT MMO DEVS!!!!" you are TOO EMOTIONALLY INVESTED in GAMING.  Step AWAY from the keyboard.

Do you people who react this way HONESTLY not see how abnormal it is?  If you DESPISE the games and their developers DONT play them!  Its as if these companies were preventing you from going home to see your family or something.  They produce a product that you do NOT have to buy, they arent your mother and father who owe you some kind of legacy.

All of this furor over ads and yet I bet so many of you SWOON over Google.  After all, Google is the DARLING of the millenials.  VERY odd that the conspiracy obsessed generation is in LOVE with an ad agency.

If they want to put the focus a LITTLE on these adds.

Maybe they could add a mini monster.  A mob which is always your level.  Kinda like a freakshow faction.  These guys vandalize ads.  But they always drop an SO.  You also work on the "worning out" the ads concept.  The idea is to blend the ads in the surrounding.  Usually ads try to get your attention, not here, it is reverse, they don't really want it...the player is playing, don't want him to slip from that mindset, subliminal works better than harassment.

While you would be hunting for these guys, for the SO boost at level 10-40, you would invariably see some ads and be in a positive mind setting, knowing SOs are about to drop.  It doesn't have to be an uber loot, just something good at early levels...and some badges.  There would be many reasons to keep the ads FAR from the endgame, the mindset of the players been the first reason.

Originally posted by mlambert890

Wow... some people just want to be terminally unhappy and disgruntled.  It never ceases to amaze me the level of angst, bitterness and outright anger (not to mention suspicion and distrust) there is pervasely running through *gaming* forums.  GAMING.  As in a recreational activity that is a pure luxury OPTION in your life.

Some of you people really are emotionally disturbed.  And it is perfectly valid to make this judgement based solely on what you post here.  Internet postings are more than enough to identify a chronically unhappy and obsessive personality.

When a company decides to test the waters with an OPT-IN system of ad supported revenue and your reaction is resentment, rage and deep seeded suspicion, it is time to step AWAY from the keyboard.  When you find yourself saying things like "ALL OF THESE DAMN IDIOT MMO DEVS!!!!" you are TOO EMOTIONALLY INVESTED in GAMING.  Step AWAY from the keyboard.

Do you people who react this way HONESTLY not see how abnormal it is?  If you DESPISE the games and their developers DONT play them!  Its as if these companies were preventing you from going home to see your family or something.  They produce a product that you do NOT have to buy, they arent your mother and father who owe you some kind of legacy.

All of this furor over ads and yet I bet so many of you SWOON over Google.  After all, Google is the DARLING of the millenials.  VERY odd that the conspiracy obsessed generation is in LOVE with an ad agency.

You are correct.  Still, sometimes I smile to see some of these people get the panties in a bunch.

Originally posted by SpectralHunt

Ever since NCSoft took over the game completely, we are slowly starting to see more micropayment (wedding pack anyone?) and alternate revenue streams.  Makes me wonder if the game is losing subs and therefore not as profitable as NCSoft thought it would be.

At any rate, it's an optional function but...

I can't help but think this is a slippery slope.  I can't help but think NCSoft is just experimenting on how much the playerbase is willing to accept.  Before NCSoft took over, the devs said there would be no in-game advertising but now there will be.  I expect to see more micropayment options like the wedding pack in the near future which were generally free before.

I don't like the trend.

 

The wedding pack is optional.  To date, any micro-transaction items have eventually been available for free.  If you want to bemoan about not having a tux or tiara, so be it.  I certainly wasn't interested in it and as a result don't have it. ... Yet.