Originally posted by marcust

Well said OP

I second that.

 What happened to the Asian-Pacific population? I missed this article a few days back. Eh, life on lifes terms. But going over it it gives a good perspective on the US Domestic market. It also gave good insight into the UK market and PARTS of the EU.

I was really hoping to see Asia. It also didn't specify how it got that information. I would love to get my hands on a copy of the report itself.

Good journalism Jon. What I came away with was some simple math.

(EVE + FPS) x (F2P + MMO) = BP

Am I in the right neck of the "woods" here?

 If someone has the ability to just jump into a predator and start blasting away will drive me nuts. It has to have a progression factor, but I do agree that these vehicles should be part of the game.

So should the myriad of spacecraft and interplanetary travel.

But what about ingame economy?

Originally posted by Einherjar_LC

Originally posted by astrob0y

I got a key to a friend of mine. He is now hooked and will join me in the rush against the nasty zombies.  

 

OT: Yeah MW2 wasnt as good as I wanted it to be as well. Hopefully BC2 will be better.  

 

Same here.

 

Got a friend a key the day they gave them away.  It took her one day to call me back and say that she loved it and will be subbing past her initial 30 days.

 

 

What zombehs? I play FE also, I want to kill some zombeeee's!

 Was a great time for me! I logged on to check some mail, read a blog and BAM! There was the free CLIENT key for Fallen Earth. I haven't played the game since bleeding beta stage so I logged onto my account, used the key and downloaded the game for FREE.

F..R...E.....E.....

Free is for me and anytime I can get something free, its a good time. I checked the keys no later than two and a half hours later and they were goners. They gave me a free (30 diggery days of free playtime) month for a trial and I can play FE for a month and then log out, cancel my account if I want to. Risk FREE!

Isn't FFXIII console only? So I would have to buy a PS3 or XBAWX to play it. Then drop $60+ for the (linear game) disk.

Ok, lets recap: FREE > cost

Thanks.

 Ok, Good post and I will try to field these questions in order.

1) Yes, I would accept a higher monthly fee for a game. I have incidentally payed higher than the traditional $15 fee a few times. Whether it be from a cash shop or monthly fee plus some services, I rarely just pay $15 a month for the entire lifespan of my relationship to the game. 

If you factor in buying expansions for certain games (wow) it averages out to more than 15 bucks. But not many look at it that way. 

2) Yes, I would and normally do. I rarely feel the pinch of lack of content. Granted, if I started playing a game with NO CONTENT such as been the case with Mortal Online, it would bore me. But if I liked the game itself I would give the devs a chance to "gel" I understand  there are many challenges of being a new mmorpg developer. Not everyone is going to be 100%, 100% of the time.

I'm willing to overlook some things, and some things I just won't. Lack of customer service is one of the BIG dealbreakers for me.

3) Yes, as I stated above I would give them time to grow into lets say a "CCP". Most times I just tend to sit back and wait to see how they handle the growth process, making changes to the game as they go along. Sometimes I don't watch the game as much as the company.

For example: Funcom. They have some such a long way and made such strides to improve AoC. I do not like AoC, its not the game I like to play. But it doesn't mean I didn't like Anarchy or I'm not going to play Secret World. I am pulling for them because I have seen a great effort from them in improvements. They have a good grasp on community matters and good customer service. I can see that over the years working in the industry they have "gelled" but haven't seen the success that some other co's have had.

So to sum this all up. If The Secret World was released, hypothetically it was a sandbox game with a realistic economy. It had EVE's time based skillpoint system or Darkfalls repetitive use skill system. It had all the things I want in an MMO, because the list is longer and getting longer every day. I would pay WELL OVER 15 smackaroos to play it and have the ultimate MMO experience "FOR ME". 

I know I'm long winded, but it was a topic that stirred some thought.

Mostly because I spend any free time I have gaming as I no longer fancy bars and other so called "adult" activities that I'd end up spending way more on than in a cash shop. That said, I'd most assuredly switch to those adult hobbies (more hunting and fishing and camping, etc.) and their expenses than pay for items in a cash shop. Hey, at least with those I get to keep an item that I can actually do something with in the real world (since I'm spending real world cash for an item and not a service which is what P2P are(a service)). - Kalathwyr

 

 

Kal,

I totally agree with you and I am in the same boat. I no longer partake in the "cool" adult activities like bars and clubs. For the money I spend on 2 drinks I could pay for 1 month subscription. I just choose to do other things with my time.

Although I do many other things such as hiking, camping and the gym. Gaming has and always will be my guilty pleasure. On topic: My snobberey usually becomes more prominent when I am looking at the mechanics and the graphics of a game. I am not too concerned with the f2p or not to f2p split. I just want to play a good game and have fun.

Thats why we: hike, camp, party, game, race fast cars, chase hot girls, box, read, watch TV etc. Its because these activities make us happy. If we are not happy with what we are doing, we don't like a TV show, it doesn't mean we are snobs, it means we have TASTE.

Frank

Originally posted by Kyleran

Well, I've played F2P's with a cash shop (ROM) and while the game was decent enough, I didn't like the impact the cash shop had on player power in PVP.  With many players spending several hundred dollars on their lower level sets and up to reportedly $8000 for one player's set, I don't want to be part of game where cash can make such a difference.

Other games like DDO seem to have a more acceptable model, so sure, I'll probably consider playing them.

Biggest problem with many cash shop games is they are designed to "strongly" encourage the player to spend money in them, (which is fine, I realize they need to  make money) but when the 'average' player needs to spend much beyond the monthly cost of a typical P2P then I draw the line and no longer care to play the game.

That said, I still prefer the P2P model for a flat fee, even if it had to go up to 19.95 a month to cover costs.

I agree with you Kyle. And I think I know that $8,000 player. We had a knight in our guild named Azurans and he spend an unGodly amount of money on his gear. He was the #1 tank on the server with the most HP. Crazy.

If your a RoM vet like I am you probably know the bag/bank mechanic they used to make you buy daimonds. That was the biggest turnoff to me. When I have to spend over $12 bucks a month just to keep my space open then its not worth it, nor is it free to play anymore.

I was thinking about a new approach that these F2P developers can take. Hold a Closed and Open beta as free to play. Make all the cash shop items avail in the beta and make them all cosmetic. So upon release there is no surprises. On release charge beta players $9.95 for the client and newer players $14.95 for the client. Yep, just 15 bucks. 

Then the monthly fee would be another 9.95 a month and just sell cosmetic items through the item shop. THATS IT, just cosmetic items.

I'm sure paying 9.95 monthly when most games charge 14.95 as the norm will encourage people to spend that extra $5. They feel as if they are saving.

No gimmicks, no BS, all honest and upfront. Here's the catch: It will have to be a darn good game. If its good and cheaper than average no telling how many people will sign up.

PS.

I am a MMOG snob. You will never catch me playing farmville, fishville or any of that farcebook carp. Real MMORPG ONRY thanks!

Originally posted by r3zs1ckn3ss

There are many slated for launch this year. Some small and some big. This is going to be a great year offering a great selection for gamers of all types. So which ones are you looking forward to the most this year? Mine are as follows:

TERA Online

FFXIV

SWTOR

WoW: Cataclysm

No Secret World?

Nevermind, Its slated for 2012.

Stupid me.

Originally posted by Magnum2103

Originally posted by Inktomi

 HOLD ON!

I looked at the perfumes. I saw that a stack of 20 was $13.50

So that would make it .78 cents each for 1 perfume that gave you 10 hours of raid time. That would break it down to .075 cents and hour. Unless you die and then the buff goes away? Maybe not, because I play a hunter scout and when I died the enchanted arrows that I had in my quiver didn't dissapear. So they have the tech to make this so. 

If it wasn't something that you lost upon death its worth it then.

Can someone clarify if it disappears after death?

 

Perfumes last 30 minutes, not 10 hours.  That's why it's $13.50 for 10 hours.

Oh thats terrible! That explains the problem. Thank you so much for clearing that up for me.

 HOLD ON!

I looked at the perfumes. I saw that a stack of 20 was $13.50

So that would make it .78 cents each for 1 perfume that gave you 10 hours of raid time. That would break it down to .075 cents and hour. Unless you die and then the buff goes away? Maybe not, because I play a hunter scout and when I died the enchanted arrows that I had in my quiver didn't dissapear. So they have the tech to make this so. 

If it wasn't something that you lost upon death its worth it then.

Can someone clarify if it disappears after death?

 Point of clarity on perfumes.

A stack of 20 perfumes for $13.50, not 1 for $13.50. Finding this out made me feel a little better about it.

Originally posted by vmoped

Originally posted by Inktomi

Originally posted by vmoped

Originally posted by Kruul

How do you expect them to finance the game, google adds ?

 

Walmart has proven that lower pricing with a slimmer profit will generate more net profit than higher pricing with a larger profit due to the variance in sales volume. IE more sales at lower profit tends to generate more revenue.

$20 to increase your carry capacity by 6 per toon is a bit ridiculous imo, and many others on their official boards. Especially considering the amount of garbage you are required to carry in the game in order to complete quests and advance.

We dont mind spending money for ingame items. We just dont want to be fleeced in the pricing.

Cheers!

Your right but also take it in consideration they are Walmart is making a bundle on low prices because they pay almost nothing for it being made in China.

 

Keep in mind too that gpotato spends no more than their operating costs to make any of the CS items. Their value is purely subjective and involve a controlled overhead. Therefore they have even more 'wiggle' room with regards to cost.

Cheers!

So they are making a bundle off of players by charging a high markup. Thats so nice of them. I realize that it cost them millions to make this game and they didn't make a dime off of the box sales since their wasn't any. So having an overpriced cash shop is their way of repatriating some of their expenses?

Originally posted by vmoped

Originally posted by Kruul

How do you expect them to finance the game, google adds ?

 

Walmart has proven that lower pricing with a slimmer profit will generate more net profit than higher pricing with a larger profit due to the variance in sales volume. IE more sales at lower profit tends to generate more revenue.

$20 to increase your carry capacity by 6 per toon is a bit ridiculous imo, and many others on their official boards. Especially considering the amount of garbage you are required to carry in the game in order to complete quests and advance.

We dont mind spending money for ingame items. We just dont want to be fleeced in the pricing.

Cheers!

Your right but also take it in consideration they are Walmart is making a bundle on low prices because they pay almost nothing for it being made in China.

 Dude, I can't wait to see what they have planned for this game.

Good interview!

Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by Inktomi

 stellar launch...just stellar.

 

It's not really an official launch. Besides, it's not the first time a game went live and there were issues.

It seems this is just what happens when a popular game starts up.

In any case, I'm spamming the play button and it keeps flipping me off.

go figure.

True, I was just being obnoxious.

 stellar launch...just stellar.

Webb,

I understand your frustration with metacritic and it I am a user of the service. Although, I don't follow it to the letter of the law. I do use it as a guideline useful to gather information from various sources. One thing I did look at is the user reviews that seem to vary wildly. If you take a look at champions online it swings between 8's and 3's, there is even a 0 in there. Out of 176 user votes it scored a 6.3.

Granted, not every game is for everyone. But if you put your ear to the ground you can usually get a vibe from the community about mmo's. Sometimes just good ole viral marketing is the best way to get a feel to what the community thinks. I read forums, nurmerous blogs and listen to some podcasts to get a feel for the overall vibe. And from what I gather about champs online is true. It's really not that great of a game. It might be the end all, be all for some players but not the overall. 

I also believe in the increasing law of averages, if someone likes something they will tell one. If they hate it they tell 10, that 10 try it and tell 100. It works against most MMO's except for Darkfall. It has had so much negative press that it makes it interesting.

INB4: any talk of sheep or lemmings, let me tell you. I usually will try it out for myself, even if it gets bad reviews. If I want to play it, I play it. If it stinks I tell someone and keep it moving.

The problem in comparing that to lets say World of Warcraft: wrath expansion. They are rating an endgame focused expansion to a brand new game at level 1. This runs into the starter area problem as you said in your post. Could they rate Champions endgame content. No, because Champions was notoriously lacking in endgame content. So you really can't compare.

At the end of the day, I don't think metacritic is the law. But it does keep many game publshers/designers honest. For how many years have we put down cold hard cash hoping for the daimond, only to find coal in our stockings. We just don't want to get duped anymore and if this means that game companies have to be wary of the almight meta, then that might make them more apt to make a better game. 

In that case everyone wins.

Originally posted by jiveturkey12

I am really looking forward to this game.

me too