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The continuing rise of the cash shop
nariusseldon
Member EpicPosts: 27,775
So GW2 has one.
WOW is experimenting with one, and most likely making it into the game.
Star Citizen is going to have one.
EQN? I bet EQN will be F2P with a cash shop.
It is the age of the whales.
Comments
So long as Cash shops do not ruin gameplay I have no issue with them. I think Anet has done a great job in managing the cash shop in GW2 and I believe it is a great model for other devs to follow.
If none-gameplay-interrupting cash shops mean we get F2P/B2P AAA mmorpgs then I say the more the merrier!
Oh i agree. I don't have a problem with them. In fact, they are great to extract money from whales to pay for the games.
I can totally ignore cash shops, which i do in every F2P games i play.
To be quite honest.
My opinion Guild Wars 2 absolutely sucks. I understand a large community likes GW2, and that is okay, but my problem with Guild Wars 2 is the fact you have to pay for character customization changes, and the fact that they have not fixed the bugs with appearance on many races I have reported many months ago due to these reasons I dont care if GW2 is free the only items I have bought from their shop and plan to is the harvesting tools beyond that I don't care about the game and won't be buying anything else for the game due to the lack of armor fixes, and can't freely enjoy my game.
Same goes for many of the other F2P Games on the internet, I am tired of having to pay to customize my game-play and enjoy my game I will pay a flat monthly fee but having to dish out money constantly instead I will stick to games if I play them like.
Rift
Final Fantasy XIV
World OF Warcraft
DarkFall
EVE Online
These are all games that allow me to freely customize when I choose in the game without any restriction for a flat fee or for FREE.
Sure Game Companies might keep trying to charge a fee for customization of characters like Aion, Lineage 2, TSW, but I am done with these companies as soon as they started to restrict my freedom of play I quit all payments to them I don't play them anymore if others wan't to play then I am fine with it but I am done playing these games until they actually become Truly Free to play where I don't have to pay but I pay to support the game and development not because I feel like I have to pay to customize my character when I choose to.
1) why bring it up then?
2) I'll bite...what are you talking about when you refer to whales?
You do realize that you can exchange in-game gold for gems right? Which means you never have to spend an extra penny on the gem store.
That is one of the things that I like a lot about GW2's cash shop; it is both a cash shop and an in-game gold store.
you claim you dont want to pay for customizing your character
in WOW, you are required to pay Real life cash for
- Skin color change
- Race change
- Sex change
- Name Change
EQ2 fan sites
1) He's probably just wanting input from other people; their thoughts and opinions
2) A "whale" is a common term for a person with disposable income. In the gaming context, a person who will spend lots of money on cash shops, making them extremely profitable for the dev companies (i.e. me before getting married haha)
It certainly is a seductive model for Developers/Publishers, as what business doesn't love the idea of an extra revenue stream. However, like any alternate revenue stream it's something that each MMO is going to have to evaluate and approach on an individual basis to determine how it will effect thier service and thier customers. As it's something that can also backfire on them.
Personaly, I really tend to dislike cash shops but I don't resent the fact that the model exists nor do I even refuse to play games that utilize them. How they are implimented though and how they effect the game can be a very, very big deal.
I have no problem either pay or not. Though I lean towArd free as a preference. Cash shops don't bother me and I just scratch my head at those who seem to take their existence so personally. I will never understand how people care so much how others spend ( or in Nari's case don't spend) their money.
No matter how cynical you become, its never enough to keep up - Lily Tomlin
I completely agree!
Better have the option to spend your money (B2P/F2P) than being forced to pay regardless (P2P); that is, as long as it is not intrusive and ruins gameplay.
For me it's not about how others choose to spend thier money but how the payment model effects my game play experience. Admitedly that depends ALOT on the details of how the payment model is implimented but to say it won't effect the game design or how it effects players play experience just doesn't match up with reality most of the time. More often it tends to be a question of HOW MUCH it effects my play experience....and does that exceed what my particular tolerance is.
For example (obviously extreme)....If I'm playing an online Chess game and my opponent is allowed to buy 7 Queens and place them on the board whenever he likes....that pretty much defeats the purpose of why I might enjoy playing Chess and thus ruins my experience of the game. Same would hold true with playing an online RPG and being bombarded with loud gharish advertisements for the Cash Shop every 5 steps.
Thus, I really don't like cash shops as a model, but I can often tolerate them if not done too egregiously. Has nothing to do with how someone else spends thier money but how the model effects my own game play experience.....which will vary depending upon implimentation but usualy exists to some degree.
No ones forced to pay and you always have the option to spend your money or not.....It's not like the P2P games have a gun to your head forcing you to play thier games.....Thier offering a service/product. If you want thier service/product you pay what they ask for it.....if you don't want to do that then no one is forcing you to play it. It's still a free market.
I believe the reason that some people make a big deal out of it is because of a perceived negative trend it can introduce. There is a worry that if say... P2W is more financially successful then other payment models, it will become the norm.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
It goes without saying that gamers have the ultimate choice whether or not to play a game. Having said that, the context is once the initial purchase (or not purchase in the case of a F2P game) is made.
In P2P, if you want to play the game, you are forced to pay a monthly fee just to have access to a game you already purchased.
In B2P, you have the hoice whether or not to purchase items from the cash shop (if there's one) and are not forced/obligated to pay a monthly fee just to have access
You have a lot of catching up to do. MMO "whales" have been discussed ad infinitum. There are some stats (which I do not find to be credible) that suggest a select few "rich" guys spend tons of $ on cash shops; and everyone else spends nothing.
The only info I've seen posted indicates that most players are paying; and paying a lot. On averge, players spend 3x the cost of a subscription. And a few have ruined their lives and spent everything on cash shop addiction.
F2P is a deceptive business model; one that the game owner can change whenever they see an opportunity to squeeze more $ out of players.
Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon.
In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit
1) Why not? This is a MMORPG site. Trends in MMORPGs are fair game. You don't think every topic needs to be a rant, do you?
2) "Whale" is a term coined by Ralph Koster, who is revered by many (though not me) here.
There is a reason why they are called pay to win cash shops.
Do you have any idea what that could be ?
So, did ESO have a successful launch? Yes, yes it did.By Ryan Getchell on April 02, 2014.
**On the radar: http://www.cyberpunk.net/ **
Since i play pve, and solo a lot of times, p2w does not affect me. There is no "winning" in pve for me.
mostly off topic, but whale is a term from gambling, used by casino's to mean a very rich sucker who is easily parted from there money without them realising it so they come back to be fleeced time and again (casino concierge etc..).
And i know this sounds like a bait post or a flame but i simply bring it up as i'm sure when Raph Koster used it he was using it in ththe same way, In so much as i felt he is as disgusted by the industries direction of late as some of the posters on this site are (myself included)
There is a candy store and you dont get any candys and you win ?
It affects every second.
So, did ESO have a successful launch? Yes, yes it did.By Ryan Getchell on April 02, 2014.
**On the radar: http://www.cyberpunk.net/ **
uh? You are telling me how i am playing my games?
Bottomline, i play F2P games .. i do not use the cash shop. It does not impact my enjoyment. Don't tell me you think you know what i enjoy more than i do.
What do you have against those who would pay thousands of dollar for a virtual sword. It is their money, and it is a free market. No one holds a gun to their head.
In fact, that is also why i have little sympathy for whales in casinos. No one forces them to go into one.
I dont need to tell it to you ,you are telling it to us just fine.
So, did ESO have a successful launch? Yes, yes it did.By Ryan Getchell on April 02, 2014.
**On the radar: http://www.cyberpunk.net/ **
Great .. in that case, you agree that cash shop don't affect me since i just ignore them and enjoy the free content.