Is EA counting on people like this?

[Arkerus]

/facepalm

 

woooooooooooossshhhhhhhhh

 

^the sound of the point going over your head..

 

 

these "ppeople" that dont want to "pay a monthly fee" WILL end up paying a monthly fee if they spend even 10 dollars a month of the cash shop, turns out they only saved 5 cents a day for a half assed experience, the "we dont wanna pay a monthly sub, but pay for individual content cuz its "Cheaper" argument is monumentally wrong and also monumentally stupid

 

Hey. Calm down buddy. I wasn't disagreeing With that. That wasn't my point. My point is they are trying to open the door to other folks who don't want to pay a monthly sum up front. I don't care those people might be stupid and actually spend more money. I don't care. That's not the point I'm making. I'm saying, get the door open.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Arkerus

[Socialist]

I seriously hope your friend is imaginary or just a plot device in this thread.

 

Reading your conversation with him made all my anger burn inside me, I could easily be the first human to force shock someone if I came across someone as ridiculously mentally hindered as him.

[Hambunctious]

I seriously hope your friend is imaginary or just a plot device in this thread.

 

Reading your conversation with him made all my anger burn inside me, I could easily be the first human to force shock someone if I came across someone as ridiculously mentally hindered as him.

 

There are people like that in this world. My aunt, and her daughter have to be two of the least intelligent people on the planet that don't have brain damage, or a birth defect, and are still breathing.

[Socialist]

There are people like that in this world. My aunt, and her daughter have to be two of the least intelligent people on the planet that don't have brain damage, or a birth defect, and are still breathing.

 

I'd have to be Zen-Buddhist to bare with people like this

[Dystopic]

Because its like most things these days, everyone wants stuff free, music, newspapers, films.

 

I don't really think that argument really holds water. People want stuff for free because they are cheap or don't trust that it will be worth their money. For me it's movies. I pirate movies. I will go see them in person after viewing them. Occasionally I'll just go for it and see something in theaters without prescreening. But most of time I watch it first through piracy than either go or don't go to see it. Because I am not driving to a theater, spending money on a ticket and food, and then sitting through mediocrity or flat out garbage. My 12$ is as good as anyone elses 12$ but that does not mean your movie is as good as anyone elses and worth the same price.

 

As far as the dislike of a subscription goes, I think it's a psychological thing. I've paid 15$ but it's only good for this month, I need to max out my enjoyment and get my moneys worth because i've "rented" this game for a limited period of time. As opposed to paying once and it's always there. Given a companies business practices one or the other will be cheaper but for some people it doesn't matter which is cheaper, they have hang ups about how they spend their money.

[wcnighthawk]

I just proved it isn't.

 

DCUO you can pay $40 for all the content right now. All the content they released this year...compared to $180 you'd pay on a sub fee.

 

How is paying for the sub fee cheaper then?

 

Not all F2P games are priced the same. If the company does it right then players can actually save money. The idea is to get more people PLAYING and PAYING.

$5 from millions of players per month is better than $15 from 300k players per month.

 

But you said yourself, you can experience all the content already, so why even pay $5? If that was the case, they would lose money because millions are playing and not buying. They lose money. Simple fact is, they make more money going F2P; ie YOU PAY MORE than you would with a subscription. If they didn't, they wouldn't switch to this business model. So overall, players lose. There will always be exceptions like yourself who don't pay a dime and play. But for everyone one of you, how many more spend more than $15 month ($180 a year), to make this model a success when .50 a day would've been cheaper?

[Fornix]

But you said yourself, you can experience all the content already, so why even pay $5? If that was the case, they would lose money because millions are playing and not buying. They lose money. Simple fact is, they make more money going F2P; ie YOU PAY MORE than you would with a subscription. If they didn't, they wouldn't switch to this business model. So overall, players lose. There will always be exceptions like yourself who don't pay a dime and play. But for everyone one of you, how many more spend more than $15 month ($180 a year), to make this model a success when .50 a day would've been cheaper?

 

YOU don't have to pay more. If rather than 1 person paying 15 bucks a month you get 6 people paying an average of 5 bucks a month YOU pay less, but the company pulls in more money. It's sort of like the steam sales, where lower pricings raise the sales insanely high and yield in much more money for the publishers, even though on a per person base they gain less.

 

Fact is, many of those wouldn't have purchased the product for that higher pricing. And the same goes for the payment of subscriptions.

[Crash-X]

But you said yourself, you can experience all the content already, so why even pay $5? If that was the case, they would lose money because millions are playing and not buying. They lose money. Simple fact is, they make more money going F2P; ie YOU PAY MORE than you would with a subscription. If they didn't, they wouldn't switch to this business model. So overall, players lose. There will always be exceptions like yourself who don't pay a dime and play. But for everyone one of you, how many more spend more than $15 month ($180 a year), to make this model a success when .50 a day would've been cheaper?

 

Well they depend on Whales. People that will spend and literally buy 90% of the content in the store just because. These people are paying for multiple people and then they are getting bonus from players like me who do buy something.

 

Thing is, if people feel the game is worth it they will buy something. They will buy cosmetics because they spend so much time in the game it's more likely they will spend it.

 

For the smart and cautious spender F2P is much cheaper. For the people who have bad spending habits it's not, that is where they get their profits from when people are spending nearly $30 a month on store items and some even more.

[GooseGrims]

yea after reading that i face palmed pretty hard, i will admit i am currently paying a sub to City of Heroes and after selling my motorcycle jacket lastnight to a guy that had his stolen (no i didnt not steal it and resell it i know someone is thinking it lol) i payed $30 to buy some of the paragon points and unlock some of the stuff you dont get just for subbing. so i cant judge them for wanting to buy stuff in the cash shop lol. but if i was on a "Free Account" i would have spent a whole lot more than that for the content i wouldnt have access to which is all the fun stuff lol.

 

but before telling your friend to kick rocks consider this, they make you look that much smarter

[Ashu-ri]

A guy I know wants to play SWTOR now that it is going to have a free to play option. He DREAMED of being a bounty hunter but can't "afford" the game. I told him you can sub OR play free. He's hopping on right away. But here's the weird part.

 

We were talking about the game and it got into the what if category stuff. He said, "I can't wait to play this game! I have been waiting so long! I hope they have a cash shop to!!!!" I said, "ok...I'm going to ask something here. What if there were "packages" that you could select from. Like package 1 being, a new planet, a new class, a new race all with bonus items in it. Package 2 being 2 new races to choose from, 2 new classes and bonus items and so on. Keep in mind this was just what if questioning.

 

He then went, dude...I would totally pay for all of them right there! I said, "what if they costed 10 dollars a piece?" he said, "i don't care, for that amount of content and I get to play for free?! are you kidding me? that is amazing!" so I proceeded to tell him that there is a sub option still that is only 15 dollars a month and you get it ALL. All content, everything that comes in. Probably some cool titles to and don't have to pay for anything except the sub fee. He said, "why would you do that? that's dumb....why wouldn't you play for free and pay for what you are doing?" I thought to myself...did he really just say that? because that's EXACTLY what he will be doing...

 

So I told him.

 

"Listen...say there were i dont know...5 packages like that in the store that were all 10 dollars each and in order for you to want to play those thing you had to dish out 10 dollars for each of them would you really do that?" he said "dude...in order to play this game for free!? DEFINITELY. That is like...an amazing price for all that content." I then thought to myself "Is there something he's not getting here?" So then I told him, "look....you would be getting ALL that content for NO money if you just subbed to the game and paid 15 dollars a month." He said "but I would be paying 15 dollars a month. I don't want to do that crap. I want to play my mmos for free." I said "Ok, here is what I'm trying to tell you. You told me you would buy every one of the "packages" for 10 dollars no matter how many there were." he said, "right" I go...."that adds to 50 dollars if there were 5 and with you you said you couldn't just pick one, it would be all of them." he said, "right..." I said, "how can you not be getting something like this? 15 dollars a month for access to everything is MUCH cheaper than paying 50 dollars for new content and paying for pvp access and even MORE content packages that come out. Keep in mind you also have restrictions on the account, don't you see that?" him - "i don't care how much I spend...I just want to play for free!"

 

Wow...seriously? Did he just really say that?! "I don't care how much I SPEND, I just want to play for FREE"

 

Basically his conclusion was that no matter how much he had to pay in the cash shop whether it be 10 or 100 dollars, he would keep playing the game because it didn't require a sub fee and therefore it's "free". End of conversation. That's how he views it

 

Is EA betting on people just like that for their cash shop to work? Are people really that easily fooled? Something they don't get? I am...having second thoughts about the frienship lol. If he doesn't get that. I thought he was smart guys lol. I guess not... hehehe

 

Keep in mind this was completely a what if scenario I came up with for him to try and see what his thoughts on the matter. Nothing in here is true about packages or anything like that nor do I think they will do that. It was just a scenario I played out for him. *actually laughing out loud*

 

Forgive me, haven't read the whole thread just the first page. Seems to me this guy likes being able to buy access to certain content for a one time fee, rather than paying for it every month - which is what a lot of the freemium players do in other games. They are willing to go without certain perks, in order to just purchase what they want for that one time fee.

[mothear]

Forgive me, haven't read the whole thread just the first page. Seems to me this guy likes being able to buy access to certain content for a one time fee, rather than paying for it every month - which is what a lot of the freemium players do in other games. They are willing to go without certain perks, in order to just purchase what they want for that one time fee.

 

This really. Why would someone pay a monthly fee when for $50 (an example amount), they can take as long as they like and play until everything is switched off - makes perfect sense to me.

[GooseGrims]

This really. Why would someone pay a monthly fee when for $50 (an example amount), they can take as long as they like and play until everything is switched off - makes perfect sense to me.

 

thats assuming they dont charge an arm and a leg for it, for example split the content and make you buy each FP or OP or WZ on top of all the other features like character slots, inventory space, some travel methodes (i think they said something about the "Free" account having limited travel options) they also hinted at the "wall of crazy" having a section call "the future of space" and if it is what everyone is hoping for you can expect that to cost a pretty penny, on top of everything that would come with it.

 

as of right now all we can do is speculate and wait to see, but im paying my sub now and have been since launch so i dont plan to unsub just yet.

[Soluss]

Yes, those are exactly the type of people EA are hoping for. People that dont understand that 15 bucks a month is cheaper then paying for each piece of content.

 

However it depends. If you dont like warzones but you like ops. If ops comes out once a month and cost 4 bucks, and ops is all you buy..... then you saved money.

 

If you want to buy everything then 15 bucks a month is most likely going to be cheaper. EA is also banking on that people will pay 15 bucks a month and then still spend another 30, on the cash shop, for things they cant get otherwise.... better looking armor, mounts, color crystals....you know.... all the things we have asked for, since launch, that supposedly took to long to make. They will now be on the cash shop on a monthly basis.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Soluss

[Goretzu]

Wow...seriously? Did he just really say that?! "I don't care how much I SPEND, I just want to play for FREE"

 

 

It's basically the same reasoning a lot of people use when they are gambling.

 

The remember the wins, but forget the losses and don't realise they have much more money if they didn't gamble in the first place.

 

In this case the "free" (which, of course, isn't even free) is the psychological crutch the vendor is relying on..... and as you say it'll work.

[DarkSaberMaster]

A guy I know wants to play SWTOR now that it is going to have a free to play option. He DREAMED of being a bounty hunter but can't "afford" the game. I told him you can sub OR play free. He's hopping on right away. But here's the weird part.

 

We were talking about the game and it got into the what if category stuff. He said, "I can't wait to play this game! I have been waiting so long! I hope they have a cash shop to!!!!" I said, "ok...I'm going to ask something here. What if there were "packages" that you could select from. Like package 1 being, a new planet, a new class, a new race all with bonus items in it. Package 2 being 2 new races to choose from, 2 new classes and bonus items and so on. Keep in mind this was just what if questioning.

 

He then went, dude...I would totally pay for all of them right there! I said, "what if they costed 10 dollars a piece?" he said, "i don't care, for that amount of content and I get to play for free?! are you kidding me? that is amazing!" so I proceeded to tell him that there is a sub option still that is only 15 dollars a month and you get it ALL. All content, everything that comes in. Probably some cool titles to and don't have to pay for anything except the sub fee. He said, "why would you do that? that's dumb....why wouldn't you play for free and pay for what you are doing?" I thought to myself...did he really just say that? because that's EXACTLY what he will be doing...

 

So I told him.

 

"Listen...say there were i dont know...5 packages like that in the store that were all 10 dollars each and in order for you to want to play those thing you had to dish out 10 dollars for each of them would you really do that?" he said "dude...in order to play this game for free!? DEFINITELY. That is like...an amazing price for all that content." I then thought to myself "Is there something he's not getting here?" So then I told him, "look....you would be getting ALL that content for NO money if you just subbed to the game and paid 15 dollars a month." He said "but I would be paying 15 dollars a month. I don't want to do that crap. I want to play my mmos for free." I said "Ok, here is what I'm trying to tell you. You told me you would buy every one of the "packages" for 10 dollars no matter how many there were." he said, "right" I go...."that adds to 50 dollars if there were 5 and with you you said you couldn't just pick one, it would be all of them." he said, "right..." I said, "how can you not be getting something like this? 15 dollars a month for access to everything is MUCH cheaper than paying 50 dollars for new content and paying for pvp access and even MORE content packages that come out. Keep in mind you also have restrictions on the account, don't you see that?" him - "i don't care how much I spend...I just want to play for free!"

 

Wow...seriously? Did he just really say that?! "I don't care how much I SPEND, I just want to play for FREE"

 

Basically his conclusion was that no matter how much he had to pay in the cash shop whether it be 10 or 100 dollars, he would keep playing the game because it didn't require a sub fee and therefore it's "free". End of conversation. That's how he views it

 

Is EA betting on people just like that for their cash shop to work? Are people really that easily fooled? Something they don't get? I am...having second thoughts about the frienship lol. If he doesn't get that. I thought he was smart guys lol. I guess not... hehehe

 

Keep in mind this was completely a what if scenario I came up with for him to try and see what his thoughts on the matter. Nothing in here is true about packages or anything like that nor do I think they will do that. It was just a scenario I played out for him. *actually laughing out loud*

 

Yes. EA/Bioware is banking on people like your friend to come to the game with that exact mindset.

[PaerisKiran]

Never got that way of thinking i had a pretty similar argument with another friend and he was telling me i was being stupid for paying every month. Really frustrating, but if alot of the "Free players" are gonna be like that EA will be very happy... Just hope it's not gonna become pay to win...

 

I somehow dobt tsuch guy has mental potential to win no matter how much he pays.

[Lheim]

So.. this thread got to twelve pages.

 

When all the OP did was fabricate a strawman argument against people who like the f2p model.

[Thepathan]

I think the main idea here is to get people to TRY.

 

Yeah sure level 15 is fine, but it's not enough for people to get hooked on. I started enjoying more post level 15 (more skills, items, screw skills, personal ship, speeder etc).

 

The philosophy (from a trial pov) is simple: Have people play long enough and they have a reduced chance of turning away.

 

From a profitability pov: It doesn't matter if they buy packages or not. Fact is, more people are likely to quit at the current level 15 trial versus level 50. If you manage to pull off leveling that far, odds are that you're hooked. In that case, you either sub or pay for "micro" transactions.

 

EA/BWs first objective is to retain lost player base, expand and improve on it and THEN milk it (while giving customers the option of how they want to be milked).

 

Versus a behemoth like WoW and with all the hype around GW2, i applaud this strategy. Quite frankly, you can't do better than this (maybe you can tweak a few minor things about the f2p, but the basis of going f2p is brilliant).

[-Slaughterhouse-]

The OP is the confused one, not his slightly stubborn friend.

 

50 to 100 bucks to have everything, INSTANTLY, is the OP's Friend's view, Not content, earned,

as you have to, currently, except those with collectors edition, who get perks, ie (content), instantly.

 

In LOTR, you can buy just about anything instantly, and play for free, thru Turbine Points.

 

That is the player, TOR is aiming for. Quick Cash in a flash, and the player gets content, instantly too, without

the time.

 

If you really think about it, it evens out. Subscription cost 15 per month, and it takes months to get to

high end content, and armor, and social appearance items, if you pay 50 bucks for that up front, you, wind up, paying the same.

 

Personally, i like choice. I would pay my sub, and buy an occasional direct purchase item.