15 dollars for one set of armor?

[LegendaryBlade]

I wouldn't mind it so much if the stuff actually looked nice or if we could change the colors of it. They seem to be obsessed with adding spikes and extraneous ugly stuff to the armor and then closing their eyes and randomly picking colors for it.

 

It think it's a sad state of affairs when some random NPC has a nicer looking uniform than we can ever get. Hey, Mr./Ms. NPC, I just saved your planet from utter destruction... could you spare a uniform as payment?

 

I would buy the outlaw set if the "Outlaw Duster" was actually a duster, and not just a black shirt

[Alec_Fortescue]

I honestly wouldn't give a damn about cash shop and its prices if we had the advertised armor sets in the game. Our character classes were advertised to wear gear sets which are nowhere to be found in the game. Even Jedi Knight gets an epic tease with an amazing set on the character creation screen.

 

If we had those sets in the game and / or hood toggle then I honestly wouldn't give a damn but right now cash shop is the only way of getting decent robes for the Jedi. This thing was built on our backs while we kept subscribing and supporting the game. That's what we've got instead of promised content updates. Overpriced armor sets. There is not even a chance for a discount for subscribers who spent a certain amount of money on the game and kept in participating in a game which is, de facto, a beta after the whole year?

 

As long as the only way to get the Jedi look in a STAR WARS game will be the cash shop I will not be satisfied. Why NPCs can look like Jedi and players, who paid for the game and were lured in by falsely advertised character appearance, are forced to look like space-hobos with oversized shoulder guards and hoods glued to their heads?

 

Most of the sets on cartel shop are retextured/recoloured existing sets. This is much less work than actually designing a completely new armor. And after its done - there is no physical or any other materials involved that would make the price reasonable.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Alec_Fortescue

[Goretzu]

That's not exactly correct. These sets have a cost. It's the design/art team's time in creating and ensuring that the armor works with all the character skeletons. After that work is done, each marginal unit has a near zero cost in production. Substantially less than a penny, but it's not zero. And all revenue goes back into the general fund used to pay overhead and production costs for the game.

 

You'll appreciate this analogy. These goods are very much like drugs. The majority of the cost comes upfront in design and marketing. The actual materials/production/distribution might only cost a penny or less. But once they have their patent, the drug companies think nothing of charging $10-15 a pill.

 

So when folks were taunting how this game costs $200+ to create. Well.... The EA boss's Maserati isn't going to buy itself.

 

Yes, there is a small inital cost, it is not great however and every time one of those items sells the effective production cost gets closer and closer to $0.00, certainly selling enough would push it under $0.01 which is effectively $0.00 as I said.

 

Gold watches and diamond earing are nothing like the same however, as each item always has large production cost involved, and then mark up on top.

 

It's not really like drugs either, because an awful lot of very expensive research and development and testing goes into drug production, so the intial production costs are very high, however yes like drugs the average production cost effectively goes down with each sale (although drugs always have A production cost too).

 

The is why the Mini was so profitable, they designed it once, and it sold almost unchanged for decades.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Goretzu

[Fraeblood]

People have spent US$25 on vanity mounts and pets in WoW for the longest time.

 

However, for the first time ever, I am actually *tempted* to buy the cosmetic armor. But only tempted.

 

Yes but the mount is for all your toons and any toon in the future. It also levels in speed as you buy the training, so it is useful forever on every toon.

SWTORS is for one toon....

and although it is more opinion, the WoW mounts have a lot more style to them, its a rickity snowblower with raggity christmas lights...

[Stoicraven]

The recently released sets, Valiant Jedi and Sith Raider look pretty decent( though the raider set has no cape like Malgus) but despite this, nearly 1500 Cartel Coins is ridiculous for these sets. That is around 12-15 dollars for a set of in game armor. What do you guys think of this price point?

 

the solution for you is simply......don't buy it

[LordArtemis]

If I might give Bioware some advice here with respect to the market...

 

 

You really REALLY have to give strong consideration to converting all armor on the market into adaptive level one empty armor. By offering armor as purely cosmetic items you really provide a player with the maximum appearance choices.

 

If you wish to keep mods in the armor located in the Cartel Packs I think that would be fine. Here is what I suggest.

 

All armor individual pieces should be priced at no higher than 200 coins per item.

All armor sets should be priced at no more than 500 coins a set, all level one empty adaptive items.

 

You should then sell mod packs, with stat highlights (Aim, Strength, etc) at certain tiers (exactly like the ones that are in the armor in the market that requires a level at the moment) for 400 coins each.

 

If you will notice, the prices for full sets with mods installed are close to current prices under this formula. This way people can choose the look they want at a decent price, and then choose if they want a mod set from the market to go along with it.

 

NO ARMOR, and I mean no armor with mods installed should EVER be sold in the market that one has to be above level 45 to use. If you choose to continue to sell armor with mods installed (which I still think is not very wise) it should only be armor in the 1-45 level range. Armor that is contained in the packs however is fine IMO.

Edited December 22, 2012 by LordArtemis

[Babyduck]

Gold watches and diamond earrings are expensive because of production costs and the rarity of their raw materials (relatively).

 

There are NO production costs in virtual items (effectively) and NO raw materials (rare or common), the cost of producting such items is effectively $0.00 and as such it is 100% mark-up and 100% profit.

 

 

 

It's like comparing apples and thin air.

 

You totally missed my point. They are all vanity items. Vanity items are expensive regardless of the production cost. They are intended for the people that can afford them!

[Alec_Fortescue]

You totally missed my point. They are all vanity items. Vanity items are expensive regardless of the production cost. They are intended for the people that can afford them!

 

You seem to forget about the fact that the new Valiant Jedi set is the only properly Jedi-looking set with the hood down. Despite so many wonderful sets being advertised nearly none of them made it into the game. Jedi Knight players are left with no alternative - either they will buy the set for ridiculous 15 quid or they will look like space-hobos with oversized shoulder guards and hoods glued to their heads.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Alec_Fortescue

[Goretzu]

You totally missed my point. They are all vanity items. Vanity items are expensive regardless of the production cost. They are intended for the people that can afford them!

 

Expensive things are expensive because they are rare and/or or expensive to produce.

 

The aren't just expensive.

 

 

 

 

Virtual items are not rare (unless artifically limited - and the armour sets aren't) and are virtually free to produce.

[Alec_Fortescue]

Expensive things are expensive because they are rare and/or or expensive to produce.

 

The aren't just expensive.

 

 

 

 

Virtual items are not rare (unless artifically limited - and the armour sets aren't) and are virtually free to produce.

 

Unlike real-life vanity items those here are not even branded or designed by someone of recognition I so much hate when virtual stuff is being compared to real-life.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Alec_Fortescue

[Babyduck]

You seem to be missing the point that the new Valiant Jedi set is the only properly Jedi-looking set with the hood down. Despite so many wonderful sets being advertised nearly none of them made it into the game. Jedi Knight players are left with no alternative - either they will buy the set for ridiculous 15 quid or they will look like space-hobos with oversized shoulder guards and hoods glued to their heads.

 

The appearance of your character is a vanity issue. I am not defending BioWare for not adding a hood down toggle. I am not defending them for not adding more robes with the hood down. I am saying appearance is a vanity issue, if you are unhappy with the appearance of your character and want a set from the cartel market you should expect to pay quite a bit to get it. As those items are vanity items that have zero impact on the game and only make you feel better about the appearance of your character.

[Goretzu]

Unlike real-life vanity items those here are not even branded or designed by someone of recognition

Ah brand buying, can't understand that one.

 

 

The appearance of your character is a vanity issue. I am not defending BioWare for not adding a hood down toggle. I am not defending them for not adding more robes with the hood down. I am saying appearance is a vanity issue, if you are unhappy with the appearance of your character and want a set from the cartel market you should expect to pay quite a bit to get it. As those items are vanity items that have zero impact on the game and only make you feel better about the appearance of your character.

 

I understand what you are saying, I just can't see the justification behind it.

 

Why should a visual item HAVE to be extortionaly expensive?

 

 

 

 

It doesn't even make much sense from a profits point of view, because (as DvD sales and MP3 sales have shown) if you price things lower you tend to sell a lot more, and make more $$$'s in the end.

This is even more viable with virtual items as there is effectively no production cost so every sale is pure profit.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Goretzu

[Alec_Fortescue]

The appearance of your character is a vanity issue. I am not defending BioWare for not adding a hood down toggle. I am not defending them for not adding more robes with the hood down. I am saying appearance is a vanity issue, if you are unhappy with the appearance of your character and want a set from the cartel market you should expect to pay quite a bit to get it. As those items are vanity items that have zero impact on the game and only make you feel better about the appearance of your character.

 

It's not just a vanity issue when you're playing a role playing game for story and immersion and you were basically promised and lured in by all the media showing you how cool you will look like. So no, I shouldn't pay anything extra since I was already promised those things included in the price of the game and subscription.

[Babyduck]

It doesn't even make much sense from a profits point of view, because (as DvD sales and MP3 sales have shown) if you price things lower you tend to sell a lot more, and more in the end.

This is even more viable with virtual items as there is effectively no production cost so every sale is pure profit.

 

As sales for those items begin to decrease they will start lowering the price. We have already seen this happen with the items from last month that now have sale prices.

[Alec_Fortescue]

Seriously, the only way I would justify those ridiculous set-pricing would be if they actually hired some famous fashion designer to design some exclusive and season-limited new armor sets. Then 15 quid would be totally understandable...

[Alec_Fortescue]

As sales for those items begin to decrease they will start lowering the price. We have already seen this happen with the items from last month that now have sale prices.

 

Take a closer look at the armor pieces on discounts - these are nasty sets nobody wants and they're easily attainable through gameplay. Not adaptive and with faction/class restriction, but attainable.

[DawnAskham]

It is what allows major publishers to keep producing new, risky titles with high budgets. So, as a gamer, I personally do not hate it. The problem is however that there are far too many people who regard these purchases as mandatory or alike, whilst in reality it's an optional investment into the publisher.

 

I disagree.

 

Successful lottery box sales are what will lead publishers to decide that their best customer base is not players who are willing to pay a monthly subscription of $10-$15 a month and expect continual updates of expensive to create content such as new group PVE or PVP encounters, but rather rabid fans of the IP used by the game willing to spend $100s a month on the chance for a bunch of pixels.

 

If you were running EA, would you choose to spend several tens of millions on significant new content or large scale game innovation with the hope it attracts or retains many hundreds of thousands of subscribers while carrying a high risk of failing, or would you rather spend less than a million recoloring pixes, stuffing them in lottery boxes, and selling $100s of dollars worth a month to 100K or less rabid fans / impulsive purchasers while doling out small cheap content patches?

 

From a gamer perspective, I see these boxes as part of a shift where publishers no longer focus on creating fresh compelling content with the intent to provide a unique gaming experience, but rather focus on delivering the bare minimum of a game and while devoting most of their resources to pushing digital sales of game related items.

 

And since I don't play games such as SWTOR as a form of 'dress up Barbie' in space, this concerns me greatly.

Edited December 22, 2012 by DawnAskham

[Goretzu]

As sales for those items begin to decrease they will start lowering the price. We have already seen this happen with the items from last month that now have sale prices.

 

Some have been reduced, some have come on top the Cashshop with -X% reduced (having never been on sale for that amount at all), it's an old marketing trick, which is actually illegal in many countries these days.

[Alec_Fortescue]

Some have been reduced, some have come on top the Cashshop with -X% reduced (having never been on sale for that amount at all), it's an old marketing trick, which is actually illegal in many countries these days.

 

Only few chestpieces went below 200 coins but those are nasty sets nobody wants. And where I live the practice of putting items on discount when they were not sold before is indeed illegal.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Alec_Fortescue

[PlasmaJohn]

If you were running EA, would you choose to spend several tens of millions on significant new content or large scale game innovation with the hope it attracts or retains many hundreds of thousands of subscribers while carrying a high risk of failing, ...

If I were mananging an MMO I'd take a long hard and objective look at what the market has done right and wrong in the space. Both Bartle's Designing Virtual Worlds and Mulligan's Developing Online Games contain post-mortem sections on the early MMO's. The take-away is that MMO's are a long term investment, something that is a notable weakness for EA.

[Goretzu]

Only few chestpieces went below 200 coins but those are nasty sets nobody wants. And where I live the practice of putting items on discount when they were not sold before is indeed illegal.

 

Pretty sure the Life Day stuff came on at -35% "off" (in fact I'm certain), I think the pilot suits and others may have too.

 

They have actually reduced some stuff after having it for sale too.

[SnoggyMack]

Yes but the mount is for all your toons and any toon in the future. It also levels in speed as you buy the training, so it is useful forever on every toon.

 

I have a mount just like that in SWTOR. Came with my collector's edition.

[jimpops]

Ya kinda crazy bioware puts out Omega for me3 charges 15$ adds few hours of content, which include vo, cinematics etc. Stuff with real production costs. People say its too much money.

 

Bioware puts out 1 set of armor for 15 with no production cost, most being recolors. People say no I think that's fair cause its vanity...

[Nemmar]

Dont buy it.

 

No need for dramas, just dont buy it. There is no better message than that. You will see the prices will lower after that.

The cartel shop is beeing experimented with for several things. They are trying to find out where the biggest profits are and what is worth it at what prices. You buying behaviour is the best weapon you have against/in favor of it.

 

I personally only bought the Items i did when they were on discount.

Edited December 23, 2012 by Nemmar

[Kashley]

Im sat here reflecting over the changes in this game since beta to launch then over the steady year of decline. I have seen a thousand arguements on these forums were fanbois and haters have stood off against each other about the direction this game is going. Looking at the forums today... Seeing the threads where people are literally justifying price gouging I cant help but wonder if this isn't how America ended up in this sh*t economic disaster that it is today.

 

Greed is wrong. There is no justification for the path EAware is going. They are literally just milking players for every penny they can get. Running a business shouldnt be a charity, but seriously, when is enough profit enough? And when did your reputation mean less than the almighty dollar?