Six million dollars on a trailer, Zero dollars on MMO content...

[Transcendent]

Instead, people are buying subscriptions for more story content, so that's what we're getting.

 

Are they though? I'm not seeing that reflected in the amount of players online compared to pre 4.0.

[IanArgent]

Are they though? I'm not seeing that reflected in the amount of players online compared to pre 4.0.

 

The game has been "dying" for 5 years now. BW has the metrics, we don't.

[docbenwayddo]

Are they though? I'm not seeing that reflected in the amount of players online compared to pre 4.0.

 

The number of Subscibers is not the same as the number of players. There are no real player numbers and an increase in subs could mean that out of 100 Preferred players, 90 quit and 10 subbed because that's the only method to access KotFE content. The Sub metric goes up +10, and there is no metric to show the number of total players dropping, so it's all sunshine and rainbows because Sub numbers climbed to record heights while actually experiencing an, unseen by public metrics, net loss in population.

[KevinQCowart]

For all the people who always say marketing and production have separate budgets. To them I say, IDGAF, as a consumer I don't care what a company uses for internal processes and accounting. If a company for to long delivers more hype than product they are going to lose my business and eventually their reputation.

[Tsetso]

for all the people who always say marketing and production have separate budgets. To them i say, idgaf, as a consumer i don't care what a company uses for internal processes and accounting. If a company for to long delivers more hype than product they are going to lose my business and eventually their reputation.

 

^^qft

[IanArgent]

The number of Subscibers is not the same as the number of players. There are no real player numbers and an increase in subs could mean that out of 100 Preferred players, 90 quit and 10 subbed because that's the only method to access KotFE content. The Sub metric goes up +10, and there is no metric to show the number of total players dropping, so it's all sunshine and rainbows because Sub numbers climbed to record heights while actually experiencing an, unseen by public metrics, net loss in population.

 

BW also knows how many CC are being bought eacah month, and who is spending them. A preferred player who is preferred because they once bought a $5 card at target in 2013 and hasn't spent since doesn't make BW any money today. One who drops $20 every couple of months, because that's all they need to do to keep up their own play style, is still making BW money. BW knows the sub count, they know the preferred count, they know the F2P count. They aren't blind to the scenario above, but their motivation is to get as many people as possible to pay something in that time period. Converting those 10 preferred players to subs is a net win if the other 90 didn't pay in anything during the time period.

[docbenwayddo]

BW also knows how many CC are being bought eacah month, and who is spending them. A preferred player who is preferred because they once bought a $5 card at target in 2013 and hasn't spent since doesn't make BW any money today. One who drops $20 every couple of months, because that's all they need to do to keep up their own play style, is still making BW money. BW knows the sub count, they know the preferred count, they know the F2P count. They aren't blind to the scenario above, but their motivation is to get as many people as possible to pay something in that time period. Converting those 10 preferred players to subs is a net win if the other 90 didn't pay in anything during the time period.

 

But the point still stands in context. People are "subbing for more story content" but it can easily seem like the opposite. Subs can climb while total players drop. More subs does not automatically mean more players.

[aeterno]

For all the people who always say marketing and production have separate budgets. To them I say, IDGAF, as a consumer I don't care what a company uses for internal processes and accounting. If a company for to long delivers more hype than product they are going to lose my business and eventually their reputation.

 

And logic dictates that any given company DGAF about your future spending habbits right after you bought their product. You seriously expect a business model to revolve around "right lets focus on not eventually loosing Kevin's 15$ instead of growing"? You gave them 15 bucks. Their focus is to get 2 more guys to give then 15 bucks in november. If you unsub in november, yea well, they'll still have those 2.

 

I mean it's as if people just woke up to capitalism. Ronald McDonald's burger looks 100x better on the poster than on the plastic tray in front of you and are commonly referred to as as "junk food" yet the clown has a yearly turnover of 26 billion with that cardboard tasting sad looking pile of misery. And he sure as sith didn't get there by 76 years ago focusing all his energy on just making the bestest of best burger and ensure Kevin's repeat business for the rest of his life in that sand bernardino joint it started out in.

Edited October 9, 2016 by aeterno

[Andryah]

Are they though? I'm not seeing that reflected in the amount of players online compared to pre 4.0.

 

Yes... comparing active populations apparent on the servers at the end of an expac cycle, while people have largely played it through and are waiting for the next expac .... to expac release frenzy.... is not stacking the deck to fit your narrative at all.

 

Last year.. within 2 weeks of the release of 4.0..... the studio actually had to increase the capacity of a number of servers because they were getting crushed by the heavy loading. This was POST 4.0... as in end of October of last year and was to sustain the servers abilities to react to a large surge in players hammering solo story content. First time I can remember them doing this since they consolidated the server farms years ago.

 

We also do not have any idea if subs are actually down much... only that players are playing less while they wait for the expac.

 

In other words, no conclusions can be drawn until after 5.0 releases.

Edited October 9, 2016 by Andryah

[Andryah]

For all the people who always say marketing and production have separate budgets. To them I say, IDGAF, as a consumer I don't care what a company uses for internal processes and accounting. If a company for to long delivers more hype than product they are going to lose my business and eventually their reputation.

 

I don't care which way you put the toilet paper roll on it's hanger. All I care about is that there is toilet paper there when I need it.

 

Seriously though.. you are missing the point here. Some people hopped to the conclusion that dollars spent on a trailer = dollars that cannot be spent on actual content. Reality: that is an exceedingly naïve stance to take and ignores the reality of how companies work. Reality is no marketing dollars spent by a company impacts their ongoing product operations and development. And you saying you DAGAF changes nothing.

 

Don't believe me? Then go work for a company where you are short of budget for something in your operation and you want to borrow funds from a different operation in the company. See how well that works out for you. Like it or not, companies routinely silo their budgets on operational boundaries. Why? Because that is the only way to objectively measure the performance and contribution of each operation. Can they decide to move money between silos? of course.. but in practice, this rarely happens. Instead, companies hold contingency funds unallocated.... for just such things.

Edited October 9, 2016 by Andryah

[UmbralSpirit]

For all the people who always say marketing and production have separate budgets. To them I say, IDGAF, as a consumer I don't care what a company uses for internal processes and accounting. If a company for to long delivers more hype than product they are going to lose my business and eventually their reputation.

 

EA still has a reputation to lose? That's news to me.

[IanArgent]

But the point still stands in context. People are "subbing for more story content" but it can easily seem like the opposite. Subs can climb while total players drop. More subs does not automatically mean more players.

 

More subs does mean "more payers." BW doesn't care about "players," per se. They care about payers. They got 10 people to pay up, who weren't paying before.

[Tsillah]

More subs does mean "more payers." BW doesn't care about "players," per se. They care about payers. They got 10 people to pay up, who weren't paying before.

 

Of course it does need to off set the amount of payers they are losing also and by enough to make the investment worth it.

[IanArgent]

Of course it does need to off set the amount of payers they are losing also and by enough to make the investment worth it.

 

That wasn't his scenario, though

[Tsillah]

That wasn't his scenario, though

 

Forgive me for trying to stay on topic.

 

This thread was about spending money on a trailer instead of development right? So to me gaining subs is interesting only if there are more subs coming in than going out as a consequence. Whatever the video might awaken positively in people shouldn't pale by comparison to the people leaving because again nothing is coming in 5.0 other than a half promise about a vague possibility of group/progression content.

 

Not sure what your guys are talking about but this is the only way I could link it back to the actual topic.

[Deewe]

If a company for to long delivers more hype than product they are going to lose my

business and eventually their reputation.

We are well beyond that.

 

The burden of the proof now lies in BioWare hands. For the last years they failed to deliver quality content. Don't start me on cooperative game play,.

The game is now felt as just a bit above maintenance mode.

Edited October 9, 2016 by Deewe

[Mevan]

If they were, they would focus on that. Instead, people are buying subscriptions for more story content, so that's what we're getting.

 

That's funny **** right there XD

[cool-dude]

Trailers like this are a good investments because it appeals to everybody except a few miserable gits on the forum like ourselves

 

I do like the trailer, but I am also jaded enough to look directly past it and ask myself where the content is. Maybe this galactic command thing is gonna be something, maybe not... Time will tell soon enough I guess.

 

It gets people hyped and thinking the game is greater than it is. But the hype train only works so many times before a person knows better. I also wouldn't doubt if the trailer did cost a few million. It probably took a group of of people who specialize in doing that stuff to make it, and the people who make trailers like that are not cheap at all.

Edited October 9, 2016 by cool-dude