406 replies to this topic

[WarHippy]

DLFReporter, on 09 July 2013 - 10:21 AM, said:

Because, come on, how can you not feel offended, when marketing is this obvious.
Especially, when it was done differently the last time round:
1.Week:Premium Heavy Metal
2.Week: All other Highlanders for CBs.
3.Week: Profit

This is the same way I feel when entering a shop which tries to sell an old Apple and markets it as if it were a great deal.
Come on, that's playing on the basic human emotions (here greed and impatience) and that leaves me feeling a bit dirty.

I mean I let myself be coaxed to spend my money, but not, when it is this obvious.

How could this be seen as offensive in the slightest? What is so wrong about trying out new sale promotions? This is just an extension of what they did with the Highlanders and honestly I think this is a good result. They want and need to make money so that there is a game for us to play, and one of the best ways to do that is for people to spend money by bypassing time sinks.

As for your computer analogy I don't see anything wrong with that either. They want to sell off old inventory and they know some people don't want to spend 2k on the latest computer from the Fisher Price of computers so they offer a substantial discount on last years model that will do what the customer needs it to do anyway.

Edited by WarHippy, 09 July 2013 - 10:41 AM.

[Adridos]

PhoenixFire55, on 09 July 2013 - 10:25 AM, said:

Exploiting peoples weaknesses (be it stupidity or impatience) is scam.

If exploiting people's weak sides was scam and thus illegal, then most of the market would be shut down... I mean, c'mon, most things it produces and does are exploiting the stupidity of people.

For instance, advertisments are toying with many of human shortcommings at once. Even if you dislike and don't believe them, they are still exploiting the subconcoious thoughts on the basis of things that you hear a lot you tend to believe in. Just about any brand is exploiting it's reputation to inflate the prices.

...As long as you don't fall for it, there's no reason to be angry about it.

[Appogee]

BlackBeltJones, on 09 July 2013 - 10:31 AM, said:

Alpha this December and it will be glorious.

My worry about Star Citizen is that the cost per in-game asset (ie ship) is HUGE - and yet people are buying multiples of them.

The whales are significantly inflating the prices that future games developers will think they can charge for game content.

[Cubivorre]

Viper69, on 09 July 2013 - 10:33 AM, said:

Yes but I am pretty sure that is just the hangar stuff. Either way my Cutlass and Hornet are ready to go. Thinking of getting a freelancer.

No the hangar goes live in August. Alpha this December is dogfighting.

[Kragmore]

Elspath, on 09 July 2013 - 08:57 AM, said:

if you can buy something that gives you a edge (even if its flawed and might not work like some victors are) then its payed to win. Look it up

Yes, that is the deffinition of play to win.
Now please put this deffinition in the context of early access to the Victor. A chassi I'm pretty sure my hunchy could take out just as easy as let say and Atlas or Stalker.

You P2W crying people really must learn what the deffinition of P2W is. IT is to pay real Money to gain an upper hand over your opponent that that opponent can't gain in any other way then hand out the same amount of cash. That is pay to win.
Paying to unlock something quicker because you don't have the time to play as much as another player is Not pay to win. Neither is paying for early access to something that is on par with other stuff allready in game.

This is perfect marketing by PGI. Hats off to you! As a customer I don't feel cheated and can clearly see this as a great way to earn income by offering some carrots to your audience.

[PhoenixFire55]

Bishop Steiner, on 09 July 2013 - 10:20 AM, said:

Or if it offends you so much you could demonstrate you have a life beyond being a forum troll and do something you DO enjoy. (Unless, being a forum troll IS your only source of joy in life)

Says a guy with 5600+ posts. Just lol.

[Praehotec8]

1.) This has nothing to do with CW, UI 2.0, balance, launch or any other issues currently in the game right now. It undoubtedly takes little to no time to implement as the mech release system is already working. If you are unhappy with the game, don't spend money, but it makes little sense to complain about this sale because of other issues

2.) As many others have said, one week extra use of a normal mech is not P2W. The Victor mayt or may not be a good mech, but it's unlikely to bring anything groundbreaking or truly unbalancing. I personally won't buy one now, but I think it's great for people itching to get into one (for ex. if it's their favorite mech from TT).

3.) The timing of the sale isn't bad. There will likely and probably should be sales quite often in the F2P environment. No one is going to be able to buy everything. If you jumped on the Phoenix packs and are broke, you have to wait. Unfortunately that's just how life works (just think if you bought a laptop and next month it goes on sale for $400 less. It's just the way it goes.) . You can get in on the next sale.

[Barantor]

Bilbo, on 09 July 2013 - 10:28 AM, said:

I don't see why people fail to understand that this is content. Content worked on by people unrelated to the UI work and bug fixing. It may not be the content you want, but it is content none the less.

I think it is a bit of confusion. Yes this isn't done by the folks working to fix the game, but when there are large releases of sales and content and little to show for the content that was promised and slowness fixing the game that is available then people become frustrated. If a company showed you some new package for mowing your lawn, but didn't show that they hadn't fixed their dull mower blades that make your lawn look like trash then you would be just as upset. I don't care if there are new mechs, I would rather have the mechs I currently have play in a game that is more balanced or at least hear about said balances and content in detail.

I for one will not be spending any money on this game until I can see justifiable change in the game balancing and actual screenshots, video, etc of what community warfare actually is going to look like. I vote with my wallet and these sales don't make that come out of my pocket.

[matux]

Bilbo, on 09 July 2013 - 10:28 AM, said:

I don't see why people fail to understand that this is content. Content worked on by people unrelated to the UI work and bug fixing. It may not be the content you want, but it is content none the less.

So, how long till I have to pay MC for other content? exclusive maps for mc for a month? where do you draw the line? Will things start to become free to play after x weeks?

I don't see the value in paying for something I can have for free in a weeks time anyway.

[Viper69]

I guess Automobile companies never charge a premium to pre-order a vehicle and have it delivered a few months before people can buy them at dealers is a scam too.

Simple, if you dont want it dont buy it and dont *****. its not a hard concept really. if you want it early buy it at a premium, its not an advantage because its not a stupendous mech anyway.

[armyof1]

Appogee, on 09 July 2013 - 10:33 AM, said:

Gotta say, that thought had crossed my mind, too.

Taking cash for new products (Project Phoenix) in advance of when those products can actually be delivered, while neglecting the core business (game balance) feels a lot like a desperate grab for cash to stay afloat. Mortgaging your future cash flow to pay for today's costs rarely turns out well.

Of course I hope this is just a coincidence and not what is really going on.

I hope I'm wrong too, but it's always a bit worrying when you toss out so many paying items one after the other. A more sensible way in the long run would be to spread it out more instead of what we have now.

[Viper69]

Appogee, on 09 July 2013 - 10:38 AM, said:

Whale off the starboard bow.

haha I am a minnow over there my friend. You really need to get out more and go over there and see that people are dropping 10k plus on the game. Me having two smaller ships is nothing. Now physically I am quite a whale but that is besides the point .

[Rhaythe]

matux, on 09 July 2013 - 10:38 AM, said:

So, how long till I have to pay MC for other content? exclusive maps for mc for a month?

How is that different from purchaseable DLC for games like Modern Warfare or Battlefield?

Not saying I like the idea, but the precident is certainly there and being used in other games.

[T0RC4ED]

Bilbo, on 09 July 2013 - 10:28 AM, said:

I don't see why people fail to understand that this is content. Content worked on by people unrelated to the UI work and bug fixing. It may not be the content you want, but it is content none the less.

To be honest Bilbo, I understand very well that the different parts of the team work on individual pieces. Im saying that they may need to reffocus their resources to get stuff fixed and come through on things they have announced as opposed to doing these cash grabs.

Edited by T0RC4ED, 09 July 2013 - 10:42 AM.

[Valdemaar]

Sorry, not buying anything until we get a CDU.

[Vasces Diablo]

PhoenixFire55, on 09 July 2013 - 10:25 AM, said:

As I've already said. Exploiting peoples weaknesses (be it stupidity or impatience) is scam.

I'm not gonna buy but it doesn't matter. What matters is there is someone who will. And they'll get scammed.

If someone buys something and receives what they believe is an equal or greater amount of value in return, than its not "a scam". People find value in different things, in this case, it's early access along with the convenience of not having to grind cbills. For other people, it's the hero mechs, or premium time, etc. it's in the best interest if PGI and their customer base as a whole to cover every possible market segment.

Just because this one isn't for you don't mean it's a scam. Personally, I would would never (and have never) purchase a brand new car, it's a terrible financial decision, but other see enough non monetary value in them to make that purchase. I don't agree with it, but it's not a "scam" (unless the sales person is outright lying about something).

As for your comment that "exploiting people weaknesses (stupidity or impatience) is a scam". You can apply that to anything. Any food purchase you make at the grocery store that is not buying the seeds yourself and growing crops is a scam. Buying a car so you don't have to wait for the bus is a scam. Getting a sensible fixed rate 30 year mortgage to buy a house you didn't build yourself from trees you harvested is a scam.

Congratulations, out entire economy is a scam. As its build on the idea that anything I don't know how to do (stupidly) I can pay someone else to, and I can save massive amounts of time in the process (impatience).

Yes, the game needs work yet, but that doesn't make this a "scam". Especially as its pretty accepted practice in F2P games.

[Appogee]

armyof1, on 09 July 2013 - 10:39 AM, said:

A more sensible way in the long run would be to spread it out more instead of what we have now.

AND, most importantly, make sure the base product keeps attracting people in its own right.

This is where PGI are taking a huge gamble. Few people will pay for premium or preview content if the base game is fundamentally flawed - incomplete, imbalanced, lacking in variety, no genuine metagame, lacking in long term interest value.

New paid content is fine if the base game continues to get added to.

[DLFReporter]

We're all just concerned that this is a sign for PGI going belly up with their company...

[Azzras]

Just purchased 2 Victors.
VTR-9B and VTR-9S to go w/ my Dragon Slayer.
I'll see you on the battlefield.

(seriously, no patch today?)

[Bilbo]

matux, on 09 July 2013 - 10:38 AM, said:

So, how long till I have to pay MC for other content? exclusive maps for mc for a month? where do you draw the line? Will things start to become free to play after x weeks?

I don't see the value in paying for something I can have for free in a weeks time anyway.

If you see no value in it, don't buy it. It really is that simple. If you can get whatever is offered in time, then the game remains free to play.