31 replies to this topic

[thefreddyfinger]

I'm new to MWO, but I do have experience with a few different F2P games. One thing I've noticed about MWO, is that it's following a premium currency cost that parallels games like Marvel Heroes in the sense that each Mech that is purchased with MC, costs $30 - $50 EACH. Mind you that this is a relatively new game (and in beta) and everything is still being established, but I feel that there's room for improvement in the financial arena for both the business and the community.

MWO is a fantastic game so far; I loved MechWarrior 2, and MWO has a strikingly similar feel which makes my nostalgia places tingle. With that said, the only thing that keeps me on the "casual gamer" side of the fence (which prevents me from investing any real time or money) on MWO is the MC co$t. Paying $20-$50 per Mech is a bit much. This is a title that I care about and I don't want to see MWO go the way of games like Marvel Heroes and become all but extinct. If the MC cost was reduced by a measurable amount, the game might see an increase in MC purchases and total revenue.

Personally, I know I am more likely to spend money where I feel I'm getting a better "bang for my buck." To use another dreaded off-title example, I've spent over $150 on War Thunder in the last 3 months, and at least another $75 on Rift in the last 3 weeks. The reason being; I feel like I'm getting a lot for my money. Now that doesn't mean "Make premium Mechs and equipment better than the standard Mechs and equipment," because that would create a dollar induced imbalance and consequently, a toxic in-game environment.

Basically all I'm saying is lower prices and enjoy the new flood of customers. I can't be the only person that feels this way, and I'd like to see what others have to say; both employees and community. Also I apologize ahead of time if there's another thread for this subject, but I did a quick search and didn't find any right off hand.

[Bloody Moon]

Maybe a bit larger font size next time?

Edited by Bloody Moon, 08 August 2013 - 05:01 PM.

[Name140704]

For reading purposes

I'm new to MWO, but I do have experience with a few different F2P games. One thing I've noticed about MWO, is that it's following a premium currency cost that parallels games like Marvel Heroes in the sense that each Mech that is purchased with MC, costs $30 - $50 EACH. Mind you that this is a relatively new game (and in beta) and everything is still being established, but I feel that there's room for improvement in the financial arena for both the business and the community.

MWO is a fantastic game so far; I loved MechWarrior 2, and MWO has a strikingly similar feel which makes my nostalgia places tingle. With that said, the only thing that keeps me on the "casual gamer" side of the fence (which prevents me from investing any real time or money) on MWO is the MC co$t. Paying $20-$50 per Mech is a bit much. This is a title that I care about and I don't want to see MWO go the way of games like Marvel Heroes and become all but extinct. If the MC cost was reduced by a measurable amount, the game might see an increase in MC purchases and total revenue.

Personally, I know I am more likely to spend money where I feel I'm getting a better "bang for my buck." To use another dreaded off-title example, I've spent over $150 on War Thunder in the last 3 months, and at least another $75 on Rift in the last 3 weeks. The reason being; I feel like I'm getting a lot for my money. Now that doesn't mean "Make premium Mechs and equipment better than the standard Mechs and equipment," because that would create a dollar induced imbalance and consequently, a toxic in-game environment.

Basically all I'm saying is lower prices and enjoy the new flood of customers. I can't be the only person that feels this way, and I'd like to see what others have to say; both employees and community. Also I apologize ahead of time if there's another thread for this subject, but I did a quick search and didn't find any right off hand.

Edited by NARCoMAN, 08 August 2013 - 05:25 PM.

[Hexenhammer]

Lower prices would be great but the only things I'd be spending money on is paint and camo. We don't have decals so I'm not sure how those will work out or how they'll be priced.

[Takony]

Yes, has been stated many times, lots of frequent smaller purchases is MORE $$$ for PGI than few purchases for unjustifiable amounts (1 mech for the price of a full product/game/whatever? hell no).

Mech bays and premium time are almost on the spot, while mechs, hero mechs are laughable ripoffs.
Cosmetic purchases are ripoffs as well, but they are not necessary to play, whereas mechbays and mechs are essential, if you are not conent with 4 mechs only

[Syllogy]

Takony, on 09 August 2013 - 03:17 AM, said:

Yes, has been stated many times, lots of frequent smaller purchases is MORE $$$ for PGI than few purchases for unjustifiable amounts (1 mech for the price of a full product/game/whatever? hell no).

Mech bays and premium time are almost on the spot, while mechs, hero mechs are laughable ripoffs.
Cosmetic purchases are ripoffs as well, but they are not necessary to play, whereas mechbays and mechs are essential, if you are not conent with 4 mechs only

I'd like to point out that Paint and Hero Mechs are easily the most purchased items in the game...

Apparently, most people think they are worth paying for. It's only the cheapskates griping about the price.

But it's okay... Bob is here for you.

[thefreddyfinger]

My apologies for the font size, I didn't preview the post

And how does one become a legendary founder?

Edited by thefreddyfinger, 09 August 2013 - 03:51 PM.

[thefreddyfinger]

Syllogy, on 09 August 2013 - 07:14 AM, said:

I'd like to point out that Paint and Hero Mechs are easily the most purchased items in the game...

Apparently, most people think they are worth paying for. It's only the cheapskates griping about the price.

But it's okay... Bob is here for you.

There's my point. MOST players currently playing the game probably have 1 or 2 MC mechs. The other 99.99% of the video game market isn't willing to blow the cost of a new game's worth of $$ on one single in game unit. Especially in a game where the objective is to gain many units.

[Sug]

thefreddyfinger, on 09 August 2013 - 04:19 PM, said:

There's my point. MOST players currently playing the game probably have 1 or 2 MC mechs. The other 99.99% of the video game market isn't willing to blow the cost of a new game's worth of $$ on one single in game unit. Especially in a game where the objective is to gain many units.

So what?

[Angel of Annihilation]

Takony, on 09 August 2013 - 03:17 AM, said:

Yes, has been stated many times, lots of frequent smaller purchases is MORE $$$ for PGI than few purchases for unjustifiable amounts (1 mech for the price of a full product/game/whatever? hell no).

Mech bays and premium time are almost on the spot, while mechs, hero mechs are laughable ripoffs.
Cosmetic purchases are ripoffs as well, but they are not necessary to play, whereas mechbays and mechs are essential, if you are not conent with 4 mechs only

The only thing required is mechbays. You absolutely don't need to purchase hero mechs or any mechs and you don't have to run premium although it does speed things up substantially.

Personally to get the most out of this game your looking at an upfront investment of about $30 then $10 a month from then on in. That would get you plenty of mechbays and pay for a premium subscription.

Additionally, people need to stop looking at the word, "Free" in free-to-play and thinking the game should be free. The game has to make a profit for us to even have a game, it is simple as that.

What you should do instead is look at these games in terms of the traditional subscription MMO.

$50 for the box.
$15 a month subscription.
$50 for the expansion in a year.

Then take these amounts and figure out what that buys you in the F2P game. THIS is the actual value of the game.

[S3dition]

thefreddyfinger, on 09 August 2013 - 03:49 PM, said:

My apologies for the font size, I didn't preview the post

And how does one become a legendary founder?

Keep the font the same and it won't be an issue

You don't become a legendary founder. That ship sailed more than a year ago.

thefreddyfinger, on 09 August 2013 - 04:19 PM, said:

There's my point. MOST players currently playing the game probably have 1 or 2 MC mechs. The other 99.99% of the video game market isn't willing to blow the cost of a new game's worth of $$ on one single in game unit. Especially in a game where the objective is to gain many units.

That's exactly WHY it's so expensive. 90% of the people who play F2P games are either perma-broke or think it's ridiculous that someone would pay for a free game. Could mechs be dropped to $10? Sure, but then the people who pay $50 would buy 5, and the people who don't spend any money still don't spend anything, so PGI ends up with less money.

Believe it or not, there is reasoning and real science behind these pricing models, even if your group of 3 friends gives you all the confirmation bias you need to refute it

[Takony]

Syllogy, on 09 August 2013 - 07:14 AM, said:

I'd like to point out that Paint and Hero Mechs are easily the most purchased items in the game...

Apparently, most people think they are worth paying for. It's only the cheapskates griping about the price.

But it's okay... Bob is here for you.

Nice gif but completely off the mark. Point was: having/earning more cbills imho are actually an incentive to spend more MC as well. What people spend MC is their decision based on preference entirely, with the exception of mechbays if you want more than 4 mechs. With current earning levels it takes too much time to grind a new mech to master, with 3 variants to buy and upgrade with dhs endo.

[RavenGenesis]

thefreddyfinger, on 09 August 2013 - 04:19 PM, said:

There's my point. MOST players currently playing the game probably have 1 or 2 MC mechs. The other 99.99% of the video game market isn't willing to blow the cost of a new game's worth of $$ on one single in game unit. Especially in a game where the objective is to gain many units.

that's just begging for people to cry P2W.... MWO doesn't have this issue, is because heroes and champions are usually a crappy variant that gives bonus income.. seriously if anyone can cry about Golden Boy being OP needs to be fed to turtles

[Scromboid]

Syllogy, on 09 August 2013 - 07:14 AM, said:

I'd like to point out that Paint and Hero Mechs are easily the most purchased items in the game...

Apparently, most people think they are worth paying for. It's only the cheapskates griping about the price.

But it's okay... Bob is here for you.

No other way to put this. You are stupid.

You are wrong and stupid. If not, there would not be so many forums posts.

Look at the culture you are living in. Look at the World. Friggin most powerful country in the world is broke. People cannot afford things - look at interest rates. You have countries in Europe going bankrupt and others who have a 50% employment rate. Are you KIDDING ME?

Read, for the love of all that is good, READ the INTERNET and READ NEWS and LEARN about the ECONOMY.

Here it is for all you stupid little kids in High School and College or just out who think that $35 for an INTERNET ROBOT THAT YOU WILL LOSE IF THE SERVERS EVER GO DOWN OR SHUT OFF IS A GOOD DEAL - YOU KNOW NOTHING.

What's more? There IS NO SUCH THING AS DISPOSABLE INCOME!

The government, your school, the media, the CORPORATIONS are LYING to you. You have a FINITE amount of money you will make in your LIFE. YE * LE = LiE. (yearly earning * life expectancy = Life Earnings) Money spent on frivolous crap like overpriced internet robots is a waste of POTENTIAL earnings on that same money. You can use that money to generate income, invest, invest in yourself (higher education, job training, personal business) and the money spent on these robots are then COMPOUNDED by the time you are wasting here playing this game.

These robots are NOT GOOD DEALS. They are EXPENSIVE and they are utterly useless. There is really no way around it. Yes I feel this way and yes it bothers me that I spend as much time as I do, as well as lost capital prepping for this stupid game (expensive machine, internet, etc).

Anyways, I know you will not listen, but it makes ME feel better to post it which means it is worth it to ME. Nothing else matters. You will look back in 10 years and curse yourself for spending that much money on a GAME. Hell, it may only take a year when you realize PGI drove this falming bus into the ground MONTHS ago. You will need that cash later and will not have it, wondering where it went and you can only look as far as your own stupidity, greed and short attention spans to see where it went. Srsly. 6500mc = $30.

To the OP... guy.... bank that $225 you spend on virtual games, man. It is not worth it. Think of what you could have done with that cash. For me, that is electric, water, sewer, gym for both my girls, internet, spotify, netflix, gas for the month and juicing for the month. There is probably a little left over in there, too for lunches and whatever.

What did you get? A sparkly horse? Maybe a different colored plane?

What happens when they shut those games down or the game changes so much you do not like it? Money=wasted.

I'm done.

[Kibble]

Keep "micro"-transactions, micro.

[RavenGenesis]

Scromboid, on 11 August 2013 - 11:42 AM, said:

No other way to put this. You are stupid.

You are wrong and stupid. If not, there would not be so many forums posts.

Look at the culture you are living in. Look at the World. Friggin most powerful country in the world is broke. People cannot afford things - look at interest rates. You have countries in Europe going bankrupt and others who have a 50% employment rate. Are you KIDDING ME?

Read, for the love of all that is good, READ the INTERNET and READ NEWS and LEARN about the ECONOMY.

Here it is for all you stupid little kids in High School and College or just out who think that $35 for an INTERNET ROBOT THAT YOU WILL LOSE IF THE SERVERS EVER GO DOWN OR SHUT OFF IS A GOOD DEAL - YOU KNOW NOTHING.

What's more? There IS NO SUCH THING AS DISPOSABLE INCOME!

The government, your school, the media, the CORPORATIONS are LYING to you. You have a FINITE amount of money you will make in your LIFE. YE * LE = LiE. (yearly earning * life expectancy = Life Earnings) Money spent on frivolous crap like overpriced internet robots is a waste of POTENTIAL earnings on that same money. You can use that money to generate income, invest, invest in yourself (higher education, job training, personal business) and the money spent on these robots are then COMPOUNDED by the time you are wasting here playing this game.

These robots are NOT GOOD DEALS. They are EXPENSIVE and they are utterly useless. There is really no way around it. Yes I feel this way and yes it bothers me that I spend as much time as I do, as well as lost capital prepping for this stupid game (expensive machine, internet, etc).

Anyways, I know you will not listen, but it makes ME feel better to post it which means it is worth it to ME. Nothing else matters. You will look back in 10 years and curse yourself for spending that much money on a GAME. Hell, it may only take a year when you realize PGI drove this falming bus into the ground MONTHS ago. You will need that cash later and will not have it, wondering where it went and you can only look as far as your own stupidity, greed and short attention spans to see where it went. Srsly. 6500mc = $30.

To the OP... guy.... bank that $225 you spend on virtual games, man. It is not worth it. Think of what you could have done with that cash. For me, that is electric, water, sewer, gym for both my girls, internet, spotify, netflix, gas for the month and juicing for the month. There is probably a little left over in there, too for lunches and whatever.

What did you get? A sparkly horse? Maybe a different colored plane?

What happens when they shut those games down or the game changes so much you do not like it? Money=wasted.

I'm done.

love how you ranted about how you would spend for your family and such...

DEVS ARE NOT ROBOTS, THEY HAVE FAMILIES AND LIVES TOO, AND THEY MAKE MONEY FROM THIS GAME TO ACHIEVE ALL THOSE YOU LISTED ABOVE.

IF OP HAS THE MONEY TO DUNK IN THEIR TO FUND FOR DEVS' LIVING EXPENSES, LET IT BE.

can't believe you're making such a big deal over someone with disposable income, maybe he's a trustfund baby with 20k dividend payout on top of his monthly income, or he's a lottery winner of 500million and he's just sitting on his golden throne polished with bacon sauce

[Scromboid]

It's not even the Devs, it is IGP.

Also, quick math problem.

$10 X 10000 is < = or > than $30 x 1000?

You lower the cost of the robots, you GET MORE SALES.

Also, again, no such thing as disposable income. It is a term created by corporations to get your money. Believe what you will, but it is the truth.

If IGP would let PGI lower the costs, they would see more sales total.

[Mawai]

Wow .. a lot of vitriol in this thread coming from folks (including myself) who have no idea of the actual numbers involved.

However,

1) A 10x increase in sales for a price from from $30 to $10 ... extremely unlikely I think.

2) For many folks $20.00 is not a big deal. Some people spend more than that for lunch every day. Going out to see a movie costs $20.00 and is over in 2 hours. Four lattes from starbucks cost that much ... so ditch a coffee habit for a week and there is a new mech.

3) IF people enjoy playing a game, and IF they can afford it, THEN it is not a big deal to them to spend money on a game.

4) Almost every 8vs8 match I dropped in contained at least one hero mech on each team, often more than one. This means that on average at least 1/8 of all active players have purchased at least one hero mech (whn a new hero is released it can be as many as half the players on each team ... I saw a lot of heavy metals when it was introduced). I don't think dropping the price by 2/3 would get half the players buying them and this is what you would need to break even never mind increase revenues. In addition, hero mechs represent a bit of a status symbol to some folks. It is good for business if they are not too common.

5) Dropping prices at this point would alienate every customer who has already put their money in. They might quite or want refunds and these are the people most devoted and willing to spend money on the game.

Bottom line is, no matter how much you rant, I don't expect prices to drop any time soon. (though I could be wrong who knows ...)

[Galaxy Crusader Puppeteer]

I agree with lower cost of everything!

Im here cuzz im a fan of Mechwarrior. But not the table top and other things , just plane PC games!
Yes im a gamer! And as such i like AAA titles , dont like most of F2P games cuzz its huge LIE just in that name!
Free to play system!Oh man! Some one out there figured out that they can get more money with an average game,then to spend more money on developing AAA title and then selling it or not selling it good enough cuzz they didnt do enough marketing they didnt do good MP just SP. their game had bad protection got cracked and sent for free . Oh well u get the point.

At this moment most of F2P publishers are riping us off.

The much older FP2 games iv played had only cosmetics sold for real money.

When you stop playing the game and you start paying your way in for most of stuff you have then your doing it wrong!

Maybe some of you got that feeling in gaming, when in a certain game they grinded , won , achieved some thing really special that not many guys out there have or most of players wont even get? ANd you did it on your own??

Or you have a thing that prolly most of the game pop has which prolly half of you waited on sales to get it

But i think one guy has it all figured out! He likes space sims , you can figure out the rest

Edited by CL7K20, 12 August 2013 - 10:00 AM.

[Shae Starfyre]

RavenGenesis, on 11 August 2013 - 12:33 PM, said:

love how you ranted about how you would spend for your family and such...

DEVS ARE NOT ROBOTS, THEY HAVE FAMILIES AND LIVES TOO, AND THEY MAKE MONEY FROM THIS GAME TO ACHIEVE ALL THOSE YOU LISTED ABOVE.

IF OP HAS THE MONEY TO DUNK IN THEIR TO FUND FOR DEVS' LIVING EXPENSES, LET IT BE.

can't believe you're making such a big deal over someone with disposable income, maybe he's a trustfund baby with 20k dividend payout on top of his monthly income, or he's a lottery winner of 500million and he's just sitting on his golden throne polished with bacon sauce

Bacon...SAUCE! How is this not being marketed!!!!!?????