So what am I paying for again?

Replies

  • Telaan
    3454 posts Member
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    J0K3R wrote: »
    QGJM

    Quit while u dont fall too far behind. U were keeping pace but ur starting to make urself look bad now
    QGJM wrote: »
    @JohnnieWalker
    Or an example would be an nearly exact copy of an Exclusive char but slightly different... For instance QGJ the Jedi (farmable) Vs. QGJ the master (exclusive). Maybe the exclusive version has 5-10% better stats the the farmable version or an extra not gamechanging special ... With an other animation and outfit.

    Mmmmmh, if you want a 5-10% extra on the stats or an extra special, this is exactly a competitive advantage and a step towards a pay-to-win game. I thought you said you didn't bought these extra costly characters for their advantage? You got me a confused here. A bid-for-first-place kind of game doesn't appeal to me much. A good healthy and competitive environment seems like much more fun... but well that's just my opinion.

    But, let me formulate another example just for fun. Lets say EA releases for example, Young Ben as an exclusive, but with exact same stats and abilities than Jedi Consular for instance (a good character, but not very exciting to play since its a generic toon). Of course, each ability would have a different name and animation, but should basically do the same thing regarding the game mechanics. Would you buy this permanent exclusive character to be able to play Young Ben, but with absolutely no competitive advantage over free-to-play or pay-to-play players?

    Both of you are going to wish you'd never gone down this road. I've been down it many times with him and it only leads to you facepalming. He's initially disingenuous about his motives, but you'll eventually see him for who he is, and feel out what he really wants. I truly encourage people to read his post history.

    I don't think anyone here has a problem with permanently exclusive content that is simply cosmetic/vanity, such as analogues just as you discussed.
  • Options
    Telaan wrote: »
    J0K3R wrote: »
    QGJM

    Quit while u dont fall too far behind. U were keeping pace but ur starting to make urself look bad now
    QGJM wrote: »
    @JohnnieWalker
    Or an example would be an nearly exact copy of an Exclusive char but slightly different... For instance QGJ the Jedi (farmable) Vs. QGJ the master (exclusive). Maybe the exclusive version has 5-10% better stats the the farmable version or an extra not gamechanging special ... With an other animation and outfit.

    Mmmmmh, if you want a 5-10% extra on the stats or an extra special, this is exactly a competitive advantage and a step towards a pay-to-win game. I thought you said you didn't bought these extra costly characters for their advantage? You got me a confused here. A bid-for-first-place kind of game doesn't appeal to me much. A good healthy and competitive environment seems like much more fun... but well that's just my opinion.

    But, let me formulate another example just for fun. Lets say EA releases for example, Young Ben as an exclusive, but with exact same stats and abilities than Jedi Consular for instance (a good character, but not very exciting to play since its a generic toon). Of course, each ability would have a different name and animation, but should basically do the same thing regarding the game mechanics. Would you buy this permanent exclusive character to be able to play Young Ben, but with absolutely no competitive advantage over free-to-play or pay-to-play players?

    Both of you are going to wish you'd never gone down this road. I've been down it many times with him and it only leads to you facepalming. He's initially disingenuous about his motives, but you'll eventually see him for who he is, and feel out what he really wants. I truly encourage people to read his post history.

    I don't think anyone here has a problem with permanently exclusive content that is simply cosmetic/vanity, such as analogues just as you discussed.

    They will learn lol.

    I am not sure if cosmetics would be enough to satisfy the whales. Not the more extreme. I am sure they would rake in the money from all if the prices weren't too steep. I can see slave Leia and spider leg maul now.

    I just want to play as one handed mace or two halves QGJ. The legs and torso make separate attacks...Half damage of course.
  • Options
    Telaan wrote: »
    J0K3R wrote: »
    QGJM

    Quit while u dont fall too far behind. U were keeping pace but ur starting to make urself look bad now
    QGJM wrote: »
    @JohnnieWalker
    Or an example would be an nearly exact copy of an Exclusive char but slightly different... For instance QGJ the Jedi (farmable) Vs. QGJ the master (exclusive). Maybe the exclusive version has 5-10% better stats the the farmable version or an extra not gamechanging special ... With an other animation and outfit.

    Mmmmmh, if you want a 5-10% extra on the stats or an extra special, this is exactly a competitive advantage and a step towards a pay-to-win game. I thought you said you didn't bought these extra costly characters for their advantage? You got me a confused here. A bid-for-first-place kind of game doesn't appeal to me much. A good healthy and competitive environment seems like much more fun... but well that's just my opinion.

    But, let me formulate another example just for fun. Lets say EA releases for example, Young Ben as an exclusive, but with exact same stats and abilities than Jedi Consular for instance (a good character, but not very exciting to play since its a generic toon). Of course, each ability would have a different name and animation, but should basically do the same thing regarding the game mechanics. Would you buy this permanent exclusive character to be able to play Young Ben, but with absolutely no competitive advantage over free-to-play or pay-to-play players?

    Both of you are going to wish you'd never gone down this road. I've been down it many times with him and it only leads to you facepalming. He's initially disingenuous about his motives, but you'll eventually see him for who he is, and feel out what he really wants. I truly encourage people to read his post history.

    I don't think anyone here has a problem with permanently exclusive content that is simply cosmetic/vanity, such as analogues just as you discussed.

    They will learn lol.

    I am not sure if cosmetics would be enough to satisfy the whales. Not the more extreme. I am sure they would rake in the money from all if the prices weren't too steep. I can see slave Leia and spider leg maul now.

    I just want to play as one handed mace or two halves QGJ. The legs and torso make separate attacks...Half damage of course.

    Well, think of League of Legends for example. Riot has been huuuuugely succesful, and they make tons on cosmetics even though cosmetics are individualy only $5-$30. But each character has 3+ cosmetics and there are hundreds of characters. If you have a "gotta catch em all" mentality you can drop big bucks. Also, all the characters can be unlocked through enough play time, but that takes a real investment of time. Throw money at the game and suddenly you skipped literally months, even year of grinding. It does require the at least semi-constant creation of actual content though.

    tl;dr people pay out the nose for cosmetics and time savers, p2w not required.
  • Options
    medetec wrote: »
    Telaan wrote: »
    J0K3R wrote: »
    QGJM

    Quit while u dont fall too far behind. U were keeping pace but ur starting to make urself look bad now
    QGJM wrote: »
    @JohnnieWalker
    Or an example would be an nearly exact copy of an Exclusive char but slightly different... For instance QGJ the Jedi (farmable) Vs. QGJ the master (exclusive). Maybe the exclusive version has 5-10% better stats the the farmable version or an extra not gamechanging special ... With an other animation and outfit.

    Mmmmmh, if you want a 5-10% extra on the stats or an extra special, this is exactly a competitive advantage and a step towards a pay-to-win game. I thought you said you didn't bought these extra costly characters for their advantage? You got me a confused here. A bid-for-first-place kind of game doesn't appeal to me much. A good healthy and competitive environment seems like much more fun... but well that's just my opinion.

    But, let me formulate another example just for fun. Lets say EA releases for example, Young Ben as an exclusive, but with exact same stats and abilities than Jedi Consular for instance (a good character, but not very exciting to play since its a generic toon). Of course, each ability would have a different name and animation, but should basically do the same thing regarding the game mechanics. Would you buy this permanent exclusive character to be able to play Young Ben, but with absolutely no competitive advantage over free-to-play or pay-to-play players?

    Both of you are going to wish you'd never gone down this road. I've been down it many times with him and it only leads to you facepalming. He's initially disingenuous about his motives, but you'll eventually see him for who he is, and feel out what he really wants. I truly encourage people to read his post history.

    I don't think anyone here has a problem with permanently exclusive content that is simply cosmetic/vanity, such as analogues just as you discussed.

    They will learn lol.

    I am not sure if cosmetics would be enough to satisfy the whales. Not the more extreme. I am sure they would rake in the money from all if the prices weren't too steep. I can see slave Leia and spider leg maul now.

    I just want to play as one handed mace or two halves QGJ. The legs and torso make separate attacks...Half damage of course.

    Well, think of League of Legends for example. Riot has been huuuuugely succesful, and they make tons on cosmetics even though cosmetics are individualy only $5-$30. But each character has 3+ cosmetics and there are hundreds of characters. If you have a "gotta catch em all" mentality you can drop big bucks. Also, all the characters can be unlocked through enough play time, but that takes a real investment of time. Throw money at the game and suddenly you skipped literally months, even year of grinding. It does require the at least semi-constant creation of actual content though.

    tl;dr people pay out the nose for cosmetics and time savers, p2w not required.

    Oh absolutely. I swear I would pay for random skins like different clone Trooper options. I'm not going to pay hundreds lol but something reasonable and I'm all in. They could do so many minor things to have different effects. Mask less kylo or Vader etc.
  • Telaan
    3454 posts Member
    edited February 2016
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    SWtOR is another example of a successful cash shop. Anyone who's followed the history of that game knows what a massive flop it was. Within a year of launch the game went f2p and merged servers. That virtually unbelievable for a Star Wars MMO.

    Many of us followed the EA quarterly reports very closely to help determine the future of the game. It was massively expensive to produce yet hemorrhaged subs in a way I hadn't seen since the NGE in SWG. The future of the game looked bleak.

    Then with the transition to f2p came the cash shop. It was wildly successful. It offered vanity armor, weapons, vehicles, accessories, emotes, color crystals, access passes for content to those that chose not to sub, and much more premium content. However, none of the items were remotely p2w. All the armor and weapons lacked stats; they were simply shells.

    I'm not sure that game would still be running without the cash shop and it's a perfect example of how vanity and cosmetic items are an absolutely viable means of generating a large and sustainable revenue stream.
  • Options
    To agree with those that have already answered, you are paying for early access to content that wouldn't normally be available to F2P.

    As a hint as well, I would ignore QGJM. He's little more than a petulant child who has been throwing his toys out that he can't have a permanent advantage over everyone else.
  • Options
    @J0K3R
    no. I don't. But the suggestions are kind of unlogical for an economic person like me.
    There is the aspect of getting the characters but also the perceived value of an product. Would I buy a worse car for 10x money of my sportscar? no. Would u?

    If you can't live with an minimal different "advantage" with P2W (that is, I point out NOT relevant in arena matches at all!) then I really can't help u.

    QGJ was a gamechanger with a huge competitive advantage I realize that now. So it's kind of good to open him up but I still think they should have done it completely differently cause whales still think twice before spending on chromiums again

  • Options
    Telaan wrote: »
    Both of you are going to wish you'd never gone down this road. I've been down it many times with him and it only leads to you facepalming. He's initially disingenuous about his motives, but you'll eventually see him for who he is, and feel out what he really wants. I truly encourage people to read his post history.
    As a hint as well, I would ignore QGJM. He's little more than a petulant child who has been throwing his toys out that he can't have a permanent advantage over everyone else.

    I see what you mean...

  • Options
    it for sure feels alot better to wreck p2p players with my 100%f2p squad than spending lots of money for something which has no value whatsoever. have fun everyone
  • Options
    Prscustom wrote: »
    ...than spending lots of money for something which has no value whatsoever. have fun everyone

    Thanx for this summary of this thread.
    No value at all, so don't spend money.
    that was my main point btw.

    To the F2P against P2P comment - nice that u have something that makes u feel good.
  • Options
    To agree with those that have already answered, you are paying for early access to content that wouldn't normally be available to F2P.

    As a hint as well, I would ignore QGJM. He's little more than a petulant child who has been throwing his toys out that he can't have a permanent advantage over everyone else.

    Actually, I would love to be ignored of you :-)
  • JohnnieWalker
    6 posts Member
    edited February 2016
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    QGJM wrote: »
    @J0K3R
    no. I don't. But the suggestions are kind of unlogical for an economic person like me.
    There is the aspect of getting the characters but also the perceived value of an product. Would I buy a worse car for 10x money of my sportscar? no. Would u?

    If you can't live with an minimal different "advantage" with P2W (that is, I point out NOT relevant in arena matches at all!) then I really can't help u.

    QGJ was a gamechanger with a huge competitive advantage I realize that now. So it's kind of good to open him up but I still think they should have done it completely differently cause whales still think twice before spending on chromiums again

    Well, If both are sportcars with the same specs, but one is a generic sportcar, while the other is a limited exclusive edition with some shiny cosmetic additions, I would definitively be interested to buy the limited edition over the generic one. But I understand if these things do not appeal to you, and I respect that.

    Let's continue with another analogy regarding early access to content. Would you pay 1000$ to watch the next starwars movie 6 months before its theatrical release? I'm sure a lot of people would (these are the "real" whales). But maybe you wouldn't and would prefer to wait 6 months for the theatrical release and pay 10 bucks instead (these are the pay-to-play people). But maybe you wouldn't and would prefer to wait and watch it for free on public cable in 5 years (these are the free-to-play people). Don't you think that it would be silly of Disney, economically speaking, not to release the movie to theater for the sake of keeping it exclusive to the "whales"? Or, to a lesser extend, release a shorter/cheaper version of the movie to the public? They will most likely do the opposite and release an enhanced/extended edition Blu-Ray. Basically, what I'm saying is that early access to content is worth something, maybe not to you, but to some, it does.

    Maybe you more a pay-to-play player than a whale. This is not pejorative at all, quite the opposite. If I were EA, I would take 10$ from 100 players a month over 1000$ from a single player, anytime, anywhere. Seems like a more healthy source of income to me...
    Post edited by JohnnieWalker on
  • J0K3R
    2286 posts Member
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    QGJM wrote: »
    @J0K3R
    no. I don't. But the suggestions are kind of unlogical for an economic person like me.
    There is the aspect of getting the characters but also the perceived value of an product. Would I buy a worse car for 10x money of my sportscar? no. Would u?

    If you can't live with an minimal different "advantage" with P2W (that is, I point out NOT relevant in arena matches at all!) then I really can't help u.

    QGJ was a gamechanger with a huge competitive advantage I realize that now. So it's kind of good to open him up but I still think they should have done it completely differently cause whales still think twice before spending on chromiums again

    Well, If both are sportcars with the same specs, but one is a generic sportcar, while the other is a limited exclusive edition with some shiny cosmetic additions, I would definitively be interested to buy the limited edition over the generic one. But I understand if these things do not appeal to you, and I respect that.

    Let's continue with another analogy regarding early access to content. Would you pay 1000$ to watch the next starwars movie 6 months before its theatrical release? I'm sure a lot of people would (these are the "real" whales). But maybe you wouldn't and would prefer to wait 6 months for the theatrical release and pay 10 bucks instead (these are the pay-to-play people). But maybe you wouldn't and would prefer to wait and watch it for free on public cable in 5 years (these are the free-to-play people). Don't you think that it would be silly of Disney, economically speaking, not to release the movie to theater for the sake of keeping it exclusive to the "whales"? Or, to a lesser extend, release a shorter/cheaper version of the movie to the public? They will most likely do the opposite and release an enhanced/extended edition Blu-Ray. Basically, what I'm saying is that early access to content is worth something, maybe not to you, but to some, it does.

    Maybe you more a pay-to-play player than a whale. This is not pejorative at all, quite the opposite. If I were EA, I would take 10$ from 100 players a month over 1000$ from a single player, anytime, anywhere. Seems like a more healthy source of income to me...

    Well said
    May the force be with you. It shall free you.
  • Options
    As i said i wouldnt spend that for early access and exactly that was the point of the OP, too.

    Here we go again asumpting numbers and %s of players and their budget. Round and round we go...
  • Options
    QGJM wrote: »
    @J0K3R
    no. I don't. But the suggestions are kind of unlogical for an economic person like me.
    There is the aspect of getting the characters but also the perceived value of an product. Would I buy a worse car for 10x money of my sportscar? no. Would u?

    If you can't live with an minimal different "advantage" with P2W (that is, I point out NOT relevant in arena matches at all!) then I really can't help u.

    QGJ was a gamechanger with a huge competitive advantage I realize that now. So it's kind of good to open him up but I still think they should have done it completely differently cause whales still think twice before spending on chromiums again

    Well, If both are sportcars with the same specs, but one is a generic sportcar, while the other is a limited exclusive edition with some shiny cosmetic additions, I would definitively be interested to buy the limited edition over the generic one. But I understand if these things do not appeal to you, and I respect that.

    Let's continue with another analogy regarding early access to content. Would you pay 1000$ to watch the next starwars movie 6 months before its theatrical release? I'm sure a lot of people would (these are the "real" whales). But maybe you wouldn't and would prefer to wait 6 months for the theatrical release and pay 10 bucks instead (these are the pay-to-play people). But maybe you wouldn't and would prefer to wait and watch it for free on public cable in 5 years (these are the free-to-play people). Don't you think that it would be silly of Disney, economically speaking, not to release the movie to theater for the sake of keeping it exclusive to the "whales"? Or, to a lesser extend, release a shorter/cheaper version of the movie to the public? They will most likely do the opposite and release an enhanced/extended edition Blu-Ray. Basically, what I'm saying is that early access to content is worth something, maybe not to you, but to some, it does.

    Maybe you more a pay-to-play player than a whale. This is not pejorative at all, quite the opposite. If I were EA, I would take 10$ from 100 players a month over 1000$ from a single player, anytime, anywhere. Seems like a more healthy source of income to me...

    I agree. The other thing is many people only see whales and f2p. The largest source of sustainable income is the low spenders I be . They pump 20 and 30 here and there and more importantly it is constant. It's awesome if you had 5k to drop on the game. But chances are you have most of everything. Why would you drop another 5k? Whereas you got yoda and dropped 25 for energy or crystals for whatever. I think a huge portion is spending 20 and a small sliver is dropping 5k. To ignore the middle ground makes most whale vs f2p kinda moot.
  • Options
    You pay for displacing other players in getting 1st place reward, that's $100 a month in gems.
    This is the same experiment when they sold $100 for $2000+ in a competitive bidding. Google "dollar auction"
  • medetec
    1571 posts Member
    edited February 2016
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    Well, aside from the competitive advantage, you pay for "cool stuff" ™

    I'm all for the sale of nifty things, I just think it's not being handled right currently. When someone says they don't think what they payed for is worth $5000, I can't help but think, by god it shouldn't be. This isn't what we are here for. I wrote a whole post on the topic of chromiums and why they aren't working (way longer than I intended) so rather than repeat it here, -> link <-

    In addition to fixing chromiums, cosmetics (reasonably priced) would be a good way to start reeling in smaller spenders, but thats been gone over repeatedly in this thread already.
  • JohnnieWalker
    6 posts Member
    edited February 2016
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    QGJM wrote: »
    As i said i wouldnt spend that for early access and exactly that was the point of the OP, too.

    Here we go again asumpting numbers and %s of players and their budget. Round and round we go...

    I'm not assuming numbers, 10x100 does equal 1000. It was just a figure to support my opinion regarding what would be the best source of income I would like to have if I was EA. So its not assumptions but opinions, and its worth for what its worth, like your opinion... EA are the ones who have the data and who can estimate what early access to their content is worth.

    And me neither I wouldn't pay that much money for early access and that's why I'm a pay-to-play player. That being said, I wouldn't pay thousands just to get a permanent advantage over other players in a mobile game neither. Though I could, that is not what I'm looking for in a game like that. If EA had decided to go down this road, I wouldn't have spend any money at all in the game and I would have simply stopped playing.
    Post edited by JohnnieWalker on
  • Bariath
    3 posts Member
    edited February 2016
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    Hi, bariath here. Won the 1st prize today, without spending much money. I spent 10 bucks for some gems in the past to get some extra energy twice a Day plus one extra cantina. After that when i reached top rankings the gems came by itself.
  • Options
    Qgjm would like to see your point of view but can't get my head that far up my bum B)
  • QGJM
    318 posts Member
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    @Cometheloser
    I am sorry for u. Really. Your life cant be easy ...
    Get well.
  • Options
    Vavasour wrote: »
    Hey guys first time posting, and this is meant to be a legitimate question.

    I spend a bunch on money on a game here and there when I find something I like. I have the expendable income, and it brings me joy in the way that some people like gambling, alcohol, etc. Usually, when I buy exclusive characters in games, they stay exclusive.

    Am I right in understanding that the money I've spent to unlock Chromium Exclusive Chararters has been wasted in the sense that they will eventually be mass released and farmable?

    If so, what are we (whales, I guess) actually paying for, early access? If so, I'm done spending money on this game.

    First off you're not purchasing characters with your money, you're purchasing crystals. Second, the characters in chromium pack are obtainable by everyone, not "exclusive" to people who have poor money management skills and entitled attitudes. Third, if they didn't move characters from chromium to farmable before adding new chromium toons it would make the game stale and people would leave. Then the game would begin to decline and your money would be even more wasted. ;)
  • Options
    Thanks for the financial advise... interestingly it's my management abilities, money-management included, that have secured me neatly in a position where a few $k in shards/month has no noticeable impact on my life.

    For the record, I give tenfold that amount to charitable causes. I consider my Galaxy-shard money a deliberate act of wasteful self indulgence. :)
  • Options
    On a side note, I never imagined my first post to the forum would generate a 7 page long battle of anonymous internet wit.
  • Telaan
    3454 posts Member
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    Please stop bumping this garbage thread. It's run its course.
  • Smite
    259 posts Member
    edited February 2016
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    Well, I consider myself a whale, maybe not a really big one but with a couple of 1.000 bucks a whale.
    With the actual strategy to make chromium cards available for the public after a month EA will not see one penny investing me in chromium cards any more. It’ easy to wait a month an farm then by shards – and it will save me a lot of money as well.
    I was in the impression that exclusive is maybe not exclusive forever, BUT at least more than 4 weeks.
    Sorry EA, but no more money on chromium from that whale!!
    Cheers,
    Smite
  • Options
    Telaan wrote: »
    Please stop bumping this garbage thread. It's run its course.

    You bumped it when you posted wow bright.
  • Options
    MenaceTEC wrote: »
    Telaan wrote: »
    Please stop bumping this garbage thread. It's run its course.

    You bumped it when you posted wow bright.

    There is no need mocking people.
  • Options
    Telaan wrote: »
    Please stop bumping this garbage thread. It's run its course.

    OK.
  • QGJM
    318 posts Member
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    Vavasour wrote: »
    Telaan wrote: »
    Please stop bumping this garbage thread. It's run its course.

    OK.

    +1
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