So who would be willing to pay 5$ (USD) for just the beta key?

I hadn't read the entire thread, but based off of the OP I have to say come on... You live in a first world country I imagine. You have the ability to make $5 measly dollars, right? Whats five dollars more then? For a product without a set wholesale value no less. If I was asked to pay $10 for a burrito I'd probably turn my nose. But that's mainly because I know how much a burrito costs to make. A whole video game? I've got no idea. So I'll just pay whatever I'm comfortable paying (Which for a video game is often up to $60)

But when it comes down to it it's your prerogative whether or not you want to pay. Just as it's GGG prerogative to set the price.

If you want to play but don't want to pay then my advice is to just wait. It'll be free eventually.

Good for the devs for not wanting to sell beta keys (at any price.) They know that the beta is not a finished game, will involve having your characters wiped, and will probably involve many other inconveniences and bugs. They don't want to charge you for it so they don't.

So instead they sell the only other thing they have, which is the points for the store to come. Unlike the beta key, which is useless as soon as open beta starts, these points will have value for the length of the game.

Even if you're not currently interested in more character slots or more stash tabs, its a safe bet they will eventually have something for sale you do want. They need to, or the game won't make any money and they won't be able to continue offering it.

So $10 for the points is both the better long term value, and avoids the pitfalls of selling a beta key on its own. Its also a very reasonable entertainment value... its about the cost of a single movie ticket, but if you like ARPGs you'll get a lot more entertainment than just a couple hours from it.

If you don't like the price, don't pay it.

All of that nonsense about rich people, self-righteousness etc was nauseating.

I am from a poor family, am currently out of work, but still found the money to take part in the game (and no, didn't make my kids run around barefoot as a result).

All of the posters here have access to a computer and the internet to play games, $10 would not be out of anyone's reach in these circumstances.

If the price is too high, don't pay it and wait until it is freely available later in the year.

ive been thinking about buying the early access pack but keep trying to be patient but i might end up buying it sooner or later

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Tagek wrote:

Again, though, the developers know the majority of the sales are happening because there's a beta key included.

Not true, pretty much all the current supporters(bronze,silver,gold and diamond) are people who are already in the Beta and want to support GGG. I my self also will be getting Silver pack soon.

And there's already plenty of non-beta members buying the $10 pack anyway, so pretty much it's just the OP and a couple of other people being butthurt(Sorry dude!).

I think 10 dollars is fairly reasonable,its the price you pay for one of those bargain bin games at walmart,which may not even keep you busy till June.

Plus its exceptionally better than a full retail game you may only perhaps play for 3 months at most,which may be traded at a loss of 20 dollars roughly.

I feel that I must support those who are developing for PC. We gotta keep PC gaming alive.

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DeckerDontPlay wrote:

I feel that I must support those who are developing for PC. We gotta keep PC gaming alive.

If that's really what you are trying to do then you are not a PC gamer, but rather a console gamer who thinks he's a pc gamer.

PC gaming is doing the exact opposite of dying, and does not need random help from people like you to stay 'alive'.

I've always felt that one should never pay for an unfinished project. However, at the end of the day, there are gonna be people who really want in, and in all closed betas, you get people selling keys on ebay and such. No reason for the devs not to cut out the middleman.

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nAON wrote:

I've always felt that one should never pay for an unfinished project. However, at the end of the day, there are gonna be people who really want in, and in all closed betas, you get people selling keys on ebay and such. No reason for the devs not to cut out the middleman.

People pay for unfinished products all the time thanks to the digital pre-orders these days which usually charge you the second you make them for the full price of the game.

Crap even if you do the standard pre-order at a store like gamestop they still want 5 bucks for a game you won't have in hand for months.

Minecraft made a #$^% ton of money on pre-purchases with those that bought the game in their alpha or beta receiving extra bonuses and a cheaper price.