Microtransactions a bit too pricey?

The way I see it, the only reason I would buy anything off the item store, which I hesitate to call microtransactions as some of them are not very micro at all, would be to support the developers. The fancy little aesthetic stuff that I get in return is just a neat bonus, and it pales in comparison to the joy of being able to support such awesome developers who've done so much to create this game which is not only %1,000 f2p, but scowls at p2w.

When you complain about the lifeblood of this game and it's free substance, you make yourself look like a brat and a bigot. You're exemplifying a fundamental misunderstanding of how this company and it's community cohabitate. I would love to buy some things off the market, but the reason I'm playing a f2p game in the first place is because I don't have any money to spend, but beautifully enough, until then I still get to enjoy each and every aspect of this game to it's fullest.

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Elynole wrote:

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jetv72 wrote:

Now heres the problem with your analogy. It actually takes ALOT of money to build a Porsche but these item effects take like like an hour or less to make.

And here's where yours is. This is their ONLY income. Not only does this pay for the cosmetic. It pays for the servers that you're free to play on, the developers and designers to live so that they can continue to make new content for you FREE, etc.

Sorry, but the pricing just isn't in the cosmetic itself.

Okay for the LAST time if they LOWER their prices they will GET MORE SUPPORT! not many people are willing to spend so much. But if they lower their prices they will see that WAY MOE PEOPLE will be buying stuff. Getting more of a PROFIT meaning that their servers will stay up! LOOK AT LoL sell stuff cheap a million people buy it sell stuff low 50,000 people buy it...

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NadaStigmata wrote:

im ok with the prices of the items and im a huge fan of this game the only thing that bugs me is that 10$ only gets u 96 in store points kinda sucks if u want to buy something 100 points and u have to spend 20$

That's actually a common tactic in cash shops. It's to encourage higher spending. And prices are usually set so that you will always be a little short or over in your funds to facilitate future spending.

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jetv72 wrote:

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Elynole wrote:

I've always wanted a Porsche 911 Carrera ever since I was a boy. It's my dream car - it looks cool, it rides smooth, it's what I've always wanted.

Unfortunately, my income does not allow for such. That doesn't give me the right to continually contact Porsche to let them know that they need to lower the prices of their automobiles just so that I can buy it. They'd laugh at me.

Buying cool, special, fast, good-quality, awesome things usually come at a price in the real world. That's how businesses operate.

Now heres the problem with your analogy. It actually takes ALOT of money to build a Porsche but these item effects take like like an hour or less to make.

You really wanna know why those "cool" things are pricy. The entire point is so only a small portion of the people can have it! It's the same concept as the Gold and Diamond Kiwi packs. They are REALLY cool but really expensive.

I suppose by that same analogy if the Diamond and Gold Kiwi packs were only like 20$ each, then GGG would make more money? But I hate to tell you this GGG isn't a big corporation that just cares about money, they care about the people that really care about this game. To award the people that really really cared (those silver, gold, diamond supporters and people who spent more in open beta), they created really cool visual effects that are more EXCLUSIVE.

No-one wants a town filled with Gold/Diamond Kiwis or Fire Basilisks, because then they wont be as cool. In order to be "cool" you have to spend more, and that spending really comes from an appreciation of the game rather than anything else.

I am just plain angry these days about "pricing", NO-ONE complained about the Kiwi pack pricing. Closed beta > open beta

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jetv72 wrote:

Okay for the LAST time if they LOWER their prices they will GET MORE SUPPORT! not many people are willing to spend so much. But if they lower their prices they will see that WAY MOE PEOPLE will be buying stuff. Getting more of a PROFIT meaning that their servers will stay up! LOOK AT LoL sell stuff cheap a million people buy it sell stuff low 50,000 people buy it...

Economics doesn't work like that, sorry to tell you. But they've given those that can't afford the higher priced cosmetics options as well. Your analogy may of been correct if they didn't offer lower packages. Adding a second element, which is the "collectible" element, further enhances such.

I'm an avid LEGO collector. You can see this in the LEGO market as well. There are LEGO sets, that, brand new cost 500 bucks. What kid ages 6-12 has 500 bucks to spend on LEGO? What parent spends that much?

It's because it's a collectible. The adult market for such has continued to grow over the years, now they offer LEGO sets anywhere from 2.99 mini-figures to 500 dollar sets. So that they can cover all financial market areas. If they reduced the price of that 500 dollar set to 2.99, sure a bunch of people would buy it. Buy do you think that'd make up for the bunch of collectors or people that could buy if there buying it for X% increase? No.

Doesn't WoW charge $10+ for pets and mounts? Which are essentially cosmetic items? And if WoW is anything like it was when I closed my account, then I would assume they rake it in off those...


Now, I know that PoE isn't as big as WoW, but the point remains: a lot of people are happy to pay a fair amount of money for what are essentially useless items, if they like the game enough. I don't think GGG are going to have much trouble once the shop is full.

(And I apologise if someone has mentioned WoW before- I must admit, I have not read the entire thread.)

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jetv72 wrote:

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Elynole wrote:

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jetv72 wrote:

Now heres the problem with your analogy. It actually takes ALOT of money to build a Porsche but these item effects take like like an hour or less to make.

And here's where yours is. This is their ONLY income. Not only does this pay for the cosmetic. It pays for the servers that you're free to play on, the developers and designers to live so that they can continue to make new content for you FREE, etc.

Sorry, but the pricing just isn't in the cosmetic itself.

Okay for the LAST time if they LOWER their prices they will GET MORE SUPPORT! not many people are willing to spend so much. But if they lower their prices they will see that WAY MOE PEOPLE will be buying stuff. Getting more of a PROFIT meaning that their servers will stay up! LOOK AT LoL sell stuff cheap a million people buy it sell stuff low 50,000 people buy it...

That's assuming if the items are overpriced. Now, they may very well be and GGG will know with their internal numbers. We as players might be able to theorize whether the prices are too high or low but GGG knows precisely. As a business, they will attempt to make most of their revenue by pricing it at the most effective price.

But a handful of complaints are not enough data/evidence that the prices are too high.

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Misguidance wrote:

Doesn't WoW charge $10+ for pets and mounts?

Actually, there's are more like 20-25 dollars. Or at least that's how much they were last time I checked.

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Elynole wrote:

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Misguidance wrote:

Doesn't WoW charge $10+ for pets and mounts?

Actually, there's are more like 20-25 dollars. Or at least that's how much they were last time I checked.

Ouch! If it was FTP, that would be a lot less scary... but with a monthly sub as well... no wonder Blizzard is rolling in it! D:

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jetv72 wrote:

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Elynole wrote:

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jetv72 wrote:

Now heres the problem with your analogy. It actually takes ALOT of money to build a Porsche but these item effects take like like an hour or less to make.

And here's where yours is. This is their ONLY income. Not only does this pay for the cosmetic. It pays for the servers that you're free to play on, the developers and designers to live so that they can continue to make new content for you FREE, etc.

Sorry, but the pricing just isn't in the cosmetic itself.

Okay for the LAST time if they LOWER their prices they will GET MORE SUPPORT! not many people are willing to spend so much. But if they lower their prices they will see that WAY MOE PEOPLE will be buying stuff. Getting more of a PROFIT meaning that their servers will stay up! LOOK AT LoL sell stuff cheap a million people buy it sell stuff low 50,000 people buy it...

Do you seriously believe everything is that simple? Setting prices aren't just a thing you do, there's a lot of planning and calculations going into it. The prices you see in the store cost as much as they do for a reason. They need to make enough money to facilitate servers and development/support, that's the major thing that needs to be considered. Then, there's a lot of planning going into exactly what the price becomes. A high price nets more money per purchase, but you'll get less purchases, while a high price is the opposite, more purchases at lower prices.

It all depends on the demographic. You can't just compare a game that has around 100.000 players or so, to a game with over 30 million players.