Microtransactions are way too expensive

"

gh0un wrote:

"

SL4Y3R wrote:

In your example of a regular game for $60. Odds are, that doesn't cover DLC. Which GGG provides. Let's tack on $30/year. You've been here 4 years.

120+60=180
PoE=150

You actually owe money :)

Will i get all the remaining cosmetics if i pay up those 30 dollars?
If the answer is no, then your math is nonsense.

Jesus man, lighten up. They're cosmetics. Most of which, honestly, I don't even care for.

Considering how much this game gives, and doesn't (experience pots), I've got no problem with the prices. I would like to see say, after a year, they're reduced though.

There once were a lot more that shared OP opinion and he is right.
Ideally there would be a far larger amount of mtx at a larger spread of prices. You want to create content where consumers want to spend money on. It is a flaw in the endless use of supporter packs that a lot of great content is unobtainable after the packs are gone. (Also not a fan of the 4 years get it now or get it never again attitude).

This further only amplifies GGG handicap of creating and distributing content. Do remind yourself that they remain a relative small company and thus cannot spend too much resources on mtx, since they also need to create new content. New content is what drives purchases in supporter packs.

It is an endless circle and struggle, but I think more than one can see that supporter packs/ mtx model should have ended a year or more ago. A more robust and better system to spend money on the game should have been implemented. If you can't see the numerous better systems in the industry than your fan attitude is blinding you. A wider variation or simply a new option to spend your money would be nice.

They have the resources to step away from the cycle of supporter packs, but they might not even have to put their own effort in. Modding and user created content can be your answer here. It allows Valve for example to run a very small and modest team on dota2. Within their biggest event ti5 they collaborate with artist to create a lot of the content for them, the artists/ users creating content get a cut/ share of the profits or a fixed price for their work. If you are not willing to do this, it is fine because GGG seems to have the capacity enough to do it on their own, all it requires is the will and the plan. For 1,5 year I sit on 352 points, I've played a lot of games which I regard of far less quality and played for far shorter amounts of time, which each managed to get more money out of me. PoE couldn't at the time of my poe break get me to spend my points. A lot coming from, well future content is always better and improves, lets wait and see because I can only spend these points once.

There is an issue of ethics though whether or not to support such models. After all artist or users creating a buck this way are essentially employees without any of the benefits from a social plan/ work contract etc. It might seems nice create something from game x and get paid, but the game creators do get a cut, they need it. So you do it for 3 years get sick and what do you have, what is fair?
A lot of content creators are full time working on dota 2 content or cs:go content and all they have to work towards is that cut/ payment where the largest share of profits goes to valve.

Good game discussions ended 1,5 year ago, you are left with that crowd that can only read text in a negative way and will accuse you of slandering or attacking GGG, while not at all talking about the essence. Who can argue with; "this game gives so much, how can you complain." "You get free dlc, how can anything else be expensive?" Yes the decline of debate and discussion on these forums set in a long time ago.

As I said before, these are the prices that most likely make GGG the most money. You get the whole game for free, no paywalls, no DLC, no bullshit. Of course a weapon effect isn't worth 30 dollars, that's an insanely high price. It's basically for people who either don't care about money (whales) or who just want to support GGG and get the MTX as a little extra (me).

"

Xavderion wrote:

As I said before, these are the prices that most likely make GGG the most money. You get the whole game for free, no paywalls, no DLC, no bullshit. Of course a weapon effect isn't worth 30 dollars, that's an insanely high price. It's basically for people who either don't care about money (whales) or who just want to support GGG and get the MTX as a little extra (me).

This.

I can't believe how people can complain about not getting MTX for cheap when they get the whole freaking game for free. This is the only way for GGG to make some money and if they were cheaper, the game would turn into rainbow fairyland because everyone would be pumping their characters full of them. MTX are meant to be something special and rare.

Also if you want to support GGG and not get "ripped off" you can just buy stash tabs. That's what I do because honestly i don't really care if my weapon has a special shiny effect that doesn't change the game at all.

i will give you that microtransactions seem expensive when you see them from the pure price point of view of a single weapon effect or even high price effects like lighting scorpion etc.

and the discussion about prices pop up from time to time because players just see themsevels as customers.

but you're not a customer in the classical sense because you don't have to pay for a service. the game is totally free. it has no customers but only supporters.

from the supporter point of view, microtransactions have a totally different meaning: they are a sign on how much somebody supported and so a sign of how much somebody likes the game and additionally how long he likes it as with some microtransactions including old effects (kiwis, long gone supporter pack mt or event bound microtransactions) you see how long the account exists.

with this view in mind, the variety of cheap to very expensive effects does make more sense as there must be cheap effects to show small scale supporters and expensive effects for high end supporters to show off.

Just how I look at it

If you are looking to buy points and get effects / pets that way then yes it does look expensive.

If you buy the supporter packs it doesn't look that bad at all
I bought the Vaal Supporter and for T shirt, 3 weapon effects, frames, soundtrack, closed beta access, bloodletter of the vaal, and shade of axiom that is a pretty good deal (I think). Then you add in 1200 points and that is your lightning scorpion or whatever you want. The expensive items look much more reasonable that way.