How can GGG support PoE in the long run ?

F2P is successful because of the Pay2Win aspect. Some people are willing to spend a lot of money to get an edge over others (or catch up), this is the entire reason RMT exists. Cosmetic item sales make up only a small part of the profit gained in games where upgrades and boosts are offered for sale.

Attempting to create a profitable F2P game with a promise of not including P2W is somewhat naive IMO. Maybe they'll prove me wrong, but I think they are going to have to break their promise or go under eventually.

It could be that GGG's refusal to implement Pay to Win mechanics will actually net them more money. I'm sure there are other people like me who won't play a pay to win game but will happily give voluntary donations to support the devs if they think the game deserves it.

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Astasia wrote:

F2P is successful because of the Pay2Win aspect. Some people are willing to spend a lot of money to get an edge over others (or catch up), this is the entire reason RMT exists. Cosmetic item sales make up only a small part of the profit gained in games where upgrades and boosts are offered for sale.

Attempting to create a profitable F2P game with a promise of not including P2W is somewhat naive IMO. Maybe they'll prove me wrong, but I think they are going to have to break their promise or go under eventually.

I've never supported a pay2win game because it always leads to "who has a bigger disposable income" war.

I've already given PoE $250 because they allow everyone the same chance to be the best. They aren't going after the pay2win market but creating an entirely new kind of market instead. I for one support this.

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Incompetent wrote:

It could be that GGG's refusal to implement Pay to Win mechanics will actually net them more money. I'm sure there are other people like me who won't play a pay to win game but will happily give voluntary donations to support the devs if they think the game deserves it.

Problem with this theory is that the entire reason most people dislike the idea of P2W is because they are unwilling to spend any/more money on the games and don't like falling behind. The promise of not supporting P2W is only going to increase the number of players that wont be using the cash shop. I'm sure there are other people like you, but likely not many or enough.

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Incompetent wrote:

It could be that GGG's refusal to implement Pay to Win mechanics will actually net them more money. I'm sure there are other people like me who won't play a pay to win game but will happily give voluntary donations to support the devs if they think the game deserves it.

This definitely applies to me. Games like Maple Story turned me off because of the constant need to spend money on cash items, whether its to be more powerful, or to make leveling bearable.

GGG's implementation of F2P is the best I have seen so far. And for that reason I'll continue to support them.

ps: From my experience in Maple Story, many people do spend on cash items that give fancy cosmetic effect as well (and it expires after 90 days, yet people are willing to continuously get them). So I do believe that cosmetic effects do have its appeal too, and in the future we should see more fancy cosmetic effects implemented in PoE. Right now the game has just gone into open beta, so we certainly can't judge it in the long term given the limited items sold at the moment.

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Astasia wrote:

Problem with this theory is that the entire reason most people dislike the idea of P2W is because they are unwilling to spend any/more money on the games and don't like falling behind. The promise of not supporting P2W is only going to increase the number of players that wont be using the cash shop. I'm sure there are other people like you, but likely not many or enough.

Not wanting Pay 2 Win doesn't necessarily mean people doesn't want to spend anything at all, I don't believe that's the problem with P2W. The problem with P2W is about the race to spend more than others.

Most gamers are willing to spend on video games, but not get into a race of spending. So the problem only comes when spending more is better.

Keep in mind that GGG is a very small company, only 18 (last time I checked). They dont need as much money as other big gaming company does to run their game.

Riot manages, don't they? As far as P2W goes, you could argue that their XP boosts fall under that category, but having tried them out myself on a smurf account, they're not gamebreaking in any way.

If they can manage, so can GGG. I have faith.

NOW TIME TO SPEND MORE CASH IN THE MICROSHOP

I imagine that a significant portion of their income will come from stash tabs.

3 days in and I already need to buy some, or do some serious cleaning.

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Hornet85 wrote:

Not wanting Pay 2 Win doesn't necessarily mean people doesn't want to spend anything at all

It certainly doesn't apply to everyone, but...

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Hornet85 wrote:

Most gamers are willing to spend on video games, but not get into a race of spending. So the problem only comes when spending more is better.

... the vast, vast, majority of people who play F2P games never spend a penny on them. That's just how it is, they are just there for a free game. So when people complain against P2W the chances are high they are a part of that majority. These games really are supported by a very small (relatively) number of dedicated players with a lot of money to throw around, and if they don't constantly have things to buy and a reason to buy them then that's a lot of wasted income potential. A few permanent cosmetic items likely wont do it, from what I've seen watching lots of other F2P games.