Microtransaction pricing
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Hello.
To start with: you can buy points at following prices, 5$: 50, 10$: 100, 20$: 200. The problem? Let's take account features, unless you pay 15$ and buy the stash tab bundle or pay 10$ and buy 2x stash tab, 1x premium stash tab, there is no way you can use up your points without having leftovers. Say you pay 20$ and want to purchase stash tabs, you have the pay 150 points for the bundle, leaving you with 50 points, with these 50 points you can either have 10 or 20 points leftover, when you purchase another stash tab or a premium stash tab. Personally, I see that as a problem, because if you have leftovers, sure, you will get to buy more the next time you buy more points, but until then, you have leftover points with which you can not do anything. Therefore, if GGG also identifies this a problem, either the points you get per purchase should be changed, or the prices of the features should be changed. I am sure some of you don't see that as anything problematic, but me myself, if I pay 10$ I would expect to buy features for the bulk of the 10$, not for 9$, and have 1$ left that I paid, but have absolutely nothing to do with. IGN: ScionHasTheNicestAss (SC)
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This is pretty standard practice in games that have microtransactions. Nothing to see here, folks.
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Logic, not even once.
If you have left over points and cant buy another effect, buy more points. |
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" That's the problem, they're forcing you to pay more so you could use up your leftover points. IGN: ScionHasTheNicestAss (SC)
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" Youre not forced to do anything. Do you tell the store clerk you bought shoes from the shoes should have cost more so you dont get a dollar back because thats left over money, right? |
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Points are used because it makes players make worse decisions.
$10 for an item or 100 points for an item? $10 (or whatever currency equivalent you're spending) has a value that is well known to almost everyone and it's easy to think of alternative ways to spend that amount of money. 100 points hides the fact that it is $10. Sure, it's really easy to figure out that 10 points = $1, but looking at it without slapping a direct price on it generates interest before new/uninformed players know the exchange rates. In WoW, it's a common practice to advertise items you're selling on the AH without giving away the price because any interested buyer has to make steps to purchase the item just to find out how much it is, and by the time the PoE player clicks on "Purchase Gems" to see how much in real life currency the gems are, they're already at the page where it's convenient to buy them. With points, developers can also encourage bulk spending. Buying points in 10 separate $10 purchases gives you less points than a single $100 purchase. This encourages the player to spend money in advance because they "might" want to buy something else later. After a player buys the large amount, then the value of their money can no longer be converted to the alternative ways to spend it on different games or real life stuff. It's also much easier for someone to make an impulse decision to spend 200 points which they already bought on something than it is to convince someone to credit their account with $20 to buy something for 200 points. Another reason points are used is for the leftover situation. By only selling points in predetermined quantities, developers can cleverly price items just over the last tier of point spending or so that players always have leftover points. This, along with many other things in the game which do the same, create the sunk cost fallacy, where a player feels compelled to purchase more just so they wouldn't waste part of what they always purchased. It's all a marketing practice, and it isn't going to change. |
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" You could say the same thing about the clubs that give you a card to put your drinks on instead of letting you pay for each drink individually. Points have never been an issue as i see what i want and how many points i need and i buy the point pack that gets me what i want. And its either have a few points left or a few cents or pennies or whatever. You go to the super market and tell them they should change their prices too i guess, with their 19.99 prices instead of 19.00 or 20.00. |
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" Stop reading at this post and carry on nothing to see here but someone whining about a f2p game. **Iv said it once ill say it again if someone doesnt have a peice of gear that went legacy you _____________________________clearly didnt want to play the build at the time it was OP.**__________________
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" Thats the best part when it comes to MTA prices, the whole damn game is free, why get upset about the prices of the optional enhancements to looks of chars? |
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" Say "thank you" because you now have rounded numbers in point_packs: 50 pts, 100 and 200. Maybe you don't remember "earlier" point packs which were more "harsh" vs. pts leftovers (there were packs like 46 pts, 96 pts, and such) And again, you don't need to buy anything to play the game fully and completely (and all the add-ons). Remember, suffering is convenient.
That is why many people prefer it. Happiness requires effort. |
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