Posted - 2011.06.22 14:46:00 - [1022]

 

Edited by: Will Cenn on 22/06/2011 14:47:04
A lot of their excuses are why these things should be expensive in the Eve universe, not in real life.

People who say your not being forced are missing the point. It isn't as simple as you like it you buy, you don't you don't. Obviously a lot of people do want this stuff, most are not oppossed to the concept. They provide an extra service, we pay for it. It is the basis of our capitalist society and there is nothing inherently wrong with it.

The problem comes with the degree. It isn't unreasonable by any stretch to want an equitable trade for your money, I am betting most would happily accept a slightly negative trade but this is well beyond that. This is not equitable. Even extortinate would be a step down. It devalues our money and in turn us to ask so much for what services they are providing.

While I do agree this thread has seen it's share of stupidity, if you think people are stupid for feeling insulted, well then the irony is also probably lost on you.

Posted - 2011.06.22 14:49:00 - [1024]

 

Originally by: Will Cenn

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Edited by: Will Cenn on 22/06/2011 14:47:04
A lot of their excuses are why these things should be expensive in the Eve universe, not in real life.

People who say your not being forced are missing the point. It isn't as simple as you like it you buy, you don't you don't. Obviously a lot of people do want this stuff, most are not oppossed to the concept. They provide an extra service, we pay for it. It is the basis of our capitalist society and there is nothing inherently wrong with it.

The problem comes with the degree. It isn't unreasonable by any stretch to want an equitable trade for your money, I am betting most would happily accept a slightly negative trade but this is well beyond that. This is not equitable. Even extortinate would be a step down. It devalues our money and in turn us to ask so much for what services they are providing.

While I do agree this thread has seen it's share of stupidity, if you think people are stupid for feeling insulted, well then the irony is also probably lost on you.

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Well said sir,

Posted - 2011.06.22 15:03:00 - [1026]

 

Releasing 100 items at small prices = micro-transactions

Releasing 7 items at ridiculous prices = macro-transactions? thinking people will just feed you money for crap? wishful thinking? bad planning?

Definitely not micro-transactions...

Posted - 2011.06.22 15:08:00 - [1028]

 

Edited by: Raid''En on 22/06/2011 15:10:03

soon : pirate eyepatch available !
how much ? well you see the bounties ads we see on CQ ? check the number 1. only the number one pirate would be good enough to wear that, it's not for anyone after all.
so you saw his bounty ? it's the price for the eyepatch. nice right ? no ? what do you want to do with this rope ?

Posted - 2011.06.22 15:27:00 - [1030]

 

Guys, 12k AUR... maybe not everyone may buy it.

But still... how to use this oculars?! I lost 4 PLEX for item that is not working o_O

Posted - 2011.06.22 15:31:00 - [1032]

 

Originally by: Will Cenn

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Edited by: Will Cenn on 22/06/2011 14:47:04
People who say your not being forced are missing the point. It isn't as simple as you like it you buy, you don't you don't.
...
The problem comes with the degree.
...
While I do agree this thread has seen it's share of stupidity, if you think people are stupid for feeling insulted, well then the irony is also probably lost on you.

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It is as easy as don't buy it. The issue is that as a consumer you feel that the prices are crazy, so don't buy. That means the seller has to lower their prices. That's capitalism.

I don't mind buying vanity items, but these prices are crazy. I know you agree.

I'm not sure why people feel insulted at the prices CCP has posted. Personally, I found it hilarious because the prices are way out of reality. I laughed and laughed and laughed. I laughed so hard, I cried. I laughed because the prices were crazy. Did I feel insulted? No, I just thought CCP was crazy.

Posted - 2011.06.22 15:34:00 - [1034]

 

At this point there's not much to add other than my voice to the chorus.

I probably wasn't going to pay RL money for a monocle anyway, but the relative value of a ship to put on my dresser or some Gurista t-shirts is far more than some pixels that people who look at my portrait see.

Note to CCP: EvE still takes place in space. We're happy for you that you get to do PI to assist in launching Dust and that you get to do avatars for us to assist in your other projects, but we still like playing internet spaceships. We are happy to pay you for the use of your platform to play internet spaceships, but please don't be deceived into thinking that we want to pay exorbitant amounts to have our picture of the guy flying the internet spaceship look slightly different.

IMO personalized paint schemes > personalized avatars anyway, but that doesn't assist in building other games so your cash cow gets the shaft. Not cool.

Posted - 2011.06.22 15:41:00 - [1036]

 

Originally by: Syme

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Now I have been downgraded from autistic to having aspergers I will try again and see if I can drop to just pedantic.

No mind-searing insights just an example. You have a set of new products with a wide price range and are about to launch it, knowing that you have an interested market. Do you:

A) Release the cheapest in the range first so that everyone buys one and the market is immediately sated, with only the fashion conscious and wealthy replacing their existing product with the more expensive in the range?
B) Delay the release so that you can launch all the range at once, confusing your market (and perhaps antagonising them through the delay) and letting them enter at any price point (probably the lowest)?
C) Release the high-end product first, creating exclusivity and letting those who are willing to pay a higher price get earlier access?

CCP have chosen C, it is the easiest way to test the market. No one needs to buy these vanity items and most won’t until we can leave our quarters, so there is plenty of time for CCP to adjust prices.

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But we're not looking at a particularly high-end product. The Noble Exchange exists within an already established gaming market, and a pair of virtual trousers already has a perceived worth. The Noble Exchange is attempting to inflate that perceived worth to a degree that many find simply ludicrous, and I don't think it's wrong to question the strategy.

Posted - 2011.06.22 15:50:00 - [1038]

 

Originally by: Marwood Ford

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But we're not looking at a particularly high-end product. The Noble Exchange exists within an already established gaming market, and a pair of virtual trousers already has a perceived worth. The Noble Exchange is attempting to inflate that perceived worth to a degree that many find simply ludicrous, and I don't think it's wrong to question the strategy.

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…and to put that perceived worth into perspective, compare the $15-average NeX prices to, say, these skin/dress/pet/emote/service prices.

Posted - 2011.06.22 15:56:00 - [1040]

 

I don't really care about the monocles.. but this is a bad precedent for CCP.

Seriously, wtf is going on at CCP HQ? Who let the Finance Team drive this bus off the cliff?

Posted - 2011.06.22 16:01:00 - [1042]

 

Edited by: Cyaxares II on 22/06/2011 16:01:27

Originally by: Jade Constantine

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But the world of tanks guys "get" microtransactions and the "pay to play model" they know how to price this stuff and use it to leverage development on their core game. They haven't spent the last 2 years developing a "walking in tanks" environment where we can spend 30 quid on a master-gunner-monacle that does nothing at the price of ignoring their core battle engine which languishes somewhere in 2008.

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wargaming.net announced "World of Warplanes" at E3 just a few weeks ago.

It makes sense for companies to diversify their product portfolio once they have managed to established their first title (and this always implies using revenue from the flagship product to finance the development of unrelated games).

Posted - 2011.06.22 16:10:00 - [1044]

 

Edited by: Viibl Triibl on 22/06/2011 16:13:28
The part I find most astounding is that there are plenty of other working models for microtransactions in other games. Had CCP benchmarked against even one of those they would've avoided all of this bad press and had a defensible position for the few who would've complained anyway.

Microtransactions are successful because of their micro nature. Players don't hesitate to drop $2 here, $8 there because they are small amounts. Couple that with the 100% margin associated with a virtual good and you have a great supplemental revenue stream.

This system is nowhere near the spirit of the proven model. You dun goofed.

Posted - 2011.06.22 16:18:00 - [1046]

 

So how long can CCP ignore the elephant in the room? Someone should setup bets!

Posted - 2011.06.22 16:21:00 - [1048]

 

My guess there has been a order from the top.
Do not reply in the forums about the shop and AURUM.
If you do we walk you out of the building after you hit "post reply"

Posted - 2011.06.22 16:24:00 - [1050]

 

After my initial anger faded, I got to thinking about how there could be such a ludicrous disconnect between the way micro-transactions work (bulk sales of inexpensive perks) and the bewilderingly overpriced items in the NEX. But I think I understand it now. It's a misunderstanding on the definition of the term "vanity item".

When I used to play DDO, I bought my character the $3 green mohawk.. I thought it was cute and liked to see it on the character when I ran around dungeons. Silly, I know, but it was bought for me to see, rather than to impress anybody else. That is the common understanding of 'micro-transaction vanity item'...

When CCP said "vanity items" what they meant was BLING.

Pointless, often absurd displays of wealth for no reason other than to inform the world that you have money to burn. Items purposefully aimed at the top 10% of earners.

While it does bug me that CCP would spend thousands of dollars and quite a bit of time creating items aimed for such a small number of players, it does make sense from a certain point of view.

And honestly, at these prices, it would be fine to bring back the NEX Scorpion, as a 1 trillion isk battleship would have virtually no impact on the ship or minerals market, since nobody would ever buy one.

But that could be the point I think. Way back when there was talk of customizable skins, CCP said they had concerns about the image of Eve, how New Eden would look if everyone was flying around in puke-green Drakes. These exorbitant prices would winnow down the number of painted ships to a few hundred at most, so the time honoured look of Eve won't be threatened.

It is an odd logic, to put so much effort into items designed not to be used by the bulk of the player base...

Does make you wonder though, if it's all about Bling, how long before stripped down CONCORD and Jovian ships hit the NEX. There's no market to compete with, and it's all about looks, after all...