Board Thread:Game Discussion/@comment-5012038-20130518014717/@comment-67.190.213.217-20130521034816

''NickKnighte wrote: But what you fail to realize is that 85% if not more, of the playerbase are free players.''

I don't fail to realize it - I addressed it directly in mentioning that they will find the balance of retained user base and revenue that works for them. If they can make more money with a user base of (I'm just making up a number here) 30,000, 25% of which are paying customers vs. a user base of 60,000, 10% of which are paying customers, they'll do it and not care at all about the 30,000 freeloaders who drop out. To the degree they want more warm bodies to aid the paying customers in taking out bosses, they'll tweak as necessary.

And these people run lots of huge games as their business - we don't. But we've got innumerable armchair CEOs who somehow know better and are happy to label these guys idiots. And the thing is, they might screw up in their experimenting and tweaking. It's their skin in the game. It's their risk and their reward. It's their prerogative. If they screw up, it's their loss. The rest of us have a choice, minute by minute, as to whether to keep playing and whether, if ever, to give them our money. Judging them, tsk-ing and waggling fingers at them, calling them stupid and selfish, castigating them for not giving away enough of their product for free, I wish people could see/hear themselves when they do this.

''But doing blatant money-grabs like this only tells the playerbase that WE are not cared for at all. Only our wallets. ''

But you're right. You/we are not cared for at all. Only your wallet is cared for. No company actually cares for you beyond the profit you represent. They only care for your wallet and they do what they can to get money out of it. That's what business is. Any warm fuzzies you get from a company are in service to that end. "Blatant money grab" and "greed" are synonyms for "profit motive". They're not in business to do favors and make buddies. They're in business to sell a product for profit. Buy it or don't buy it.

''Krynn007 wrote: Pure greed''

Or said differently, "standard business procedure - maximize profit". It sounds harsh when stated so simply, but it's the same as everywhere else. It's the same goal any of us would have for our own business. And as in every other aspect of business out there, you can buy a product you think is worth it or not buy it and move on because you don't think it's worth it. If you think their model stinks, don't give them anymore money. And if it's not worth playing if you don't give them more money, don't play.

''A Wikia Contributor wrote: only getting half of a trans-scan set and never being able to get the other half ever again is A TOTAL DICK MOVE. I don't care if you want to make money, that's just mean. ''

Nope. It's a sales strategy/incentive. There's no such thing as dick moves or being mean when nobody is forcing your hand or forcing you to stick around. There's just a product on offer that you can buy or not buy. They want you to want that next higher bracket so you can get the other half... so you'll scramble hard to attain that rank, and hopefully buy something from them to help you do so. But instead you can just be content with the next level down where you get an even number of character cards. They don't owe you anything - they just offer things for sale, which you don't have to buy, in a game you don't have to play. If you and 8 of your friends do not buy, but the 10th guy does buy, they're still making money.

Rather than making players shell out $200 each time they want a full trans scan set, 

Nobody's making you do anything. Want it, buy it. Don't, don't.

''they could actually help pay for this game with advertisements like most free mobile games do. ''

But they don't. This is the model they've chosen for their business. If you don't like it, you can go play one of those many other mobile games, or you can create and administer your own.

It would alleviate the stress on people's wallets 

The only stress on anyone's wallets in this voluntary leisure situation is the stress they put there themselves. Mobage definitely wants your money but isn't making anybody do anything.

As someone else said, fast dimes over slow nickels is a bad long-run business model.

I bet they have a better idea about how to structure their business than random anonymous young game wiki commenters do. They can see the numbers behind the scenes, for revenue and participation and all of the gameplay stats, and will tweak and adjust it in the way that they find most profitable, whether that pleases a given player or not. They'll go where the numbers are.

''But once they put money in, they have such an overpowering advantage it just makes it not fun to do the event because you might as well just ignore the top half of the rewards bracket. ''

So pay up if you want to have the same fun at the same level as those guys. Buy the product they're selling. Or don't, and either take what free stuff you can get or don't play at all. Those are your choices. Do you stand outside of an amusement park and whine that they won't let you come in and have fun just because you don't want to buy a ticket? How dare they, the greedy jerks.

''The point rewards system is B.S. and you know it. LESS rewards the more money you spend? ''

If people want to be tops, they'll pay. That's the model. Don't like it, don't pay.

''And only a common rare card that can be found on MISSIONS? Seriously? ''

Seriously. That's the offer. Take it or don't. I don't mean that harshly, just succinctly.

TheEliteSquad wrote:

''Exploitation, gradually we will be so engrossed that we don't give a fuck how much it costs. ''

Really? You're a powerless drone, helplessly enduring whatever they decide to do to you? It's not exploitation because this is a voluntary leisure activity. You have the free will and the brain power to stop playing this if you want to, and to not ever spend a dime if you don't think it's worth it.

Sillasybin wrote: I don't agree with them changing the game in the middle of it.

So stop playing. Seriously! That's your only say in it.

large scale development into larger scale games don't cost as much as freemium content.

It's their business and they set their prices based on what they think the market will bear. If it'll bear it, why wouldn't they charge as much as they could? That's the #1 thing Warren Buffet says that he looks at when he decides whether to buy a company - it's not what the management is like, it's whether they have room to raise their prices. Again, the only say you get in the matter is whether you play/pay or not.

It blows my mind that the people are accepting this as the new model of gaming, enough that it is making it's way toward the consoles.

Vote with your wallet/time.

''Until enough people take a stand against this new model, it will prevail and consume all games shortly. But it is hard to sway the sheep.....''

Vote with your wallet/time. That's how you take your stand. If you keep playing and paying, then how are you not one of the sheep you have such contempt for?

''Krynn007 wrote: yes they have costs, but a game like this can be done with little costs.''

It's their business and they can set whatever prices they want. You can respond buy paying or not paying and that will determine whether they made a wise choice. That's the say you have in the matter. Or go start your own business and outcompete them with your lower prices. If not, take this or leave it.

it sure as hell didn't take Mobage long to make me start to realize and see how ugly of a company they really here.

They are in business to make money. They offer a product for sale, which you have the option to buy or not buy. If you had a business, you too would offer a product or service for sale, hoping to do well for yourself, and people would buy it if they thought it was worth it or move on if not. And this is ugly how? Mobage are assholes why? They're not assholes and it's not ugly. You wouldn't be an ugly asshole if you did it. It's fundamental commerce and this is their particular proposition. Vote with your wallet. Supply and demand will settle this. If PC/console games are the better value for you, go buy those instead. But don't sulk around and beg for handouts and pretend these guys owe you something for nothing just because they happen to have already given you a lot of something for nothing.

'''I should have made this a separate thread so people could skip it if they wanted to rather than gum up this thread about the episode. Hindsight. So I'll stop talking about this now and anyone else can have the last word or just get back to Cold Delivery discussion. Good luck to all in the episode.'''