Gamebreaker Gaffney Interview

[Poet]

Personally cash shops annoy me as I think it is wasted development time that should/could be used on content, but the way things are going lately looks like i am the dinosaur in this regard...

<Grumble> SWTOR stupid cosmetic cat man Cartel coin update! BAH

Its not wasted development, its what is paying for the game.

Unfourtunately, IMO, you are correct and the cash shop is paying for the game!

I just subscribe, bum-bum-ting, to the idea of paying my sub and getting everything the game has to offer, cosmetics, skins, races, etc all included.

[Livnthedream]

Unfourtunately, IMO, you are correct and the cash shop is paying for the game!

I just subscribe, bum-bum-ting, to the idea of paying my sub and getting everything the game has to offer, cosmetics, skins, races, etc all included.

Unless you are advocating $20 subs that is just not realistic.

[Poet]

Unfourtunately, IMO, you are correct and the cash shop is paying for the game!

I just subscribe, bum-bum-ting, to the idea of paying my sub and getting everything the game has to offer, cosmetics, skins, races, etc all included.

Unless you are advocating $20 subs that is just not realistic.

Don't see why not... I am for the traditional box+sub+expac model that has worked in the past. I feel this could easily work again if the company can realease a product with content and gameplay that can keep a reasonal population happy.

2 Big Sub games left
-Using the monster as the example, WoW moved to cosmetic offerings not due to not having enough money to develop but rather to suplement income not due to lack of funds. They continue to fund their game based on the sub.
-Eve continues to offer content and only offer PLEX sales that i am aware of to suplement game income.

I stand by the idea that people will pay for a quility product...problem is we have lacked that quility in alot of recent offerings.

[Livnthedream]

Unless you are advocating $20 subs that is just not realistic.

Don't see why not... I am for the traditional box+sub+expac model that has worked in the past. I feel this could easily work again if the company can realease a product with content and gameplay that can keep a reasonal population happy.

2 Big Sub games left
-Using the monster as the example, WoW moved to cosmetic offerings not due to not having enough money to develop but rather to suplement income not due to lack of funds. They continue to fund their game based on the sub.
-Eve continues to offer content and only offer PLEX sales that i am aware of to suplement game income.

I stand by the idea that people will pay for a quility product...problem is we have lacked that quility in alot of recent offerings.

Unfortunately its not really about quality, but percieved value. Eve is a special case as in reality it has no competition for its niche (there is no other game like it) and its systems (especially plex, though that serves MANY functions) foster an environment where its optimol to have and manage multiple accounts. Wow and Eq2 were both flatout greed. Which is fine, they are afterall in the market to make money. But again it all comes back to how its perceived. You bring up that Wow has a cash shop and the vast majority of players goes "nuh uh!" and the rest tend to start making up excuses "its just pets and mounts!". Trion gets lauded over for being good guys and great devs when they have seriously screwed up Rift to no end, and every time you point it out to them its "but content updates!". Perception IS reality for the mmo crowd. Its why even though classes are balanced you will see vast fields of threads claiming to the contrary.

[Katalyst]

Holy crap, I forgot about EVE. Nice job bringing that up. I LOVE that model. I wish more games made sub time be a trade able commodity within the game. Its pure win for EVERYONE. We get free content updates, they charge a sub but not everyone has to pay $$ a sub, and it helps squish gold selling in the game. Bring on that system. lol

[Livnthedream]

Holy crap, I forgot about EVE. Nice job bringing that up. I LOVE that model. I wish more games made sub time be a trade able commodity within the game. Its pure win for EVERYONE. We get free content updates, they charge a sub but not everyone has to pay $$ a sub, and it helps squish gold selling in the game. Bring on that system. lol

Sort of. It has its issues too. What you describe is not really much different than what Rift did when they introduced the subscriber rewards. Its transfering money later for money now. It works well in Eve because its so easy to 2 box, and you can generate far more isk 2 boxing than you can playing solo. It allows you to essentially play your second account for free.

[Poet]

Holy crap, I forgot about EVE. Nice job bringing that up. I LOVE that model. I wish more games made sub time be a trade able commodity within the game. Its pure win for EVERYONE. We get free content updates, they charge a sub but not everyone has to pay $$ a sub, and it helps squish gold selling in the game. Bring on that system. lol

Sort of. It has its issues too. What you describe is not really much different than what Rift did when they introduced the subscriber rewards. Its transfering money later for money now. It works well in Eve because its so easy to 2 box, and you can generate far more isk 2 boxing than you can playing solo. It allows you to essentially play your second account for free.

I have come to terms over the years that there will be a cash shop in most games going forward, which I don't love but have accepted, but i really would like to see all games move to the everything fromt the cash shop can be sold/traded via in game currency, with a balance of items that you want being big "gold sink" purchases and Cash shop items. I feel like no one has gotten it quite right yet but here's to hoping W* can find that balance.

Value is always a perception thing and for a while i found great value in games like WOW and thus didn't mind buying the box+expac+occatiaonlly buying a furry! (got the plush griffin and windrider guys and gave them to my bulldog!) I aslo agree Eve is a niche market and has little to no comp in their space but i do like the player driven market and the trading in the game where prices differ at differnet stations, etc but i don't see why a similar model cannot be applied to other games.

Ps. LtD the yahoos that claim there is not cash shop in WoW when in fact you can pay money to get digital THINGS are the worst type of cheerleaders around. Even if i do/don't like things you have to accept facts, like that there IS a cash shop!!!