Tribes F2P Business Model - PS2 Impact

[Notser]

Additional Discussion - Pricing

Totalbiscuit brought up a interesting point about Tribes Ascend's pricing and how it would influence buying habits of players. Primary weapons cost around 10 US dollars, Secondary 5, Equipment 3, and skins starting at 10 and some costing up to 15 dollars. Do you feel that 10 bucks is too much, just right, or too little to charge for a weapon/skin? Remember, Tribes is going for sidegrades versus straight up better items which is exactly what PS2 will be going for with their weapons.

I personally feel 10 bucks is a little too much for a primary weapon, also think skins shouldn't cost 10 bucks unless they are really cool and have new animations. There is the school of thought that since PS2 will allow weapons to be used across multiple classes when it makes sense that you would be getting more for your money then Tribes, where weapons are locked to each class.

What would be a fair price for SOE to charge for weapons/skins/animation effects/etc? Also along those lines, how much time spent earning the in-game currency should it take to purchase those same weapons? I'd personally like to see weapon purchases with in-game currency to occur around 1 per week with normal playtime. Obviously prices would vary per weapon.

[Atheosim]

I really, really hope that something as incredibly inane as a cosmetic item doesn't reach any further that $5 USD. 10 and 15 is ludicrous.

Edit: For all the smartasses, I know I don't have to buy it.

[CutterJohn]

Originally Posted by Atheosim

I really, really hope that something as incredibly inane as a cosmetic item doesn't reach any further that $5 USD. 10 and 15 is ludicrous.

Edit: For all the smartasses, I know I don't have to buy it.

Frankly, the cosmetic items are the aspect they should attempt to make the most profit off of. If that means gouging, so be it.

They may be inane items, but they also have absolutely zero effect on gameplay, so if people want to blow money on it, by all means, let them spend as much as they wish.

[Atheosim]

Originally Posted by CutterJohn

Frankly, the cosmetic items are the aspect they should attempt to make the most profit off of. If that means gouging, so be it.

They may be inane items, but they also have absolutely zero effect on gameplay, so if people want to blow money on it, by all means, let them spend as much as they wish.

Sadly, you're exactly right. No smedbux from me though if they gouge it past all reason.

[Mezorin]

Again, the devs have said anything that involves "power" or gear will be buy-able with in game currency. Its reasonable to assume that this will also include future releases of content. Of course, some guns may have 'short cuts' when it comes to guns you can unlock. And the easy path to the dark side is the newest toy on the market should be 'better' than the old stuff to encourage people to buy it, but for face value I am going to take Higby's word for face value on there being no 'pay to win' schemes going on.

I figure if they release new class tools/vehicles that it will be more like champions in League of Legends. Yeah, everyone will bum rush to play those new tank cannons, or that new wifflebat MAX suits can now equip, but that just means that you have stuff to spend your resources on every month as you play. Remember, resource economies in MMOs need drains to them, especially with resources being our major motivation for fighting. A lot of new things will SEEM OP at first (and some maybe legitimately so cause devs aren't perfect), but that is only because everyone and their dog are using them, and nobody has figured out the counters to them yet. EVERY patch of League of Legends brings much bitching about the new kid on the block champion, but after 3 weeks suddenly they're not so bad. Smart players figure out the strategies/counters to the new content, scrubs cry on the forums. Food for thought.

The only thing that would seriously piss me off that SOE could do here are the "rental" systems a lot of F2P games have for their items. Want to have subscriber exclusive account perks, conveniences, and customizations, okay fine. Same with one time purchase items. I don't mind tossing a few bucks a month at this game if the stuff in it is awesome, and I get to keep my fuzzy dice for my Lightning once I bought it. Personally, I hope T-Ray can buy a yacht with all the proceeds from tank related accessories we have in this game . But putting a 10 dollar per month rental tag on my bolt driver or lightning custom gauss cannon is *not* cool, and the practice in Battlefield Online and a lot of Korean games is despicable.

[Sabrak]

Wow, $10 would be way too much for a cosmetic stuff (except, maybe, if it's for a pack?).

But, in a way, if they really don't plan on selling more powerful items in the store (let's trust Higby and the team on that), they will probably need to make players pay more for aesthetics so they get money out of the game.

[Vancha]

Honestly, £2 would be the sweet-spot for me, which equates to about $3.2 (lets say $3).

5 items for £10/$15

As far as class packs, I don't see the need. Introduce content for multiple classes simultaneously and you don't end up with an overpopulation of a single class. I'd rather see 1 new item for each class than 6 new items for a single class.

[CutterJohn]

Originally Posted by Atheosim

Sadly, you're exactly right. No smedbux from me though if they gouge it past all reason.

Of course. They will have to determine the sweet spot for price and volume to maximize income.

[SniperSteve]

Whenever you push out new content, it gets overplayed the first few days, then it settles into the mix after a week. I think that is true whether it is themed or not.

(I just think of LoL when a new champion comes out. You see it being played in almost every game for the next few days, then it goes back to routine. The good news is that = easy kills. ^_^)

Edit: And I think the price of more than $5 for a skin is normal... It does not effect gameplay and is a VIP item. If you want it, expect to pay big time.

[Vancha]

Originally Posted by SniperSteve

Edit: And I think the price of more than $5 for a skin is normal... It does not effect gameplay and is a VIP item. If you want it, expect to pay big time.

This is such a wrong mentality. F2P and cash shops are still very much being experimented with and still being refined. There's no point them selling an item for $8 if they'd sell thee times more at $3.

[EVILPIG]

Personally, I find it ridiculous that so many feel that $10 is too much for something you will always own from that day on. The game is "free to play", but some of us will need to contribute something to pay for the game and it's future. There will be no cost to install the game, so you're already starting out ahead and the game looks worthy of having a subscription, so if you spend $10-15 a month on stuff, it would be well deserved. I just can't believe people expect to never spend a dime. It's certainly an option, but they hardly deserve that considering what they are putting out for us.

[Vancha]

Originally Posted by EVILPIG

Personally, I find it ridiculous that so many feel that $10 is too much for something you will always own from that day on. The game is "free to play", but some of us will need to contribute something to pay for the game and it's future. There will be no cost to install the game, so you're already starting out ahead and the game looks worthy of having a subscription, so if you spend $10-15 a month on stuff, it would be well deserved. I just can't believe people expect to never spend a dime. It's certainly an option, but they hardly deserve that considering what they are putting out for us.

Their concern is not just the amount people are paying, but how many people are paying it. Think about all the children trying to persuade their parents to give up $10 for something to make their gun look pretty..."But the game developers deserve it!" isn't going to cut it. Think about all the strapped-for-cash students wondering whether to spend $10 on a pretty helmet, or half that on the newest indie bundle. What do you think is better value for money, an in-game ornament or multiple games?

[CuddlyChud]

I think ultimately it'll be up to statistics to tell you whether you've gotten the price right or not, something that I'm sure SOE will have plenty of given their previous experiences with F2P. Personally I feel like 8-10$ seems reasonable for a gun or skin. You need to set the price high enough that it feels semi-exclusive. Ultimately its just about finding a balance.

[Cosmical]

I think the best thing they can do is lock you down to one faction, and one character. And if you want more you have to pay for character slots, then once they have your payment details, 30p here 1 dollar there. And theyre making money.

[EVILPIG]

Originally Posted by Vancha

Their concern is not just the amount people are paying, but how many people are paying it. Think about all the children trying to persuade their parents to give up $10 for something to make their gun look pretty..."But the game developers deserve it!" isn't going to cut it. Think about all the strapped-for-cash students wondering whether to spend $10 on a pretty helmet, or half that on the newest indie bundle. What do you think is better value for money, an in-game ornament or multiple games?

So, you're in the FREE camp.