Platinum Sales Review From A Business Owner

[Barbzilla]

No, no, no I didn't mean "Lower the cost of platinum", I meant "Make platinum more easily comparable to real-world money". $5 for 50 platinum was just an example, not an actual proposition.

Gotcha, well at $20 for 500 it is 1$ per 25 points. Most people can think in quarters so it shouldn't be a major issue there I don't think.

[Zyfe3rX]

$20 for 500 is a fairly straightforward number, and the point of the $20 line is to increase the level of platinum sold so when people buy platinum they feel as though they are getting many things for the money spent. Though I can see the need for lower levels of platinum, but I would still reccomend at least $5 for 100 (though 125 to keep the ratio the same). The problem with changing the prices of the items in Platinum is people will complain about it at great lengths. Yet most people will see the lowering of the cost of platinum as normal depreciation and trying to increase sales. I had already mentioned making warframes cost an average of 150-200 plat in another thread and was imediately bombarded by 3 people telling me that they already paid over 300 for a warframe, what about them, would they get reimbursed. It just wasn't worth the extra aggrivation to worry with the market levels. Just change the overall cost by adjusting the platinum cost. Then they can change the market numbers right as the game goes live, this will prevent complaining as people can get their plat refunds.

Its CBT, Closed BETA TEST ING, it clearly says, its testing, its a process where you tweak N change stuff, there is no point in complaining and players have no rights to complain, since you all-ready agreed that its CBT, before you started to play/pay

[Barbzilla]

Its CBT, Closed BETA TEST ING, it clearly says, its testing, its a process where you tweak N change stuff, there is no point in complaining and players have no rights to complain, since you all-ready agreed that its CBT, before you started to play/pay

Um, did you even read my posts? At no point do I complain, nor does anyone else. We are beta testing, and part of beta testing is coming up with suggestions on what we think would improve the game. This is exactly what we are doing. Now if you have nothing constructive to say, and can't be bothered to read before you post, go elsewhere please.

[Jazud]

F2p model is based in micro transactions, 15€ for a warframe is a macro-transaction, another flop because the pricing team has no clue.

[Darzok]

I would love this as when i look at what i have to spend to buy in game its far to much in my view and it just puts me off as i think well why spend 20-30pound when i can just grind a day and bang all 3 parts now 4 days to build.

The price is quite off putting and a few f2p do this and it just turns people away i think Sony has the right kind of price for PS2 weapons are fairly cheap and so i have all ready put around 30-40 pounds in to the game mostly since i do not need to dump 30pounds all at once in to the game i can buy bits here and there and it adds up.

Then you got the WOT shop most cost 15-50 pound for a tank and that right away puts off many people and if it was more reasonable more would buy i know i would be willing to buy tanks there if not for the fact i can save 50pound and buy a whole new game and still have money left over.

[philversprechend]

I'd actually like to see them get rid of their fantasy currency altogether and instead use the real money value. I'd rather pay 5$ for a weapon than being forced to purchase a certain amount of platinum and then possibly not spending all of that platinum either because the prizes are designed that there actually is always a small amount of platinum left you can't spend or simply because there is nothing left that I'd like to spend platinum on.

Edited February 26, 2013 by philversprechend

[cypherhalo]

Well, my wife is not the nemesis of fun :-P

But seriously, I think this is a good proposal. It seems to me that most F2P games make their money off impulse purchases and I know for me that means $5-$10 and definitely no mor then $20. Just the other day I was thinking of buying a skin in LoL but it was over $20 so I was like, "yeah, never mind, I can live without it".

Yeah, I know I got the Founder's pack but that was a bit of a weird situation, got a sweet bonus at work. So, anything they can do to lower prices definitely seems good IMO. If they want to have a few "high-end" items that are crazy expensive, that would be fine but right now a lot of the prices are too high IMO.

[Valandras]

Glad something decent came out of *that* thread.

+1 from me, solid logic all around.

[Barbzilla]

I'd actually like to see them get rid of their fantasy currency altogether and instead use the real money value. I'd rather pay 5$ for a weapon than being forced to purchase a certain amount of platinum and then possibly not spending all of that platinum either because the prizes are designed that there actually is always a small amount of platinum left you can't spend or simply because there is nothing left that I'd like to spend platinum on.

That is actually part of a money making concept. They try to make it so you have enough platinum left over that you almost have enough for something. Then you see how close you are and buy just a little bit more to put you over the top. The issue being that now you are left with a greater chunk of left over platinum. Eventually you will see something you want that is just over that amount again... Well you get the idea. Xbox actually does this system the best with the MSP, but it is a dirty scheme all around to me.

[Jinpu]

I will have to agree with this post... the prices are way too steep. If you spend $9.99 for 170 Plats and most frames cost anywhere from 200-375, that equals $15-$25 range. I love warframes and I love to support but it is too high.

If there is "Wipe" planned for the future, I would highly suggest repricing of the frames at least. Also I would suggest "MOD" Store where we can buy mods and fiddle with mods...

[philversprechend]

I know that it is part of a money making concept, but I'm not fond of it^^ Walmart is able to sell stuff without forcing customers to purchase Walmartium before actually buying stuff in their stores. Why do developers relying on ingame transactions think that they need to use that? I know that comparisons with other games aren't always valid, but Dota 2 is using real-world currencies for its ingame items and I shelled out quite some money for those items - I personally favor that system much more because I see at one glance how much something will cost me and I can buy it immediately and it lead to many impulse purchases from me.

The system currently in use at Warframe forces me to look at the things in the ingame market, see what it costs. Then I need to go to the website and look for one of the platinum packages and decide which one I want to get (should I go for the minimum amount I need for the purchase I want to make right now and jump through the same hoops again later if I decide to make another purchase or should.I opt for a bigger package, get a little discount, have platinum for a later purchase but run the risk that I might won't use them at all because DE doesn't release anything of interest anymore?). There's a lot of decision making involved in purchasing an item as simple as the color picker for example. And making me think about purchases actually hinders impulse purchases - instead I might end up thinking that I don't really need that item and should save that money for something else.

In my opinion adding a proxy currency only adds another step between the customer and his potential purchase.

[Heimeng]

+1

[Zonzai]

I would love this as when i look at what i have to spend to buy in game its far to much in my view and it just puts me off as i think well why spend 20-30pound when i can just grind a day and bang all 3 parts now 4 days to build.

The price is quite off putting and a few f2p do this and it just turns people away i think Sony has the right kind of price for PS2 weapons are fairly cheap and so i have all ready put around 30-40 pounds in to the game mostly since i do not need to dump 30pounds all at once in to the game i can buy bits here and there and it adds up.

Then you got the WOT shop most cost 15-50 pound for a tank and that right away puts off many people and if it was more reasonable more would buy i know i would be willing to buy tanks there if not for the fact i can save 50pound and buy a whole new game and still have money left over.

I feel the same way. I spent about 1k last year in on-line game purchases (games and dlc mostly) I haven't even played around with most of it but I didn't spend a dime on any of the new starships in STO because I think the prices are way too steep. World of Tanks? I tried it and it was too much for too little. I quit playing a week later. I will spend a lot of money if I'm getting something for it. After the next patch I'll probably be upgrading my warframe founders package. I'd like to not have to spend too much per warframe/weapon (even though I have already).

Edited February 27, 2013 by Zonzai

[11.11.11]

This thread deserves a bump. I shall add a more meaningful comment when I see the ideal opportunity.

[Barbzilla]

I'm glad to see this thread has been responded to so well actually. Given how most pricing threads go i was expecting to get a lot of poop about it. The thing is I really do believe this will increase their profitability by quite a bit. The only thing is they have established prices already and I imagine they are worried about fallout. If they just give it a month and allow people to use the reset to get their plat back at an equalivent rate to the new price it will help to abate the fears.

[Shujina]

This is really nice =]] +1

[Windbow]

I'm glad to see this thread has been responded to so well actually. Given how most pricing threads go i was expecting to get a lot of poop about it. The thing is I really do believe this will increase their profitability by quite a bit. The only thing is they have established prices already and I imagine they are worried about fallout. If they just give it a month and allow people to use the reset to get their plat back at an equalivent rate to the new price it will help to abate the fears.

Yup. Glad you reposted the post in its own thread. :)

There is, I believe, an equitable solution for repricing - plat reset, There are at least 2 points coming up that would make sense for some sort of auto-reset. Update 7 will give us a whole new world of mods and different upgrade 'trees' and ahem... (many) other things. (I just realized this thread isn't in the Design Council) Such sweeping changes would be an excellent point to reset. People get back their plats. DE could then just implement the new pricing at the same time. This is probably the fairest way of doing it - player expenditure-wise.

Of course, this would result in a hue and cry for past 'work' done from grinding etc. but DE have stated that they reserved the right / option to do so if they deemed it necessary. Also, imho, only plat-bought stuff should be reset. Credit-bought or grinding-obtained stuff should remain in inventory. Update 8 is still a bit murky at the moment but also some large additions / changes so that might be another chance to do it.

[SoulEchelon]

Yup. Glad you reposted the post in its own thread. :)

There is, I believe, an equitable solution for repricing - plat reset, There are at least 2 points coming up that would make sense for some sort of auto-reset. Update 7 will give us a whole new world of mods and different upgrade 'trees' and ahem... (many) other things. (I just realized this thread isn't in the Design Council) Such sweeping changes would be an excellent point to reset. People get back their plats. DE could then just implement the new pricing at the same time. This is probably the fairest way of doing it - player expenditure-wise.

Of course, this would result in a hue and cry for past 'work' done from grinding etc. but DE have stated that they reserved the right / option to do so if they deemed it necessary. Also, imho, only plat-bought stuff should be reset. Credit-bought or grinding-obtained stuff should remain in inventory. Update 8 is still a bit murky at the moment but also some large additions / changes so that might be another chance to do it.

Dammit I'm really excited about Update 7. You freakin Master Founders and your "oops, I kinda-sorta gave a hint. I SOOO didn't mean to~~~" posts are driving me crazy. :p

But yeah, on topic: This is a GREAT idea. I really hope a dev posts in this thread to at least show us they've read that first post.

[Windbow]

Dammit I'm really excited about Update 7. You freakin Master Founders and your "oops, I kinda-sorta gave a hint. I SOOO didn't mean to~~~" posts are driving me crazy. :p

...

Sorry. Yeah, it's hard to keep a secret when it's so exciting. The 'freakin' master founders are just as "driven crazy" as you, trust me! :P

Happily, DE's planning to release Update 7 sometime in mid-March or so... so we need to wait just a liiii~tle bit more. I hope everyone keeps an open mind though... the changes will take some (re)adjusting.

OK, enough of that. Keep calm and carry on. :D

[SoulEchelon]

Sorry. Yeah, it's hard to keep a secret when it's so exciting. The 'freakin' master founders are just as "driven crazy" as you, trust me! :P

Happily, DE's planning to release Update 7 sometime in mid-March or so... so we need to wait just a liiii~tle bit more. I hope everyone keeps an open mind though... the changes will take some (re)adjusting.

OK, enough of that. Keep calm and carry on. :D

Yeah, tell me to keep calm when you hint that the changes will definitely be drastic. :p

*squirms*

Edited February 27, 2013 by SoulEchelon

[Azure_Kytia]

Windbow is an undercover DE operative tasked with driving people to buy Master packs or above.

For sure.

[Windbow]

Windbow is an undercover DE operative tasked with driving people to buy Master packs or above.

For sure.

LOL. I wish. :D

edit: I know this is not helping my case (as per your assertion above) but DERebecca did say a little while ago, in a thread in the Design Council, that the DC will still be around and needed even after open beta ends. ie. after launch - to keep on giving feedback for the future of Warframe. So, in case anyone is interested in that you have till March 16 (for not-yet-founders) and April 15/16 (for founders to upgrade into the Design Council). Just FYI. Not hardselling or anything. :P

Edited February 27, 2013 by Windbow

[SoulEchelon]

LOL. I wish. :D

edit: I know this is not helping my case (as per your assertion above) but DERebecca did say a little while ago, in a thread in the Design Council, that the DC will still be around and needed even after open beta ends. ie. after launch - to keep on giving feedback for the future of Warframe. So, in case anyone is interested in that you have till March 16 (for not-yet-founders) and April 15/16 (for founders to upgrade into the Design Council). Just FYI. Not hardselling or anything. :P

You are such a bastard. (That was jokingly :p)

I'll probably become a low level Founder before the 16th. I can't say if I'll upgrade ALL the way to Masters...but it would be awesome to help shape a game's future. Especially one I really enjoy and feel will grow.

We shall see.

[Barbzilla]

Yup. Glad you reposted the post in its own thread. :)

There is, I believe, an equitable solution for repricing - plat reset, There are at least 2 points coming up that would make sense for some sort of auto-reset. Update 7 will give us a whole new world of mods and different upgrade 'trees' and ahem... (many) other things. (I just realized this thread isn't in the Design Council) Such sweeping changes would be an excellent point to reset. People get back their plats. DE could then just implement the new pricing at the same time. This is probably the fairest way of doing it - player expenditure-wise.

Of course, this would result in a hue and cry for past 'work' done from grinding etc. but DE have stated that they reserved the right / option to do so if they deemed it necessary. Also, imho, only plat-bought stuff should be reset. Credit-bought or grinding-obtained stuff should remain in inventory. Update 8 is still a bit murky at the moment but also some large additions / changes so that might be another chance to do it.

Honestly if the changes are as sweeping as they appear to be, then they need to do a full reset of the server. This ensures that proper testing is done at all game play levels and skill sets. Though that has always been our methodology when doing a masive test patch (I have a small modding team for a few games), it really helps to ensure that we get a full test cycle. However, that is really dependant on the amount of time they want to lend towards testing, as every extra week in testing is money lost for the devs.

[Blevins]

Honestly if the changes are as sweeping as they appear to be, then they need to do a full reset of the server. This ensures that proper testing is done at all game play levels and skill sets.

I think that might just drive away players. If I'd spend the time and effort to grind out a warframe or two, and then they where just deleted and told me it's because they wanted to reset it. I'd quit. Simple as that. The whole point of the CBT is get a significant number of players to play and get their feedback. That sort of thing, imho, is counterproductive. As they will still have to grind out other Warframes and weapons, etc.