Platinum Cost

[Archivian]

Hi,

I just wanted to put something out there about the price of the Platinum Currency and see what people thought.

Currently, the price I saw for 150 Plat is £4.99. Now that wont really buy much.

The issue I have is that its too expensive (we all knew I was gonna say that). Now this is not a rant about pay to win so much as it is about the price point. Because we are paying for an icon with some numbers next to it. A virtual product that can be infinitely copied and sold. (Though really that can be a whole discussion).

But I was wondering why don't they price it at app prices? 99p for 70 or £1.99 for 150. Something like that.

Because, as a gamer that doesn't have alot of money but wants to contribute to this great game, Spending 4.99 is an amount I have to stop and think about. Try to plan how I want to spend it and will it be worth while etc.

But If I just wanted to get a mod or small booster etc, spending 99p is something that is much more disposable at any given moment and I would be able to do more often. Ultimately on those lower rates I know I would certainly be much more willing to be a returning customer, especially for any new frames, weapons, cosmetics etc that are released in future.

Its easy to spend 0.99 - £1.99 several times a week than for spending £5 at any one time, let alone more than once in a short amount of time,

Maybe they should temporarily add a similar price point to their sales and see how well it does. Because I think it might be better for everyone and their bottom line.

Thats just my point of view. I was wondering what others thought of that idea. Should it be something that the Devs should consider?

[hakma1]

or buy a founders pack and get all the platinum you need but that still costs a bit but hey it's worth it if you're supporting the progress of the game.

[Bitfly]

£4.99 for 150 platinum which is enough to buy a weapon? I don't think this is way off.. But then again, I'm coming from APB Reloaded where people pay up to €40 for a single weapon. Anyways, I don't think it's bad at all. It's cheap enough for me to buy a weapon rather than crafting it, which ain't that hard btw

Edited April 6, 2013 by Bitfly

[Endorsil]

F2P is always an option where you have to make compromises. I do like the options to spend a somewhat huge amount of credits or to simply buy the item straight through money. It's the players choice. So you can get it totally free by just playing the game (or trying ot login!). But you should accept the fact, that some items won't be available for free. As for the devs, it is a hard decision and development process, how an item is obtainable. If you have to spend 5$ to get an uber item, this would be probably fail. But spening money just for cosmetics... dunno.

But I agree with you, that the range of money could and should be freely choosable for the player. So if I'd like to buy 73 platinum, I would like to buy exactly this amount.

I bought the Hunter Founders package and got 1220 platinum with it. That's worth around 38-39 Euros. This is a fair price, I like to spent for a game.

[Archivian]

F2P is always an option where you have to make compromises. I do like the options to spend a somewhat huge amount of credits or to simply buy the item straight through money. It's the players choice. So you can get it totally free by just playing the game (or trying ot login!). But you should accept the fact, that some items won't be available for free. As for the devs, it is a hard decision and development process, how an item is obtainable. If you have to spend 5$ to get an uber item, this would be probably fail. But spening money just for cosmetics... dunno.

But I agree with you, that the range of money could and should be freely choosable for the player. So if I'd like to buy 73 platinum, I would like to buy exactly this amount.

I bought the Hunter Founders package and got 1220 platinum with it. That's worth around 38-39 Euros. This is a fair price, I like to spent for a game.

I don't have an issue of needing to buy platinum to progress faster. But a lower price point, maybe for 50 plat around the 1.99 mark added to the current market would be a good idea. You can buy equipment (I dont think weapons), and for someone who has an issue parting with a £5 more than once a week, may find parting with 1.99 much easier and more often during a week (its effectively spare change). Its kind of a slot machine logic i guess. You don't mind throwing some change to have a go at a slot machine, win or lose.

So I think the Devs really could make good money from adding such a price point and it would be great for players as well. even if only to buy plat in a smaller increment, there might be alot more transactions.

[Elhazzared]

I don't think the price is bad in any way. Let's forget weapon and warframe costs because really, you can get them by playing the game and if you're that lazy, then you shell out 26€ and you can get quite a load of stuff. Let's go over the real deals on plat.

First the hard to get in game although possible. Catalysts, both for warframes and weapons. 20 plat each, shell out 9€ and you get 170 plat right now, add 50 you have to start with and that makes 220, you can have supercharged weapons and warframes by the ton.

Second shall be slots. 20 plat for a slot for a warframe, 12 plat for 2 slots for weapons. Again, pretty cheap even on a 9€ spenditure.

Really, that's mostly the only thing you really need to shell out money for and the second bit really depends. Of course you can get more colours to customise your warframe and weapons, you can get other cosmetic options which are attainable in game but for the most part, 75 plat. You don't really need affinity boosts or credits boosts but even those are pretty cheap.

The only place where you shell out more plat is really on being lazy so you don't have to farm materials, don'thave to spend credits, don't have to wait 12 hours for assembly and I fully agree that all you want is to just go into the game and get everything right from the start, them pay for it, companies need money in order to continue to develope their products and even then, I don't find they even try to milk you out of your money for the being lazy, things are for the most part pretty damn accessible. Some warframes are a bit too expensive, I'll agree there, but I imagine that eventually they'll make a uniform cost for all of them, maybe promotions on less used warframes.

[TheVavil]

To the OP.

You say that you have to stop and think about about spending £4.99, but you don't seem to take the same thought about spending 0.99-1.99 several times a week. I think that is your problem right there.

If you thought about it every-time you were about to spend the 0.99-1.99 you might have more than £4.99 saved up at the end of the week, maybe then you could buy Platinum for £4.99, after some consideration of course.

[LordLokai]

My thoughts on this is that weapons themselves are to expensive, frames shouldnt exceed 15 dollars when currently can actually be 20-30 dollars a pop... i refuse to buy weapons in this game...not paying 10 bucks a weapon sorry not happening i'll make them in game. So yes i do feel stuff is a tad expensive....

Edit: just as a comparison... planetside 2 a triple A mmo shooter game, only charges about 7 dollars a weapon... from what i can tell some of guys in this game come close to 10 bucks...or more... have to actually do a comparison and i cant access the game currently.

Frame cost: 15 dollars at most

gun cost: 3-5 dollars at most

Skins: 2-5 dollars

as much as i like the game... i do feel prices are a bit high but, not so high i feel they are completely unfair...

Edited April 6, 2013 by LordLokai

[Archivian]

I don't think the price is bad in any way. Let's forget weapon and warframe costs because really, you can get them by playing the game and if you're that lazy, then you shell out 26€ and you can get quite a load of stuff. Let's go over the real deals on plat.

First the hard to get in game although possible. Catalysts, both for warframes and weapons. 20 plat each, shell out 9€ and you get 170 plat right now, add 50 you have to start with and that makes 220, you can have supercharged weapons and warframes by the ton.

Second shall be slots. 20 plat for a slot for a warframe, 12 plat for 2 slots for weapons. Again, pretty cheap even on a 9€ spenditure.

Really, that's mostly the only thing you really need to shell out money for and the second bit really depends. Of course you can get more colours to customise your warframe and weapons, you can get other cosmetic options which are attainable in game but for the most part, 75 plat. You don't really need affinity boosts or credits boosts but even those are pretty cheap.

The only place where you shell out more plat is really on being lazy so you don't have to farm materials, don'thave to spend credits, don't have to wait 12 hours for assembly and I fully agree that all you want is to just go into the game and get everything right from the start, them pay for it, companies need money in order to continue to develope their products and even then, I don't find they even try to milk you out of your money for the being lazy, things are for the most part pretty damn accessible. Some warframes are a bit too expensive, I'll agree there, but I imagine that eventually they'll make a uniform cost for all of them, maybe promotions on less used warframes.

u seem to have missed the point of what I was saying, All those examples you gave effectively cost £9. The same problem remains. If you use your 50plat and then think "Oh I want to get a colour set." Then you would have to pay the minimum price for those plat= £5. £5 for colours? I like grinding through the game coz it doesn't feel like a grind to me, I have the components to build some of the things I want etc. I don't mind having to play the game to get the things I want.

But if I want to get something cosmetic, or a boost or whatever, it would actually be financially easier for me to spend 1,99 for a smaller amount of plat to purchase one of those items within that price range (eg. buying 50plat ). And there is a good chance for a higher rate of transactions. Also you can be more precise with your purchase rather than have redundant plat. Also its easier to just buy more plat if you just want to get another cozmetic set or whatever. It wouldn't unbalance anything, in fact things would be exactly as they are now except it would be easier for people to spend money and spend it more precisely and more often.

[Elhazzared]

My thoughts on this is that weapons themselves are to expensive, frames shouldnt exceed 15 dollars when currently can actually be 20-30 dollars a pop... i refuse to buy weapons in this game...not paying 10 bucks a weapon sorry not happening i'll make them in game. So yes i do feel stuff is a tad expensive....

You're buying the lazyness of not having to get them so when in comparison to getting convinience items or cosmetics, those are going to be more expensive and in such it is good buisness practice. Think of the price of slots, catalysts, clour schemes, heck, even skins for weapons. They are pretty cheap by comparison.

[Graaaavy]

I agree with OP.

More options are always nicer. There wouldn't be any downside to the devs for making a lower incriment, say $2 or $5, and both with no bonus platinum with purchase. When my money is tight, I don't go outside much, I stay at home and game. With that said, If I only have a few bucks to spend, it would be nice to have the option to spend just a few bucks instead of $10 being the lowest.

There seriously isn't any downside to a lower incriment with no bonus plat

[WhatsThatNoize]

To the OP.

You say that you have to stop and think about about spending £4.99, but you don't seem to take the same thought about spending 0.99-1.99 several times a week. I think that is your problem right there.

If you thought about it every-time you were about to spend the 0.99-1.99 you might have more than £4.99 saved up at the end of the week, maybe then you could buy Platinum for £4.99, after some consideration of course.

But that's just it, he's pointing out the deficiencies in "gambler/convenience reasoning". If you lower the price point a bit but lower the amounts that can be bought as well, people are more likely to make these "tiny" purchases more often to that point that they end up spending more than they would have otherwise.

I know it's silly to think about but it is psychological. Ask yourself this: Would you think heavily about paying $1 every day for 30 days or $30 right now? It's not about which is preferable to you in the long run, it's about which is preferable to you right now.

Most people don't even consider the long run. It's simply, "Well duh, I'm going to only pay $1 right now for a period because it's not such a massive payment as $30". They know in some small way that they are paying the same amount in both instances, but $1 a day seems much more manageable than $30 in one day. The only time where the $30/one-time wins out is when the amount is SO small that it becomes inconvenient to deal with multiple transactions - and that's psychology of economics in a nutshell: finding the sweet spot between an inconvenient amount of payments and an inconvenient payment amount.

Right now the price point is too high and the psychology here tends toward "an inconvenient payment amount". Lower the price-point to something more manageable by the target demographic (the middle payment amount should be $10-15, not $50-60) and give the customers a treat to chase after. You alienate your consumer base when you make the highest purchase seem more like a rich luxury and less like a slightly lofty goal.

[Elhazzared]

Archivian, what you said however not, gives us the option of buying the exact amount of plat we want, what you said was clearly, lower the price of plat. Sure there are a few deals, some of them will leave you with some plat left on the account but really, what is the problem? You don't really have a notion of how hard it is to create a way to pay exactly for the amount you want do you? the problem comes that you have multiple methods of payment which in the end complicates things a great deal. I find that they already covered a good basis as it is. Perhaps I'd like to see prices a little more adjusted to pay with paysafecards, like 26€ actually being 25€ or the 9€ actually being 10€ because for paysafecards it would simplify things a lot. But really, I understand that they had their own reasons to go with those values and I don't $#*(@ about it.

Think of what stuff you want to buy long term and see how much plat you want to buy. For example, you want 2 colour schemes but you'll be left with 20 plat, well, use it on a catalyst, never a waste to supercharge something or get an extra slot or heck, save it for when you need something. The 9€ option is the best for buying stuff like that and if you only want a colour scheme and are left with 95 plat? What is the problem? More things will be added and eventually you'll look at something new they send out and say, hey, I have just the right amount for it left!

[Archivian]

To the OP.

You say that you have to stop and think about about spending £4.99, but you don't seem to take the same thought about spending 0.99-1.99 several times a week. I think that is your problem right there.

If you thought about it every-time you were about to spend the 0.99-1.99 you might have more than £4.99 saved up at the end of the week, maybe then you could buy Platinum for £4.99, after some consideration of course.

Thats true, but low those kinds of pricing points are tried and true for that very reason. If I was planning to or expecting to be purchasing other things then of course I would buy a more expensive option and save for it. But if I want to purchase piece buy piece as I go I cant do that accurately.

Also it allows for more impulse buying.

I just want X item, it costs 75plat and I have 25plat. I can spend 1.99 and get 50plat rather than 4.99 for 75plat. If I decide to do that again as I have the spare money later in the week I can just do it again. Its a method of convenience that nets them more profits shouldn't (in theory) unbalance anything and allows players more options when purchasing.

I fail to see how this equates to being lazy or trying to buy your way through the game anymore than it does now other than making it more accessible to more people.

As LordLokai mentioned

My thoughts on this is that weapons themselves are to expensive, frames shouldnt exceed 15 dollars when currently can actually be 20-30 dollars a pop... i refuse to buy weapons in this game...not paying 10 bucks a weapon sorry not happening i'll make them in game. So yes i do feel stuff is a tad expensive....

Edit: just as a comparison... planetside 2 a triple A mmo shooter game, only charges about 7 dollars a weapon... from what i can tell some of guys in this game come close to 10 bucks...or more... have to actually do a comparison and i cant access the game currently.

Frame cost: 15 dollars at most

gun cost: 3-5 dollars at most

Skins: 2-5 dollars

as much as i like the game... i do feel prices are a bit high but, not so high i feel they are completely unfair...

I happen to agree with him, but as I like the game a lot there are some things I am willing to buy, but the starting price for plat is too high for the small I would buy right now to further increase interest and further chance of purchases.

[Archivian]

Archivian, what you said however not, gives us the option of buying the exact amount of plat we want, what you said was clearly, lower the price of plat. Sure there are a few deals, some of them will leave you with some plat left on the account but really, what is the problem? You don't really have a notion of how hard it is to create a way to pay exactly for the amount you want do you? the problem comes that you have multiple methods of payment which in the end complicates things a great deal. I find that they already covered a good basis as it is. Perhaps I'd like to see prices a little more adjusted to pay with paysafecards, like 26€ actually being 25€ or the 9€ actually being 10€ because for paysafecards it would simplify things a lot. But really, I understand that they had their own reasons to go with those values and I don't $#*(@ about it.

Think of what stuff you want to buy long term and see how much plat you want to buy. For example, you want 2 colour schemes but you'll be left with 20 plat, well, use it on a catalyst, never a waste to supercharge something or get an extra slot or heck, save it for when you need something. The 9€ option is the best for buying stuff like that and if you only want a colour scheme and are left with 95 plat? What is the problem? More things will be added and eventually you'll look at something new they send out and say, hey, I have just the right amount for it left!

As I said at the start its about the "Price Point". Introducing a new bracket is not that big of a change. Its obvious that price points in part are chosen to have money left over so you want to buy more just to top it up for that next purchase. I'm not even saying don't do that I'm just saying add an extra lower bracket to make it easier for more people to buy stuff.

As for planing ahead in buying things, that is actually what I am doing. Currently there is nothing in the market that I want that adds up to making that purchase of plat worth while. The Plat left over is not a good thing for the customer, its not banked or saved or anything like that because its not real money and cant just be spent on other things outside the game; its redundant as it only comes into play IF(edited for caps) you purchase more plat to top up what you have so u can buy something. With a lower bracket this will still be the case but allow for a much more covenant price point and more options for the customer.

If I want to buy something that is just over the £5 plat amount I have to spend another £5 or something that I might only need 20plat for.

Also this game is still in beta. Even though I like it, I'm not going to over invest in a product that is not finished yet.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Archivian

[Elhazzared]

I do suppose that adding a smaller payment option isn't impossible, it will be going through all the payment partners and make more which is headaches but well. I don't really see a necessity but just that on itself isn't bad I suppose.

[Xersues]

The cost of platinum is too damn high!

Seriously, $25 for a frame or $15 for a single weapon? Bah. The price points for founders packs are WAY WAY nicer, I've had to upgrade 3 times in order to take advantage of getting platinum.

[Story4]

But that's just it, he's pointing out the deficiencies in "gambler/convenience reasoning". If you lower the price point a bit but lower the amounts that can be bought as well, people are more likely to make these "tiny" purchases more often to that point that they end up spending more than they would have otherwise.

I know it's silly to think about but it is psychological. Ask yourself this: Would you think heavily about paying $1 every day for 30 days or $30 right now? It's not about which is preferable to you in the long run, it's about which is preferable to you right now.

Most people don't even consider the long run. It's simply, "Well duh, I'm going to only pay $1 right now for a period because it's not such a massive payment as $30". They know in some small way that they are paying the same amount in both instances, but $1 a day seems much more manageable than $30 in one day. The only time where the $30/one-time wins out is when the amount is SO small that it becomes inconvenient to deal with multiple transactions - and that's psychology of economics in a nutshell: finding the sweet spot between an inconvenient amount of payments and an inconvenient payment amount.

Right now the price point is too high and the psychology here tends toward "an inconvenient payment amount". Lower the price-point to something more manageable by the target demographic (the middle payment amount should be $10-15, not $50-60) and give the customers a treat to chase after. You alienate your consumer base when you make the highest purchase seem more like a rich luxury and less like a slightly lofty goal.

Yep. Couldn't agree more.

[Zedonk]

Hi,

I just wanted to put something out there about the price of the Platinum Currency and see what people thought.

Currently, the price I saw for 150 Plat is £4.99. Now that wont really buy much.

The issue I have is that its too expensive (we all knew I was gonna say that). Now this is not a rant about pay to win so much as it is about the price point. Because we are paying for an icon with some numbers next to it. A virtual product that can be infinitely copied and sold. (Though really that can be a whole discussion).

But I was wondering why don't they price it at app prices? 99p for 70 or £1.99 for 150. Something like that.

Because, as a gamer that doesn't have alot of money but wants to contribute to this great game, Spending 4.99 is an amount I have to stop and think about. Try to plan how I want to spend it and will it be worth while etc.

But If I just wanted to get a mod or small booster etc, spending 99p is something that is much more disposable at any given moment and I would be able to do more often. Ultimately on those lower rates I know I would certainly be much more willing to be a returning customer, especially for any new frames, weapons, cosmetics etc that are released in future.

Its easy to spend 0.99 - £1.99 several times a week than for spending £5 at any one time, let alone more than once in a short amount of time,

Maybe they should temporarily add a similar price point to their sales and see how well it does. Because I think it might be better for everyone and their bottom line.

Thats just my point of view. I was wondering what others thought of that idea. Should it be something that the Devs should consider?

I am not sure about the prices in Pounds, but USD have:

$5 = 75 plat

$10 = 170 plat (150 + 20 bonus)

You dont have that first level in pounds? should be the equivalent of 2 pounds or so.

[ShimmerDoll]

I wanted more options too in a dev thread but they never responded on that question. Things really seem to cost just a little too much. I can get more for my money in other games, and I'm not saying those games are better though, just I would like to more options when buying platinum and maybe lowering the cost of things or giving us more platinum for the money we pay. 5/10/15/20 ranges would be nice. not just 10,30,100 or whatever it is now. The $5=75 is nothing. I can't use that little.

Edited April 7, 2013 by BloodDoll

[Telzen]

Well potatos and slots are pretty cheap at 20 plat. I do think that weapons shouldn't go over $5 and warframes shouldn't go over $15.

[ShimmerDoll]

Well potatos and slots are pretty cheap at 20 plat. I do think that weapons shouldn't go over $5 and warframes shouldn't go over $15.

exactly how i feel.

also character customization and addons: head, chest, arms, shoulders, legs. I'd buy stuff like that so I can actually bring myself to like other characters that are not visually appealing.

[Mebhin]

Yeah plat is absurdly expensive. I burst out laughing when I saw the credits => plat ratio. Thing is the only thing you NEED to buy are slots and maybe a few catalysts and they're the cheapest items.

If you're buying frames/weapons outright you're basically denying yourself actual content from the game because you'll never have reason to go out and kill the various bosses. I bought the hunters pack some time ago as it's all I could reasonably afford (I'd buy grandmaster if I could but well, gotta eat!) and I've not had cause to spend much of it. Bought a couple of colour packs and I bought the Banshee when I found out it was random drop. Still got 350 plat left and I've only just really run out of content as a rank 9 with every single weapon/frame at 30.

[Archivian]

But that's just it, he's pointing out the deficiencies in "gambler/convenience reasoning". If you lower the price point a bit but lower the amounts that can be bought as well, people are more likely to make these "tiny" purchases more often to that point that they end up spending more than they would have otherwise.

I know it's silly to think about but it is psychological. Ask yourself this: Would you think heavily about paying $1 every day for 30 days or $30 right now? It's not about which is preferable to you in the long run, it's about which is preferable to you right now.

Most people don't even consider the long run. It's simply, "Well duh, I'm going to only pay $1 right now for a period because it's not such a massive payment as $30". They know in some small way that they are paying the same amount in both instances, but $1 a day seems much more manageable than $30 in one day. The only time where the $30/one-time wins out is when the amount is SO small that it becomes inconvenient to deal with multiple transactions - and that's psychology of economics in a nutshell: finding the sweet spot between an inconvenient amount of payments and an inconvenient payment amount.

Right now the price point is too high and the psychology here tends toward "an inconvenient payment amount". Lower the price-point to something more manageable by the target demographic (the middle payment amount should be $10-15, not $50-60) and give the customers a treat to chase after. You alienate your consumer base when you make the highest purchase seem more like a rich luxury and less like a slightly lofty goal.

EXACTLY!

(Though u worded it much better than i did. lol)