Value Pre-Order Pack

Why not think about countries where the currency is totally undervalued, and put a more affordable price for the rest?
Sort of seeing where the purchase is being made from and recalculating the value.

I'm from Brazil and to buy the package of 375 dollars I would have to pay 2 thousand reais, which is almost 2 minimum wages, it is unfeasible for most people.

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sillask

I agree, it's also unfeasible for me.

Hinotori

cleberto wrote: »

Why not think about countries where the currency is totally undervalued, and put a more affordable price for the rest?
Sort of seeing where the purchase is being made from and recalculating the value.

I'm from Brazil and to buy the package of 375 dollars I would have to pay 2 thousand reais, which is almost 2 minimum wages, it is unfeasible for most people.

While there's no international pricing right now they have thought about it for the future and have a plan to add harmonised servers on the release of the game.

https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Payment_model

Rhorden

Wouldn't it be better if they stopped doing this cosmetic garbage altogether and just put these skins in the game that way anyone that wants them bad enough could earn them and not have to be screwed over because of out of reach monetization.

Hinotori

Rhorden wrote: »

Wouldn't it be better if they stopped doing this cosmetic garbage altogether and just put these skins in the game that way anyone that wants them bad enough could earn them and not have to be screwed over because of out of reach monetization.

Right now the price of the store is for testing packages. Its for those who truly wish to support the game and people are rewarded with exclusive cosmetics for that commitment to the game.

Steven has said multiple times not to buy it and wait for the release if you're not comfortable paying.

As for the monetization, the people buying cosmetics are the ones subsidising the game for everyone else on release anyway. Without the people buying skins then you'd likely have a larger box cost and even higher subscription fee keeping people like cleberto from accessing the game.

cleberto

me and 4 other friends wanted to buy, but we would have to work 2 whole months to pay, this complicates a lot

Rhorden

Natasha wrote: »

Rhorden wrote: »

Wouldn't it be better if they stopped doing this cosmetic garbage altogether and just put these skins in the game that way anyone that wants them bad enough could earn them and not have to be screwed over because of out of reach monetization.

Right now the price of the store is for testing packages. Its for those who truly wish to support the game and people are rewarded with exclusive cosmetics for that commitment to the game.

Steven has said multiple times not to buy it and wait for the release if you're not comfortable paying.

As for the monetization, the people buying cosmetics are the ones subsidising the game for everyone else on release anyway. Without the people buying skins then you'd likely have a larger box cost and even higher subscription fee keeping people like cleberto from accessing the game.

You're kidding right?
Exactly how are they testing packages? What information are they trying to ascertain?

"Its for those who truly wish to support the game and people are rewarded with exclusive cosmetics for that commitment to the game." Would you still "truly support the game" if you didn't receive anything in return?

Steven has stated multiple times this game is already funded to completion. Full stop. That means anything anyone buys literally has zero impact on whether this game is going to be finished or not. You aren't supporting the game, you are just buying skins because you want them.

"people buying cosmetics are the ones subsidising the game for everyone else on release anyway" that is factually incorrect. Again, Steven has stated this game is funded to completion and even if costs over run and it takes longer than expected he and John ( I think his name was) would still be able to cover the costs and they are ok with that.

"Without the people buying skins then you'd likely have a larger box cost and even higher subscription fee" Where are you getting your information? There is no box cost to this game. He has stated that as well.
As for a higher subscription fee, what are you basing this claim on? Why would it need to be higher?

Additional money to access items that should be in the game is just a way to prey on the weak minded. If people refused to pay for items that game companies are intentionally withholding and locking behind a paywall, that practice would stop and games would be considerably better for it.

It's a cheap tactic to fleece more money from the player base with no extra work involved and I don't participate in it at any level. People that do participate in it are the ones responsible to help drive this imbecilic trend and keep these paywall scenarios in games. Cleberto might be able to play the game but because of paywalls he, and many others, will not have access to those items. Furthermore, no matter how you slice it, if the subscription was raised a small amount, say $5, more people would be able to swing that extra amount rather than pay that large chunk which, in turn, would unlock all those cosmetics and we'd be back to where we should've been in the first place. Everything is already in the game.

Hinotori

@Rhorden You have completely failed to look into why the funding model was chosen. Yes. The game development is funded until launch. Steven needs a return on that investment and also needs to fund the future content and fees associated with a live service game.

If you fail to understand this I suggest you look into it in the payment model link I provided in my earlier post.

The reason why a subscription/cash shop model was chosen was to lower the barrier to entry as much as possible through people purchasing skins from the cash shop. Removing the need for a high box cost and higher subscription cost as the subscription keeps the lights running but the cash shop funds the costs associated with further development of the game.

Without it the cost for the game would be much higher per individual. a 20 dollar monthly subscription fee and a 90 dollar box cost for each expansion every year would be expected (Note the only other MMORPG with a 20 dollar subscription fee EvE Online is haemorrhaging players since the rise in cost.)

Even this revised funding model may fall ridiculously short of the covering the costs needed to keep the game going due to the reduced playerbase due to the associated rise in cost. This would be extremely detrimental to the ongoing playerbase as it provides a much higher barrier than a simple 15 dollar transaction to give the game a try.

As for the preorder cosmetics, again Steven has come out saying DON'T PURCHASE. If you cant afford them that's on you. They're linked to the price the kickstarters had to pay and they aren't going to change. And Steven has stated the cost of the packs allows for higher quality testers. He doesn't want just anyone. He wants people who will be engaged in the testing and are invested in finding flaws that need to be rectified.

But to reiterate: Many people in the world will likely already struggle just to pay for the regular subscription fee. Hence the need for harmonized servers on release. But the current funding model with the cash shop whales subsidising the cost of development and the appropriate server infrastructure and support will allow more to play. (Just look at fortnites shop revenue, it allowed them to go completely free to play.)

Rhorden

@Natasha
What you have stated in your response is beyond delusional and it is painfully obvious you can not grasp the situation for what it is. You failed to address, in any way, any of the points I brought up in my previous post and the comparisons you made are like apples to oranges.
I started to type out exactly what is going on but then I thought of that adage, Who's the greater fool? So to that I will not pick up the fools gauntlet you have thrown down and engage in this. You can go on believing you are correct or superior or whatever and continue riding your fanboy bandwagon defending bad practices against the player base to make yourself feel better.

I will however leave you with a thought to ponder, when the game comes out and becomes extremely successful, will the cosmetic shop be removed and all cosmetics put in the game? If they aren't and the game very easily clears all the money needed to maintain the game and develop further projects how will you justify it to yourself that AoC should continue gouging the customer?
Before you think it isn't possible and that the cash shop is needed go check the numbers on what WoW was pulling in without a cash shop before they butchered their game.

I am going to address one part of that mentally debilitating vomit you churned out -
"As for the preorder cosmetics, again Steven has come out saying DON'T PURCHASE. If you cant afford them that's on you. They're linked to the price the kickstarters had to pay and they aren't going to change. And Steven has stated the cost of the packs allows for higher quality testers. He doesn't want just anyone. He wants people who will be engaged in the testing and are invested in finding flaws that need to be rectified."

"If you cant afford them that's on you." Was that aimed at me or cleberto and sillask? That seems like a high and mighty statement looking down on people. If that was aimed at me feel better knowing that I could have purchased everything thing they have offered so far. It was never about money, it's about principal. I truly believe everyone should have the same opportunities and when some people can't afford something and get left out then you didn't really earn your skins did you?

"Steven has stated the cost of the packs allows for higher quality testers. He doesn't want just anyone." Can you link where that quote came from? I would like to see that for myself as to make sure it is not being misinterpreted because it almost confers that if someone can't afford the packages then they don't have the intelligence to help with the feed back.

Hinotori

I'm happy for you or sorry that happened.

Liniker

@cleberto I'm from Brazil as well, I have the largest Brazilian guild for Ashes, and we have over 100 members that paid the 2 minimum wages for the alpha 2 access

they did it knowing there would Not be price harmonization for the packs - only for the SA server in the future

imagine if intrepid decided to change the pack prices and fuck up everyone in my guild that already bought the pack....

Pensa um pouquinho antes de postar irmão

Songcaller

I'm thankful I bought when I did. I'm also pleased I bought cosmetics when I did. I'm not at the stage of 2 minimum wage packets to get a package but I naturally don't want to pay more than I want to pay. Fortunately, conversion rates were much better 4 years ago.

Talents

cleberto wrote: »

Why not think about countries where the currency is totally undervalued, and put a more affordable price for the rest?
Sort of seeing where the purchase is being made from and recalculating the value.

I'm from Brazil and to buy the package of 375 dollars I would have to pay 2 thousand reais, which is almost 2 minimum wages, it is unfeasible for most people.

Because what's stopping people from just VPN'ing to Brazil or whatever and paying Brazil price instead of the intended price for the packages?

Asgerr

cleberto wrote: »

Why not think about countries where the currency is totally undervalued, and put a more affordable price for the rest?
Sort of seeing where the purchase is being made from and recalculating the value.

I'm from Brazil and to buy the package of 375 dollars I would have to pay 2 thousand reais, which is almost 2 minimum wages, it is unfeasible for most people.

Because countries where they can't afford to play aren't necessarily going to be the core of their market?

SongRune

Talents wrote: »

cleberto wrote: »

Why not think about countries where the currency is totally undervalued, and put a more affordable price for the rest?
Sort of seeing where the purchase is being made from and recalculating the value.

I'm from Brazil and to buy the package of 375 dollars I would have to pay 2 thousand reais, which is almost 2 minimum wages, it is unfeasible for most people.

Because what's stopping people from just VPN'ing to Brazil or whatever and paying Brazil price instead of the intended price for the packages?

Lag. If your account is on a North America server, you're not gonna get the Brazil prices.
Possibly Language. If you play the Brazil edition of the game, odds are it won't be in English.

But the most realistic answer to the original question is: These packages include Alpha keys. They are specifically intended to be expensive and limited, and are priced with that goal in mind. You want a limited number of players in an alpha. Expanding access, while it might make some financial sense, is contrary to that goal.

Hasil

Liniker wrote: »

I'm from Brazil as well, I have the largest Brazilian guild for Ashes, and we have over 100 members that paid the 2 minimum wages for the alpha 2 access

Is that 2 hours of work for minimum wages, do you mean? Or 2 days, or 2 weeks?

Taleof2Cities

Rhorden wrote: »

It's a cheap tactic to fleece more money from the player base with no extra work involved and I don't participate in it at any level. People that do participate in it are the ones responsible to help drive this imbecilic trend and keep these paywall scenarios in games.

Your decision is easy then.

You don't like the payment model, you don't have to buy.

Pretty simple.

Can't afford the pre-order packs?

No problem.

Wait until launch and subscribe ... the game will still be here.

Ludullu

Hasil wrote: »

Is that 2 hours of work for minimum wages, do you mean? Or 2 days, or 2 weeks?

Pretty sure they mean 2 months-worth. With the current exchange rate even the $250 pack is right about 1.5 months of minimum wage (in Ukraine that is).

Noaani

Rhorden wrote: »

Wouldn't it be better if they stopped doing this cosmetic garbage altogether and just put these skins in the game that way anyone that wants them bad enough could earn them and not have to be screwed over because of out of reach monetization.

I dont think you understand development very well.

If you are charging for skins, you dont pull them from the game. You hire an artist to make them - an artist that is paid for by the money from the skins they produce.

Having a cash shop selling skins doesnt mean less skins in the game, it means about the same amount in the game, plus those on the store.

Garrtok

cleberto wrote: »

Why not think about countries where the currency is totally undervalued, and put a more affordable price for the rest?
Sort of seeing where the purchase is being made from and recalculating the value.

I'm from Brazil and to buy the package of 375 dollars I would have to pay 2 thousand reais, which is almost 2 minimum wages, it is unfeasible for most people.

What kind of argument is that? "once I wanted to buy a Ferrari and then I realized it's x times my salary" - that's the thing in a capitalistic world. You have the money or you don't have it no offense)

CROW3

For the op, here’s a link to the regional pricing for the sub fee: https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Payment_model

I don’t think it’s applied for alpha/beta testing access.

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