Post by Kieran on Feb 1, 2011 20:33:57 GMT -5
I originally created this thread of the official CO forums, where it received much controversy. However, it was only subject to the opinions of Gold players there, so I'm re-posting it here in order to see what the Silver community has to say unfettered.
The purpose of this thread is to suggest that Free-Form character slots be added to the Cryptic Store. As this has already been stated by a Lifetime Subscriber named Vaarna_Aarne, I will re-post his words below:
Quote Author - Vaarna_Aarne
Actually, even assuming the majority of new players (subscriber or not) will stick around for even just six months is a quite a stretch. Most MMO players play for their own "completionist" state, and then quit. What remains are the hardcore fans who will stay no matter what, whether or not they could be described as fanboys. So, let's assume that Cryptic has great luck and the average player they get nowadays sticks around for six months. And let's assume the average players form at least two-thirds of the paying playerbase (ones who just use baseline F2P aren't counted), though I would reckon it's probably more.
Now, the ones who subscribe among these generate the revenue of 90 dollars, plus all the assorted goods they buy from C-Store. After this, the new subscribers leave and probably go back to WoW or whatever shiny object attracted their attention.
Then, we take the Silver crowd who buy from C-Store. Normally, their revenue can be counted on to include whatever they are motivated to purchase from the C-Store. So, let's say they buy most of the usual stuff: inventory slots, adventure packs and whatnot for their first character. Then, disaster strikes. They discover the amount of fundamental content to the CO experience being witheld from their reach by the subscription model (and we can assume they didn't subscribe because they loathe the idea of renting a game). I'd imagine this happens when they first duel a Freeform character or join a mixed supergroup and find themselves marginalised. It's safer to assume most of them feel cheated and quit, removing future revenue through C-Store. A few will subscribe and leave in the normal schedule, leaving the revenue from the entire two-thirds least for Silver (full six months or not), lesser for the Silver -> Gold members and then you have the subscribers who aren't going to be around forever.
Life-time subscribers will remain a miniscule minority due to the questionable nature of paying several hundred dollars for a game that might not even be around forever. Their revenue is irrelevant for the numbers an F2P model might bring in users.
Now, this is where the massive revenue benefits of selling Freeform character slots, or even Framework or Framework Combo character slots (ie, you get to mix powers from two frameworks of your choice when you purchase the slot) comes into play. For simplicity, we'll just call all of those customizable possiblities Freeform slots.
Let's assume the price tag for a Freeform slot is placed between 20 and 30 dollars. Then, simply the word of mouth and demonstration through seeing the kind of characters Freeform slots allow, you will most likely not only increase the number of paying Silver members but also boost the attraction. Let's assume a Silver member starts off by buying a Freeform character slot and the adventure packs to have the "complete" experience. This gives at least 30 dollars for each player. This is more than what you'd get out of a "completionist" subscriber should the player quit once he's come, seen and won. Now, imagine they stay for the aforementioned six months. With Freeform slots, they'll definately try a second character, which increases the revenue to at least 50 dollars, on top of which you add all the other services they buy during that time (which will on the average easily surpass subscriber spending) which will by my reckoning raise it above the revenue generated by the six-month subscribers we talked earlier, especially if they go beyond just two characters and start buying more character slots and Freeform Slots. And assuming again they buy all the Gold content as well, we will end up close to 120 dollars minimum revenue by my estimate.
And the economic punchline is that this model attracts a more untapped market. It's safe to assume the vast majority of steady subscription income is gobbled up by WoW, so it's better to move onto the territory of people who don't want to "rent" their games (and who would, with Freeform slots as a form encouragement and support for their choice), and with this greater number of users (it's safe to assume new ones appear due to good word-of-mouth, which will be considerably limited without proper support for Silver in the form of purchases like Freeform slots being available) that can generate a greater amount of revenue than the same length subscribers.
But perhaps most of all, support like this would lend itself one significant benefit: A large number of returning Silver members who left for a while but come back. Now, they'll have more content to buy, and the userbase continues to grow at a faster rate.
And let's not forget that this would serve as a major advantage against direct competition, such as DC Online.
Also, I forgot to mention why even with purchasable Freeform there are still reasons for those who might subscribe to subscribe. It's hardly a matter of "getting sole access to Freeform" and making that the purpose of subscription only serves to segregate and alienate the majority of the playerbase and diminish potential growth, which in turn would mean less new stuff made for Champions Online.
You see, subscription should be the "smart money" option. You know, get more for less, though not entirely on your own terms. In addition to being the cheaper option for getting all features, it also grants benefits as it is in the form of the stipend (which could actually be expanded further by giving things like free retcon tokens, for example, every three months).
As it is, I feel that a major turn-off in the game is the fact that Archetypes are forced upon Silver members. Throughout numerous posts, the statement has been made that Power Customization is one of the biggest - if not THE biggest - draw to CO; in fact, a Gold member named Savagegreywolf went so far as to say that Free-Form characters are THE ONLY draw to CO subscription, and that without making Free-Form exclusive to Gold members, there would be no reason whatsoever to subscribe to the game. Now, Vaarna_Aarne smartly addressed this, but it still goes to show that a huge part of the CO game is denied to Silver members.
Now, I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT FREE-FORM CHARACTERS BE GIVEN TO SILVER MEMBERS FOR FREE. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Rather, I am suggesting that a "Free-Form" token be sold in the C-Store for around $20-$30. This would allow a Silver member to purchase a Free-Form character for a fairly expensive price, thus granting him access to the huge portion of the game denied to him.
Again, I'm not going to go into the "why"s of this - Vaarna_Aarne has done a great enough job explaining that. But I believe that this would provide the tremendous financial boost Cryptic has been hoping for.
As it is, FTP players are not afraid to spend money on an MMORPG they like. Rather, they don't like spending money on subscriptions, as they feel that it binds them to a game, and that subscriptions make you feel like you have to play in order to not lose the money you spent.
A great example is one I gave concerning my purchase history in Guild Wars:
Quote Author - Cradock
I have spent $40 dollars for Prophesies (the first game), $40 for Factions (the second game), $40 for Nightfall (the third game), and $40 for Eye of the North (the first and only expansion). Additionally, I purchased the Mission Bonus Pack for $40, the Pre-Order for Nightfall for $5, and two character slots for $10 each.
Additionally, for my mule account, I purchased Prophesies for $20, Factions for $20, and Nightfall for $20.
Meanwhile, I purchased Factions for $50 for my friend.
Furthermore, I purchased Prophesies for $40, Factions for $40, Nightfall for $40, and Eye of the North for $40 for my sister.
Also, I bought Prophesies for $20, Eye of the North for $20, Factions for $40, and Nightfall for $40 for my youngest sister.
I have also spent about $50 for each of my two brothers in Guild Wars related purchases.
So all in all, I've spent over $600 on Guild Wars alone. Why? For several reasons:
1. They do not require a subscription, so I never felt pressured into buying services that I didn't want or felt I would waste.
2. Because they didn't charge per month, I felt like rewarding them and their hard and constant work with my money.
3. So I purchased the content I wanted when I wanted to purchased it.
4. Guild Wars is an amazing game that is constantly receiving attention from the company that made it, Arenanet. Their policy is that they do not charge a monthly fee because with a monthly fee, developers can get lazy as they're receiving money whether they're doing hard work or not. Thus, Arenanet strives to constantly produce outstanding products in order to make a living - and they have yet to release a mediocre at worst and average at best product.
5. Again, I appreciate their upfront and honest business model, so I give them my money not only for the products I receive, but because I want them to continue making such awesome products in the future.
As Ashen said in a different thread, Arenanet's policy is still driven by finances, but it does so in a fashion that keeps the player's interest paramount. And thus, as of 2010, they have sold 6.5 million copies of the game alone, not to mention the millions Arenanet has earned through extra items offered in their in-game store.
I believe that adding Free-Form character slots to the C-Store would encourage similar spending by players, as they would no longer feel like Cryptic is punishing them for choosing to play the game for free instead of via subscription.
And now I am going to stop rambling - I apologize for the length of this post, but there has been much discussion behind this topic and I felt it necessary to thoroughly address this subject. Feel free to post your thoughts, but I ask that everyone posting remain civil, polite, courteous, constructive, respectful, and profanity-free. There is no need for anyone to become antagonized or deliberately antagonize someone else, and there is certainly no need for anyone to act rude and jerkish.
The purpose of this thread is to suggest that Free-Form character slots be added to the Cryptic Store. As this has already been stated by a Lifetime Subscriber named Vaarna_Aarne, I will re-post his words below:
Quote Author - Vaarna_Aarne
Actually, even assuming the majority of new players (subscriber or not) will stick around for even just six months is a quite a stretch. Most MMO players play for their own "completionist" state, and then quit. What remains are the hardcore fans who will stay no matter what, whether or not they could be described as fanboys. So, let's assume that Cryptic has great luck and the average player they get nowadays sticks around for six months. And let's assume the average players form at least two-thirds of the paying playerbase (ones who just use baseline F2P aren't counted), though I would reckon it's probably more.
Now, the ones who subscribe among these generate the revenue of 90 dollars, plus all the assorted goods they buy from C-Store. After this, the new subscribers leave and probably go back to WoW or whatever shiny object attracted their attention.
Then, we take the Silver crowd who buy from C-Store. Normally, their revenue can be counted on to include whatever they are motivated to purchase from the C-Store. So, let's say they buy most of the usual stuff: inventory slots, adventure packs and whatnot for their first character. Then, disaster strikes. They discover the amount of fundamental content to the CO experience being witheld from their reach by the subscription model (and we can assume they didn't subscribe because they loathe the idea of renting a game). I'd imagine this happens when they first duel a Freeform character or join a mixed supergroup and find themselves marginalised. It's safer to assume most of them feel cheated and quit, removing future revenue through C-Store. A few will subscribe and leave in the normal schedule, leaving the revenue from the entire two-thirds least for Silver (full six months or not), lesser for the Silver -> Gold members and then you have the subscribers who aren't going to be around forever.
Life-time subscribers will remain a miniscule minority due to the questionable nature of paying several hundred dollars for a game that might not even be around forever. Their revenue is irrelevant for the numbers an F2P model might bring in users.
Now, this is where the massive revenue benefits of selling Freeform character slots, or even Framework or Framework Combo character slots (ie, you get to mix powers from two frameworks of your choice when you purchase the slot) comes into play. For simplicity, we'll just call all of those customizable possiblities Freeform slots.
Let's assume the price tag for a Freeform slot is placed between 20 and 30 dollars. Then, simply the word of mouth and demonstration through seeing the kind of characters Freeform slots allow, you will most likely not only increase the number of paying Silver members but also boost the attraction. Let's assume a Silver member starts off by buying a Freeform character slot and the adventure packs to have the "complete" experience. This gives at least 30 dollars for each player. This is more than what you'd get out of a "completionist" subscriber should the player quit once he's come, seen and won. Now, imagine they stay for the aforementioned six months. With Freeform slots, they'll definately try a second character, which increases the revenue to at least 50 dollars, on top of which you add all the other services they buy during that time (which will on the average easily surpass subscriber spending) which will by my reckoning raise it above the revenue generated by the six-month subscribers we talked earlier, especially if they go beyond just two characters and start buying more character slots and Freeform Slots. And assuming again they buy all the Gold content as well, we will end up close to 120 dollars minimum revenue by my estimate.
And the economic punchline is that this model attracts a more untapped market. It's safe to assume the vast majority of steady subscription income is gobbled up by WoW, so it's better to move onto the territory of people who don't want to "rent" their games (and who would, with Freeform slots as a form encouragement and support for their choice), and with this greater number of users (it's safe to assume new ones appear due to good word-of-mouth, which will be considerably limited without proper support for Silver in the form of purchases like Freeform slots being available) that can generate a greater amount of revenue than the same length subscribers.
But perhaps most of all, support like this would lend itself one significant benefit: A large number of returning Silver members who left for a while but come back. Now, they'll have more content to buy, and the userbase continues to grow at a faster rate.
And let's not forget that this would serve as a major advantage against direct competition, such as DC Online.
Also, I forgot to mention why even with purchasable Freeform there are still reasons for those who might subscribe to subscribe. It's hardly a matter of "getting sole access to Freeform" and making that the purpose of subscription only serves to segregate and alienate the majority of the playerbase and diminish potential growth, which in turn would mean less new stuff made for Champions Online.
You see, subscription should be the "smart money" option. You know, get more for less, though not entirely on your own terms. In addition to being the cheaper option for getting all features, it also grants benefits as it is in the form of the stipend (which could actually be expanded further by giving things like free retcon tokens, for example, every three months).
As it is, I feel that a major turn-off in the game is the fact that Archetypes are forced upon Silver members. Throughout numerous posts, the statement has been made that Power Customization is one of the biggest - if not THE biggest - draw to CO; in fact, a Gold member named Savagegreywolf went so far as to say that Free-Form characters are THE ONLY draw to CO subscription, and that without making Free-Form exclusive to Gold members, there would be no reason whatsoever to subscribe to the game. Now, Vaarna_Aarne smartly addressed this, but it still goes to show that a huge part of the CO game is denied to Silver members.
Now, I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT FREE-FORM CHARACTERS BE GIVEN TO SILVER MEMBERS FOR FREE. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Rather, I am suggesting that a "Free-Form" token be sold in the C-Store for around $20-$30. This would allow a Silver member to purchase a Free-Form character for a fairly expensive price, thus granting him access to the huge portion of the game denied to him.
Again, I'm not going to go into the "why"s of this - Vaarna_Aarne has done a great enough job explaining that. But I believe that this would provide the tremendous financial boost Cryptic has been hoping for.
As it is, FTP players are not afraid to spend money on an MMORPG they like. Rather, they don't like spending money on subscriptions, as they feel that it binds them to a game, and that subscriptions make you feel like you have to play in order to not lose the money you spent.
A great example is one I gave concerning my purchase history in Guild Wars:
Quote Author - Cradock
I have spent $40 dollars for Prophesies (the first game), $40 for Factions (the second game), $40 for Nightfall (the third game), and $40 for Eye of the North (the first and only expansion). Additionally, I purchased the Mission Bonus Pack for $40, the Pre-Order for Nightfall for $5, and two character slots for $10 each.
Additionally, for my mule account, I purchased Prophesies for $20, Factions for $20, and Nightfall for $20.
Meanwhile, I purchased Factions for $50 for my friend.
Furthermore, I purchased Prophesies for $40, Factions for $40, Nightfall for $40, and Eye of the North for $40 for my sister.
Also, I bought Prophesies for $20, Eye of the North for $20, Factions for $40, and Nightfall for $40 for my youngest sister.
I have also spent about $50 for each of my two brothers in Guild Wars related purchases.
So all in all, I've spent over $600 on Guild Wars alone. Why? For several reasons:
1. They do not require a subscription, so I never felt pressured into buying services that I didn't want or felt I would waste.
2. Because they didn't charge per month, I felt like rewarding them and their hard and constant work with my money.
3. So I purchased the content I wanted when I wanted to purchased it.
4. Guild Wars is an amazing game that is constantly receiving attention from the company that made it, Arenanet. Their policy is that they do not charge a monthly fee because with a monthly fee, developers can get lazy as they're receiving money whether they're doing hard work or not. Thus, Arenanet strives to constantly produce outstanding products in order to make a living - and they have yet to release a mediocre at worst and average at best product.
5. Again, I appreciate their upfront and honest business model, so I give them my money not only for the products I receive, but because I want them to continue making such awesome products in the future.
As Ashen said in a different thread, Arenanet's policy is still driven by finances, but it does so in a fashion that keeps the player's interest paramount. And thus, as of 2010, they have sold 6.5 million copies of the game alone, not to mention the millions Arenanet has earned through extra items offered in their in-game store.
I believe that adding Free-Form character slots to the C-Store would encourage similar spending by players, as they would no longer feel like Cryptic is punishing them for choosing to play the game for free instead of via subscription.
And now I am going to stop rambling - I apologize for the length of this post, but there has been much discussion behind this topic and I felt it necessary to thoroughly address this subject. Feel free to post your thoughts, but I ask that everyone posting remain civil, polite, courteous, constructive, respectful, and profanity-free. There is no need for anyone to become antagonized or deliberately antagonize someone else, and there is certainly no need for anyone to act rude and jerkish.