That said, every time they charge me $15 I shrug and accept the fact it only costs me 50 cents a day.
And this, my friends, is why corporate greed and political corruption cannot and will never be stopped.
It doesn't matter how blatantly unfair something is, if it trickles down to the individual level in the form of pennies per day, then nothing will ever be done about it. See: The Florida Orange Juice industry. A company that lobbies to keep your orange juice about 30 cents more expensive per gallon in the name of defending about 100,000 jobs.
We're talking about the difference between 50 cents a day and maybe 30 cents a day when it comes to unjust MMO sub rates.
The expansion thing is a different issue, but really what we are talking about is the difference between:
1) Having to give away expansion content just to keep your user base from abandoning you for a superior game or a competitor that is also giving away free content (see: City of Heroes or EVE Online)
2) Having a legion of players built on top of a brand loyalty rivaled only by three or four video game developers in the world that has been building up since the early 90's. Of which a decent percentage may bitch about shelling out 40 bucks on an expansion but will ultimately buy it anyway because there is no true equivalent alternative.
2) Having a legion of players built on top of a brand loyalty rivaled only by three or four video game developers in the world that has been building up since the early 90's. Of which a decent percentage may bitch about shelling out 40 bucks on an expansion but will ultimately buy it anyway because there is no true equivalent alternative.
That last bit applies to me. WoW is the most accessible MMO on the market, and it shows. People try to equate its success to simple brand loyalty or user complacency, but the fact is, there is no other MMO out there doing what WoW is doing (or at least doing it as well as WoW has been). Certainly there are games out there that focus on certain aspects that may outdo blizzard's flagship game (WAR with PvP, FFXI or even LotRO in terms of visuals), but at least for now, WoW does everything just well enough to keep the majority of its userbase happy (or at least happy enough not to leave).
I'll tell you right now, if someone came along and created a Dungeons and Dragons MMO (again), but this time they pretty much just aped everything blizzard did with WoW and slapped a healthy coat of Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance or Ravenloft over it, I'd bail WoW faster than anything.
WoW had the advantage of being essentially the only thing on the market for a long time. Which means that a large portion of the market is chasing sunk costs. It runs on comparatively low-end systems. It's servers are stable and despite the bitching, customer support is pretty good. And it has a really good (if understaffed) dev team working on it.
It's the best product on the market, and it's not close. WAR may give it a run, we'll see.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
hold your head high soldier, it ain't over yet
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
2) Having a legion of players built on top of a brand loyalty rivaled only by three or four video game developers in the world that has been building up since the early 90's. Of which a decent percentage may bitch about shelling out 40 bucks on an expansion but will ultimately buy it anyway because there is no true equivalent alternative.
That last bit applies to me. WoW is the most accessible MMO on the market, and it shows. People try to equate its success to simple brand loyalty or user complacency, but the fact is, there is no other MMO out there doing what WoW is doing (or at least doing it as well as WoW has been)...
I'll tell you right now, if someone came along and created a Dungeons and Dragons MMO (again), but this time they pretty much just aped everything blizzard did with WoW and slapped a healthy coat of Planescape over it, I'd bail WoW faster than anything.
Charus on
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
0
ThomamelasOnly one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered Userregular
I'll tell you right now, if someone came along and created a Dungeons and Dragons MMO (again), but this time they pretty much just aped everything blizzard did with WoW and slapped a healthy coat of Dark Sun over it, I'd bail WoW faster than anything.
Thomamelas on
0
Nova_CI have the needThe need for speedRegistered Userregular
I'll tell you right now, if someone came along and created a Starcraft MMO, but this time they pretty much just aped everything blizzard did with WoW and slapped a healthy coat of holy shit zerg, I'd bail WoW faster than anything.
I find it hard to believe that $200 would cover all of their costs, from vast swathes of hardware, to bandwidth, to staff (from developers to coders to designers to artists to voice talent to GM's to CM's, etc), on top of production costs (which they probably spent the first few months or even year digging themselves out of), to production costs involved with making and shipping those millions and millions of games around teh world, localization costs, and a wide variety of other amounts required to do business at a scale that they do. $40 million a year for all of that, along with whatever extra costs that might creep up now and then (like legal fees for that font battle they had with some company a while back).
I'm no financial expert, but I always assumed that their yearly expenditures would've been much, much higher.
Edit; also remember that over half of those players might be on a different pricing scheme. NA and Euro players pay monthly/quarterly/whatever, but (or so I've heard) many players in the asian market don't pay a monthly fee, but instead have a much higher initial purchase price on the software itself. We (NA/Euro) make up something around 1/2 or less of WoW's playerbase. (About 4.5 million or so, last I heard)
*shrug* I'm not in Beta, and TBC's voice talent is, in my opinion, outstanding. I hope those guys and gals got paid well, because I feel they deserve it.
Forar on
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
So, I think there was some discussion on here about the phasing stuff (like with the death knight starting zone). They've done this on a small scale forever now, mostly with ghosts and whatnot, but I'm noticing they're doing it a lot more in wrath to move story line forward.
For example, I'm in Zul'drak, and
the cat god I just helped a ton apparently is free now, and in the main quest hub giving me more quests.
That's a pretty small one, but also, earlier I was in Storm Peaks, helping out this guy who happens to be some Vykrul king or whatever, and as I progressed,
the storm giants became my friends (I patched up an old fued), and all the chained up wyrms the giants had went away, and a forge moved around, some elite runed giants became corpses, etc etc.
In Dragonblight, I delivered a letter
that, IIRC, told the commander that it was time to attack. Or something. Unfortunately the phasing didn't work quite right there, so everyone vanished instead, haha. :P
I've noticed with wrath quests the stories quests portray tend to be a lot more linear, but also more involved and a lot more mega long. It's kinda neat though, since I feel a lot more like I'm having an effect on the world.
End on
I wish that someway, somehow, that I could save every one of us
On the free vs paid expansion, how big and meaty are eve's free expansions? Are the coparable to WoW's or are they only slightly better than an average content update or two?
So, I think there was some discussion on here about the phasing stuff (like with the death knight starting zone). They've done this on a small scale forever now, mostly with ghosts and whatnot, but I'm noticing they're doing it a lot more in wrath to move story line forward.
For example, I'm in Zul'drak, and
the cat god I just helped a ton apparently is free now, and in the main quest hub giving me more quests.
That's a pretty small one, but also, earlier I was in Storm Peaks, helping out this guy who happens to be some Vykrul king or whatever, and as I progressed,
the storm giants became my friends (I patched up an old fued), and all the chained up wyrms the giants had went away, and a forge moved around, some elite runed giants became corpses, etc etc.
In Dragonblight, I delivered a letter
that, IIRC, told the commander that it was time to attack. Or something. Unfortunately the phasing didn't work quite right there, so everyone vanished instead, haha. :P
I've noticed with wrath quests the stories quests portray tend to be a lot more linear, but also more involved and a lot more mega long. It's kinda neat though, since I feel a lot more like I'm having an effect on the world.
I love the idea of phasing, I was sick as hell of every other quest in outlands ending in "Well you did good, we cant solve this problem entirely but this helped."
Also Katrina Prestor is gone from SW now and all attunments lifted, why it took this long I have no idea.
On the free vs paid expansion, how big and meaty are eve's free expansions? Are the coparable to WoW's or are they only slightly better than an average content update or two?
I'm curious about this as well. I never played EQ, but to hear some of the Vets tell it, Blizzard does (or at least, did) put out free "content patches" that rivaled or surpassed some of the things that Sony used to charge people good money for.
And then the whole patching thing kinda died with TBC, but, y'know... it was valid for a while.
Forar on
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
WoW is the most accessible MMO on the market, and it shows
Limed for "And that's where I am".
(True) limed for lies! (No salmon this time)
I believe this latest subscription of mine is the fourth time I've started up. The only thing I'm doing differently this time is playing less time on average. I'd rather not get burned out in a month...again.
I think they should've just stayed with Arthas' voice. Nerz'hul in the background sounds really goofy, might be nice if he came in and out over a period of 30 seconds, less is more and all that.
I don't actually play with sounds on, though...So I guess I'm part of the reason they don't put their all into those voices.
Beck on
Lucas's Franklin Badge reflected the lightning back!
0
ThomamelasOnly one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered Userregular
edited September 2008
I'm sad about the Ony attunements being gone. First it means no more seeing a massive ass whooping delivered by Bolvar and the hints that she's tied to Van Cleef.
Thomamelas on
0
Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
edited September 2008
It means that the most epic quest in WoW is no more.
Munkus Beaver on
Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
Hopefully they will figure out a way to put the story part of that quest back in, because it was so awesome. Too bad the Horde side didn't have a quest chain that covered pretty much all of Vanilla WoW.
On the free vs paid expansion, how big and meaty are eve's free expansions? Are the coparable to WoW's or are they only slightly better than an average content update or two?
I'm curious about this as well. I never played EQ, but to hear some of the Vets tell it, Blizzard does (or at least, did) put out free "content patches" that rivaled or surpassed some of the things that Sony used to charge people good money for.
Yes, this is true.
I played EQ on and off from launch to Gates of Discord. Patches never added any new content of note - any new content, even crap like Legacy of Ykesha, was part of a paid expansion. Patches addressed bugs, balance issues, and numbers tweaking.
If Blizzard were Sony, patch 2.3 would have been WoW: Fury of the Sunwell and would have come with a $40 sticker price.
Feral on
every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.
There's an overview of what quests to do to get the Ony attunement, right? I've always meant to do it. And if they're getting rid of it, I'd like to do it while I can.
Man. That questline was awesome. I remember doing Ony a couple of times with this PUG group. They were pretty awesome. They had enough manpower to do AQ40 and the newer raids with pretty much random people. Though, one time people were having a "let's see how close we can get to Ony before we aggro her contest". As we were buffing and stuff.
On the free vs paid expansion, how big and meaty are eve's free expansions? Are the coparable to WoW's or are they only slightly better than an average content update or two?
I'm curious about this as well. I never played EQ, but to hear some of the Vets tell it, Blizzard does (or at least, did) put out free "content patches" that rivaled or surpassed some of the things that Sony used to charge people good money for.
And then the whole patching thing kinda died with TBC, but, y'know... it was valid for a while.
EVE's expansions are pretty good, but mostly from a gameplay perspective.
They'll add new ships (often sharing models with older ships, with a few added details and a different colour), new gameplay elements (space stations, player-controlled territory, NPC faction warfare that the player can partake in, and too manyother things to describe here without creating a wall of text) every 6 months or so. Sometimes they'll add new dimensions to gameplay, further complicating the game, and only once have they actually expanded the physical world by adding new space. Each one is roughly comparable in size to the Sunwell content update or the introduction of dailies, but are different in every other respect.
Euphoriac on
0
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
edited September 2008
So am I understanding this properly that the Missing Diplomat questline won't be around anymore too? I never did the Onyxia stuff, but I'm assuming they're connected.
It'll really be a shame that they're taking the quest out before it was ever finished. I remember being really disappointed when there was never a resolution to it, and being excited when it would come up that they were thinking about finishing the chain.
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
hold your head high soldier, it ain't over yet
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
I'm wondering if I should bother doing a pre-order or just walk in to 7-11, wal-mart, best buy, target or any other place around here that morning and pick it up?
I mean, will it sell out that fast?
Starfuck on
jackfaces
"If you're going to play tiddly winks, play it with man hole covers."
- John McCallum
I'm wondering if I should bother doing a pre-order or just walk in to 7-11, wal-mart, best buy, target or any other place around here that morning and pick it up?
I mean, will it sell out that fast?
I think you should buy it at 7-11, and tell us what it's like.
I'm wondering if I should bother doing a pre-order or just walk in to 7-11, wal-mart, best buy, target or any other place around here that morning and pick it up?
I mean, will it sell out that fast?
I think you should buy it at 7-11, and tell us what it's like.
Posts
Edit: And Beta Dudes, we should get some Alliance Molten Coreing or Blackwing Lairening going on tonight on Murmur.
And this, my friends, is why corporate greed and political corruption cannot and will never be stopped.
It doesn't matter how blatantly unfair something is, if it trickles down to the individual level in the form of pennies per day, then nothing will ever be done about it. See: The Florida Orange Juice industry. A company that lobbies to keep your orange juice about 30 cents more expensive per gallon in the name of defending about 100,000 jobs.
We're talking about the difference between 50 cents a day and maybe 30 cents a day when it comes to unjust MMO sub rates.
The expansion thing is a different issue, but really what we are talking about is the difference between:
1) Having to give away expansion content just to keep your user base from abandoning you for a superior game or a competitor that is also giving away free content (see: City of Heroes or EVE Online)
2) Having a legion of players built on top of a brand loyalty rivaled only by three or four video game developers in the world that has been building up since the early 90's. Of which a decent percentage may bitch about shelling out 40 bucks on an expansion but will ultimately buy it anyway because there is no true equivalent alternative.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I have no idea either. I just jump in and out when it suits me.
Edit: Actually, I think it started with something about preorders...
I'll tell you right now, if someone came along and created a Dungeons and Dragons MMO (again), but this time they pretty much just aped everything blizzard did with WoW and slapped a healthy coat of Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance or Ravenloft over it, I'd bail WoW faster than anything.
It's the best product on the market, and it's not close. WAR may give it a run, we'll see.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
Limed for "And that's where I am".
Fix'd.
Wait......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CftvOicLD-4
I was hoping to find the video of arthas from the DK quest to take out lights hope, but this one isnt much better
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4i3WrEcjSE
4:40 for the attack on SW and Orgrimmar from Arthas.
to say it short, the voice of Arthas is crap, and the voices of most of the game are cringe worthy.
For example, I'm in Zul'drak, and
That's a pretty small one, but also, earlier I was in Storm Peaks, helping out this guy who happens to be some Vykrul king or whatever, and as I progressed,
In Dragonblight, I delivered a letter
I've noticed with wrath quests the stories quests portray tend to be a lot more linear, but also more involved and a lot more mega long. It's kinda neat though, since I feel a lot more like I'm having an effect on the world.
I love the idea of phasing, I was sick as hell of every other quest in outlands ending in "Well you did good, we cant solve this problem entirely but this helped."
Also Katrina Prestor is gone from SW now and all attunments lifted, why it took this long I have no idea.
I'm curious about this as well. I never played EQ, but to hear some of the Vets tell it, Blizzard does (or at least, did) put out free "content patches" that rivaled or surpassed some of the things that Sony used to charge people good money for.
And then the whole patching thing kinda died with TBC, but, y'know... it was valid for a while.
I believe this latest subscription of mine is the fourth time I've started up. The only thing I'm doing differently this time is playing less time on average. I'd rather not get burned out in a month...again.
I don't actually play with sounds on, though...So I guess I'm part of the reason they don't put their all into those voices.
Hopefully they will figure out a way to put the story part of that quest back in, because it was so awesome. Too bad the Horde side didn't have a quest chain that covered pretty much all of Vanilla WoW.
Yes, this is true.
I played EQ on and off from launch to Gates of Discord. Patches never added any new content of note - any new content, even crap like Legacy of Ykesha, was part of a paid expansion. Patches addressed bugs, balance issues, and numbers tweaking.
If Blizzard were Sony, patch 2.3 would have been WoW: Fury of the Sunwell and would have come with a $40 sticker price.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
EVE's expansions are pretty good, but mostly from a gameplay perspective.
They'll add new ships (often sharing models with older ships, with a few added details and a different colour), new gameplay elements (space stations, player-controlled territory, NPC faction warfare that the player can partake in, and too manyother things to describe here without creating a wall of text) every 6 months or so. Sometimes they'll add new dimensions to gameplay, further complicating the game, and only once have they actually expanded the physical world by adding new space. Each one is roughly comparable in size to the Sunwell content update or the introduction of dailies, but are different in every other respect.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
At the very end, before it abruptly ends, I think they tell you its the king. Or it's indicated in a note you weren't "supposed to" read. Or something
Steam: YOU FACE JARAXXUS| Twitch.tv: CainLoveless
I mean, will it sell out that fast?
"If you're going to play tiddly winks, play it with man hole covers."
- John McCallum
I think you should buy it at 7-11, and tell us what it's like.
Get it to go with your blowbo.