Wednesday, February 19, 2014

$60 For A Level 90?

The hot topic of the week is the cost of the level 90 boost.  It was noticed yesterday on the US server that the option to buy them was there for $60 per boost but the servers went back down to continue maintenance and when they came back the option to boost a 90 was gone.

It is not like there was some mistake here.  Logic dictates that they should not sell 90s until they start taking preorders for warlords which come with the free 90.  The reason for that is because people would end up buying multiple preorders just to get more free 90s, so blizzard might as well sell them at that point.  So there was really no surprise that we only had a quick glimpse of purchasable 90s and they quickly disappeared.

Have no fear if you wanted to buy one, they will be back shortly being the beta is going to be announced shortly, as in extremely shortly, as in you can hold your breath, it will be that soon, and with that announced and out of the way the preorder date will most likely follow and so will our option to buy a level 90 for $60.

So the questions come now and the one that is first and foremost before any others concerning the topic is, what do you think of $60 as the purchase cost?

I think it is dead on and a perfect price.  I honestly was expecting it to be higher. I thought it would be in the $80 range maybe even as high as $100 but I knew they could not really justify 100, I was thinking they might just try it at a higher number.

When I would tell people I was expecting it to be in the $80 to S100 range they said I was crazy but, of course, I disagreed.  My reasoning for why I figured it might be as high as $100 was sound, from a business standpoint.  When warlords comes out you can expect all the previous expansions to be bundled together in a $20 gift pack.  The new expansion will most likely be at least $40 for the non collectors edition.  This means you will need to pay $60 to get yourself the "free" level 90 boost. 

I figured, when making my guess, that people that wanted to buy 90s would buy a full game, which is a $60 cost to get the "free" 90 and then pay an additional $25 to transfer it from that account to their main account instead of paying to keep the additional account active.  This would put the cost of the "free" 90 at $85.  So that is why I figured it would be as low as $80, so it would be cheaper than buying a full new set and transferring the character.  I figured the high end might be $100 because they would know that people might be willing to pay a tiny bit extra, as in $15 more, to not have to deal with the hassle of buying a whole new game set and transferring a character.  So when I guessed $80 to $100 my reasoning was extremely logically and if it were priced in that range no one could really complain because that is why it would cost for a "free" one anyway.

However, we are seeing the forums light up with people barking about the price saying it is out of line, saying it is too much, saying that they pay a subscription so it should be free, saying all types of things that attempt to prove their point that it should not be $60.  If anything when you look at how I explained it I showed without a shadow of a doubt that $60 is in fact quite reasonable.  It is only the cost of buying the game for the "free" 90 and not having to pay for the server transfer.

I think $60 is an excellent price, less than I expected, and a good deal over what it would have cost if they did not offer the option to buy 90s and people just went the other way to keep getting "free" 90s whenever they wanted one.  At a price of $60 blizzard is basically giving people are $25 discount and making peoples lives easier if they were intending to buy a few.

So why are people complaining?  If I were left to guess I would say it could fall into one or more of a few categories. 

Entitlement:  One thing that this generation is known for is that it wants everything handed to them on a silver patter.  We have talked about this before in the game.  Everyone thinks they deserve everything handed to them.  So it is their feeling of entitlement that makes them believe they should not have to pay for something like a level 90 boost.  I would not be surprised if a fair deal of players you see complaining right now fit neatly into this category.

Affordability: The $60 number is not exactly something to sneeze at.  It is a fair deal of cash to part with and even more so if you are out of work, or a student, or a parent with a few kids because you know how that sucks every last free cent from your wallet.  There are many people in many different financial situations and for a fair portion of them $60 for just one level 90 seems like a hell of a lot and I can not disagree with that.  It sure could be.

I can understand people who say they can not afford it but not being able to afford it is not a solid argument against blizzard for selling them for $60.  I don't go around blasting the electronics store because I can not afford that new 108 inch TV that goes for 10 thousand dollars.  Just because you can not afford something does not mean it is over priced, it just means it is not something that is meant for you.  Although I would love that TV in my living room, I am just not in the position where I can throw away ten grand on a television.  It just isn't for me so I will not buy it, but I won't complain about it.  Not being able to afford something is not a good stand point to argue that something costs too much.

Cheapskate:  I feel this might fit a fair deal of players as well.   People who can afford it but just don't want to pay that much.  Everyone wants a deal and even the people that would pay $60 for it would rather pay $40 for it.  There is no denying that fact.  Cheaper is better.  I've seen a lot of people post in various places saying "I can afford it but I would never pay that much" and to them I would say, so don't pay it.  It really is that simple.  The person that can't afford it might have a right to be upset because they would have liked to take advantage of it and can't but when you can afford it and refuse to buy it, you have made your choice and will speak with your wallet by not buying it.  Making that choice and choosing not to buy it is how you can complain.  You have the ability to use the service, you choose not to.  You have a choice, enjoy that fact because there are many that do not have that choice.  Yes, we all would like cheaper prices but the price is not out of line so you are just being a cheapskate if you ever use the line "I can afford it and I want to buy it but I would never pay that much".  If you want to buy it and you can afford it, just buy it.

While we all have the right to complain about things we do not like such as the pricing of the level 90 boost there are times we just have to accept the facts, even more so when they are as plain as the nose on your face which is the case here.  So complain all you want.  I will, I like to complain, I live for it and enjoy doing it, but in this case as odd as it might sound coming from me, blizzard is doing a good thing by their customers.

I'll explain what I mean by blizzard doing a good thing by their customers by pricing it at $60 because I am sure many people will not see it that way.

Blizzard is saving us money.  As I mentioned above, if you wanted an additional "free" 90 it would cost you $85 to get it.  So they are actually saving us money by offering us the ability to purchase one for $60.

Blizzard is making it user friendly.  While me, you and anyone else that reads here might be smart enough to realize that we could buy another copy of the game and get another "free" 90 and transfer it over a vast majority of the player base this does not appear as obvious to.  They might never realize they could get additional 90s by doing that.  This just makes it easier for those people that did not even notice they could do that.

So have fun complaining, we are all entitled too, but in this case I'll say I think $60 is an extremely fair price and quite honestly I am surprised they were reasonable about it.  I was really expecting $80 to $100, which in turn, would have made me complain too.  I would have complained it would be cheaper to buy a new copy of the game and that is exactly why it is not $100.

So I'll end with asking people, now that we know the price, will you take advantage of it?

I don't think I will even if I can afford it, I kind of like leveling so I will keep doing what I enjoy, leveling.  If I find myself "needing" a quick 90 on a server I would go for it because $60 is not really a lot of money and it would save me a little time and I do not mind paying for a little convenience.

However, if the professions being maxed is included for all characters that use the boost that are level 60 or higher already I will be taking advantage of that.  Without a doubt.  I like leveling but professions can sometimes be a bitch, so my new way of playing would be level to 60, boost to 90, continue along.  Leveling to 60 is very fast anyway and sometimes keeping up with professions can be a bitch so I would gladly pay that $60 to skip the last 30 levels and have the professions of my choice maxed out.

If the boost to 90 was included in yesterdays release with the profession boost as well I would have had at least 5 new 90s as of yesterday by boosting a few characters I have sitting in the 60s now with their professions falling behind. Not because I want to skip the leveling process and get to 90 fast, but because of the boost to professions.  To me that is worth more than the boost to 90.

For the average player out there you have to think what is worth more to you, your time or your money.  Do you enjoy leveling or is it just an inconvenience?  When you consider those things you will see if it is worth paying for the boost to 90 but if you do it or not you can be secure in the fact that $60 is in fact a very reasonable price from a logical business stand point and at the end of the day, even if this is a game, blizzard is a business.

41 comments:

  1. I get all the math that says $60 for a boost is less than paying a new account + 2 months to get the "free" boost + transfer, but this math strikes me as being HIGHLY beside the point.

    In the end, $60 is the same as the cost of an entire AAA game title. Yet we are talking about just one damn level 90 in this game! Is one more max-level char with no gear really worth as much as an entire game from another producer??! Really? I mean sure, there's always these excuses that "it is worth it for some" and also "if it isn't worth it for you, don't buy it", but come on, do you really not see how cocky of a price that is compared to other games? (If you think $60 is fine, hey, why not $600? All the same arguments of "if it isn't worth it for you, don't buy it" still apply. Yet it would be undoubtedly greedy and cocky. Well, same with $60.)

    Blizzard are living in their own universe. The ludicrous price on a stupid in-game service that gives you, gasp, a prototype of a character, is just the last reflection of that. Their living in their own universe and being too cocky to check what's going on in the rest of the world is going to be their ultimate downfall.

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    1. The math is the only point. $85 for a "free" 90 or $60 for a paid one. It is a good deal.

      You can not compare and say but another game is $60 for the entire game because you have the entire game without having that extra 90. That extra 90 is not needed in any way, shape, or form. It is not like you need it to play the game. You can play the game just fine without it. So you can no compare the price of a 90 to the price of a game. One is a convenience, the other is a game. Two completely different things.

      And I do believe in the if you don't like it don't but it approach. If it were $600 I would not even think of buying it, even if I had a billion dollars burning a hole in my pocket. I would buy the game and transfer the character for $85. I would not waste money buying a $600 one. So I would not like it and as such I would not buy it. That is a perfectly valid argument. I do not think the 108 inch TV is worth ten grand either and while the fact is I can afford it, I did not even think for one second to buy it. I just said hell no when I saw the price and moved on. If it was three grand it would be hanging on my living room wall right now. In everything in life the "don't like it don't buy it" approach works. It is not just something said here.

      The price is not ludicrous, not even close to that. It is their game, it is their product, and they can set the price at whatever they choose to. Being it is completely in line with other products and services they already offer that makes the pricing "fair market value", not ludicrous. Your $600 example would be ludicrous because there is no precedent for it. But $60 is completely reasonable.

      Would I have rather see it at $20 when I buy one? Sure. But I am not going to say they are wrong to charge $60 because I think it is out of the price range of a lot of people. It is a reasonable price, like it or not.

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    2. Wait a second, really? A Billion? and not just if you had a billion dollars, but you had a billion dollars burning a hole in your pocket, as in you must have way more than that to feel the need to spend the billion, you still wouldn't pay a measly 600 bones for a free 90? A Billion dollars??

      :-P

      ~Delirium

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    3. I am not saying I have that. lol I am saying if I did I still would not waste it on a $600 service I could get for $85.

      The idea is $60 is a discount from the $85 it will cost otherwise if the service did not exist.

      If someone would waste $600 on something they could get for $85 he wouldn't have ever become a billionaire to begin with because that would be proof they are not good with their money. ;)

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    4. It only seems like a good deal because Blizzard's character services and store items are all too expensive. They might seem reasonable if they were all cut in half.

      The only time I ever pay for any of their services are when they have 50% off sales, because I'll never pay the full prices.

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    5. Most people have been saying the services should be reduced for a long time. I even think that server transfers should be one a month for free like rift does. But even if their services are out of line this is in line with their other things that are out of line, if you catch my drift.

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  2. I wasn't in favor of paid 90s to begin with but I was called selfish for wanting to deny others the right to buy their 90s if they wanted. I still don't think it's a good idea but that thinking is really a moot point now.

    I don't really care anymore. I have no need to use it, nor desire and frankly it's out of temptation range even.

    I already have at least one 90 of every class already and am still undecided on if/how to use the free boost, much less any further ones.

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    1. I was the same as you. Against it but basically was being selfish.

      I would use it to make more hunters. :)

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  3. I love the price. It's cheap enough that if I really want one, I can skip a bottle or two of wine this month and get one. But it's expensive enough that I (and probably most people) won't. I'd really like to think that blizz isn't doing this purely to make money, and they're at least a little bit thinking about what it will do to the game. And while I don't think boosted level 90s will ruin the game, I don't think it's a great idea to have everyone fill all 50 slots the day it releases. Or even fill 2 or 3.

    I feel like I know my hunter in and out. But my DK, or my Druid? nope. And I levelled them all the way up. Especially my druid, I'm a pretty decent boomkin, and an above average healer, but I haven't even started learning the ins and outs of kitty or bear. There's sooo much to learn about any class. And while I might have this desire to have as many 90s as I can, I don't think it will make me want to play more, or make my play time more enjoyable. And I'd like to think that Blizz is recognizing this.

    I would have though $40 was going to be the price, which is still a little steep, but pretty imaginable. And I think it's probably good that it costs more than I was expecting.

    ~Delirium

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    1. oh, also, in /g yesterday several people commented that they wish they were allowed to level for people, that they'd be happy to level a character to 90 for someone else for some gold, if there was a way within the tos to do so.

      I had never considered that. I'm not a big fan of questing. Not because I don't like the quests or killing mobs and progressing, that part is fun, and I'm always happy to try to get through a troublesome area, or take on an elite mob, but I hate the amount of time that it takes running back and forth for no real reason. That's when I feel like I'm wasting time.

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    2. I think the same. It is reasonable enough that I can buy it, but not so high that I would really question myself buying it. It is also not so low that people will end up with full accounts with all 90s and get bored fast, which could be a valid concern from a business standpoint.

      While you say it costs a little more than you expected it costs a little less than I did.

      While talking about it in guild someone else said the same thing. They would level for people for half that price or for gold.

      The running back and forth is what I hate most about questing too. I love to level but hate the running. I dread those first 20 levels. Even a slow mount is awesome.

      Remember, questing and the world were designed in a world when wasting time was actually considered content. The world has changed, the games just have not caught up to the times. Faster travel between objectives would really make leveling a lot more enjoyable, or even less annoying, for many people. I am sure of it.

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    3. "Remember, questing and the world were designed in a world when wasting time was actually considered content." I was actually a little worried to mention it, because it seems so common for the old timers to lay in with "back in my day you couldn't mount until...". I don't understand at all how that could be enjoyable.

      It's especially bad if it's an area where you don't quest often (for example, I'm finally, for the first time levelling a horde, where I don't know any quests) and you gather up a bunch of quests, run across the zone, start doing everything, run back, turn everything in and realize you missed picking up one quest, which is of course the furthest away, and the only one you actually needed to unlock the next zone.

      Maybe that's just me...

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    4. It was fun, the first time doing it. When I leveled my first character I needed to get to 40 to ride. Once I was riding I never wanted to walk again. It might have been fun when it was all new and seeing everything the first time was awesome. Do not get me wrong, it was awesome and I loved it and I did not mind walking. But walking the second time, not so much, walking the third time, hell no, walking after that, I freaking hate this.

      You know how many times I got completely lost or could not find the path to the next zone and I had to walk around to figure it out. I could not even count how many times that happened or something similar. It was frustrating. It is why I supported the lowering to 30, and then to 20 and would support it being lowered to 10 even.

      It is not me having rose tinted glasses saying I did love it the first time around because I did. It is part of what made me fall in love with the game. But I realize that each time thereafter it was just wasting time running back and forth. It was, for lack of a better description, how they made content last longer. Take you forever to cover the land you need to to do it.

      It is not just you. Anyone who says that they loved it might be telling the truth, like me, but anyone that says they still loved wasting time traveling over and over I question their sanity.

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  4. I think I've been playing too many f2p games lately. I'm not just questioning the price point for a level 90 boost, I'm questing the whole reason for a subscription.

    With Warcraft we pay for the game, we pay for the expansions and then we pay for access to it. Then they have the cash shop for convenience/vanity on top of that. Any decent f2p gives you the game for free, content updates for free, access is of course free. The cash shop for convenience/vanity is how they make their money.

    So I would say $60 was perfectly reasonable if Warcraft was a f2p game. As it isn't, well I sort of do think that they might be trying to have it both ways. Hell having it both ways is working brilliantly for them. People might be up in arms about the boost being $60 but many will still pay for it. There was the same controversy when they had the first store mount, yet it was hard to get one at first, they had to implement a queued system, as so many people bought it the system couldn't process it all.

    The thing is we're trapped in a way. We've made an investment in the game, if we stop paying, then we lose access to everything we've paid for, paid for both in time and in money. We lose access to guilds, to friends, so whether the game is worth paying for or not, we have to pay or it's gone. Sure we can resub a few months later, and our characters will still be there, but our guilds will have moved on. With a f2p game, I can pay when the game is worth it, and not pay when it isn't. I actually do this with swtor, it might be f2p but I still sub in for a month here and there.

    I know I've taken this comment a bit off topic but I read your response to the first comment, and I thought it should be said. I'm 99% sure you won't agree with me, but I thought I'd explain where I was coming from, before I said that $60 for a level 90 is crazy money. Crazy money on top of a box price and a sub, that is. I get that it's optional but I still think it's nuts.

    It's all automated, they've been creating pre-made max level on the ptr for a long time. It would have been better to have priced it the same as the rest of the character services, in my opinion. But then, why would they? They can have it both ways as so long as people will pay it, then they have nothing to lose. Like I said, for everyone that's going "ahh too much money" they'll probably buy one anyone. Blizz knows this and it's good business sense, I can't fault them for it.

    However, I won't be buying one. That might be disillusionment talking. I do remember when I bought the new store things the second they came out, I've server transferred a good half dozen characters, ran 3 RaF accounts. Pre-ordered the expansion the day it was announced, money in their account rather than mine for months in advance. I've given blizz a lot of money on top of my sub, and I don't regret it, but the spigot is closed. They need to earn it first. Right now, they really aren't.

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    1. Subscription based games are on their way out. It is amazing warcraft still has as many players as they have with it. No new game would ever be able to do it now in todays world.

      I play a fair deal of f2p games as well. They are all p2w really. And none sell a max level character and the ones that even sell little things that will help you sell them for 100s of dollars, not cents, dollars. One f2p game I play asks for 120 per piece of gear that isn't even max level. So using them to compare to warcraft shows even more so how well priced it is.

      I do not disagree with you at all really. I kind of feel the same. I did not buy the new mount that came out. I just don't see it as worth it any longer. I am not going to waste money on the game I do not think is worth it. I used to buy pets and mounts on ebay from the card game, don't any longer. I don't waste money any longer because I do not feel it is worth it.

      However, I always looked at games this way. If I get 1 hour per dollar of play time I enjoy, it is worth it.

      So if I make a new hunter on a friends server and raid with him a bit and play there, as long as I play that character for 60 hours I would consider it money well spent.

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    2. If they do actually price it at $60 then $60 is the right price, it isn't too high, it isn't too low.

      They've done surveys, they'll have done market research, and they'll have determined that the amount of money they make from instant 90s will be higher by pricing it at $60 than at $40 or $80. So, regardless of any other factor (subscriptions, F2P competition, whether any particular person or thousands of people), that's the right price for them to price it at. I always find it a bit strange when consumers of a product discuss the pricing of the product. It wasn't that long ago that Apple was crazy for pricing their products higher than anyone else... turned out there was a market, a significant one, for THEIR products at THOSE prices and as a result Apple has done very well for themselves. They didn't chase 100% of the market, they chased their 10% and in the process, they picked up more than that due to their success. Blizzard has managed to do something similar with WoW.

      Blizzard is doing the same thing here, they aren't expecting and they don't need everyone to pay $60 for instant 90s. They just need enough to do it for the $60 price to make more sense than other price options. Those who can't/won't pay the $60 aren't losing a single thing compared to what they have now... they can still level a toon to 90 and far as I'm aware that process won't be any more difficult in the future.

      People who want a 90 now and think $60 is fine will pay it. Those who want a 90 now but won't pay $60 will be disappointed. Those who want a 90 at some point and are willing to pay $60 will have a decision to make. Those who want a 90 at some point and won't pay $60 will just level a toon as always.

      Sub in $5 or $20 or $100 for $60 in those and nothing changes, all that changes is that you or I, personally, might move from one category to another. That you or any one person (and the hundreds of thousands of players who will agree are all individual people) finds themselves in the "not paying $60" category doesn't mean that $60 is too expensive, it just means that you won't be buying them, you'll be leveling toons... or not... same as today.

      (and yeah, I realize that "nothing that anyone thinks matters" isn't really a good argument for fostering blog discussions but I honestly think it's the case here... whatever the price is, it'll be too high to some, just right to others and too low to the rest and either someone will end up buying it or they won't)

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    3. $60 does seem like a fair price to me. It is cheaper than it would cost to get the "free" 90 and it is more expensive than a number that might make people feel like they have to use the service.

      I do not own any apple products. Their quality does not warrant their price. Perhaps if they were cheaper I would buy them. But see, that is how it works, I speak with my wallet, others are willing to spend, they spend more than I do not spend, so the price stays where it is. Just because I do not buy their product because I deem it too expensive does not mean it actually is too expensive. People need to learn the difference.

      "nothing that anyone thinks matters" actually is a good talking matter because of the fact that it is true. I can love it, someone else can hate it, another person can think it should be more. But in the end, none of what any of us say matters, blizzard will sell it at the price they want to.

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  5. "For the average player out there you have to think what is worth more to you, your time or your money. Do you enjoy leveling or is it just an inconvenience? When you consider those things you will see if it is worth paying for the boost to 90 but if you do it or not you can be secure in the fact that $60 is in fact a very reasonable price from a logical business stand point and at the end of the day, even if this is a game, blizzard is a business."

    Yup.

    (sorry, blew most of my detailed argument in the response above so not much more to say :) )

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    1. I laughed reading the simple Yup.

      We can discuss what we feel about the pricing, but nothing we say will change their minds. I am sure, as you mentioned, they did the research and thought it out logically like I mentioned and figured that $60 is indeed the perfect price. Just so happens that I actually agree with blizzard this time. Scary, isn't it?

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  6. First off, I am excited to see that the instant 90 will be 'that much'. It shouldn't be something that someone steps lightly into, just so they can try out another class..

    I see the paid 90 as filling two specific needs in the game and it's all about bringing back more players. For example, my guildie who shut down his account, would like to get back into the game with WoD. He has a few toons, but wants to start raiding DPS instead of healing. Test drive the class through the starting area to see if you enjoy the mechanics, then pop-instant 90. Avoid about 20 hours of grinding through quests in under populated zones. Northrend and the multiple 'group suggested' quests would be painful.. This both helps the player wanting to raid TOMORROW as a completely different class, and takes a cut out of the illegal pay-to-level services. (sort of like how the Cinder kitten pet was going to take cash out of the gold farmers pockets).

    With regards to F2P, these games have a niche, but IMHO, they don't compete with WoW. The game is not free for the developer to host, so they must be making their server costs, internet access, recouping development costs somehow. This could be through micro-transactions, in-game gear upgrades, advertising, etc.. If they aren't, they are going to last. I am personally happy that WoW doesn't have a banner of ad's floating around the outside of my game browser. I like that the only upgrades in the in-game store are cosmetic. I am excited that PVP isn't corrupted by people able to buy that epic legendary ilevel 640 item on some ingame store.

    90 levels is a lot of content. It's daunting if you don't like running quests (like myself). If you are bored with your max level characters, you'll likely simply drop your subscription (as many have done) and look for something different. If given the opportunity of an instant 90, even at $60-$100, it might keep a seasoned player in game and at that cost commitment, longer than if it was less. "I've just paid $60 for this paladin, I better get my moneys worth.."

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    1. Good point. Making it cost a larger amount would mean people would really need to think about it before buying instead of just buying it on a whim. Thanks for bringing that one up.

      I have a few friends (ironically the ones that got me to start playing) that quit back in late BC and early wrath that when I told them about this said they might come back for WoD being they do not have to play catch up and can be ready for the new expansion with their main as soon as they log in. It could be a great vehicle for bringing old players back. In my opinion, that is more their intention that any other one.

      I agree with the daunting task of 90 levels, soon to be 100. I have often said it is probably one of the turn offs for new players. They see this huge road ahead of them and decide to just not even start it. If I was a new player first starting in WoD I would surely buy 90s instead of leveling. No doubt about that. Having to catch up 90 levels just does not look that appealing when looking from the outside in.

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  7. Anon, Grumpy's former GL:

    Not really fond of the idea of someone skipping out on the leveling process with an instant 90. Will it be as bad for the game as the LFx system? Probably not, but I think it another sign that WoW is on the downhill side of the bell curve of success.

    So an instant 90 I assume won't actually break the game, but I suspect a lot of the newly made 90s are going to be ghettoized by the /trade and LFR groups and other social stigma. That will pass with the passage of time and as some of the new 90s actually learn how to play their class. Most will never learn to really be good with the new class but then again most never learn to be good with the old ones that they leveled so I guess that makes little difference.

    As regards the price, who much cares? The free 90 per account is one more than I need to use I suspect. I certainly would not pay $20 for a free 90, much less the asking price.

    I will have two free 90s once I buy the two expansions I need for my two accounts. Will I use them? Maybe or maybe not. Just not really sure that I would enjoy that. If I were raiding again and needed to say suddenly to be a shaman healer, yea, for the guild I might take advantage of it and get the free 90 but otherwise, I would be cutting out the things I do still enjoy about WoW, i.e. leveling and being out in the game world.

    I already am going to have to pay for a guild name change times two once the servers are settled down and it is know which are associated with which. (I inherited one guild and was given the other, and I despise the silly names they were saddled with, but the benefits of having a private guild are to great to ignore compared to the stupid names.) I find that a silly thing to have to pay for, but them's the rules so that is how I have to pay to play. Paying for a level 90 character just is not sensible to me, so that is a way I won't be paying to play whether it is less than $60 or greater.

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    1. People are already starting up threads about "kick all the instant 90s" and you know someone will make an addon to check to see who got all the leveling achievements on the same day to tell who has an instant 90.

      When the cap is raised having an instant 90 will not be a bad thing, it lets anyone jump right into the current game. They gave up on making anything below level cap useful a long time ago.

      I could see myself getting another instant 90 hunter because it allows me to have another one I am decent at ready to raid faster. But kicking me because I have an instant hunter would be wrong, doesn't the fact I already have 3 that cleared current content afford me the right to skip it on my 4th? So yeah, I see a lot of community drama with the instant 90s.

      I believe that blizzard is milking everything they can out of the game because it is going free to play, so they are trying to get everything they can now. I wrote a long time ago I saw the tell tale signs free to play was coming. I wrote a long time ago that we would be buying leveled characters soon. I wrote a long time ago that we would see gear for sale soon. Some came true, the rest is on its way, mark my words. I have not been wrong thus far. It is just happening a little faster than I expected.

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  8. I disagree with the maths, especially if you don't account for the character transfer back to you main account, that is not required to get to the outcome.

    If you want to get a 90 boost (via game bundle + WoD xpact), its $60. And with that $60 you get more "stuff" than the straight paid boost.

    * you get game time
    * you get an additional game license
    * you get media, game boxes & other packaging.

    All that stuff has a value - I don't believe its accurate to not associate a value with that stuff. Some of it we can put real dollar value to (game time) and others are a bit arbitrary (packaging).

    but it needs to be accounted for, otherwise its not apples vs. apples

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    1. If you do not pay for the character transfer you need to pay a monthly sub fee to keep that account open to keep using it, so it would cost even more.

      * game time is useless, you will be transferring the character unless you intend to keep paying for that account which will increase the cost.
      * An additional game license that only means anything if you intend to use it, which once again would mean additional cost to keep it active.
      * Media, boses and other packaging you already have? How is that a plus?

      All that stuff has no value what so ever except for the value of making you pay an aditional 15 a month if you want to keep it active and use that character. It would be an additional added expense.

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  9. Hold on to your butt we are going to agree twice in two days! This is unprecedented! I completely agree that 60.0 is a reasonable price and I agree with you on how they got to that price point. As always I have a big BUT if I was a shareholder of blizzard I would be extremely disappointed with this price point. I think it shows a continued cluelessness about game store shops (see the truly awful price point of the in game helms) I think Blizzard prices things too high because they don’t really “get it” they’ve been kind of isolated in Wow with their experience other games can’t operate like WoW and that concerns me because of Blizzards history of learning the wrong thing from their experiences.
    What I would want as a shareholder is a price point that capitalizes on the impulse buy that more game shops work off of. 60.00 is too much to be an impulse by and is too easy to compare to other things you can get for 60.00. (see PVP annons first post its super easy to compare 60 dollars to another game or even a fancy dinner) I’ve seen your arguments that they are pricing it high t discourage impulse buying I think that’s giving blizzard to much credit for multidimensional chess. I think there’s ample evidence to point to now they just don’t understand how to use their store and power to get good profits.
    All that being said as a player I think 60.00 is right because it will limit people buying them on a whim. I just worry that were going to see continues clueless pricing from them in the ingame store (again see the stupid helms)

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    1. We are on a streak Tiggi, i am going to have to work hard to get you to disagree again tomorrow. :P

      I agree $60 is way too much for impulse buys, maybe a few here and there but not even a fraction of what you might see with a $20 or even $30 price tag.

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  10. Do ye kno' how that wee Grand Canyon came a'boot? Why, me penny droop dow' a gopher hole! Nae way pay $60.

    -roo

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    1. It is a little pricey for most people, I do agree.

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  11. It's expensive. I can go to the movies with my honey baby about 4 times and watch some new 3d thingie for that. And I can still get characters leveled. So I don't think it's worth it.

    I don't really understand who are they targeting though. But to each their own I suppose.

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    1. Like I said I can see using it as a way to skip leveling professions more than leveling a character. I would be more likely to use it to boost a level 60, because you get professions increased as well, with two professions like engineering and leather working, just to not have to deal with leveling the professions. I like leveling. But then again. I am not the average player. I would not be surprised if the average player would gladly pay $60 to skip the leveling process.

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  12. Ppl who are fed up with the bad tank/dp/heal. "Just gonna get myself the class". :D

    Seeing all the negativ comments/no-saying.
    I am happy with it.
    It should not be a thing ppl will/can buy easily.


    In the end. It will still sell for tons. ^^

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    1. That is anther reason I think $60 is fair. It is too high to just buy at a whim, but not so high that if you really wanted it it would bankrupt you.

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    2. that I agree - but you know there are folks who have no common sense and probably aer at tehir limit on their credit cards, who will buy several to grief with. :D

      Oh damn, I forgot what I was going to ask. oh yeah - hold on...

      are they going to increase the amount from 11 to 12 that a person can have on one server????

      And was something done to "Stampede" a couple of patches ago? Something good?

      and incase you are wondering, yes, I am having "one of those" moments. waiting for the valium to kick in.

      -roo "the boom king"
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-sawvtJxDI

      People in the room doing Boom like it's never been done
      Bust a move it's just the kick of a gun
      In the Marquee in the bass is Booming
      Someone's smoking Boom in da back of da room
      And it's the first day of spring, the flowers are blooming
      Drum Boom bass and the party is Booming
      Boom ba Boom like a rocket taking off to da moon
      Boom Boom go the bride and groom ahh

      See ya shaking that Boom Boom
      Who?
      See ya looking at my Boom Boom
      What?
      You want some Boom Boom
      It's clear it's Boom some Boom Boom ahh
      Let me buy you a Boom Boom

      When?
      You order a fancy Boom
      Who?
      You like Boom, I like Boom
      Enough small Boom lets Boom the Boom ahh

      So we're driving in a Boom Boom
      Driving, back to your Boom ba Boom
      And you turn out the Boom Boom
      And we Boom Boom Boom 'til the break of Boom
      My boom is ringing it's Big-Booms-Boom
      Back from ten years in the Boom
      And they said he got his Boom chopped off in the Boom
      But the crazy Boom still wants to Boom, well
      Sorry girl, I gotsta Boom
      Give you a Boom in the afternoon and
      Boom Boom baby, don't forget you the most Boom Boom I ever met.
      A Boom Boom

      Who's the Boom King?
      Who's the Boom King?

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    3. There will always be people that have no impulse control, people that over spend, people that make bad decisions. That will be their fault. Blizzard can not design with them in mind, they have to design for the common sense approach even if there is nothing common about common sense.

      Nope, 11 per server, so you can have one of each class. If they make a 12th class, we will get a 12th slot.

      Yes, they did what I called for them to do at the beginning of the expansion. Remember when I said just make stampede hit for less in PvP and leave it alone in PvE? Well they nerfed it, nerfed it and nerfed it again. Then finally they realized that if they nerfed it for PvP only they can leave it as strong in PvE. It took them over a year to fix a problem that I fixed the second it was mentioned. And they are the ones that make billions? What is wrong with this picture?

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  13. You actually said 60-80 in response to my comment a week or so ago so it looks like you were spot on.

    As I've said before it's too expensive to me, but I think all the services and shop items are too expensive.

    I will say that the battle chest is normally priced at $20 but it's on sale all the time for $5 so it's more like $70 dollars vs $60 in my mind, and considering all the people I know that have tried RaF at some point in the past it seems like many people have a second dormant account so they'd only need the expansion.

    At this point I don't think I'll even pay to transfer characters anymore except maybe my one main character just because of nostalgia. Pay $25 to transfer a character or spend $5 bucks and RaF a new one in a few days. I'm very cheap though and the only thing I've ever paid for besides the subscription was a few server transfers.

    I could see where this would be more like some other f2p games with a sub option where you could get the services with a sub or pay the one time fee.

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    1. Looks like you nailed it. Good logic and prediction there.

      I have purchased a few race chances, all for my lock, over the years, but that is it. If I ever wanted a character on the other side or on another server I just leveled one. Leveling does not take very long once you know what to do and I kind of enjoy doing it.

      I agree that their services are all over priced, hugely over priced. But as mentioned by you and others, in a way this is in line with their other services. So it does make sense.

      I would not be surprised if in the next two years it does not change to a free to play game with a subscription option that gets you bonus stuff. Like higher valor / conquest cap, or no 5 instance per hour lock out, etc. I can see that happening and happening sooner than later.

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    2. back a few months ago when bizzard had their sale on for transfer or naimng or anything at 50% off, I did spend about $100 to transfer from the other side, names, etc. Igot a lot of toons). Now all are allied and though I dont play them, at least they are on teh side of night and goodness and the light. :P

      -roo the enlighten

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    3. I am just to cheap for that. lol I make new ones, but it works for me because I like to level them.

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    4. thats ok GE - my kids are all grown, and all I have to care for is 2 old ferrets. So I do have some money to play with.

      However following your advice with Icey since she is now 85, I made all her armour with my tailor and an coolie hat from somewhere, she is now in Panda land kicking ass. And only 4 slots from 86. I have mailed all of her heirloom gear to another toon on another server so it can be used. I have enough tickets to buy DM heirlooms (1-80) and also enough tickets to upgrade them to 1-85 - all i am lacking is heirloom plate. I do have a couple of DK's and a warrior on other servers that can use that heirloom. And I dont know why I strayed on my thoughts. oh well, I forgot my thoughts

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    5. You are kicking ass and taking names lately. nice.

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