Can Cash Shop be a bit more reasonable

[Anyan]

http://petapixel.com/2016/01/21/this...-over-1000000/

I'm pretty sure they would.

And it's not even a good looking potato. :/

[TheGrimace]

Stuff really is getting expensive. I also think that the Fan Fest digital passes are atleast $10 too expensive, even with the in-game items.

Sure, they can charge beaucoup bucks and people will still buy them, but there does still have to be an argument for reasonable accountability from the host. You can charge an arm and a leg, but should you? We have several people in the thread saying they'd be more interested in buying stuff if it were cheaper, overall. That means that more people would also have access to these rarer items, but honestly I see that as far more of a net win than a net lose.

I am for a cash shop, but recent tidings make me think that they should police their prices more.

[dragonseth07]

Stuff really is getting expensive. I also think that the Fan Fest digital passes are atleast $10 too expensive, even with the in-game items.

Sure, they can charge beaucoup bucks and people will still buy them, but there does still have to be an argument for reasonable accountability from the host. You can charge an arm and a leg, but should you? We have several people in the thread saying they'd be more interested in buying stuff if it were cheaper, overall. That means that more people would also have access to these rarer items, but honestly I see that as far more of a net win than a net lose.

I am for a cash shop, but recent tidings make me think that they should police their prices more.

"Should" is not how businesses make decisions. If people will pay an arm and a leg, keep charging that and ask for an eye next time, too.

[Zojha]

And it's not even a good looking potato. :/

Not hand-drawn either. But what does it matter? It's a status symbol! And from the looks of it, this is raw status, nothing half-baked.

If you are aware of what's going on out there in the real world, complaints about virtual items being a few dollar overpriced become a little, uh...funny? This isn't a political forum, so I'll leave it at that, but let's just say we're arguing with the cashier about being overcharged a few pennies while someone makes off with our car and uses it to transport the goods from their break-in into our house.

[TheGrimace]

"Should" is not how businesses make decisions. If people will pay an arm and a leg, keep charging that and ask for an eye next time, too.

This is generally true but when companies start to clearly and constantly put their own needs ahead of the customers, it shows. FFXIV has built up a lot of trust since the downfall of 1.0 and they always say how surprised they are that ARR gained traction the way they did. The best businesses need to act for themselves while also making sure they appease the consumer, and have a reasonable balance of each. XIV still does a good job (generally) but when in-game items are involved, I think they're starting to tow the line a bit. It's a delicate balancing act and when it's done well it's pretty wonderful, but get too far to one side and there's chaos.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

It's a shame that the model for extra content embraced by the developers of The Witcher 3 hasn't become standard in the gaming industry. Sadly people will parrot the excuse that 'businesses exist to make money' with little regard to the fact that businesses can make plenty of money without resorting to dubious business practices.

I'm lucky enough to have a disposable income but I dislike the rate at which new, exclusive items are being added to the game. Whilst optional collectors of glamour, minions and mounts will feel obligated to purchase them and Square Enix are well aware of that.

"Plenty of money" isn't going to make investors happy. You do not go into business with the aim of making enough money. You set your prices according to market demands. Games have become exceedingly expensive to make. Companies are going to pass as much of that cost to the customer to maximize their own profits as possible. A lot of people are under the impression if we didn't buy DLC and vanity items they would instead be built back into the game. What would actually happen is we simply wouldn't get them at all. Some companies are better about it than others, which are typically the ones I'm okay throwing money at. But it's all business.

[Riardon]

People will keep buying from the store even if they charge 100$ for a recoloured outfit/mount. If Cloud's bike will ever make into the store I can already see people buying it for 200-300$ just to be unique and show it off in Idyllshire. Don't blame the company when there are so many people who don't know where to spend their money.

[NolLacnala]

"Should" is not how businesses make decisions. If people will pay an arm and a leg, keep charging that and ask for an eye next time, too.

Except that Gabe Newell exists as antithesis to the norm. Hence why he is worth billions and greedy game companies struggle to stay afloat

[Chiramu]

It is surprising how much cosmetics is on the FFXIV cash shop for a subscription game. It's like you now need to compare the FFXIV cash shop to a F2P cash shop to see the price difference. I mean for SWTOR the cash shop is their main source of revenue, FFXIV already has the sub and it's got no F2P version so it's still weird how much cosmetic is in it.

[Jynx]

A lot of people are under the impression if we didn't buy DLC and vanity items they would instead be built back into the game. What would actually happen is we simply wouldn't get them at all.

You see that's the thing about opinions...unless they are backed by a history of things being in games and then removed once DLC became a accepted practice.

So alot of people are using past experience to guide their opinions while "Other" people assume that nothing will be done because we didn't pay an extra bill for it.