Cash Shop Token system & Cash Shop Requests

[Hioki]

Hello!

While a cash shop has been a standard of more recent MMO's the common theme from these shops is that they always off an alternate method of obtaining the items from the shop in the form of a token system. The concept of the token system is to trade time for items in game and create a secondary means of obtaining the items for players who do not want to invest cash. The tokens are usually trade-able in some fashion between players to create a market as well for the players.

This creates 3 types of scenarios for obtaining the cash shop:

- Immediate purchase, pay with cash
- Purchase tokens from players, creating an alternate market for gil heavy players
- Purchase over time with tokens received from content.

Is this something that could be pushed out along with an array of new cash shop items?


Cash Shop Request

Accessory
Is it possible to create an additional character equipment slot called accessory? This was used in some older games to add an additional accessory that is simply for glamour. Items such as tail bows, moogle/goobue backpacks, hair ribbons, glasses, sashes, armbands, capes, sometimes tattoos. These items overlay on the character model and do not always require an adjustment to show on armor. stuff like hair ribbons won't show when your wearing a helmet but a backpack might lay over your characters armor without glamouring. This would also allow for new seasonal event items and let your Art team create what ever they want with little regard for what it may clip in to.

Game Time
Only available through the purchase of crysta and credit card. Effectively buying an item that can be traded in game for between players for gil. You still are receiving payment for subscription just from an alternate source. It gives players who have loads of gil to have someone else purchase the time for them and make an equivalent trade. This doesn't create a loss in sales as there would always be someone paying actual money. As mentioned previously, cash shop tokens cannot be used.

With the addition of my token system this would allow your Art team to go a bit crazier when it comes to cash shop items and allow a wider range without greatly impacting customers negatively.

[Kaiser-Ace]

Cash Shop is for money. Give anything away for free with in game item exchanges and it's loss of profit. So to off set this loss the items would be crap and ultimately undesirable.

I played D&D Online once and its token system was for items in the cash shop needed to complete main objective quests. Often sending you on wild goose chases just to get enough tokens to complete the quest.

Not something I'd ever recommend SE trying since it was and still is a bad business model. The Cash shop is just selling a prefinished product for a quick cash grab anyway. Think about it, The Scion Armors, Event Gear, and Odin Mount are all just things already in the game made available to players. The Two Magitek Mounts are literally just re-skinned versions of the normal one (As is the Golden Mount from the Achievement), and the minions are just scaled down character models as are all character shaped minions be they event items, loot/rewards, or cash shop exclusives.

So the Cash Shop is indeed a way to make fast money with minimum effort. but from a business model that's a good thing. Especially for the development team.

[Hioki]

I'd actually say this would have an opposite effect. This would be a increase profits. You could base this entirely off of psychology.

Markets are based off of wants and needs. The current market in FFXI is based off a low want. People have the money so they spend it but don't have a high 'want' for the item. They get the item because they can(low 'want'). Adding a token system increases the 'want' value for these people because they would want it sooner than others. This creates first buyers/early buyers. Their 'want' will almost turn into 'need' as they need to stay ahead of the current player base with their new shiny. These would also be your people that would purchase regardless.

This now creates a new market that wants the item, the restless, these are the people that may not have the gil to buy the tokens but also do not want to wait for the item. They justify their purchase in the sense that they can use the tokens later for something else. These people originally had a low to no 'want' before, this has increased to a medium 'want'. They couldn't be bothered before because it was no closer in their reach than it was months prior. They now purchase the item and save the tokens for later.

You now have a third market, the 50/50. The 50/50 is a market with low 'want', they could purchase or just wait it out. Their not necessarily apathetic to the situation but they sit on the brink of purchasing it now like the restless and justifying with tokens for later use. Or they just wait it out.

The remaining purchasers are people who do not care or people willing to wait. These would never be your money market. To tap into this market it would require you to create something that they 'want'.

This is two markets that can be tapped into pretty easily with a token system.

[Kaiser-Ace]

That works everywhere except for non-physical products.

With digital cash shop items there is demand only due to the fact that the code can be replicated infinatly.

But when you offer a free method to obtain those items then you cost your self profit. Currently, if you want the Y'shtola minnion or Slephnir mount you HAVE to buy them from the cash shop.

But if there were free items that anyone with the effort could get then they couldn't have as much effort as they'd make less profit. Less profit means more hastey development, which means less demand with the blander product

With them being vanity items their "oh shiny!" Factor is their only selling point. They'd lose money on development as people spending money would get the fancy stuff and the dull stuff would only be gotten with freebies. Be better just to add them as ingame content or vet rewards.