In-Game Store Opinion Thread

[IIamaKing]

And yet you know that they intended for this xp buff to be used for world's first leveling races? The point is, they've shown that they're willing to put limits on what advantages their micro-transactions can be used to get, so it's hardly implausible that they'll turn it off during the one or two days that people are going for world's first max level.

I'm not saying that they certainly will or certainly won't, but your implication that it's insane to think that they might is not well-supported by precedent, IMO.

The precedent you cite is an apples to oranges example. They shut down what was basically an exploit, a system NOT working as intended.
Now Im not saying that they absolutely will keep xp buffs running at the start of an Xpack but I would be surprised if they didn't keep them running.

[IIamaKing]

What about the poor?

Seriously though, every year more and more charity and social groups try to ring the emergency bell, because every year poverty is becoming a reality for a bigger group of people in the West. Last I read approximately 1 child out of 4-5 lives in poverty in the modern west. Everyone keeps going on and on about it being fine to spend a little extra, to spend a little extra on cosmetic shit. But in the meanwhile, what? "Fuck the poor?" Where is the global social conscience to pay attention to the increasing poverty in your own country? Why expose kids of poor families to even more discrimination. They're probably happy that they even get $15/month to play on a shitty computer, only to see that everyone else is spending extra money on all sorts of shit they can never get? What does that have to do with proper game design?

People should act more responsibly and not let corporate greed cause even bigger divides and discrimination.

If you are poor you should not waste money on the internet or a 15 dollar a month sub for a game. Instead take that time and find a job.

[shanthi]

The precedent you cite is an apples to oranges example. They shut down what was basically an exploit, a system NOT working as intended.

You're still not understanding my point. The reason it was an exploit is because Blizzard intended for it not to provide that advantage--in other words, they voluntarily placed limits on it, even though it meant less revenue. Obviously it's a small chunk of their total revenues, but allowing all guilds who can clear normal before the first week is over to faction change to start heroics the same week would still be a significant amount of money...there are a lot of guilds (in absolute terms) capable of doing that, even if it's small in percentage terms. (Not to mention, the exact same argument about "dripping faucet" can be applied to this: limiting the xp buff for the first day or two of the expac is a drop in the bucket of the revenue they can make selling it for the entire expansion.)

The precedent I was mentioning is not the exploit fix...it's that they placed that limitation on it in the first place. If they placed a limitation on that, it's entirely plausible that they could place a similar limitation on the purchaseable xp buff.

[Revolutions]

That is a poor slippery slope argument. There are plenty of games that do cash shops right.

I guess you don't remember the out rage from the hardcore crowd when they released server transfers and were told "but don't worry we will never implement faction changes" or when they released faction changes "but don't worry we will never let anyone purchase anything to affect in game" or when they released the Swift Celestial Steed "but don't worry they are bop" or when they released the BoE Guardian Cub pet "but don't worry we will never sell in game bonuses" or when they released the in game cash shop

[Smigel]

I like this idea because it adds options to the game (being able to buy 100% exp buff to alts etc. is nice as long as it's very cheap like $1 for a week of 100% xp buff or something). I don't feel like I would be losing anything if they implemented it and I never used it. I am for the store as long as it stops short of dispensing good (current or past tier) gear. For example, if the store had something like 489 gear (when 522 is current - 5.3) I would think that's kinda odd. 476's wouldn't bother me as much though. Buying yourself a 476 isn't going to break anything gameplay wise.

[shanthi]

I guess you don't remember the out rage from the hardcore crowd when they released server transfers and were told "but don't worry we will never implement faction changes" or when they released faction changes "but don't worry we will never let anyone purchase anything to affect in game" or when they released the Swift Celestial Steed "but don't worry they are bop" or when they released the BoE Guardian Cub pet "but don't worry we will never sell in game bonuses" or when they released the in game cash shop

The line is crossed when they sell things that would otherwise require in-game skill to acquire, such that players with more disposable income can equal or surpass players with more skill and less disposable income (or less willingness to pay). It's a slippery slope fallacy to assume that actions on one side of the line imply that they will inevitably cross to the other side of the line.

[Daws001]

I don't care/doesn't bother me.

[Tenjen]

from the other thread

taking baby steps towards something is helpful, especially concerning the nature of the vocal majority when it comes to changes in WoW, with all the whining and QQ over GOOD changes. But there is a boundary where the changes head in a direction that is a legitimate concern for all players. the change makers may not realise themselves, making a change, getting comfortable with it and then after a while thinking that stretching the boundaries is "alright" until its so stretch after a bunch of steps that we end up in a place that we DO NOT want to be.

I believe the ingame store will be a great model for WoW Asia due to the difference in how they make payments, the experience cut off timer and other such differences as per the areas there. I do not believe this will be a good system for the EU/US region however due to the same differences but can also see how it can be made to work.

I do hope this doesnt (and may i mention i do not think this will happen) set precedent for what many have brought up, buying game play relevant raid items and content access, especially exclusive content, within expansions. I do not see this happening yet. Though i do hope blizz does not start selling exclusive mog only sets and items in the store. While technically "cosmetic", this is a large part of our gameplay as it is what we look like 99% of the time when playing. But it hasnt come to this.

not saying that blizz is doing this but blizz is a business and it responds to the flow of customer demands, not what they say but how they behave. The mount/pet store is nice and non bothersome to those who dont wish to partake in it. This ingame store is also non-intrusive BUT if it turns into what we fear or is later experimented with to see if there is profitable interest (along with being non-disruptable enough ingame) down the road , then we dont just QUIT the game but we speak out against it (civilly) and show a lack of interest in utilising it. Feedback. Quiting will not help, it takes us out of the equation, means less people are supporting the present system and comparably more are utilizing the new system. A business responds to the flow of the customers for their money. this is how it should be. Where it is going and where it is not in terms of cash-payment systems

THUS, while the ingame store IS going to happen and MAY come to the EU and US regions, it is up to us what sort of items become popular on it and what sort of items are NEVER put on it. Our feedback, positive, negative or stated disinterest, will inflience it

[IIamaKing]

Things that make your statement idiotic:
1. The assumption that poor people don't have jobs.
2. The assumption that kids have any influence over the financial well-being of their family / parents.
3. The assumption that poor folks are not trying to get a job, or that it's all that easy to get one that doesn't drain your soul.

Probably even more shit that's wrong with your post.


But go on keep following the idiot parade:
"Yay! Blizzard take my money! Fuck the poor kids!"

No need to be rude, but for real if you are truely poor you have better things to do than waste time on the internet.

[ComputerNerd]

Bashiok said lesser charms will be in there...which are obviously going to be turned into greater charms.

But the weekly limit as imposed by the quest would remain.
Faster to get your 3 weekly mogu runes, but the same 3 as anyone else.

We simply do not know enough to offer opinions, and really what good is a poll when it is missing the "don't care" option, which seems to be a common omission from many polls.

Experience boosts, especially in short-durations are less meaningful in our playstyle compared to the pay-per-hour markets in locations such as asia.
That is just a single item, which is not enough to really base an opinion on.

And really that is exactly what the blizzard store already is, offering pets and mounts via a store selling in-game content.
The difference seems to be an in-game interface for the store, which in itself is not really surprising with the browser for support features.

[Deleted]

Their only offering more availability to players whats the harm if you don't like it don't use it.

Would you say the same if they sold best in slot epic gear for real money?

I don't like the idea of having the shop in the game, considering we are already paying to buy the game, the expansions, and every month to keep the subscription active. But this seems like something Blizzard will push through no matter what, so at the very least I would like them to keep it subtle. I saw the way SWTOR did theirs, and it was just absolutely horrible, they added a huge currency icon on the screen which I don't think you could remove even if you wanted to as a constant reminder of "hey, you can buy stuff right here!".

[IdTheDemon]

I wish some people realized that you have to do some grinding in this game, other wise this game simply becomes "log in, buy stuff, kill bosses". Yes doing dailies everyday was a pain in the ass but now that you can get them from Pet Battles and more importantly killing mobs. Even if you don't do pet battles, do dailies for a day and aoe a bunch of mobs down and you should be close to the weekly 50. And for the next expansion, all they have to do is *gasp* increase the droprate from all 3 methods (dailies, pet battles and killing mobs). And leveling has been nerfed so many times, from multiple decreased xp requirements to heirlooms to easier and more fun questing to RAF, that it's now auto pilot mode.

In Vanilla, things were TOO dependent on grinding and farming (Black Lotus was a pain in the ass, getting faction rep required insane runecloth, gear acquisition was rough, etc) and the game was definitely favored towards the hardcore minority. I was a Vanilla raider and I'm glad those days of killing a boss for 2 pieces of loot, getting Nefarian for 2 Stormrage Chests, and spending non raid nights farming herbs for flasks, pots and elixirs (yes, raiders used all 3) are long gone. It was in Wrath where finally, getting gear, flasks and other items didn't require countless hours on end. And every expansion after that improved the casual play even more.

But we all saw this coming the moment Blizz put that sparkling pony on the store. Putting exclusive items on the Blizz Store was lame enough but because they were just pets and mounts, it wasn't affecting the gameplay (Though Lil Rag is a beast in pet battles). You can bet your ass that if this does hit the NA/EU servers, more and more gameplay affecting items will be on the store. Insert mass panic, bored raiders go to other games, bored casuals stop playing after getting all their epics, bored AH players stop playing when there's no raiders or casuals to buy their stuff on the AH, etc.

This is how game franchises rise, fall, and get rebooted.

[Revolutions]

The line is crossed when they sell things that would otherwise require in-game skill to acquire, such that players with more disposable income can equal or surpass players with more skill and less disposable income (or less willingness to pay). It's a slippery slope fallacy to assume that actions on one side of the line imply that they will inevitably cross to the other side of the line.

with the casualization of the game it isn't too far of a shot.

[Mawnix]

I just fail to see how a store would impact anyone who wouldn't want to buy from it.

I don't care. Bring it.

- - - Updated - - -

with the casualization of the game it isn't too far of a shot.

Yet the casuals who play the game are:

1. The largest group of players in the game
2. The largest group of sub losses from the game

[Archangel Tyrael]

It won't stop there.

I'm certain they'll cross the line with this shitty in-game store.

[reemi]

I want to be able to get everything in the game without spending extra money.

I care when Blizzard release a mount and sell it for 25$, because I have to ignore that mount.

But, I won't care if we can but everything in the store with golds or any in-game currency AND $US.

[Revolutions]

I just fail to see how a store would impact anyone who wouldn't want to buy from it.

I don't care. Bring it.

- - - Updated - - -



Yet the casuals who play the game are:

1. The largest group of players in the game
2. The largest group of sub losses from the game

Casual easy games lose their play value very quickly which is why this game goes through spurts of growth and then shed millions of subs after every content patch.

[Deleted]

No. It will end up like GW2 where you can either grind 5 hours per day for 2 months for a legendary or whip out a credit card and get it in 5 minutes. Many people are ok with that, but it clearly divides communities. (smart from stupid imo )

But in Gw2 they don't sell legendaries in the store and they don't sell the mats to make them so how can you get a legendary in 5 mins by whiping out your credit card? Besides legendaries in GW2 are just for looks, they aren't more powerfull than lvl 80 exotics. Oh and GW2 doesn't have a sub fee.

On topic: I'm not OK with an item shop in a sub based game, the sub should mean we can access the whole game without having to pay any extras because we are already paying for the content to be developed, mount and pet store was already bad enough, though if they make if F2P with item shop then I'm fine with it.

[Mawnix]

Casual easy games lose their play value very quickly which is why this game goes through spurts of growth and then shed millions of subs after every content patch.

Or, and this is just an idea, it's because it's waning in popularity and it's no longer at its peak of subscribers.

Casual gamers are the largest dividend of players in the game.

Sure, you won't admit it, but I'm pretty sure you know that's a fact as much as I do.

[Littleraven]

i dont really care either way. if its all cosmetic stuff i dont see a problem. Xp boosts, mounts, MAYBE tabards or something. that sort of stuff