"Save Up to 30% on Select Game Services for A Limited Time" Why a limited time?

[Rad1um]

It literally is converted into an automated process. ALL character and guild paid services is now automated, why not drop the prices down to -30%, permanently? I bet you'd get a bunch of people to buy your services at THEIR convenience, not yours.


Take you back to Long Boi, Blizzard LITERALLY tried to squeeze cash out of people to buy gold to buy their mount, at a time where most of the world was on lockdown and struggling for finances. I understand this is a superficial luxury, but my point stands. Had Blizzard just made Long Boi available indefinitely, I bet you my last dollar that people would be buying gold tokens NOW and in the future, for said expensive mount to continue a nice healthy revenue stream.

Same with services. It costs ZERO man power, except for IT (that's already there) and customer support reps in case something goes wrong (that are also already there working)...

Thoughts?



I am not discussing the being responsible with your finances, im strictly talking about these services and mounts being available to purchase with gold when its convenient to the clientele.

[Morgaith]

They are charging what people will pay for and yes i agree that it should be free given the sub fee, token and wow shop.

[Twdft]

Same with services. It costs ZERO man power, except for IT (that's already there) and customer support reps in case something goes wrong (that are also already there working)...

Thoughts?

Pricing of those services never had anything to do with the cost of providing them. It's expensive so you don't use them willy nilly all the time.

[Nerph-]

Pricing of those services never had anything to do with the cost of providing them. It's expensive so you don't use them willy nilly all the time.

While this is the case, they could just increase the cooldown and amount you can use on an account per cooldown (so if you have 50 characters, you're not transferring them everywhere whenever possible).

[MoanaLisa]

Sales where standard prices are lowered typically run for a 'limited time.' What anyone else thinks the price should be doesn't matter. Buy or not. It's your choice.

[ellieg]

Its one of the most basic principles of human psychology. When things are only around for a limited time, it makes you more likely to go ahead and pull the trigger on getting it.

If its always around, there's a lot of ppl that will be like "ya ill get it, eventually". Then that eventually never comes. But when there's a time limit, that's enough to push a significant amount of ppl into going ahead and buying it.

[arkanon]

Pricing of those services never had anything to do with the cost of providing them. It's expensive so you don't use them willy nilly all the time.

That makes absolutely no sense at all. Just put a cooldown on it - once per account per month or whatever they felt was acceptable to not stress their systems. People really will make any excuse they can to defend some companies.

[Relapses]

That makes absolutely no sense at all. Just put a cooldown on it - once per account per month or whatever they felt was acceptable to not stress their systems. People really will make any excuse they can to defend some companies.

When server transfers were first introduced there was such a thing as realm identity and you could.absolutely get a bad rep if you transferred a bunch. This is less of an issue in modern WoW but that's definitely part of the reason the service has a cost. Even though I agree that it's a bit egregious given the state of the modern game, Blizzard isn't in the business of making less money. They can't really walk back the cost without making people who've paid for the service already feel like they got a raw deal. Personally, I'd love to see recharging character services baked into the sub fee but knowing Blizzard if it were to come to reality they'd probably introduce it as perk for a higher tier of subscription.

[Lex Icon]

it probably works way better than all those NFT's and other short term scams that are popular atm.
just add a % off of whatever isn't being used atm and someone will bite.

[arkanon]

When server transfers were first introduced there was such a thing as realm identity and you could.absolutely get a bad rep if you transferred a bunch. This is less of an issue in modern WoW but that's definitely part of the reason the service has a cost. Even though I agree that it's a bit egregious given the state of the modern game, Blizzard isn't in the business of making less money. They can't really walk back the cost without making people who've paid for the service already feel like they got a raw deal. Personally, I'd love to see recharging character services baked into the sub fee but knowing Blizzard if it were to come to reality they'd probably introduce it as perk for a higher tier of subscription.

Agreed, but there is a way to do it - two ways actually. First, announce it well in advance - if you REALLY want to pay x amount, go for it, but with the launch of DF the price is halving.

Secondly, they could gradually reduce the price over time, to make the feeling of being ripped off far less impactful.

Neither are perfect solutions, and obviously they COULD say "anyone who bought one between these dates gets a partial refund" but even then someone who paid the day before the cutoff is gonna be pissed.

[Toby451]

it probably works way better than all those NFT's and other short term scams that are popular atm.
just add a % off of whatever isn't being used atm and someone will bite.

You guys are pathetic. They gave you a discount because they KNEW tons of people have been waiting to change factions. They didn't have to. They knew people were waiting for this feature to open up their wallets and dump cash at normal price. And they still offered a discount.




Go headbutt a wall or something and stay off the internet for all of us

[Lex Icon]

You guys are pathetic. They gave you a discount because they KNEW tons of people have been waiting to change factions. They didn't have to. They knew people were waiting for this feature to open up their wallets and dump cash at normal price. And they still offered a discount.




Go headbutt a wall or something and stay off the internet for all of us

thanks for proving my point.

[Gaidax]

Thoughts?

Because they know what they are doing when it comes to $$.

Some things are pretty simple. People just can't wrap their heads around this, but when it comes to corporations like ActiBlizz - pricing of just about anything is not some random Bob and Jane sucking their thumbs and slapping a number on it.

They put the price they have calculated carefully based on their data, costs and expectations. It's pretty laughable when some random who has nothing but anecdotes comes and makes offhand remarks about what price they should slap on it and what kind of discounts and for how long should they give.

Don't you worry about Activision-Blizzard, I assure you - if there is something they know - that is how to squeeze most optimal $$ out of customers, especially for such a veteran title like WoW.

[ulululu]

Bro is this thread for real? It's not like this is the first time ever a company does something like this.

Sorry to break the news to you but as long as you are not completely spineless it is YOUR convenience to buy or decline services independent from timely limited special offers nevertheless. At the end you're even contradicting your possibly noble cause:

You can purchase every one of this transactions literally with the time spent playing the actual game.

It is your responsibility and your decision to sign a purchase agreement for whatever service you like. You are just hurt that there is content you can no longer acquire no matter your financial situation.

Won't go down the route of how fomo and the psychology behind timely limited offers influence your behaviour as a consumer but that plays into this discussion in some ways.


Companies do not owe you anything except the things settled in your contract agreements. That is what you can claim legally, they don't owe you dates when they drop some special offers, don't owe you explanations of why services like character or realm transfers cost xyz$ or what exactly justifies the pricing - because you yourself are living all the freedom "you can afford". Transparency is a good thing for sure but it depends on the people asking.

[Rad1um]

Bro is this thread for real? It's not like this is the first time ever a company does something like this.

Sorry to break the news to you but as long as you are not completely spineless it is YOUR convenience to buy or decline services independent /snip

I didn't bother reading passed this because its fundamentally flawed.

Im not talking about buying power or my own ability to make decisions.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Thoughts?

FOMO. Same reason why Disney does their stupid "vault" thing, or why Nintendo doesn't constantly keep their entire library of games available on the latest platforms, or why Warframe has a prime vault. Why GW2's cash shop has exclusive items that are only available for purchase for one week once a year, or why Blizzard retires cash shop mounts and pets. They want to drive up sales by capitalizing on people's fear that if they don't buy now, they won't be able to do so in the future, or not as cheaply. It's scummy.

[WinningOne]

It literally is converted into an automated process. ALL character and guild paid services is now automated, why not drop the prices down to -30%, permanently? I bet you'd get a bunch of people to buy your services at THEIR convenience, not yours.


Take you back to Long Boi, Blizzard LITERALLY tried to squeeze cash out of people to buy gold to buy their mount, at a time where most of the world was on lockdown and struggling for finances. I understand this is a superficial luxury, but my point stands. Had Blizzard just made Long Boi available indefinitely, I bet you my last dollar that people would be buying gold tokens NOW and in the future, for said expensive mount to continue a nice healthy revenue stream.

Same with services. It costs ZERO man power, except for IT (that's already there) and customer support reps in case something goes wrong (that are also already there working)...

Thoughts?



I am not discussing the being responsible with your finances, im strictly talking about these services and mounts being available to purchase with gold when its convenient to the clientele.

Why would you give something away for free when you can sell it for $25 and make a Billion dollars a year?

[arkanon]

FOMO. Same reason why Disney does their stupid "vault" thing, or why Nintendo doesn't constantly keep their entire library of games available on the latest platforms, or why Warframe has a prime vault. Why GW2's cash shop has exclusive items that are only available for purchase for one week once a year, or why Blizzard retires cash shop mounts and pets. They want to drive up sales by capitalizing on people's fear that if they don't buy now, they won't be able to do so in the future, or not as cheaply. It's scummy.

Its not scummy, its how retail works. People have become some unbelievably soft when it comes to this stuff. "boohoo its not fair that this company has sales, they are making me buy these things because its only on special for a limited time!"

When the steam sale starts, people lose their mind about how amazing it is and what an amazing company they are. Blizzard does a sale and everyone throws their toys out of the cot because big evil Blizzard is tricking people into making purchases.

Its honestly pathetic to see people crying about a fucking SALE.

The other factor to consider is that its the final patch of the expansion, so gear really doesnt matter, and a toon can be leveled to max level in like 8 fucking minutes. OK not 8 minutes but its super easy, barely an inconvenience.

- - - Updated - - -

Why would you give something away for free when you can sell it for $25 and make a Billion dollars a year?

Let me rephrase that slightly: Never offer something for free if people are willing to pay.

Yes, some dork will twist that to be about food or water or life itself, but this is entertainment - people should only ever use disposable income on entertainment, and that hasn't changed in centuries (ever).

[Oneirophobia]

Monetizing barriers between players in an MMO instead of trying to eliminate them really speaks to how seriously the company takes the health of the game. There's gotta be a fair chunk of Blizz employees scratching their heads wondering how anyone still puts up with $30+ USD fees like this when all their competitors perform the same services for either free or pennies on the dollar.

Alternatively, instead of having a couple million players paying $5 each to switch multiple times a year (or even multiple times a month) they'd rather aggravate them all and only have a couple hundred (if that! #CostOfLiving) switch only when they feel it's absolutely necessary.

- - - Updated - - -

Pricing of those services never had anything to do with the cost of providing them. It's expensive so you don't use them willy nilly all the time.

Can we define "willy nilly" in a video game setting? I'm not sure what any of these services would break or impede in a video game that is entirely cross-server and now mostly faction agnostic. Changing your race, server and/or faction is virtually as meaningless as changing your character's skin tone - which was also monetized at one point at a fairly silly price so players wouldn't use it "willy nilly."

It really is just a steep price because people will pay it to get over barriers between them and the players they want to game with... which is an absolutely awful philosophy to have regarding barriers between your MMO playerbase.

[DarkAmbient]

Unless I'm mistaken, they have actually dropped the prices on the faction change. It used to be £27 but the sale is showing as £13.30 reduced from £19.