So let me get this strait....

[_Bonk_]

Most people can afford the price of the booster. What pisses people off is they put up with so much crap for a year from Funcom and some of them are extremely loyal. They feel like they are suckers and Funcom is just taking advantage of them. Just my opinion.

[Geriatric]

Originally posted by Martek-SLAG
The only part I don't get (since you directly quoted me and are asking me), is; why don't you get it?

Let's see... hmmm.. I pay monthly for telephone service (much like I pay monthly for AO). I also purchased my telephone from the phone company (they still have that option if you want it).

The phones they sell today have more features and are cheaper than the one I bought. Yet, I am a paying subscriber. Slap to my face? No. Again, the real world.

You can dance around to come up with "flaws" in any analogy. And you seem intent on doing so. And I could dance back to come up with new ones that are "better".

But like you say, "I'm not going to bore the hell out of everyone".

You seem to want to believe it is unfair.

I don't think it is unfair. Further, I think it is how the "real world" is, and I think you are missing that.

I agree to disagree with you on this topic.

Cheers,
Martek

Bad analogy again.


It's more like this. You pay a large deposit for you phone line and you pay a monthly fee for your phone line. On that phone line you where supposed to have call waiting this whole time but never got it. Now they do offer it and you must pay extra to get it working, there are also a few other extra added features they are going to throw in too though. That’s fine and dandy.

But guess what… the phone company is getting new customers now that only have to pay the price of the call waiting with no deposit, and they get the extra features also, and they get a month of free service.


Old customers must not mean much I guess.

New customers get great new benefits for next to nothing, while long time paying customers aren’t shown a bit of patronage.


Now in the real world, people like to see analogies that fit the situation.

[Geriatric]

Originally posted by Bonk
Most people can afford the price of the booster. What pisses people off is they put up with so much crap for a year from Funcom and some of them are extremely loyal. They feel like they are suckers and Funcom is just taking advantage of them. Just my opinion.

That's about it. Long time players are pretty much not being shown any kind of appreciation for there loyalty to a game that has been broken and is just now playing like it should.

New players reap all the bonuses of paying much less for a game, added features, and a month free to boot.

I know about us old time players getting a month free a long time ago, but the game was so broken then no one could stay on the server for more than a hour anyways. Or we would be on the server for a while and they would have to roll it back by 30 min to an hour and all XP gained would be lost. There is a lot more but I’m not going to list it all.

[____________andertec]

Originally posted by Bonk
Most people can afford the price of the booster. What pisses people off is they put up with so much crap for a year from Funcom and some of them are extremely loyal. They feel like they are suckers and Funcom is just taking advantage of them. Just my opinion.

Exactly! Think funcom is an exploiter and should be banned :P

[Drabin]

The only part I don't get (since you directly quoted me and are asking me), is; why don't you get it?

Let's see... hmmm.. I pay monthly for telephone service (much like I pay monthly for AO). I also purchased my telephone from the phone company (they still have that option if you want it).

The phones they sell today have more features and are cheaper than the one I bought. Yet, I am a paying subscriber. Slap to my face? No. Again, the real world.

You can dance around to come up with "flaws" in any analogy. And you seem intent on doing so. And I could dance back to come up with new ones that are "better".

But like you say, "I'm not going to bore the hell out of everyone".

You seem to want to believe it is unfair.

I don't think it is unfair. Further, I think it is how the "real world" is, and I think you are missing that.

I agree to disagree with you on this topic.

Cheers,
Martek

Er, you cannot compare a utility service to an entertainment service. Utility services like gas, electric, phone, water, etc. are "needs" not conveniences.

Funcom offers an "entertainment service". The EULA specifically states what that service is. Perhaps you should go read it. As a customer, we pay to use our account and to access the game. If another customer is given the chance to purchase the same exact thing that we have access to for a cheaper cost than the customer has a right to complain and be upset.

Unlike most utilities which usually cannot be cancelled due to basic needs, an entertainment service can be. Simply put, and I stated this in an earlier post - yes it is the real life. And Funcom will find this out soon enough. When they realize that what they provide is not accepted by many, the accounts will cease to come and previous accounts will start to be cancelled.

Utility companies are giants but Funcom is not. Compared to other MMORPG gaming companies, Funcom is a tiny nuisance in the flow of it all. They cause very few ripples.

Verant lives strongly and will not fall for years. Funcom has been teetering for a long time and all you have to do is go to their main website to realize this. The cancellation of every single "extra" project that Funcom was working on so that they can work on Anarchy Online does not mean they are trying to make it better. Nay, it means that they realize they are falling fast and need to take measures to survive. The problem is that they took too long to do it and now they just have to throw a little hope into it all.

The new marketing approach that they have decided to take is "another" wrong turn again. It's as if their marketing department has no clue as to what they are doing.

Maybe they should hire you Martek and you can sit on the table and tell the company when it falls on its nose that hey its just life it happens. You can continue by saying when you fall on your nose it's just like falling while skating, falling while bicycling, falling when you trip on the stairs, and even falling when you just are plain clumsy.

You can compare apples to basketballs all you want but the plain and simple fact is you should try to concentrate on fruit instead of absurdities.

[Geriatric]

Originally posted by Drabin


Maybe they should hire you Martek and you can sit on the table and tell the company when it falls on its nose that hey its just life it happens. You can continue by saying when you fall on your nose it's just like falling while skating, falling while bicycling, falling when you trip on the stairs, and even falling when you just are plain clumsy.

To the point and funny as hell.

[_____________LNS0388]

Originally posted by Dominata
The problem BoomDoom is that this is not an expansion, it's a booster pack. Not nearly as much new content as an expansion and also supposed to be a regular feature of AO if I understand correctly.
Will we be expected to pay $19.95 for each and every booster pack and will we get the game client every time as well? Everquest at least gives people an option to buy only the expansion or different bundles at a cheaper price, but that is not the point here.
The point has more to do with respect and appreciation of your customers, something that FC seems to lack atm.
This is forced marketing, something that I as an adult detest to have crammed down my throat. In order to justify a price tag of $19.95 they make a nice little box and include the original client so we can "start a second account or give it to a friend..."
Yeah right, fat chance.

They blatantly disregard us, the existing player base, in their scrabble for new subscribers. Some of us have been here from day one, lived through all nerfs, horrible patches and the atrocious launch and now we are supposed to buy the game all over again? Sorry, not me.

The closest thing I can assosiate FC's current marketting scheme to is a virus. A really nasty virus distributed in drugs.

Not only is the booster pack just another way to get us to pay for content, and cheat us out of the actual stuff we pay for, but now it's a cheap marketting ploy.

[__________RuthieChan]

Eventually the price will go down.
So you can wait if you want.

I agree with Martek 100%

Eventually it may be available for download, but not right away.
Kinda like a movie out on the big screen but you don't get to buy the dvd while it's out in theatres.

[Kuro]

*yawn*...When's Cz gonna close this thread?

Drabin: Read the EULA even closer. You missed the part about this entertainment service being offered 'As is' which pretty much excludes any updates.

natallian: Go get a loan on a new car. Drive it off the dealer's lot. The minute that front wheels touch open road, your car depreciated in value and will continue to do so. But you're still paying the car loan. Better analogy?

Dominata: Would you feel better if the Shadowlands expansion pack, which will prolly come with a cd key and full client, carries a $29.95 price tag? Full expansions for these games can run from $29 to $54 a piece.

[locomdenom]

Originally posted by Drabin


Er, you cannot compare a utility service to an entertainment service. Utility services like gas, electric, phone, water, etc. are "needs" not conveniences.

Funcom offers an "entertainment service". The EULA specifically states what that service is. Perhaps you should go read it. As a customer, we pay to use our account and to access the game. If another customer is given the chance to purchase the same exact thing that we have access to for a cheaper cost than the customer has a right to complain and be upset.

Unlike most utilities which usually cannot be cancelled due to basic needs, an entertainment service can be.

Let me give a different viewpoint here.

I think that FC's ploys can be almost EXACTLY compared to a cable modem provider. You don't need either one to live, but they sure are nice to have. Both can be cancelled. Are we agreed they are similar services? Good.

Around here, Comcast is our cable modem provider. And right now, if you set up a new cable modem account, you get *2 months free* and zero install charges. Now, when I got mine set up, I got 2 months at $20 off per month, and paid a $50 install charge.

Around here, FC is our entertainmentdrug provider. And Real Soon Now (tm), you'll be able to buy the booster pack and get a free month on a new account for $19.95. When I bought it, I got no booster pack and a free month for $19.95. And when some people bought it, they got no booster pack and a free month for $59.95.

Yep, sounds to me like FC is doing exactly what people do in the real world; making a bundle to try to drive interest from people who may or may not have done something without that initial financial incentive.

Yes, I know the analogy breaks down here and there. So what? You're still gonna buy it, or not, and I'm still gonna buy it, or not, and it doesn't really matter.

I'm more interested in convincing Funcom to provide a download option, and in making sure that land control is implemented well.

[_______________Zepto]

Your cable modem provider analogy would be more accurate like this....

cable modem provider advertises a *new boosted service avaiable soon* This new service is advertised as a small software upgrade to your current cable modem to increase throughput and enhance your cable modem experence.

Ok, now comes the day that this cable modem provider releases this *boosted service*. The problem is that it is only avaiable if you buy a new cablemodem service with a new cable modem.

Now, the company's recomendation to exsisting customers that already have a cable modem is this. "Just buy it, give the service to a friend, and you now have a backup cable modem" The problem is that when you give your service to a friend, no he has to go buy the *boosted service* upgrade, and it just waterfalls like that.

No one wants to buy service and equipment (client) wne all they need is the small software upgrade but that is the only way it is marketed.

[locomdenom]

Are you *certain* my cable co isn't already doing this??

[_______________Zepto]

I am not certian. Your choise of cable company is your own. If I was forced to buy another cable modem and service to get the firmware update....I would seriously consider another cable company.

[Gearbox]

If $20 is going to break your bank account, what you need is a *JOB*, not a free download.

I mean really- people asking to get a product for free because "I've been playing this game for a long time".... umm... that might make sense in a junior high school argument, but it isn't the way our actual universe works.

Let's say you mow lawns on the weekend to make money to buy candy. Let's just say.

Now let's say that you mow a particularly big lawn, and the homeowner says, "I don't think I should have to pay you for this one, since you've been mowing my lawn for months- you sort of owe me a free one".

Would you like that...? Would you have candy? Nope!

[_______________Zepto]

sorry, but it is childish to think that money is the point. If you read up further I pointed out that it is just because of ethics and marketing methods. To be honest, if the exact same package was offered without the CDKey then I prob would buy it. The client CD could then be truely considered a backup. But this forced marketing will waterfall into thousands of orphaned CDKeys that are paied for and in the bank for Funcom but not used, or a bunch of partially patched accounts (boosters considered a patch)

[______________Wahoo.]

Originally posted by Blue Cat
If $20 is going to break your bank account, what you need is a *JOB*, not a free download.

I mean really- people asking to get a product for free because "I've been playing this game for a long time".... umm... that might make sense in a junior high school argument, but it isn't the way our actual universe works.

Let's say you mow lawns on the weekend to make money to buy candy. Let's just say.

Now let's say that you mow a particularly big lawn, and the homeowner says, "I don't think I should have to pay you for this one, since you've been mowing my lawn for months- you sort of owe me a free one".

Would you like that...? Would you have candy? Nope!

The point here is we dont mind paying the $20.00 however, give us something we could use.
Not a copy of a game we already own.

Examples:
1. Leet doll
2. Updated Wall map
3. Updated Stategy guide.
4. Yalm model for desk
5. Breed model with latest fashion. (Mk II, dragon coat, ect)
6. Copy of the Ao novel.

Anything but , something we already paid for.

[Gearbox]

Originally posted by Zepto
sorry, but it is childish to think that money is the point. If you read up further I pointed out that it is just because of ethics and marketing methods. To be honest, if the exact same package was offered without the CDKey then I prob would buy it. The client CD could then be truely considered a backup. But this forced marketing will waterfall into thousands of orphaned CDKeys that are paied for and in the bank for Funcom but not used, or a bunch of partially patched accounts (boosters considered a patch)

What's childish is thinking that some big bad game company is trying to steal your candy.

What is so incredibly difficult to understand about this? The booster pack is about getting a box on the shelf for the holiday season. It's about having *something* to sell at holiday time, and getting new accounts.

It's nothing nefarious- it's *business*. The sky is not falling, nobody is forcing you to do anything.

[_______________Zepto]

You are correct, it is bussiness....bad bussiness. No, I am not being forced to do anything and I will not. Many others like me will not purchase this booster pack in its current marketing configuration. When the company can find a more proper and appropriate configuration to sell there product, then more will come. You have your option to go buy it, fine, do it. We have our option to not buy it and complain about the lack of good bussiness practices.

[____________Yiliamar]

Personaly, I hate buying something twice when there is no need. That's what I need to do with the booster pack. Ok, if they want to put in the original, go for it, but let me use that key for the free month on my current account. Or, if they don't want to do that, put the land controll part in another box (So you have on with the game and land controll and one with just land control) and sell it for $10.

[locomdenom]

Originally posted by Zepto
I am not certian. Your choise of cable company is your own. If I was forced to buy another cable modem and service to get the firmware update....I would seriously consider another cable company.

Woot! One more point to add to the analogy!

Cable companies are MONOPOLIES. If you don't like it... you don't get none.

And don't give me any crap about Eve, Neochron, Shadowbane... none of them look all that great, so far. SWG... well, my opinions on SWG will be determined more by the playerbase than the game, so it's in the far, far future.