FC actually got smart and had people PAY for their game. They probably lost so much money from the Original AO that they need the booster pack to be a minium of 20 bucks.
Good god, I say hurra for no dloading the booster pack
FC actually got smart and had people PAY for their game. They probably lost so much money from the Original AO that they need the booster pack to be a minium of 20 bucks.
what are you talking about? If you download AO you are charged 20 bucks after the 7 day trial either way they still make money.
RK-1 Fixer
/tell Nixxy449
I fail to see why it is a good thing that FC isn't offering more buying options to the customers. We pay either way.
-Sol
I'll blame an early Sunday morning and lots of booze on Saturday. That ok? - Cz
roots. they're not just for trees anymore. - Eahii
...what good is the Duck Explosion skill ? The only thing I've found so far that explodes are chests. - Muminka
Yes, teheran what are u talking about - we all where charged on our credcard for AO.
I would like to see FC make Booster downloadable.
Regards.
They dont have to package or burn the cd. They dont have to ship it to warehouses. And the broadband bods get theirs as soon as it comes out...
Marketing downside... I dont see one.
I am Kong.
Strong and passionate, I tend to be misunderstood, sometimes even feared. I don't want to fight, I don't want to cause trouble, all I ask is a little love, and a little peace. If I don't get what I want, I get angry, and throw barrels and flaming oil at whatever's stopping me.
Well, the marketing downside is this:Originally posted by TanisAS
Marketing downside... I dont see one.
Having boxes on shelves in stores will help Funcom get more customers. So they want to have boxes in stores. To keep boxes in stores, you have to have strong sales in stores. If the booster is available for download, then current customers probably won't go to a store to buy it; they'll just charge the $20 and wait for it to download.
If the current customers don't go to stores to buy it, then the in-store sales will not be as strong. If stores have boxes of the booster pack going unsold, they won't continue to stock it.
So, while I'm pretty sure the booster will eventually be available for download, I bet it won't be until after most of us have gone to a store to buy it.
The same people who want to download the booster as soon as it comes out are the same people who would come on these forums ten minuntes after release and complain about not being able to connect to the FTP/10 KB/sec download speeds. Imagine Fileplant times ten (and you can't subscribe), and that's what DLing the booster would be like.
I wanna buy a CD anyway, saves me burning one
If the presence of a box on the shelf is so important for FC, (which I agree with to some extent) why even offer us the opportunity to buy it straight from their website? There must be a great deal of boxes taken off the shelves right there...
I have seen the booster advertised on one stores 'future release' lists here in Sweden. The price was put at over $40. This might of course change but there is a big possibility that this will be the asked price. If I order it from an online site I will be charged for shipping, that amounts to at least $10.
It's easy to sit and talk about presence in stores when you have your local EB just around the corner where you can buy the thing for $19.95, as it should be. But the fact is that a lot of countries will not even carry the booster in stores at all and why should anyone be penalized for living in one of those countries and be forced to pay more for the booster than the rest of you?
Try to look outside yourselves and realise that getting the booster will cost a lot of money for some people. Why can't FC make a gesture and offer it as a download as well, it will most probably be dl'ed by people who can not get it in a store or whose shipping costs will be too great.
It will not diminish the presence on the market any more than FC's own offer of buying it straight from them will do.
Whoa, there.Originally posted by Dominata
It's easy to sit and talk about presence in stores when you have your local EB just around the corner where you can buy the thing for $19.95, as it should be. But the fact is that a lot of countries will not even carry the booster in stores at all and why should anyone be penalized for living in one of those countries and be forced to pay more for the booster than the rest of you
The question I answered was "Why can't I download it?" and not "Should I be able to download it?".
Hehe, Iphigenia...Originally posted by Iphigenia
Whoa, there.
The question I answered was "Why can't I download it?" and not "Should I be able to download it?".
My post was not aimed at you or anyone else specifically, but there has been a lot of arguments about it being only $20 in the stores, something that is probably only true in the US.
In the long run I think FC would benefit if they offer it as a download, real customer service tends to create goodwill. There will still be a presence in stores since by including the booster with the client they hope to attract more new players.
There is no sense in making a lot of current subscribers go to great lengths and costs to obtain the booster when it could be easily offered as a download.
Companies have a tendency to overlook the fact that in this business the best advertising you can get from is from your current players. Take care of them and they will definitely recommend the game to others, screw them over and they run the risk of losing both the current player and the potential friends he/she might have brought to the game. If shelf presence was everything FC shouldn't even put the game up for sale stright from their own online shop, so that argument does not really hold up.
Well having worked in electronics boutique and game as its just changed its name since the merger in the uk I can say that AO has never been majorly stocked on the shelves. Yes mmorpg`s are big business but they are never stocked instore with a decent shelf facing. Pop into your local store and youl find it.. behind 3 other products on the bottom shelf filed under budget games hehe.
I am Kong.
Strong and passionate, I tend to be misunderstood, sometimes even feared. I don't want to fight, I don't want to cause trouble, all I ask is a little love, and a little peace. If I don't get what I want, I get angry, and throw barrels and flaming oil at whatever's stopping me.
My guess (and it's really a guess -- I don't know how game stores track the popularity of titles beyond their own sales) is that if you sell a box online, it still counts as a sold copy of the game, and if you let people download it, it doesn't. So the more boxes sold, the more popular the game is from a strictly boxed sales perspective, and the more likely that the boxes appear on shelves.Originally posted by Dominata
If shelf presence was everything FC shouldn't even put the game up for sale stright from their own online shop, so that argument does not really hold up.
You, sir, are an idiot.Originally posted by teheran
FC actually got smart and had people PAY for their game. They probably lost so much money from the Original AO that they need the booster pack to be a minium of 20 bucks.
Gunned down the young. Now old, crotchety, and back.
The most crucial time for a game is at launch, that is when they have to be on the shelves. If stores are going to stock the booster they will do it straight from the launch, not after three months. I don't see any reason why a dl'ed booster will not count as a sold copy of the same. The booster will never be as popular as AO was when it launched, it is too tainted by it's history for that.Originally posted by Iphigenia
My guess (and it's really a guess -- I don't know how game stores track the popularity of titles beyond their own sales) is that if you sell a box online, it still counts as a sold copy of the game, and if you let people download it, it doesn't. So the more boxes sold, the more popular the game is from a strictly boxed sales perspective, and the more likely that the boxes appear on shelves.
The only reason I can think of is that Funcom will count a sold copy of the booster as a sold copy of the client because it is included in the package. This could be a way for FC to show how well the client is shipping for potential investors and magazines and such since they refuse to give us access to the actual amount of people playing the game at any given time.
Artificially boosting the sales of the client like this is more or less fraud and I sincerely hope it will not be used in this way.
I personally, am not against having a box on the shelf. More power to FC with the boxed version. But why not have the option to download as well. It's foolish not to allow as many buying options as possible. I feel sorry for non-USA customers who will be paying nearly $70 (equivalent in their currency) or more just to have it shipped to them, when they simply could have downloaded it. Needless to say, FC never sees a dime of those shipping charges.
-Sol
I'll blame an early Sunday morning and lots of booze on Saturday. That ok? - Cz
roots. they're not just for trees anymore. - Eahii
...what good is the Duck Explosion skill ? The only thing I've found so far that explodes are chests. - Muminka
Wouldn't be too sure that Fc will never see a dime of those shipping charges. Would not suprise me if they have a commission deal with company that is shipping out their stuff.
engie + ghetto crowd control + no healing + lowest hp + worst evades + bot who is never around. = worst prof in game
Bump for engie fix
Intrepid: I think thats doubtful. They will get a special discount for bulk based on contract, but they won't see any "profit" from shipping.
I see why FC want this on shelves. As this is a subscription game, and people can download it, they would never make it into the game charts. Its a shame, as a lot of people HAVE the game, but few appear to BUY it, as its downloaded (yes, and eventually "bought").
One question: as the booster is $20 in the USA, will that mean that, due to the 1.54 conversion rate, the price will be £20 in the UK??
Gimme sammich!!1
Reborn Sammich
Ah, Ntrox, I'm not the only one who has spotted that most usual of conversion rates then?
hugs
lilnymph
Lilnymph - Clan Fixer - RK1
lilnymph wrote on November 21st, 2003 08:01:01:
You may take our postcount threads, but you will never take our FREEDOM!!!!!
Originally posted by Cz
The post count is mine! All mine! Mwahahahah!
40.476190476190474% of me is a huge nerd! How about you?
Style over Substance
Hehee UK is translated into all languages as... everyone overcharges us anyway we dont mind. Please rip us off.
DVD`s... overcharged by a good fiver
Cars... the pain is too much im not mentioning how much we overcharged.
Basically media of all sorts music etc get hiked up over here. The joy of being in the UK. Gets even worse when you live near london
I am Kong.
Strong and passionate, I tend to be misunderstood, sometimes even feared. I don't want to fight, I don't want to cause trouble, all I ask is a little love, and a little peace. If I don't get what I want, I get angry, and throw barrels and flaming oil at whatever's stopping me.
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