Open Letter to Trion /Defiance - regarding the in-game Defiance Store and pricing

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Originally Posted by thr0nes

i am going to try this at the grocery store.

Excuse me, the price of milk here is way too high, you would sell more if it were half the current price.
*blank stare*

gas station?
Excuse me, the price of gas is way too high, you would sell more if it were half current price.
*blank stare*

it may not be transparent, or clear to you, but there is a reason why the prices are they way they are. It is an optimized algorithm developed by the sales department to make the most money possible from projected sales. You do not have sales number, or any facts, only a feeling....

Surpise video below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzcsvpewxcg

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you must be ******ed

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Originally Posted by Sdric

If the game was worth the investment the price 'ld be fine.

But by now even though I got 3,1k EGO I can't see spending much more time on it unless they finally do something about PvP balancing and general endgame content, thus though I do not mind those prices I'm not going to buy anymore bits until this game proves itself to be a keeper.

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Is that 3 1k EGO toons, or 1 3.1k EGO toon?

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Originally Posted by Pyth

Well, as a long time console gamer and a half*** PC gamer, this is really my first experience with MMOs. I recently learned that the outfit pricing in this game is actually in line with other similar games.

So I have to wonder if the pricing from the current store will reflect on the content, or lack there of, that the expansions will provide considering the cost. But yeah, I agree with the fact that most people will never purchase the outfits, so they can charge extra (or standard) because there are those who will, regardless of the cost.

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I don't think it will, I would assume that most of the 5 DLC packs are pretty far along in terms of completion, and are just in polishing mode.

Price point and perceived value are what they should be concentrating on, it's a strong factor in why .99 stores and itunes succeed in their respective markets.

I think the cosmetic items are a little pricey, 240 is about what I can justify throwing away on a costume, because spending $5 is relatively painless.

The boosts right now have a very low perceived value and that is all because of packaging.

If they moved to a model along these lines I KNOW they would have more success and there are volumes of marketing material out there to support that.

Sell in smaller blocks at higher pt to time ratio.

So sell them in 2 hr increments up to maybe 10 (which is the longest most people will be in the game for a given period) and price accordingly.

So it would look like this...

10hr - 120 bits
8hr - 100 bits
4hr - 45 bits
2hr - 25 bits

Priced in this manner, the price point is much easier to justify, I would spring for the occasional 2hr boost if it was equivent to 30-40 cents as opposed to committing $3.00 for something that I know I will get maybe 6-8hrs of use out of (though likely less)

This dramatically raises the perceived value and the customer no longer feels like they are throwing money away by paying for something they will get 25-30% use out of. It also makes it far more attractive.

You don't nickel and dime people by charging amounts that they have to think about, if you can keep the price pt of something under $1 you do, because the $1 registers on most folks and .99 cents does not.

Whoever said they had volumes of marketing data and a department that thought about this stuff before setting those prices, well, if they do, those guys need to go back to school or read a book on marketing written after 2000, or maybe go out and work in an actual retail environment and observe how people shop and spend.

Go in a Big Lots, Dollar Store or any of the bins toward the front of a Walmart and you will see this exact philosophy being ruthlessly utilized.

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Originally Posted by Facade

Is that 3 1k EGO toons, or 1 3.1k EGO toon?

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1 character with 3108 EGO

Ive bought a couple of outfits,boosts and the Nomad truck because i wanted them..despite the pretty high prices.

I think if they lowered the prices a bit,Trion would get more business..but at the mo a lot of people are priced out of buying stuff (for whatever reason) .
It wouldent bother me if they lowered prices on stuff id previously bought either, higher price was premium for getting stuff earlier.

The store definetly needs a rethink to get more custom imo.

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Originally Posted by Sdric

1 character with 3108 EGO

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Ahh, wasn't sure. Was gonna say how you managed to do that. I've been trying to level a 2nd char on my PC account myself but can't force myself through the grind a second time since it's just the same thing.

PS3 account is around 1500
PC account is around 500

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Originally Posted by Facade

Ahh, wasn't sure. Was gonna say how you managed to do that. I've been trying to level a 2nd char on my PC account myself but can't force myself through the grind a second time since it's just the same thing.

PS3 account is around 1500
PC account is around 500

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I'ld love to level a 2nd char but since cash-shop inventory spaces aren't account wide but character specific it simply wasn't worth it.

Btw. Scrapworks is a good place to level both, weapons and EGO levels.
Plus: you should totally focus on finishing your pursuits.

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Originally Posted by Orge Lambart

I guess you don't have much experience with the game Team Fortress, now if you want to talk about overpriced there ya go.

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I never played Team Fortress, so no?
This is in fact the first MMO I have played, so please bear with me (I didn't even expect any replies on the post...).

I have however, played many single player games, back since Wolfenstein and Doom (the originals), Dune and Command and Conquer... to name a very few.

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Originally Posted by AZAG0TH

Vote with your wallet. Don't buy things from the store until prices will come down (I haven't).

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That my friend, is exactly my aim.
I am just making it publicly know, so that other may do the same.

And a well formulated letter/email may actually do a little difference... I can let you know, it already helped me :)
So please feel free to copy/paste, mix/add a bit and send to Trion.