Forums » Fan Creations

Dev Response to the Cash Shop Debate

    • 2886 posts
    January 21, 2021 12:52 PM PST

    One of the most polarizing debates in the community right now has to do with the possibility of there being a cash shop, and how even just cosmetics could potentially have a negative effect on the game. Recently, Ben Dean stepped in to clarify the company's stance on this. And in case you missed it, I've got it right here: https://youtu.be/4JBPlcIGkdg

    • 233 posts
    January 21, 2021 1:26 PM PST

    I dont mind if there is a cosmetic cash shop, what i do care about is exclusive items and limited time items.
    If i can buy something now, let a player joining 20 years from now also be able to buy it.
    Add but never take away.
    I dont know why game devs think they can earn more money by removing items and making them time gated, but you cant.
    If something is availible forever, it can earn you money forever.

    • 16 posts
    January 21, 2021 4:54 PM PST

    cash shops... if the games were free to play, that would be  a reason to have it; however, having one with a subscription, i mean to what ends, for more expansions down the road?  I don't need the comitics but yeah there's reasons to have them. those are reasons why i would buy cosmetics, I might buy it then a different looking familiar for an alt character that i casually play. just to support the game. limited buy items, i feel is kinda like an item from a past expansion to a new expansion, obsolete, but it is only cosmetic does bring the mask of deception to mind tho vs. the guise. 

    • 1992 posts
    January 21, 2021 5:23 PM PST

    Grimseethe said: I dont mind if there is a cosmetic cash shop, what i do care about is exclusive items and limited time items.
    If i can buy something now, let a player joining 20 years from now also be able to buy it.
    Add but never take away.
    I dont know why game devs think they can earn more money by removing items and making them time gated, but you cant.
    If something is availible forever, it can earn you money forever.

    People collect things for more reasons than just as a decorative item.

    If I buy a trinket that is only sold during the year that I joined a game, then it's purpose in sitting on my mantelpiece throughout my years in the game (assuming we have houses and fireplaces) is as a reminder of my history in Terminus, of that point in time when I was a newb and every day in the game brought new discoveries (and new disasters).

    AND when I see that item on anyone else's mantelpiece, it creates a bond of shared history between us, that we both were there for whatever unique game adventures (and even game glitches) that occured that year in Terminus. Every year that passes gives the item more value to me because there are now fewer people who have one. And I don't refer to monetary value here. That is not the point I am making.

    If the item is available for every player to acquire throughout the life of the game then sure it remains an income producing object for VR, but it looses all its value as an artifact of a specific point in time.

     

    Most people I've known in my life have this sort of relationship (in real life) to keepsakes from their past. That's the whole appeal of having family heirlooms, of selling 'Tour T-shirts' at concerts or commemorative objects at major social or cultural events.

     


    This post was edited by Jothany at January 21, 2021 5:24 PM PST
    • 233 posts
    January 24, 2021 1:19 AM PST

    Jothany said:

    Grimseethe said: I dont mind if there is a cosmetic cash shop, what i do care about is exclusive items and limited time items.
    If i can buy something now, let a player joining 20 years from now also be able to buy it.
    Add but never take away.
    I dont know why game devs think they can earn more money by removing items and making them time gated, but you cant.
    If something is availible forever, it can earn you money forever.

    People collect things for more reasons than just as a decorative item.

    If I buy a trinket that is only sold during the year that I joined a game, then it's purpose in sitting on my mantelpiece throughout my years in the game (assuming we have houses and fireplaces) is as a reminder of my history in Terminus, of that point in time when I was a newb and every day in the game brought new discoveries (and new disasters).

    AND when I see that item on anyone else's mantelpiece, it creates a bond of shared history between us, that we both were there for whatever unique game adventures (and even game glitches) that occured that year in Terminus. Every year that passes gives the item more value to me because there are now fewer people who have one. And I don't refer to monetary value here. That is not the point I am making.

    If the item is available for every player to acquire throughout the life of the game then sure it remains an income producing object for VR, but it looses all its value as an artifact of a specific point in time.

     

    Most people I've known in my life have this sort of relationship (in real life) to keepsakes from their past. That's the whole appeal of having family heirlooms, of selling 'Tour T-shirts' at concerts or commemorative objects at major social or cultural events.

     I do not feel such attachment, i only feel sadness knowing someone joining the game later wont be able to enjoy all the things i have purely because i got here first.
    Gamers are born everyday, i plan to introduce my children to my favourite MMOs and it pains me to think of all things they cant have for silly reasons.

    • 1992 posts
    January 24, 2021 9:02 PM PST

    Grimseethe said: I do not feel such attachment, i only feel sadness knowing someone joining the game later wont be able to enjoy all the things i have purely because i got here first.

    You getting there first is not the reason that those who arrive later can't experience the same thing as you. The reason is that everything changes. "The only constant in life is change" has been a cliche since before games, computers, and electricity were invented. No one who joins Pantheon years later will ever be able have the same experience as those of us there at the start. Just not gonna happen.

    Grimseethe said: I dont know why game devs think they can earn more money by removing items and making them time gated, but you cant.

    I forgot to answer this point earlier, and now seems like a good time. The goal isn't to make more money. The goal is to increase player enjoyment. They think - quite correctly - that many of those who enjoy collecting eagerly pursue the possibility of having a rare, unique, even one-of-a-kind item. Who knows, your children might enjoy it too.

    I don't suggest all cosmetic stuff be time limited. It doesn't need to be. Just a few special items that appear over the years is enough. They're like the 'Epic' version of collecting.

     

    Grimseethe said: i plan to introduce my children to my favourite MMOs and it pains me to think of all things they cant have for silly reasons.

    I sure can relate.

    It pains me to hear that a thing which is considered a great accomplishment to many collectors is something you want to deny to all them. And your reason, that your children might - someday in the future, IF they play Pantheon, IF they become collectors - somehow be disappinted that they can't have the exact experience that you had years before?

    Now THAT is silly.

     


    This post was edited by Jothany at January 24, 2021 9:03 PM PST
    • 63 posts
    January 25, 2021 2:11 PM PST

    I don't even like cosmetic cash shops. I like the unique looking armor and weapons to come from quest lines and raids/dungeons.

    • 2886 posts
    January 27, 2021 12:18 PM PST

    To continue this discussion, in case you missed it, Joppa weighed in on the cash shop debate and specifically addressed whether or not cosmetic gear belongs in Pantheon, where item prestige is paramount: https://youtu.be/p-jlcxIFJq4

    • 72 posts
    January 29, 2021 10:44 AM PST

    I'm not sure if someone else can find this for me, as I forget where I saw it, but I believe I saw someone ask Brad some time ago on either a Discord or Twitter if there would be a Cash Shop in Pantheon and he said No.

    Found it!

    https://www.reddit.com/r/PantheonMMO/comments/l2fbnv/brad_mcquaids_response_when_i_asked_him_about/


    This post was edited by Pikachu22 at January 29, 2021 10:49 AM PST