Goblin Squad Member
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Okay so I know they just had a Kickstarter for the Pathfinder Tech Demo.
If they have one for the original game what do you think the Kickstarter rewards should be?
Also what should be the starting goal for the amount pledged?
I find it highly unlikely that there will be one, the primary purpose of the kickstarter was more or less to impress larger investors, while the kickstarter demo was a huge success, I highly doubt that
1. Many of the people who donated have much more to spare than they already gave.
2. There are enough new people to provide a multi million dollar budget.
Now if some reason I am wrong, and they opt to do a kickstarter for the actual game, The main things I could see as carrots, would be, guaranteed spots in the starting launch of the game, and decorative swag and bling for in and out of game.
Actual items of any power etc... would spit in the face of almost everything currently anounced for the game and I would be strongly opposed, and I'm sure quite a few others would be as well. Personally I am hoping for nothing related to power above skill training is ever added to the cash shop, both before and after the games launch. I am happy to spend money on the game, and if I can afford it at the time, I will also more than likely be spending an extra 15-20 a month on cosmetics and for fun theme park content.
If I have the option to spend $20 extra to gain an advantage over those who don't, and am at a disadvantage to those who spent $50 etc... (beyond of course selling training packages, I'm alright with that, but creating new items in the economy on the other hand, I will not consider). If that happens, I can guarantee you, unless there is something damn incredible, I am very liable to not even buy a subscription if the game turns pay to win.
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Goblin Squad Member
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It's hard for me to imagine ever selling a lifetime subscription. Frankly, I think they're always vastly underpriced, and if they were offered at the real value, I doubt most people would buy them.
For example, 20% of the people who played EVE the first month it was on line are still playing. Multiply that number by the 7 years its been in operation and you get a figure in the thousands of dollars. Now compound that by knowing that about 20% of the people who join in any given month also stay effectively forever, and you start to see how much money is lost if you let the hardest of the hard core buy a "lifetime subscription" for $250 or something.
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Goblin Squad Member
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It's hard for me to imagine ever selling a lifetime subscription. Frankly, I think they're always vastly underpriced...
Thanks for saying that, Ryan.
I knew at the time that LOTRO was offering lifetime subs that it was kind of an act of desperation. I had hoped that PFO would offer one at around $500 precisely because it would have been such a great (and admittedly lopsided) deal in my favor - and to be honest, I really don't know how much $500 now compounds compared to $10/month for 5 years.
At any rate, it's better to nip these kinds of things in the bud, and I'd rather have a clear and early expectation that there probably won't be lifetime subscriptions than to keep hoping.
Goblinworks Executive Founder
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The fair value of a lifetime subscription (value $10/month forever) is about $2000 (Assuming 6% simple interest). Given that that is enough for over 16 years of playtime, it's unreasonable to expect anybody to accept it.
If we jump to 30% annual ROI, the cost of endowing that $10/month sub drops to $400, or enough for three years of subscription. That might become a rational decision for me, but probably not, unless there were other perks associated with it. The most likely one I can guess would be a recurring allowance of skymetal bits. If that is the case, then lifetime subs would not only stop contributing to the monthly subscription income, they would supply some of the demand for skymetal in the economy, reducing purchases and further draining the income. (an exception would be if the increased availability of skymetal served as advertising, and thus made more total sales- Steam has shown that lower price can result in increased revenue)