I am not a big fan of the sparkle pony, I wouldn't personally buy one, but I can't fault Blizzard for thinking outside the box to make some money. Imagine my surprise when I received and email from SOE pimping out their new mounts for sale in EQ2. The price, $25.00! But instead of one mount, you have your choice of three different looking rides. I don't know what to think of it all, being so soon after Blizzs' pony sale makes me instantly think that SOE saw how successful it was and wants to try and cash in on some easy money as well.
Have players really been asking for this in EQ2? Again, not against it, just not sure why someone would spend so much on something like this.
4 comments:
It was only a matter of time before someone else tried to followup on Blizzard's success. The really interesting thing will be to see how well/poorly this one does and if anyone else follows suit.
The new price point has been set. Never going to spend a dime on such an item, but I'm sure there are people who are more than happy to reach for the credit card.
Now if we were talking unique costume items, I might be in trouble.
I expect to see a lot more of this kind of thing in sub based MMOs. Not everyone will go for such items. However, if you can add them to your game in a way that doesn't offend the bulk of your player base you'd be foolish not to. Otherwise, you are leaving money on the table.
It is a slippery slope, however. It will be interesting to see what happens if and when when the quality and item shop options of FtP and sub based MMOs converge. I suspect a lot of players of sub based MMOs will start to wonder why they have to pay for a client and server access. If sub based MMO developers keep pushing in their current direction, they may find they have lodged a bullet in their foot.
Damn Sparkle Horses.
"We have to nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
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