11-30-2011, 10:30 AM
I would love to see numbers on stuff like this. Apparently I greatly underestimate how much people are willing to spend on completely cosmetic upgrades. POTBS apparently thrives on people buying new shoulder pets (which do nothing) and consumables (which are identical to the ones you can craft -- in fact, you can craft one level higher than you can purchase with money).
Maybe the crafting system would be a good target.
Bring up the crafting window.
You can build the item you want in the normal fashion
OR
You can purchase, via microtransaction, a lesser version of that item
e.g., you can craft a "Greater Healing Potion" or you can purchase a "Healing Potion". You can craft a Longsword +2 or you can purchase a Longsword +1.
That keeps top tier stuff in the hands of gamers but lets spenders buy stuff that's good, but one step down.
Planetside could let you obtain level 20 and then purchase additional levels after that. Level 20 is enough diversity that you can do most things, and respec occasionally to do other things, but you could buy 10 more levels and never have to respec again because you can do everything. EVE could do the same thing. $50 buys you 3 years worth of skill points. So you download the game for free can either putt around the newbie zones like now or you can spend $50 and immediately advance to the big leagues (at least skill-point wise).
So I might pay for something like that. MMORPG PvP wargame. Free. Log in and you're level 1. Standard MMORPG grind to 50 --or-- for $39.95 you get the "starter kit" that moves you immediately to max level and gives you a basic gear loadout so you can join the endgame, which is just a big PvP war. Then the crafting thing I stated above. Fight over resources and craft the good stuff, but you can always buy one tier lower with cash. (Or for a PvP wargame, maybe you fight over resources for top tier, buy tier-1 with in-game gold and buy tier-2 with cash.)
Maybe the crafting system would be a good target.
Bring up the crafting window.
You can build the item you want in the normal fashion
OR
You can purchase, via microtransaction, a lesser version of that item
e.g., you can craft a "Greater Healing Potion" or you can purchase a "Healing Potion". You can craft a Longsword +2 or you can purchase a Longsword +1.
That keeps top tier stuff in the hands of gamers but lets spenders buy stuff that's good, but one step down.
Planetside could let you obtain level 20 and then purchase additional levels after that. Level 20 is enough diversity that you can do most things, and respec occasionally to do other things, but you could buy 10 more levels and never have to respec again because you can do everything. EVE could do the same thing. $50 buys you 3 years worth of skill points. So you download the game for free can either putt around the newbie zones like now or you can spend $50 and immediately advance to the big leagues (at least skill-point wise).
So I might pay for something like that. MMORPG PvP wargame. Free. Log in and you're level 1. Standard MMORPG grind to 50 --or-- for $39.95 you get the "starter kit" that moves you immediately to max level and gives you a basic gear loadout so you can join the endgame, which is just a big PvP war. Then the crafting thing I stated above. Fight over resources and craft the good stuff, but you can always buy one tier lower with cash. (Or for a PvP wargame, maybe you fight over resources for top tier, buy tier-1 with in-game gold and buy tier-2 with cash.)