WoW Token Launches Tomorrow - 30,000 Gold For 30 Days Game Time

[MonsterCrit]

*sigh* So trusting. You're right technically it doesn't act as a direct Goldsink.. so long as the person who put it up is a valid player account and not say an Account created by Blizzard. You see that's the problem. Folks are far too trusting.. I mean the RMAH in D3, did anyon really, really think all those items were put up by other players? Really. Nope. I'd bet dollars that more than a few of them items were put up by blizzard. There very own version of the Mann Co. Store. Now see, there's no real way of knowing yeah or nay for sure but from the shennanigans that Blizzard has pulled in the past and thevery way they designed their game... I find it very hard to believe in their beneficence. Sorry

It would be quite stupid for Blizzard to use this as a goldsink when they could easily have other gold sinks made that does not actually cost them profits. if Blizz used this as a gold sink it means they gone completely alergic to money. and i think youll agree thats not the case. Selling items as gold sink is one thing, selling game time is another. selling items does not cost blizzard anything. selling these tokens means lost revenue.

Sure, there is no way of knowing for sure, but unless blizzard decided to go bacrupt for some reason we can come to a reasonable conclusion.

Is it costing them profit. FOr each Token up on the market.. how many players do you think are grinding gold. They needed to have actually paid to get online to grind that gold.

Remember there's mor than direct Monetary value at stake here. WoW's biggest issue has been retaining playerbase and keeping their servers sufficiently populated. Having a bunch of people milling around farming and such to get their 30k gold would do well for making servers look busy and populated..

There's also the fact that in trying to build up that gold it will entrench an even deeper level of habituation in players. A lot of WoW works on routine habit. Many play it not so much out o enjoyment or desire as they do habit and routine. I know. I was one of them. It wasn't until a hurricane severed internet access for a month or so that I realized just how much of a habit it was and once I tried playing it again I was able to see the skinner box in all it's glory. I realized That I wasn't so much playing for challenge, or fun, but just because it had become a routine.

At high levels though players are more apt to slip that routine especially since you can essentially buy a high level character now. Players get the benefit of experiencing the end game quickly but without developing the habituation that normally comes from the grind of leveling. So now you have this... because lets's be honest, only players above level 60 have any hope of farming up that kind of gold at any reasonable speed. Which is exactly where they need it. They need the new insta-high-level players who never got habitualized by leveling to stick around. Rather than see the content , get bored and move on to other games.

So back to what I said. One token available will probably have 4 such players grinding away to get the gold for it and getting habitualized. One of them will get it and get a month free.. the other three will pay for another month to continue grinding so they can get the next token.

Giving One playery the occasional freebie is worth keeping many more player grinding and locked into the system.

 

[Strazdas]

I see it as a good move. They effectively control inflation, funnel money away from the game world, and keep hardcore players happy, while making the game more accesible for casual audiences who have a hard time getting good stuff early on due to high prices at the AH. All while still making a profit.

this does not remove any money from the game world.

Is it costing them profit. FOr each Token up on the market.. how many players do you think are grinding gold. They needed to have actually paid to get online to grind that gold.

No it is not. All tokens are bought for 20 dollars, this means they get MORE revenue from people buying tokens than from people buying gametime and at the same time they curb illegal gold for gametime trade.

It doesnt matter how many players are grinding gold because each gametime purchased by gold is still money for blizzard.

Remember there's mor than direct Monetary value at stake here. WoW's biggest issue has been retaining playerbase and keeping their servers sufficiently populated. Having a bunch of people milling around farming and such to get their 30k gold would do well for making servers look busy and populated..

oh i dont know, as the largest subscribtion based game in the world id say their playerbase is quite large.

So back to what I said. One token available will probably have 4 such players grinding away to get the gold for it and getting habitualized. One of them will get it and get a month free.. the other three will pay for another month to continue grinding so they can get the next token.

Giving One playery the occasional freebie is worth keeping many more player grinding and locked into the system.

I can see where you are coming from but the phrase "Thats not how it works, thats not how any of this works" comes to mind. if they make available tokens a quarter of demand for tokens they have completely failed to implement this system. though the very first post on this thread makes me think they are planning to.