12 replies to this topic

[tjb490]

The 3 day trial event is what turned me on to GW2. I played GW1 and was excited for the release of the sequel, but when it came out I wasn't ready to shovel $60 for the game especially if I didn't like it. None of my friends played it so I never got to try it. After the 3 day trial, me and a few of my friends were hooked. We all bought and showed our friends the game and they have purchased it as well. I feel like letting people try the game for 2 weeks or even just one, prior to buying it would bring a lot of people that were tentative in purchasing the game. Just put some restrictions on how far they could go, how many characters you could make, etc. They should feel confident in their product that once they play it, they will love it.

[Br0th3r6r1m]

yeah, I agree...Strike while the iron is hot.  Free Trials, marketing bump etc, keep the game population high and well fed.

[Gadian]

I agree. I have been trying to talk one of my friends for ages to get in but he's really careful about money and was asking after a free trial. I had to say there was none and he was really bummed. For many it could do the trick, because I sure was in love by the time my first beta was over.

[Thaddeuz]

Yep, i got two friend that asked me about a free trial. That would help a lot Arena Net and the players.

[Lordkrall]

It is a double-edged sword sadly.

Sure, some new players might come, but at the same time we will have legions of trolls and haters joining up just to destroy the community and the games reputation.
It would also make it much easier for gold sellers and botters unless you completely restricted emailing and trading on the TP.

[raspberry jam]

tjb490, on 06 January 2013 - 04:40 AM, said:

I feel like letting people try the game for 2 weeks

Why all the hatred. Imagine if we all just could live in peace instead.

[Arquenya]

tjb490, on 06 January 2013 - 04:40 AM, said:

I feel like letting people try the game for 2 weeks or even just one, prior to buying it would bring a lot of people that were tentative in purchasing the game.

Two weeks would be a bit too long, an average hardcore player could get 80 in exotics within that timespan and see no reason to buy the game anymore

[beadnbutter32]

Free to Play is stalking this stumbling hulk.

[Lordkrall]

beadnbutter32, on 16 January 2013 - 12:15 PM, said:

Free to Play is stalking this stumbling hulk.

Of coooourse it is.......


There is no reason for them to go F2P.
They have sold 3 million accounts within half a year. And clearly there are still loads of people playing.

[tjb490]

Two weeks

Arquenya, on 16 January 2013 - 11:06 AM, said:

Two weeks would be a bit too long, an average hardcore player could get 80 in exotics within that timespan and see no reason to buy the game anymore

I see what you mean completely, two weeks seems a little long. To counter that all they would have to do is have a level cap of lets say 20 or 30. Or even make it just a week trial. Another person commented about gold spammers, yes it is a definite risk, but there are things to limit them from advertising massively on map chat or in Lions Arch. The solution that I feel would work is making it so they can't yell in map chat and cannot get to Lion's Arch. Putting a level cap of 20-30 negates the need to be in Lion's Arch for sure except for your 30 story line quest, which would be capped and locked out, until you purchase the game. Another idea I have with the gold spammers is to give those people no way to communicate with others other than just "say" chat. When first starting the game its incredibly easy to get into and there is no need to have to talk to anyone for quite a while.

Edited by tjb490, 16 January 2013 - 11:58 PM.

[Reverse Ghost]

I think they should start by doing some free weekends every few months. LIke they did before, when some new content drops that they think might attract new players they could do a free weekend to get new potential buyers in there.

Eventually, after the game has been out long enough, I'd like to see some kind of permanent free trial like WoW has, where you can play as long as you want but can only get to X level (along with other restrictions).

[beadnbutter32]

Lordkrall, on 16 January 2013 - 12:20 PM, said:

They have sold 3 million accounts within half a year. And clearly there are still loads of people playing.

That is minuscule compared to successful titles like MOH and WOW.
I doubt that is enough cash to sustain their current workforce and operating expenses.

Most MMO's in that position turn to free to play as it re-vitalizes the player base size and helps keep long timers around, but the downside is more pressure is placed on squeezing revenue out of players via the cash shop and other 'cash sinks'.

At 3 million they are just treading water a little better than SWTOR which clocked around 2 million and they had to go F2P.

If they want to stave off F2P they need to sell more copies. I don't think positioning themselves as the Jumping Puzzler's MMO helps in that regard.

I think they have burned quite a few bridges in terms of attracting back old players and attracting new ones with the this years 'free content additions (Karka event, holiday events, etc.) so I doubt more of the same is going to turn the tide.  All of that content was buggy and a good portion was rather juvenile.

Going F2P almost guarantees an uptick in new players, which makes it pretty irresistible to the bean counters in charge.

You know things are bad when any developer has to resort to promising a boatload of stuff they claim to have ready 'real soon now' just to try and stave off the exodus.

Unless they start completing in a short time large portions of promised content that is incomplete (esports, LFG tools, a less grindy economy, filling out the whole ascended scheme throughout the game, etc.) I am pretty sure we will at least see more 'Free Weekends' and eventually F2P.

Edited by beadnbutter32, 17 January 2013 - 02:56 AM.

[adra12]

I disagree bead. The difference between SWTOR and GW2 is that SWTOR had a very different initial model and was attempting to convert a large part of the WoW population using the Star Wars legacy. GW2 has attempted to bring the GW1 community into the MMO world wihle keeping as many as possible and make a game for people that are sick of the WoW model. While they haven't totaly succeeded with that quest 3million when compared to 2 million is a lot bigger than you give it credit for, its 50%. Also the player activity curve for SWTOR showed a sharper than average decline over the first 6 months whereas GW2 showed an about average, maybe even a little better than average decline.(All games decline over the first half year but the steepness of the decline and the starting point (total sales) is what matters.

Overtime retailers and the ANet site will have deals that lessen the price of the game or offer extra content to attempt to get the player base where they need to meet their business model but I don't expect them to make the client free.

Also they don;t really need to greatly sell more copies to stay profitable they just need to keep a strong core player base that buys gems regularly.

Edited by adra12, 17 January 2013 - 02:34 PM.