Extended Freebie Friday feedback
Gotta agree entirely with this.
It lasts long enough that it can't be easily forgotten, and although I have no use (at least, currently) for a princess hat, it's far more exciting than an inspiration or a rez.
A free new costume piece every week is probably not realistic, but even just knowing that the freebie might be such an item will make future Freebie Fridays an "ooh, wonder what we'll get this week" for me, rather than "eh, might as well claim the freebie".
captain-electric
stamp of approval
@Captain-Electric � Detective Marvel � The Sapien Spider � Moravec Man � The Old Norseman
Dark-Eyes � Doctor Serpentine � Stonecaster � Skymaiden � The Blue Jaguar
Guide to Altitis � A Comic for New Players � The Lore Project � Intro to extraterrestrials in CoH
Paragon Wiki: http://www.paragonwiki.com
City Info Terminal: http://cit.cohtitan.com
Mids Hero Designer: http://www.cohplanner.com
Wait, princess hat? I was abroad and had no time for City of Heroes. What did I miss? Was it exclusive? New? Can I get it after the fact for real money?
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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Wait, princess hat? I was abroad and had no time for City of Heroes. What did I miss? Was it exclusive? New? Can I get it after the fact for real money?
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Not sure if Freebie Friday is still running, you can log in and check.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
![Big Grin](images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
Ah, I see. Thank you. I checked and it's still free. Says it will be for another 10 hours or so. I still hope it's purchaseable for actual money after the free grace period expires, though.
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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I just have to say, guys, that extending Freebie Friday over the weekend was pure genius!
Seriously, I hope that you see a rate of participation that is significantly higher enough to justify making this change permanent. It was really, really nice not thinking at work on Friday, "Crap, I forgot to log in last night!" I actually claimed my princess hat this morning (Sunday), and I have to say, I look mighty pretty in it. ![]() If the goal is to get more people (especially so-called "casual players") active in the store, this was the best way to do it. Before, practically speaking, most players had a very small window on a weeknight when, frankly, most people are busy and have a lot of real-life stuff going on. Now, they can hit the store at their leisure when most people will be playing more anyway. In short: VERY high approval rating on this one! |
There are some things you can't unthink.
![EEK!](images/smilies/eek.gif)
In all seriousness, we wanted to make sure this particular offer got as many eyes on it as possible. With the launch of Issue 23, we knew that more people than a "normal" weekend would be online, but better to give ample opportunity.
At this time, we don't have any immediate plans to offer the Princess Hat in the Paragon Market but this can always change.
Andy Belford
Community Manager
Paragon Studios
/sign.
Over a whole weekend meant I could leave messages in SG MOTD's and tell friends and random Pugs about it.
I don't suffer from altitis, I enjoy every minute of it.
Thank you Devs & Community people for a great game.
So sad to be ending ):
I dont get why Freebie friday starts on thursday and ends friday afternoon. Why not have it start friday morning and run to saturday morning?
Jay Doherty: Yes, there was this one night that I was ready to go home but had to drop the browns off at the super bowl before I left for home. While on the throne it hit me. I stayed for a few more hours and that why we have the pain pads in the game.
Throwing darts at the board to see if something sticks.....
![](http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/NCNiviene/City%20Of/Vigilante_Icon_Web.png)
Come show your resolve and fight my brute!
Tanks: Gauntlet, the streak breaker and you!
Originally Posted by PapaSlade
Rangle's right....this is fun.
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Please, change. No one likes having costume items getting offered once, only to have them taken away for a whole year, or even forever. No one. I dare you to find me someone who actually likes that and prefers it over having the option year round.
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-D
Darkonne: Pinnacle's (unofficially) mighty Dark Miasma/Radiation Blast enthusiast!
Be sure to check out this mighty Arc:
#161865 - Aeon's Nemesis
I'm going against the grain on this. Limited time offers like this aren't a new business strategy. They aren't a Paragon Studios thing. They're an industry staple. I don't think you can change this reality with a forum thread. These events generate interest and reward participation. It's a strategy that works. Events like this get people to log in and talk about the Market to their friends, something that may be less likely to happen when something is just always going to be there and can be taken for granted. I even suspect the player base at large and MMO players in general appreciate the diversity that emerges out of sporadic freebies, exclusive offers and contests.
@Captain-Electric � Detective Marvel � The Sapien Spider � Moravec Man � The Old Norseman
Dark-Eyes � Doctor Serpentine � Stonecaster � Skymaiden � The Blue Jaguar
Guide to Altitis � A Comic for New Players � The Lore Project � Intro to extraterrestrials in CoH
![Frown](images/smilies/frown.gif)
We've been saving Paragon City for eight and a half years. It's time to do it one more time.
(If you love this game as much as I do, please read that post.)
I think I saw you at the Player Summit. And yes, you'd look striking in the Princess hat.
Throwing darts at the board to see if something sticks.....
![](http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/NCNiviene/City%20Of/Vigilante_Icon_Web.png)
Come show your resolve and fight my brute!
Tanks: Gauntlet, the streak breaker and you!
Originally Posted by PapaSlade
Rangle's right....this is fun.
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I even suspect the player base at large and MMO players in general appreciate the diversity that emerges out of sporadic freebies, exclusive offers and contests.
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Take me, for example. City of Heroes is more or less my only entertainment spending, at least usually. I have no compunctions about dropping, say, $10 to get a costume set I want that just came out. A freebie really doesn't carry that much appeal to me, in the sense that I won't get off my *** and go out of my way to claim it. If it's something I want, sure, I'll get it, but I'd have paid for it, too. If it's something I don't want, like pretty much all the previous freebies, then I won't bother even if it's free. A minor XP Booster? No, thanks. I have 20 major ones as part of my subscription. The logistics of claiming it, picking a character for it, claiming it on that and then picking a time to use it just isn't worth the bother.
As far as I'm concerned, "exclusive" offers should only be exclusive as freebies or for a certain amount of time, after which time people should be allowed to just buy them. The studio gets nothing by denying me the ability to spend money to get a cosmetic item I want.
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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When the piece is available for a very short time with no warning and no way to even know what the freebie is from the announcement, I would hope it returns in some way or another in the future.
I'm... not sure what grain Captain-Electric is going against, but I think limited time offers are great. Like I said, this Freebie has me actually excited for future Freebie Fridays, even if surprises like this are rare. I just hope that if I'm out of town for a weekend or whatever, I don't come back to "oh man, the freebie was awesome, too bad it is forever out of your reach".
There's no reason to not offer this for money at a later date. It's no less sporadic or exclusive.
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![Smile](images/smilies/smile.gif)
As far as I'm concerned, "exclusive" offers should only be exclusive as freebies or for a certain amount of time, after which time people should be allowed to just buy them. The studio gets nothing by denying me the ability to spend money to get a cosmetic item I want.
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Bear in mind that at no point have I stated my own preference or opinion about any of this. I was just chiming in to explain why the industry uses these strategies and that they're not going to stop on account of this forum thread.
![Stick Out Tongue](images/smilies/tongue.gif)
@Captain-Electric � Detective Marvel � The Sapien Spider � Moravec Man � The Old Norseman
Dark-Eyes � Doctor Serpentine � Stonecaster � Skymaiden � The Blue Jaguar
Guide to Altitis � A Comic for New Players � The Lore Project � Intro to extraterrestrials in CoH
I'm... not sure what grain Captain-Electric is going against...
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Please, change. No one likes having costume items getting offered once, only to have them taken away for a whole year, or even forever. No one. I dare you to find me someone who actually likes that and prefers it over having the option year round.
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What he said. I don't see why you would want to not make money selling the hat to the rest of the people who desire it.
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Also, the word "forever" is getting thrown around a bit. The point isn't to withhold assets forever. Withholding an asset may be used as a strategy to increase the perceived value of an asset. There's usually no profit in withholding an asset forever; although I have seen MMOs create assets in order to sell them only once for a limited time, I wouldn't typically expect that here.
@Captain-Electric � Detective Marvel � The Sapien Spider � Moravec Man � The Old Norseman
Dark-Eyes � Doctor Serpentine � Stonecaster � Skymaiden � The Blue Jaguar
Guide to Altitis � A Comic for New Players � The Lore Project � Intro to extraterrestrials in CoH
These points, not so much agreement. For YOU and ME, it's all about the princess hat, or whatever. So that's how the whole issue is framed in your mind. For MARKETING, it's all about getting you into the MARKET to click around on stuff. In some cases, the studio gets a lot by encouraging a set of expectations and habits based on denying you the ability to spend money to get a cosmetic item you want at a later date than RIGHT NOW. Even when the bait is FREE, there is a relationship being established here--on their terms.
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I'm fine with getting a great deal by checking the Market every Friday. That's a good idea overall, and I like it. Getting an EXCLUSIVE for checking the Market is NOT a good idea for the simple fact that I don't always have a chance to do so exactly on the day when I'm supposed to, and I don't appreciate having my arm twisted to do it, anyway. In short, get people to check the Market by saying "Order now and you get a better deal!" and not "Order now or you can never order again!"
Now, I got the hat. Lucky for me, it was still buyable mid-day Tuesday on my side of the world. That was pure luck, though, in that I recovered from my gruelling business trip in time enough to be able to care about playing games, but I was THIS close to missing it. I caught the "sale" within about 8 hours of it going down, and the only reason I did was I caught a thread about it on the forums since the previous Freeby Friday sales were such crap.
We don't need EA style marketing here.
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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Well, I'm not arguing against your sentiment, Sam, I'm arguing against the likelihood that your sentiment is worth its weight in profit by comparison to what we're getting now.
You don't like the way they're experimenting with the Market at the moment, and you hope they'll stop. But they have to weigh that dissatisfaction against even harder data, like, "Did we make a profit?" If they make a profit, then people are buying it. In which case your ire might be better directed toward your fellow player-consumers.
If you don't like the style of marketing used by Paragon Studios, definitely let them know. But definitely get other people who don't like it to let them know, too, because (and this isn't meant as a dig) the same faces who complain about every issue's features aren't ever going to have as much impact as the player base at large.
And I don't recommend throwing the "I can never have it ever?" line around, because Paragon Studios never says never anymore, and they have reiterated this with every limited time deal (such as tier 9 sets and holiday-themed costume powers) in recent history. You know why.
This isn't EA style marketing. I can tell you horror stories.
@Captain-Electric � Detective Marvel � The Sapien Spider � Moravec Man � The Old Norseman
Dark-Eyes � Doctor Serpentine � Stonecaster � Skymaiden � The Blue Jaguar
Guide to Altitis � A Comic for New Players � The Lore Project � Intro to extraterrestrials in CoH
I'm throwing "never" around as a hypothetical situation, just to describe the kind of thing I don't want to see. I don't know how much money Paragon Studios marketing think they're making, but JUST getting people to acknowledge the Paragon Market exists is not enough to turn a profit. These people need to go there and specifically see something they want to have.
I'll give you an example - the Steam Store. There was a time when I'd order Steam to start straight in my Games Library since I thought to use it just to launch my games. But then I spotted something in the Market, I think it was L4D2, at a 75% discount and thought... "Wow, I didn't really care much for this game, but for that amount of money, sure. Why not?" I bought it, I loved it, and then a while later I went back to look for more discounts. This time I snagged Portal dirt cheap. Possibly even for free, there was a giveaway at one point. Then after a while I caught myself logging into Steam, going to the Store, browsing the "Specials" and promptly logging back out without even playing a game. Eventually, I apologised to Steam and asked it to start logging me into the store first anyway.
My point with this? I wouldn't go to a store and shop if all I wanted was a specific item, especially if I'm forced to log in and claim it at a time when I don't feel inclined to shop. I'd go shopping if I log into the store and see something that's either so awesome I gotta' have it or something at such a discount I might as well get it, and the Paragon Store "Featured" section is a FAILURE on both counts. The featured stuff is crap most of the time and the only discounts I ever seem to see are for consumables like enhancement recipes.
Generally speaking, I fail to see how getting me to go to the store and get an item for free is earning Paragon Studios any money, when the store I have to visit has crap in it that has pretty much zero chance of getting me to make an impulse purchase. That's twice as unlikely when I have to log into the store in a hurry for fear of missing the exclusive giveaway where I REALLY don't want to shop, but I gotta' so better hurry. This doesn't put me in the mood to buy, it puts me in the mood to cash in and run.
I don't need free bait to go to the Market. What I need is discounts on expensive items. And I don't mean week-long discounts. Swap them around every day. If every day was a new discount, you bet I'd be going there all the time just to see if what I want isn't at a discount. Crap of the Hunter at a discount? Pass. Maybe tomorrow. Enhancement inventory increase at a discount? Hmm... Yeah, I'll buy that. What's next? Experience boosters at a discount? No thanks, I have plenty. What's next? Character slots at a discount? Yeah, I can always use some.
Trying to get people to just open the Market and see it exists with about the same subtlety as my mother insisting that no, really, I'll like olives if I would just try them is not something I foresee working. There needs to be stuff in there that I want to BUY, which going there for the freeby would show me, and there just simply isn't. Their discounts, as far as I've seen, have not been exciting.
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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I just have to say, guys, that extending Freebie Friday over the weekend was pure genius!
![Wink](images/smilies/wink.gif)
Seriously, I hope that you see a rate of participation that is significantly higher enough to justify making this change permanent. It was really, really nice not thinking at work on Friday, "Crap, I forgot to log in last night!" I actually claimed my princess hat this morning (Sunday), and I have to say, I look mighty pretty in it.
If the goal is to get more people (especially so-called "casual players") active in the store, this was the best way to do it. Before, practically speaking, most players had a very small window on a weeknight when, frankly, most people are busy and have a lot of real-life stuff going on. Now, they can hit the store at their leisure when most people will be playing more anyway.
In short: VERY high approval rating on this one!
We've been saving Paragon City for eight and a half years. It's time to do it one more time.
(If you love this game as much as I do, please read that post.)