New Guild Halls...too expensive

The problem is, twits who place their personal worth on meaningless but expensive status symbols will still buy Gucci purses. Do you see Gucci make a purse for under $20? nope. They don't need to. They have their whales hooked.
Will this model work for a MMOG? Not bloody likely unless it's a country club simulator.
Will it look like an awesome idea from the business owner's point of view and the accountant's point of view? Yes in deedy. They will get to lay off more of the staff because less work is needed for the same (or more) money coming in.
Will the owners of the company demand more of the same? Undeniably. Most likely will phase out the cheap/reasonable prices over time if they think it will fatten their wallets. Never forget, the owner of DBG is an investment firm. Money is all they want. If it gets them more money to charge insane prices till no one plays, they still win because they fire every one, sell the hardware and whatever is not part of the building, sell the rights to the games to someone else who will drive it into the ground, then sell the HQ. :\ Columbus Nova doesn't need to think of the long term longevity of the game. It's like a diary farm. Milk it till it can't be milked, then sell the cow by the pound.

I think the ethics of the situation are what's being questioned throughout this thread.

OHhhh I just remembered another IRL situation that is similar. There was a drug that was helpful to AIDS patients, and the original company was charging $13.50 a Tablet, then some one bought the rights and started charging $750 a tablet. Yes, the situation was much more serious, but people wound up making a difference by vocalizing their discontent with the "because I feel like it" reasoning behind the price tag. A quote from one article
“What is it that they are doing differently that has led to this dramatic increase?” said Dr. Judith Aberg

I do not necessarily disagree with some of your points. Sometimes knowing when not to speak is more important than knowing what to say. I think that if I went into detail about some of these issues to properly have that discussion it would derail the thread further and possibly get it/me moderated.

Seriously? You're actually comparing virtual, pixellated "housing" in a video game to an AIDS drug in real life? No, sorry, those two situations are not even remotely similar. Please get some perspective: the AIDS patient needs that medicine; there is no way you can reasonably claim anything remotely similar with these guild halls.

I understand people are upset about these prices -- though, to an extent, I'm not sure why, given that these guild halls are quite clearly meant for quite large guilds who can reduce the price to $1 or so per member (it's called "economy of scale," an excellent economic term people should get to know) & thus are painfully clearly not intended for small "friends & family" guilds.

No, the only "problem" is you complaining about something that does not actually affect your life in the slightest, while pretending that it does. Other people buying Gucci purses are not your business, any more than people with more money than brains buying these guild halls. The faux outrage in this thread is staggering.

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*Nods with Tekka ;o/

So many thoughtful, well written comments and suggestions in this thread.

We do still see the creative efforts the production dev team puts out and appreciate the response with which they jump on issues with regard to bugs/things not working correctly, when they do.

Many, many EQ II customers also are business owners themselves as well as have careers in the gaming industry.
We understand the team concept, and a unified message/public face is very important.

We are in this thread expressing opinions about a specific issue; but we are also very concerned about the precedent having been set in motion to put more out there for our consumption at a high irl coin price, with less value, less consideration/testing being utilized in the production of said content etc.

But this ploy, or tactic is pretty much in plain sight and its right to express opinions and make clear statements both as customers, but more importantly as fans. I think its the second distinction that is also resonating very strongly in this discussion.

The distinctions that have come about since Columbus Nova took over are concerning, particularly for long-term EQ II customers, but more broadly as well. Taking a look at the many search hits for the corporation, one can gain a lot of insight reading their mission statements and reading through an overview of their employees and a seemingly prestigious list of key decision makers/executives with finance backgrounds. Here is their very succinct Linked in blurbs: https://www.linkedin.com/company/columbus-nova

Great discussion in this thread! Thanks for the many varying viewpoints being expressed; some great ideas also!

As has been noted, every single EQ II player 'votes' or registers their opinion about the various 'changes' made, to the company directly via the recreational currency those players commit to spending via subscriptions and purchases related to the ingame world.

Thinking on it.

You are kidding right?
You have NEVER contacted a company about something you found unsatisfactory? You've never once contacted a company/store that sold you goods that were unsatisfactory? You have never given reviews about service, quality of goods, etc? I don't know where you live, but I've yet to run into a business that didn't allow me to tell them about my experience and what they could do to make it better. In fact, many shops these days have surveys on the receipts asking for exactly this kind of feedback. It's very common.


There are some places I just laugh about their absurd prices and move on, but when places I've frequented before have drastic changes in a way I consider for the worse, I most certainly do contact them.

Well said!

Once in a great while, I may contact a business about an issue. But comparing something like that to the endless whining drivel in these forums over the most minor of bugs and game issues? In exchange for a measly 15 bucks / month (and in many cases free gameplay) which calculates out to fractions of a cent / hour of entertainment?

Well, there is just no comparison there.

This thread actually got me to find out that it's possible to block or ignore members. I found this thread much more enjoyable after that, if a bit fragmented. If the infraponts are stressing you out, make them invisible. It's so much less stressful.

This is a valid addition for the discussion, which has otherwise seemingly derailed.

While the leader is responsible for the purchase of the hall itself, all Guild Members contribute to the ability to make said purchase, via status contributions. The upkeep for the hall comes from the door (many donate in our guild).

You cannot purchase one of the existing higher tier halls, unless you have appropriate Guild Level, status and plat. The New Guild Halls are Lvl. 30, same as the starter halls. So, players can do a ton of writs...or they now have the option to purchase tickets. While some may find these too pricey, others may prefer paying for convenience, similar to players purchasing a krono to sell for plat.

http://www.columbusnovamb.com/

If you didn't see this GH idea coming they sure put it on their websites to let you know .

Alternative Asset Platform

Select, qualified investors and clients receive the opportunity to participate in attractive, alternative asset platforms not generally available to individuals.

yes i recently purchased a new hall for my alt guild. the plat came from my personal money. the status came from the guild hall escrow. had there not been enough, however, it would all have come from my personal status.

however, as leader of another guild with over 30 members, i can tell you that while a few of the officers in the guild contribute to the escrow, most don't. i have even been in guilds where they had to ask people to contribute. most members are not even aware of the deposit feature on guild halls because they seldom open the house window.

if there were another way to make them aware, it would be nice. i set up actors in my hall to explain it but i am sure most people ignore what actors say

i would not have connected such a statement to guild halls in the game. that is simply a statement about an investment opportunity for select, qualified investors and clients. it has nothing to do with anything in the game.

I was comparing the reasons for raising the price, actually. (AKA, no actual changes, improvements, increased workload, etc..) It was simply the most familiar story with the same lack of reasons for the price increase. If you can find a better fitting story that people were likely to have heard of, please, feel free to bring one in. It's something that is actually done frequently (in the court of law for example). Oh, and FYI, it was a large variety of older, cheaply made drugs that rights to were bought and massively price gouged, not just the aids medication. That was just the one that drew attention to the situation.

And the point is, it hasn't affected me yet, but (Again, someone has ignored the question in favor of trying to make every one that has a lick of common sense look like a drama queen on the basis that they think $400 is too much)
Ahemmmm... (here's hoping the "$400 is reasonable and you poor people should suck it up" types hear me)
What do you expect all future prices to look like if no one makes a peep about $400 for a copy pasted partial zone ?
Don't forget, once outrageously priced status item like Gucci purses became a "thing" more items popped up at outrageously high prices. Yes, in the real world there were still cheap brands, but that's another thing about the drug companies buying out cheap drugs and skyrocketing the prices; there were no other sources to go to, only other countries.

I suspect the "it's worth $400" people just enjoy trying to puff themselves up by being the "enlightened" minority. Have they actually shown any spec on logic how any GH could be worth $350 or $400... I'm still waiting on that one. They just keep avoiding that issue by "Oh, you can't prove worth" which, oddly enough, could be used either way, at best, or "I already did"... where? o.0
I even went through the trouble of describing step by step how to view the prices on previous copy pasted partial zones, but they ignored it. /..\
I even suggested a use for the $1 tickets (making all the old suburbs, Mara island, etc.. available as houses at normal prices, but only with the tickets), but that was ignored too. Funny, huh?

These people who ignore common sense and defend the lack of quality are one of the reasons I keep thinking the world is just one big assylum. :\

The fact remains that shocking price tags are not going to bring in new players, and prices will push players we do have toward quitting.
From the business side of the company the amount of profit will make it look like a great idea anyway, and will happen more and more, like how at first they had the Goblin Game tickets, then added more and more gambling at higher prices. (merc crates) Oh! And then they stopped writs at guild level 101 so the most "efficient" way to level a guild is to buy the merc crates and vendor them... That was that pattern, now starts the pattern of horrendously over priced items.

It does though.

"Select, qualified investors and clients" (that's us, or those of us that want to spend $400 for a guild hall) "receive the opportunity to participate in attractive, alternative asset platforms not generally available to individuals."

That basically means $400 cash for a guild hall that you can't get through game play rewards. You are basically buying half a zone from them. It could mean other things, as well - private servers, for example.

I have to stress that I'm pretty certain NO ONE has any problem with DBG trying to earn money. It's what a business does. We have all said many times that we hope they are hugely successful. That huge success is, Im afraid, predicated on providing a product that people want to use.

A high-ticket item that's meant to be an in-game status symbol only works if you have a basic/general population to oo and ahhh over it. If your average joe player is hating the game and leaves, that alternative asset loses the cachet because of a small population. It's like pixel real estate. If you want to keep the market up, you keep the neighborhood attractive.

I would think they'd rather cultivate a market that would easily buy 40,000 $10 pixel items (which are, after all, copies..they just have to be made once). Than have to work harder to sell 1000 $400 items. The first example represents a healthy game population buying a ton of micro (meaning: small) transactions than the very few whales left to buy the super expensive things.

I mean, that's what I'd think anyway.

I think the same. Very well stated post.

And yes some games I've played really did have the 'us and them' sorts of items. Things your toon wore or carried that told the world that you were well in your way to whaledom. What was overwhelming the response was discomfort. Seeing someone running about in a grand of gear (as in a thousand real life dollars) was concerning and off putting. People throwing a lot of cash at pixels is rare and doesn't always net them.the popularity and happiness promised. I for sure don't begrudge anyone with the means to do so to spend their money as they want but the games I've been in with mega whales never seemed to do well. I would think that 90+% of us here aren't looking to drop hundreds on a game asset. I feel like a lot of us wouldn't be here if we switched over to a whale and win culture.

If there had never been guild houses, if this was all brand new, it still shouldn't cost ten times the price of the latest expansion...should it?

Agreed. I'd be very interested in what the sales figures are since this was introduced. We have a lot of sales theorycrafting here, but bottom line is..well..bottom line.

I wonder how many they've sold.

I was originally checking forums to find out if anyone else was complaining/wanting ability to fly in these halls in hopes they'd change that. My original participation in my guild was only to serve as a plug for a family of 4 that wanted to start one, but for the past two or more years, I've been the only person playing. Now that I know the actual price of these, there is no way I'm going to be purchasing it.

This isn't an issue of fairness. It is about the absurdity of the fact that, as you yourself have stated, these are just appearance items. Let us get real here. Slapping a coat of fool's gold on a Toyota does not magically turn it into a luxury item worthy of luxury pricing.

For $50 more bucks you could gold member 6 accounts for 3 months all with the current expacs. Dollars don't seem to put it in perspective so maybe this might help.