New Marketplace Items: Bovochs and Bristlebane!

Sigh. Once again. Trying to position yourself ahead of time with advantage for something that doesnt exist yet... is guessing about the future. When you back up your guess with money (or any other kind of risk, actually), that's gambling. It is functionally equivalent to participating in the futures market. Hence my SEC reference. You don't have to be in Las Vegas to gamble. You mentioned expectations. So you're mostly there. The reason expectations aren't called certaintations is because people can be wrong. It isnt SoE's fault that people guess wrong. There's nothing wrong with those people either. Everyone guesses wrong sometimes, and if nobody guessed wrong, then the interaction would be very boring.

Or do I have to put every other word in caps for you to pay attention?

And once again, knock off the misrepresentation and strawman BS.

I bought Wal-Mart game cards for double SC like I always do - regardless of wanting to add a pink meatbeast to one toon's collection. I have four accounts and all sorts of alts and house projects to get goodies for....so yeah, double/triple SC is super nice when offered and I try to get a card or two when I can.

I got a couple of the regular ones for other toons and some other goodies and then budgeted out what I thought would be enough for the pink beasty based on previous mount prices. Because my brain doesn't see a recolor as all that special and figured the one day sale was enough to make it a rare creature.

Then the pricing was released. I was disappointed, but the world wasn't going to end because my pink crazy toon couldn't get her pink beasty. And I didn't have to worry about rushing home on Monday after my volunteer duties to buy it. In fact, I didn't even bother logging in at all and had a cozy evening watching movies with the husband.

Do I think this situation could have been handled better - yes, I do, though I'm not sure how other than not charging a rather excessive price for so very little. But it would appear there are enough people who bought it that they consider high prices on silly digital items with a very limited use to have been a mostly successful experiment. This isn't like me buying an OBJ file that could be brought into various programs, added to, re-textured however I wanted it to be, hell - even printed or the like because one can't use these files outside of the game.

I won't be a super premium item customer in the future either, so I'm probably not the one they want to make happy anyway. I don't mind paying for the game, or the occasional bit of fluff when it strikes my fancy - but super expensive items are less money for other things I also enjoy doing. And I can get a hell of a lot of fabric or yarn for $50 instead (so I can crochet myself a pink beasty if I feel like it).

Nope. Lempo himself said that we should be thanking Smedly for stepping in to fix the issue. Why should I be thanking someone for being forced to resolved a customer service nightmare that his own employees created.

I don't thank people for screwing up.

For those of you defending SOE in this, then answer me this. Why is Dexella allowed to post this...

the day AFTER the sale has been completed, but yet we are given ample warning and notice of rebates and 1/2 off sales so that we can prepare ahead of time. There are no exact prices listen when these posts are made.

Why couldn't they have given this warning at the same time the Meatbeast promotion post was made on Friday. They don't have to list exact prices. All they have to do is announce they are going to be trying out a new premium pricing plan. That would have been enough.

They knew full well about the higher price. The reason they didn't is because it wasn't in their best interest financially.

Is this what you quoted Lempo above? On this very page? If so then we're beyond reading comprehension issues and well into deliberate dishonesty on your part.

Everything you've said about my posts has been either a deliberate lie or the product of reading only every third word of the post in the reflection of a dirty spoon. I have my opinion. Stop mentioning my name.

I think both sides have valid aspects, so I like posts where some sentiment was made that I agree with, from both sides. I'd have liked some of yours if you hadn't been as dogmatic about your own view as others are being about theirs, and so clearly disdainful of anyone who disagrees with you. I believe in politeness however annoyed you are - that's how I got PSS1 to talk to me when they wouldn't talk to anyone else. I also believe that SOE may well have used 'skillful marketing' to get as many people as possible to buy SC in the days before the pet was available - we can't know for sure. It is a matter of pure opinion whether that was fair or not. What is a fact is that people are upset about it the way SOE handled it and should not be belittled for it. I think SOE could have managed this little pricing experiment a lot better. Neither side is entirely blameless for this outcry - some for assuming (although not, IMO, unreasonably), and SOE for how the weekend and offers were run, timed and presented)

If people are being libelous, then I am sure SOE themselves are more than capable of handling it. It is for them to decide if they object or not.

I have no interest in getting into a pointless argument about this, and won't, so say what you like about me. You should know I am a reasonable, balanced and calm person by now. I usually see both side of most arguments, regardless of which I actually agree with. It is the same for this situation. I am more worried personally about where it could be headed in the future than this particular incident.

Nope. Explain to me how my reading comprehension is being deliberately dishonest.

This is what he has posted....

Sony bent over backwards to help us? Really? Really? Sony once again found themselves in hot water because they made unannounced changes to the Marketplace with no warning whatsoever that effected every single player in game and we should be thankful that they decided to reverse the decision after all the public outcry?

In case you don't remember that series of events, it wasn't until Smedley stepped in via Facebook/Twitter posts telling people that it would be reinstated temporarily that the issue even came under control. Smedly didn't just tweet about resolving the issues about people who were out of game. That was just his final one. You guys can play your selective memory game all you want.

I hold people accountable for their actions and treat them accordingly based on that. There was absolutely NOTHING in that SC subscription debacle that deserved us being thankful to Sony for. The only thing they did is covered their own *** after they got called out for screwing over the playerbase.

Maybe a bit off topic in light of recent conversations but here goes.

Re the Beefster Basket Heirloom Meatbeast Pets - I see in EQ2 Zam that they're described as House Pets. Will they be like mounts in that they can either be house pets or run around with a character in world as a companion after being examined?

Maybe a bit of a new-b question, but in some areas I'm still figuring EQ2 mechanics out. (edited because the forums think new-b is cussing )

SM

Q: What does customer service have to do with marketing? A: Absolutely nothing.

Did you accidentally delete your character? That is a CS issue. Did your account get double charged this month? CS issue. Did you upgrade to gold and it is still telling you that you need to purchase unlockers to equip your Legendary and/or Fabled gear? CS issue.

Are you butt-hurt disappointed that you couldn't get your pink meatbeast? That isn't a CS issue.

As for having an obligation to inform about upcoming item prices, they haven't, to my knowledge, announced any prices for upcoming items before they arrived to the marketplace, so there was no reasonable expectation that they would do so this time. As for the "price change", the only "price change" that occurred for that specific item was the "change" from 50K SC to 5K SC. But let's be honest, shall we, it probably never was 50K SC, and if this was the case, then no price change occurred.

Let's do. You are trying to conflate two separate events as a single über-event. The announcement for the berry-fed bovoch (as well as the other items with a Bristlebane theme) is found here (in this thread, btw), while the announcement for the station cash weekend is found here. That should be enough to suggest to you that they aren't part of the same event.

But let's, just for the sake of argument, assume that the two events are somehow related. The berry-fed bovoch was one of nine items announced in the post wherein it was contained. Have you considered the possibility that, given a relationship between the two announcement (which isn't necessarily the case, but for the purposes of the discussion, within this paragraph it is stipulated), the double station cash may have been intended to allow players to take advantage of the other eight items within the announcement? Especially given that they were available while the double station cash promotion was active.

But no. How about, instead of thinking logically, we throw out accusations because we are miffed due to our own misinterpretations.

You have some serious comprehension issues or you were not around when this went down and are only inorant to the facts let me clear them up for you.

SOE made a maybe blunder there by not announcing their intentions, though they were under no obligation to do so.
They backed off after the backlash from it and announced a grace period for any and all that wanted to use their SC to use it.
AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER
(I have to use big bright letters for you sometimes it seems)

AFTER The grace period expired and some players returned, some on a break from the game, some military returning from deployment whatever the case was when they complained that they didn't get in on the grace period is when Smedley stepped in and offered to take care of them personally. I think you are just being intentionally thick here.

No. Your tone and comments pretty much state where you stand. Sony bent over backwards for us according to your own post. Sony made a maybe blunder by your comments.

Removing a payment feature that hundreds if not thousands of players were using, some of them having it as their only option wasn't a real obligation for Sony to care about /sarcasm. That was plainly apparent by the fact that they removed it with no warning.I know personally in our own guild, at least 5 people were under the threat of no longer being able to continue playing due to that change. But whatever. It's not Sony's responsibility to care about their customers.

I really wish you'd of just outright called me a liar, since you wouldn't go as far as to say it and only insinuate it how about I just give a link of the latest.

http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/index.php?threads/gms-on-the-ball-this-sunday.5474/

I'm not going to go back through my tickets, copy and paste and edit out the info to make it acceptable to post.
I would imagine that the reason your tickets get stuck in the que for days on end is because of how they are worded, maoning, complaining, accusing them of being dirtbags and not giving a hoot about the playerbase or whatever, baseless accusations of this and that, just like you jumped into this thread with. I posted several similar experiences on the old forums where some loon would come in with some incoherent rant about some problem and not getting exactly what he wanted, then starting a 'sabre-rattling' contest with the GM.

It isn't just me, hell I would have thought they'd have me marked with some things that I have said, but we had a response in Harrows end when Fitz bugged out that came withing 5 minutes of being submitted, probably within 3, of course you'll accuse me of exaggerating, all i know is when someone said ticket submitted before we could zone out and someone run to dreadcutter the GM was there and fixed it.

The PSS1 people have nothing to do with THIS situation.

That payment feature was not their only option, again you post false and inaccurate information.
You could and still can sub with SC cards, you can't with SC BOUGHT with SC cards.
They can still buy a card with plat and redeem for game time.

Customer service isn't just about ticket response times. It's about how you treat your customers as a company. I shouldn't need to discuss that point.

So. That leads us back to a previous question I asked earlier and noone arguing for Sony in this has responded.

If Dexella makes posts and announces ahead of time that there will be Rebates and 1/2 Off Sales incoming, and there are no prices listed.....

Why can Dexella not make a post saying that they are going to try out new experimental rare prices at the same time the post was made aobut the rare Meatbeast. No prices need to be listed, just that there will be a new test pricing plan. Why is this only announced the day after the sale has already completed and people were blindsided by sticker shock?

The answer. 1 option is in their best interest financially whereas the other isn't. You guess which.

You accuse me of false and inaccurate information and yet you also do the same thing. People had absolutely no oppurtunity to use the Station Cash that was in there account the day after Sony did that.

They could have went to bed that Monday night thinking they could renew their next month of game time later that week and awoken to find out that they are now stuck between having to scrounge up $15 bucks or hoping they have enough time left in their sub before it runs out to grind out plat and find a SC card seller.

It was Sony's choice to put people in that predicament because they created a Frankenstein out of the SC sales subscription fiasco. The ultimate blame belongs on the Doctor that created Frankenstein, not the people that suffered the monsters attacks.

QFT. (Although I'm pretty sure you were being sarcastic.)

It isn't Sony's responsibility to care about their customers. Assuming that you mean SOE when you say Sony (and not the parent company), Sony's responsibility is to provide entertainment and to make enough money to continue providing entertainment. It isn't reasonable to expect a company, corporation, or business to care about anything other than a) its financial viability and b) its product(s).

Despite this, several of the developers actually do care about the player base (not to the extent of calling them up when they are sick, but let's not get ridiculous). Many of them work hard trying to deliver content that the players actually want to play. (And many times, they have their hands tied - figuratively speaking in most, if not all, cases - as to the amount of things they are allowed to do for the player base.) How much input do you think that ttobey and Dexella have toward the price of the items (or any other developer, for that matter)? This is just a guess, but probably very little. The ones that get to say how much items cost are most likely those SOE employees that work in the marketing department. As such, your ire toward the devs that frequently post on the forums is a bit misplaced.

If I had to make assumptions, this is how I would assume the conversation went:

Marketing: Post this information on the forums.
Dexella: Ok. Do we know yet how much the pink ones will cost?
Marketing: We'll let you know on Monday. ((Brandishes pitchfork and walks forward on cloven hooves)) Until then, you worry about doing your job and we'll worry about doing ours, ok?
Dexella: ((Choking on the smell of brimstone coming from the marketing rep)) <cough> Ok. <cough>

Lol when they get "customer relations" involved and start closing down all the other threads you know even SOE realizes what a hash they've made of this whole fiasco.

Yes, so when I watch the weather forecast in sunny Buffalo and it warns of lake effect, I get a chance to put my mittens on, or at least put them in the car "just in case." I'm gambling, according to Elostirion. That is definitely the sort of logic I've come to expect from the forum's time-honored bastion of authority on everything from economics to "how to point the finger" when people take issue with being, in their view, scammed.

Learn to respect the *opinions* of others, Elo. You too, Lempasaurus. You'll go far with just a minute (mine-oot) dose of it.

Juss sayin.

GAFE

Don't get the wrong idea here. I don't blame the developers and coders for this. I don't think for 1 second that they have anything to do with decisions like this. I know it's purely at a management/marketing issue.

I only single Dexella out because Dex is the one that posts the announcements. I work in a customer facing service field and have had to deal with irate customers on occasion msyelf and I absolutely HATE having to tell them that it's out of my hands and to talk to my manager. Having to sit there and listen to someone chew your *** out when you had absolutely nothing to do with it sucks.

Doesn't change the fact that whoever chose to implement this new "rare" marketing strategy with no notficiation to the customers is a crappy manager/marketer.

Or a really brilliant one depending on how you look at it.....if thay increased their SC weekend sales and noone is offended enough to actually quit the game or stop using the Marketplace....then it could be a win/win for SOE....