The downside of Expansions
Jure Simich.6154
Member ✭✭
Hello. We often see discussions about expansions, or rather the lack of them, on the forums. I believe these discussions fail to realize the one major downside to expansions, which I personally believe to be the reason none are planned currently.
Its not the amount of content. Its not the content types.
Its the fact that expansions split the playerbase. In an MMO this is a serious issue.
While some players are fanatics like me that would buy every expansion no matter the price, a regular player sees an expansion and thinks not only "Is this a good buy" but also "Are my friends going to buy this too? Who am I going to play this with if they do not?"
Making playable content universal and only monetizing out-of-play elements like the cosmetics, eliminates the problem and still lets Anet monetize most elements that would go into an expansion, like the armor skins and so on.
Another thing Id like to point out is that unless ulyou believe the team is slacking off on the job, the total amount of content produced should be constant - the terrain artists are going to put out the same amount of new maps per day, the animators are going to put out the same number of new moves, ni matter how the content is packaged.
Thank yoi for reading! Have fun in the game!
Comments
When was the last time they monetized an ARMOUR?
Outfits are NOT armour and I'm tired of seeing them be released way more frequently than armour.
Instead is monetizing skins, I'd rather have them make an expansion that contains armour I can attain by playing the game.
No matter which monetization they choose, they are going to split the player base anyway.
It's not exclusive to paid expansions.
And then we end up with the monetization mess that is the template system. No, thank you, i'll pass.
The whole point of a social game is to play with the people you want to play with, not be forced to play with the people you don't.
Again, disagree with this counter logic. Expansions focus the player base on extended new content, it brings people together. Living story does the same thing but for a shorter time. Example, days 1 & 2 were spent in the new map and then it was already getting old after replaying the 3 hour content on a number of toons. I can remember most of what occurred still in HoT but LW4....not so much. These micro releases also make the story feel disjointed. They are better played together when fully released and feel more complete, but there were literally pieces in 4 where people were asking, what are we doing here, how does this tie in? Now I will agree with expansions you still get people that burn thru the entire thing in a speed run and say, that's it? But forcing people into time gates also leaves a bad taste and when asked, should we come back in for the new content the answer is more, download it so you have it but you can just play it later.
Both expansions and LW split the player base across more maps and then it will come down to fun, rewarding content to keep people in an area and together. If anything I would argue more that expansions are more likely to draw F2P players in since it would show them that there is more still coming out and they have more game ahead of them. Recently popped over into HoT and was quite pleased to see low level toons working thru it, which says to me the combined expansion release was a good move.
It's up to Anet to show they can release expansion level content in the LW, but so far, it just feels like LW. I don't get any feel or reason to revisit the new maps and no tie inbetween themselves, they are just 2 new maps. There might be more tie in the future but again, piece meal will it mean anything.
Envy the Madman his musing when Death comes to make fools of us all.
De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum.
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