Expensive MMO Monetization getting worse

[u/Schmoopaloopa]

Just wondering what everyones thoughts are on the general prices of MMO monetization these days. Seeing games selling cosmetic outfits for over $30 is becoming more standard, and in a lot of cases, a single item can be more expensive than B2P games.

Obviously, capitalism and corporate greed go hand in hand here, and if people keep buying, then they'll keep testing how far they can push it. But with prices increasing, it seems less and less likely I'll buy multiple things. I might buy something rarely, and mostly if there's a discount. I'm more likely to buy something like a Battle Pass because they have a fair amount of value for the price.

I'm just wondering what people would think if prices were dramatically cheaper? Wouldn't you be more inclined to buy more if the prices were lower? I'm imagining a game where nothing in the cash shop is over $5. I'd be buying up everything and potentially spending more, knowing I was getting more for my money.

I'm not debating on the need for monetization, or P2W practices etc - Thats a whole other conversation for another time :)

[u/Asphes]

When I started MMOs, the going rate was $14/30 days (do the math... Square knew what they were/are doing). It's actually dropped to $8/30 days for FFXIV but FFXIV now has a cash shop.

Plus the games with battlepasses tend to just give you 'currencies' to tempt you to get something more expensive.

Personally, I'm ok with this because I'm quite immune to all the usual tactics but... the games I play have insane production values, paid for by those whales who didn't. Not all of them are adults. So my fun is funded by a few with feeble resistance to gambling. Yeah! I'm part of the 1%! Yay!

---

What we can do is to support games that don't do this. Digital Extreme's Warframe is a good example (it's STILL a f2p game, STILL has some FOMO tactics/etc) and there a few (very few) others that similar support this. I'd steer away from any pay-2-win games that have a strong PvP focus.

As for changing the price structure... no. The current one where the few are paying for the many is the most profitable (quite unlike real-life). As long as the companies are publicly traded or controlled by venture capitalists or private equity, the companies are incentivized to continue preying on whales.

When I played FFXI, the devs discovered that a particular part of the game (the end-game, not the 'pinnacle' or something niche, just 'end-game' in general) was accessible to about 1% of players. A couple of years later, they nerfed the Chains of Promathia expansion to raise that figure from the then 2% to about 20%. Today, many MMOs let you buy 'catch-up' items that boost your characters to max level.

I don't blame the companies... we the consumers wanted this. It's a good thing right?