RailWizard wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 23:21:

NKD wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 22:13:
Telling a minority group to shut up and stop getting noticed so things will be easier on them probably isn't the right attitude to have.

..and yet, nothing could be more true. If you want to be part of the larger community, that means not having your own that separates you from it. Stop acting like victims, and maybe you'll stop being treated like one. There are so many examples of this in life I'm not even gonna bother giving examples. I do remember this lesson being drilled in many times in grade school though. No one gets special privilege. Anyone attempting to extort it was punished. Simple as that.

Burrito of Peace wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 18:34:
Going out of your way to self-label and segregate seems to be attention whoring and just invites the problems one would ostensibly assume they'd like to avoid.

Agent.X7 wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 19:05:

Null argument used by the media, analysts, and people who have an interest in the company making more money.

Games = Entertainment. No entertainment industry ever keeps up with inflation. They can't, or they'd go out of business. Entertainment is worth what you can get consumers to pay for it. Inflation works best for things people need, or at least think they need. Cars, food, homes, clothing, etc.

Look at home movies.

VHS was at the highest install base when decks were cheap and movies cost $20.

DVD - highest install base when players were cheap and movies cost $20.

Blu-Ray - new movies starting to come out at $20 and players prices continually falling.

Meanwhile the cost to make movies has continually risen and producers and studios have had to find creative ways to turn a profit.

Yes, movies release to theaters. Guess what? Ticket prices at theaters have also not kept up with inflation.

Concerts? They tried, but once ticket prices got really high, people stopped going. Not keeping up with inflation.

Developers can bitch about how much they lose to used sales, but if they simply dropped prices people would have more incentive to pay the developer and not stores like mine. I have dozens of customers who won't even touch a game until it comes in used so they can save a few bucks. They don't care about who gets the money, they just want to save their own money.

Hell, I have customers still playing PS2 and Xbox games because they aren't willing to invest in a new system until they can get every game for less than $20 and the system for less than a hundred. All of that money and the developers don't get any of it. Sometimes it makes a lot more sense to sell more for less.

kyleb wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 17:34:

NKD wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 16:44:
It doesn't really cost as much as you guys think to get a few lines out of someone.

According to Reuters:

Chapelsky recalls a demand by one top talent for $750,000 to do an hour's worth of voice work. He said it is common for star talent to receive in the high five figures for a single session. One star got more than $500,000 for a single session.

Given that, your "3% of the total budget" guesstimate seems at least a bit low.

Yakubs wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 17:20:

NKD wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 16:44:
I'd be surprised if it was more than 3% of the total budget for the game

But what's the total budget? Also, what kind of ROI do you think they're hoping for on this game and how much does that 3% cut into it?

Tumbler wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 16:14:
Lower prices. $40 should be the norm. $50-$60 for the biggest games. Don't and you're only signing your own pink slip. Enjoy!

fawker wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 12:53:
Far too little, far too late.

You still can't even sort stuff the way you want.

It's like looking through a bargain bin at Walmart.

The Half Elf wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 03:18:
id software is like the Kool-Aid™ Guy. They broke through the wall with a tasty drink that was great when you were a kid, but as you get older so does your taste and you find better drinks. Granted at times you crave some Kool-Aid™, but it's not part of your normal diet.

RailWizard wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 01:19:

Creston wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 01:12:
After Quake 4, we don't really care so much anymore, John.

Creston

FTFY

Dades wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 00:34:

HorrorScope wrote on Aug 2, 2012, 23:30:
9.1 million is nothing to sneeze at. Pretty amazing that people can stick to something for so long like that.

Yeah but at the same time losing 10% of that in a quarter is nothing to scoff at either, that's a crazy churn rate with the kind of instability that drives investors crazy. Expansions bring people back but they don't stick around long.

Dades wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 00:29:
What shills? Where? You act like the website is overrun with fanboys and shills for this game. Pull the curtain away, let's meet the wizard. If you want to post that you think the game sucks period end of sentence then yeah that's an opinion but it's not one anyone has to respect. There's something between a 130 page dissertation and a set of super vague criticisms that could be leveled at any videogame created.

Axis wrote on Aug 2, 2012, 20:58:
Cable giants are in trouble. They need to drop these ridiculous TV prices or it'll be too late when the layman catches on and cuts the cord...

Fion wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 00:08:

It's a single purchase. A single month worth of content is still vastly more than 90% of other $60 purchases. Your whole post is an assumption based upon your own bias. Didn't anyone ever tell you when you assume you make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'?


Thanks to Benny Hill for that last line.

Verno wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 00:02:
I've been trying to sit this out as I normally respect your opinions but this is just utter nonsense, not to mention totally offbase. I can think of about a handful of total people on the entire website who have ever said anything negative about Guild Wars 2 and half of them have been so vague as to leave one wondering if they even played it. Despite that fact I try to assume they are based in experience and most of the responses I've seen have been pretty patient and reasonable in just posting their own thoughts on why they had fun with it. You said earlier that trolls will be trolls but you seemingly lump everyone else in when it's a few people being silly and telling others to shut up or whatever. To be blunt you also trolled quite a bit in here with several insulting implications so if people were painting you with the same brush they would just dismiss you as a hater.

Let's all move on, shall we? Pretty soon we can all bitch about how bad the launch was and the lack of mass stress testing and be lectured that we were warned by others, everyone will be happy