Dev Journal: Monetization in Neverwinter

By Pinpointerror @ February 12, 2013 at 2:48pm

61 Comments »

• ixlakthil @ Feb 27th, 2013 9:58AM

  Wow, for some reason it decided to only post one sentence...I don't mind contributing to this game with a donation as I have grown up with Dungeons

• mok33

  Ampersand wins again.

• ixlakthil @ Feb 27th, 2013 9:57AM

  I don't mind contributing to this game with a donation as I have grown up with Dungeons

• shadowhawksotoq @ Feb 22nd, 2013 3:48AM

  as for the sto boxes i spent 200 dollars on keys and got crap from the boxes i hope they stay away from them in neverwinter.

• argantis

  If they do boxes there is no way I will buy them, these are the horror stories I had heard of. In fact if the best stuff in game is bought off the store I will stop playing. I don't mind a pay to save time or pay to shortcut model, but pay to win I will not do.

• mok33

  I can see them placing rare mounts in lockboxes. People are foolish enough to go for that stuff so companies keep doing it, even if the chance for mount is like one percent.

• l1zardo1 @ Feb 17th, 2013 8:40PM

  PWI is the International Company. PWE is just the 'western office' Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think until now all PWE games were ports(localisations) of PWI games from CN. All 6 months behind, and zero ability to do anything with content since PWE was not coding a single line. I do have hope since its only published by them and Cryptic will be doing all of the content and bugfixes :)

• mok33

  Everything I find just says Perfect World. Even the Chinese Neverwinter site says Perfect World (Beijing). Only time i see a listing for PWI is for the f2p game.

• seringaforum @ Feb 17th, 2013 4:28AM

  i already love this game , so epic

• akuko @ Feb 15th, 2013 3:32PM

  Well lets be honest, PWI hasnt the greatest history in fairness to its ongoing custoimers, i remeber the "lottery box" fiasco that Perfect World I destroyed there own game with offering minuscule chances at mounts and worst weapons and armour better than anythiung you could grind for. Lets all hope PWI took a lession from experience

• argantis

  I have never played any PW games in the past. In my circle of MMO friends they have a very bad reputation for their "free to play" models. So I always avoided their games. Neverwinter is just way too much up my ally thought for me to skip it. Hopefully the horror stories I have head from my friends remain just that, cyber legends.

• mok33

  It's PWE, not PWI. PWI is the name of one of their many games.

• vegas6614

  It's a good bet there will be some sort of 'gambling box', as Cryptic had those in STO. At a dollar a pop, I read one guy bought 50 of them and didn't get jack.

• mok33

  Yeah the chance to get something really good out of a lock box is less than one percent.

• thedreadomega @ Feb 15th, 2013 1:35PM

  Is there a way to upgrade from Guarding to Hero of the North by paying the difference? If not it might be good to have one, even a few weeks after game opening.

• argantis

  From what I have read elsewhere, both founder packs can be purchased after release, though they cannot stack as upgrades, I believe that you would have to pay the full price for each pack. Also, I am not sure how long they will be around after release, could be a month, could be a year, could be for the life of the game. Cryptic is remaining mum on a lot of things until release is closer, I am assuming to build more hype. Personally I wish that they would just let us all play beta 24/7 now and just hot patch the updates every other day or something. Allowing that along with allowing beta players to stream and post Youtube videos would provide a hell of a lot more hype than anything else.

• mok33

  The short answer is no.

• l1zardo1 @ Feb 15th, 2013 6:31AM

  Interesting article, and discussion thereafter. As long as crucial items aren't all in the cash shop the model works. But I think the games that I spent the most money on historically are PWI 'free' games. Pretty sure they have full control over the 'monetization' due to owning Cryptic Studios lol

• purpleorbes @ Feb 14th, 2013 9:36PM

  Don't feel to bad guys, Im poor too. To top it off I aslo just got laid off on Monday.

• purpleorbes @ Feb 14th, 2013 9:32PM

  I cant wait to play this game! Ive been waiting for ever since first hearing about it. I was a bit disappointed that I haven't got beta access yet (especially since I built this computer specifically for this game) but if I had the cash I would def. buy the hero of the north pack even if it didn't include the beta access. As far as paying money to play, If I had the cash I would definitely do that to. I love the forgotten realms world far to much to let a little cash get in the way of that, The fact that you CAN play it free is a hell of a bonus.

• chafaile @ Feb 14th, 2013 6:11PM

  No way will I shell out $200 for the founders pack. Been burnt once too many times by preorders. What I want to know before I start playing a game based on one of my favorite fantasy themes, is, will I be able to purchase the panther and renegade only from the cash shop? If the only way to get those, is through the founders $200 option, then I'll be passing on a much anticipated game.

• argantis

  You can get the packs from the store after you start playing, so you don't have to shell out the cash before you try the game. The only thing you really cannot get after launch is the beta access and early access. Buying either the 200 or 60 dollar version will give you access to the two remaining beta weekends. The 200 dollar package gives you access to the game 5 days prior to it going open to the general public on free to play accounts. The 60 dollar package gives you access to the game 3 days early. All the mounts, cosmetics, astral diamonds, will be able to be purchased at a later date, once you have tried the game for free, if you want to do it that way. You just have to be patient enough to wait for the game to go open to non-founder accounts.

• spellwarden @ Feb 14th, 2013 8:05AM

  I do agree. Currently I am fairly poor, and that is going to be the case for atleast 6 more months. This way I can start playing, and then get the stuff I want longer down the road. It would be interesting to see how much they make from this game, and compare it to others. Simply from a socialpsychology standpoint. Also, it is interesting to see how this changes the monetary climate. Coupled with cloud-gaming, I am truly exited to see what innovations can come in this somewhat stagnated business. According to me, around the turn of the millenia alot of the innovation dissapeared. However this works out, creds to mythic and perfect world for trying something new.

• ladyeldaron1

  Im sure what you see as new in this game. The game is still very "hack and slash" oriented with a limited and liniar story line. I didnt see anything that i havent seen in some other mmo at some point or another. For example STO is completely free to play. However if you want the best gear (in this case star ships) you have to spend cash money to acquire them either directly or through the lottery style lock boxes which you have to pay cash in order to acquire the key to open. The reality is that there is no such thing as a purly free-to-play game avaiable on the internet that does not involve advertisements splashed all over the computer screen. IF PW wants to do something "new" they are going to have to integrate a lot more problem solving style quests/elements.

• fazemladaiya

  Actually, the best gear in STO is not from the z-store. It's from questing. Fleet ships are way better than z-store ships now.

• vas69 @ Feb 14th, 2013 12:12AM

  Looking forward to launch - havent got beta key :(

• lpsx @ Feb 13th, 2013 10:43PM

  i understand it costs money 2run servers, and it costs money 2make games....i remember the old neverwinter game packs u got a map, t-shirt, music cd, etc etc it limited edition

• argantis @ Feb 13th, 2013 9:27PM

  I should clarify that I don't have a problem with the model they are using, I just want to know the specifics so I can min / max my dollar. For example I played DDO and LotRO. Both had cash shops and both you could technically play for free. LotRO moreso than DDO. However if you were willing to grind you could get everything in the game for free. I ended up spending about $100 on LotRO and $200 USD on DDO. But I liked being able to see all the prices and conversion of dollars to game points to in game content and items. See in LotRO and DDO you paid for things like bank space, character slots, adventure packs (something like a new quest zone that might have 5 or so new quest lines and dungeons), new classes, and sure there were items to make your characters more powerful like stat tomes and such. However they did a good job of balancing it so that you could get all the items that made you more powerful in game and the only stuff you really spent money on added function to your account or opened up new game content to you. I actually spent more money in those games than I did for a monthly sub in WoW and that did not bother me, because I got to choose when and where I spent the cash. So if I did not have the money to spend on anything for six months I could grind out points or just play with the stuff I had in the game. So I don't think people need to worry about pay to win. If you listen to the devs they pretty clearly explain that is not going to be the case. As said earlier, the money is going to be spent more to allow some players to save time, and it is a good model. Players who have less time to play typically have more money to spend to save them the in game grind and players who have more time typically do not have the money to sink into the game. It is the best of both worlds for two very different types of players. It is not a pay to win, it is more of a pay to keep up and get a jump start on the lower end of the game.

• argantis

  P.S. I am going to get the $200 founders pack right now, because I am excited about the game and I have seen enough content to take a leap of faith that the 750k Astral Diamonds will be a good value. I don't really care about mounts and cosmetics, but the VIP access, Drow race, extra character slots, Astral Diamonds, and beta access make it worth it to me. Plus I am looking forward to giving out the beta key to a buddy in hopes that he and his GF will play with me.

• kagurazaka77

  If they follow the model that STO and CO has, both Cryptic games which I assume are following - to a point - Perfect World's lead, anything in the cash shop with be available without spending a dime of real world money, so long as you are willing to spend the time to grind a bit in game for the currency to exchange for Zen. It's actually a good business model for them. People with more money than time sell Zen for that currency which is needed for in game stuff, meanwhile people with more time than money do the opposite to get cash store goodies. Theoretically, everyone should be happy, although in reality - for whatever reason - no one is.

• onyxgrifter @ Feb 13th, 2013 9:18PM

  Wish I knew about this before I purchased the $60 Guardian pre-order. My biggest doubt about this game, and the reason I didn't spring for the $200 was because of my previous experience with Perfect World and how I saw them as money grubbers. If I had known you guys were going to have a reasonable cash shop and one where people are able to buy things with in game actions - I would have sprung for the $200 since Never Winter 2 brought back so many fond memories.

• gondarath @ Feb 13th, 2013 5:09PM

  For those peeps out there that are complaining about pay to win games, wehy don't you just try out Big-Point games, "Those" are pay to win. This game is just like STO, like they said, it's wether or not U choose to do the grinding for the in game monies or you can simple buy diamonds to help your get there faster. Me, I like the idea of doing the grinding, it makes the Item or items I'm going for much more worth it, besides what else you gonna go do?? play your X=Box......]:} ROFL!!!

• kvet @ Feb 13th, 2013 4:07PM

  So -- the pricing, as it were, is Zen, just like STO or CO. ADs are in-game mega-currencies (so to speak, like Dil and Qs) and the mundane currency is copper (gold and sliver also when in larger denominations). They will have a cash shop where you can buy stuff with Zen, just like their other games. Like STO's Dilithium Exchange, you can sell your Astral Diamonds for Zen to other players, presumably at a fluctuating market rate set by players in more or less real-time. In that way, everyone will have access to all zen store items without paying real money to get them. Someone willing to pay cash for Zen will get those items WAAAAAAAY faster than someone who isn't willing to do that, but the point here is that cash money is a shortcut, it's not a requirement. Will someone willing to pay up cash get the good stuff faster, and likely have more good stuff (and probably overall more in-game money)? Yes. But the key word is FASTER. Anyone willing to put in the time can have the same level of wealth, so in that way there is no requirement to pay for anything in NW. Free2Grind? heh, yeah, I suppose so. But not matter what, the recurring content will be all you'll have at some point anyway until "the next patch" -- that's the nature of MMO end games. Personally, I'm pleased with their vision of Free.

• red0beer

  Thumbs up!

• argantis

  I agree for the most part, though I am not sure if we will run out of content as much as other games. The effects of the Foundry should be interesting on that, with community driven content, that others can donate zen to the authors of, can add a serious amount of content for players to experience without the developer releasing anything new.

• deathssickle @ Feb 13th, 2013 2:24PM

  whats funny this came out the day after Aandre and I recorded our podcast with, Mike Mapolis, Andy AKA the Squez, and COO Craig. We had asked about AD, and I think they wanted everyone on the same page.

• docterry @ Feb 13th, 2013 11:05AM

  Monkjayn, what a great answer! Thank you--you expressed my thoughts far better than I could. I think that NEVERWINTER is taking a bold step by making a game free to play--and providing so many ways to enjoy the WHOLE game without ever paying a penny. If they have been too successful with this, they will go broke. However, I am sure that there are lots of players (haven't actually played yet) who will spring a few bucks every now and then for some treat or benefit. For those people who want a TOTALLY FREE game, with nothing to purchase EVER -- then I can point you to a site where you can get a copy of Tetris. But if you want a game of this size and quality, then you should be prepared to pay something, or if you disagree, then you shouldn't complain when those of us who are prepared to reward devs for their work, spend a little cash in their stores.

• monkjayn @ Feb 13th, 2013 10:49AM

  so many insanely stupid people post here its untrue, pay 2 win is when real money gets you an advantage you can not otherwise obtain. the system they have here is pay for a short cut, and you can easily get 2k astral diamonds a day for free if you so choose (not to mention simply looting the gear which is as good as anything for sale by vendors). what i don't get is how all these people crying about the cash shop model expect a game to be made, people be paid and a game to keep running without a profit ? this is a business, and as long as everything with any stats attached to it is available without any real money requirements its not pay 2 win, and its all good and fair, at the end of the day i think paying for convenience / short cuts and shiny visual stuff is perfectly fair and a good system, if they make everything easy to get for free, it wont take long for there to be no game at all after-all. laters Monk

• maddmister @ Feb 13th, 2013 8:38AM

  What a crock of #@$% the CEO is spewing out. Trying to say the game is not pay to win and going so far as to try and rationalize it. Sure you can get astral diamonds playing from quests but you only get 10-20 and thats not for every quest just a select few so instead of paying $200 for the pack you can just play and quest for 1 year to get the same amount of diamonds. He can try and B.S us all he wants but it plays just like PW and that is "pay to win". Buy XP boosts, pet XP boosts, etc.....pay to win

• vikinggamer

  You don't seem to understand what pay to win is. Pay to win means having power enhancing items or abilities ONLY availible if you pay. There are several games out right now that will make you pay to use purple items. That is you have to pay in order to use the best items in the game. THAT is pay to win. XP boosts are not pay to win because you can get to the same play by simply spending more time playing. XP boosts simply time frame shifters. They trade time for money. If you think getting to the end of the game faster is how you win then you are not doing MMOs correctly. It would also mean that joining the game any later than the day of release would be an unfair disadvantage. Also by this reasoning having a job would be an unfair disadvantage. It is also worth pointing out that you get anywhere from a few hunted to 1500 gems each hour for praying and if the dailies are anything like in Champions you will get probably 500 to 2000 gems for doing them. Yes, playing totally for free does mean you give up having a bunch of the cool things right up front. It will be a slow process and you will need to earn them over time but you can. You will have access to every zone, race, class, quest, mount, perk, costume, weapon, convenience, and boost in the game.

• thedarkmaster117

  This is false. During Beta I got a good 8 thousand a day through praying to your deity.

• shadow71

  Aye really dude you must not have played the beta to even come at people with the whole 10-20 from quest. If you actually played the beta and paid attention you would have realize you could get into the thousands for doing the prayers to you deity.

• nebrin6 @ Feb 13th, 2013 6:22AM

  well, it´s very interesting concept, i agree with the coments a have to look do far, but i still have dificults to understood the packs advantages, but i like the ideia to buy it and i really saving Money to buy in the future the guardian pack, I´m from Brazil, and here we dont have too many company doing a job like cryptic and perfect world, but it´s incredible what they are planing and doing for a free-to-play game, if the people really like their game, will pay for it or use microtransactions like the C-Store, when STO was lunched i want to buy it here and no store sell it, and i´m on Brazilian City Rio de Janeiro, and is double the us price to buy a game like this, or monetary system is Real, 200 dollars here on Exchange rate is more than R$410,00 real. Very expencive o minimal wage is R$672,00 near a month or work ! But i think the investiment is Worth, people with a good situation here expendes this value on a single party. I respect the another observations, too many valuable information about the packs, and the price of game currency to international players is very expensive ! But i respect the Cryptic invests a lot of people and time and need at less some one to pay this costs, in respect to this i agreed to pay. Let´s just reflect it´s a very good way to make a honest life. Entretering people. Good Luck Cryptic ! Make this game experience something very good to us all, funders and no founders players !

• nebrin6

  sorry for writing problens, but i think i make my point ! Just remember english isn´t my primary language. Sorry for any inconvinience to express my self. =)

• galdor302 @ Feb 13th, 2013 5:46AM

  I have no trouble investing real money in a game that I enjoy, and I'm sure that I'll enjoy this game very much. I hope people realize that the company does need cash to operate (like all companies) so expecting every single aspect of the game to be free is a little unrealistic. Good luck to the developers and everyone else working on this game, I can not wait for release. :)

• lowniss40 @ Feb 13th, 2013 3:11AM

  This game is not pay to win like some others making manuals and tomes a click of a button away but then again this is not 3.5 ruleset. I wouldn't worry about the exchange rate unless you yourself are a pay to win type of guy or gal. I myself purchased the 200 pack..yes I admit that but I plan on sitting on my 750,000 diamonds and not go crazy with them. There are some 3 mounts I thought I saw with a astral charge on 2 million.