Let’s not pretend we don’t understand what phrases mean. You’ve proven yourself articulate enough in this language to make that pretense lack any credibility. No, the whole is not the sum of its parts.
As someone who has been called a fanboy, a white knight, a Funcom shill, and – on one memorable occasion – a “condescending piece of shіt”, I find that kind of ad hominem no better than being called “cheap” for daring to criticize Funcom’s monetization.
When I go to work, I am a part of the organization. I am one piece of a very large org, but I have my role. Everyone else has their’s and when big decisions need to be made, every functional head has a say and a decision is made. I win some and lose some but everyone is acting in the best interest of the company, the employees and the customers we serve. If I didnt have faith in the company I work for and I believed they were being unethical, I know where the door is and I would walk thru it. So if someone were to attack the company I work for, I would take it very personally because ultimately I own the decisions of my employer. My work is the lasting thing of me that will remain when I die. That is how some of us see our work with our respective companies. It is not just a job and a means to pay the bills. If someone accused the company I work for of being unethical and just money hungry, etc, they would not like the conversation that followed.
Yes, everyone has a role. And those roles are different. There’s always some kind of a structure.
This is why when my computer is slow, I don’t automatically assume that every component in it is defective, or even that all components are contributing equally to whatever is causing the slowness. Instead, I try to find the cause and solve the problem.
The problem might be caused my more than one component, but it’s never a simple sum of all of them.
That’s a lot of words to describe a very specific decision-making process in the nicest possible terms. I shouldn’t even have to point out that not every company has the exact same decision-making policies and processes in place. Funcom’s processed and policies might differ from those.
But that doesn’t really matter. Even if they were completely identical, the cold, hard fact is that there’s always a person in charge of making the final call on a big decision and if you’re not that person, then you didn’t make that decision.
I’m glad you have the privilege to do that, and I respect you for being a person who cares so deeply about ethics that they won’t compromise their stance, in the slightest, for any reason whatsoever.
The world is full of people who aren’t like that. Some are in the position where acting like that is literally a luxury they can’t afford. Others are just more flexible when it comes to ethical quandaries like that. And yet others don’t share your definition of what’s ethical and what isn’t.
Which brings me to the crux of our disagreement:
All your posturing and blustering aside, this is where you differ from many other people on these forums. What’s more, I believe that this difference is irreconcilable.
The difference I’m talking about is that you seem to consider all of Funcom’s monetization practices to be perfectly ethical. There’s nothing in there that you see as even a tiny bit questionable.
Some of us do.
Now, I don’t really care what personal ties you have with Funcom that make you react to these differences in opinions so aggressively. Your personal life is your own.
But just like your personal life is your own affair, so is your inability or unwillingness to understand that:
Those things are your own problem, and – in your own words – you might want to leave that problem at the door.
Or don’t. The community will adapt, and eventually learn to not rise to the bait.
Are you kidding? You literally started a passive aggressive grudge thread because it’s you who can’t let go. You accuse us of getting threads shut down because you can’t seem to let go of some weird never ending pity party where you are the supposed victim of evil corporate FC and their monetization. You reference my experiences as if they are the exception because that fits your world view and I’m here to tell you it doesn’t match my real world experience. I’m not the one with a problem here. I have no issue with anything in the game right now.
Everyone should just think about 3 questions:
What did a DLC cost and what was completely included in it?
And what do you get for that amount now? (I’m talking about new content here of course, not that the old DLC are still available as is).
And how much would you have to spend at the current pricing to get the same content? If you take the few new building pieces for Example and extrapolate the price to a complete set…huh?
If you do the math on the latter and contrast that…you’ll fall backwards off your chair.
Who really then still buys the stuff…no further comment.
If you go to McDs, is your reaction to the price changes any different? When you see the price of eggs, does it make you want to “crack up”? (Sorry). My 4 yo used Rav4 is worth more now than new…. Think about that one. In my town, a chicken, bacon, egg, cheese sandwich on a biscuit with mayo costs $24… and thats the price I saw 6 months ago.
Now is a terrible time to compare prices today to what they were even a year ago, let alone when the dlc pricing model was established for Conan in 2018.
We will have to disagree on this because, to me, it is exactly the point.
DLCs were the updates and the far reaching contents mean that there was value for a wider section of the player base. The bazaar offerings are niche, and, mostly, overpriced.
Exactly.
In my 40 years in the corporate world, I have never felt this way.
I had a job, for a brief time, about 15 years, I had a career. I hated it. I went back to having a job when circumstances permitted.
Say anything you want about the companies I worked for. They are not my family and your opinion about them is, exactly, as important to me as your opinion about the best ice cream flavor.
I never said this is true of everyone. I’m saying that it is true for some, me included, so when people take a jaded line of cynical attack against companies like FC just for daring to keep supporting their product and assume bad intent where there is no evidence despite people not liking that prices (on everything) are rising, I see it thru the lens of someone proud of their job. These monetization gripes kind of imply they are ashamed of their job. I reject that. Categorically. That is a cynical point of view that if accepted, well lets all go drink the kool aid together and forget about it.
I compare with the prices of developers who don´t rip out their community. But hey, as long as People like you exist it works for them. Shiny. Keep going.
P.S.: And I supported FC in the past. I have all the DLCs. And I also realize that work costs money, so I am by no means from the “I want everything for free” faction. But the value of the content that you currently get for your money is partly really ridiculous.
I just think that sooner or later this will take bitter Consequences. A large German publisher with a “pay to win” concept has also taken it to the extreme with an MMO. End of the story: First they had to lay off 50% of the staff and meanwhile the Publisher doesn’t exist anymore. The damage you do in the long run when people feel ripped off and screwed over is irreversible after a certain point, and it comes down on you like an avalanche. But it only started with a few “grumbling” voices on the net (that would be the snowball here, to stick with this analogy). And at the end you have an angry mob in the I-Net, which then finds everything just shit (the Avalanche).
I hope they think about it maybe once. From the fake “discount” of items that were never priced differently, I do not even start.
The thing is, the old DLC’s used to give you 2 skins for each available weapon type(one in iron and one in star metal), 2 sets of armor for each type(light, medium, heavy), an entire tier 3 building set of 39 pieces, war paints, decorations, and even animal skins.
Just looking at Conan’s first DLC pack, The Imperial East, that was 93 different items for $10. They’re now trying to sell 2-3 decorations in that price range now. Trying to compare the prices to other games is ridiculous when you can compare it to what we previously had in this game itself. The new pricing is over 30 times more expensive.
Exactly that is the Point.
And it has already started with the Consequences, various channels are no longer streaming Conan Exiles, others have stopped making building videos and servers are being abandoned. Maybe it’s not so noticeable and important yet. But that can change very, very quickly.
And how someone can still defend a price increase of 3000% in some cases is beyond my understanding.
Addition: And if DLCs would just cost twice as much, or even 1 1/2 times as much - then I wouldn’t say anything at all and just buy them.
Agree wholeheartedly. Like, if they were still doing the DLCs with a price increase of $15-20 to reflect current inflation, I’d get it. $25-30 I would probably grumble and be unhappy, but understand others thinking it was still supporting the company…but over $300 for what we used to get for $10 is just absolutely mindboggling.
And seriously, Imperial East was before the addition of several weapons like Katanas and Lances and didn’t have any pet skins or saddles, so it was essentially the “most expensive” DLC before the Bazaar.
Incorrect.
These monetization gripes indicate a lack of value for what is offered.
Getting upset at other’s people’s perceived value is certainly a choice.
Me, I find no value in high end watches. My brother loves them. I do not rage against what brings him joy, he does not take offense that they are not a passion of mine. One of my passions is single malt scotch. I spend entirely too much money on it. Some folks hate single malt. As my joy is not built on the approval of others, their dislike has no impact.
To @CodeMage’s point, I am not understanding the vitriol for other folk’s point of view. It is the other side of the coin to the folks claiming those who find value in the bazaar as being selfish.
Perhaps the point is that those who carry this coin close to their hearts take pleasure and joy from maintaining they have the only right, true, and correct opinion and must lash out when others disagree.
As I can’t control that, and find no value that classification of discussion, I will leave you to gnash your teeth and proclaim your superior morality.
In case anyone wants to verify the math, here’s the official announcement for the first DLC Pack:
Checking the “math” on 2018 pricing makes as much sense as looking at the price of coffee in 1954. It is irrelevant.
It’s real simple. If you don’t think you are getting the value for your dollar/yen/euro/whatever, don’t buy it. No one is forcing you.
So your argument is that inflation has driven prices up 3000% in 5 1/2 years? I’d like to see your market analysis proving that, especially considering that the DLC packs maintained the same pricing until 3rd quarter 2022.
I mean… no analysis necessary. Just look at the prices on the market today. CE is not unusual in its new pricing strategy.
Well, it’s pretty telling that the pricing was the most talked about part of the producer’s letter. Means they didn’t hit their expected sales figures, IE that new pricing strategy isn’t working. At all. If it were, they wouldn’t be addressing the negative feedback.
I get your stance though, many without a personality substitute the deficiency with contrarianism instead.