In theory, the base box cost should lessen the cost of mtx transactions. However, Blizzard has shown us that devs are more than willing to gouge on both sides of the line, unfortunately.
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I mean you just pulled that out of your a** and you’re asking for an intellectual dispassionate discourse? Back that up by pulling GGG’s financial statements which are public records and tell me their mtx revenue represent a figure that reflects a lack of interest from their audience (spoiler alert: you are objectively wrong).
I dont think anyone is more of a “vet” than me when it comes to POE and LE monetisation model and I can tell you my biggest disappointment with LE is that they didn’t more blatantly rip POE’s formula.
No. It is your subjective view.
This tells me you think your personal view is superior than others, to the extent that you think your view reflects the objective truth. Sorry buddy. The world doesnt revolve around you and what you think is fair.
Also know that mtx is paying not just for the cosmetics you’re buying. Baked into the pricing is overheads to the keep the company running, including developing new content at a regular pace.
See how this quote contradict your opening statement about how no one is interested in buying POE mtx? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Also news for you buddy. This is how capitalism work. What does it even mean to make just enough for the needs of employees and the company? Can you give an example of a company that works the way you think?
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The only thing i would be worried about with the MTX is how amatuerish they look, a complete turn off.
The first few mtx in POE were also very basic and simple compared to the highly elaborate designs we have today.
Better mtx will come once EHG gets more artists/modelers on board following a successful launch.
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We will have to wait and see on that obviously, but as it stands, i wouldnt use those MTX if they were free.
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Unless there’s some form of exchange rate for points to IRL currency, like there is with IRL currencies, the value of points is whatever EHG says it is based on the price it puts on the packs. If it salls a pack with 100 points for £10 then 10 points = £1. But if it sells a pack with 100 points and some other stuff for £20 does that mean that 10 = £2?
Because the more expensive packs have better/flashier/more animated/more expensive to make mtx. The devs have had this feedback before when they originally released the packs & have said hhat they’re going to do things differently for the next set.
Because they aren’t actually the same thing.
This is where I wish they would just copy POE’s model outright (they used to. Then they tried to innovate with the latest series, which I think is a mistake).
The Devs thinks what they subjectively consider the better/flashier pack can be sold at higher value. Problem though is, people dont always agree on that. In fact, in POE’s core pack, there are more than an instance where I find the 160$ or 240$ armour set superior to the top tier 480$ pack set. But you dont get people complaining about the 480$ pack for this reason because it already includes all the lower tier armoursets. The complain that POE do receive, and which EHG is trying to address, is people saying all they want is the 480$ armour but not those lower. So which complain should EHG live with? 
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Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if they moved closer to PoE’s model for the next set. Can’t blame them for trying to do things differently though.
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New game, same argument about horse armor.
Cosmetic MTX has no objective value, it is purely subjective, which I would think is obvious. It has implied cost, mostly labor, but that’s irrelevant. It’s a means of operational income. They could just charge a subscription to play. Instead they made it a one-time-buy with the option to pay more periodically and show off how much you spent.
PoE is F2P with purchasable stash tabs, that are arguably P2W in trade. LE is pay once, play forever, with no pay to win elements at all, and stash expansion is paid via (effectively) time spent playing the game.
Disagreeing with the MTX cost has too many subjective motivations for the devs to cater to everyone. If that MTX cost too little, everyone has it and those who wanted to feel unique are upset. Cost too much and almost no one has it and those that do are often disrespected for it. What looks cool is subjective. How much money it’s cool to say you spent is subjective. What is the “right” price for cosmetics is subjective. The devs just have to make a decision, stick to it if they don’t want to pay refunds, and hope their market-research-educated choices work out well.
Consider an extreme hypothetical MTX option: $10000 for a new armor set, and removed forever after the first 3 purchases. How’s your FOMO feeling? Now move the slider: $1000 and no limit, but you have to buy it this year. Move it again: $500, only available for 3 months, and a new one replaces it every rotation. The combination of your personal style, financial situation, personal ethics regarding horse armor, and other stuff about you will determine where on this spectrum you feel or choose certain things. In all cases, however, if you truly feel something like “How dare you offer a cosmetic digital product at that price!” then I think you need to reflect on why it bothers you so much. And if it’s because you feel such a strong emotional response to the risk of not owning it, you might need help with addictive tendencies, and having your account locked from any MTX purchases might be best.
I would guess that the population of players who would say “I must have that artwork on my screen while I play your game and it must cost less!” and post about it on forums are in the vast minority of people who might consider MTX purchases. Again, if you are feeling discontent with the cost of cosmetics, take time for mindfulness to inspect why it affects you so much.
The devs could have chosen to not have cosmetics at all as a matter of principle. Where would your demands be then?
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Eh, I think it has a variety of reasons.
As someone who grew up extremely poor, many of these things literally feel like a splurge I cant make(Even though I realistically can) so it feels less like an addiction and more like a big fat reminder “you are not the target, you are not worthy of selling to, begone poor”
You see this a lot with people who dont have their currency in euro or USD, they have to pay outrageous amounts, say an mtx costs 20 bucks USD, thats basically a couple getting mcdonalds or even just one doordashed combo for us americans.
For someone in a less fortunate country its not price scaled so its actually equal to 1/3 their monthly rent. it makes them feel unable to even be included rather then simply being entitled.
And then you have to consider, if an MTX costs 20 dollars, and the box price is 35, you are really basically asking someone “is two MTX worth more then the entire game?” And you have to question why.
This right here too rubs again some people extremely wrong. Designer brand mtx is just as bad and weird as designer brand clothes irl.
But these are just the musings of someone extremely frugal who grew up extremely poor and had to claw their way out. I get that devs need to get money to keep the lights on, but sometimes it feels really obvious its more then that. And where you draw that line depends on probably how well off you are to some degree. Its pretty common sense to just agree with whatever side you happen to be a part of.
So I think its unfair to just chock it up to “well you are entitled and should just get over it” its more deep rooted then that, and is part of a societal problem at the heart of it imo.
Yes yes, I know it feels very good to get offended and self righteous, but while what I said isn’t nice, it isn’t wrong either.
If we were instead in a car forum talking to a dude complaining about the cost of getting their car wrapped to look like a shark or resurfaced with chameleon paint, this would not be controversial to say. The only difference is that gaming as a hobby is so wildly cheaper than most others that there are more people who are cheap or broke participating in it.
Complaining about the cost of frivolous, non-essential cosmetics and pretending it’s about some highfalutin principle rather than that they are either cheap or broke is tired. It’s not valid, and it’s never been valid. Broke gamers need to figure out that these things aren’t for them any more than a McLaren or a Ferrari is for someone like you or me.
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…while forum-stalking on their latest model iPhone, drinking coffee and eating a scone from Starbucks.
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I wasn’t offended or self righteous, merely mocking.
Depends how they pronounce it.
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I am much more sympathetic to individuals who would frame their appeal this way, rather than trying to get the community to see how “evil” the company is in trying to sell mtx. Unfortunately, I think there are no easy solutions for this group. You can do with regional pricing to some degree, but once we’re talking first world whale tier mtx (~$100++ per piece), you can bet even players in developed countries will try to hack their way to regional pricing (I lost count of the number of friends and peers who bought Turkey accounts for Lost Ark and D4 Collector’s Edition).
Which is why I really dont understand why companies choose to have a box price when they are pursuing Game as a Service and they know mtx will be their main revenue driver. The box price means nothing in the grand scheme of things. But the community has sky high expectations of what should be “free” as part of the game once it has a box price, regardless how low the cost (remember, at some point, LE could be had for $10-15).
ARPGs is also not a genre for mass appeal, so the devs are never banking on selling 50mil copies (only Diablo could possibly push this because of the Blizzard “brand name” but their reputation is fast waning). More likely, they would need to bank on the 1mil enthusiastic fan (and the 10,000 or so whales) to keep buying into their mtx to sustain the longevity of the game. Once again, I think GGG chose the right model among the ARPGs to offer the game for free with supporter packs.
The unfortunate truth is that mtx is basically appealing to individuals’ desire to be unique. ALL mtx are by its very nature “designer brand”. You drew a parallel to clothes irl, but called both “bad and weird”. But it is what it is. People want to look and feel unique. Those with the means will buy clothes (mtx) to reflect their individuality.
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I don’t know if that was the reason EHG decided to have a box price, but I feel like having a box price during early access has allowed them to have some money coming in during the initial development. Being a small studio they need income to pay their employees and I’m pretty sure the kickstarter money is long gone.
Without the further income from the box price, they wouldn’t have had time to polish and develop all the things they did these past years.
Yes and no.
Yes, they definitely need a continued income stream to develop LE in early access for as long as they have. But I don’t think it needs to be positioned as a box price.
In fact, what they had done was very similar to what I would have suggested - Game would be free at launch but for early access, players would need to buy into the cheapest support pack ($35) to play.
This is most likely it.
What they got from the kickstarter is nowhere near what development costs they must have incurred so far. I just see it as a late kickstarter.
Eventually the box price revenue will dwindle, and if we want the game to keep being updated other revenue streams are needed.
You are a bit out of touch with reality.
They eat avocado toast 
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While we are at monetization concerns. Can anyone tell me where I can actualy see what i have bought and what i get out of it? Right now I can’t even see the pack i already purchased anywhere 
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If you mean the MTX from the deluxe package, that will only be available at launch. For the rest, you can check the equip window and see which ones you have for each category. I don’t know if there’s any window that just lists what you’ve bought. Come to think of it, I don’t think PoE does either. I’ve only every saw my MTX when equipping stuff.
It’s a bit strange to google what my “Ancient Champion” pack gave me instead of having it shown somewhere in my account or so ^^. I feel like at some point you can#t even even tell what’s what anymore ^^.
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