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What information would you be willing to pay for? [Research question]
mark2123
Member UncommonPosts: 450
Playing your favourite MMO usually has associated costs of some sort, even if it's just your time i.e. in a F2P game.
I'm currently doing some business research as part of an MBA project and figured that I'd choose something close to my heart i.e. MMOs.
The question is about demand and supply of information:-
What information or information-providing service, in relation to MMO's, would you be willing to pay for, that doesn't currently exist, or exists but doesn't meet your needs?
To add some further info and to give you some ideas, I'd like to know what might get you to put your hand in your pocket, even for a small amount, say $1 or £1 - but the point is you would be willing to pay.
It could be inside information relating to your favourite game, it could be a really interesting online MMO magazine/pdf e-mailed to you, it could be intelligence related about rivals and other guilds, e.g. in Eve online. It could even be something that you feel you want or need but doesn't exist.
I'm really looking to write about the information age and what affects demand and supply in relation to MMOs specifically. I have already written a small section on gold selling so don't need to cover that.
I'll reference your MMORPG username in my work and provide a link to the relevant page of your post. Once completed, I'm happy to forward a copy of my work to anyhow who helps.
Thank you.
Comments
I could contemplate one idea and only one and it had to have a lot of resources .If there was a site dedicated to just one game,the one game i loved and it ran no ads nor any sneaky advertising threads i might consider ,idk maybe 2-3 bucks a month.
We have already seen tons of dollars made by people claiming to have the secret to making money,they are scams yet tons fall for them and make those scammers rich.
I have seen sites shut down by Blizzard because they did not pay Blizzard the rights to use their TM even though the site was just a Wow wiki.The problem of course is that all of these sites are in it making money,i am really surprised Twitch has not been shut down by Blizzard,so i imagine they are paying them money.
I think the bottom line is that the internet alone is grossly over priced and it will get worse,no average working class person is going to start adding to those internet bills.My Cable bill is well over 200 bucks every month,that is insane,if i started to add cost for information like we already have "newspapers" i would end up making a car payment for nothing but information travelling over my cable lines.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Well, a magazine about the game I currently play would be nice, you know mixed articles, interviews with the devs, previews and stuff like that.
I think around $5 for a .pdf magazine work, more and I want a physical copy.
It would be cool if you in a game with an itemshop or similar could buy the issue in the game and just get it mailed.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
For information in a mmo? Hmm... Well off the top of my head I can think of a few times I would have plaid $ for specific player's IP addresses/home addresses. XD
Other than that... maybe tactical information about enemy positions/strength/resources in pvp sandboxes, maybe. Not much else.
Keep in mind we're in the free-information age.
To find an intelligent person in a PUG is not that rare, but to find a PUG made up of "all" intelligent people is one of the rarest phenomenons in the known universe.
If you need to look for information about the game or gameplay outside of the game itself then it's either a poorly designed game, or you're just too lazy to play the damn thing the way it was designed.
Either way I'm not a fan of external cheat/info sites. I'd rather explore the world myself and find my own answers.
Raid bosses, quest lines etc, all that stuff should be experienced in game. You make your mistakes and learn from them. Do the work and get the rewards. If you have to look it up on Youtube first why are you even bothering?
So I guess I'm in the "No" camp too, I wouldn't pay for information.
First, remember that we have google. Google is bigget than anything before; it's a revolution but it does not contain all the info about very specialized games: I play EVE and I think I would pay for intel info... but this info must be acheved by some mean that allow enemies to even beat sometimes that system and lead me to wrong info; because I pay for it 99% times it would be exact and real, but with a little probability on failing.
Second, I will pay for a magazine that talks about everything about EVE, player corps, last movements, Economics, politics, intervieus and guides to difficult things or new ones, I would pay 3 € a month for such a thing to get it in my Kindle or a little more on a physic magazine.
Third, Luxury: if I want to, and I want to expend my money in pure luxury into the game, why not? I'm not affecting other players neither hurting them so I wish luxury, everything personal and customizable for me, not making choices from a catalogue, but having a chat with devs and designers and teliing them what I want. In my city there are places like that, I go there and say exactly what I want and even if it doesn´t exist they create it for you. It's a question of good communication. As luxury I will pay good money, not hyper expensive but prices must allow everyone to be able to have custom and unique things there.
Fourth. I wish to be in contact with my guild corp whenever i want and wherever I want, some system like an smartphone app to be in touch with my people. It should be for free. You simply put adds of the other things that you sell and its free. But I will admit to pay 1,50 € every four years, same as whatsapp.
These are good ideas, I think some CCP exec should read this, because what I demand are things that many people want there.
And you know what? I could go on and on but it's Sunday and I need to read good poetry and have a pint of beer. If you want to contact me for more ideas just add me as a friend and I willl tell you a lot more not only about EVE but other games. This is a vast field and the knowledge is vast too.
Good luck mate!
It is a question of fangs.
I can't think of pure information I would pay for.
But if we turn towards services instead, there are some examples.. Such as:
Notifications of ingame items from players put up for trade + ability to buy from outside the game.
inventory management, searching, trading, from outside the game.
In pvp overview of contested areas from ouside the game.
Notification of special world events.
Tradeskilling outside the game.
Monitor and participate in guild chat, raid calls, pm or other communication from outside the game.
Profile services.
note. Outside the game means through mobile apps, web interfaces and means outside the main game client.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
Same here. I used to get EVE Online's E-ON magazine and the Aion Magazine. I found them both great info about the game and the community. Aion mag also came with codes for in-game items, so that rocked, too.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
See! we are coming to realize what we need really from CCP. We agree in many things.
Maybe later I'll make a post in EVE official forums about it; it seems that some of us have the same needs.
It is a question of fangs.
Are talking about an independent news reporting site dedicated to MMOs?
Something similar to this site?.......... Semiaccurate.com
IMHO, news sites about games is a dieing segment of the industry. Twitch pretty much replaces everything that reviews used to offer.
However, I would find it interesting to see some articles about expected costs of cash shops.
It would have been interesting to see this D3 botting story back when it was relevant, since it is basic proof that Blizzard did next to nothing to fight bots in D3 RMAH era. I think it is kind of funny that many players claimed that Blizzard was doing nothing at that time, and their statements were essentially true.
They did eventually by simply taking RMAH away. That is the best solution.
Thanks for the input so far.
It seems that most people can get most of what they want from the Internet as it pretty much has all the static information on it already, with info about new games, industry news etc being released as and when it comes about.
I can definitely see something here about more information and intel being sought after in a sandbox game where the information can have the effect of being game or experience changing if put to good use.
Then there's also the out-of-game info and alerts that people would make use of to check on in-game stuff whilst they are away from their game.
I'll be dropping a line to anyone who suggests they have more info to offer on a 1-to-1.
I appreciate the time that people have put in so far and it's interesting to see how even beyond the current Internet information, there are still some demands from things that perhaps evolve quite quickly and also become out of date quite quckly.
I do not even buy a paper any more because I just go on BBC news for free. Which is a shame because i liked my morning paper.
It is also a fact that 53% of statistics you read on the web are nonsense. I would pay for a nonsense filter. Some search engine that identified morons and scrubbed out anything they typed.
As for games, what would I pay for, probably nothing that does not exist for free.
Information is key to success in many MMOs. However, tracing my days back to EQ, I very much enjoyed discovering that information through encounters with my environment whether it be NPCs, other PCs, item clues, etc... So as far as in-game information goes, I think the day where that is useful is gone. The only information I would have ever paid for would have been maps in EQ, luckily EQVista had them for free and now every game has them built in.
However, for the same reason I frequent this site, I do enjoy inside reports and professional (ish) perspectives on games I am interested in. However, it is my feeling that MMOs change and evolve at a pace far too rapid for print, which is part of the reason why I no longer subscribe to PC Gamer. That being said, there is a Sim Racing service called iRacing.com. I am an active member there and recently an enthusiast launched a Sim Racer Magazine. There is a poster, in the first issue, inclusive interviews with the development team at iRacing, as well as coverage of other Sim Racing happenings outside of iRacing. This is a print magazine I am going to purchase once it hits store shelves in the coming weeks here in America and will most likely subscribe to thereafter. But, like I said, for me the MMORPG genre is fast pace and very opinionated, which is why forums flourish in the MMO world, something you can't ever monetize because MMO gamers are too smart and able to start their own free stuff, haha.
If I want a world in which people can purchase success and power with cash, I'll play Real Life. Keep Virtual Worlds Virtual!
When I tried to think of an answer for this question, my mind at first tended to think of only information dealing with internal or in-game implications. But thinking more, I guess you could also pay (and people that contribute to KS definitely do pay) for external or out-of-game information as well, as long as it were loosely associated to the development/progression of the game itself.
This is an interesting discussion, so please anyone add to or augment this if I miss something. I definitely will.
Types of internal information:
1. Strategies (For boss battles, builds, PVP, etc.)
2. Guides (For leveling or help mastering any other in-game mechanic)
3. Video footage (Could be related to previous points, i.e. how to take down a boss/what the mechanics of a certain situation look like. Could also be of recent PVP gameplay, to help breakdown enemy team gamestyles or strategies, if your game has very competitive PVP.)
4. Informational overlays (see "Possibilities" below)
Types of external information:
1. Dupes/bugs/cheats/exploits (Could be offered by a third party. Legality in question. I put this in external and not internal because is has to do with the development and coding of the game.)
2. Dev journals (Basically this is the upfront product/service received by KS backers, i.e. access to alpha and beta forums; faster information.)
3. Entertainment/Informational material (Whether it be something like a comic book, ala TF2, or literature dealing with the universe which the game occupies, ala the Warcraft books. I'm not sure exactly whether this would fit in your definition, but its definitely information, albeit lore based.)
Cons of pay-gating internal information:
1. Customers are wary of games & companies that would have you pay for information that would let you progress or achieve victory before or at the expense of others. Especially if you have already paid for the game itself.
2. ...?
Cons of pay-gating external information:
1. (Point 1; Types of external information) If you are a third party wanting to make money off of another's product, you need to be careful to stay within legal constraints and not step on anyone's toes.
2. Few(er) customers will want to pay for non-essential information. Often times this non-essential info is simply an add-on to a promise to provide a product in the future (the game) by the developers during a game's development.
Possibilities:
1. A highly complex or hyper-competitive game, where rigorous analysis of freely available information could cut time for the consumer and alter/inform their strategy. I'm thinking Eve Online. This may already exist (hell it may already exist in-game, the damn thing is like playing a spreadsheet simulator), but if there is a professional tool that could track the movements, constructions, and chart the tactics of enemy corps in real time, it could prove an invaluable tool for serious players. It could also be applied to the economy; if players were given a simple interface that tracked in-game economics and made suggestions and conclusions based upon algorithms.
2. Real estate overlay/website tracker for Archeage. Real estate in this game is pretty serious business, and a rare and potentially pricey commodity. Plus, it will only get more expensive. Currently, players are either reduced to running around the continent in a desperate attempt to find a plot, or trying to find one they want on the open market. If there were a tool that tracked this information in real time (dates to demolition on sites, times til next payment of taxes, current owners, etc.) you might be able to convince players to pony up some dough. Or you could act as a broker, being paid a commission when brokering a deal. If it were a true interactive marketplace, you could get some serious traffic through that site.
I think (at least in the MMO sphere) that the only information that I could be tempted into buying would be in a game that fostered an open-world and competitive atmosphere. Information has to be power, and ideally processed, for it to be profitable.
Hope this helps, please feel free to PM or respond with more ideas/questions.
One thing pops up to mind: magazines. Here in this country we used to have a magazine dedicated solely to World of Warcraft for example, and I was a reader.
I wouldn't buy it so much for information as for the joy of reading stuff written by other people with similar interests to yours in a printed format. There's something special about physical magazines that you don't get in blogs or news sites.
I wouldn't expect any new information from such a magazine however. Well, people's opinions, guild stories and that kind of thing excluded. Theorycrafting articles and whatnot are fun but that sort of information will always be available on the internet for free.
The Weekly Wizardry blog
The only people who would pay for things are probably those who are too lazy to find out for themselves, as an Eve player i frequently use websites like Battleclinic etc, for their killboards and for information on other players, KM's where they lost a fight can be very useful, as well as the successful KM's they may have generated, to see not only what types of ships they tend to fly, but also, who their usual associates are, that kind of intel is extremely useful, i think you'd have to be very lazy to pay someone else to do the work for you.
I think you're being a bit shortsighted here, as you're limiting your view of information to simply wiki and killboard content. The magazines, both digital and print, didn't really focus on that kind of stuff. They were more articles, fiction, humor, interviews, bonus items and player/guild spotlights.
I'm inclined to think that most people bought the magazines not because the mags allowed them to be lazy but because the info in them was fun to read.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
There are plenty of free online article of the same nature as magazines. If i want a strategy guide of anything, there are a thousand free ones to choose from. If i go to gamasutra.com, there are plenty of gaming articles, and there plenty of websites with those.
So a print magazine is not very competitive both because it costs money, and it is much slower.