Thank you for answering my question. I spent two hours on the site last night reading many threads and the wall of text that has become the monumental Q and A; although obviously an extremely wealthy source of information (of which I honestly appreciated), it simply numbed me after a while due to the sheer volume. Hats off to the guy that did it, but if the answer to this question was there I apologize for not seeing it.
Regarding the topic; first, I wasn't speaking about in-game money (which should be "NuYen") - only real money used for in-game stat altering purposes. I understand the points you are trying to make - however I'm going to play devil�s advocate. I know it won't change your position - that's not what I'm trying to do and only a simpleton would think that his whining would alter the course of an entire company�s decision once it has been put in motion. I'm just going to give you my point of view on the subject that, like your opinion, is immune to persuasion from opposing commentary:
As a father of two, a retired Navy veteran, now with a full time civilian job while being a full time student at the Art Institute of Atlanta - I am more than familiar with time constraints and limitations. This is why no-one can bait me with that argument and my response to people who say they can't handle it is simply "Man Up."
All hobbies require personal time investment to become skilled in or be rewarded for efforts invested. If you don't have the time to balance out your responsibilities or you lack any form of basic time management skills - you get a new hobby. Money has never been, nor ever will be a valid replacement for practical application.
Race car drivers do not tell the officials "Hey, I don't have the time to do the entire race so I need to buy a lap or two from you. No, no - it's fair; they have time, I have money. What's the big deal?"
If a stat altering item costs one single penny, and after purchasing it I am facing off against someone who did not purchase that item, I just paid to alter the odds � therefore by the very nature of the transaction itself and stat altering item, I have paid to win. No matter how little, that's the bottom line.
I understand the necessity to have an item mall for a company that has decided to follow a �F2P� business model though. From a business standpoint - it's not just a "profit" issue like so many other people try to naively simplify the subject into. Rather, it is bottom line survival. It is a necessity in today's gaming market. For every retail game out now, there is another one being offered as a "F2P" alternative. Marketing alone attributes to a minimum of 35% and upwards of production cost - and people don't even consider the costs associated with providing a fat network pipeline. It's simply not feasible to do this with a 100% free product and maintain company survivability.
Regardless, no matter the bells and whistles, rhetorical smoke and mirrors, and 'philosophical debates' - it really is a black and white question once you cut through all of the conjecture and I appreciate you taking the time to answer it. It's just a question not easily answered due to the balance of trying to maintain the product, net a profit, and satisfy players with a rich enough environment that they gloss over some of the shortcomings that invariably always manifests within perpetual gaming products. It's a tough order to meet. Businesses do not come into fruition nor operate for free out the kindness of their hearts - anyone who thinks so will continue to be frustrated that they never seem to advance themselves beyond employee level and wonder why their employers say they don't have the understanding necessary to grasp the needs a business requires to drive it forward.
I'll be maintaining my "Astral Sentry" presence on this product as it develops. I think you have some basic good ideas on how to at least somewhat �balance� the item mall stat purchases. It is simply way too early for anyone to make a judgment call either way, so I am interested in how this will fare and will continue to update our Clan accordingly.
Again, thank you for your time,
- V7
www(.)archangelsgaming(.)com