This is like selling overpriced crack to addicts that have no alternatives
But we have to remember, these “crack users” are handing cash over to Blizzard faster than Blizzard knows what to do with it. So Blizzard is a company, they’re just looking at results and thus far results are good, there are literally zero reasons they’d consider valid to change course.
Blizzard is getting the message loud and clear its users are sending to them. Do more of this. Yeah, Blizzard can sit down and go “do I want money today or do I grow the brand?” And it sucks because we know which ones of those they picked but at the same time everyone playing Blizzard’s games know what they picked, it’s not super secret. So…
Blizzard doesn’t deserve the money
I mean they’re doing exactly what their users want, why else would they continue to, at rabid pace, dump money into the company? Overwatch isn’t some unique entry that stands alone in all of gaming. People who are vested in the brand, well they know and we know that’s not what Blizzard is here to do, they’re not here to grow the brands. So I would argue, Blizzard does deserve the money because they’re doing the exact thing their users are telling them they enjoy.
At some point we’ve got to put some blame on the players that contribute to Blizzard learning that this is an okay model of business. Blizzard is indeed to blame but it is NOT theirs alone. The “holy fucking shit” levels of cash Blizzard is making off of this game (or at least that they are reporting) is too large to just chalk up as a fluke.
I don’t disagree that some of the responsibility lies with the players. I feel if there was more competition in this game genre that Blizzard would be forced to compete with lower cosmetic prices. For example, there’s probably a market for a $500 burger joint. Maybe they make more money having 5 customers a day than a $10 burger joint. But you can’t have a town filled with only $500 burgers restaurants, it wouldn’t be sustainable. I guess in this case we will have to look into PoE 2 (if that’s what it’s called).
Clearly that’s a lot of them. So I agree with your stance in:
But we have to remember, these “crack users” are handing cash over to Blizzard faster than Blizzard knows what to do with it. So Blizzard is a company, they’re just looking at results and thus far results are good, there are literally zero reasons they’d consider valid to change course.
Blizzard is getting the message loud and clear its users are sending to them. Do more of this. Yeah, Blizzard can sit down and go “do I want money today or do I grow the brand?” And it sucks because we know which ones of those they picked but at the same time everyone playing Blizzard’s games know what they picked, it’s not super secret. So…
I mean they’re doing exactly what their users want, why else would they continue to, at rabid pace, dump money into the company? Overwatch isn’t some unique entry that stands alone in all of gaming. People who are vested in the brand, well they know and we know that’s not what Blizzard is here to do, they’re not here to grow the brands. So I would argue, Blizzard does deserve the money because they’re doing the exact thing their users are telling them they enjoy.
At some point we’ve got to put some blame on the players that contribute to Blizzard learning that this is an okay model of business. Blizzard is indeed to blame but it is NOT theirs alone. The “holy fucking shit” levels of cash Blizzard is making off of this game (or at least that they are reporting) is too large to just chalk up as a fluke.
I don’t disagree that some of the responsibility lies with the players. I feel if there was more competition in this game genre that Blizzard would be forced to compete with lower cosmetic prices. For example, there’s probably a market for a $500 burger joint. Maybe they make more money having 5 customers a day than a $10 burger joint. But you can’t have a town filled with only $500 burgers restaurants, it wouldn’t be sustainable. I guess in this case we will have to look into PoE 2 (if that’s what it’s called).