The Daily Grind: Do item shop sales affect your purchases?

Isn't a monthly sub enough? I mean really.

Considering I only play monthly sub MMOs this hasn't been an issue. The things games like EQ2 and WoW and others are starting to offer for extra money, I barely glance at. If they lower my sub price and offer something incredible..I MIGHT take a look but I really hate overpaying for anything.

I am of a similar breed. I typically stick with direct sub ie: go raid and get phat lewtz types of games. However since I started playing DDO in mid Sept. my DDO points have been spent on items with the discount exclusively at least so far. 32 point characters come on the next billing cycle with my monthly stipend of store points. And well if it isn't on sale I'll get it anyway.

Yeah they affect my purchases. I don't.

I have a simple rule, no RMT I either pay a subscription or I don't pay. Games that make you pay a subscription and then charge on top of it for stuff are also off the list.

Lol, makes me re-evalute that amont of time I've been wasting on these games really, so in actuallity item shops are great news, on sale or not: Waiting what's left of a block of my remaining game sub to expire and then I'm out I think. Been playing a long time really, since MUDS in fact, and watching them turn into slot machines that never pay out isn't worth the wait. And it's actually kind of cool to do other things, if not a little scary to suddenly have SO much spare time again.

The only remotely original/interestng looking thing is Earthrise, and sadly I think that will be drowned in market saturation.

No real loss to the people churning these things out at the moment - I'm not that deluded honest :) to think one less sub will make much difference - but I bet there's a good few other item shop haters out there that might be thinking the same thing. Why wait for it to just stop being fun shoving all your spare change into an item shop just to keep up with the other level 'whatever's

Take the plunge my friends, walk blinking into the bright light now :)

generally I don't care too much for item sales, now when they put their game currency on sale .... that raises an eyebrow.

Every once and a blue moon a sale will get me and I will figure why not.

No, not for me. I know I should really take advantage of all the DDO emails they keep sending me, but honestly, I havent fired up DDO in a long while because I'm happily playing Fallen Earth.

The catch-22 seems to be that the games that would offer enough stuff in RMT to get me to look at it are sub games already, so they have to be careful what they put in the stores. I've played EQ2, Vanguard, and CO when they had RMT stuff (to varying degrees), and never bothered even going to the stores, much less take advantage of "deals".

And the games that might have better stuff or more necessary stuff in their stores, are the F2P games, that honestly, why spend money on a vanity item or "help me level" item when I know I'm not committed to the game, wont be playing for any particular long stretch of time, and thus dont care about those things.

Guess I just havent foudn that game that I'm invested enough to want to spend extra cash on that had a store with stuff I'd want yet. DDO was a possibility, but then I got the FE hook :)

I have never used an item shop but am prepared to when the F2P Allods goes live. But I will limit my purchases to a reasonable monthly amount. Glad to support a good game.

Do item shop sales affect your purchases? Let's rephrase to what this really means -- do prices play a role in your buying habits? Um... yes. :D

But it's not price alone, it's the perceived value of whatever it is I'm buying. I generally won't buy minipets, or items I can get relatively easily within the game. In fact, if there's something I can't acquire relatively easily within the game, I'd probably rethink my subscription in the first place, because that suggests the game and I don't align too well (I'm not into joining uber guilds for standard loot). I tend to be more loose with my money when it comes to perks like character transfers and extra character slots, and I admit to encouraging the TCG in SWG -- by way of spending ingame money on loot cards (which loot cards were purchased by others for real money).

But there are some official RMT offerings that just leave my head spinning -- they're so inane that I refuse to partake, no matter how low they go. Guild Wars is a prime offender here. $10 for a new character slot (that comes with ~45 base storage plus weapon storage on heroes) -- that's a steal. But then they also ask $10 for a single storage pane -- that's 20 storage. What?? So even when they were 25% off a month or so ago, I didn't jump at the deal. It still wasn't a very good deal, when a simple storage mule is still cheaper. Character name changes tend to be wildly overpriced as well, probably to discourage abuse, but it also discourages legitimate use.

YES! Item shop sales absolutely affect my purchases. If I know a game has or will have an item shop, I won't purchase that game.

I played Runes of Magic for around 7 months and the sales do matter. I only bought a mount but I got it for $10 instead of $20. Figured for 7 months of game play... 10 bucks isn't 1/2 bad. Only problem is that you spend a lot of time grinding for in game money to find that perfect rune so that you can grind for the stat to put on the run and then grind for the item that the other 2 apply to. Now I just play Fallen Earth, heh

Sales don't make me break any of my MT rules (don't buy in full-subcription games, never buy consumables etc.), but they do influence my spending on stuff I do buy in games I do buy stuff in.

In particular Free Realms - I always check the daily sale item after I log-in for my Daily Spin(s), and if it is something (non-consumable) for $1 or less that takes my fancy I usually buy it.
Tempted into 2 dogs and a boombox that way in the last few weeks, but at a combined cost of $2.50 for a little fun I don't begrudge it.

I find any anymosity toward RMT perplexing.

Almost no stereotype that existed(if it ever did to begin with) exists now.

On top of that your money is being taken either way. And fun is provided in many different forms, on top of how players "derive" fun on their own.

Basically there is no particulars of games(I.E. RMT gimps rewards and imbalances) that would give any more validity to a person against RMT than a person against paying a sub fee.

Items stores dont detract or give an unfair advantage, they even the playing field for those that do not have access or time to all content and refuse to interact with asshats. There is a huge majority that cannot access content for whatever reason, item stores are the result of this once, untapped market, and they are not going away.

The typical item in an MMO store is of much less value than the top gear in all games currently, this is due to the narrow minded raiding aspect and money model used to keep brainless people playing and paying on a monthly basis to keep trying for that leet armor, thats why upon successfully completing an epic dungeon and wasting 4 hours of your time you only get one piece or no piece instead of the entire set you were working towards. The longer it takes you, the more money they make.

I am glad item stores are around but they need to improve. The stores need to have armor and weps of equal level with the best raid dungeons. Not everyone wants to put up with a raid guide or guild master that is a whiny arrogant bitch on TS, Vent or in the chat channel, threatening this or that if a raid wipes, not entertainment or fun in my book last time i checked.

The whiny asses that tout their "hardcore" status can keep playing and paying that monthly fee since that is "their thing", those that have a bit more common sense and will not put up with asshat and play a game with content unavailable to them but pay the same monthly fee will have the item store available to equal the playing field.

Until the MMO business models change drasticaly the people that can access all content and those that cannot access all content (for whatever reason) will be at odds with one another, most folks know these types as hardcore verse casual player, a simplistic, narrowminded set of labels and innacurate.

The big laugh i get is the Hardcore folks making statements, and i know for a fact you have all read these at one time or another, "It isnt my fault i can play anytime i want or as long as i want" to the casual folks. Now the casuals can make this statement, "its not my fault you havent got a job". If hardcores want item store loot, buy it, then they can be even more leet, a twofer!!!

I wonder if item stores will ever sell something like.......... "Blessing of asshats address" once used this item will give the home address of an asshole on mouseover, cooldown none, instant, one use, cannot be blocked, evaded or dispelled, logging will not prevent address display. Ahh yes, item stores are good.

In f2p games I will not ever bust out the credit card. Mixture of being a distrust since DnL french issue flash backs and that F2P is exactly that I hate if you have to buy a bag or a horse just to enjoy the game and usually it only last X amount of days. So I quit them.

But to answer the OP in DDOU which was points I earned from making lots of alts that I usually do anyways I did buy some adventure packs...umm Delaras(i think thats how ya spell it) Tomb and Tangle-something root. Not just because DDOU kinda forces you to buy these so you can have awesome fun, loot, grind more favor with your vip guildies; but because when I bought them they were also daily deals on sale. Plus I wasn't spending money I farmed in game or irl but experience I got gaming.