[MUD-Dev] Pricing structures and selling characters and items

[Brian 'Psychochild' Green]

Myschyf wrote:

> On the other hand I'm reminded of the disastrous results when M59 raised its
> prices.  However the market is different now.  These games reach a lot more
> people who have discovered a passion for online gaming.

One thing to consider, too, is that the price increase wasn't just an
increase.  According to second-hand sources, the goal of the new price
model was to "confuse the customers".  They wanted to wrap the price
increase in marketing sleaze and "bonus offer" terminology.  Which was
stupid, of course, because it wouldn't take long for the hard-core
players to realize they were paying $30 per month instead of the former
$10.

It's also important to consider that while M59 lost a lot of players, it
also became (more?) profitable as a result.  Fewer people were paying
more money, and some overhead costs (like in-house customer service)
went down.

Of course, this was all before my time on the game, so I'm just passing
along what I've heard. ;)

--
"And I now wait / to shake the hand of fate...."  -"Defender", Manowar
     Brian Green, brian at psychochild.org  aka  Psychochild
       |\      _,,,---,,_      *=* Morpheus, my kitten, says "Hi!" *=*
 ZZzz  /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_   "They're not bugs, they're 'place-
      |,4-  ) )-,_..;\ (  `'-'    holders for code that works.'"
     '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)         - Andrew Kirmse, Meridian 59 creator



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