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<H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] The scalability of paying for in-game things</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] The scalability of paying for in-game things</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: Brian Green <<A HREF="mailto:brian#psychochild,org">brian#psychochild,org</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 16:05:50 -0700</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
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<PRE>
A clarification before I begin. I happen to really like Achaea's
system. I think it's elegant and quite smart from a business point of
view. My experience on Meridian 59 showed me that people were willing
to pay a more money to play some games (Merdian used to cost up to
$30/month for the constant player). My arguments here are more devil's
advocate than a vehement disagreement.
As a player, however, I'd probably be one of those bastards that played
the game and added to the community but not the bottom line. I'm still
quite cheap in some ways.
Matthew Mihaly wrote:
> Therefore, given that it DOES work on some scale, it seems to me that the
> only way you can demonstrate it wouldn't work on a larger scale would be
> to identify factors which would accelerate costs faster than benefits to
> the game accrue as you grow. If this can't be done, then I really don't
> see how you can reasonably claim it won't work.
I see two main arguments against scalability of pay-per-item/service
games. The first is that Achaea makes quite a bit of money from
labor-intensive auctions. It's pretty much established fact that you
can organize a large activity easier in a smaller community than in a
larger one. I would suggest that the tasks of organizing such auctions
on a larger game would be much more difficult to orchestrate. I also
suspect that your intimacy with your playerbase allows you to better
gauge your customers; it has been said that such closeness is MUCH
harder on large-scale games.
The second argument is what you have said yourself; your game is niche.
Niches rarely scale very well at all. You may attract a certain type of
person, but can you say that you could attract 100 or even 10 times as
many such people and still be as profitable?
Some things to consider.
--
"And I now wait / to shake the hand of fate...." -"Defender", Manowar
Brian Green, brian#psychochild,org aka Psychochild
|\ _,,,---,,_ *=* Morpheus, my kitten, says "Hi!" *=*
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<li><strong><A NAME="00420" HREF="msg00420.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The scalability of paying for in-game things</A></strong>
<ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Matthew Mihaly <the_logos@achaea.com></li></ul>
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<LI><STRONG><A NAME="00396" HREF="msg00396.html">[MUD-Dev] The scalability of paying for in-game things</A></STRONG>
<UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Matthew Mihaly <the_logos@achaea.com></LI></UL></LI>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00403" HREF="msg00403.html">[MUD-Dev] RE: MUD-Dev request rejected</A></strong>,
Schubert, Damion <a href="mailto:dschubert@origin.ea.com">dschubert@origin.ea.com</a>, Tue 18 Apr 2000, 00:06 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00421" HREF="msg00421.html">[MUD-Dev] Value of Characters [was: Quote from a Simutronics developer]</A></strong>,
Christopher Allen <a href="mailto:ChristopherA@Skotos.net">ChristopherA@Skotos.net</a>, Tue 18 Apr 2000, 19:48 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00413" HREF="msg00413.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] RE: MUD-Dev request rejected</A></strong>,
John Szeder <a href="mailto:jszeder@roshambo.net">jszeder@roshambo.net</a>, Tue 18 Apr 2000, 19:49 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00396" HREF="msg00396.html">[MUD-Dev] The scalability of paying for in-game things</A></strong>,
Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:the_logos@achaea.com">the_logos@achaea.com</a>, Mon 17 Apr 2000, 21:56 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00402" HREF="msg00402.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The scalability of paying for in-game things</A></strong>,
Brian Green <a href="mailto:brian@psychochild.org">brian@psychochild.org</a>, Tue 18 Apr 2000, 00:06 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00420" HREF="msg00420.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The scalability of paying for in-game things</A></strong>,
Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:the_logos@achaea.com">the_logos@achaea.com</a>, Tue 18 Apr 2000, 19:49 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00428" HREF="msg00428.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The scalability of paying for in-game things</A></strong>,
Brian Green <a href="mailto:brian@psychochild.org">brian@psychochild.org</a>, Tue 18 Apr 2000, 22:19 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00388" HREF="msg00388.html">[MUD-Dev] ADMIN: Digest size</A></strong>,
J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw@cp.net">claw@cp.net</a>, Mon 17 Apr 2000, 20:44 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00368" HREF="msg00368.html">[MUD-Dev] Alignment</A></strong>,
Richard Ross <a href="mailto:rross@redhotant.com">rross@redhotant.com</a>, Mon 17 Apr 2000, 16:23 GMT
</LI>
</UL></BLOCKQUOTE>
</ul>
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