The Gemstore: ArenaNet's predatory practices

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While I'm one of Guild Wars 2 biggest proponents, sometimes even I need to take a step back and evaluate how unsavory micro transactions are in the game.

Despite its smaller player base than some of the behemoths (WoW, FFXIV, OSRS), and having no subscription, ArenaNet still manages to rake in over 60 million US Dollars per year. Some of those funds come from the (now yearly) expansions, but the largest probably from players buying gems to get skins, skip certain chores in game, or to pay for convenience.

It's that paying for convenience, or quality of life, that sets Guild Wars 2 apart from other modern MMORPGs. While you're limited to a certain amount of characters, you can pay to get more slots. Bag space? Limited per character, unless you pay more. Build and Equipment hot swapping? Limited, unless you pay more...

The game's monetization is pretty well thought out, and that's fine, but some of the money transactions might be a bit too convoluted...

BEUC on predatory practices: https://www.beuc.eu/press-releases/co...
The Role of Poker Chips: https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/1...
GameDeveloper on Loot Boxes: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/...

00:00 Intro
00:27 Why Gems
02:33 Price mismatch
03:44 Spending more than you think
07:52 Future purchases
08:28 How to spend less
09:21 Account upgrades
10:43 Taking advantage of new players
12:10 Loot Boxes
14:14 Conclusion

#guildwars2 #gaming #mmorpg