The rise and fall of Allods Online can be broken down into two categories, before the item shop and after. The game kicked off to to stellar reviews, fanfare, and lots of positive feedback. Really everything a developer could ever want. gPotato added the item shop shortly after the game went live, and all of that positive movement was gone. *poof*
Players frothed at the mouth over incredibly high prices for items such as an additional six bag slots for $20. Ouch. gPotato initially said ‘tough,’ standing by its decision. It appears the company realized its mistake, as it has announced a reduction in prices to key items, including the aforementioned bag.
List of changes in the item shop:
- Vial of Perfume reduced from 75gP to 25gP
- Large Perfume Kit reduced from 1350gP to 300gP
- Holy Rune reduced from 1500gP to 1000gP
- Rough Dragon Hide Backpack reduced from 2000gP to 600gP
- Small Deposit Box reduced from 1500gP to 1000gP
- Small Bag of Crystal Chips reduced from 250gP to 100gP
- Medium Bag of Crystal Chips reduced from 1200gP to 350gP
- Potions reduced from 250gP to 200gP
A gP, or gPotato, is $0.01, so the Rough Dragon Hide Backpack has gone from $20 to $6. A more reasonable $1 per slot. The changes put the desirable items more in line with other F2P shops, like the one I broke down for Runes of Magic.
Seeing as Allods Online has so much competition in the field of F2P games, the damage may already be done. Is the reduction enough to draw people back in, or are the potential customers that left during gPotato’s stonewalling a lost cause?
The developer has backpedaled, but now a show of good faith is needed. My idea – offer a discount on gPotatoes for a limited time to try to win over the angered players.
Good writeup Itzkoops,
I’ve been tracking the Allods mess since it started.
I just want to let you know, russia by american standards has a much lower GDP and a slower economy. Even though the US has been in an economic slump :::cough::depression::cough we are still in a lot better shape than russia economically.
Unfair as it might be, they might be taking that into consideration when pricing their shop. Logistically speaking, russians might not be able to afford these prices. I might be wrong, I am not in russia and I don’t see the economic impact that this game could have on the community.
Has anyone contacted the russian community so we can “trade notes” with their thoughts on the allods cash shop?
An interesting take on the matter Inktomi.
I guess I am more of a cynical person, because I want to call shenanigans on the whole ordeal. The prices are still pretty high, but by contrast they are much tamer. A possible Bait-and-switch, very crafty.
They may have lowered the prices … but the integrity of the devs/staff remains the same. Disappointing.
Whose to say, they won’t turn around in 6 months time, after you’ve spent all those months leveling up your character, by increasing the cash shop pricing again.
Sounds more like Russian Roulette.
These kind of shenanigans is exactly why I tend to stay away from F2P titles. Numerous companies have failed with the cash shops/microtransactions – Cryptic and gPotato – and I think only Turbine (DDO:EU) has done it without a hiccup.
It’s not enough for me, I walked away from the game after the shops went live.