I think this is a real bad precedence. First time a unique item you buy with real money enters EverQuest.

I am aware SoE doesn't really make a big profit out of it, but it's the principle.

Why do they add items in game you buy for real money ?
Will we see full armor sets sold on station store in future ?

Yep.

It's coming soon.

For only $200 you can get this:

Necklace of Greed
Magic Lore No Drop
AC 50
All Stats +30
All Saves +30
+200 HP, +200 Mana
Effect: Haste [50%] (Worn)
Flowing Thought X
All / All

I'm just glad that for the moment, the Satchel of Abu'Kar is junk. I wouldn't want it if it was given me. If it was actually a good item, I would be upset.

The fact that's it's (relatively) a junk item makes it even more sad. It's a buying gimmick, but they're using an item you can get fairly easily in game (LOTS of weight reduction bags available these days, many better than the satchel). You'd think if they were trying to use something like this to get folks to buy their expansion, SoE would throw in a nice item - or something rare, like a charm.

Yes it's a junk item. It also seems it will be used in quests to get an improved version. The improved version is still junk but as I said, it's a real development of EQ. There should be no items avalable from the 'outside world'. This is a very very bad development.


from allakhazam: (original probably on LDoN page, didn't check)

Reinforced Satchel of Abu-Kar
In recent weeks, rumors have surfaced that determined adventurers can renew the enchantment on their satchels, strengthening the seams and fittings with arcane power. While the details of these stories are uncertain, most of the rumors share a common thread -- there is a mystical puzzle that must be solved to find the person capable of such immense magic. This ancient magical satchel carries up to ten giant-sized items, reducing the weight of everything in the satchel by 50%.

Original is here:

www.station.sony.com/buy_ldon.jsp (http://www.station.sony.com/buy_ldon.jsp)

I think i am going to be sick......

Well first off the item is hardly unique, if everyone who buys LDoN gets one.

Hardly a precedent that real life gets you ingame items. Every FanFaire has events that result in ingame goodies.

A 25% 8 slot bag is worth, what, about 100 plat max these days. Hardly enough to even write about.

Depends on the weight of the bag itself. If the bag itself is weightless, then it'll be in relatively high demand for monks...

Paying for pixels is just plain retarded in my opinion.

My bet is this is more about the retailers than EQ.

I have seen EBWorld do this on other games. They want a special incentive for you to buy the game from them. In Morrowwind for instance there was a special quest/quest item you could download and load into the game if you bought from them. You wouldn't automatically get the item, but it gave you a little extra content.

Same again here. You get the kind of weak version of the bag, but there will be an in game quest to improve the bag from 8 slot large, 25% wt reduction to 10 slot giant, 50% wt reduction. STill not amazing but a bit better, and on some level you will have to work for it.

Channel issues are very complicated when a company is trying to start selling direct. For 3.5 years SOE flourished through their partners in the retail channel, and now they are competing with them head to head. They don't want to lose the retail channel, but they do want a shot a larger share of the revenue (figure that on a retail sold box they only get 50% or less of the cover price, whereas direct they get it all).

This is just a way for them to try to have it both ways peacefully.

"Paying for pixels is just plain retarded.."

True, people pay for pieces of cardboard too.



I would bet more than a few here have done that, at least in the past.
I spent 5 bucks on a Jester Cap once, which was pretty retarded.

It's a new trend. I dont imagine it'll stay, cause everyone who actually plays the games thinks the perks are silly. They'd have pre-ordered anyway, basically, perk or no.

But you have LDoN with the lame satchel... SWG if you buy the collectors edition you get sunglasses or something in game. AO if you preorder you get an apartment in the new expansion area.

All silly little things, although only the EQ one has any potential effect on gameplay. I imagine the fad will pass. I wish they'd take those resources and put them into QA instead...

Tia

<strong>Paying for pixels is just plain retarded in my opinion.</strong>


Glad to see you aren't playing EQ or any other computer game, then....

You know what always cracks me up is computer games in boxes. They come in ENORMOUS boxes and they're just empty except for a CD or two.

I think it is wacky that it is such a pathetic item.

I would hate to think any of my money (If the expansion 100% rocks and I buy it and start playing again) is going to a fake thing and the developement and marketing time for this tie in from the real world to the fake one.

A large part of the reason for the big box is to avoid 4-finger discounts.

All the recent games I have bought have been in the small packages.

YaK was even just shrink-wrapped.

The 5 finger discount really is not the reason. EAS systems really mitigate all but the fastest shoplifters.

It was a marketing decision, really. "I'm not spending 50 bucks on a CD". It is to give you the impressions that you are really getting more. See, the CD is not really 50 bucks, it's only $49.99.

Yup. I've retailed games n things for like 10 years now. There have even been many initiatives over the years to shrink the standard box size of games. But none ever took hold in North America (although Europe seemed to make the switch to a smaller box style.) There were always companies who didnt switch, and as such, with bigger boxes they got more shelf space, more visibility, and more sales (so the theory goes.) So mostly they wind up with new releases in big boxes, reprints and expansions in smaller ones, and old games in jewel case only. But it ultimately is very psychological... nobody wants to spend $50 for a plain old crappy jewelcase cd.

Although I sorta miss the old old days, in the very first few years of computer games. There were some pretty wild "boxes" back then... Infocom was notorious for creative design! The Ufo/Frisbee one for Starcross was great... and the purple glow in the dark thing from... um... Moonmist? Anyway, those were the days!

Tia

It was Wishbringer! (I looked it up hehehe)

I don't know why people are objecting to it being part of the package for preordering. Its not quite that you are on the website browsing for your next uber upgrade. Its an incentive to preorder an expansion that most people have initially had positive reactions to purchasing anyhow. We pay for pixels all the time.

Now the item itself, that's just lame.

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>This ancient magical satchel carries up to ten giant-sized items, reducing the weight of everything in the satchel by 50%. [/quote]

Now it's starting to look better. That is not so bad.

It's just disappointing to see stuff sold like that. Basically, SOE said, you can't EBay, but we can. And far worse, is the only way to get it is to buy it, you can't get the first part to quest with any other way.

SOE is the one always saying Risk vs. Reward whenever we complain about stuff. Now it's Money vs. Reward.

Even with the upgrade it's still not worth crap in the game. God forbid they put something in that no one high level will likely use but, perhaps, the lower levels can get a decent weight reduction bag for free.

When I saw this I immediatly thought that this is a test from SoE to see how they can implement items buyable by real cash.

Probably something we will see more of in future, maybe not in EQ but for sure in EQ2 and maybe in SWG.

I want to have a disc for reinstall issues. The bag is fluff and in no way influences my decision to buy the expansion rather than download it.

However, I don't agree that the bag is as bad as everyone is saying. It's rather petty IMO. /shrug

The large boxes did not start in gaming, that started in business software sales really. As early as Visicalc, marketers found that people were unhappy to pay large amounts of money for a floppy without a shiny bit of packaging around it.

Package them in a bunch of cardboard and people were far more happy. To this day you'll find games also shipped on four CDs when three would suffice (and be cheaper) but consumer bitched about paying $50 "for only three disks". It all makes me laugh and cringe at the same time.

I'm all for DLing files personally. Cut out the middleman retailers and potentially kill off some of the marketing jobs in due time.

Hehe... true enough, but you also used to get Manuals back then... with a captial M! I remember my friend's many old DOS Binders expounding the many ways to use the COPY command and such... was kinda funny, these great big fat heavy binders for Dos and Visicalc and Wordstar... and we are lucky to get a 4 page pamphlet for Windows XP (w/ 2 pages of ads for upgrades!) nowdays.

My dad also had Lotus or some such thing back in the day... it was like encyclopedia sized, all those binders... crazy hehe...

Had forgotten about all that old business software.

"Cut out the middleman retailers and potentially kill off some of the marketing jobs in due time."


Should be 'hopefully', not 'potentially'.

And yes, I remember those binder bound software packages, too.