Curse

mrlopes · Oct 18, 2006, 09:29 AM // 09:29

Hi,

Why don't NCSoft sell an Online Preorder, at In Game Store?

I don't want fancy posters, or a CD/DVD in a nice box, if I want it I buy from a real store.
I already order one, but I have 2 accounts, and don’t need 2 boxes, where I live I don’t have access to any store that sell the game when is released, so my other account will get a online key from NCSoft, so I can start play right when the campaign starts.

I just want to be able to buy a Preorder key in the in game Store.
I just want to receive the in game items and the additional slot.

Charge me for the full key and when the campaign is released I’m ready to go, but please add this feature to the Online Store.

Create an Online Preorder without any physical content, and sell it in the in game Store, it shouldn’t be that difficult! Right?

Maybe it’s too late for this campaign but please implement this for the next one! I already had this problem in the previous campaigns.

Of course this wouldn’t be a problem if the game (with real key) was on stores, 2 weeks before campaign launch/start, so I can order online from a store and when the Campaign starts I already have the box with key and I’m ready to go.
Any upgrades will be download when we connect, so the content of the CD/DVD is not a big issue.

And thanks for this great game
Regards
MRLopes

RTSFirebat · Oct 18, 2006, 10:35 AM // 10:35

Because providing it in Online Stores such as EB and game stores all over the world will provide a greater profit margin and allow a wider audience to buy the game.

I'm sure they will add it to the online store as a upgrade, but then again only people with the game already would be able to pre-order/buy it.

A.net needs to make a profit afterall.

Solar_Takfar · Oct 18, 2006, 12:38 PM // 12:38

Actually, that didn't make much sense. selling a boxed copy which has to be manufactured and shipped is bound to cost MORE than to just make it unlockable online (remember, everyone HAS the content already, so no extra downloads are involved). Unless NCSoft is ripping off A-net completely in order to use the online store, the profit margin for selling online is bound to be much larger.

NOW, there is the fact that the retailers can apply a lot of pressure to keep the companies from releasing online material, so that could be a reason for it

===

I'd like, however, to propose something totally different (which is what I thought the thread was about when I saw the title). How about letting players buy NF from the online store BEFORE it's released? Something like... NOW, ALREADY!!?. Of course, the game would only be unlocked to play upon release, but by making it available for purchase sooner, the store would have a much lighter load to contend with on release day... Valve already does this with its steam games, btw, and I believe it's working fine for them (they also allow the buyer to preload the game they bought, but since everyone downloads everything on GW, it's a non-issue here)

Sir Mad · Oct 18, 2006, 12:51 PM // 12:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solar_Takfar

Actually, that didn't make much sense. selling a boxed copy which has to be manufactured and shipped is bound to cost MORE than to just make it unlockable online (remember, everyone HAS the content already, so no extra downloads are involved). Unless NCSoft is ripping off A-net completely in order to use the online store, the profit margin for selling online is bound to be much larger.

NOW, there is the fact that the retailers can apply a lot of pressure to keep the companies from releasing online material, so that could be a reason for it

Real stores and the in-game store are for 2 different markets. The on-line store is only for existing customers: people having already at least one chapter, willing to buy more. Real stores can do something the on-line store can't: advertising. The new players of GW (and ANET of course needs new players) will buy their copy in real stores. If you reduce the sales in real stores (in selling on-line), then the product GW won' be in evidence as it is now, therefore less advertizing, therefore fewer new players.

Dashface · Oct 18, 2006, 01:02 PM // 13:02

I'm imagining that if money changed hands, so to speak, that would hurt Nightfall's position on the weekly sales chart by spreading the purchases over several weeks.

Esprit · Oct 18, 2006, 01:19 PM // 13:19

If it was available at the in-game store, and it only would be seen by current owners of some or all versions of Guild Wars, how does that affect profit or advertising? The new customers will still need to get the pre-order from their local retailer.

Guild Wars pre-order availabilty in Factions and Nightfall has been pretty limited, many stores don't know when they are getting any copies in, whether they'll get any in, how many they are getting in, if they are selling it as a pre-release or pre-order.

Getting a pre-order, for current owners of Guild Wars, can be quite the headache, especially if people want the pre-order, but their local retailers aren't following through.

mrlopes · Oct 18, 2006, 02:02 PM // 14:02

Quite a good hand of point of views.

But NCSoft already sell the game (Key) at In game store, so make it available sooner trough a Preorder want hurt them, neither the real stores, cause most of people still prefer to get all the physical content.

New clients still have to buy the game from a real store.

Many current players still buy it from the stores.

I don't care if i pay a little extra for buying it online.

Now a real case (and i know quite a few, from my guild), it's very hard not to say impossible to get a preorder here at Portugal, so one of my solutions is buy online from a foreign country, with Factions campaign I’ve preordered 1 copy from UK, 2 weeks after the launch of the game i was still waiting for the delivery, and guess what, no preorder was delivered, only the normal version

Luckily I’d buy a key from NCSoft and be able to play since the launch date on one of my accounts.

All I want is the chance to buy a preorder at In game Store that give me some of the extras that people receives when buy a preorder box.

Of course if I have the chance to go to a store and buy it from there this wouldn't be a problem.

Regards
MRLopes

Stemnin · Oct 18, 2006, 02:12 PM // 14:12

Internet takes over TV..
Internet takes over grocery shopping..
Internet takes over going to EB/gamestop/bestbuy..
Internet takes over my life.. /doh!

Someday they will make pre-order available online, i'm surprised it is not.

Franco · Oct 18, 2006, 02:16 PM // 14:16

Someday we wont have to live our house and can just play Guildwars 24/7 :O wait.. I already do that almost xD

SpeedyKQ · Oct 18, 2006, 02:32 PM // 14:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solar_Takfar

How about letting players buy NF from the online store BEFORE it's released? Something like... NOW, ALREADY!!?.

This would make me very happy indeed. No worrying about the box being shipped in time, no worrying about local stores having it on shelves on release day, and no worrying about the online store crashing on release day.

yasmina · Oct 18, 2006, 04:40 PM // 16:40

I would have to agree we have two accounts in my household and instead of purchasing two retail boxes it would make life much easier to purchase from NCSoft Online store like most other big online games. I keep collecting more and more boxes of expansions that could be downloaded from an online source and a cd-key maybe eventually they will implement that as for maybe the next expansion.

Clawdius_Talonious · Oct 18, 2006, 05:43 PM // 17:43

I just want them to allow me to preorder Nightfall itself from the GWOS, so that I can jump right in when the servers go live. Any word on the exact timeframe we can expect it in the online store? 12:01am PDT the 27th?

Bravesoul · Oct 18, 2006, 06:14 PM // 18:14

I think one of the reasons they don't offer it ahead of time in the online store is that would take away from the box/chain store sales which would in the future cause those physical stores to not promote GW products as much as others since they would make less off of them.

GW is unique though since you are not buying the actual game when you get the box since the content is almost all on ANETs servers. All you buy is a key to access the servers.

Hopefully in the future they will allow some sort of online purchase ahead of time instead of hoping that the store won't crash on the release day.

DeathByAmor · Oct 18, 2006, 06:30 PM // 18:30

I would love to be able to preorder Nightfall in the online store and not have to wait and have to go to the store to pickup my copy. That said however NCSoft probably has some sort of a deal to where the game has to launch in retail stores cause that is how they make money.

Tozen · Oct 18, 2006, 07:06 PM // 19:06

I agree with the OP. This time around getting a pre-order kit was so complicated that I didn't get one AT ALL. Having it in the online store would make life a lot easier!

Knightsaber Sith · Oct 18, 2006, 08:32 PM // 20:32

/notsigned

The bonus packs they release before the games go live are special and can't be sold in the ingame store for the same reason the CE can't. If you can't find it at a store near you, just order from one of the many online retailers.

WhiteWasabi · Oct 18, 2006, 10:44 PM // 22:44

There is too much packaging in the world. I would like an option to buy the CE with just IN-GAME GOODIES instead of a box that will take up room in a drawer.

Save the Trees!

lol

Terra Xin · Oct 19, 2006, 01:57 AM // 01:57

There's no reason to pre-order a game from an online store when there is a 100% chance you will get a key anyway. That's the only reason why pre-ordering is done in the first place - to ensure that you get a copy.

You're more likely to get the game sooner if you bought it from the online store as soon as the date strikes midnight... unlike pre-ordering when you have to drive to the shop and then drive back - some of them don't even open at midnight.

Of course, they could have the option for you to buy the key now and your account would just not be able to use it until the game is officially released? But that makes absolutely no difference if you're going to get in at the same time as everyone else.

Solar_Takfar · Oct 19, 2006, 02:19 AM // 02:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Mad

The on-line store is only for existing customers: people having already at least one chapter, willing to buy more.

Not true. You can buy a GW chapter from plaync.com without owning any other previous chapter first. That's what I did, actually, back in january when there wasn't even an (in-game) online store yet.

Quote:

There's no reason to pre-order a game from an online store when there is a 100% chance you will get a key anyway. That's the only reason why pre-ordering is done in the first place - to ensure that you get a copy.

There is the reason that the online store might simply crash under the load of purchases in the first few days. It DID happen back when they started selling charslots. Allowing people (who will buy online anyway, and NOT buy a boxed copy) to buy before release allows the load to be dissipated over several days before release and allow these people to able to play at launch day.

It's not like I'm proposing something wild and daunting either. As I said, Valve pre-sells and pre-loads all of their games over steam already, and then at release day they need just unlock them and the players can start playing. It's not like it's a hard thing to do either, Anet can lock and unlock content easily already based on CDkey privileges... There's basically no reason why they should NOT do it.

datboi448 · Oct 23, 2006, 09:02 AM // 09:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solar_Takfar

Actually, that didn't make much sense. selling a boxed copy which has to be manufactured and shipped is bound to cost MORE than to just make it unlockable online (remember, everyone HAS the content already, so no extra downloads are involved). Unless NCSoft is ripping off A-net completely in order to use the online store, the profit margin for selling online is bound to be much larger.

NOW, there is the fact that the retailers can apply a lot of pressure to keep the companies from releasing online material, so that could be a reason for it

===

I'd like, however, to propose something totally different (which is what I thought the thread was about when I saw the title). How about letting players buy NF from the online store BEFORE it's released? Something like... NOW, ALREADY!!?. Of course, the game would only be unlocked to play upon release, but by making it available for purchase sooner, the store would have a much lighter load to contend with on release day... Valve already does this with its steam games, btw, and I believe it's working fine for them (they also allow the buyer to preload the game they bought, but since everyone downloads everything on GW, it's a non-issue here)

Most of the games that valve releases are not available in stores at the same time...and focusing on releasing more game titles rather than keeping a bug free product is their current priority...they would rather start selling pop cap games instead of fixing the stuff they mess up in each game update(although they did offer a lot of different packages for hl2 with all the extra concept art and stuff)...the bottom line is that the game does not cost more than 5 bucks to put it in a box...they are trying to maximize their profits and get the game infront of more people that do not already own guild wars rather than the ones who do own it...it sux but once you buy a product, any product, your thoughts go to the back of the line behind all the people who do not own it because money talks...if people paid to play this game monthly then...it would be a different story