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6/24/2015 3:45:46 PM
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TTK pricing - what Bungie can't say

Seems to be a lot of emotion concerning the pricing for TTK. But, emotion really has no place in a business. So, we should look at this from Bungie's POV. Why is Bungie in business? Or, more globally, why is ANY company (even non-profit ones) in business? Why do people go to work every day? Is it because they love their job? Nope. If that was the reason, they'd be a volunteer (and even then, there is usually an ulterior motive of making oneself happy). The reason is that "Bungie wants to make money." There, I said it. Isn't that disgusting? Wait - that's an emotional response! So, let's look at a logical one. Bungie (and Activision) has obviously performed numerous pricing studies before they set a price for TTK. The first step is to determine the cost of making the game. The sale price can be no lower than this amount. But, you rarely set a price for an item below the cost to manufacture it (exception being a loss leader - look up the term if you aren't familiar with it). So, we have to assume that they want to profit from TTK. How do they set a price? They run numerous statistical analyses and study groups. In the end, they have figured out that if they set the price any higher, a critical number of people WON'T buy the game, and although they make more money per unit, they will lose money overall. On the other hand, if they set the price any lower, more people WILL buy the game, but they will make less money per unit, and will lose money overall. So, the price is set at this certain point. So, how should we feel about it? I've seen lots of things: "We're paying for the games we already have!"; "It's more expensive in other countries!"; "It's 2x more expensive than any other expansion!" Those are all valid points, but they don't take into account the big picture. Yes, it's 2x more expensive than TDB or HoW. But, by all reports, it contains more than 2x the material. You get a raid, more story missions than any other expansion, multiple strikes, new subclasses (first time in an expansion), new crucible modes, etc. So, yes, it should cost more. As for the "We're paying for games we have." That could be one way to look at it. But, let me offer another way. And, until Bungie sells each Collector's Edition trinket separately and we know the price for each, this is just as valid a POV as any. You are getting them free. You pay $40 for TTK, plus $40 for the trinkets (either in-game and/or physical). And, TDB and HoW comes free, for those who don't happen to have it. "What about all of us who paid $80 million for this stuff when it first came out?" Well, that's the risk that "early adopters" take (another business term). It's no different than those people (like me) who paid $1000 for a DVD player back in 1999, or those that paid full price for an NES Mario game that you can download to your phone for free. Ultimately, the ugly truth is that Bungie wants to make money. They want to keep you just happy enough to keep you buying their stuff. If they were to bend over enough to make EVERYONE happy, they would lose money. So, for all you people bellyaching about pricing and whatnot, you can find some solace in the fact that Bungie, in setting the pricing and content for TTK, has already studied people like you, counted you, and decided that they can still turn a tidy profit without you. In other words, you are dead to them. Like I said, this isn't pretty. But, it IS business. (Oh, and me? Yeah, I'm going to pay the $80 for the full collector's edition.)

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  • the people complaining are just annoying... I'm not sure why people think they should get things for free... its because their mommy and daddy are still paying for their shit, so they complain about it since they have to do chores or take the garbage out for mommy to buy it....

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