Yeah... So...
I posted a big response earlier but changed it... I should have just kept it, but it mostly revolved around my dissatisfaction with Ship Customization... And the topic at hand is about ALL the updates of 2011, not just SC, so thats why I deleted it.
I personally think POTCO staff could have stepped up their game a little more, but it is a learning experience...
Perhaps the reason so many FREE games do better than Pirates with content release and upkeep, is because of all the optional payments players make on those games... They make so much extra money, and they can just mess around and release random content updates, perhaps even when they're just bored...
I mean, Pirates Online asks for a monthly fee right? Some games out there... Most games actually, offer big bonuses and crazy customization if you pay extra money for points to spend on premium content... whether it be by cards for these points or by some form of payment online. Imagine how much extra budget for game development Pirates staff would have if they offered premium content along with their basic pay-per-month content...
(Of course that is just me assuming Disney didn't give them a big budget to work with for whatever reasons they may have, and that it isn't just based on bad developers or laziness... I mean, what other reasons could there be?)
So there are several ways for people to be tempted to buy these premium features... While browsing the internet looking through general content for the game or maybe just while walking through the store by the electronic cards section, so it is easy to get somebody interested. Just put stuff in plain sight.
People may not pay monthly for these games, but if you really get a player hooked on added content, they may end up paying a LOT MORE than 10$ a month just to dress their character up differently, or upgrade their powers... So much potential, speaking to the business side of things of course...
Of course... as a player speaking to normal players: Who WANTS Pirates Online to do that? It is hard enough keeping up with higher level players as it is... Why make the competition even more rediculous? Again though... When trying to speak to POTCO Staff... I say you might want to just take a chance... You know people would pay out the broadside to gain the upper hand in PVP and SVS, so just keep releasing optional payments to boost power in those features, create competition, and there you go... A little extra money for whatever you fancy...
Lol just my 2 cents... Probably isn't even worth 2 cents but whatever. Nothing ventured, nothing gained really.
In the end, as much as I love playing Pirates Online, a game is a game... If it hasn't closed down after a while, I'll have already quit the game for potentially many reasons... Nothing lasts forever. Just gotta appreciate what is here while it is here I guess and do what we can to make it better in the time it exists...
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