Why pay full price for this game? I mean really.

[kat truewalker]

I'd just like to add my two gold coins worth to this thread....

I am pretty new to online gaming, having followed my kids into the Caribbean earlier this year. My kids have now moved on to pastures new while I have stayed.

Kat is now on the brink of making Master Pirate, I am in a guild which I enjoy immensely and I take part in all sorts of adventures and escapades around the Caribbean with a group of good friends. I am only limited by my imagination and ingenuity ( or lack of...!).

What's the attraction? For me it is the social aspects of this game that make it worthwhile....it was so easy to make friends in the early days, join a guild and plunder and loot with different crews. I also find it fascinating to meet so many different players from around the world in a location which I really enjoy.

Like many others, I have also ventured into other sites like Lotro, but still prefer POTCO, even though it costs me my hard earned loot.

Yes, I would like to see more updates and less lag, the chat restrictions drive me insane at times and being disconnected every so often can be irritating too. I have many ideas about how to improve the game for older as well as younger players but I can still see myself staying here for a while yet because of the pirates I have met in game.

So far then, the good points outweigh the bad ones, I'm starting to play with a second pirate now too and rediscovering the joys of dying every time I tackle an enemy........and I am still willing to pay good money to do it.

[akamystic]

All a matter of opinion. I paid for POTC online for over a year and then took a break for 2 years. Now I'm back since they have made changes to the game. I think no matter what the game is you need a break every now and then. All a matter of what you feel the worth of it is. Nobody is forcing anyone to pay for anything. If you want more than basic access options then you need to pay. If you feel what Disney is charging is unfair, then don't play. Pretty straight forward if you ask me. I know plenty of POTC online players that also play other games......but once a Pirate, always a Pirate in my book.

[pieisbetter2]

Everyone is just running over my good points.

Basically, don't say the POTCO team ISN'T trying. They give us an update and then everyone is all excited, and next thing you know everyone is complaining. I don't see the need for an update every week. If that's what you're expecting, this probably isn't a game for you. Like other's have said, this isn't really a game for hardcore gamers. I mean, it is aimed at a younger audience after all. So if you think Disney is being lazy and isn't really trying, then go ahead and leave. Nothing's stopping you.

[combatlizzy]

Take a look at the economy, mates-worldwide. Even, big corporations are affected. And from what I have learned, POTCO cannot just take money from other divisions of Disney. It is a seperate entity. It's not like borrowing money from your friend-there are legalities & borders which affect the influx of monies from other Disney divisions. Although, I am not an expert at all this, I have gathered that Disney MMO games are dependant, for the most part, on the paid accounts. When you have a job-you earn wages. Then you pay your bills according to necessity. Any money left-over-if there is any-can be used for extras. Everyone has their own preferences like stated above, but, I for one will stick with POTCO as long as it is around.

[akamystic]

Remember.....the game is much more than just playing. It's about making great Pirate friends (in my opinion). That to me....is priceless.......

[The Skirata Clan]

No one is saying that they are not trying, we all can agree that the POTCO team try. They are just not getting the proper backup from Disney to really make this game what we all would expect from a Disney product that's all. Your points were good points but not valid points. Nothing against you PIB.

Imagine watching Toy Story 3 and then the animations begin to slow down and get very rough and pixelated like an old N64 game. Then it stops and abruptly ends. Then you get a message that you'll be able to continue the story soon, somehow, somewhere. In the mean time, you can still watch and enjoy the part that is good and enjoy the company of other moviegoers. And they'll make candy and popcorn available while you wait for the rest of the movie.

I am hard on them because like many others, I too see the great potential this game has. And I bet that the POTCO team knows this too. They just need support to make it happen. And not just moral support. I will stay with the game until the ship fully sinks. Also the game is not aimed at younger audiences, the game is suitable for younger audiences.

[tayseth]

Originally Posted by pieisbetter2

Everyone is just running over my good points.

Basically, don't say the POTCO team ISN'T trying. They give us an update and then everyone is all excited, and next thing you know everyone is complaining. I don't see the need for an update every week. If that's what you're expecting, this probably isn't a game for you. Like other's have said, this isn't really a game for hardcore gamers. I mean, it is aimed at a younger audience after all. So if you think Disney is being lazy and isn't really trying, then go ahead and leave. Nothing's stopping you.

When did anybody say we wanted an update every week?

An update every week isn't necessary, sure. But when you have an entire year and you only put out ONE "large" update, people are going to complain. People complain when new releases come out because they're poorly tested, and lazily created, which means that you have to wait another week of maintenance before you actually get to play the update. Games that are aimed towards a "younger" audience aren't exempt from ever making quality games. Telling somebody to "Go ahead and leave" isn't a solution for this problem.

There really isn't an excuse for the poor quality of this game after 3 years. The more and more I explore the realm of freeware titles, the more and more I see how easy it is to make and provide upkeep for a game despite a non-existent budget. Look at Cube: 2 Sauerbraten for example. When you have a budget, especially when operating under the Disney flagship, there simply is no excuse. Looking at the quality of this game and the quality of the updates, it's rather obvious that the potco team is lazy, yet they feel more and more content to dig their own grave. They're intentionally vague about updating their game and have absolutely no interaction with the paying customers. If they came out and said "Hey, we don't have the experienced programmers to release obligatory things such as the Kraken" i'd regain my respect for them. But saying that would lose money, and money is everything in a shovelware title.

To go for the record, I realize that many of you enjoy hanging out with guild/friends. Hanging out with friends is the perfect excuse to play this game, but the community shouldn't be one of the few things good about this game.

The PotcO team MUST create several updates increasing the quality of this game (Latency, more servers, more upkeep, better interactions with community, more updates) otherwise I don't see this game open for much longer.

[ukebec]

Here's a little perspective for those who question whether or not this is a "money-maker" for Disney, and therefore, whether it's in their (pocketbook) interest to make this game attractive.

As of today there are 155,100 pirates registered with the game, under the beginning letter of their name A only.

I didn't bother to search any further...seemed like a good enough place to start.

Charitably, let's say that only 10% of them P2P...that's 15,510 folks forking out their hard-earned money.

Those 15,510 people (the 10% of the registered A names) would account for a minimum of $1,240,800 in Disney's coffers per year. And that's if they're paying annually...if they pay semi-annually, or monthly, it's even more.

And, by the way, I stink at math, but I can grasp those figures.

Over a million dollars a year from one letter of a pirate's name? I didn't bother to go onto B. There's 26 letters in the alphabet, folks.

Even if you cut the percentage to 1%, you're talking $155,510 a year. From one letter in the alphabet. Times 26 is $4,043,260.00 a year.

Yes, we can argue about Q-names and X-names, and Y-names and Z-names and their frequency being less all day long, but that's not the point. Disney is making money on this game that is not being funneled back into content/gameplay.

Panda3d is Disney's baby. This entire game is Disney from the beginning to the end.

I play another MMORPG which is, on the surface, F2P, but if you want to accomplish anything you use real money to buy things. However...they update weekly. They introduce new content, at the minimum, monthly.

Don't get me wrong...I've been playing PotCO since the beginning. I take breaks (sometimes extended) from the game out of frustration. But don't think Disney couldn't do a MUCH better job of delivering content and enhanced gameplay.

They're making money on this game. No doubt about it. But the money isn't going back into the game.

I love this game. I'll stick by it until...but I know it could be so much more.

[pieisbetter2]

Originally Posted by tayseth

When did anybody say we wanted an update every week?

An update every week isn't necessary, sure. But when you have an entire year and you only put out ONE "large" update, people are going to complain. People complain when new releases come out because they're poorly tested, and lazily created, which means that you have to wait another week of maintenance before you actually get to play the update. Games that are aimed towards a "younger" audience aren't exempt from ever making quality games. Telling somebody to "Go ahead and leave" isn't a solution for this problem.

There really isn't an excuse for the poor quality of this game after 3 years. The more and more I explore the realm of freeware titles, the more and more I see how easy it is to make and provide upkeep for a game despite a non-existent budget. Look at Cube: 2 Sauerbraten for example. When you have a budget, especially when operating under the Disney flagship, there simply is no excuse. Looking at the quality of this game and the quality of the updates, it's rather obvious that the potco team is lazy, yet they feel more and more content to dig their own grave. They're intentionally vague about updating their game and have absolutely no interaction with the paying customers. If they came out and said "Hey, we don't have the experienced programmers to release obligatory things such as the Kraken" i'd regain my respect for them. But saying that would lose money, and money is everything in a shovelware title.

To go for the record, I realize that many of you enjoy hanging out with guild/friends. Hanging out with friends is the perfect excuse to play this game, but the community shouldn't be one of the few things good about this game.

The PotcO team MUST create several updates increasing the quality of this game (Latency, more servers, more upkeep, better interactions with community, more updates) otherwise I don't see this game open for much longer.

Again I insert the fact that if there was more than one 'large' update a year, the game would easily run out of things to include. A couple small to medium updates every month or whatnot is how the POTCO team DOES keep people here. And yes, people also complain because sometimes new releases are buggy and don't work. But that's all part of the process. I don't expect a PERFECT game. I mean, there's really no such thing. Game aimed at a younger audience have to be more simple. Imagine a 10 year old trying to learn the aspects of a more in depth game. It just doesn't work that way often. And if someone just leaves, it usually fixes the problem of not liking where the game is at.

Well what else would you expect from a game of three years? I'm sure I'm gonna get a lot of criticism for saying this, but I honestly think Disney is still learning how to keep up with gaming. Sure sure, Toontown has been around for like, 10 years now, and yes, there are still a lot of things wrong with it. I won't deny that. But it doesn't mean that they've given up or decided that they don't care. After all, they're paid to do the best they can. Making accusations that they are lazy with it is absurd. Everything has flaws.

More servers, updates, and all of that takes money. And I'm pretty positive that a good majority of the money earned from paying players is passed onto the large branch of Disney. The rest is used to pay the people on the POTCO team and updates. It's simple as that.

[The Skirata Clan]

So in essence some of us are paying for them to learn how to make a game? This is Disney we are talking about. A company that doesn't half-do things. And as someone pointed out, if the game is aimed at a younger audience that doesn't give them an excuse to have such a mediocre-at-best product. It's aimed at younger audiences lets just learn how to this whole gaming business, because they are kids what do they know? You seem to forget that 10 year old play other much more "sophisticated" games on consoles like... say Call Of Duty.

A year One game should be ready to lunch specially since there are so much examples out there to emulate when it come to success. And more importantly because they have to compete with those "veteran" games out there. After 3 years, me as a consumer of Disney products in all of their varieties, I expect nothing but the best from them. This game should be running smoothly without all the issues that we all have dealt with. Lets use Zynga as an example they had a breakout year last year and they are continuing their success, granted the games are very different, but they knew what to do and they did it right. They didn't stop and learn a few things along the way, no they opened their checkbooks and started hiring people like the former Chief Creative Officer of EA.

I don't see how this great and awesome game, that we all unquestionably love and enjoy, will survive in the next 2 years if they don't invest in their own product.

[ruisen2000]

I agree with the lack of input into this game. I do want to see more updates, but I think disney is doing an extremely good job when it comes to being original, which they seem to receive no credit for. Many ideas are completely different from other games, while ideas that are inspired from other games (like loot) are made so that they appear different, and new, instead of just ripped off from another game, which is what many games are doing.

I think it may be that a lot of time is being spent on making their updates original. I have often looked at other games, and have realized how diffucult it is to be inspired by it, but not copy it. it takes a lot of thought, imagination, creativity, and time.

So while we are waiting for updates, i think it is a very good idea to play other games while you wait. This way, you can both enjoy the creativity of POTCO, but experience lots of updates from a game that is... less creative.

[pieisbetter2]

I highly doubt this game is going down any time soon. Look at Toontown. See how long it's been up? They haven't had a whole lot of big updates in a while either. But they've still pounded through 10 years. We're going through the same thing.

[tayseth]

Originally Posted by pieisbetter2

I highly doubt this game is going down any time soon. Look at Toontown. See how long it's been up? They haven't had a whole lot of big updates in a while either. But they've still pounded through 10 years. We're going through the same thing.

Nah.

Pirates Online's community is mostly based on the pirates films. Since we just got our last pirates film (probably) we're going to be losing interest in this game from Disney. Disney likes the "this game was a promotional tool" excuse when closing down games.

[Captain Del]

Originally Posted by tayseth

Nah.

Pirates Online's community is mostly based on the pirates films. Since we just got our last pirates film (probably) we're going to be losing interest in this game from Disney. Disney likes the "this game was a promotional tool" excuse when closing down games.

Nah.

The doomsday prophecy for POTCO has been around since At World's End was released from the theaters. People frenzied, thinking we were on the edge of extinction and began to come up with delirious rumors, saying that they weren't releasing the Karken because they were shutting down the game, blah blah.

People always say the world is going to end during their generation - same for MMO's. And I think that with how the game is doing compared to the content drought of 2008, we should be fine for now. I'll head to that bunker underneath my tavern when I hear the word from Disney themselves

[tayseth]

Originally Posted by Captain Del

Nah.

The doomsday prophecy for POTCO has been around since At World's End was released from the theaters. People frenzied, thinking we were on the edge of extinction and began to come up with delirious rumors, saying that they weren't releasing the Karken because they were shutting down the game, blah blah.

People always say the world is going to end during their generation - same for MMO's. And I think that with how the game is doing compared to the content drought of 2008, we should be fine for now. I'll head to that bunker underneath my tavern when I hear the word from Disney themselves

That's true. Forget what I said.