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Bluetracker

Tracks Blizzard employees across various accounts.

Questionable Decision

I just heard about Mythgard so last night I went to check it out. I installed it and was pleasantly surprised by the quality this "alpha" game already has. A tutorial that doubles as a fully voice acted story mode combined with stunning art pulled me in. I had also seen that any Mythril bought during Alpha would get 10% in beta and I considered actually checking out the store.

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I saw the Welcome bundle (just like every card game out right now) but was immediately turned off when I saw the timer. What is the purpose of putting a timer on a Welcome bundle, other than being the lone predatory practice in an otherwise innovative, consumer-pleasing game? I'm extremely turned off from this game just because the team seems to be trying to use the "running out of time" dark pattern.

  • rhinophu
    Posted 5 years, 3 months ago (Source)

    My 2 cents: I'm fine with global timed sales where everyone gets discounts at the same time (think steam holiday sales or rotating weekly sales in a moba). There, the options are essentially "buy now at full price" or "wait and time your purchases around sales, and get a discount". You're essentially segmenting the market, and it sort of seems fair -- you're essentially charging for the convenience of having the thing right now.

    On the other hand, a bundle that times out a week after you start just feels like a pressure tactic. It's too targeted. This is doubly true since it's a welcome bundle. What, because I waited a week to buy it, I'm no longer welcome? Sure, if you have global sales, some people will happen to start playing right as the sale starts, and that will effectively be the same as the current welcome bundle, but the feel is very different. The welcome bundle version feels like you are being manipulated, while the lucky global sale feels like good luck.

    That being said, I still bought the welcome bundle. I honestly didn't pay much attention to the timer and didn't realize that the bundle was timed at all. Overall, this is at worst a minor blemish on a promising game. I do think it is a blemish, though.

    Ah... we removed the timer with the latest patch ;)

    (edit) The data we’ve collected thus far showed that nearly everyone who purchased the starter pack did so in the first day. There was no visible uptick towards the end of the week, which is what we’d expect to see if the timer had been impactful. So we removed it.

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