Originally Posted by
Finny the Poo
I don't disagree with you, but it's not quite so simple as that.
Automated tournaments will make them money, and it will strengthen the existing player base (by exposing tournament formats to players who have never participated in one before or weren't even aware they existed); all good things.
Details on an auction system so far are sorta non-existent (from what I can tell), but its safe to assume it would likely bring in more revenue. Even if they aren't cash auctions, auctions run with Shadow crystals would still encourage more players to buy crystals, or watch more ads. Foil trading (if that's what they're planning) wouldn't really make them money, but it could strengthen the community as players trade favorite foil cards around and get to know each other.
Guild Features are also vague at the moment. Maybe joining or creating a Guild would have a crystal price, but I don't see that generating much revenue in the long run, just a little extra up front. However it would strengthen the sense of community among existing players (as a side note on 2v2, I think Guilds should definitely be implemented before 2v2 battles are introduced, as guilds would naturally lend themselves towards teaming up for 2v2 matches and would be much better received than making random partner pairing the primary way to play 2v2).
However, while all of these things benefit current players, I don't see them doing all that much to draw in new players, at least not when compared to improved UI or SFX. Improved UI or SFX wouldn't make a huge difference for most current players (we already like and play the game, making it prettier is less important to most of us than giving us more ways to play), but it would be big for marketing.
"Check out this cool game, now you can play in tournaments!": This likely isn't going to make anyone start playing Shadow Era if that don't already. A prospective new player won't care about the option of tournaments, and it certainly won't be the thing that draws them in to give the game a try. As a new player, they'd probably avoid the tournament features altogether (at least for a while) since they'd have a sense that they don't yet have the cards/skill/experience/knowledge to succeed in a competitive format; spending money to compete in a game you haven't yet fully grasped just doesn't make sense.
"Check out this cool game, now you can join guilds!": Has the option of being in a guild ever been enough to convince someone to play a game? Especially if you're playing on mobile, there is certainly no shortage of "social" games that let you form or join guilds/teams/clans/etc. This might draw in some new players simply by giving current players the chance to entice their friends into playing by saying they can join their guild to help them out, but beyond that, I don't see new players caring much or even bothering to join a guild until they get to know the game or some of the people playing it.
"Check out this cool game, see how awesome it looks/sounds!": Again, its a minor improvement for those of us that play Shadow Era, but screenshots, ads, gameplay, etc that looks and sounds good can go a long way towards getting new players to try your game. Do you think Hearthstone is the enormous commercial, streaming, and esports success that it is because its gameplay is just that much deeper, more compelling, and more interesting than other TCGs? Bright colors, big pictures, sounds, and special effects all make that game extremely appealing to anyone just seeing it (also having a industry titan like Blizzard supporting it helps a lot). Its also important to remember that while upgrades to the games presentation won't likely bring in much, if any, extra revenue from the existing playerbase, it would bring in revenue from any new players drawn in as they either spend money or watch ads.
tl;dr: Some features strengthen the existing playerbase by giving them more to do, and makes money by providing more ways for existing players to spend money. Other features expand the playerbase by making the game more marketable towards prospective new players, and makes money by bringing in new players who will spend money or watch ads just as current players do.
Is it better to strengthen the current playerbase, or expand it by enticing new faces with pretty effects? I don't really know, but judging by the current state of the poll, we'll likely be going with the former, and that's fine by me. I'm not saying that presentation updates are the best option, they might not be, and frankly a lot of the possible new features for current players sound exciting to me. Just wanted to point out that it wouldn't be as much of a meaningless, superficial update as it may seem.
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