The Marketing of AH - Ideas on how to increase player base

[BoilerDown]

I am one of the Alpha Testers over at World of Planes.......... and the handful of people that might decide to go there from here would be those that have not transitioned well from FA or from wwiionline - ONLY !

some people think you must have magnificant graphics in order to have awesome gameplay....... this is where most people who have this belief fails......

If anything, one might see an increase of players to AH once WoP goes on the market, only due to the difference in the games environment........ probably those that flew FA or wwiionline, perhaps..... but noone knows this or how it will be......

You're exactly right.  I've made this point once in the past, but look at the example of another famous MMO (Aces High is an MMO btw, just not an MMORPG), Everquest.  Until World of Warcraft came out, every time a competitor to Everquest hit the market, it stole customers from Everquest for a month at most, then many more than those who left returned a short time later.  

It seems that the people who left to play "EQ-competitor-whose-name-is-no-longer-even-remembered-X", told everyone there how much better Everquest was, and when their 30 free days was up, returned to Everquest with a bunch of new friends.  The EQ devs even commented that they welcomed and look forward to competition "stealing" their customers, because every time a company did so they doubled their subscription numbers within six months (or something along those lines, I don't remember the actual figures any more, but it was substantial).

The same thing should happen for Aces High.  EQ had lesser graphics but superior gameplay.  So will Aces High compared to World of Planes.  Of course the "gotcha" in my example is World of Warcraft.  When a truely superior game comes out, Aces High is screwed.  But I see no indication World of Planes is that game.

[hitech]

I've seen some people note the price of AH and say it's dirt cheap... Lets put it in context;

Final Fantasy Online £6.99 PerMonth The FF11 was £7.95
SWTOR £8.99 pm
WoW £8.99 pm
AceHigh depending on exchange rate but averages around £10 pm

AcesHigh is not cheap as MMOs go.

In August we were £8.97 pm

HiTech

[prono]

How about once per week ( Saturday prime time ) free one hour of play with dedicated people to help new players. I'm sure many old players would hook up again and one hour passes so fast 

[Tilt]

In August we were £8.97 pm

HiTech

and in Nov £9.70 according to my bill. Still good value IMO.

If someone wants the gaming experience AH can/will provide then they will pay the £1 or £2 a month extra. I don't believe folk will go hunting around for the game that costs  a penny less than the others.

If its fun and they want it then they will pay the price even if it has a slight premium.

My point is that it also has to be convenient to get know you like it. I think the free intro level of WoT is an aggressive sales ploy but one that AH could not only compete with but profit from if structured appropriately

[Rob52240]

It's too bad Lucasfilm would consider HTC a competitor. 

I do hope that Red Tails generates more interest in WW2 air combat.  Going off what I've seen in the trailers it does a good job of showing the unprecedented numbers of warplanes operating together and that's something no other war has ever had (Eat your heart out battlefield 3).

Now if we could only get some Iowa class battleships and leave the submarines on the drawing board....

[Lusche]

Here's the other catch.  Aces High is not a persistent world game at least not in the sense of having any meaningful longterm stats.  Another trend I've noted in video games in general is the tendency of all of them to start having player career accounts and level ups, particularly in first person shooters and such (Battlefield 3) for example.  I guess for some people it doesn't matter what game they're playing they gotta have that gratification that comes with the level up treadmill and the next little goal to unlock some little perk.  Generally, I am against this as I never enjoyed this aspect of gaming, but it has become so pervasive I have to think it must be driving sales for a lot of these games.  In Aces High the *only* stat you carry with you through a map reset is your perk count and you don't even maintain this if you deactivate and reactivate your account.  There are no level ups, no achievements, no medals.  Nothing to indicate any history behind a player.  In fact you see more of it on this forum with people driving up their post counts just a get a title like 'plutonium member'.  While personally I don't take anything from these things, I can't deny they probably drive sales.

I was thinking a bit 'bout this stuff recently. In my own eyes, the "nothing really matters" approach was/is one of the big appeals -no need to log on daily, to play insane hours to "keep your level", much less importance of score or 'career advancement', no better equipment for those willing to spend more $$ and so on.

Hooooooowever.... and I know this is flamefest territory if there ever was one.... couldn't it hurt that much if HTC would try to add some "rpg" elements? I'm especially thinking about younger players. I don't 'need' that today, but when I think of how I played games like 'Elite' or the wing commander series, how very important 'immersion' had been, I know how much I would have loved such elements. And after all, I remember quite well that such things were indeed planned for the AH tour of duty.

[68ZooM]

Now if we could only get some Iowa class battleships and leave the submarines on the drawing board....

[guncrasher]

Is like I told my (2) Daughters when they recently went to get their newest cars this year....... Girls, don't just think about your car payment itself

that car is not costing you just $200 or $228  a month....... you got to add in your monthly insurance payment, your gas money to drive it each month, then the maint upkeep, then the Tags/Registration, and depending on what state a persons yearly vehicle property tax bill and also in certian states a vehicle inspection cost to boot....

then total all that and that is your  TRUE "Actual Monthly Car Payment" ......... what onemight think that their car payment is only $250  or $350 a month really turns out to be well over $500 to $600 + monthly...... and that is for a cheap to average vehicle most of the time......

most people who buys a vehicle never take into account all the extra stuff needed to operate a vehicle......

back on the OP topic........  I do think oboe had a good idea regarding the upcoming movie of Red Tails and how to advertise Aces high around it....... just a lil ad campaign, that is if HTC thinks they really need it.........

but  the HTC family has always seemed to know exactly what is needed and what the AH community most desires.......  that is good enough for me

TC

tc my true cost of playing ah is around 100 bucks a month.

15---game
35---isp
50---price of keeping up my puter with lawndart.


total 100 bucks.

[PuppetZ]

and in Nov £9.70 according to my bill. Still good value IMO.

If someone wants the gaming experience AH can/will provide then they will pay the £1 or £2 a month extra. I don't believe folk will go hunting around for the game that costs  a penny less than the others.

If its fun and they want it then they will pay the price even if it has a slight premium.

My point is that it also has to be convenient to get know you like it. I think the free intro level of WoT is an aggressive sales ploy but one that AH could not only compete with but profit from if structured appropriately

I get where you are going with that, but...how do you structure it for AH. In WOT, non paying customer are at severe disadvantages, not only financialy with credit buying but with the advantage one can get from say...premium ammunition. I play WOT too, enjoy it for what it is and even buy gold with my hard earned money. I use premium ammo in low tier tanks to farm XP and it's much easier with premium account(double XP/cash) AND premium ammo(can damage much higher tier with gold ammo). Once you discover what kind of advantages it gives you, you cant use anything else. Create an environnement in which "wallet warrior"(and dont get me wrong, I'm one of them) dominate everything around them. In AH, I like the idea that the pilot can and will make a difference. It's only you and your plane. Your credit card stays in the locker room. I think that's what make AH different. When you start playing, you cant buy your way up the ladder. You have to earn it, learn from every encounter and work on your own self. Not on upgrading your character/equipement. It's only you and the tools you are given. The very same tools everyone else are given. That is a concept that is not for the public in general that is for sure. It's neither easy nor quick. It make it that more rewarding to work toward. If one cannot wrap his mind around this concept, they will never understand what AH is about. That's why many are called and few are "chosen".

All in all, while I think publicity is a must for any game or company that desire to strive, I trust HTC to make the decision that are good for them. They have over 15 years( I believe) of experience in this business. They will do what's good for them in the end.

[Tilt]

The whole WoT format would not work in AH (well it might but it does not have to IMO).

The key facet IMO of the WoT customer capture point is the free at the point of base product use. I have WoT on my PC I don't play it but if I want to I can load it up and play it now, next week, next month and its free. But limited. If for some reason AH is not attractive to me then I am playing WoT in minutes at no cost (yet).

The AH revenue model is based upon subscription membership. Don't mess with this. Its a secure revenue platform that supports the company.

My view is that there could be a level at which free account holders could access AH much as free account holders can access WoT. When these free account holders want to access game play they flash the credit card and get a months full access (at a certain rate), or become DD account holders for say a minimum of 3 months (at another rate) etc etc etc. (may be they could even Paypal a day rate)

When the period expires they return to free account holders.

The point being is that they are eternally captured and it is easy for them to just make the payment and upgrade to full access.

The challenge then is to decide the appropriate level of the free access.

One example

The P40E is IMO the base line Fighter/attack aircraft and is well known by the core (US) market
The B25C is its equivalent bomber.
The M3 enables capture, supplies and  a 75mm gun

The FP (Free Player)  has
-no access to any arena other than the MA (No Scenarios, No Training, No Dueling, No Custom arenas)
-not the ability to score points
-not the ability to earn perks
-not the ability to use any other radio channel other than  range and help.
-not the ability to form or join squads
-not the ability to steer task groups
-not the ability to create missions
-not the ability to join missions

If numbers soar and multiple arenas are again needed then access will prioritise subscription players in some way or form to ensure that subscription players do not suffer access to the game due to any quantity of FP's.

[oboe]

What about working with controller manufacturers like Saitek, CH, Logitech or Thrustmaster - have them insert a free CD for AH2 inside the package, slap a FREE GAME! sticker on the side of the box and run a special price promotion?

(And for the sticker art work use some action image of Red Tails in combat - again trying to capitalize on the new movie's popularity).   

[RTHolmes]

What about working with controller manufacturers like Saitek, CH, Logitech or Thrustmaster - have them insert a free CD for AH2 inside the package, slap a FREE GAME! sticker on the side of the box and run a special price promotion?

I'd love to know how much the manufacturers would charge for that.

[LCADolby]

In August we were £8.97 pm

HiTech

Including the Non-UK commision charge, putting it just over £9.
I can only hope the pound stays strong against the Dollar, to help bring the average price per month down.
I'm sure closer pricing to other MMOs can only help increase the player base.
I'm sure I'm no the only one with the monthly subscription budget limited to 1 MMO.

[hitech]

I'm sure closer pricing to other MMOs can only help increase the player base.

And of course if we made if free we might get even more people.

Of course we would soon be out of business with that model.

HiTech

[Dead Man Flying]

I'm sure closer pricing to other MMOs can only help increase the player base.