Kluege wrote on Sep 2
nd, 2014 at 8:57am:
They could offer 4x DDO points and it still costs them the same. The DDO store is a brilliant way to make money. It has zero costs at this point and is totally automated. Any money spent there is a win for them. The cost for them to give you a pretend currency (Turbine Points) is zero. The can give you 10 / $1 or a 10,000/ $1 and it still costs them nothing. You will burn through your points quick enough. I am sure they also can track how many points are in everyone's accout to determine if they give a double points carrot on a string. The goal is for you to spend points, not hoard them. From a financial standpoint, they could care less if they give you 10 ottos boxes for the price of 1, as long as you keep buying points.
This is a fairly simplistic view of the situation.
These digital economies can produce currency very cheaply, but there are inflationary effects they have to watch.
If the currency becomes too easy to obtain or too common, then it's purchasing power is devalued.
There is a cost to promotions that you refer to - opportunity cost.
There is a cost to people spending now on discount, and not spending in the future because they have sufficient points and don't need to.
The important part of these digital economies is the balance between supply and demand. There has to be enough currency sinks to drive activity in purchasing.
Promotions like this need to be enough to stimulate purchases, without disrupting future sales. The problem with predictable sales cycles is that people mainly purchase only in the sales, which then forces you to have more sales to keep cash flows stable. It is a vicious declining spiral. A lot of retailers are trying to break away for the sales cycle strategy.
And there are limits on the system too.
Either someone's budget - they can't spend more because they don't have it.
Or they can't spend enough points - an example being they have bought all they need/want. This might not be a problem for many, but I know some that don't have anything left to spend TP on, so they don't buy any.
And Boxes are not an unlimited purchase item - you have to be careful no to overdo it. Not many players would have even 20 TR's in them before they got bored and left.
By being too generous with boxes, you accelerate the player base toward burnout. In two ways, repetition of content and character power increments each time, so the challenge level diminishes. Without challenge, there are few psychological hooks to keep you vested in the game.
So you're right in so far as there is little direct cost in having sales, but you are unlikely to see a quadruple bonus points sale ever.
I don't recall a triple points bonus sale since 2011.
They have to get the supply of points right.
And they have to get the demand to spend points right too. Hence why high demand items aren't available all the time (highest + tomes and boxes). By making them available for a limited time, creates an artificial demand to buy them just in case, because it won't be available when I really need it.
Economics lesson over. sorry.
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