TF2 Shop Price Petition

[Omnomnick]

Hello all. You've probably noticed the stupidly expensive prices of almost all the weapons, hats and tools you can now buy in the 'amazing' new Mann Co. Shop.

If we're honest with ourselves, these prices are shocking. Valve are charging £12 for most of the new hats. £12!? That's half the price I bought the Orange Box for 3 years ago. Not to mention how standard downloadable content from other game developers is usually around £7-£8 but they offer new missions, locations, characters and gameplay, hats offer nothing.

Why have Valve decided to charge extreme prices for in-game items now when previously they've adopted a unique "All DLC is free" policy. I don't particularly mind paying a few of my spare pennies on abit of cool extra gear, especially how some of the profit is given to the Community Contributors. I said pennies, not pounds or even more.

I haven't even gotten to the worst part yet. The Polycount Bundle pack, containing all 5 new class packs, costs £30 at nearly a 70% discount. Yes people, that's right! £90 for a bunch of new weapons and a few frilly hats, the Valve bundle pack containing every fantastic Valve game ever made costs £52 or so.

I completely fail to see Valve's business strategy in all of this. Yes, paying for DLC is mostly standard for game developers these days, but how can they hope to make money if they expect people to pay nearly £100 on some items. If the prices were a lot lower, more people would be able to purchase the items, therefore significantly increasing revenue in both the short term and long term. I hoped to download this update to find a brand new sparkling shop full of nice items which I could buy for reasonable prices. I was hoping to enter the shop, put £5 in my Steam Wallet and buy the Soldier pack and hopefully have a few pennies left over. I was wrong.

If you agree with anything or all of what I've just said, help save Valve from themselves. Post a reply to this thread with your Steam name, real name and maybe a little sentence explaining your anger. I'm going to gather as many names as possible and send them to Robin to show him that the community aren't at all happy with this new shop.

Everything in the game has been close to perfection. Before this. Why ruin it now? Fix the shop, Valve!


I notice the shop has been closed for now, Valve are most likely lowering the prices to stop their reputation degrading anymore. If the prices are lowered enough soon, close this thread and I'll cancel the petition. Until then, post away! And don't forget to share this petition with everyone!

 

[Trellis]

Well said

/signed

The prices are ridiculous, £6.99 for a hatless scout, that is the same price as the game is on steam now (granted its 50% off but still :angry

 

[Kaptain H]

Lol, whatever. I'm getting PAID for my stuff, and I still would prefer the hats priced at a high range to deter people from buying them impulsively. I've always wanted the hats to remain a rarity, and was worried that they would saturate game if they were purchasable. Pricing them high solves this nicely.

Just craft it or whatever it is you do to get stuff in game these days. Lol, petitions.

 

[Ennui]

Well, that didn't take long.

 

[Hectic Glenn]

What did you design Kaptain? Do you know your % cut yet?

Like Ennui said, predictable. I love how the aspect of attaining these items (free) via the game is ignored with the 'sure' method having a cost...just a cost too much to bare. Alternative? Craft and wish for a drop. No one is holding a knife to your throat to make you buy ze goggles. After all, they do nothing.

 

[Vegeta897]

Valve is perfect and they never make any mistakes; how dare you question their judgement?

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Wrong, Valve do make mistakes. Robin Walker, on the other hand, is above criticism.

 

[Kaptain H]

What did you design Kaptain? Do you know your % cut yet?

Like Ennui said, predictable. I love how the aspect of attaining these items (free) via the game is ignored with the 'sure' method having a cost...just a cost too much to bare. Alternative? Craft and wish for a drop. No one is holding a knife to your throat to make you buy ze goggles. After all, they do nothing.

I did the Saharan Spy stuff.

And yeah, I know what they're paying us, and I feel that it's very generous of them (they purchase maps from the community as well).

But I feel that they're priced at a level that fits with the rarity of the random drops. If they were cheaper, people would probably complain that it's made too easy for people to simply buy them (and thus presenting an unfair advantage to those willing to pay some money), unless the drop rate was adjusted as well.

 

[Acepilotf14]

Everyone criticizes micro-transactions, saying they ruin MMOs and the like, but now Valve does it and only a few bat an eye.

I'm not one for petitions, but this is just stupid on Valve's part. I get the creators are getting a piece of the cut, but why not just release them free? Is not thousands of people using your hand crafted item enough of a benefit? I'd be thrilled if they simply picked it, rather than paying me to make yet another item to increase the shitstorm that is 2fort.

They're not rare anymore. Any 13 year old kid with their mom's credit card can get one. The value of them will drop tremendously in just the first few days of the system being out. If 'pricing high' them keeps rarity, why sell them at all? They'd be even more rare and special.

And there's still no ****ing episode 3.

 

[Vegeta897]

If 'pricing high' them keeps rarity, why sell them at all?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Wanted Bob]

I still would prefer the hats priced at a high range to deter people from buying them impulsively. I've always wanted the hats to remain a rarity, and was worried that they would saturate game if they were purchasable. Pricing them high solves this nicely.

Just craft it or whatever it is you do to get stuff in game these days. Lol, petitions.

This basically. I really dont care about it considering that the updates will still be for free, and that you can still craft/find almost everything in game anyways.

 

[lord_raken]

Only people who are impatient, bling obsessed gamers will care to buy them. The rest of us will just play until we pick them up. The choice is entirely ours and there is no reason to complain.

 

[blackout]

/signed

 

[MultiVaC]

Everyone criticizes micro-transactions, saying they ruin MMOs and the like, but now Valve does it and only a few bat an eye.

Only a few bat an eye? Have you been on the Steam forums at all?

If 'pricing high' them keeps rarity, why sell them at all?

Because of money? And they ARE free if you just craft them like any reasonable person would. The only really big issue is with the item set bonuses that need hats to use, and there is no way to specifically craft them. Yet. But not for long: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1451840

I agree in principle, really, I don't like the concept of the whole thing and I'm disappointed that Valve did it. But they aren't saints, it's not the first unfair thing they've done (in-game ads for CS comes to mind) and it's a pretty minor offense. Realistically, very little has changed in the way items work for people who never buy anything from the store. You get drops or reach milestones, you craft extras into the new items. And now you can trade, which makes it even better.

 

[ríomhaire]

The prices don't bother me at all. The polycount items are more expensive because they are more desirable (ie, new). They'll come down in price eventually and hell, I really don't care if a thirteen year old with his mother's credit card can have all the hats. Doesn't affect me in the slightest and anyone who starts micspamming about their hats, I can mute.

 

[morgs]

I just don't like ads for stuff on the main menu, it looks tacky.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

I'm fine with them tbh. Less spamming noobs everywhere.

 

[StarBob]

Has any online petition anywhere ever done anything at all? I personally don't have any problems with the idea or the pricing or anything. I think it's awesome that they're using user designed things and giving them a percentage. That's classy. Other game companies just take things.

 

[morgs]

A facebook petition titled 'Bring Metallica to Christchrch' brought them to christchuch, so I guess there's an example.

 

[Wanted Bob]

I find it funny you spelled Christchurch wrong two different ways in that one sentence

But yeah that surprises me that that petition worked.

 

[Druckles]

I'd have minded if they weren't available for free. As they are, through crafting or drops, I think that it's only fair to keep the price high to prevent so many people buying them they lose their rarity. Supply and demand.

It also means they're expensive enough to consider buying for someone as a present, if you were so inclined. Through the Steam Wallet, obviously.

That and the fact that if people want to pay so much, they can. That's fine. I may have paid a few quid for some of the hats available in-game, if I had the option, so I'm sure there are people willing to pay that much. So why stop them?

 

[TwwIX]

My biggest gripe with the update are the passive buffs and the fact that they are tied to those ridiculously overpriced hats. Getting a regular hat drop is next to impossible let alone acquiring one of these special hats.

Now, that i think about it. Why did they even add weapons to the store at all? Why couldn't they just stick with the hats and all that other gimmicky crap which has no real impact on the game? This is just bound to cause all kinds of balancing issues and piss a lot of people off.

 

[Reflex]

/signed

The prices are ridiculous, £6.99 for a hatless scout, that is the same price as the game is on steam now (granted its 50% off but still :angry

So you pay money to get something taken off you...

 

[MultiVaC]

My biggest gripe with the update are the passive buffs and the fact that they are tied to those ridiculously overpriced hats. Getting a regular hat drop is next to impossible let alone acquiring one of these special hats.

There's actually good news about that: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1461871

It sounds like Valve are doing a lot to listen to feedback on this update.

 

[TwwIX]

There's actually good news about that: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1461871

It sounds like Valve are doing a lot to listen to feedback on this update.

That's not much of a solution. The buffs should not be tied to the hats at all. Having the weapon sets alone should be enough for the buffs. 2 refined metals and a class token is hardly easy to acquire. Some of us don't have the luxury to put in countless of hours into the game to grind for drops. Even if i did, the drop rate is limited anyway.