They have said they want to “minimize” the effect of the P2W systems and have a small gap between those that pay and those that don’t. Essentially, some P2W but not excessive. And we know that NCSOFT almost always has some form of P2W in their games. I really think it is just a question of “How much P2W?”.
They also say they think the West has become more “open” to microtransactions.
NCSOFT promises fair monetization and no Pay to Win for Throne and Liberty.
NCSOFT CFO Hong Won Joon shared information about Throne and Liberty monetization model. He stated that he understands users’ concerns and promised to do his best to avoid the appearance of Pay-to-Win elements, using instead the Play-to-Win approach.
“It is being designed in a way that avoids P2W. Incidentally, there is a change in the partial charge model even in the global environment. In-game items such as the Battle Pass in North America and Europe. The partial payment model is being accepted. In fact, all large game companies are also in a state where the development period is getting longer and the amount of input is increasing. In this situation, in order to maximize profits, generating sales through live services like NCsoft will be a differentiator. Adjust this well to avoid excessive P2W. If we balance the perfection of the game, I think we will achieve great results in the global market.”
Q. I understood the purpose of allowing users to enjoy a variety of games through various environments. However, is there any case where such features cannot be reached due to the absolute growth limit caused by the billing difference?
Ahn Jong-ok PD: I am cautious about bringing up the topic of billing. However, I can say that there is no 'feature that can be reached by charging alone'. Even if there is, they are trying to find it and get rid of it.
Those who understand the structure of the game (rather than paying users), can spend a lot of time, and play smart will get ahead. Of course, it is true that those who pay under the same conditions can receive more benefits. The key is to control the gap that occurs here, and I think that the grid suddenly and sharply widens is a very dangerous signal.
Han Gu-min, Narrative Director: What all users want in MMOs is to ‘win through hard work and skill’. The powerful abilities we talked about today must be acquired through hard work and skill. I do not intend to touch this structure unless it is truly unavoidable. Even if you touch it, there will be no elements that you can buy directly with money.
Lee Mun-seop, general manager of planning: We also believe that as service operators, BMs can exist, and there should be a sense of accomplishment for paying money. However, in this case, it is important whether the users feel, ‘I can’t enjoy that content at all’ while looking at the BM, or, on the contrary, ‘If I play metallurgy, I can go enough even if it is slow’. We have basically all oriented towards the latter.
However, each person's play pattern is different. Some people can play 3 hours a day, others 10 or 20 hours. However, if a person who can only do 3 hours always has to stay in the lower ranks, I don't think this is a good way either.
There are many negative aspects to micro-transaction, but it also plays a role in allowing people who are short on time to play games in line with others to some extent. We are making BM meaningful in this respect.
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