basilmarket

@Primus: Indeed. Hopefully, they can get their act together to save the game.

Anyway, thanks for the intelligent conversation. xDD Haven't had one of those in a while. That was fun.

Reply July 11, 2014

Primus

@Smileyferret: Outstanding, yeah I was quite concerned there, the initial amount that I quickly skimmed was far too high, that's equivalent to 1.5Billion US for Nexon America alone. The revenue I initially posted was in regards to the company as a whole. Thank you for clearing that up.

As for CSR, I believe they continue to ignore it on purpose, however, this is simply my own opinion. As you have pointed out, Nexon America suffered a deficit of $9 Million in the last Annual Period. And I also agree that it maybe to their negligence to the community of MapleStory that has caused this deficit. Perhaps all we can do is be patient, but then again, in the current status of our community, it seems that patience is running thin.

OT: My experiences would have to lean towards Red Cubes, however, I "tiered-up" without the Double Miracle Time.
From the stories of other players, I've heard more in the favor of Black Cubes.

Reply July 11, 2014 - edited

Smileyferret

@Primus: In response to your thought about Nexon NA's contribution to the company, it seems to be 5,521 Million Yen (Section 1d of that annual report), which is actually quite surprising to me. We don't even make up 5% of Nexon's total income! I figured it'd at least be 10%. In any case, $54 Million is nothing to sneeze at, however it is significantly less gross profit than any other region that Nexon is established in (except the region labeled "Other". But, come on. It's "Other'.). Also, apparently Nexon in the the U.S. also suffered a loss of about $9 Million last year. In fact, it looks like Nexon NA was the only region to suffer a loss.

This, to me at least, seems to point to GMS's sort of ability to control their customers, as you pointed out. From what I gather, GMS seems to be considerably more pay-to-win than any other version.

I definitely agree with you on all of your points except for the one about the company maximizing their profits. It's like taxes. A government can hardly generate revenue by taxing 99% percent of income. Same goes here. If Nexon tries to squeeze every cent they can out of players, there won't be much profit. Also, a company can hardly be maximizing their profits by paying minimal attention to a major potential market that is suffering the neglect of Nexon's Korea headquarters. If you peruse the Maplestory forums occasionally, you constantly see cries of help from players concerning the game's faults followed by community manager's responses that they're trying their best to communicate with the [b]Nexon headquarters in Korea[/b] to fix these problems. Consequently, the profits in NA are down compared to the rest of the world. There's just too much of a disconnect between customers and the company for the company to be maximizing their profits. If they had a better sense of, as you said, corporate social responsibility, things would run a whole lot smoother.

The onus is on both the players and the company to shape a better game. Hopefully, both of them will realize that. .__.

If Nexon continues to extend the same business model as they have in North America, I seriously doubt that they'll continue on.

OT: Black cubes.

Reply July 11, 2014 - edited

Primus

@Smileyferret: Absolutely, Nexon has been moving their pieces right. I definitely agree, we do have the choice purchase their merchandise or not. However, Nexon is taking the advantage of two major factors, ignorance and chance. All of which, are both significantly in their favor. They control how much information they release to the public, whether it be success rates, tier-up rates etc. At the same time, they control the rates of those items they sell to the general public. With the release of cubes, surprise style boxes, and gachapon, mere chance has been the foundation of Nexon's success in the current, previous, and future profits. With their MorningStar Q4 Report proving they've obtained 155,338 Million Yen as Revenue at the end of the Fiscal Year of December 31, 2013. (Note: this is GROSS Profit)

Source: http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Annual-Report/2013/12/31/t.aspx?t=PINX:NEXOF&ft=&d=46f4944c4ef60e6a2a96bf268bf5fe62

This isn't some mere coin we're talking about, this is big money. Nexon obviously knows the psychological nature of this game and how it affects the players and their behaviors. Considering Nexon is an international company, they've got many ways to obtain revenue. However, not knowing the exact break down of North America's contributions to their amazing revenue, I'm sure we only make a small piece of the pie.

To sum my point up, I'm not blaming the company, they're doing exactly what a company should do, maximize profits. (They've been doing a damn good job of it as you can see) However, there is the topic of CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, where the onus is on the company to create an economical environment for it's users and/or customers. But, I guess they don't play it by the book.

Yes, the onus is on the players, whether or not they're going to continue to spend the money or not. One thing is for sure, regardless if MapleStory dies (not likely), Nexon will continue on.

Reply July 11, 2014 - edited

Smileyferret

[quote=Primus]@KnuckleBrown:
My point exactly! We aren't given enough information. The sad thing is, it's not obligatory for them to provide us with this information, so we, the players that literally [b]make[/b] MapleStory, are left in the dark. Classic capitalism.[/quote]

Also, a characteristic of classic capitalism is the ability for the consumer to choose not to buy a product until they have enough information about it. However, players continue to blindly throw money into Nexon's pocket not fully knowing what they're buying. But, unless there's a massive change of heart by the players over this, nothing's going to change anytime soon.

Reply July 11, 2014 - edited

Primus

@XcoldshadowX: I'm sure if this feature was available, they would have stated it.
What you actually stated is something I suggested to Nexon via Forums/Tickets, God knows if they actually take them to heart.
My point being, I doubt Nexon would have implemented that, if they did they would have said something about it on the cube description. Again, this is definitely all my opinion, but the idea of having some "hidden-tier-up-accumulation" is considered wishful thinking in my books.

Reply July 11, 2014 - edited

XcoldshadowX

[quote=Primus]
Neither the previous or next cube can influence the chances of the item to successfully "tier-up," They all have their own set percentage.[/quote]

Is it even safe to assume that? What if cubing an item increases some hidden number that makes a tier-up more likely?

Reply July 10, 2014 - edited

Razzi

It's significantly higher with black cubes, particularly after the recent cube update. I haven't gotten very many legendaries with red (2) in what, 90 cubes? Maybe? I've gotten (7) legendaries with blacks in 40? There was a 4 in 16 run I had. Rng strikes once, twice, thrice even, but that kind of data, while admittingly limited, suggests blacks to me.

Reply July 10, 2014 - edited

Primus

@KnuckleBrown:
My point exactly! We aren't given enough information. The sad thing is, it's not obligatory for them to provide us with this information, so we, the players that literally [b]make[/b] MapleStory, are left in the dark. Classic capitalism.