Okay, I messed up and got the date wrong and missed the IRE Webcast. Hopefully some of you saw it on the newsletter and showed up! You can see the replay here.

Maybe it's just my browser but the video never seems to load. I can see the Mardi Gras though.

EDIT: It was just lag. I prefer interviews and newsletters to webcasts, which seem light on content. As a player, most of the discussion does not interest me. I don't care what IRE is up to (toolbars, website) their sister muds, (which I don't play) or their problems. (attracting new players)

Must be your browser. Watching it now in Chrome.

Most of it was pretty dull/Game specific that he couldn't answer, and I've little interest in the site stuff, but I hope more development goes into the credit/lesson ideas he spoke of. I think a lot of people starting out just want to get some decent skills, and would be more apt to spend money if they got a discount on buying just lessons. You'd also have more people buying if they could buy specific arties at discount.

I attended and even asked a few questions. I think the increase in communication from IRE is a good thing. I have always been surprised at how little communication is done with their customers compared with other businesses. This seems to be changing recently which to me is a good sign.

As far as discounts on lessons and artifacts I am meh on the concept. You already basically do get a discount on your first lessons when you bind credits, but I can see how buying them directly might be easier for a new player to understand. Any effort that leads to more new players sticking around and becoming supporters via credit sales is a good thing.

The question about having inter-game contests made me smile. Just thinking about how crazy that would be was great. I think all the questions about events displayed an ignorance of how they are actually created and what is possible. I wish more players could have the experience of trying to design an event and deal with the fallout from them.

I am looking forward to future events like this. If they become popular however there will need to be some kind of moderation on the chat room. Even with only a handful (10-15) of people registered to talk questions were scrolling by rather quickly.

Having the producers from the various games give game specific reports would be interesting.

Discounts, other than the usual sales, are a bit unfair to those who've already purchased so much in the past, but it's a business like any other. I liked his answer, though: "How will we rule the world, if we don't make lots of money?"

Game-specific sessions would be awesome, but we'd probably be shocked to finally see Estarra "face-to-face."

It is still true, it seems.

What is a new player going to think if they look at the website and see that a pair of fairy wings is going to cost them $150 CDN? They'd probably run off and go buy 2 or 3 XBox games instead!

Credits are abstract/confusing enough that a new player is not exactly sure what they're getting, which sounds deceitful but is reality. This leads to impulse purchases.

If for some reason IRE decides to adopt a price skimming strategy, credit prices would have to go down substantially, (annoying Zarquan but attracting John Smith) and once you've gone down you might not be able to ever go back up without aggravating a lot of your customers. (annoying Zarquan again and John Smith) You see this in iPhone apps all the time.

Personally I have a budget set aside for Lusternia. I might allocate $300 CDN/year for this hobby of mine but unless my financial circumstances change dramatically (ie: winning Lottery Jackpot) you are never go to convince me to spend a penny more no matter what you set the prices at.

Eh, seemed like more of the stuff that I couldn't care about. Things like facebook apps and toolbars just seem silly.

1. The game is still free to play.
2. People must think the prices are fair, and therefore the game is worthwhile.

Personally, I spend all my cash on XBox games, but don't let that detract from my argument.