up top TL;DR Free nameplates would be a financial gateway to CMDRs buying more existing ship cosmetics. It's the difference between "The name appears on the ship? AWESOME! I gotta make my ship look badass now!" and "I've got to PAY for this for anyone to see it? Even ME? Are you kidding????" Plus, Frontier Support, brace yourself for a flood of tickets from users complaining they can only see ship names some of the time...
So it's been confirmed in the March 21st livestream that while players can name their ships, it will be visible only in the corner of the HUD to themselves and invisible on their hulls and to anyone else in the game.
The argument is that it's cosmetic and does not affect the game, but it is already generating a lot of complaints from players who see it as charging for something that should have been built in to the game from the start. This is a game where the spaceship is your fundamental presence in the game, Holo-Me notwithstanding. NPC ships will have visible names, but only players who purchase a "name plate" will have transponders, apparently, and can have their names appear visibily on the hulls. Personally, I agree with that sentiment. I think this is a lousy gesture from Frontier to their biggest fans, who are the ones most likely to pay for the "privilege" of naming their ship, and the ones most likely to resent it.
So I have a counter argument based on what seems to matter most here.
£ $ € Money € $ £
Frontier, I bet you will make more money in the end by making nameplates free. Why?
Market penetration.
If you charge for nameplates, there will be a percentage who will pay it, but there will be a far larger percentage who don't. The non-buyers include the group of customers who are going to be actively angry at being charged for a feature feel strongly should already be in the game for free. Those players are the types who will likely stop buying any future enhancements and represent lost revenue streams.
Then there are the types who won't buy them anyway because they don't care. You weren't going to make any money off of them, so no loss there.
Then there's another type, who might buy a nameplate if it's cheap enough, but then again, might not because it's too much money for too little, or it's a hassle to fill out the credit card form and actually buy something, or whatnot. They, too, represent lost revenue. These people might not even bother naming their ships.
But what happens if you make a basic nameplate free, visible to everyone in scans like CMDR Name, and on every hull so it shows up anytime the ship is on screen?
Every CMDR will see the name on their ship when they are on the loadout screens, or when they are in a fighter, or in MultiCrew, or that spiffy new camera mode. It'll be on screenshots and videos.
A ship name is a way for players to connect with their ships and it becomes an extension of themselves. Players who love their ships will see the name on their ships and want to individualize them further. How? "I ought to buy a skin. Maybe some weapon/exhaust coloration."
But it's the players who might not ever bother to even look at their ships who might now get roped into buying skins. Every time they see a screenshot of their ship and it's name on a bland gray hull, it'll increase the attachment to the ship and drive a desire to make it look cool. The thought process goes from "Pay to fill in the blank on the scanner and personalize your screenshot" to "Man, it's a shame that my baby the Awesome McCoolname is flying around in a plain brown wrapper. Let's see what's on the Frontier Store that fits my ship's character..."
Charge for exotic nameplates, but make the basic one free for every ship. It's a feature that your loyal fans have been asking for since launch. It's a feature that if you charge for will generate bad blood with the type of players you really should be trying to keep in your game. But all that aside if your goal is to make money, giving EVERY player in the game a reason to notice the exterior of their ship gives EVERY player in the game more incentive to making their ship look cool. Universal ship names is a gateway to cosmetic addiction, and I think you'll find a lot more CMDRs willing to shell out for a snazzy paintjob to make their personalized ship even more personal.
I don't know if this argument will sway Frontier or not, but I think it's sound, will make CMDRs happy, and will result in more cosmetic income for Frontier. If not, I humbly offer up to Frontier my idea for their next great cash infusion scheme to address yet another long standing player request:
After all, there's nothing wrong with charging for cosmetics, right?
So it's been confirmed in the March 21st livestream that while players can name their ships, it will be visible only in the corner of the HUD to themselves and invisible on their hulls and to anyone else in the game.
The argument is that it's cosmetic and does not affect the game, but it is already generating a lot of complaints from players who see it as charging for something that should have been built in to the game from the start. This is a game where the spaceship is your fundamental presence in the game, Holo-Me notwithstanding. NPC ships will have visible names, but only players who purchase a "name plate" will have transponders, apparently, and can have their names appear visibily on the hulls. Personally, I agree with that sentiment. I think this is a lousy gesture from Frontier to their biggest fans, who are the ones most likely to pay for the "privilege" of naming their ship, and the ones most likely to resent it.
So I have a counter argument based on what seems to matter most here.
£ $ € Money € $ £
Frontier, I bet you will make more money in the end by making nameplates free. Why?
Market penetration.
If you charge for nameplates, there will be a percentage who will pay it, but there will be a far larger percentage who don't. The non-buyers include the group of customers who are going to be actively angry at being charged for a feature feel strongly should already be in the game for free. Those players are the types who will likely stop buying any future enhancements and represent lost revenue streams.
Then there are the types who won't buy them anyway because they don't care. You weren't going to make any money off of them, so no loss there.
Then there's another type, who might buy a nameplate if it's cheap enough, but then again, might not because it's too much money for too little, or it's a hassle to fill out the credit card form and actually buy something, or whatnot. They, too, represent lost revenue. These people might not even bother naming their ships.
But what happens if you make a basic nameplate free, visible to everyone in scans like CMDR Name, and on every hull so it shows up anytime the ship is on screen?
Every CMDR will see the name on their ship when they are on the loadout screens, or when they are in a fighter, or in MultiCrew, or that spiffy new camera mode. It'll be on screenshots and videos.
A ship name is a way for players to connect with their ships and it becomes an extension of themselves. Players who love their ships will see the name on their ships and want to individualize them further. How? "I ought to buy a skin. Maybe some weapon/exhaust coloration."
But it's the players who might not ever bother to even look at their ships who might now get roped into buying skins. Every time they see a screenshot of their ship and it's name on a bland gray hull, it'll increase the attachment to the ship and drive a desire to make it look cool. The thought process goes from "Pay to fill in the blank on the scanner and personalize your screenshot" to "Man, it's a shame that my baby the Awesome McCoolname is flying around in a plain brown wrapper. Let's see what's on the Frontier Store that fits my ship's character..."
Charge for exotic nameplates, but make the basic one free for every ship. It's a feature that your loyal fans have been asking for since launch. It's a feature that if you charge for will generate bad blood with the type of players you really should be trying to keep in your game. But all that aside if your goal is to make money, giving EVERY player in the game a reason to notice the exterior of their ship gives EVERY player in the game more incentive to making their ship look cool. Universal ship names is a gateway to cosmetic addiction, and I think you'll find a lot more CMDRs willing to shell out for a snazzy paintjob to make their personalized ship even more personal.
I don't know if this argument will sway Frontier or not, but I think it's sound, will make CMDRs happy, and will result in more cosmetic income for Frontier. If not, I humbly offer up to Frontier my idea for their next great cash infusion scheme to address yet another long standing player request:
After all, there's nothing wrong with charging for cosmetics, right?
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