Take Your RIG and Shove It!
*******Thread can be found by clicking this link********
That’s right, Gaia is getting ready to release yet another Random Item Generator (RIG) and again the SF is already complaining and it will only get worse after its placed in the Cash Shop and announced.
Items of “interest” in this RIG:
Sailor Moon Hair
Big Ugly FF Sword
Cat Ears
“Cute” Hats
Star Trek Stuff
While I really think a great deal of these items are lame items that will probably be worthless due to noob raping (think Mythril and Damascus Armors) I hate to see another RIG. I refuse to buy them because they are a waste of money. :3
Any way, there are several threads in the SF everytime one is released complaining about them. Why hasn’t Gaia stopped making them? It’s simple, they make a lot of money every single time one is released and over half of the people that are complaining about them spent at the least 25 dollars on them.
So what can be done to stop them?
1. Complaining then buying these items isn’t supporting your argument for them to stop at all. If you want them to listen to you and stop making RIGS then you must stop buying them.
2. Keep your feedback polite, constructive and use proper grammar. The staff is more likely to appreciate polite consructive feedback than they are angry ranting. Good grammar will get you posts in agreement or disagreement, text talk and noob speak are often ignored because its had to understand and a lot of users don’t respect it.
3. Spread the word. Make sig images and encourage people to link to your threads as well as link exchanges. Finding other threads that share your opinion will lead to more conversation and more people sharing their opinions. Topic links in signatures can bring in more posters that share your opinion.
Statement from pirula that was posted in this thread:
OK, I’ll bite
Cash items are a special part of Gaia, and the decisions are made more by the business side than the developers (like Fleep & Pan) who make it happen.
As one of the first posters pointed out, we do look at the numbers and make decisions about what new cash items to develop based on what sells. Unfortunately, what people say in a poll is often different from what people do with their money. So, in this case, no matter how many users claim they would buy these items directly in the cash shop, all that really matters is how many people actually buy stuff. If you want to vote with your dollars, buy the non-MC, non-EI, non-RIG items from the cash shop…we add some every couple of months and they never seem to sell quite as well. I can think of a few cash items we introduced where people complained loudly that we charge too much for a single-pose or limited pose item.
We do try to make sure that the items most people want are common enough to be attainable in the marketplace, but the RIGs also let us put out items that are designed to be extremely rare (and therefore extremely valuable). It is impossible for us to sell extremely rare items directly in the cash shop, because then we have no way of controlling the quantity, and by definition they become less rare and less valuable.
The plan for RIGs, as you will see with this next one, is to make the process of getting your item more entertaining as well. So that even if you don’t get the prize you want, you got to play a little game, watch a little story unfold, or some other kind of special little experience you can’t get elsewhere on the site. Looking back, the first RIGs were things like ‘bag-o-win’ where you just opened it and got a random amount of gold. Lately, RIGs like the emerald seed, repo lamp and the famestar tickets introduced a little bit of storyline and characters to the item interaction. We plan to continue that trend so that RIGs are not *just* about prizes, but the process is also fun.
Edit: oh yeah, and we do plan to repeat items from RIGs. i.e. some of the items from previous RIGs could be in the next one, or put into bundles, or other ways of being distributed, as long as we have some control over the quantitiy and rarity of the items.
Point in case, if you want change, then you need to stop buying the RIGS and start buying non-RIG items.
I don’t buy any items, hahah… I stopped once the Cash shop became Gaia’s new itemwhore. You made a lovely post, however, and I’d like to add a little bit to it..
It’s really sad to see where Gaia is heading, because it used to be such a great website. I mean, it improved up until late 2006, and around mid 2007 it began to decline. I see nothing but Gaia destroying itself from within from this point onward. It’s trying to play its users during a downed economy, and its even making it almost virtually impossible for foreign users to enjoy the website (And contribute copious amounts of “much needed” (Yeah right. Unless you count their still catered lunches and their recent trip to an anime convention.) cash. All in all, Gaia used to be a company that loved its users in a mutual relationship, but sadly its turned into a fat parasite. It’s about time we begin to starve it off and make it subservient again. A company shouldn’t control its customers; the customers should have the power to influence the company. I support you fully, and will continue to support you. I won’t be surprised, however, if Square Enix (Or some of the anime companies) sues Gaia. SE has been rather tight in regards to spoofs, lately..
Thanks for the support and the addition.
It really didn’t get bad until they started using the RIGs. I realize that Gaia does need money, hell we all do that’s how we live. However, as you have stated Gaia is ruling over its users instead of giving them the choice in what happens.
I would love to see the downfall of RIGs. I would then actually spend money on Gaia again…
Is it wrong to hope they do sue?? -sweat-
I buy RIGs, but I use them to make a profit. In fact, they are my major source of Gaia income. However, I don’t use them myself. Why the hell should I gamble on them, especially with the little odds of getting the item that I want? I don;t have that much against them, but with Gaia spewing them out like there is no tomorrow, I am getting a little irked at the RIGs. I wish they would just release the items directly into the CS, like they did with the prom items, even if it is just once.
Sadly that’s all it takes. They are looking at profit over user opinion.
Sad that items many asked for are placed in RIGs, whereas items that we don’t really need are placed as individual items. Can’t it be the other way around? People won’t buy individual items if they are items users weren’t asking for, so why DOES Gaia think that RIGs are better? Answer: people buy them because it’s what they wanted FOR YEARS.
And they get more money because people will shell it out til they are broke or they get the item they want.
The practice is sick, and they are ass holes.
Sadly, I agree. They’re not getting any more money from me, point blank. I’m not going to spend the little cash I have to spend on a gamble.
RIGs are fail, and Gaia knows this but are ignoring it. Boo for them >.<
This is one of the few times I sadly agree with the SF bitchy wanklets.
Hey we aren’t all bitchy. T_T
But YAY for agreeing. I can’t stand what they are doing.
hey Lolli,
It’s Bunai ^_^
I don’t know if I will be posting in the RIG thread anymore, since I would just be repeating myself, and getting told the same thing over and over, by the same people (ugh). If you haven’t read the last few pages on the thread. It is likely that the RIGs will be a Monthly based item… so basically Users showing their dislikes as well as their ideas, won’t keep Gaia from pushing these things out like they are free pennies.