MapleStory makes way too much money

[Pryme8]

So, I started to play this game called maplestory yea yea long story short... Umm how the hell do they make so much money! I realized that their player base is huge and they have a system that once a user puts money in they are inclined to keep doing so. Then they implemented a trade system where as they get 10% of the money back from the players that they paid for... it is ingenuous. So basically I brain stormed a way to make a game like this and came to the realization I don't have the capacity to program something along these lines. That is where y'all come in, anyone here wanna link up and start some brainstorming on something that will make it so you don't have to work anouther day in your life?

[The_Amaster]

I'm pretty sure that it mainly attracts the Gaia Online type crowd. I played it for a few days once, thought it was decent, if a bit bland.

[AlexMax]

Is this you? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy3mzbixmuQ)

If not, congratulations, this is the kind of people you're playing with.

[Anthus]

Dayam. I played it, but got bored around level 20 -.-'

[Pryme8]

OMG how did you get that video of me?

[MasterSwordUltima]

They make so much money because they have an infinite amount of VIRTUAL ITEMS that they can sell. They spend 0% of their profits on making the items, let alone QA and shipping the stuff out.

That and the stuff is cheap. Last time I checked out MapleStory it was like $2 for a pair of pants for your characters.

[The_Amaster]

...2 bucks for a pair of virtual pants!? I'd pay, like, a quarter. Or do the players not get it; this crap they're buying isn't real!

[Yoshiman]

...2 bucks for a pair of virtual pants!? I'd pay, like, a quarter. Or do the players not get it; this crap they're buying isn't real!
Not only that, but to my knowledge, you only rent the virtual pants (and the rest of the cash-clothing). You wear them for so many days, and then *poof* no more pants for you.

[Pryme8]

yes... its awesome! I wanna make a system like this because evidently there are enough idiots out there to keep it up and running!

Edit* ohh and yea you only get the pieces of clothing for 90 days... and some of them are a lot more expensive the 2 bucks

[Icey]

...2 bucks for a pair of virtual pants!? I'd pay, like, a quarter. Or do the players not get it; this crap they're buying isn't real!

Then why would you pay a quarter...? You realize that's still real money for something that is not real...

[MasterSwordUltima]

Its kinda like paying for a service, and that service is pixel art, that you could just screen capture and save it if you REALLY wanted it.

I didn't know that you rent the stuff. All the more reason to not buy them. But then again, how many spoiled kids are there nowadays who aren't even out of elementary school that have parents that buy them whatever to shut them up? A ton. Therefore, MapleStory is awesome for anti-rewarding bad parenting.


As a side note, Shattered Earth could be just as successful.

[Pryme8]

I found that most of the serous player base sadly is people in their late teens to early 20's that actually spend the most money in the game...

I figured I would do some research into the paying player base before I considered, ways to replicate their success.

Not all of maple story are little kids.

[PatrickSig]

I used to play it, but then I got bored with it.

There are rumors of the game coming out on the DS, but there really is no info. It would come out here in the US and Korea only, but it's still only announced for Korea and hasn't even been released yet. That's all the info I know.

[AlexMax]

You wear them for so many days, and then *poof* no more pants for you.

this sentence is funny for all the wrong reasons

[Dann Woolf]

Does Maple Story remind anyone else of Zelda 2, or am I alone here?

Side-scrolling, hack-and-slash RPG gameplay... sheesh, it's basically Zelda 2 Online.

[Pryme8]

ehh... kinda i guess, I think the game play in Maple is a little more in depth!

[ZTC]

I played it maybe for a few hours a year or two back. Never held my interest. :shrug:

[King Aquamentus]

How is it MapleStory makes too much, and Gaia makes you spend too much?

[Pryme8]

How is it MapleStory makes too much, and Gaia makes you spend too much?

never played Gaia is it any good?