The pre-order numbers for GW2, then, should tell us that trust itself is a commodity for which players will flock to pay.Ok, enough about that, let’s talk about the actual game.
The point of all this long-windedness was two-fold: an attempt to understand why Guild Wars 2 is successful, but also to point out that once you strip away the value added by being genuinely player friendly, GW2 is—especially when compared to the achievements in design GW1 realized—honestly an underwhelming game, though not an unenjoyable experience by any means. That is to say, perhaps our evaluation of the game is skewed because it treats us like real people, not cash cows.
In many ways, it actually feels like a step backwards compared to its predecessor. Gone are the sophistication of GW1’s 8 skill/dual class system (where one skill change could impact every other skill on your bar, and in fact make entirely novel builds possible), the level 20 cap, and the secondary relevance of items and loot.
"The pre-order numbers for GW2, then, should tell us that trust itself is a commodity for which players will flock to pay."
Yup yup yup (and yup to a lot of other things too..).
But the problem with trust in a consumer relationship is, it's a fucking dangerous commodity. And if you have customers buying on trust you had bloody well better not betray that trust.
Trust in consumer relationships = of course I'll buy it!
But the flip side of that is, betray that trust and not only will the customer never buy from you again, they will go out of their way to warn others about you.