Planet Calypso Advertising?

[Few Scars]

Hi Kim

From what I can gather, each planet partner is responsible for their own advertising. Will MindArk be advertising Planet Calypso and Entropia Universe as a whole in the first quarter of 2012?

With Star Wars: The Old Republic claiming over 1 million accounts in 8 days, with a lot of advertising! When do we start seeing MindArk ads on the big MMORPG sites, even Google for that matter?

Cheers
Bjorn

 

[Nor Alien]

Hi Kim

From what I can gather, each planet partner is responsible for their own advertising. Will MindArk be advertising Planet Calypso and Entropia Universe as a whole in the first quarter of 2012?

With Star Wars: The Old Republic claiming over 1 million accounts in 8 days, with a lot of advertising! When do we start seeing MindArk ads on the big MMORPG sites, even Google for that matter?

Cheers
Bjorn

All excellent questions!!

 

[dr3w]

I have another question.

Lately, (maybe two last weeks, or even more) I see many new names in EU, globbing-hoffing.

Question is: what MindArk did, if it's not stupid global advertising (I don't see any), is that facebook system in work?

 

[Vhemes]

I hope they advertise the mentor system along with calypso / EU so new players are not to confused with this game.

I think that the possibility for new participants to stay is way higher if they have a mentor right from the start.

 

[lyosha]

theyre probably not advertising because online gambling is illegal in the U.S.... since it is hard to regulate and very easy for the company to steal money from its customers....

 

[mastermesh]

theyre probably not advertising because online gambling is illegal in the U.S.... since it is hard to regulate and very easy for the company to steal money from its customers....

Technically, Neverdie shouldn't own Mindark Shares either since he's in the US, but that never stopped them from letting it happen...
{removed}
Same rules/issues are the same reason that the Calpyso Land Deeds were created instead of an actual IPO being done... Mindark doesn't like the laws, they just bypass them or make their own... been like that since the beginning.

Hopefully at least some part of the Calypso Land Deed sales will go in to a real adversiting campaign somewhere, even if it is just inside of gambling magazines and on casino billboards.

 

[lyosha]

i hope they use that for advertising to, but im sure theyd rather stay away from gettin involved in international lawsuits.

 

[Ludvig|MindArk]

theyre probably not advertising because online gambling is illegal in the U.S.... since it is hard to regulate and very easy for the company to steal money from its customers....

Good thing this game is not gambling according to US and Swedish government agency checks then.

 

[lyosha]

Good thing this game is not gambling according to US and Swedish government agency checks then.

oh yah thats right, were not supposed to call it that!

 

[Ludvig|MindArk]

oh yah thats right, were not supposed to call it that!

You can call it whatever you want, but calling it gambling does not make it gambling according to law...

 

[lyosha]

You can call it whatever you want, but calling it gambling does not make it gambling according to law...

All things put asside tho i'd say that more than half of the playerbase sees it as a gamble and a good quarter of them have a large gambling problem in this game, and a ton of others scream its not a gamble just to make themselves feel better about their problem.

I've known people who have lost their house, ruined their marriages, etc. all over the 'gambling' aspect of THIS game, I've talked to people who were literally in tears over not being able to stop depositing and playing.

Just recently some1 asked me if i knew any traders to dump 450 deeds on because <redacted> made a poor gamble with the deeds and is now loosing his house.


WIKIPEDIA: Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value (referred to as "the stakes") on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period.

the above is not typical of 50%+ of the EU playerbase?

ex:
you take 100$ to the casino and spend it in hopes of winning.
you take 100$ to EU and spend it in hopes of winning.

how are the two different?

Deep down inside... we all know what it is.... its gambling catered to us "gamer geeks"

 

[Ludvig|MindArk]

I've known people who have lost their house, ruined their marriages, etc. all over the 'gambling' aspect of THIS game, I've talked to people who were literally in tears over not being able to stop depositing and playing.

You mean you've known people who have no control over money and should not be allowed to handle it themselves that doesn't mean it is gambling, that just means they have no self control.

 

[lyosha]

You mean you've known people who have no control over money and should not be allowed to handle it themselves that doesn't mean it is gambling, that just means they have no self control.

From personal experience: I've always disliked gambling, thought it was the most retarded way to waste your money away, i saw 0 fun in it untill i played EU... and now i am a casual gambler in the world of EU, i do not let myself spend to much but ive had that pull to go swirly and not just play for fun.... and when you have that, it is gambling....

I had to cut myselff off for a month so that "pull" would go away and am now just tryin to enjoy it as a "game".

Sure to you it might not be a gamble, but i really think that people with a mindset like yours about the game are a very very small percentage in EU.

They should at least offer counseling or some sort of help for people who cannot control themselves.... why would they tho... a friend of mine asked MA to lock his account for a month because he could not control his spending, they refused, so he went and got himself intentionally banned... came back the day after he was unbanned and got a bigass HOF and is now back in the gambling cycle.

 

[Ludvig|MindArk]

Sure to you it might not be a gamble, but i really think that people with a mindset like yours about the game are a very very small percentage in EU.

The legal definition of the game is not dependant on the mindset of those who play it though...

 

[melander]

All things put asside tho i'd say that more than half of the playerbase sees it as a gamble and a good quarter of them have a large gambling problem in this game, and a ton of others scream its not a gamble just to make themselves feel better about their problem.

I've known people who have lost their house, ruined their marriages, etc. all over the 'gambling' aspect of THIS game, I've talked to people who were literally in tears over not being able to stop depositing and playing.

Just recently some1 asked me if i knew any traders to dump 450 deeds on because <redacted> made a poor gamble with the deeds and is now loosing his house.


WIKIPEDIA: Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value (referred to as "the stakes") on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period.

the above is not typical of 50%+ of the EU playerbase?

ex:
you take 100$ to the casino and spend it in hopes of winning.
you take 100$ to EU and spend it in hopes of winning.

how are the two different?

Deep down inside... we all know what it is.... its gambling catered to us "gamer geeks"

It boils down to one of two things,

1. You respect the verdict of law which by definition labels EU as not gambling in both Europe and the US.
2. You draw your own uneducated conclusion scream it as loud as you possibly can to get people to belive what you do.

Just because you threat a cat like a dog dosnt make it one...

Best regards,
Zweshi

 

[lyosha]

The legal definition of the game is not dependant on the mindset of those who play it though...

That legal definition is only to avoid taxes and not show people how much they are actually loosing, MA has shown us time and time again that they will go arround the 'legal definitions'...

I think it is because MA would have to report player loss, because by U.S. law... just as winnings are taxable, losses are deductible.

Also why would the IRS want u.s. citizens claiming loss for something that is out of u.s. borders? so they can just give money away in tax returns?

btw im not ranting about the game, I love this game... i trully do.... i just call it for what it is.

I have nothing else to do @ work, lol.... 9 more minutes till i clock out =P

 

[lyosha]

how do you threat a dog like you thread a cat?

Mittens if you chew up the slippers one more time... NO MORE BELLY RUBS!

 

[Wollongong]

Interesting discussion about gambling or not, I'd love to join it...but I won't...instead...I will respond to the advertising bit.

I hope they will do the marketing OUTSIDE of our universe...and not by running sponsored events inside our planet. We really need some fresh blood to touch base on our fine Planet....

I'd hope for google advertising, to be honest, as it is a quite cost effective method....and of course the specialized networks for games. CPA would, obviously, be the best method for MA/EU and us.

 

[Brumle]

Just recently some1 asked me if i knew any traders to dump 450 deeds on because <redacted> made a poor gamble with the deeds and is now loosing his house.


ex:
you take 100$ to the casino and spend it in hopes of winning.
you take 100$ to EU and spend it in hopes of winning.

how are the two different?

Deep down inside... we all know what it is.... its gambling catered to us "gamer geeks"

1st. how can you deside if something is a poor gamle after just a few weeks on a 3-4 years investment !!!!!!
that just shows he didnt know what he was going into.... not MA´s fault


2nd. lol
you take 100$ to the casino and spend it in hopes of winning..... Yes while having fun
you take 100$ to EU and spend it in hopes of winning..... NO its a GAME and if you are here to win your are in the wrong place.



if ppl consider EU a gamble its cuz they themselfs made it a gamble by playing it in the ATH or broke style.



P.S. i sure hope some of the deed cash will be spend on RL advertising to improve player base

 

[Ludvig|MindArk]

P.S. i sure hope some of the deed cash will be spend on RL advertising to improve player base

As I understood it, that was one of the main reasons for the deed sale?

Q. How will the proceeds of the Land Lot deeds be used by MindArk?
A. The proceeds from the Land Lot deeds will help to finance a substantial Entropia Universe marketing campaign, along with further development of Entropia Universe and Planet Calypso.

Posted on behalf of Jan Welter Timkrans

One of the main reasons for introducing this new system was to finance a substantial marketing campaign for the Entropia Universe. We are committed to initiating a marketing campaign as soon as possibly at much larger scale then we have ever done before.

 

[Audrey Cheerful]

Just recently some1 asked me if i knew any traders to dump 450 deeds on because <redacted> made a poor gamble with the deeds and is now loosing his house.

Are we talking Calypso Land Deeds? How can you even gamble with them?

 

[Ludvig|MindArk]

Are we talking Calypso Land Deeds? How can you even gamble with them?

Use them as poker chips?

 

[Kim|MindArk]

I can't really tell you much about our upcoming marketing campaign however you can expect that MindArk will market Planet Calypso as a MMORPG while the Entropia Universe is marketed in a business to business fashion.

When will it start? Impossible to say because it depends on how long it takes for us to fix some problems that we have identified that causes players to leave the game early.

Cheers

 

[Bemo]

it depends on how long it takes for us to fix some problems that we have identified that causes players to leave the game early.

Cheers

Well the main thing I have heard that cause players to leave is the cost to play. And if we are waiting for MA to adjust that then we will never see the advertisements.


-Bemo-

 

[Kim|MindArk]

That's an entirely different subject which can be defined as player retention. What I am referring to is a much earlier process, when the player is completely new to the game.

 

[Bemo]

That's an entirely different subject which can be defined as player retention. What I am referring to is a much earlier process, when the player is completely new to the game.

Are you able to shed a little more light on the matter?

-Bemo-

 

[AxeMurderer]

That's an entirely different subject which can be defined as player retention. What I am referring to is a much earlier process, when the player is completely new to the game.

yeah try to keep that new souls.
best advertising is BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME

 

[Ime]

Are you able to shed a little more light on the matter?

-Bemo-

I'm interested to know more about it as well.

 

[Darkpepe]

well, of all games i know, there where many bugged, some with horrible error and crashes, but when the gameplay was great or the game was kind of unique the players stayed ingame. what i mean is, if the core of the game is working and the playerbase love the game for the idea and implematation nobody will quit.
There are so many exapmles of horrible bugged games but in the same sentence new records are mentioned.

So what we now need to do is question us what the core of EU is? Got it? Yes, it is the RCE!
In my opinion MA just has to figure out what is needed to get this economy working.
Maybe it is a higher average return and a bigger playerbase, with a bigger playerbase MA could set higher average returns with same income. but that is my opinion, that should be the work of a communitymanager and the whole team, as the whole game has to go in the same direction.

 

[Mega]

That's an entirely different subject which can be defined as player retention. What I am referring to is a much earlier process, when the player is completely new to the game.

Way back, when there was only Planet Calypso, a new player landed in Port Atlantis and they could see it was a busy place, with the chat scrolling by and seeing lots of players running about.

Whilst it was confusing, a new player could see plenty of other people played.


Then came Gateway, which was good for teaching new people the basics and giving them "free goes" at mining, crafting and hunting. This was good.

Then came extra planets.



I just wonder if the first hour of a new players experience now is of emptyness now with first of all Genesis where they choose a planet, then Calypso Gateway (if they make that choice) which might be quite empty (dont know I cant access it) and even if they jump through that hoop - arriving at a quiet empty Port Atlantis which often causes my PC to crash with out of Ram message (I have 4 gig of ram)


So in summary, it might be that a new player thinks the Gateway is the main game now and it is not made clear enough that it is just a beginner area and the main game is through the teleporter.

Or it could be they arrive in Port Atlantis and the game crashes with "Out of Ram" message and they uninstall it.

Or it could be the sweat price.


Just some thoughts that occur to me.