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Is WGT Ball Pricing fair? An objective viewpoint please

• mgbirish 4,019 Posts

  Mon, Aug 26 2013 8:42 PM

  alanti:

  I have hardly played this game over the last month for a number of reasons, and until now I never thought pricing was one of them.

  But this weekend I bought 2 boxes of Titleist ProV golf balls (4 dozen) of about US $72 on sale. And this made me think, are the players at WGT really getting a reasonable price for the equipment we use?

  These balls cost about $4.50 a sleeve which in fairness is about the orice I pay for a sleeve on here - seems fair?

  In real golf I use a new ball every round (thats just me, then the ball is used for practice rounds/practice so it costs me about $1.50 a round and usually I do not lose a ball. But on WGT that same ball will last me  about three rounds, so suddenly WGT prices seem really good......or are they

  Well a round in real golf takes about 4 hours - 4 hours playing this game I can use a entire sleeve - this is where it can become expensive and just looking at no WGT expenditure on my CC Bill is proof lol

  So we can buy clubs pretty cheaply (although we never own anything) but the main revenue stream from players are balls. All well and good if we see constant improvements, such as courses (and I mean real new HD courses) but all we get is one per year these days and rehashes of current courses and new equipment to tempt our spending habits.

  We cannot shop around for deals on balls as there is no competition, and anyone who has lived where there is a monopoly on anything will know they will get poor service and overinflated pricing.

  I have always said, this game is not cheap to play at a resonable level, but can still be pretty good value entertainment compared to other types of entertainment but is it?

  x100 you can play a real life ball till you lose it, or want a "fresh" one

• danohi50 1,020 Posts

  Mon, Aug 26 2013 8:48 PM

  It is what it is..

  When a company such as WGT tries to keep going, (yes the owners have little mouths to feed etc.) There is a balancing act that is like walking down the business end of a chefs knive, one slip to the greed side and they loose customers. Dont give us what we feel we are paying for, Same problem different but equally disastrous ending...Good Luck.!

• duffer19 3,670 Posts

  Mon, Aug 26 2013 9:52 PM

   if motivation behind not wanting to nick balls was based on wanting competitive games only, - i'd agree.  price and ball life is clearly a consideration when playing for fun vs playing for credits - just what my ears have heard many times.  I didn't say 'all'  - surely I only know a handful personally :)

  srellim234:

  duffer19:

  I'll say this much about the 'cost' of balls - real money or otherwise -

  when some of the best players in the game won't bother playing a free club tournament or in non-challenge (credit risk/reward) mp matches because of golf ball usage for no return - then cost is a problem imho

  Not particularly. That speaks more to the issue that the competition is not in line with the person's motivation or goals for playing that particular game. IRL I will practice for and play serious tournaments with the best equipment I can afford but I can't afford those top notch golf balls all the time. So, when I'm out for a leisurely day on the links with a few buddies I  use older or a lower quality balls to save money. Not a big deal since there's no money on the line but I'm looking to enjoy some time with friends on the links.

  Those "best players in the game" are not entering free games simply because they don't want to. They are not looking for a social game without credits or any pressure on the line. If price were truly an issue they'd be playing using cheaper or free equipment.

• alosso 21,034 Posts

  Mon, Aug 26 2013 10:53 PM

  alanti:

  Sorry Alosso,I am a little confused (pretty easily done lol) but from a business perspective I think it is quite shrude, taking a market who would otherwise not be able to afford to play the game (with decent equipment). Where I would personally draw the line is luring players in then not being able to support them by reducing credits earned (like the carousel fiasco) or dropping offers in that region (or not being capable of sustaining the offers). So lure em in and then hope they will gets some funds from somewhere, beg borrow or steal.

  Players are lured in with "free play" and they need funds to contend after some time (some exceptions granted). The carousel fiasco may have been a necessary adaption to real market conditions - they just aren't worth as much as before - or someone decided to reduce this kind of sponsoring because they have grown enough and don't need it that much any more. BTW, I never understood the videos' value for the sponsor.

  If there are no surveys or deals in a certain area, it's not WGT to blame IMHO. It only shows that this market has only small value, at least from the POV of Internet marketing.

  alanti:

  As Duffer said, when a player will not play a game unless they can earn credits as they deem ball usage not worthy otherwise, perhaps ball pricing is too high?

  Too high for some with unrealistic expectations, for sure. On realistic judgement, ev1 might easily find "his" ball, cost-wise.

  alanti:

  And I agree with Andy, using the rock can be challenging and fun as long as you do not expect a lot from it - perhaps thats where many players lost the plot - it is all about score, or how many credits you can win - luckily I have do not play for credits but naturally would rather shoot a 60 than an 80.

  You name it: When greed comes into play, the concept of the game is lost. It breeds quitting  "if there's nothing to gain", cheating for "profit" and whining for "stolen" balls. Unfortunately, taking away the gift cards has not helped much, the greed for phantasy castles in the air continues. Or is it some seek domination by winning credits?

• WoodenHands 526 Posts

  Mon, Aug 26 2013 11:07 PM

  alanti:

  I have always said, this game is not cheap to play at a resonable level, but can still be pretty good value entertainment compared to other types of entertainment but is it?

  I'm not too sure , i know for a fact it costs me a lot more to play here than it does in real life , although i play a lot more rounds here than in real life .

  I can buy a yearly ticket for £180 ( $280 ) and for that i have access to six 18 hole courses and one 9 hole course and can play as often as i like .

  Here i can play as often as i like too but my cost in virtual golf balls is significantly higher  than it would be buying real ones .

• srellim234 2,077 Posts

  Mon, Aug 26 2013 11:07 PM

  In effect what they are telling you is that a few precious strokes in a social game are worth more than the pleasure of your company or the social aspect of the country club. Again, if price were the primary issue and they really wanted to play that non-credit game.they would play with lesser golf balls. I'd rather give up playing with a Nike in order to socialize with friends and CC members than insist on playing with the Nike or not play at all.

  Neither practice is necessarily right or wrong. Just different.

  To each his/her own.

• duffer19 3,670 Posts

  Mon, Aug 26 2013 11:54 PM

  srellim234:

  In effect what they are telling you is that a few precious strokes in a social game are worth more than the pleasure of your company

  nailed it 

   

• alanti 10,564 Posts

  Tue, Aug 27 2013 2:02 AM

  srellim234:

  In effect what they are telling you is that a few precious strokes in a social game are worth more than the pleasure of your company or the social aspect of the country club.

  SPOT ON!!!! This game should be about playing with friends and having a laugh, and for me if I acheive both of those goals, the result, ball usage etc is irrelevant.

  That is why I have never begrudged paying for equipment, to play with friends and even occasionaly play well, and also for that reason I have been happy to gift to players who are deserving when I can.

  Ball pricing IMO could and probably should be cheaper but that is not my reason for playing less as I have stated, but will try and play with friends from time to time. Then by having a good laugh (often at my expense) I forget the issues of the game that irk me and think, this is a great game made much better by the people who play.

  Hard to put a price on that.

• Jimbog1964 8,378 Posts

  Tue, Aug 27 2013 2:07 AM

  alanti:

  this is a great game made much better by the people who play.

  Why WGT should do more for CCs IMO.  Being in a good CC is the best part for many.........................OK that's another thread:)

• alanti 10,564 Posts

  Tue, Aug 27 2013 2:24 AM

  Jimbog1964:

  Why WGT should do more for CCs IMO.  Being in a good CC is the best part for many.........................OK that's another thread:)

   100% right all fronts and I tried to not go off on a tangent lol but I will say without CC's this game would have lost its appeal for many a long time ago.