Thursday, April 26, 2012

Do I Have Enough Pangya Outfits?

Thursday, April 26, 2012      


I held back on making this post a couple months ago, but I feel that with the recent collaboration release on Pangya Global, the timing couldn't be better. Outfits is an important aspect of Pangya, but perhaps it has gone too excessive for its own good. Pangya has become an online fashion game where you collect the best looking clothing gear and items by gambling with real money. Whatever happened to golfing?

Outfits can come and go, but there is a situation where they release outfits way too quickly where you won't have time to enjoy what you've earned. You buy or win an outfit set that you wear for a couple of days and it's possible that you may never wear it again once a new outfit comes out.

Most outfits don't have the slightest differences in terms of stats. If you collected many outfits because of stats differences, then I should slap you with my frozen tuna clubs. This isn't Season Two where stats are hard to come by. If it has one extra curve or accuracy, what sort of advantage will that get you?


Take Pangya Japan for example, they are the only server with the most outfits released and now they plan to release even more with Ika Musume collaboration event that just arrived this week. Just how can they afford or have time to enjoy wearing all these outfits is beyond me.

All I can say is, get outfits that you really want and be responsible with your decisions. Don't buy or gamble everything you see because you want to share your results on social sites and especially don't do it because you are bored.

I like to know how many outfits you feel are necessary for YOU.

35 comments:

*cries* Damn you Japan! Getting all the good outfits! I wouldn't care if the US version just kept recycling the underwear for every outfit ... if they would just bring some of these over!

I have a lot of different outfits, but that's just so I don't get bored with them. Whenever i get bored of a new outfit I've concocted from my gigantic closet of lucia clothes, I mix and match new ones! That's why I'm content with my 80 something pieces of lucia equipment, lol

Ika Musume with breasts. what.
yea i only really get outfits for Lucia now since she is my main characters. any other outfits i get via event by "accident" while trying to get hers. the lottery shits a joke though lol

I've come to this point in the game since January where my spending has gone down 90%. Any time an outfit is released, whether in shop direct buy or through gacha, I ask myself first, "do you really NEED this?" "Do you still like the current outfits you have now?" And that what makes me stop with crazy purchasing/gambling. I even stopped buying scratchy sets in lounge these days.

It's true that the game isn't about golf anymore, and more of how many rares does this player have? The graphics are still great and all, but justifying excessive spending for a bunch of pixels isn't really worth it.

do I get slapped with a frozen tuna if I am going after that extra spin? T_T
black papel is so difficult to win

So what spin do you have then? Unless you plan to reach 30 w/o black papel or is something like 16 to 17 spin make a huge difference?

First of all, I could've sworn we all stopped pretending this wasn't a thinly-veiled dressup game that just so happened to also have golf in it.
That said, yes, my enthusiasm over new content has diminished. No longer will I see something that's limited-time-only and feel the urge to buy it just because I won't be able to, later. That doesn't mean I'll pass up something that makes me say "omg I MUST have that!" Even if it isn't for my main character, even if it's something I'll probably only wear on occasion, while it rots in the inventory the remaining 99% of the time. If it can spark that "MUST HAVE" feeling, I'm all for shelling out the cash. The sad part is that the limited-time-only tactic works way too well with other people, and I dunno where the heck they get all this money, but they feel the need to use it & buy absolutely everything if it may not be there 2 weeks from now. Some people...
Well, they keep the FTP games running, so whatever.
But the gambling, oh god...
I'm done with that crap. I've BEEN done since the days of OGPlanet, when it was still far less evil than what it has become now. But what gets me is that with every new gambling box introduced (such as this one), the reaction is the same. People pay hefty amounts, get squat, then, and ONLY then, they get up on some high horse about how this gambling stuff is killing the game, making everyone unsatisfied, and in some bizzare feat of mental gymnastics, it's magically earning the publisher less money than if the stuff was direct-pay content. Dude. You JUST gave them a fat sack of cash. You're proving how right they were to make this stuff into gamble-for content. You're pretty much the reason that people who refuse to gamble out of princible (or just had too many bad experiences in the past and learned to quit) have no effect on the marketing decisions of the publisher. Who cares about the money of someone who won't gamble when 10 other people will shell out a hundred bucks each before they throw a fit?

tl;dr: Not buying the Monogatari Boxes, and just saying "Seriously?" to myself as I read the reactions in the forum.

i only collect the set i want i think.. Like Wedding Dress for all char and G Set for all char.. Just the set that everybody looking cute with it..

Well said! I've been done with Gacha, and randomly gambling for crap I don't need for a while. Now admittedly, if there were more pang outfits-- I'd likely spend and spend and spend-- with Pang of course.

But with all the Gacha sets, sctrachies, lolboxes, and the like-- I find it less and less enjoyable to login. Because I see a greedy company ripping people off left and right-- it's sickening.

And what really gets me is when someone BUYS countless boxes, complains, BUYS MORE, then complains-- saying the gambling is killing the game. SO like you, I can't help but ask "What the hell did they expect?"

I mean it's those people that I just wanted to haul off and rant at in the threads last night, which is why I logged off the forums, and haven't bothered since then. It's sad, pathetic, and because people are too stupid-- it'll continue.

I hate corporate greed, Ntreev(NGreed) is the number one example I use when talking to people about corporate greed and ignoring your consumer/playerbase. (YouTube is a close second)

But I have to wonder-- since SGI has said numerous times they have no programmers in house, does this mean that all these decisions are made by the programmers in Korea, and we just get screwed over because of that? I mean the GMs seem to just turn a blind eye to it-- like there is nothing that they can do.

I guess I've rambled enough though-- since what I really want is equality between servers, more FUN and worthwhile events. And less bullshit clothing events, that have to be gained through pointless gamble boxes.

I mean seriously, where the hell is Hana's birthday event? >_>

Humans will forever be unsatisfied with what they have. They'll only realize the value of what they currently have when its gone.

Gambling is not for everyone and the reason why lottery exists is because its a business model. Pangya GB has already raked in so much cash using this system because it works for their company and do not care about the player's/consumer's limitation to spend money. If one player doesn't buy into their gambling system, others with money can. Sad to say this is reality.

The only thing that keeps Pangya alive is because of the outfits they keep releasing. The publishers probably realize that it doesn't matter if they don't release any addition to the game system as long as more clothes are released every month because that's their source of profits. They will keep at this like Pangya JP but the rates will continue to be abysmally low.

I haven't logged in for 2 months and counting because of the stunt they pulled with the duplicate-rare-trade-for-your-choice-of-rare incident, I've spent my money else where (and saved a whole lot too! hehe). People will have different awakenings when to stop feeding a gambling system. I've had my share of rude awakenings from Pangya GB and so glad it happened sooner than later.

Can i have a link for that picture werein Arin has that short hair? i love that pic and a bigger pic would be much appreciated

You have made a very interesting point. I usually gamble just for the hell of it and this is not cool (or cheap). I opened 33 Monogotari Boxes, won 2 sets (nell and kaz), mascot and clubset but I don't think I will ever use any of it for many different reasons. I don't have card removers, which means I either need to gamble for more cards or stick to the outfits I am using right now. The mascot is useless if compared to any of the other mascots, especially Wikky and Wizzy. The clubs look cool but compared to the Golden Duos or the Soul Master set they just ain't a good deal.

I have to remember that next time I think of gambling.

PangYa is an online-fashion-MMO-golf game. It's been like that forever, so I'm surprise to see people noticed it just now. Outfits is a social status thing, and if people want to be 'in' with the newest outfits, who we are to dictate there choices? If they have something to spend, it's there choice also to spend in an online game, whether by shops or lottery. What I don't like about these people is they try and try lottery and they complain for not getting anything. I mean, hey, if you buy a lotto ticket, does it guarantee you the jackpot? And what I don't like more, is when other people complain and complain about their experience to show how unlucky they are and rant about it everywhere. If you're mad and pissed, take a break and wait for a right time at relief to play the other part of the game which is golf. Or quit the game entirely. Like spending for money for lottery rares and a real lotto ticket, it's your choice, period.

It's all about business baby!

Most of the blame falls on the customers than on the dev team. It's just as Yukimaru says: what sense does it make to blow an entire paycheck on gacha, then complain to the company that it's their fault the game is dying?

It's one of the reasons I stay away from those "gacha results" threads. What was once a thread to post "theories" is now a thread to "brag about your winnings or b'aww to the dev team".

I seriously think that deep down, it's some sort of psychological problem with the player, but I won't get too into that.

I don't usually go to this place but someone I know decided to link me here so... Anyways, the article was a fine read. But let me bring up a few points.

The entire notion of releasing new clothing is simple; as someone else pointed it out, new clothing is the a way to make Pangya, a game whose sole gameplay is repetitive, alive. The "new" part stems from the fact that old players will be dissatisfied from seeing old outfits be re-released, as evident by Global's "Return of the Scratchy #1". On the other hand, the flip side of the spectrum has more recent players - those who never experienced Scratchy #1 - loving it.

So hence new clothing is the only way to satisfy both ends of the spectrum.

From the player's point of view then, any clothing that makes their character look "unique" they will go after. Because let's face it, every other player will probably have own a Dark Lord set, a Project G set, an Olympic Sport Set, Rainbow Feather, etc. And with the most recent Hana's birthday event, every other player also would have stuff like Devil's Tail (H), Fox Mask (H), Rosy Cheeks (H), etc. These once so called "rares" is now nothing more than a set of items that virtually everyone has, and thus they lose value when worn - because no doubt someone else's character will look almost exactly the same as what your character wears.

Gacha, however, remains fresh to people. Not everyone will own a certain outfit for Gacha and it's enough to make it so that your character looks unique through mix and match clothing. This sense of originality is what drives player to play Gacha and most certainly anyone who wins a set from Gacha will probably ditch sets from Scratchy Cards or Events almost instantly, if not just use one accessory or two from now as oppose to the entire outfit.

These major lottery systems have also made the clothing from the Pangya Shop absolutely useless now and in a bad way. The rental system is only extra proof that no one is going to buy any clothing from there anymore for Points, except for event ones. It's frankly quite depressing.

Originality of Pangya is gone through the window at this point. The things that are left as actual "rares" are from Gacha and these chance boxes. Everything else can be feasibly described as "common".

As a final note, here's a mildly amusing picture for you to depict exactly how low the clothing system has gotten.

Blah, image attachments are not allowed as guests I'm guessing. Oh well, here you go.

http://i.imgur.com/mzG2L.jpg

I do know that outfits won't be the only new contents this year since lots of new features will be arriving. The biggest problem is that they wait too long to bring new contents in to extend the longevity of this old game.

I didn't discuss much of Pangya KR's 8th anniversary meeting where a bunch of players were asking questions at the meeting place. Players are asking about what the new character will be, improve the SSC coupon rates, and if there will be a change of season? The staff said they wish for a male character, they plan to improve the SSC coupon rates, and they have a variety of new contents whether they want to implement them all at the same time, or one by one.

But back on the subject, I was really happy for you guys to get your first anime collaboration event, but I hated to see how it's restrictive to get what you want. I'm sure it'll be hard to suggest anything to give them ideas in the wrong direction.

I can't speak for what the other servers are doing. All I do know is that the numerous features there are in Pangya are wasted and ignored. Tiki Points Shop is arbitrarily useless because it never gets updated. Special Shuffle Coins earned can't be exchanged for anything else except for Partial Scratchy Cards so far. Medals earned through tournaments have not got any new uses. Abbot Elemental Shard card still does nothing.

So many great ideas implemented already and yet they aren't even put to use. To me that's just a major disappointment.

I've read every comments word for word guys so now I can understand how you guys feel on Pangya Global much better now. I'm thinking back of why I left Global and played Korea was because Gacha outfits can be sold and purchased with pangs. That was my primary reason to save myself from getting greedy on wanting almost every outfit sets released.

Back then for me, it was a bad combination that Pangya was the only game I played. So you can imagine that I might get bored and decide to gamble to boost my self esteem if I hit the jackpot or not. I feel the best way to avoid going down my path is to find another game that you can enjoy. I've finally found an online game for like seven years that I can actually play the game instead of dressing up my characters. Sure, I have to pay a subscription fee of $15 a month, but that's way better than Pangya.

From what I've read on the Pangya forums that I haven't visited in years, players would be fine to pay around $20 for a full Monogatari outfit set. Seriously, $20? Sorry, I just think Global is manipulating players to make it sound reasonable to Global players, but to outsiders like me, that price is still highway robbery. Global players can argue that paying $20 is way better than Gacha, but as you can see, they have manipulated your minds so you can pay more for something that shouldn't be that expensive to begin with. That's just how I feel about it, but this is coming from someone that has left Global ages ago.

First of all, anything read on the forums should be taken with a grain of salt. The dozen-a-week "price check" threads show quite well that nobody really grasps what anything is worth, there. Heck, a few weeks back, some people were claiming that somehow, those infamous $70 wings from 2009 were a good deal, and should totally come back. Gacha has seriously broken some people's sense of value.

As for the $20 thing. It's just something we've grown to accept as the price of outfitting a character from head to toe even though that arbitrary price tag isn't really our fault. For these virtual items, they really could've charged whatever they wanted, and from most of us, they'd get the same amount of money, regardless. Had they charged half as much, most of us would in turn buy twice as much stuff. If they charged a quarter as much, we'd be buying 4x as much. The bogus decision to make $20 for a full outfit into the "norm" is mainly the fault of people with inelastic spending habits (kind of like people who will gamble no matter how much of a scam it is). There are people who will buy absolutely everything (why?), and then there are those who will buy enough to outfit one character, and never pay a cent ever again (not really a bad idea.) Looking at the percentages of people who have those different-from-the-norm spending habits, some marketing guru pretended to calculate the ideal price to get maximum profit, then he threw a dart at a board, and hit 20. And there you have it. We all pay $20 for a full set because of what other people spend, and we consider it the "norm" because we've just been stuck with it for so long. It doesn't really matter how much is charged elsewhere, or how people elsewhere would look at such a price and think it's a ripoff.

and with the set on the shop, we can actually choose the parts (e.i. wig, dress) that would actually fit our taste, and not getting the parts that we wouldn't likely to use. simply put.

My goodness, very good point. What if that was true?! Putting collab contents on boxes, teasing and trolling us, to condition the mind of players that 20$ worth of item is better than 50$ gamble, even tho both are rather bad. So when they release other collabs, and place it on shop individually, the minds of the players are actually attuned to see it as every bit worth it.

Dang devilishly devious of the Gamerage top brass.

It's so nice that your blog exist and such great mind being poured to it.

I am kind of embarrassed to have been one of the people to have mentioned being willing to pay over $20 for a full set. I really had no clue what I was thinking when I said that-- but you're right, we've been blinded and tricked into believing all their crap.

I still don't get why they continue to do all this, really. I would think at one point it would have to go further than just flatout greed.

Another thing to note is that the GMs have said there are absolutely no in-house programmers at gamerage. So I am curious as to if all these decisions are made by the parent company and we just get stuck with all the crap they decide for us?

I mean... I don't think the GMs are bad-- not in the slightest. I've talked to and met a few of them, but... all my rambling aside.

I've recently just started to play Pangya for the reason I started in the first place. Despite what most people join for-- I joined because it's a golf game, and I have always loved golf.

Not worry about how many pangs I have, or points to buy the NEWEST FASHION CRAZE. These past few months has been-- refreshing. Granted, I did become enraged when I saw the Monogatari boxes, mostly because I fear that's what they would do for any collaboration we get-- but still.

I've really started to taper down my spending. It's allowed for me to import plenty of things, games, CDs, drama CDs, artbook, figures, a nd even a Japanese 3DS (I know.. it's a waste). I guess my importing addiction overtook my spending addiction on Pangya.

If only I could convince my sister that it's not worth shelling out money to Ngree/Gamerage anymore. *shrug*

Oh, yeah... while it's on my mind...
I feel I should apologize that I haven't been on PSN to play CS:E. I feel bad that I added you and we haven't played a single thing...

Iunno, maybe I shouldn't feel bad about it... I'm just weird. >_<

SGI/Gamerage is a publisher, not a developer, which is to just repeat what the GMs have said. In a simpler note, it means they have no control of the game except for being able to host it and bring ideas to a higher up - an unfortunate truth that seems to escape many people.

You have to really wonder what they really went through to get the license for these Nisemonogatari outfits. Think about it: what is the real reason behind being able to get these outfits all of a sudden when in previous cases there would have been copyright issues to deal with? Then, consider how much it cost to get the license itself?

I'm not saying it was correct to place them in chance boxes; however, I don't see the issue with it being $20 if it is to offset what they paid - it's not unreasonable whatsoever compared to $5 per box for a chance at it. Once you start exceeding $20 for anything, then you start to question if it is worth it anymore.

Speaking of that, I'm not too familiar with licensing, but I'm sure players are thinking along the lines, "why not Hatsune Miku or Code Geass collaboration?"

I do wonder if Nisemonogatari was the cheapest way to get the licenses to bring on Global server. I had that in mind for awhile.

im also thinking along those lines(but on the developers side), perhaps those who are in charge is thinking that they want Nisemonogatari be a test ->if the profit they make on collaboration(lol boxes) is greater than releasing them through normal means($20-direct buy from shop)?

Anyway, reading through all the above replies to this topic makes me extremely glad in my decision in Pangya(season 3), to just buy 1 motion item + 1 Hanbok set for my Arin(i have Xmas clubs). My view back then and up to now is that Gacha is a scam(i hate any kind of lottery system), and anything beyond $10 is highway robbery.

Anyway, that Hanbok is still my only cash equip for Arin, and i guess that contentment plays a role in how much a player is willing to spend.

Post your thoughts on this matter here. http://forum.gamerage.com/pangya/forums/p/25302/252187.aspx#252187 I've just about presented all my arguments, but any additional support and feedback will be helpful in getting the company to listen, because if we sit back and let the company dictate their terms, nothing will ever improve. Thanks!

Can you believe I actually decided to buy from the Pangya shop cos 1.) I wanted it, 2.) no one wears stuff from there anymore (I have to agree with you about the individuality thing, so much) and 3.) it's cheaper than wasting heaps on a Gacha I might not win, and I'm still getting something I like.

Though I must admit I am an exception to the general rule. Most people wont bother with the shop; I'm just poor (and do not wish to waste pang on an item I'll only use once in the entire week) but actually like some of the shop items; which causes me to buy from there.

But yes, you made very good points, so much truth. *sigh* It's really getting out of hand.

I would believe that you would buy the Points outfits from the Pangya Shop; in fact, I want to endorse it over choosing Gacha instead because Pangya Shop doesn't get enough love.

There are plenty of outfits out there but players still feel sparred to getting ones that look "awesome" like in Scratchy Cards and Gacha and not just "great" like the ones in Pangya Shop. Stuff like Piano outfits get underappreciated just because of this. Like I said, it's depressing.

But I'm glad for you that you aren't swayed by the Gacha outfits - it's people like you that make this game more diverse and that's a fantastic thing.

I don't have a lot of outfits, it really is not necessary since, like you said, the stats are all the same practically. I think the most I have is about 8 for one character, and for a character I play most (Arin). I like to mix and match sometimes and change clothes (thus I don't even use cards). The characters I rarely play (Max, Kaz, etc.) I only have 1 or 2 outfits, and they're either free from an event or buying with pang from other players or pang store. I really enjoy doing events that gives free outfits that have same stats as a point/gacha outfit. :) I do play gacha and buy boxes sometimes for fun because I think it's worth it to spend some $$ in a game I enjoy, and winning is always a thrill. ^_^
This also goes along with clubs. Some people like to collect clubs, but I don't see the point of that. People can look at your clothes via profile, but they can't look at your clubs unless you VS a lot. And you can't use more than one club set at a time. At least with clothes, you can mix and match, but clubs are nothing more than what they are. I do collect comets though, but they're all from events and gacha fails.
Anyway, I'm glad you wrote this and I'm glad with what you said about being responsible and to not buy/gamble just because one's bored. Thanks so much because I'm sure there are people that "listen" to you since you have a great website.

You are not alone! I buy from the Pangya shop, too! But only when it's that character's birthday for the discount.

Yeah, I'm that cheap. >__>

i know.. it's gotten pretty ridiculous.. i try to cycle through my clothes.. but with all the characters.. and then i barely play.. i've spent more money in game trying to get clothes, than i do on my real life clothes lol.

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