Pay To Win

Today's gaming market is plagued with games that require you purchase additional content to either progress the game (additional Downloadable Content, DLC for short) or to speed up your individual progression.

Pay-To-Win games play off of the premise that the game is free, and you can still play the game, but if you pay us real money you can get something that will allow you to be better faster.

http://www.ranker.com/list/8-people-who-spent-an-exorbitant-amount-on-video-games/benjamin-dunn

Pay-to-win appeals to the casual gamer. You pay a bit of cash and you're automatically better off. You don't have to play for actual days to get the items/levels/whatever and your game experience is improved. What would have taken hours of actual gameplay has been just given to you. You just paid to win, and now you can play the game as though you had just spent hours playing the game.

But it's not all good. The Play-To-Win style of gaming cheapens the experience, for many gamers a pay-to-win system ruins the whole gaming immersion. No longer is the game contained within itself, the real world has leaked in and changed the entire game.

The Grapevine

When you're dealing with customers, one must remember to count their employees amongst them. They are the ones who become friends with the customers, they are the ones who interact with them the most, and it is for those reasons that their opinion of your business is the most important.

As manager/owner of an establishment you must treat your employees as though their opinion matters most, because it is their opinion of your business that they will attempt to see enforced.

Not to mention that opinions spread and who's opinion matters more than a direct connection. If your employees don't like your business, their opinion can spread to anyone they decide needs to know about you.

The grapevine is old school yelp, what you hear is what you'll expect to get.

It's good.. but it can't "blank"

The Lumia, a series of phones from Microsoft that features durability and a simplistic but very organized UI (user interface), as well as a powerful built in camera. 

But when you think of smart phones very rarely will the Lumia be mentioned. Why?

Today, most phones seem to sell on the ideas that: 1. it's durable and 2. the apps that it supports. The Lumia is tough, coming from Nokia a company who's phones historical toughness inspired an Internet meme, but it's its supported apps or rather lack-thereof that cause the aforementioned lack of notoriety. 

As an owner I have no qualms with the Lumia, (and all renditions of it) It is a good phone, but it has no support in terms of apps. It's a phone, it's an Internet access point, sure, but rarely will you find an app that isn't buggy in some regard. It's a testament to the power of secondary items in terms of interest in the primary. It may be a great phone, but what it can do is hampered by the lack of support, and thus it's not a top seller.

When something doesn't do as much as it's competitor, especially in an industry as multifaceted as cellphones, sales will inevitably suffer. 

Charity

Every year the Yogscast host a series of livestreams in order to raise money for charity. Starting with the month of December they begin playing games and generally interacting with their fans; all the while attempting to get donations for their efforts.

Whether it's playing video games, singing karaoke, or just goofing around, their videos bring smiles to the faces of over 20 million subscribers on YouTube. They use that popularity along with a seasonal schedule to help fund various charities like last years holiday livestream The Yogscast Jingle Jam. 

Their success is due to a few factors: It's once a year, it's the same time every year, and the way they accept the donations allows a certain level of exclusivity to the donator. First off, the live stream is always the month of December, from the first to the thirty-first the fans are treated to something that they will not see any other time of the year, interaction between all of the Yogscast family. While there is usually crossover between similar channels, fans of multiple members of the Yogscast may never get the interaction between members that they would like. During the Jingle Jam that interaction is a complete uncertainty, anyone may be on the stream any given day. They may have a set schedule of members who will be streaming, but any member of the Yogscast can and will join in. Add to that the fact that it's the same time every year and you've given fans something to look forward to, a countdown to something different, something they enjoy. 

The way they accept the donations gives them exclusivity in that, when a donation is made their name and a message will be sent to the current streamer and if the amount is high enough ($5) the streamer is obligated to give the donator a shout out. By being paired with the charity video game site HumbleBundle.com, they give something back to the donator, a bundle of video games on top of that warm feeling that comes by helping those in need. Their strategy seems flawless, fans donate money to charity and get free video games to play and a livestream to watch. It's a win-win that leaves everybody happier during the holidays.

Links:
https://www.humblebundle.com/
http://blog.humblebundle.com/post/104114001724/the-yogscast-jingle-jam-kicks-off-december-with-a
http://www.yogscast.com/about/story
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yogscast

Video Games, Moonwalking into the Future

With the development of the next-gen gaming experience followed the development of next-gen games. The graphics are clearer, the immersion is deeper, the experience just better, but in these times of technological excellence would people want a side scroller?

With all the advances in game play and what a video game or console can do, the difficulty and complexity of video games has increased even to the point that it has made "old school" side scrolling games (platformers) popular again. Their simple execution coupled with next gen graphics have given breath to a once dead game format.

But in order for this to have happen they had to rebuild the format from the ground up. Games Like Little Big Planet for the PS3 and PS4 a series that allows the player to manipulate objects and work together offers players multiple layers they can play on without taking away the classic side scroll feel.

Little Big Planet

Trials and Trials: Fusion, puts a spin on the old classic Max Dirt Bike by bringing it to console systems, improving the graphic element and adding a versus multiplayer function.

What draws the gamer to these games is a combination of graphics and simple game play. These games can be played and enjoyed by experts and novices alike, and the game looks good while they play. What more can a gamer ask for?

Might Be Your Grandpa's Pipe

When I turned eighteen I was presented with the choice of smoking tobacco or not. I was old enough to buy it should I want to and had extra money. Problem was I didn't particularly want to smoke cigarettes. Cigars were good, but costly, and cigarillos were so hit and miss it was surprising when one was worth the little money I spent on it. 

A pipe seemed the frugal choice. For a fairly small introductory cost ($5-10) I could smoke good tobacco for a relatively small cost by weight. Usually $3.00 an ounce for my favorite chocolate Cavendish. I bought a cheap Corncob pipe for $5.00 and over the course of the year eventually burnt through it. It was unusable, so I tracked down a cigar shop in town, and started asking questions, and what I learned would surprise the average person. 

1. The average person is overpaying

2. Material doesn't always indicate quality

3. The best pipe should only cost $60. 

Simply put, the average uninformed pipe purchaser is spending to much on the pipe's design. Aesthetics play a big role in picking a pipe, the hand feel, the look, and the ever lingering question, "What does it say about me?" After $65 even the best pipe's function and material cost have usually been paid for, so after that you would be paying purely for the design. 

Problem is most people aren't particularly worried about the pipe, even amongst smokers the vast majority do not seek to smoke a pipe, let alone learn about the possible costs involved in its production. To most a pipe is a pipe. The aesthetics sell this product, because the knowledge needed to sell it based on material is just not something people care to know. It's just not that important to most. The fact that the pipe is a meerschaum or made of pure briar means very little beyond bragging rights.

Amazon: Making Wants, Needs

With massive warehouses of products, free two day shipping, and a store front that never closes. Amazon.com has changed the way the typical consumer shops. Your wildest desire is now just a few clicks away, no matter what it could be. This has made the distinguishing line between want and need.

With things like one-click ordering it is now easier than ever to make a spur of the moment buy. An ploy that used to be only associated with gum and curios from the checkout lines in supermarkets and gas station junk, is now being employed on entire products. The same amount of thought is necessary to make that purchase, but unlike the gas station or supermarket, you don't need to leave the comfort of your home to look at the products. To make a quick, perhaps regretful buy.

A Special Kind of Violence

Rock, metalcore, punk rock, whatever you call it the over sweeping genre that is metal has been an outlet for the disenfranchised people of the world to let off a little steam. Spurned by parents and non-fans as just noisy violence, a metal show can erupt in a mosh pit at any given notice, whether it is a heavy "drop" in the song, or being egged on by the band themselves; where you have metal, you have mosh. Add in a little liquor and a healthy dose of teenage angst and it can get a little out of hand.

So, why would anyone want to get beat up at a show that they willingly paid for? Who would ever want to risk getting hurt, or losing something important in the chaos? 

To the fans of the music, it's just par for the course. It is exactly the same thing that anyone does at a concert, just in a different form. To metal fans a mosh pit is just a way of dancing, and much like popular dances like: the Dougie, Gangnam Style, or even the Twerk, it is received differently from fan to fan. 

Metal fans go to mosh pits like pop fans go dancing, and a popular movement/marketing strategy by BryonStars, a YouTube channel that interviews bands, shows it. 

It's an almost perfect example of preference playing a key part of the consumption process. Fans of the genre prefer the concert experience for that genre. A Miss May I fan would feel about as at home at a country concert, as a Kenny Chesney fan at a punk show. Personal preference plays the pivotal role in choosing an experience.

For everyone else it's just violence, but for fans it's a special kind of violence. The kind that can be, and often is, worth paying for.

What Makes A Well Drink Expensive?

Well, rail, or call, since time immemorial college kids have been paying over the top prices on cheap liquor. To us thrifty types (who may or may not work in a bar) we realize that we could purchase a handle (1.75L) for the same price of two single drinks in the bar, and it will start to add up.

So what does this mean? Truth be told, it means a lot. 

To them. (The bar.)

An article on Deadspin.com as well as Seriouseats.com confirm that bars mainly price drinks at a range of 15 to 25%. The price of ingredients compared to the price it is being sold for. It sounds confusing but consider it this way, a drink that costs $2.00 in ingredients to produce is sold for $10.00. The percent cost is 20%. It's feels backwards, but the run down is 20% of the drinks cost is to pay for the ingredients the drink is made of. It goes without saying the pricing structure for bars with an extensive cocktail list can be more complex than their regular food menu.

http://deadspin.com/why-the-hell-does-your-drink-cost-so-much-1454231900

To Us. (The consumer)

It can mean really anything. 

Depending on the day, the bar, and the specials it can mean a lot, or almost nothing. Consider it this way, on a regular Monday at "Local College Bar" the cost of a double wells for $1.00. A dollar double well.  Fast forward to Tuesday, that same double well is now $2.00, Wednesday and Thursday it drops down to $1.50.

But we get to Friday and Saturday. The days that people have off, the weekend. The price of a double well is now $5.00. Your cost has increased by 500%, and this gives us an odd amount of mathematical data (enough that we could make a reasonable guess) but without the actual price of the liquor the bar is paying, we are not able to properly price "Local College Bar." But it is just painfully obvious that they are making a lot more money from one day to another. 

So why do we as consumers pay the extra money on Friday when we could spend a fraction on Monday? It comes down to the fact that most people have at least part of the weekend off of work, and so aren't responsible for all the things included with it. They can be up later, because they don't need to be up early. They don't have to worry about "X."

It's just much more convenient for them on Friday and Saturday, should they overindulge, to get over the accompanying hangover on a day they don't have work. That convenience is key, because if a greater amount of people started going out to Local College Bar on Mondays. How long would you expect them to keep the drink price so low?

The reason well drinks are so expensive per drink is that they are the sales leader, It's the cheapest they've got, you'll get more of it for less, but you'll be paying more for the cheap well drink than you would for an expensive cocktail. The price of a drink is much like the drink itself, a sum of all the parts it takes to make it. 

Links:

http://deadspin.com/why-the-hell-does-your-drink-cost-so-much-1454231900

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/07/how-cocktail-prices-are-determined-bar-price-profits.html

http://www.thedailymeal.com/handle-vodka-holds-how-many-drinks

http://theblacksheeponline.com/bargrid/brothers-purdue

http://wonderlandpartystore.net/party-planning/how-many-drinks-per-bottle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Well_drink

The Guiltiest of Beverages

The Guiltiest Beverage

You've seen it on billboards, at the store, maybe even in your freezer. That bitter beverage that many of us depend on to get started in the morning gets a little more bitter when we realize the lives that poor farmers must live in order for us to purchase it cheaply.

Hooray for Fair Trade!

Now however you feel about Fair Trade coffee, whether you believe it helps poor farmers eek out a living in an otherwise horrible economic climate or that it's sanctions and extra expenses are driving them further into the ground. Everyone must agree that it is quite the marketing ploy.

A quick search of the Walmart.com web store found that coffee labeled as "Fair Trade" was up to six times as expensive as what we would deem regular coffee. Yet people are buying it. Any number of things could bring a person to spend more money on a product with no discernible difference other than that it promises to offer a price floor to farmers: guilt, social status, even just a discerning palate.

For some guilt forces their hand. Even though the purchaser is separated from the farmers by many sales and middlemen, the consumer still feels guilty. "I feel just awful about these farmers condition, maybe if I buy this expensive coffee the money will help them in some meaningful way." 100% pure conjecture, but the idea stands. Buying this coffee for more money makes them feel good about themselves, as well as shed that horrible feeling of guilt. They literally pay for piece of mind.

Some people buy for social status. The movie "The Bucket List" does a good job of showing this, Kopi Luwac or civet coffee costs $3.58/oz or $44.00 for a 12.3oz bag. Jack Nicholson, playing Edward, remarks, "Kopi Luwac, the rarest beverage in the world." He didn't even know what the coffee is, or that it is ingested and processed by the gastrointestinal tract of the Asian palm civet. He only cared that it was rare, and so a premium experience that is better just because it is rare. The same can be said about fair trade coffee. It's more expensive so it must be better.

A discerning palate is literally just that. Someone, somewhere just thinks it tastes better and chooses to buy it on that measure. Nothing more than an opinion affecting the purchasing habits of the consumer. Everyone's taste is different, maybe this particular brand just "does it" for them.

Whatever the reason behind the consumer's purchase meerly the mention of an item, or specifically coffee, being fair trade makes the it more consumer friendly. People don't buy things unless doing so makes them feel good, and fair trade coffee does so on many levels.



Normal Coffee (randomly chosen from Walmart.com search: coffee, Fair trade coffee)
Folgers Medium Classic Ground Coffee  (28.6¢ / oz)
Maxwell House 100% Colombian Medium Dark Ground Coffee  (28.5¢ / oz)
Great Value Dark Roast  (28.5¢ / oz)

Fair Trade

Starbucks Dark Fair Trade Certified Italian Roast Whole Bean Coffee (62.8¢ / oz)

Newman's Own Organics Fair Trade Certified Organic Coffee  ($1.66 / oz)

Fair Trade Dark Blend Roast Ground Coffee 12 Oz Organic Ground  ($1.23 / oz)

https://kopiluwakdirect.com/products/

The National Enquirer, Enquiring Minds Need to Know!

Article (opens a new window)

Always seen, never bought. The weekly publication of all things celebrity, spiritual, and sometimes pararnormal has been a fixture in supermarkets for almost a century. How? How does a tabloid that makes such absurd and often obscure claims stay in business? What is keeping their readers, well, reading?

They keep the news interesting, albiet they are, "blurring the line" of real journalism and gossip, and they aren't always wrong. Chequebook journalism, money for news; buying stories on the off chance that they are true. At the cost of their credibility they publish stories that could be (lets face it, probably aren't) true. They are appealing to the consumer's natural inquisitive nature. They have a need to know, something, anything about any story that interests them, and it does not really matter if it's true or not. With an opinion poll showing that 61 percent of Americans would not believe anything written within its cover, it's hard to refute that claim.

The enquirer sells itself as a  pop culture story book. It takes advantage of the average person's interest in the "what if?" What if John Edwards is having an affair? What if there is some secret we don't know about? Who did Charlie Sheen beat up this time? It's interesting to read and think about the stories behind those brightly colored covers. Who knows, it might be true, but you'll never know unless you read. As they say, "Enquiring minds need to know!" and boy does The National Enquirer have some stories to tell.