An open letter to Gree management

[barrito]

I really have no stake in the game anymore having quit and deleted the app. I have been in the eyewear business for over 50 years and when I started 95% of the frames were make here in the good ole USA. As the years passed and for various reason not all relating to cost of manufacturing the domestic companies vanished and the vast majority of the business is now controlled and manufacturing is done by overseas corporations. Not an unusual occurrence in today's world given the globalization of the world economy. 50 years ago most of the frames that were not domestic were made in Germany, Italy and Spain with a smattering from Japan and the UK. Now the major companies are Italian with more and more manufacturing being moved to their factories in China with the higher end products still from Italy. The companies that figured what sold in their home countries would sell in the USA were wrong. When you went to France or Germany everybody was wearing them but you couldn't give them away here. The smart companies gave some autonomy to their US divisions and allowed input as to what would sell here. Companies that did not, despite making excellent quality products, are gone.
What does this have to do with Gree and Modern War you may ask and why is this guy rambling on and on?
It seems something is amiss. I have no knowledge of the structure of Gree. They have taken a once fantastic game, one of the best ever and ruined it by trying to extract too much money out of it and causing mass defections. I am not sure if whoever is in charge of the games is incentive based meaning they get paid based on a percentage of money spent and if that is the case everything makes perfect sense. If Gree were smart and I am not saying they are not they would do a rapid reassessment of the direction of the company and concentrate more on long term viability and not the quick buck. Its like a great songwriter you have just so many good songs in you. Gree had 2 of the best games ever in CC and MW and these could have been mega franchises churning out profits for a long time but they unfortunately have decided to squeeze as much out as they can for the short term and forget about the future. It is too late for me and many others but there is always hope.

[Robespierre]

While there may be something about the transition of business practices during a buyout, I bet that little has to do with the overseas/domestic issue. There are a lot of great things (as well as bad things I guess) that cultures have exchanged. This is probably only a minor aspect of the issue...businesses need to make money. International companies are able to carry on successful and ethical operations.

What has become an issue, IMHO, is how the customer base is portrayed. The dynamics of the game is so closely related to animal training that it smacks of a disrespect of our intelligence, and this is more likely the root of the issue. Every trick in the book is being thrown to get us to spend, and the brazen attempt to elicit a response as a failure to meet a goal and satisfy our factionmate/GREE masters culminates as the trait reinforced: the repeated in-app premium currency purchase.

I want a game, not a task list, and not a slot machine. I have plenty of task lists; slot machines have a real payout.

Compare the gameplay to classical animal training; I trust you can fill in the blanks:

http://seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-infobooks/animal-training/animal-training-basics/

and

https://backalleysoapbox.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/operant-conditioning.jpg

Applied:

http://quarterview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Screenshot-2014-03-16-23.18.11.png

I wonder if customer enlightenment is part of the operant conditioning cycle, and how this kind of behavior is addressed, besides becoming part of the "band."

[Badvock]

Well written post. worth the read.

[Mastert55!]

Well then, I now feel like a trained monkey that just taps 24/7. Oh wait, I already came to that realization long ago and still continue to tap because I it's fun in some ways.

[Shrinko]

Well then, I now feel like a trained monkey that just taps 24/7. Oh wait, I already came to that realization long ago and still continue to tap because I it's fun in some ways.

It is fun to be a trained monkey and to tap tap tap? Omg :)

[Gato]

Finally someone nails it. Truth be told people will say they enjoy the game, but try to go off it for a day or a week. If you can't, you don't enjoy it anymore you are addicted. Every drug addict or alcoholic will tell you that they love their vodka or drug but the fact is that its only when you try to remove something that you know you have a problem with it.

Some corporate entities will exploit human weaknesses for profit. it has always been that way and it will always be that way. some are more exploitive than others. Gree gets a star for this one.



While there may be something about the transition of business practices during a buyout, I bet that little has to do with the overseas/domestic issue. There are a lot of great things (as well as bad things I guess) that cultures have exchanged. This is probably only a minor aspect of the issue...businesses need to make money. International companies are able to carry on successful and ethical operations.

What has become an issue, IMHO, is how the customer base is portrayed. The dynamics of the game is so closely related to animal training that it smacks of a disrespect of our intelligence, and this is more likely the root of the issue. Every trick in the book is being thrown to get us to spend, and the brazen attempt to elicit a response as a failure to meet a goal and satisfy our factionmate/GREE masters culminates as the trait reinforced: the repeated in-app premium currency purchase.

I want a game, not a task list, and not a slot machine. I have plenty of task lists; slot machines have a real payout.

Compare the gameplay to classical animal training; I trust you can fill in the blanks:

http://seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-infobooks/animal-training/animal-training-basics/

and

https://backalleysoapbox.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/operant-conditioning.jpg

Applied:

http://quarterview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Screenshot-2014-03-16-23.18.11.png

I wonder if customer enlightenment is part of the operant conditioning cycle, and how this kind of behavior is addressed, besides becoming part of the "band."