PrincessMassacre;n8388810 said:
It's just another form of collectible/tradeable item/card scheme, similar to Gashapon. Why would I compare it to other games which are obviously just as flawed? Is that legit justification for operating these schemes? To shift the blame to something else; a 'precedent' scheme? [...] It's obviously not as 'fair' a business model as it so claims to be.
The first thing I always do in the P2W discussions is comparing Gwent to other CCG. That usually ends the counter-arguments pretty fast. Of course, if you then take it to the next level and talk about the whole genre and its business scheme, then it becomes a completely different discussion.
PrincessMassacre;n8388810 said:
You're right, I should avoid the game and genre altogether in that case. [...] Thanks for your time.
Well, at least you are consistent about it, which I can appreciate.
Looking at the gaming sector, there have been some recent changes in how studios try to make money. Back in the day, there was no F2P. Now with the rise of mobile gaming, F2P has become very popular and also practically every MMORPG switched from subscription-based to F2P, except for World of Warcraft. Online CCG have a far shorter history and only recently became viable and popular. Those games have a far more limited way of making money.
F2P is a valid business model that can attract different kind of players you normally wouldn't have gotten. However, unlike paid games, F2P monetization is far more complex and requires delicate balancing. Something many studios either don't understand or understand a bit too perfectly and try to abuse it. For MMORPG it's usually easy to spot whether or not they are P2W, simply by looking at the premium shop and check whether or not there are power items for sale (opposed to cosmetics and utility items). F2P CCG have less options to make money. If you would remove booster packs, then what still remains? Card backs and animated cards. But do you think that will be enough to support the devs?
There are rotten apples in the F2P CCG world, like there are in every segment. If you don't like the business practice in general, then that's okay. Even then you can still compare F2P CCG with each other and rank them from rotten to fresh. Gwent would be pretty fresh, even though that would no longer matter to you. In the end, I think the money balance Gwent is going for, is fine and acceptable. Everyone has a different threshold at which they think a game becomes P2W.
One final note. Online CCG at least have some F2P element, their offline (physical) counterpart is all about continuously buying booster packs. So I guess that's also a no-go for you.