Don’t let them lie to you about the intention behind these surveys /u/xtremeggnog Old School RuneScape!

I work in market research and wanted to weigh in on the recent surveys Jagex has conducted. More specifically, I want to show everyone why we can’t let Jagex convince us that these surveys are just being done to “test ideas” or “gather feedback” and just “exploratory”; they all serve the purpose of monetizing players further and are fully intentional.

To preface, Jagex has now conducted two quantitative surveys related to RuneScape and its monetary value. The first survey was conducted last year and utilized a price sensitivity method known as Van Westerndorp Price Sensitivity Meter. This is a technique where customers are asked four simple questions to pinpoint when a product’s price starts feeling too cheap, too expensive, or just right. By plotting these responses, companies can find the “range of acceptable prices” and determine the optimal price point that balances perceived value and affordability. The second survey (and result of the current riots) aims to conduct conjoint analysis which helps an organization determine correlation between different features of a product and price. On top of this, they mentioned conducting a series of focus groups which likely revolved around understanding features that players are interested in and/or would pay more for.

My hypothesis? The price sensitivity study likely revealed that there is a gap in what players currently pay for membership and the perceived value they have for the game. This makes sense. Players enjoy RuneScape and have positive attitudes toward the game, so there’s a good chance they perceive it as being worth more than what they pay, leading the data to show the current price as being “too cheap” or below the optimal price point. So, Jagex sees this and wants to bridge the gap between what players currently pay and the optimal price point they discovered from the first study.

Conjoint analysis survey enters the chat. Jagex recently raised membership prices to an absurd level, and they know they can’t go much higher as they are already one of the most expensive MMOs in the industry. So, to bridge this gap, they need to find new ways to extract money from players. Don’t let them tell you this was a “rushed survey” of “unfiltered ideas”; this was fully planned and the methodology only serves to deepen their pockets. You conduct conjoint analysis to better understand which features are correlated with price. In fact, they likely held the mentioned focus groups upon learning players would pay more to understand which features they should test in the conjoint survey (qualitative research like focus groups are often used to inform the design of quantitative surveys). Jagex fully considered all of the tested ideas as possible monetization channels, and the survey was intended to determine which one players would value the most and pay more to get the game to the “optimal price point.”

The final thing I want to touch on is the scope of the research being conducted. It’s HUGE. They are working with outside agencies which can be very costly and typically require A LOT of back and forth before officially launching a survey (unless the agency is utter dog shit and has no idea what they are doing). They are also producing surveys with video elements and fully themed layouts. On top of this, this is a multi-phase project with at least 2 quantitative surveys and 1 qualitative study meaning that it wasn’t just done on a whim. This is all intentional, so don’t let them for a second convince you that they were “rushing a project with a research partner.”

All this being said, I think looking at the market research that has been conducted over the last year proves to me that everything Mod Pips said in his apology is a load of crap. They think they can just get away with saying this was some rushed project and at the partial fault of a third-party research partner, but it is very clear that everything is intentional. The fact that they are lying about it and think we are too stupid to understand that is very revealing and honestly sad.

TLDR STFU DAD; When you piece together all of the research Jagex has been doing over the past year, you see that $13.99 is not the end for us. We WILL be paying more, but it might be more sneaky than before. The first survey likely revealed that players value the game at a higher price point, now Jagex just needs to learn how to get us there. As for me, my membership is canceled and I’m enjoying some Brighter Shores and slightly more grass touching. I’ll come back after Mod Pips / Upper Management starts treating us like adults and begin offering solutions to the mess they’ve created and not half-assed ChatGPT apologies.

I work in market research and wanted to weigh in on the recent surveys Jagex has conducted. More specifically, I want to show everyone why we can’t let Jagex convince us that these surveys are just being done to “test ideas” or “gather feedback” and just “exploratory”; they all serve the purpose of monetizing players further and are fully intentional.

To preface, Jagex has now conducted two quantitative surveys related to RuneScape and its monetary value. The first survey was conducted last year and utilized a price sensitivity method known as Van Westerndorp Price Sensitivity Meter. This is a technique where customers are asked four simple questions to pinpoint when a product’s price starts feeling too cheap, too expensive, or just right. By plotting these responses, companies can find the “range of acceptable prices” and determine the optimal price point that balances perceived value and affordability. The second survey (and result of the current riots) aims to conduct conjoint analysis which helps an organization determine correlation between different features of a product and price. On top of this, they mentioned conducting a series of focus groups which likely revolved around understanding features that players are interested in and/or would pay more for.

My hypothesis? The price sensitivity study likely revealed that there is a gap in what players currently pay for membership and the perceived value they have for the game. This makes sense. Players enjoy RuneScape and have positive attitudes toward the game, so there’s a good chance they perceive it as being worth more than what they pay, leading the data to show the current price as being “too cheap” or below the optimal price point. So, Jagex sees this and wants to bridge the gap between what players currently pay and the optimal price point they discovered from the first study.

Conjoint analysis survey enters the chat. Jagex recently raised membership prices to an absurd level, and they know they can’t go much higher as they are already one of the most expensive MMOs in the industry. So, to bridge this gap, they need to find new ways to extract money from players. Don’t let them tell you this was a “rushed survey” of “unfiltered ideas”; this was fully planned and the methodology only serves to deepen their pockets. You conduct conjoint analysis to better understand which features are correlated with price. In fact, they likely held the mentioned focus groups upon learning players would pay more to understand which features they should test in the conjoint survey (qualitative research like focus groups are often used to inform the design of quantitative surveys). Jagex fully considered all of the tested ideas as possible monetization channels, and the survey was intended to determine which one players would value the most and pay more to get the game to the “optimal price point.”

The final thing I want to touch on is the scope of the research being conducted. It’s HUGE. They are working with outside agencies which can be very costly and typically require A LOT of back and forth before officially launching a survey (unless the agency is utter dog shit and has no idea what they are doing). They are also producing surveys with video elements and fully themed layouts. On top of this, this is a multi-phase project with at least 2 quantitative surveys and 1 qualitative study meaning that it wasn’t just done on a whim. This is all intentional, so don’t let them for a second convince you that they were “rushing a project with a research partner.”

All this being said, I think looking at the market research that has been conducted over the last year proves to me that everything Mod Pips said in his apology is a load of crap. They think they can just get away with saying this was some rushed project and at the partial fault of a third-party research partner, but it is very clear that everything is intentional. The fact that they are lying about it and think we are too stupid to understand that is very revealing and honestly sad.

TLDR STFU DAD; When you piece together all of the research Jagex has been doing over the past year, you see that $13.99 is not the end for us. We WILL be paying more, but it might be more sneaky than before. The first survey likely revealed that players value the game at a higher price point, now Jagex just needs to learn how to get us there. As for me, my membership is canceled and I’m enjoying some Brighter Shores and slightly more grass touching. I’ll come back after Mod Pips / Upper Management starts treating us like adults and begin offering solutions to the mess they’ve created and not half-assed ChatGPT apologies.