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Nicholas Lovell
Home   >   Analysis and Opinion   >   Analysis   >   Smart return hook from Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire

Smart return hook from Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire

By on July 13, 2017

PocketGamer.biz has a damning review of the new Final Fantasy Title from MZ (formerly Machine Zone). Its summary is that it is a machine for separating players from their money, much like their previous incarnations of Game of War and Mobile Strike, with a punishing First Time User Experience that alienates anyone who is not likely to go on to be a high spender.

But the piece about the Treasury made me stop and take notice.

One free way of getting Gold, although it requires some to start with and takes some time, is The Treasury.

treasury

Here, you can deposit your Gold and collect it back in full, with an added 10% interest, in two hours.

This percentage can be increased by levelling up The Treasury, but a minimum spend of $4.99 is required first.

This is an interesting model. The game is allowing you to set yourself a reminder to come back. Instead of rewarding with something of meaningful but minor value every few years, such as Marvel Contest of Champions 4 hour crystal, the game lets you to place something into the “machine” for 2 hours, rewards you with a 10% bonus and potentially encourages you to reinvest again. This looks like a powerful, self-initiated return hook.

I need to go and play the game to check it out.

About Nicholas Lovell

Nicholas is the founder of Gamesbrief, a blog dedicated to the business of games. It aims to be informative, authoritative and above all helpful to developers grappling with business strategy. He is the author of a growing list of books about making money in the games industry and other digital media, including How to Publish a Game and Design Rules for Free-to-Play Games, and Penguin-published title The Curve: thecurveonline.com