The Perfect Game #1
The Feat of Strength Purchase.

What’s up everybody.

My name is Jesse Favalava and this is “The Perfect Game”
In this series, I talk about what the perfect game will be like and how it will work,
but please understand that these are my opinions and it’s all very subjective.
This series will follow some industry standards that I believe the future should be built around.

Today’s standard is pro-consumer monetization.
Today’s topic is about a new form of monetization that I call.

The Feat of Strength Purchase

The tallest mountain in the world.

Which is a purchase, that’s only accessible to the best of the best or those complete specific in-game challenges.
The Feat of Strength in-game purchase is a way of rewarding a dedicated player by giving them an exclusive purchase opportunity.
This in-game purchase can be represented by a variety of products or services and should be the most pro-consumer purchase they can make with the company.

I’m going to go over what qualifies as the best of the best and then I’ll talk about what the in-game purchase should be like.

The Best Of The Best

He was #1

Here are some examples of games where it’s really easy to identify the best of the best.
This could be people who are at least Diamond Rating in League of Legends or Overwatch.
This could be the top 10000 people on leaderboards like PUBG’s or Beat Saber’s.
This could be Mythic Raiders and Arena Gladiators in World of Warcraft.
(Diamond Rank in League of Legends is the top 3% of ranked players)

Ideally, the best of the best should be competitive because this is not a participation trophy.
The Best of the Best are capable of achievements that most players will never reach.
I think the top 3% of players in a competitive environment is a reasonable consumer base.

What Are You Buying?

You will be buying a symbolic trophy which is a representation of your achievement.
I don’t think the Feat of Strength purchase should be digital but I’m not saying it can’t be.
Ideally, you will be buying exclusive merchandise which does a great job at representing the culture behind the achievement. Ideally, you should be buying a physical product.
For diamond players in League of Legends or Overwatch; you could get a mini version of your most played character on a stand which acknowledges your in-game name, rank, date of achievement, and authenticity.
For the top 10k in PUBG; a mini version of the gun you got the most kills with, on a stand with your most kills in a single game, number of chicken dinners, and your profile username.
For Beat Saber; you could get a plush version of the Beat Saber Blocks with your username stitched in.
For Mythic Raiders; you could get a mini version of your character in whatever armor set you want, along with the other offerings I listed.
For Gladiators; you could get something similar to any of these past options.
Of course, it could always be a nice shirt or jacket.

It’s pretty easy to understand that there are plenty of merch opportunities besides the ones I’ve listed, but sometimes even those won’t speak to the consumer. If you choose not to buy the product, you should be given something for free. It could be something small but meaningful like a sticker and magnet combo, which acknowledges you and your achievement, so slap it on the ice chest or car or keep it sealed like a collectible. Another exchange for turning down the product could be a coupon for another merch item in the store.

What I Want

I want more recognizable gaming culture in society and physical representations of things will always push that agenda.
I want players to have something physically represent one of their online achievements because they’re worthing of praise even outside the game.
I want players to talk more outside of the game and this is a conversation starter.
I want companies to profit very little from this purchase for two reasons: 1. They shouldn’t cut corners which should result in a better quality product. 2. They should profit in some way and use this ethical money to reduce their dependence on anti-consumer monetization.

This Has Never Been Done Before

I have looked and found nothing similar to these concepts as I’ve described them but I have been inspired by other somewhat similar though poorly done versions.

In a mobile game I play, you are rewarded for progressing in a ranked tier with the option to buy a heavily subsidized pack of cards. This game is without a doubt, pay 2 win, which means buying these cards puts you ahead of others. This system is terrible because everyone at your rank or level of play has had the same option to purchase which ends up becoming an arms race. This is anti-consumer to the max but it probably does drive a lot of sales.
The point here is that they reward you with a steep 75% discount which amounts to around $300 in savings if you’ve bought at every rank and reached max rank. This monetization system is only fair to the consumer as long as they’re progressing in rank and that doesn’t change the fact it’s pay 2 win.

In 2016, Riot Games, developers of League of Legends, rewarded their top 0.02% of players with a Challenger Jacket. These Challenger Ranked players were gifted these jackets along with medallions.
Which is a pretty cool reward although the jackets and medallions themselves don’t list any stats or even their username, which is exactly why you can find the jackets today on eBay for around $600. Furthermore, authenticity has been left to question after knock-off versions were found in South Korea less than a month later.
I have to give to props to riot games for doing this, it’s definitely was a first and it’s really respectable for a game company.

Conclusion

Obviously, I think this is a great idea and I would love to implement it in my perfect game.
I think it’s an ethical way to make money as a developer and it’s a great product to buy as a consumer.
If it’s priced around $20, I could definitely see myself buying this over the next random $20 skin that goes on sale. That said, there are people who prefer digital products and maybe in someone else’s perfect game they can buy that too, but I believe digital rewards for achievements should always be free.
I like showing off my nerd stuff when I have people over or go to conventions and I feel like this kind of product would be great for that. Some people won’t feel the need to show off their symbolic trophy and will settle for having as something on a desk or a shelf.

That’s All Folks

Think about this.
Do you think digital products are a good match for this type of monetization?
Do you think my definitions of The Best of the Best are alright?
Should companies make money off of these products?
Would you still support this even if you had no chance of qualifying to buy?
I would like to hear what you have to say so please let me know in the comments below.
I’d also like to make a follow up to this article because I believe pro-consumer monetization matters and this could be one of the ways we push that agenda.

Well. I’m Jesse Favalava and my favorite website is UpDownLeftDie.com
Come support us by checking out the live stream on Twitch or buying a nice mug on the store.
Let’s hang out again soon.