Open Letter to Storm8 about Black Friday Sale: Please Add More Items!

[pixiegamer]

Hello Storm8,

Recently, both Bakery Story and Restaurant Story were updated with items on sale for Black Friday, continuing on until December 1st in each game. Each game had 5 items on offer (6 for iOS players), listed as follows:

Bakery Story

Gnome Home (24 gems)
Dessert Castle (30 gems)
Forest Band (24 gems)
Secret Garden (42 gems)
Royal Sugar Party (42 gems)
Gem Dispenser (270 gems) [iOS users only]


Restaurant Story

Lazy Sunday (42 gems)
Holiday Cake Display (11 gems)
Grandma's Kitchen (24 gems)
Baby Reindeer (9 gems)
North Pole HQ (3000 coins)
Gem Dispenser (270 gems) [iOS only]


While I appreciate that Storm8 put these items on offer, and understand that the Black Friday sale is a courtesy extended to players rather than an obligation, I, along with many other players (who have been voicing their concerns on the discussion forums) cannot help but feel that the sale is rather paltry compared to previous Black Friday sales, and would love to see more items made available for purchase. In past years, Black Friday has seen around 20 items (slightly more for Bakery Story) on offer in each game. It's disappointing to see only a fraction of that number this year, for a number of reasons:

Firstly, both games have seen special holiday sales throughout the year, such as for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter. These sales were amazing (and thank you to Storm8 for having them!), but it seems strange that Black Friday, which is generally more associated with shopping and excessive buying and spending, has fewer items on sale than any of the other sales players have experienced so far. It would be nice to be able to get a sale of similar size and scope for this holiday as compared to the sales for other holidays.

Secondly, the Black Friday sale is one that many players, myself included, look forward to in the year and eagerly anticipate in hopes of being able to buy rare items, such as 1st- or 2nd-place box prizes and limited-time offers from earlier in the year or beyond. Certainly, this Black Friday is definitely seeing items of that caliber on offer (most of the items on sale fit the description), but with so few items currently on sale, it's not very probable that every player will find something he or she wants to buy. Put a different way: the more items on offer there are, the more likely it is that a player will find something of interest that they would want to buy. Currently, the items that are on offer may not appeal to a number of players (and already, on other threads, some players have expressed this).

Thirdly, and most exacerbating the disappointment: last year, TeamLava had a Black Friday sale that, while large, consisted of odd items and very few box prizes, if any. Following the outcry on the forums, TL representative Elsa took the time to reach out to players (http://forums.storm8.com/showthread.php?75577-Black-Friday-Deals!/page59) and posted the following:


Elsa;1019421']I'm not able to share specific information on unreleased or upcoming content, but I would like to share that the team is aware that players in Bakery and Restaurant Story were unhappy with the Black Friday offerings. The team is making efforts to include the feedback in future promotions. We really appreciate how passionate players are about our games and we hope that you all enjoy upcoming promos. ^_^

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like feedback was taken into account for Black Friday this year. Like last year, players created and contributed to threads on the forums regarding what they would have liked to see on Black Friday (Bakery Story (http://forums.storm8.com/showthread.php?84345-Bakery-Black-Friday-2015), Restaurant Story (http://forums.storm8.com/showthread.php?84346-Restaurant-Black-Friday-2015)), and also like last year, it doesn't seem that Storm8 took that into account. For what it's worth, the items on sale in Bakery Story do correspond, at least partially, to some player requests; however, the items on sale for Restaurant Story largely do not appear to, leading me to question whether Bakery's sale items matched player requests simply by coincidence.

Finally (though not entirely related to the number of items on sale), there was no 40% off discount for gems in either game, something that has been a highlight of Black Fridays in the past. If additional items will be added to the current sale, please consider adding this as well.

On a parting note, Storm8 describes itself as a company whose "high-quality experiences [...] keep global users engaged", and whose developers are expected to have a "strong empathy for users". Neither sale, in my opinion, demonstrates those principles. However, responding to player feedback and expanding upon the sales, however reactionary, could be a step in that direction. Please add more items to the Black Friday sales. If that is not possible, please consider holding a better sale (perhaps on Cyber Monday) that is worth the excitement and anticipation many players had built up for this event.

Thank you,

pixiegamer

[pixiegamer]

tl;dr: The Black Friday sale (for Bakery and Restaurant Story, though I'm aware this is a Bakery-specific forum) is tiny, and it's confusing to me as to why because:


We've had holiday sales throughout the year (thank you!), but Black Friday is more commonly associated with shopping/huge spending than, say, Valentine's Day; yet those holiday sales had more items on offer
People look forward to buying rare or semi-exclusive items on Black Friday, and while Bakery Story's sale items fit the bill, a bigger range would appeal to more people
Last year's Black Friday was also a disappointment (for different reasons), but Storm8 took notice and reacted to it. The feedback directly tied into the offerings for the Christmas sale that year, but obviously didn't extend to this year, since a very similar situation played out: players posted what they wanted on the forums, Black Friday offerings didn't exactly match up. For what it's worth, Bakery's sale items actually do take into account some of what players wanted to see this year, but Restaurant's sale items don't, making me wonder if that was coincidental, or if S8 actually did look at the thread.


Also, unrelated to the items on offer but still relevant to Black Friday: there was no 40% off gem sale like there usually is. That would be nice to have back too.

---

To clarify: I'm not angry about the items on offer. Going through the Bakery thread, there were a lot of people who wanted the Gnome Home, Secret Garden, and Royal Sugar Party, and also (iOS users specifically) those who wanted a gem dispenser sale. I just wish the sale were bigger, and had items I would want to spend my gems on. Yes, with sales, you aren't going to please everybody, but with only 5 (6 on iOS) items on sale, it feels like you're really not trying at all. I'm just disappointed more than anything else. I hope the sale is expanded, or that there's a better sale in the near future (Cyber Monday?) to make up for this one.

:(

[LalaSmooth]

Yes, what happened to a sale? I'm happy that one item I like is there but seriously, only 5? What is the story behind this? I wanted the world game oven back and gingerbread house back too!
Does anyone know if we will actually get more items or a gem sale?

[pipipooh1977]

This is the worst BF sale ever in the 4 years I've played! Ever since the company change everything has gotten worse, the updates, the goals, the graphics...which are child like & whimsical looking. Now this pathetic BF sale. There is not even one item I want. They need to go back to the old company ways. This way just sucks!!!

[youki388]

Although I am a new player I am so so disappointed with my 1st BF sale. Based on the pictures from previous years (2012-2014) BF sales I had been anticipating that there would be at least 20 items this year (thus spoilt for choice). So was really confused this morning at reset time to find only 5 items. I actually thought that it might have been something wrong with my system... so double checked with a couple of my RS & BS neighbours to make sure it really was just 5 items!

I agree with pixiegamer - please add many more items (preferably 1st/2nd prize crate prize items that are highly popular/wanted and festive deco including Xmas walls, tiles, counters, chairs and tables). I as well as many other players were hoping for some festive deco so would could really decorate our restaurants/bakeries up nicely. Also like pixiegamer says, if you are going to add more items than please give us a 40% sale of gems so we can actually buy gems in order to purchase the items. A 40% gem sale would increase chances of players actually buying gems with real money, which will mean increased revenue/profits for S8. So it's a no-brainer really! :rolleyes: :D

[youki388]

This is the worst BF sale ever in the 4 years I've played! Ever since the company change everything has gotten worse, the updates, the goals, the graphics...which are child like & whimsical looking. Now this pathetic BF sale. There is not even one item I want. They need to go back to the old company ways. This way just sucks!!!

Totally agree hun. Although I am new it doesn't take a genius to see that the old TL team not only had more creative designers... but better software than whatever S8 are currently using! I really love a lot of TL designs I have seen including lots of unique pieces/deco and furniture. The updates recently (especially the pilgrim update in BS) were just seriously lacking in terms of appeal/design. I would love to see the gingerbread items as well as the truffle chairs, snow globe chairs and tables back.

[aiyoosha]

why didnt s8 give us our 40% off gems?

[kooky panda]

Moved thread to the Feedback forum since this is not a Bug.
Thanks!

[slayer7000]

Kooky I just want to thank you for being amazing and helping us out all of the time. I'm sorry you have to deal with so many angry people asking you to yell at the s8 employees. I think we all should give you a big thank you!
Moved thread to the Feedback forum since this is not a Bug.
Thanks!

[pixiegamer]

Moved thread to the Feedback forum since this is not a Bug.
Thanks!

I agree that it's not a bug, but I'd argue that it is an issue for many players. In any case, thanks for the update, Kooky :)

[rockyarca]

Please add more items today

[lorettasapron]

I'd just like to add some further thoughts on the Black Friday offerings in Restaurant Story and Bakery Story, some of which pixiegamer has already covered so eloquently.

I understand that Storm8's focus may be shifting at this moment in time towards the sequel games (Restaurant Story 2, Bakery Story 2 etc.) and that is quite understandable. That fact in itself seems to cause a lot of unrest, but I think it makes complete sense. After all the gaming industry is fast moving, particularly on mobile and tablet devices, so to keep relevant and fresh it is necessary for Storm8 to release 'new generation' games.

However, that doesn't mean that the original Story games are no longer popular. I can only speak for Restaurant Story and Bakery Story, but these games clearly have a large and loyal fanbase which is still very passionate (as has been demonstrated over the last 36 hours!) Not only that but there are still new players joining these games. Therefore Storm8's decision to hold such a low-key sale on Black Friday is, at least in my opinion, a poor one.

Perhaps the Story games are not as profitable as they once were, but given the number of players who have invested huge amounts of time and money into these games, there was most certainly scope for Storm8 to make a significant amount of money on Black Friday. Indeed I'd tentatively suggest that a large number of the players who would consider an in-app purchase of premium currency are those who have been loyal for many years. They have built themselves an empire of sorts and are always looking for opportunities to extend their assets further.

I feel another big mistake on Storm8's part is with regards to catering to the masses. This forum is an excellent resource - it is a superb place for players to converse and share in their experiences of the games, and it also provides Storm8 with a ready-made source of market research. On this forum you are never far away from a thread which revolves around some form of suggestions for the games. And none more so than on Black Friday. Yet it is clear from the sale that Storm8 have provided in the games that they did not consult these wonderful resources. Why? The equation is quite simple: if you give players what they want then they will take it, by any means necessary, even if it requires an in-app purchase.

The poor choices made by Storm8 yesterday are only emphasised further when we consider that a similar outcry was witnessed following last year's Black Friday sale. On that occasion the content provided in the sales did not satisfy the majority of players, but fortunately Storm8 did attempt to rectify this by providing a much better received sale prior to Christmas. Yet this seems to have been completely set aside when the decisions were taken as to what to offer this Black Friday. It is for this reason that I don't think even a Christmas sale will appease those players who are unhappy with the current offerings.

One final point: this is a slightly more radical view, but there is a part of me that wonders if these lacklustre sales were absolutely deliberate in an attempt by Storm8 to encourage players to leave the original Story games in favour of the 'new generation' ones. If this is the case I can assure you this will backfire massively! Players will certainly not shimmy on over to the sequel games but will instead stop playing Storm8 titles altogether. After all the mobile gaming market is saturated with options, so you're never far away from another game of a similar format, but from a different developer.



Thank you for reading,
TGT

[pixiegamer]

Dragon Story and Fantasy Forest Story are reportedly going to get a Cyber Monday sale tomorrow, based on in-game notifications. If it's possible to set up two different sales for two different games, would it be possible to add more items to already-ongoing sales in Bakery and Restaurant Story, please?

[kalypzon]

Yes as a new player I was happy to see past items on sale which I don't have (this is my first year playing) BUT I feel robbed, why do all my neighbors who have been playing for years have BEAUTIFUL decorations and all I get was this years? I want to be able to buy past decorations also. My husband always asks me did they bring new things and I sadly reply, just 1 or 2 items COME ON I want the whole "WOW look at all these pretty things I got look on my face" not the "meh it was ok" Thank you

[kalypzon]

I was referring to Bakery and Restaurant story also since I didnt make it clear on my last thread

[Maja_Madagaskar]

SORRY I AM A NEWBIE -ANDROID 4.2.2. -MY ID MAJA_MADAGASKAR -
1# -I don't understand -Black Friday (Paris 13. Nov. Friday)
2# -I don't understand -STORM-ID-COMMUNITY -GOOD IDEAL -WHY BAKERY2 -NOT GO THIS SYSTEMS?
3# -I don't understand -rs1 & -bs1 -ms =all games(lava) need not so much "handy-memory" -rs2 = not avaible for install?
4# -I don't understand -up level 15-20 -all games always was boring -why i not install -why i search more storm8 games? -
5# -I don't understand why not in my language? -I don't understand -why is not so simply to play? -why I look for forums and more "How to you play this?
6# -I don't understand why all games the simply basic tools/optik?

[pixiegamer]

SORRY I AM A NEWBIE -ANDROID 4.2.2. -MY ID MAJA_MADAGASKAR -
1# -I don't understand -Black Friday (Paris 13. Nov. Friday)


I'm only addressing your first point, because the rest of them should be directed to support@storm8.com: the Black Friday people are referring to in this thread was November 27th, 2015. It's an American holiday following Thanksgiving, on which companies usually have big sales, and also on which Storm8 (or TeamLava in previous years) had released multiple items at discounted prices for players to be able to pick up. This thread was opened to express feedback on this year's sale, which a lot of players felt was lacking.

Nobody in this thread was referring to the events that occurred on November 13th as Black Friday.

[sls0991]

pixiegamer, I appreciate the time it took to make this thread and to the others who have posted. The S8 community (us) are amazing and I'm inspired daily by the beautiful bakeries and designs and willingness to help other players. I only wish S8 saw us for what we really are, loyal and passionate players who want to PAY THEM MONEY for good content. All we are asking them is to give us a product worth our time and money. It's not too much to ask. For those of us who have been around since the beginning of these games and those who have just started, we WANT to keep playing, so please stop giving us every reason to leave. :(

[kooky panda]

Closing thread since Black Friday is now over.