A Fix For Maple Story's Shop System

I've had this in my head for months, so I finally decided to do up a post about it. Though I feel it unlikely this will be seen by anyone with the power to consider the idea, still I will do my best to convey the idea whether or not it is ever implemented (because I think it would greatly improve the experience of playing Maple Story). Above is an image I've drawn up to show the new addition to the Free Market that I'd love to see added to Maple Story Global someday.

It would work something like this: players wishing to sell in the Super Market would stop at the NPC sitting behind the Front Desk to retrieve Sale Tags (a stackable item that would look somewhat like the rough image below). Those who cannot or will not buy NX would get 1 Sale Tag for free. Additional ones could be purchased for a certain amount, like 5,000 NX each. Once an item sold, the tag would return to the desk for the user to retrieve (along with the mesos from the item(s) sold). To be absolutely clear here, these tags would be PERMANENT. The Cash Shop has enough temporary stuff in it already that too few people buy. The last thing we need is more temporary electronic items to pay real money for, especially when there is a whole game full of free items that last forever. But I digress, back to the point...

Those who wish to buy from the Super Market would go right past the front desk to the 4 door portals, each marked with a sign over it saying (in order) "Eq.", "Use", "Set-up", and "Etc.". Depending on the type of item the user wishes to buy, they would choose a door. Items for sale would be displayed as if they were drops laying on a shelf (that no one can pick up). Below each item would be a crate (that players can't break), which sellers would click on to leave one of that item for sale at whatever price they feel is reasonable. Above the shelf would be a blackboard which buyers could click on to see a list of that item currently for sale on their server, in order by price. (If they want certain stats on Equipment items, they would still have to scroll down through the available items to find what they want.) Leaving an item or single stack of items would require 1 Sale Tag. When the item or stack is sold out, the Sale Tag returns to the desk to be claimed by the owner so they can sell something else.

While I realize that this would reduce the number of players using Owls of Minerva and Shop Elves, it would also improve the game (which should be the first concern of any game developer). So many players I know just NPC their unwanted items instead of trying to deal with the hassles of the Free Market (and some of them on slower connections can't even use the Free Market because they lag and then DC). Many buyers go to websites like Basil Street to deal in items or stand and spam the ch. 1 Free Market until they get what they want instead of trying to spend hours searching for the right item and price checking it. The Free Market is chaos, and I know I hate dealing with it. To make matters worse, players who have no NX often plant themselves in the Free Market and spam it like there is no tomorrow (because they have no other choice). Players with NX do anything they can to get a good spot to leave their character and computer on all night (or school day) in the hopes that someone who happens to want what they are selling might find them and buy from them. Not only does this add unnecessary drain to the Maple servers, but it causes unnecessary wear and tear to people's computers. My new system could be implemented without getting rid of the Free Market stalls, though if I were a betting person, I'd bet people would drop the Free Market stalls like a hot potato within a week of this being released.

The only downside to this idea that I can think of would be revenue. I'm not sure if the revenue from this idea would be more or less than is currently earned through the Maple Story shop system. It could be more profitable because people are always more willing to buy something permanent, especially in a game, than they are to buy temporary electronic items. On the other hand, the revenue could be slightly less because people aren't being scalped every which way to try and buy and sell in-game items. If the latter case happens, the lost revenue could easily be made up and exceeded (in my opinion) by simply offering some Cash Shop clothes that never expire (perhaps at slightly higher prices). Perhaps other types of items could be added too, like a $15 Water or Eternal Life for pets (so they never turn back into dolls). As Ive said, players always seem to be more willing to spend money in support of a game when the items they buy are permanent.

It's just an idea, but it's one that I think would greatly improve the experience of playing Maple Story.

~Quaggy