I don't understand the marketing behind these at all: https://pso2.com/news/announcements/acshopsale0801
Let's take the current Beginner's Pack:
- Inventory Expansion x1
- Character Storage Expansion x1
- Scape Doll x5
- Exp +100% Booster x 6
Price: 1750 AC
The main items of value in this pack are the Inventory Expansion and the Character Storage Expansion which if bought separately cost a total of 1150 AC (350 for the Inventory Expansion and 800 for the Character Storage Expansion). So essentially, we are paying extra for discounted consumables if you can ever call it that; Scape Doll x5 costs 600 AC. What is 600+1150? 1750, so quite literally, we are paying full price just to get 6 Exp +100 Boosters.
Don't even get me started on how bad of a value the boost item pack is, costing a whooping 9300 AC for just boosters.
Now let's look at JP packs:
From Feb 2017:
From May 2018:
Present:
Let's look at the Item Pack Expansion Set from Feb 2017: 5 Inventory Expansions for 1600 AC. If bought individually, they would cost 1750 AC so that is a discount of 150 AC. The beginner set? 650 AC if bought separately so a saving of 200 AC.
The May 2018 packs is probably the worst of the three, but at least the price is less than the individual items when bought separately. Example in the Pack Expansion Set, Inventory Expansion x2 (700 AC) + Scape Doll x3 (400 AC), so 200 AC saving there technically.
When looking at the present packs, you have a premium set that costs the normal price but gives two Tokyo gold keys. No added fluff to raise the price. 8th Anniversary Starter set? Inventory Expansion and Mag Ticket individually costs 650 AC so you are saving 150 AC and are getting two gold keys for free. Character Storage Expansion? No extra fluff, costs 25% less as it normally costs 800 AC, and comes with a bonus key. The Item Pack Set? We already know that 5 Inventory Expansions is normally 1750 AC, so this is 150 AC saving and it comes with 2 bonus keys. Even the Luxurious Boost Set, the most questionable pack out of the present set, costs less than its individual items: 150% EXP Boost x3 (800 AC) + 5 * 400% RDR Boosters (5 * 900 AC) = 5300 AC if bought separately and it comes with a rainbow bonus key.
Like the packs we get make no sense and people are unlikely to buy them; they only serve to make Sega look greedy. The ones in JP actually have value and actually have a good chance of being purchased as they actually do save you money. I am highly confident that the JP packs actually make a decent profit, especially when compared to the NA packs.
If Sega wants to sell these packs, like I mean actually get people to buy them, then they need to actually make them worthwhile. Whoever is designing these packs needs to rethink them completely.