Catwa announces price drop - what do you think?

[Marianne Little]

7 hours ago, Lucia Nightfire said:

Going by my latest Top 300 Mesh Heads stats, which accounts for 91.68% of all mesh head data I'm tracking, LeLutka's market share is closer to 50% with Catwa closer to 20% and Genus at 11.6%

I think Catwa has as much as 20%, because people are so attached to their looks. I bet many of those are Catya. In those days, Catya was the female head with capital T. And the male one, what was the name? It was literally no other heads that offered the same amount of variety in skins, makeups and other things.

I am sure Catwa sell some from the Marketplace too. They sold their old frame heads (not Bento) cheaper that the Bento heads. And newbies do not know the difference.

Genus is still actual with their Strong freebie. All new females who want a free/cheap upgrade to mesh, are lead there. And all alts. Some go on to buying makeups and other things that are affordable. So the creators see that they still sell some of it.

It would be interesting to see how many Catya and Queen heads there are of the 20%. And how many Strong of the 11%.

I am afraid Catwa goes the Slink way. It is too late to reduce the price now. @Lewis Luminossaid it before, Catwa should offer the two oldest Bento heads for free, just to be actual again.

[Love Zhaoying]

2 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

And the male one, what was the name?

Daniel?

[Laylah Yaseotoko]

I am one of those people that never liked Catwa, when they were the market dominator I went with a Logo head. Something about the mouth of the head was always off-putting to me. Then I wore Genus for years until the updates stopped coming and then became non existent, now I wear Lelutka and I don't think I am willing to switch to another head anytime soon, no matter the price due to how much I've invested into Lelutka. It's not just about the head but all the add-ons purchased for it.

[Trinity Blakewell]

Lelutka offering the free heads for a limited time (at Christmas), as well as promo prices on new releases, has also boosted their brand.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

5 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

Genus is still actual with their Strong freebie. All new females who want a free/cheap upgrade to mesh, are lead there. And all alts. Some go on to buying makeups and other things that are affordable. So the creators see that they still sell some of it.

This is a good point: making a good quality mesh head (despite the wonky bits that will hopefully be fixed soon) freely available all the time (and not just at Christmas or whenever) probably ensures that there is a sufficiently large number still in use to warrant continued support for it -- although there is no question that that support has been waning, a lot.

I'm not sure if this was a deliberate strategy or not, but it works. The freebie head helps underwrite the continued viability of the others.

5 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

I am afraid Catwa goes the Slink way. It is too late to reduce the price now.

I fear that this may be correct. The price reduction merely makes them competitive in terms of cost. I think something more radical is probably required to regain any lost ground, or even sustain the brand at this point.

[Psyche Starling]

I remember being a noob, not being able to get into Catwa or the MP for the Queen head, and ending up with the Genus Strong. Wonky eyes and all. Ah, memories. I used it for a few months before springing for a Lilly. I mostly liked the Strong but just couldn't get a snub nose out of it. And I ended up liking the Lelu HUD a lot better too.

[Ceka Cianci]

41 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

I fear that this may be correct. The price reduction merely makes them competitive in terms of cost. I think something more radical is probably required to regain any lost ground, or even sustain the brand at this point.

Honestly, for a head that is only setup for older maps that are being phased out, 4k is still too high to be competitive in my opinion..They need to get under the evo X prices and sit around 2500.. They undercut Lelutka by only 40 L$ and I don't think that's gonna do them much better..

That to me say's a lot.. It means they are testing the waters with their current inventory to see where things start biting..We may even see another price drop soon if they don't get the bites they are expecting..

They may be testing to see what their current inventory will do and where they settle in the marketplace and be happy with that from here on out..

Heck, they might just be active because the fair was in town.. hehehe

 

 

[AmeliaJ08]

Everything is far too expensive, including this.

 

[Stephanie Misfit]

I just got around to trying the HDPro demos, I don't know that I am in the market for yet another mesh head but it is always fun to try stuff, and I never bothered to try these HDPro heads before because of the price. Flona is super cute and I like MajerEdged too. I am going to go demo some skins now, I found this gallery of compatible skins, it is a little out of date but there is some nice stuff out there https://www.flickr.com/photos/mjbella/galleries/72157716173821608/

 

[Ayashe Ninetails]

16 minutes ago, Stephanie Misfit said:

I just got around to trying the HDPro demos, I don't know that I am in the market for yet another mesh head but it is always fun to try stuff, and I never bothered to try these HDPro heads before because of the price. Flona is super cute and I like MajerEdged too. I am going to go demo some skins now, I found this gallery of compatible skins, it is a little out of date but there is some nice stuff out there https://www.flickr.com/photos/mjbella/galleries/72157716173821608/

Nuve has a room of skins for Catwa HDPro. Freebies at the desk, too, if you happen to be in the group.

The Skinnery has a new one at Skin Fair, too. I think DeeTaleZ might still have a room, also. And the other ones in my previous post (Moccino Beaute, etc.).

 

[PheebyKatz]

I can see loyalists still purchasing them for their other accounts, or new ones, because it's what they're familiar with. Brand loyalty can be a powerful thing, even if sometimes it's just force of habit.

I can also see people continuing to promote them to newer users, especially if the Catwa lover hasn't changed because newer stuff is more complex in some ways to learn. 4k is nothing for some people, compared to having to relearn something. I wouldn't judge that either way; everyone is different, and has a right to their favorite mesh head, so yeah.

I almost said something about why don't more people simply take the SL basemesh and use it to craft their own heads, because uploading a mesh and a texture is way cheaper than buying anything, but then I did kinda have to pay a lot more for Avastar than I did for the last mesh head I had to buy. I forget that, sometimes. ^-^;

Catwa's future? Who can say, really? People have been announcing the death of SL itself for almost as long as SL has existed, and it's still here. I'm sure Catwa's legacy will live on, even if they decide to rebrand, come up with something else instead, or drop out and go inactive. If they close up shop someday, well, maybe they'll at least be kind enough to donate it all to Freebie Galaxy or something. That would be sweet of them.

But then, for all we know, they could end up developing the next big thing again. I met someone who was hit by lightning twice, so I know it can happen.

Edited March 17, 2023 by PheebyKatz

[CalypsoJewel]

I bought a Catwa as my first mesh head back when I first started SL on my first character (I think it was Catya, but also have Zoe at least), so they'll always hold a place, but the newer heads always looked slightly off to me. Something about the mouth always looked like some weird pursed thing with the corners, and the HUD drove me absolutely nuts(additional sliders/eyes/etc). It's a good concept in theory, but it was a pain messing with anything so I ended up skipping out on Catwa and staying with Lelutka.
I do hope the price decrease helps their sales at least, though.
They could also.. go back to fitting in some new hairs to their roster as well. There are plenty of hair stores, sure, but they can always remake some of their old styles for that taste of sweet-sweet nostalgia. Frankly most hair stores just do a lot of the same styles with slight differences anymore, so it's always nice to see new ones pop up to see if they do things differently.

[Cougar Sangria]

I have been a Catwa Catya diehard since the head came out.  I see no reason to change.  I haven't had the inclination to.  This head has everything I need.  Makeup?  Not a fan of the HD.  I have enough BOM and applier makeup to see me through until SL's end.  I don't wear that much anyway.  I tried a few EVO X for fun and was not impressed.  I have Genus heads...never used them.  Nothing compares to my Catya.  IF Catwa goes by the way Slink did...I will be fine.  I have everything I need to carry me through.  Not interested in the next big thing or the current big thing, for that matter.

[Stephanie Misfit]

7 hours ago, Cougar Sangria said:

I have been a Catwa Catya diehard since the head came out.  I see no reason to change.  I haven't had the inclination to.  This head has everything I need.  Makeup?  Not a fan of the HD.  I have enough BOM and applier makeup to see me through until SL's end.  I don't wear that much anyway.  I tried a few EVO X for fun and was not impressed.  I have Genus heads...never used them.  Nothing compares to my Catya.  IF Catwa goes by the way Slink did...I will be fine.  I have everything I need to carry me through.  Not interested in the next big thing or the current big thing, for that matter.

I wore Catya for so long, it is a very pretty head, nothing else really like it.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Catwa has a new head and is offering it at 50% for a limited time. So they're trying!

 

[Marianne Little]

15 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Catwa has a new head and is offering it at 50% for a limited time. So they're trying!

 

50% off 3950L = 1975L.

That isn't so bad. Head wars!!

[steeljane42]

1 hour ago, Marianne Little said:

50% off 3950L = 1975L.

That isn't so bad. Head wars!!

Price is not everything, though. Opinions, preferences and all, but for my tastes it's roughly 1975L$ more than I'd pay for it. So I don't see it being a war, more like trying to reanimate a corpse via any means, at least temporarily.

Edited March 24, 2023 by steeljane42

[Marianne Little]

1 hour ago, steeljane42 said:

Price is not everything, though. Opinions, preferences and all, but for my tastes it's roughly 1975L$ more than I'd pay for it. So I don't see it being a war, more like trying to reanimate a corpse via any means, at least temporarily.

Yes, but Catwa is a big name still. Maybe previous customers was put off by the price, and can come back. It is interesting to see if LeLutka replies with the same.

If my memory does not fail me, LeLutka has had 25% off on new releases lately. Isn't it so in the Skin Fair? I keep thinking I'll go there, but always forget.

We will see if the next new LeLutka heads is 50% off.

[steeljane42]

43 minutes ago, Marianne Little said:

If my memory does not fail me, LeLutka has had 25% off on new releases lately. Isn't it so in the Skin Fair? I keep thinking I'll go there, but always forget.

We will see if the next new LeLutka heads is 50% off.

Lelutka had their last 4 heads 25% off for a limited time. Mainstore's release for 48h for Ubon and Tae, and then skin fair for the even't duration for the Wade and Vivian. They also do random sales for some of their heads for a while now too. Milan was 50% at some event last year, and I think some male head was discounted at the men focused event as well, but I'm not 100% sure on that one.

But yeah, we'll see. My personal opinion that with current line of heads Catwa is exactly just a big name from the past. Kinda like Slink was, which made name back into their mesh hands/feet times, but was phased out by better products when it became a mesh body market. If Lelutka decides to keep up their game and makes temporary 50% discount on their new heads it's a win-win for everyone, though.

Edited March 24, 2023 by steeljane42
typos

[Ceka Cianci]

Never mind.. what I was gonna say has already been posted.. hehehe

Edited March 24, 2023 by Ceka Cianci

[Ayashe Ninetails]

Opal has been released at the mainstore and in the marketplace. I suppose I'll grab a demo and play around with it for funsies even though I do not need more heads!!!

It doesn't say when the 50% off ends, though.

 

[Ceka Cianci]

39 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

Opal has been released at the mainstore and in the marketplace. I suppose I'll grab a demo and play around with it for funsies even though I do not need more heads!!!

It doesn't say when the 50% off ends, though.

 

I went yesterday and looked at their heads.. Out of I think 6 heads they have now for HDpro.. The Sasa one caught my eyes. I think it's Sasa..

I grabbed a demo of that one.. I tried messing with it yesterday but didn't have much time  because I had sauce to make. hehehe

I pretty much finally got the animations turned off, I think I did anyways, then had to log out..

I'm gonna mess with it some today.. It would be nice if they found a way to combine the two huds so you didn't have to go back and forth having both open.. I understand they can only have so much memory for each one though..I just have to relearn my way around the huds again, it's been awhile.. hehehe

What I really wish these head creators would start doing, and this is all of them.. Start moving in the direction of the mesh body creators and giving us a mod version..  I can't help but think how much headaches could have been solved with a mod version of like a genus head just in the animation area..

 

[Ayashe Ninetails]

14 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

I went yesterday and looked at their heads.. Out of I think 6 heads they have now for HDpro.. The Sasa one caught my eyes. I think it's Sasa..

I grabbed a demo of that one.. I tried messing with it yesterday but didn't have much time  because I had sauce to make. hehehe

I pretty much finally got the animations turned off, I think I did anyways, then had to log out..

I'm gonna mess with it some today.. It would be nice if they found a way to combine the two huds so you didn't have to go back and forth having both open.. I understand they can only have so much memory for each one though..I just have to relearn my way around the huds again, it's been awhile.. hehehe

What I really wish these head creators would start doing, and this is all of them.. Start moving in the direction of the mesh body creators and giving us a mod version..  I can't help but think how much headaches could have been solved with a mod version of like a genus head just in the animation area..

I didn't get very far yet. I got way too distracted once again by the included skin demos. There's just something so fundamentally off about skins in my human color range that it led me, once again, to start hopping around the grid to find a bunch more to try on out of curiosity. I'm intrigued that there's nothing at all that matches the shade I currently wear.

I'm not sure if I tried Sasa on, but that's a really pretty one. Opal looks nice, too, but I haven't started shaping it yet.

[Ceka Cianci]

27 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

I didn't get very far yet. I got way too distracted once again by the included skin demos. There's just something so fundamentally off about skins in my human color range that it led me, once again, to start hopping around the grid to find a bunch more to try on out of curiosity. I'm intrigued that there's nothing at all that matches the shade I currently wear.

I'm not sure if I tried Sasa on, but that's a really pretty one. Opal looks nice, too, but I haven't started shaping it yet.

What tone are you looking for? If you can put a pic in here in a certain lighting like Nams or something and I'll check my inventory and see if I have something similar and then can maybe recommend a place if I have one or maybe seen a place that has something like it..

Edited March 25, 2023 by Ceka Cianci

[Ayashe Ninetails]

57 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

What tone are you looking for? If you can put a pic in here in a certain lighting like Nams or something and I'll check my inventory and see if I have something similar and then can maybe recommend a place if I have one or maybe seen a place that has something like it..

One sec, lemme take my tats n stuffs off. Ahhh, I feel so naked without them. Okay oneeeee minute herrrre...

Okay so, I wear ItGirls Queen in Cocoa for the body. I tinted my head and body just slightly to bring down the orange tone it naturally gave, but not too much. So something similar to either version would work. I love the shading and gentle overall glow, and that's always the hardest part to match.

So far, I've found that I "fit" Amara Beauty tone 65 and Pumec's tone August. Bold & Beauty's "Mahogany" is also close-ish. If that helps. Unfortunately, skins rarely ever go on sale in those shades, and Pumec's swapping to Velour and The Skinnery, so August goes bye bye. Plus, Catwa, so finding new products and sales is already a challenge. I've tried hunting for Evo X in similar shades, but no luck there either. The shading is always so different. Either too blotchy or the highlighting is far too intense, etc.

This is the tinted/toned down ItGirls Queen in Cocoa with an old Velour also in Cocoa (the Velour is no longer sold):

 

Untinted version

Edited March 25, 2023 by Ayashe Ninetails
Added stuffs