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Microtransactions Are Here to Stay; It's How Deal With Them That Matters.


TheLiamK

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Microtransactions aren't necessarily here to stay in the long run - things can always change. 5-10 years on from now, we can't really say whether things will be better or worse. There are so many factors in gaming, both in the way technology is created and content is consumed which can and will affect how the business parts work.

 

But in the short-term, they are definitely here to stay, we are witnessing the experimental stage of monetization and gaming at the moment - what happens in the next few years will very much dictate how we buy our games and content much later on.

 

Because the mass-market gaming industry is technically 'ruled' by publishers like EA, Activision and so on, the decisions they make can often determine the 'norm' for us gamers. Smaller development studios either have a product which helps them stay afloat or eventually get absorbed by the bigger publishers.

 

We don't have control over who buys who out, or who decides to close a developer studio down. But we do have something really really powerful - our own money. The stuff we earn for doing chores, part time jobs, full time jobs and so on. We decide what we want to buy, for better or worse. And that decision helps these studios and publishers decide what they can get away with, what they should stop doing and what they should carry on doing.

 

I definitely think that speaking with your wallet is a very good step. But combining that with educating yourself and others on the good and the bad too is even better. 

Edited by Crispy_Oglop
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22 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

To the bolded: So in other words... the path of least resistance.  Of course. :)

 

I can count maybe 2 games in my 30-40 game PS4 collection (retail disc copies so mostly AAA) with microtransactions.  Probably none with microtransactions that impact gameplay.  So no... not "nearly every game" has them.  Not even close.  Maybe if you buy 4 games total and they're all recent multiplayer FPS's/Shadow of War.

 

Too much hypothetical in the rest to properly respond.  We don't know what margins any specific publisher/developer hopes to meet between launch prices, sale prices, development costs and microtransactions.

 

Yes, of course, if I'm hungry I'll go and buy a steak, if the waiter punches me in the stomach while I'm eating I'll probably want to talk to the manager. Doesn't mean the steak isn't good or I don't want to eat anything.

 

Poor phrasing on my part, my apologies.  If you look at Ubisoft, Take Two, Bethesda, Call of  Duty, EA and so on. It's easy to see where things are going, though.


The point was if dev's are losing money on games they should take steps to cut development costs, not spending uncomfortable amounts of time and money and then expecting us to keep paying, especially in single player games. If it's not about dev cost and they just want more money they should implement micro-transactions in to paid games in a way that doesn't make it seem like you've bought an inferior version without taking part. By all means, if you want to give people a quick and/or easy way to unlock stuff, level up or customise things in the game go ahead and let them pay. as long as A) It can be unlocked by other means and B ) You don't make games in to grind fests to encourage more payments. 

 

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1 hour ago, TheLiamK said:


People want to play the games but they don't want to be harassed with micro-transactions? Saying "Well if you don't like micro-transactions don't buy games with them in" is so stupid. If they sell less of a game, they will be more motivated to prop up profits with micro-transactions. If people buy the game but don't partake in micro-transactions then they would be less likely to focus on them.  "You want to blame somebody? Look in the mirror." Stop acting like an edge-lord teenager.

Actually you are wrong. Have you heard of online passes? Publishers used to require gamers buy one to access online features if they bought the game used. They don't anymore.

 

Why do you think the publishers gave up that free money? "Look in the mirror"

 

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Devs are smart, they get the excuse of the production costs but they also know that not everyone is ignorant and blind
As i said you can't change mentalities, when i have seen someone in BO3 spending more than 500 euros in supply drops .. I think this is enough to understand
Finally i got my images on the other topic enjoy :P


a9YTNbI.jpg

disc.jpg

 

Edited by Rose Amicitia
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12 minutes ago, TheLiamK said:

 

Yes, of course, if I'm hungry I'll go and buy a steak, if the waiter punches me in the stomach while I'm eating I'll probably want to talk to the manager. Doesn't mean the steak isn't good or I don't want to eat anything.

 

Poor phrasing on my part, my apologies.  If you look at Ubisoft, Take Two, Bethesda, Call of  Duty, EA and so on. It's easy to see where things are going, though.


The point was if dev's are losing money on games they should take steps to cut development costs, not spending uncomfortable amounts of time and money and then expecting us to keep paying, especially in single player games. If it's not about dev cost and they just want more money they should implement micro-transactions in to paid games in a way that doesn't make it seem like you've bought an inferior version without taking part. By all means, if you want to give people a quick and/or easy way to unlock stuff, level up or customise things in the game go ahead and let them pay. as long as A) It can be unlocked by other means and B ) You don't make games in to grind fests to encourage more payments. 

 

 

If a waiter punches you in the stomach, you stop going to that restaurant.  If you do go again and you get punched in the stomach again... you stop buying the games.

 

Those 5 publishers are the biggest, but basically make up a handful of offending franchises (Call of Duty, GTA, Battlefront, etc) and that's about it... and what'd Bethesda do exactly?

 

And again, there's too much hypothetical there to respond.  We don't know these companies margins, and assuming everything with microtransactions is going to be the worst case scenario (your point A and B ) is what leads to a lot of the knee-jerk overreactions in the gaming community.

 

 

11 minutes ago, Rose Amicitia said:

Finally i got my images on the other topic enjoy :P


a9YTNbI.jpg


upload image gif
 

 

Cute picture, but complete nonsense save a few extreme examples.  You have to value silly hats pretty highly to think most DLC nowadays makes up that much of a games content.

Edited by Dreakon13
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3 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

If a waiter punches you in the stomach, you stop going to that restaurant.  If you do go again and you get punched in the stomach again... you stop buying the games.

 

Those 5 publishers are the biggest, but basically make up a handful of offending franchises (Call of Duty, GTA, Battlefront, etc) and that's it... and what'd Bethesda do exactly?

 

And again, there's too much hypothetical there to respond.  We don't know these companies margins, and assuming everything with microtransactions is going to be the worst case scenario (your point A and B ) is what leads to a lot of the knee-jerk overreactions in the gaming community.

 

 

 

Cute picture, but complete nonsense save a few extreme examples.  You have to value silly hats pretty highly to think most DLC nowadays makes up that much of a games content.

 

It does feel like it makes that much up.

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12 minutes ago, Doomsdayman said:

 

It does feel like it makes that much up.

 

It really doesn't.  It's more the equivalent of buying a burger at a fast food place and expecting one of everything on the menu... because "hard earned money" and "entitlement".

 

EDIT: Unless we're talking purely multiplayer shooters/fighters and their map packs and fighter addons... then you have a valid point.  The gaming industry is so much wider than those handful of games though.  Maybe it's time to branch out.

Edited by Dreakon13
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4 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

If a waiter punches you in the stomach, you stop going to that restaurant.  If you do go again and you get punched in the stomach again... you stop buying the games.

 

Those 5 publishers are the biggest, but basically make up a handful of offending franchises (Call of Duty, GTA, Battlefront, etc) and that's it... and what'd Bethesda do exactly?

 

And again, there's too much hypothetical there to respond.  We don't know these companies margins, and assuming everything with microtransactions is going to be the worst case scenario (your point A and B ) is what leads to a lot of the knee-jerk overreactions in the gaming community.

 

 

Ok so we're never going to agree on this point. No point in going in circles.

 

Take two just announced that every future game they publish will have micro transactions, Ubisoft are likely to follow, EA publish a lot of different games.  Bethesda and the whole 'paid mods' debacle.

 

In terms of those 'worst case scenarios'

 

1 minute ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

It really doesn't.  It's more the equivalent of buying a burger at a fast food place and expecting one of everything on the menu... because "hard earned money" and "entitlement".

No, it's selling a complete burger a year ago but now taking out the lettuce, ketchup and onions in order to sell them as extra.  Stop using the word "entitlement" it's not "entitlement" to ask for what you paid money for.

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7 minutes ago, TheLiamK said:

 

Ok so we're never going to agree on this point. No point in going in circles.

 

Take two just announced that every future game they publish will have micro transactions, Ubisoft are likely to follow, EA publish a lot of different games.  Bethesda and the whole 'paid mods' debacle.

 

In terms of those 'worst case scenarios'

 

No, it's selling a complete burger a year ago but now taking out the lettuce, ketchup and onions in order to sell them as extra.  Stop using the word "entitlement" it's not "entitlement" to ask for what you paid money for.


I think is that every person has their POV! it's inadmissible that a game past 1 year continue to launch dlc's when at launch of the game it could have come with them automatically.
 

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18 minutes ago, TheLiamK said:

 

Ok so we're never going to agree on this point. No point in going in circles.

 

Take two just announced that every future game they publish will have micro transactions, Ubisoft are likely to follow, EA publish a lot of different games.  Bethesda and the whole 'paid mods' debacle.

 

In terms of those 'worst case scenarios'

 

No, it's selling a complete burger a year ago but now taking out the lettuce, ketchup and onions in order to sell them as extra.  Stop using the word "entitlement" it's not "entitlement" to ask for what you paid money for.

 

Yes, there are big publishers that have been/are planning on utilizing microtransactions.  I get the concern and some of it is valid, but there's a whole big gaming world outside of them.

 

What's wrong with paid mods?  I get why PC users might be upset, having had them for free for so long, but console users never had them.  And honestly modders should be paid for their efforts if they want to be, and Bethesda should get their cut... they made the damn game.

 

I understand the picture, it's just wrong.  Or an extreme exaggeration demonstrating a handful of games/genres over the years.  If you honestly believe the costume/hat packs in a game like Persona 5 equates to literally everything between the buns on a burger... ignoring the 10's to 100's of hours of content you got for the standard price... god help you.  You'll never be happy.

Edited by Dreakon13
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I just focus on Indie games and avoid AAA for the most part these days. So many well made indie games this year that are way better than the microtransaction filled AAA stuff. Hob, Rabi-Ribi, Cursed Castilla, The Mummy, Pyre, Sundered, Hob, Metronomicon, Jydge, Ruiner, Matterfall, Nex Machina and many many more.

 

The day microtransactions reach Indies is the day I quit. But I highly doubt that's gonna happen since indie devs care way more about their game than money.

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8 minutes ago, Rose Amicitia said:


I think is that every person has their POV! it's inadmissible that a game past 1 year continue to launch dlc's when at launch of the game it could have come with them automatically.
 

 

I think a lot of DLC gets developed after the games release (ie. it wouldn't have been ready to "come with them automatically")... especially the stuff over a year later.

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3 minutes ago, Rose Amicitia said:


I don't remember asking for your opinion

 

I forgot this was your personal blog/journal, sorry. ?

 

EDIT: Might want to let Sly know... somehow he got the impression it's his site, with open registration/the ability to comment on other people's posts.

Edited by Dreakon13
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4 minutes ago, Rose Amicitia said:


I understand your frustration! Never mind, I know it's hard to ignore me :D 

 

Posting oddly uninformed things publicly certainly does lead to people not ignoring you.  This has been a confusing lesson for all of us.

Edited by Dreakon13
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1 minute ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

Posting oddly uninformed things publicly certainly does lead to people not ignoring you.  This has been a confusing lesson for all of us.

It always depends on the POV! It's good that you think differently, so continue your journey as i continue mine and you will see that we are all happy

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4 minutes ago, Undead Wolf said:

I blame these microtransaction apologists you see everywhere these days. They told us "it's just cosmetic" and "it doesn't affect the gameplay". What they don't seem to realise is that these publishers will continue to push the boundaries of acceptability, and they have been doing so for years. Stop making excuses for them.

 

In fairness, the "apologists" have never... ever... ever... been louder than the people complaining.  In any facet of life.

 

If you blame anyone, blame the vast majority of people actually spending money on the microtransactions that never touch the forums.

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Just now, Dreakon13 said:

In fairness, the "apologists" have never... ever... ever... been louder than the people complaining.  In any facet of life.

 

Good, because the day that changes and there stops being a huge backlash every time a publisher puts microtransactions into one of their games is when this problem will get far worse and more widespread, of that you can be sure.

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I can see the future

 

- Paid patches

- Pop-up ads in game

- Every loading screen is riddled with ads

- Starting the game with only 1 MP map the rest you have to buy

 

At least this is a good topic to vent frustration.

 

I remember the good old days. Going into a retail store, seeing those big boxes knowing only how it looks from the screenshots at the back of the box. When home opening the box and seeing a thick manual included with Lore, Bestary, Tips, Recepies (Yes, Fallout 1 & 2 had recipes). Ah good old times. Like every Saturday when I would sit like a zombie in front of the TV watching cartoons.

 

I miss those times so much. ?

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24 minutes ago, Undead Wolf said:

 

Good, because the day that changes and there stops being a huge backlash every time a publisher puts microtransactions into one of their games is when this problem will get far worse and more widespread, of that you can be sure.

 

I like to think the world is able to balance itself.  If things get bad, people will stop supporting it.  If more people are still supporting it than not, maybe it actually isn't all that bad.

 

Honestly, I think that's how things tend to work despite the illusion of "progress" you see by constantly talking about it with your agreeable chums online.  In that light... I like the implication that the "backlashes" are doing anything... as someone else pointed out, microtransactions are a huge part of these publishers gameplan going forward, despite any recent backlash.  I think you guys give yourselves too much credit for sitting on your bums complaining online. xD

Edited by Dreakon13
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