And EA wonder why people hate them......

in the east there games don't have subscriptions and stuff like ours do though they are a completely different business model?
 
arknor said:
in the east there games don't have subscriptions and stuff like ours do though they are a completely different business model?
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No, there are a lot of free to play games with micro-transactions... it's been the norm there for a lot longer than it has here. Like you say, we've had more subscription-based games instead (that is, until recently).
 
Stanith said:
Believe me when I say that none of us devs want to implement any of this pay to win malarkey (which some PC games have been guilty of too, like World of Tanks before they made some of the more recent changes, and Planetside 2 has walked a fine line with some of the weapons they released very shortly after its initial launch). Sadly though, the people with the money often want to replicate the success of some very high-profile pay to win games (citing them as examples of what "works", therefore it must be "okay"). Mobile and Facebook are of course home to the worst of the bunch! Luckily though most recent free to play games on PC make a concious effort to stamp "NO PAY TO WIN, NOT NOW NOT EVER" all over their store pages on Steam etc as they know us western gamers are very paranoid about these slightly less ethical monetisation techniques (especially in multiplayer games that are meant to be competitive). Interestingly though gamers in the east are far more tolerant of it o_O Perhaps it's a culture thing.
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Very reassuring to hear
 
Slightly OT, but it still baffles me why they allow you to redeem 2 codes on origin for the same game without any sort of warning at all. There isn't even a 'you already own this game' message on the store page like steam.
 
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hawkhench said:
Should get a ban from putting anything else on the Play store for that, that's appalling.
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At the very least they should pull this game from the store until its changed.

I was reading this article earlier - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26033685

So basically they've had loads of criticism, and their response was that they believe they have got the balance right. That's fine then, no need to listen to any critics.
 
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This is no different to that Simpsons game (and prob many others) that follow the same playtime/pay model. I really do not see the problem.
 
mark43 said:
Haha!

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ds-rating-system-filters-out-1-4-star-reviews

That explains the high rating on the play store.... So out of order...
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I think I've read that this sort of 'filtering' has been going on for years in the mobile apps markets. Although part of me is convinced that developers are abusing the rating system, in addition to the fact that casual gamers are prone to give extreme ratings thereby skewing the averages in the developers favor.

There a few examples of torrid in-app purchase games that spring to mind where their averages on the Apple App store are 4+ yet they are garbage, manipulative , business model games.
 
For those that want a Dungeon Keeper experience download the Starcraft 2 Starter edition (free) which allows you to play all of the community made maps. There is one called Hive Keeper that plays like Dungeon Keeper in StarCraft 2's engine :).

 
arknor said:
the most successful game with in game transactions must be LOL and that game doesn't really have any added time sink.
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TF2 by a country mile. The game is a perfect example of how to run F2P. They make a goddamned fortune.

I'm becoming increasingly bored with gaming. It seems everything now is about maximising exposure, keeping people playing that game for as long as possible. It didn't use to be, and you dont get it in any other medium.

With mobile games like DK and Real Racing, making micro-transations either necessary or the only way to avoid logging on to the game every 20 minutes for hundreds and hundreds of hours... and even for games such as WoW. WoW is the definitive timesink now. Its all about keeping the player sat in front of it. 24 hour cooldowns, weekly raid resets... why let the player do in 24 hours what he could do in a month? Extra subscription!
 
Dave**** said:
This is no different to that Simpsons game (and prob many others) that follow the same playtime/pay model. I really do not see the problem.
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I can understand your view that this has been going on for a while (Facebook games) and that providing that it doesn't affect the games I play why should I care. The problem is that it isn't that simple. Payment models on many games are getting complex or overlap each other. I think for most the worries are:

  1. In app purchase fundamentally impact game design beyond repair or more so than any other payment method (EDGE Magazine article 'Next-Gen cash grab'). People that say it doesn't impact gameplay or design are simply wrong.
  2. Many developers are abusing the payment model. As said before this isn't about rich CEO's buying £70's worth of Dungeon Keeper gems - it's largely preying on the weaker and vulnerable consumers.
  3. There's no legislation in most regions and can be argued to be akin to gambling. Therefore legislation and consumer protection is needed (i.e.refunds, age restrictions). It'll take years for the law to catch-up.
  4. In a world of finite developers, with many working on games like this, it means you never get 'what could have been' instead. Imagine even if this cartoon DK didn't rely on in-app purchases. It might have been a good game. Less game developers will choose to ignore in-app purchases now it's a fact of life...
  5. ....And these payment models and methodology (tricks) are creeping into non-mobile games. You've only got to see all Microsoft's published Xbox One launch games employing in-app purchases for cars, bonus XP etc. A few games on Steam doing the same and Sony failing to resist the urge in GT6. It's going to get worse.
  6. The long-term damage this could do it unknown. Feels like the US Videogame crash of the early 80's or the TV companies abusing premium rate phone numbers for record profits - before the scandal kicked off 6/7 years ago. Once the bubble burst how many normal, non-core, casual gamers 'might' lose trust in gaming altogether and don't come back?
 
Moothead2 said:
For those that want a Dungeon Keeper experience download the Starcraft 2 Starter edition (free) which allows you to play all of the community made maps. There is one called Hive Keeper that plays like Dungeon Keeper in StarCraft 2's engine :).
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Or go to http://www.gog.com/ and buy dungeon keeper and dungeon keeper 2, both of which are $5.99 each :)

Or you could buy the mobile app and clear out 5 blocks of a dungeon with that money :p
 
Moothead2 said:
GoG must absolutely love the attention the iOS version is getting. Can't help but feel their sales of DK must have gone up a fair amount in the last few days :p.
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GF downloaded that disgusting excuse for a dungeon keeper game, I downloaded 2 from gog last night so thankfully she is playing that now and is really enjoying it. FU EA!!
 
mark43 said:
Haha!

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ds-rating-system-filters-out-1-4-star-reviews

That explains the high rating on the play store.... So out of order...
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Utter scumbags, unfortunately while ever people continue to throw them cash these revenue models are not going away.

Rovio deserve the same negative attention for the new Angry Birds Go game which has been designed from the ground up to fleece the consumer for every single penny at every single opportunity for extortionate amounts.
 
I'd quite like to complain to Google about this, not that they'd listen, but can't seem to work out how to anyway....

My main worry is as a few people have said this is creeping into PC and console games more and more. I play hardly any mobile games now as a result and I'd hate to have to give up on PC gaming as well. But yeah I guess if people are happy to chuck them their money. :(

Recently picked up Dungeon Keeper 2 from GoG as well. :)
 
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