Micro-transactions in games

elrasho

elrasho

elrasho

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What are your thoughts on this?

I don't mind it in SP game, but in MP games it's just not fair on those who can't afford it. It's like you buy a game for £40 and play it online, suddenly your losing all the time because others have spent £XX more and upgraded/enhanced/bought better guns/bought better players etc... already. Your competing against people who have a distinct advantage.

So now rather than people being rewarded for having skill your rewarded for having more ££ in your back pocket. I play FIFA 13 a lot particularly the Ultimate Team mode. I've not spent any of my own money to buy better rated players, reason being I see it as 'cheating'... well not cheating because the game developers have made this option on purpose but you know what I mean.... I hope.

"It's not about crudely forcing the player to spend extra with brick wall obstacles, but a more subtle psychological invitation, leaving the option out in the open, like a box of chocolates tantalisingly within reach" - Dan Whitehead wrote in Eurogamer's Dead Space 3 review

He hit the nail on the head there, but at the same time I can't help but feel these AAA publishers are more money hungry rather than innovating new gaming ideas. Also I can see some gamers buying a game, spending more money to fast track and then realising they've unlocked and completed everything because of fast tracking then shelving the game thus vastly reducing the lasting appeal.
 
Utter **** that is ruining the games industry. "You want to remain competitive in Mass Effect 3 multiplayer? Buy this thing!"
 
Presumably the people who are "embracing" micro-transactions in games are the same fools who pay for avatar accessories and other miscellaneous crap.

Except in EA's case, it's even worse because you're paying them to do absolutely nothing for you in return. You're not paying for additional content that's had to be created, you're not paying for a service, you're just paying for a simple piece of code to be triggered which unlocks an item early or provides you with a heap of meaningless in-game credits.

If you buy these things, you're even worse than EA are for providing them, because you're the ones who are propagating this trend.
 
I've never spent msp on ultimate team but that must be a huge cash cow for EA when you hear about some people spending hundreds of £s on it every year. Whenever it has problems they jump to fix it yet don't seem to get round to fixing other in game problems that the consumer has paid for.

I'm not really a micro transaction kinda person although I often buy DLC but even this is getting annoying when every game now has a season pass ready on day one and content already laid out. I'm not a fan of the way things are going.
 
I don't mind paying for dlc if I like the game enough to want to play extra missions in sp - gears 3 or borderlands had it about right. If the mp additions are obtainable through play aswell as pay then its not so bad, just means you have to put the extra time in. I don't mp much anymore so I have a question - are there perks etc that are ONLY available if you're willing to pay for them? Perks that are unavailable through prolonged play or levelling a character?

At the end if the day these businesses are in it to make money from consumers. Commerce has always been this way and nothing is going to change it. If we all stopped buying it then it wouldn't happen. But we do buy it so why wouldn't they just keep on creating it.
 
TheVoice said:
If you buy these things, you're even worse than EA are for providing them, because you're the ones who are propagating this trend.
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So basically we should blame all the people who spend loads on FUT :p, how else would EA consider moving that model to their other genres! At end of the day its still going to be the weak-minded people that fall foul of these tricks, however the mechanism presents itself...

I buy quite a bit of SP DLC (never ever touched MP stuff), but always weigh the value of it first. Id rather reward some effort than none at all, like this appears to be

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
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TheVoice said:
Presumably the people who are "embracing" micro-transactions in games are the same fools who pay for avatar accessories and other miscellaneous crap.
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Probably the same type who pay for aimbots etc :(

I've nothing against expansions which add value to a game but day 1 DLC is a real piddle take. Micro transactions have a place in F2P games (though I still hate with a passion) but when you've paid full price and publishers expect you to pay more or offer others in MP games a chance to get stuff quickly for a few £ really ruins it for me. Why bother playing if you are going to pay to get better gear? Just watch a YouTube video of someone else playing then you won't even have the hassle of moving your hands!
 
I'm totally against micro transactions in a full priced game. Publishers can't expect people to pay £40 for a game and then have to spend even more money and stupid things. Things that should be in the game that you've just bought!
If they want to do this then the game either have to be free to start with or sold at a vastly reduced price - £20 or so.
 
I didn't realise EA are adding micro transactions to all their games from now on before posting in this thread. I read about it here:

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/...-Microtransactions-to--All-of-Our-Games-.html

I certainly wont be spending my money to take short cuts in games. It doesn't make sense to me but if people have the spare cash and a lack of gaming time I suppose it suits them to do it as much as it suits me not to.

I guess this is the result of gaming being mainstream these days. :/
 
i hope they keep to a system where you can 'pay or play', i.e. either earn the purchaseables through gameplay or buy them as a shortcut. Chunks of singleplayer going missing to dlc land would be annoying.
 
Don't pre-order anything. Wait for reviews from reputable sources. Don't buy products from businesses whose practices you don't approve of.

This stuff only goes away if we tell them it's unwanted and it affects their bottom line.
 
Micro-Transactions in games can be ok - World of Tanks being my favourite example of how it should be done - i.e. it is Free to Play, and not Pay to Win:

Real money can buy you:
- 50% more XP, so you can get to the higher tanks faster (but getting to the higher tanks is not necessarily any better/more fun) - but everyone can still get there.
- Additional garage slots - not a necessity
- Premium consumables, which can have a benefit on in game performance, but it is not a game breaking advantage - they are pay per use as well, so can quickly become expensive if you rely on them
- Premium tanks, which are mostly just cosmetic upgraded versions or unique looking versions of existing tanks - they are mostly not game breaking.


Real Racing 3 based on the review I read at lunch time, sounds like micro transactions are compulsary to play it.
 
i had a friend and on battlefield one day he went from nothing to every thing in jets. He denied that he had bought the shortcut but when he downloaded his account on to another friends xbox they got the shortcut. He still denies it.
Battlefield Premium is fine as all it gives you is DLC early and camos, the only exclusive weapon you get is the ACB
 
The curse that is EA strike again.

Well they have said that it won't be in all games so that's something I guess.

Probably just have it in 99.9% of games then :(
 
Ea didn't start this did they?

Look at all the in app purchases that make a fortune on iwhatever or the facebook games. It will start off gently and then get just like those. Where the highest spender tops the leaderboards and you cannot compete with anyone paying.

It ruins some really good games too, like zombiewood on the ipad. Yeah you can play the game without spending but it takes a huge amount of grinding instead. They made it so as you progress the gun you need is out of reach unless you buy it or replay a level 50 times or more.

Look at the strategy games on iwhatever or facebook making huge amounts. Little more than flash games. I was playing godfather on FB as a time killer at work, every couple of weeks they bring out a new area and charge £50 for it if you want the latest units, which obviously I don't do but you are then powerless against anyone that does.

The equivalent of trying to play COD without a gun or knife. Yet still these games are being lapped up. It's inevitable this is going to come to consoles this generation, look at the highest grossing apps. Endless games made in a lunch break where you have to buy diamonds, upgrades or speed ups. Not even realistically priced in pence but £10's of pounds for an 8 hour speed up etc.

They will implement it on xbox etc.
 
Hate this crap, the gaming industry is already going downhill, this stuff is only going to make it worse as certain companies try to - as the Yanks put it - nickel and dime their customers. In the case of early unlocks, it's absolutely ridiculous, why would anyone actually pay for that stuff? It's only going to encourage them.

yashiro said:
Don't pre-order anything. Wait for reviews from reputable sources. Don't buy products from businesses whose practices you don't approve of.

This stuff only goes away if we tell them it's unwanted and it affects their bottom line.
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+1
 
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