Weekend Discussion / Microtransactions piss me off |
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BY Chris Wilcox March 22nd, 2008 |
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Microtransactions piss me off.
There, I’ve said it… and I hope you’ll stick around for a sentence or two to understand - hell, perhaps even empathize with - my ire.
Microtransactions are a trend I fear in gaming as I honestly think it can only bring ruin to the industry. Certainly, the corporations can make gobs of more money in the process, but what about We, the gamers?
It’s one thing to pay for a game per play, a la the arcades of my childhood (ah, Dragon’s Lair standup, how I loathe/love thee). It’s another thing entirely to pay for a game, only to have to pay even more money for “extra” content, either contained on the disc already (thanks The Godfather, LEGO Star Wars, Viva Pinata, et al) or available via download for a ’small fee’.
Personally, I think it’s rather insulting to charge for a ‘map pack‘, or ‘horse armor‘, or better items, or whatever. I have had a looming suspicion for a long time now that this content is developed along side the release version of the game, only to be polished and released as ‘extra’ content either as part of an expansion pack, or with the advent of commonplace console marketplaces, as downloadable content.
The other big problem I have with microraping microtransactions is a level playing field. How can the average gamer expect to compete with Mr. Disposable Income 19 year old living in their parents’ basement? It’s certainly not fair to the people who don’t have/don’t want to spend the additional money for the newest/best weapon, armor, etc. I know I wouldn’t appreciate being separated out into the ‘casual’ gamer crowd who doesn’t spend the extra $15 just to have the UBER ELITE Sword of Destiny +5 instead of the plain old Sword of Destiny +2 that drops ‘naturally’ in the game. Of course, the maniacal, greedy, evil gaming corps aren’t going to want to cater to the gamer who doesn’t want to spend said money for additional content. If anything, they’re going to make it even less enjoyable to play their game in an effort to convince them into buying the content.
Blizzard’s Rob Pardo has stated some concerns with this trend in the past. An interview with Hollywood Reporter has his quoted as saying:
“Yes, but I believe that if we actually sold items online, it would really cheapen the game. What’s fun about “WoW’ is going into a dungeon and completing a particular quest and then being rewarded with a really cool item that your character can wear to show the other players that you’ve accomplished something. If you could suddenly buy that item, it would really cheapen that idea of accomplishment.”
I couldn’t agree more.
What about you? Have any horror stories? Pay for a DLC and not receive it? Or are you a :gasp!: proponent of the system, with thousands of MSPoints in your account, changing your Xbox LIVE ID at impulse, or buying new icon/themes ad infinitum? Hit me up with a comment below and let your word be heard.
March 22nd, 2008
at 10:01 pm
Totally get what you’re saying. I think BioWare, as much as I love Mass Effect, had the DLC removed from the game so they could sell it separately later on.
I’m not against DLC in general though. Oblivion’s horse armor was bs of course. And Bungie can kiss my *** with their “3 maps=800 Points” deal. But something like new co-op and MP maps for GRAW2 is most welcome. The game already shipped with TONS of MP content, so buying these new maps and remakes of some classics is great.
Devs I think need to find the balance of what is ok and what’s not.
March 22nd, 2008
at 11:03 pm
Amen, Kanan.
I have no problem with DLC; I think it’s an ideal setup for expansions. 3 maps for $10? Meh… *maybe* if I’m the super competitive type in the game and want to stay ‘up to date’ with my map knowledge. I regret to say that I will be purchasing my first ever MSPoints for the upcoming map pack Call of Duty 4, for almost that exact reason. That, and I’m geeked about playing inside a large office building. :>
March 22nd, 2008
at 11:29 pm
Indeed, some companies are just really taking advantage of the system. Of course, the choice is ultimately the consumers but there should be limits to everything.
The horse armor was released at a time when DLC was still very new. So Bethesda was obviously testing the waters and figuring out to what will be welcomed and what will not. So it’s great the horse armor was received with a lot of discontent by gamers. Stuff like that can’t fly. Bungie is reaching a bit too with these 3maps per 800MS Point DLC packs. 400 would be somewhat imaginable, but 800 is way too much.
March 22nd, 2008
at 11:30 pm
DLC is gay…
you alienate those who dont have the DLC…
one big example was the booster packs for the battlefield 2 series…
not everyone had the maps, so u couldnt play with others, leaving less servers that ran the booster packs…
March 22nd, 2008
at 11:38 pm
I think DLC is fine, if it’s used responsibly. I am totally OK with paying for the map packs and that kind of stuff which were clearly tested, created, and perfected after the game was release. I am NOT, however, ok with paying for codes to unlock content that is ALREADY on the disc. That kind of system is complete horse **** in my opinion. It just doesn’t make sense to me, I mean they’re trying to present a value proposition but it doesn’t reflect very well on them if they try to pull **** like that.
March 23rd, 2008
at 1:03 am
DLC is one of the worst trends in the industry, that has, and will certainly continue to ruin the gaming experience. There are so many reasons I will highlight some. Games are based on earning things in the game, when you can buy the items instead that unlevels the playing field & cheapens the experience & the reward.
Second, DLC is usually always more expensive than what you actually get. Cars, weapons, maps, strategy videos, tracks, etc for prices that are between 5-20% of the cost of the entire game. Which is ridiculous, especially when publishers are making money on in game ads, so called limited editions that are not really limited or offer any substantial bonuses, and now “uber” limited editions that cost upwards of $100.
Third, many if not most of the content is already developed during normal development time for the actual game, or its even included on the disc. Companies figure with online distribution they have an easy model for nickel and diming consumers.
Fourth, perhaps the most overlooked and important problem… People say “you don’t have to download the DLC maps, cars, weapons, etc. But look at what happens if you choose not to. You’re stuck with inferior cars, weapons, etc and are supposed to compete online with users who are either rich or reckless with their spending. Or with maps it divides the online userbase into two groups instead of having a cohesive community. Also problematic when you want to play with friends who either do or do not have the maps.
There are other reasons, but I’ll leave it at that for now. I really hope more gamers can open their eyes and realize that supporting DLC is bad for them, bad for gamers as a whole, and ultimately bad for the industry.
March 23rd, 2008
at 4:26 am
jayhigh : I remember being one of those alienated in the BF series. I refused to buy Special Forces, but a good amount of my friends did. I left the game and went back to WoW for yet another relapse.
Gotta agree with you on the content already being on the disc, Mike; that’s crap in its stinkiest form. I can’t comprehend how anyone would think that would be an acceptable way to doing business. Imagine buying a car, only to find out that the air condition’s there, but it’s locked from working until you pay an additional fee. -.-
J has some good points; basically agreeing with my rant. For this, I welcome you.
March 23rd, 2008
at 3:39 pm
I was trying to figure out what amount I would want to pay for, say a 3 or 4 map pack DLC package. I’m sure “they” would say $5 is too little… and we say $10 is too much. Therefore… $7.50? 600 ms points?
How much would you *want* to pay, if you were going to pay at all, that is…
March 23rd, 2008
at 4:25 pm
The thing that annoys me the most and also keeps me from buying anything from marketplace is the points. I want to be able to buy the exact amount of points that a game costs, no more, no less. A while back i really wanted puzzle quest but come to find out that i had to buy 30$ worth of points instead of just the 1200 points it cost. For that reason i refuse to buy anything from Marketplace, well until Too Human comes out with DLC, I’m buying that no mater what.
March 24th, 2008
at 1:09 am
College Hoops 2K8 makes you pay for a mode that is already on the disc. You don’t even know that you will have to pay for the mode until you select it and it takes you straight to marketplace where it wants to charge you 400 pts (I think). At the very least let the person try it out first and see if they want to pay for it.
March 24th, 2008
at 5:05 am
I think purchasable DLC is a necessary evil if you weigh the good and bad.
Unfornately, if it weren’t for gamers paying for DLC, we would never see much of the extra content currently available at all. Most publishers would never authorize extra cash for a developer to add content to an old console title just out of the goodness of their heart; giving us the option to pay for it at least allows DLC to exist for many games that it never would otherwise. For that reason, it is overall a good thing, even if several publishers will try to abuse the concept.
March 24th, 2008
at 1:25 pm
DLC is ok to a certain extent. For a game like COD or Halo which has made millions should offer free map packs, or at least charge cheaper.
DLC has its advantages thought i think. Given i didn’t get every achievement on mass effect (think i have like 45 percent or something) it did bring me back to the game for more content. Sucks i had to pay for it, but it was nice to explore new content.
But i do agree with everyone that paying for more of a game sucks, but at least its not like a MMO with a monthly fee that provide (content patches). Maybe they should do something with the gamerscore and how much things cost :o (just a thought)
March 24th, 2008
at 1:27 pm
I agree with you, Daniel; of course, they want you to have ‘extra’ points for those impulse buys - like user avatars, themes, silly XBL Arcade games, etc. It’s exactly like putting candy bars @ the checkout in grocery stores… except, it’s not candy, or even anything substantial you can touch, and there’s no cashier, checkout, or even a store. O.o
@ Mathew; so what if you’re not connected to XBLive? You’re screwed? Lame.
I agree that some DLC is good; it’s a much more convenient (for everyone) method of distributing content, but at this point, it seems like it’s just the newest method of nickel and dime-ing the users, and that’s getting old quick.
Of course, again, what if you don’t have a connection to XBL? How can you get your phat lewt ‘horse armor’ then?
March 24th, 2008
at 1:30 pm
@ Curtis - why wasn’t that content included with Mass Effect, I wonder… -.-
With an MMO, you’re already paying. If a company tried to charge me for the client, AND a monthly fee, AND for *** item!?, of course I’d stop paying, and then I’d hand carry the dvd to their office and SHOW them what they could do with it. t(>.<t)
We can only hope it doesn’t come to that, for all of our sakes… and for my criminal record. I also hear prison jobs don’t pay very well…
March 30th, 2008
at 1:40 pm
As I stated in the advertisement thread, they shouldnt push it too far. If you are charging the customer for the game, subscription, microtransactions and possibly also advertisements it is really taking it too far.
It is quite a hard one, as a person with little money you don’t want to lose out or be weaker in the game than other players just because you haven’t paid for special items. But for people to pay for items they really have to have some benefit, and as cool as customisation and stuff of character is, I don’t see people paying much money for that (correct me if im wrong).
The microtransaction model I think may work slightly better is if you get most things for free, but get charged for “premium” content which may help you out or whatever but is not essential to gameplay. This way people don’t get annoyed that they are already forking out lots of money, only to be charged again if they want this content.
Its all about balance I guess.
June 7th, 2008
at 11:55 pm
All DLC should be available free of charge to the owner of the registered game to download for free as a patch. It is called product support and product pride. I would buy a Elder Scrolls 5 if I could bring my elder scrolls 4 character over with me. PC games have don it with sequels so why cant console games? Effort, support, and believing in your product is all it takes. The money would come back to the company if the game was worth owning in the first place.