I mean I understand if it’s a game like Dead By Daylight or something that has regular content updates that need to be paid for, but… there’s no reason why Immortals Fenyx Rising, a single player narrative driven experience, should have me busting out the credit card to try to get some Adventure Time armor that I should just be able to unlock by playing the fucking game.
Micro transactions are a cash cow.
TF2 and it’s consequences have been a disaster for humanity
Ban the entire business model. It’s neither a product nor a service - it’s a scam. Games make you value arbitrary worthless nonsense. That’s what makes them games. There is no ethical form of attaching real-world prices to that charade.
‘Oh, but if it’s only cosmetic…’ Y’mean proof that people can be made to want stuff, even if it doesn’t do anything? Entire games exist to funnel people toward emotional response, and some of them make billions. Saying ‘it’s just hats’ is the opposite of a defense.
I’m not-buying-it as hard as I can, and hey guess what? It’s still swallowing the entire industry. It is half the revenue and growing. This abuse is so easy and risk-free that it’s in full-priced, major-franchise, single-player titles. Nobody cares that ignoring the in-game advertisements is feasible. They’re still there, nagging at every player, reminding them there’s a better version of the game if they just open up their wallets and look the other way.
We were never going to shop our way out of this. It is greed exploiting human irrationality. The only real solution is to make companies just sell games. You want recurring fees, publishers? That’s called a subscription. People don’t throw as much money at those? Wow, you don’t say. It’s almost like rational spending decisions look nothing like what this business model sucks out of people.
It’s still swallowing the entire industry
No, it’s not. There’s phenomenal indie games out there. Hades 2, Elfen Ring DLC and Black Myth Wukong are just some of the latest games I’m having a blast with, and then theres still rimworld, factorio, timberborn, CK3, Dead by Daylight … The list goes on. None of those games has Ads for ingame purchases (except DbD) and all of them are phenomenal.
None of them are AAA,truey, but idc. Theres so many fun games out there that idc what ubisoft, EA, Activision or other shit companies release.
I think iPhones are overpriced garbage, yet I’m not sitting here and asking for them to be banned - I just don’t buy it. I bought a used pixel 6, installed graphen, done.
I think casinos are stupid and a waste of money, yet I’m not sitting here and asking for them to be banned. I just don’t go there.
I think Microsoft, google and Amazon are terrible companies, yet I’m not sitting here and asking for them to be banned. I just don’t use their products and services.
Making a change starts with yourself. If you don’t buy their stuff, great - still plenty of great games out there.
I’d hope 100% of customers don’t want micro transactions.
honestly, if they are COSMETIC only, I don’t mind micro transactions. It’s when you are able to get an advantage over the f2p(f2p being players who don’t buy further than the base game in this instance) players that I have an issue with it.
I would argue in some games MT’s are almost a requirement, like the sims has a valid argument for having microtransactions with the community store. (I don’t agree with their predatory DLC/Expansion pack nonsense though).
My rule of thumb is, if the DLC or Microtransaction is something that should be base game, I don’t think it should exist as an upcharge. Single player games to boost your level to the next level? that should be something that is available as base game via a dev console. Wallhack/god mode? should be available as a cheat/dev console. A party pink pinata hat in a game that is a serious shooter? Yea that can be a microtransaction. it’s not something that should be in the original set of files in the game.
I don’t think many people actually have issues with Microtransactions, they have an issue with how hard companies are currently abusing that system.
Oh I’m sure a little line of coke won’t hurt. But just a peak into pandoras box…
Your mindset opened the floodgates for this market manipulation 20 years ago and you think we should try more of that?
These companies will never be satisfied until they can leverage your labor for another quarter in the machine.
There is no negotiating. Legislation is required.
You are the threat to games like Monster Hunter being fun and having community armpr unlocks for free.
This exact goddamn attitude is why execs think things like the costume selection in Spider-man on PS4 is a waated monetization opportunity.
I never said you can’t have Community armor unlocks, and I can’t think of a single game that I’ve played out there that has actively removed quest rewards From the game when they added the microtransaction system. The only thing I’ve seen is an increase in items available on the game via the micro transaction system.
Then again I haven’t really played the monster hunter games either, I never found them appealing
I feel like gear progression is massively underrated. I love to dress up with my muscley rpg man, and make him look cooler and more awesome as he gets stronger. I don’t want the best cosmetics locked behind a paywall. In MMOs it also just murders any respect/cred you get from having awesome gear that needed you to clear an epic raid or similar.
I get the whole cosmetics thing for “free to pay” e-sport-esc games though, where there’s not really any gear progression
Fully agree, I like gear progression in games, its been a bit since ive played one that relied on it but, it added stuff to do. I’m not saying that system shouldn’t exist as well. I also can’t think of any games that used that system that removed it when adding the store.
if they are COSMETIC only
Honestly stopped reading here because this is how it all started. Motherfucking horse armor was the very first paid cosmetic dlc, and it’s only gotten worse. Publishers will keep pushing the line for what is acceptable for squeezing money out of players. We have to push back at every turn, otherwise debacles like overwatch 2 will keep happening.
look at what else it has given the field though. Since that was created, user mod stores have become further involved, paid mod workshops and free mod workshops have sprouted up. Cosmetic’s that for the longest time never was even thought of are now sprung up. Character creation has been re-invented basically. None of this would have happened if it continued to be a one-off price. Honestly online servers wouldn’t be lasting as long either as no company will run a game once the profit margin stagnates.
The problem at hand is not microtransactions, it’s consumers willingness to put up with/buy bullshit that shouldn’t be one
No because that slippery slope is how we got to current day microtransactions.
the alternative is the content just /not/ being there period though. A studio isn’t going to just supply the content for free, by having the MT’s there it’s increasing content to a game. The studios are abusing it sure, but just don’t buy it. I’ve never once spent money on any of my games for a MT that should have been base game. I have to say I haven’t had any issue with it. It’s there for the people who want to throw money away, and as long as it isn’t impacting me, I don’t care. I would rather have the option available for people to use it, then no option at all.
At the end of the day, Money talks, the studios that are abusing it are doing so because people are willing to throw money away like that. A better solution is to just not partake in the game, let the people who throw money away do their thing, just don’t buy those types of games IMO
It always bothered me that Ubisoft sells micro transactions to level up characters in a single player game. Like wtf who is buying this stuff? And why?
Why pay to avoid playing a game?
FYI, for anyone interested in fixing this kind of bs:
there’s a program calle WeMod that easily fixes this kind of thing.
it’s basically an automated trainer platform that let’s you cheat in games with 0 prerequisites, know-how, or effort.
highly recommended for stuff like assassin’s creed, far cry, and similar games with bullshit grind.
setting xp/dmg/resources to something like 2 or 3X literally makes the game playable again!
(probably collects a ton of telemetry, which I don’t care about on my gaming system…)
I’ve never heard of this before, but like I might look into it. I expect this will trigger any client side anticheat under moon though