(Opinion) Microtransactions are not really the problem but people are

Microtranstactions are welcomed or at least expected in MMOs and freemium mobile games but in these days they also included in some single-player games such as Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, Dead Space 3 and more recently Injustice 2.

This article isn't really about microtransaction itself but rather about the people who spent money on them. Not too long ago someone spent 1000 dollars in Fire Emblem Heroes but still failed to unlock all of the premium characters. Not to mention vast amount of money spent to buy pokeballs in Pokemon Go. I think the appeal of mobile and smart phone games are too great to non-gamers. Put some cute anime girls and/or bishounen(pretty boys) it will print money. Some people are too impatient to grind and would rather spend some money to progress. In some societies such as Japanese and Koreans for example time is more expensive than money itself so microtransactions are the only way for them to progress. They don't have time to play microntransaction-free single-player games on consoles and PC to begin with.

Unfortunately microtransaction become a global problem thanks to those people. The desire to become an ultimate warlord in Clash of Clans or to capture every known pokemon in Pokemon Go surpassed the worry about their hard-earned money. It was these kind of people who kept microtransaction blooming to this day and it won't disappear anytime soon.

@lembu90: Always gotta be that one dood who comes in and points fingers at everyone.

To start off, micro-transaction is a term for small added content (usually less than 500MBs). This can be, as you've stated; from glorified cheat codes, Or to get exclusive character skins, and other light content- such as added difficulty settings.

You know what, you can't just blame people for if one out of ten supports a seemingly bad business. And furthermore that one may only follow it because they truly believe it's within the best interest to enjoy the product further. How do I know this?

I will raise my hand and state I've bought some in the last console generation (skins and added modes). As I hoped it would have increased longevity in the games I was already enjoying. Most of which was in Little Big Planet 2

And if I really like a game? You can bet I'll possibly buy micro-transactions in future. I am tempted with some armor in the game Nioh, but am so far holding my ground. As I know it's all pretty pointless, and my money would be better spent elsewhere.

Still, nothing is worse than the judgemental type that thinks they're superior.

Yes, they are a global problem, just like war, poverty, and hunger.

It more about the greed of the gamers than a problem with all micro-transaction.

What people fail to realize is that the price of games (more so console games than mobile) have not gone up in price for years. If you look at the going rate of inflation, everything naturally becomes more expensive as time passes. So you would think games would be slowly going up in price but that hasnt been the case.

Developers do get hit with inflation but they know that they cant raise the price, because the majority of gamers may not be able to afford them or they would react in a volatile way. What they do instead now to keep up with inflation is cut costs wherever possible (Hence the buggy unfinished games we get today) and sell DLC to attempt to make a good profit.

It sucks but unless you want to be paying 80 to 100 bucks per game, I suggest you put up with the DLC and micro-transactions.

Personally I really don't worry about microtransactions myself. I don't mind developers putting things in that people who want to take a shortcut in can purchase. As long as I can get them myself through a reasonable enough amount of time and effort then I'm fine with it.

This is a very good point. In the 80s NES games went for $50-60 so the price hasn't changed in over 30 years.

Why not blame both the shitty practice and suckers that buy into them

For Honour 2 is built around microtransactions (if you were to play the game with skill and try to unlock eveyrthing normally, it would take a very long time, some gaming YTers have said 2 years)...yet this whole microtransaction trend has been pushed by gamers stupid enough to pay for every little thing. Release an unfinished game? Oh no problem, you can buy the rest and people do lap it up. It's absolutely huge in Japan which is why Japanese developers aret he absolute worst people in this...although it may have led them to destroy one of their own products (Desu Ex).

Now, it's not only gamers that deserve all the blame, at least part of that blame lies in gaming "journalists" who promote microtransactions and give games such as For Honour high review scores without properly explaining how much of the game has to be bought and they have similarly promoted that cartoony mp shooter which I've forgotten. Oh and they gave DX: Mankind Divided hugely positive reviews, barely if at all mentioning a large chunk of the story is hidden behind a paywall.

So, many gamers have the mentality "omg such a high score, I will buy that game and continue to pay for it for months".

Well, you reap what you sow.

Micro-transactions are a valid business model that most of us are okay with. I myself buy some from time to time. It's not a matter of condemning the practice as a whole. The idea would be to boycott the developers pushing for content that either affect a game's balance (Such as a multiplayer game) or content that should have been included in the game from release.

I realize this is probably something not worth debating, as i doubt i'll change your mind, but take a game like Rainbow Six Siege for example. All game changing content is available for free, but Ubisoft keeps on releasing new weapon skins and character designs, completely optional and, ultimately, unlockable in game if you are willing to put in the hours.

Micro-transactions pay the bills and helped make the game profitable so much that a second year of post-release content is currently being produced.

It's not necessarily all bad.

Also there a increase cost to many games to meeting what gamers wants while gamers refuse to pay more. I think it the best compromised they could do.

@wiouds: It seems fair. As you grow older, you understand that things you enjoy can't be maintained or updated forever without some compensation to the people working on it.

You learn to pay for the things you enjoy. Vote with your wallet ;)

So many of us may remember the days when 8 bit and 16 bit games were "full price" at 60$ and amounted to little more than 8 hours of playtime without nearly the enormous production value of today's games. As an adult with a salary, a career and a family, the amount of entertainment offered for "full price" from a game, assuming I didn't buy it used or on a Steam sale, is enormous. I come close to 60$ going to the movies with a small family these days, guess which activity I'm more likely cut out in the future if popcorn is the equivalent to "microtransactions" in a game? Most microtransactions don't seem to affect the game but seem to offer shortcuts and little extra bits to get out of your game, if that does you, great, and if supports a game you like, even better. If we really paid full price for what has been the "industry" standard MSRP for most games today, we'd probably be paying closer to $100+ per game. As long as I'm not getting bombarded by ads within a game that breaks immersion or being Forced to use microtransaction rather than it being just an "option" then it doesn't bother me.

The issue is that no one wants to talk about is AAA game production has gotten incredibly expensive and due to how over saturated the market is right now, it's also incredibly risky from a financial standpoint, but everyone will get pissed if they raise the price of the game to $70 or $80 game. So they need to add paid DLC and other microtransactions to make up that cost. It also gives developers/publishers job security. Lots of times developers are laid-off work at the end of production, and while this still happens a lot, having a lot of paid DLC allows companies to keep lot's of developers around and give them something to work on until the company decides to start production on another game.

@davillain-: The issue is we buy games to enjoy, not to pity a developer.

I already understand on why these business decisions are being made.

If game prices did increase ten/ twenty percent upon release, they'd get far less copies sold within the first finical year of the games release. And that has been shown when some developers tried that tactic late into the 128-bit generation and early HD consoles.

It wasn't a wise move, so in favor we have tons of small added content now to make back for how expensive these games are to develop. Along with collector editions.

However; this doesn't mean we as customers will become glorified piggy-banks to developers that try giving us junk.

Some of these micro-transactions are an insult to the player-base they make the games for.

And if done shady enough, it gives the company a bad reputation. Which results in poor sales. So, back to square one (Evolve anyone)_

I believe the best method is to be honest from the start with the customer-base, don't lie, or give excuses for why they add them into the game at a later date. Release the micro- transactions. And keep them from being game changers, but enough to tempt people playing the games (Street Fighter V costume skins come to mind).

If ten percent of two million buys a micro-transaction, that's two hundred thousand investors in the DLC. So if they do it right, they will make a profit.

Yet, I'm not supporting a charity here. I'm a gamer, and if they don't make something I think will make the game better? I'm not going to buy it no matter the crocodile tears. And don't think anyone else should.

Micro-transactions are little more than shortcuts in most games, or a way to buy content that doesn't affect a game in any way, shape, or form.

I'm not talking about silly mobile games or whatever that try to force you into spending extra money. Almost every single game that releases for a major gaming platform offers these transactions in a way that does not affect the game itself. I have no problem with them, I just don't buy them.

in the uk game prices were £39.99 last gen for a ps3 / 360 game on retail launch. now they're £49.99-£55. so they have very much changed in price on the high street

I think they are a problem when they cause a paywall. Something that nowadays you rarely see in finished products (Not that they don't exists, of course)

Is that due to the UK leaving the EU? I read some articles that oversea goods would increase in price for you guys.

If so, guess I'm not making that trip to Scotland this year haha_

nope that was long before brexit was a thing (we're still in the eu until at least wednesday!) but scotland want another vote at independence in which case they may yet remain in the eu so don't cancel that trip just yet!

@Macutchi: Ah ok, thanks for the heads up. Hope prices don't go higher for you guys :)

like you said, some people have more money than time. It only makes sense to cater to that crowd...because they have money. I don't see an issue so long as it doesn't interfere with player outcomes.

Lot of these games just sell aesthetic stuff. You can ignore it, or you can spend the price of a drink to grab one you like. And on that subject, let's talk about the REAL problem - if I want to go out and get a drink, I gotta spend the price of the bottle just to get a glass. And don't get me started on movie theaters....point is, there's worse ways to spend it.

Call of Duty syndrome. People complain and complain about them and yet the make millions. Somebody must like them. As long as there is demand for something, it won't go away.