Well look at the way it's going. You got a console and then the games you wanted you were set to play those games. Most games at first were just like the arcade ones, except you didn't have to put a quarter in every 2 minutes. Cut to a few years ago, and it's almost cheaper to go to an arcade and put a quarter in for every 2 minutes. Single player campaign games that last 6 to 8 hours and cost $60 is a lot. On top of DLC's that you feel you must have (Like Battlefield's) or you'll be left out in the cold. Cut to today and you have more and more "games" like Dungeon Keeper which aren't even games, but want to charge you $2 to bypass waiting a day for a single in-game action
Greed is taking over and will eventually turn the industry into something that feels like a Vegas Slot machine. Put a quarter in, get a few seconds of entertainment, oh it wants another quarter.
I wish we went back to the expansions model. Way more content on a single x-pac and cheaper too.
[QUOTE=Ragekipz;43895744]I wish we went back to the expansions model. Way more content on a single x-pac and cheaper too.[/QUOTE]I miss the hype waiting for the new dawn of war expansions.
Same can be said of tons of older games.
I regret spending almost $40 on CSGO and only getting shit skins worth <$5.00. There's people who spend $300+ and don't get anything good. Including TF2. I don't see how they can sit there and say their microtransactions are good when it's exploiting people's gambling addiction. And their whole, well other people set content behind a paywall... Well isn't putting hats with special effects or weapons with kill counters that you can only get from paying real money for a key a paywall? The only way you can get it is by spending money on keys.
In the case of F2P games, I wish they'd at least try to come up with more things like alternate costumes and such before abandoning that in favor of in game advantages. I'm not referring to Team Fortress 2 or DOTA2. I mean like 90% of the F2P MMORPGS out there that start out selling stuff to make you look different and then a few months later sell equipment that makes anything obtainable in game worthless, inventory space to get back the space you had but was removed in a "convenient and mandatory" update and all other manner of stuff.
[QUOTE=avincent;43896402]I regret spending almost $40 on CSGO and only getting shit skins worth <$5.00. There's people who spend $300+ and don't get anything good. Including TF2. I don't see how they can sit there and say their microtransactions are good when it's exploiting people's gambling addiction. And their whole, well other people set content behind a paywall... Well isn't putting hats with special effects or weapons with kill counters that you can only get from paying real money for a key a paywall? The only way you can get it is by spending money on keys.[/QUOTE]
Skins and hats aren't really content imo, so no, they're not putting stuff behind a paywall.
[QUOTE=avincent;43896402]I regret spending almost $40 on CSGO and only getting shit skins worth <$5.00. There's people who spend $300+ and don't get anything good. Including TF2. I don't see how they can sit there and say their microtransactions are good when it's exploiting people's gambling addiction. And their whole, well other people set content behind a paywall... Well isn't putting hats with special effects or weapons with kill counters that you can only get from paying real money for a key a paywall? The only way you can get it is by spending money on keys.[/QUOTE]
I'm confused, are you calling paid cosmetics an actual paywall for games like Dota 2 or CSGO?
[QUOTE=TheTalon;43895711]Well look at the way it's going. You got a console and then the games you wanted you were set to play those games. Most games at first were just like the arcade ones, except you didn't have to put a quarter in every 2 minutes. Cut to a few years ago, and it's almost cheaper to go to an arcade and put a quarter in for every 2 minutes. [B]Single player campaign games that last 6 to 8 hours and cost $60 is a lot.[/B] On top of DLC's that you feel you must have (Like Battlefield's) or you'll be left out in the cold. Cut to today and you have more and more "games" like Dungeon Keeper which aren't even games, but want to charge you $2 to bypass waiting a day for a single in-game action
Greed is taking over and will eventually turn the industry into something that feels like a Vegas Slot machine. Put a quarter in, get a few seconds of entertainment, oh it wants another quarter.[/QUOTE]
The bolded part is one of the big issues the industry (hell, software development in general) has. Prices are going up, projects cost more to run and more and more are failing (which doesn't mean failure to launch, more failure to meet deadlines, budgets and requirements) due to the rapid changes in technology and what the users actually want. Game design might be the one industry where nobody actually knows what anybody wants in the slightest.
Devs tried to solve the bolded problem by just slapping multi-player into games a few years ago. That's waned a bit at least. Now microtransactions are interesting as they aren't expensive to make or manage, and can provide income from players who are willing to pay up without hindering income from most players (assuming they aren't basically required to play the game, which puts a lot of people off)
[QUOTE=mobrockers;43896413]Skins and hats aren't really content imo, so no, they're not putting stuff behind a paywall.[/QUOTE]
How is it not content? It's one of the main focus of the game.
[QUOTE=avincent;43896613]How is it not content? It's one of the main focus of the game.[/QUOTE]
Yes, because a team based multiplayer game's main focus is skins and not the team based multiplayer part of the game..
I never thought valve-drones were real...
[QUOTE=TheTalon;43895711]Greed is taking over and will eventually turn the industry into something that feels like a Vegas Slot machine. Put a quarter in, get a few seconds of entertainment, oh it wants another quarter.[/QUOTE]
I think the examples you gave do contribute to this feeling of it basically being a big gamble to get long lasting worth and enjoyment out of a game, but the Free to Play models of those games has been a colossal failure in comparison to those of DOTA and TF2 which, as Davis' talk explains, bring increased value to those who don't pay when others do.
In Battlefield specifically they, first, damage the experience of the players meaning fewer and fewer are buying into the sequels (a 69% loss in sales in the first week of BF4 compared to BF3), then they damage it even further by sectioning off friends and players from one another with map packs and all that bullshit. The amount of shit EA is getting for this is clear to see on every message board or Youtube channel with a modicum of sense.
To say that the industry will all degrade to this level is quite the overstatement as companies that subscribe to these abusive models make less and start having to make cut backs. If they don't change then they'll eventually get run out of the market and if they do then it'll have to be to models which don't fuck the user up the arse if they want to be anywhere near successful.
Pay several pounds to get part of the game they left out.
[QUOTE=avincent;43896727]I never thought valve-drones were real...[/QUOTE]
CS:GO is a game about shooting other people while with other people.
Visual addons, which don't affect your ability to shoot other people, are [I]not[/I] the focus of the game.
[QUOTE=avincent;43896402]I regret spending almost $40 on CSGO and only getting shit skins worth <$5.00. There's people who spend $300+ and don't get anything good. Including TF2. I don't see how they can sit there and say their microtransactions are good when it's exploiting people's gambling addiction. And their whole, well other people set content behind a paywall... Well isn't putting hats with special effects or weapons with kill counters that you can only get from paying real money for a key a paywall? The only way you can get it is by spending money on keys.[/QUOTE]
I don't know about that paywall stuff, but I definitely think crates are pretty exploitative.
[QUOTE=avincent;43896613]How is it not content? It's one of the main focus of the game.[/QUOTE]
Did we change universes when I wasn't looking? Last I checked, games like CSGO were about shooting people, not about gun skins.
[QUOTE=avincent;43896402]I regret spending almost $40 on CSGO and only getting shit skins worth <$5.00. There's people who spend $300+ and don't get anything good. Including TF2. I don't see how they can sit there and say their microtransactions are good when it's exploiting people's gambling addiction. And their whole, well other people set content behind a paywall... Well isn't putting hats with special effects or weapons with kill counters that you can only get from paying real money for a key a paywall? The only way you can get it is by spending money on keys.[/QUOTE]
Pretty sure they meant gameplay content, not cosmetics, Dungeon Keeper mobile is a really good example of how microtransactions can put a game behind a paywall.
[editline]13th February 2014[/editline]
Or any other EA F2P really
[QUOTE=Sir Whoopsalot;43898484]Did we change universes when I wasn't looking? Last I checked, games like CSGO were about shooting people, not about gun skins.[/QUOTE]
Reminds me of when people whine about TF2 hats
[QUOTE=avincent;43896727]I never thought valve-drones were real...[/QUOTE]
I never thought someone would be so against something that's not even true.
Skins and hats and cosmetic shit is not the MAIN FOCUS of neither TF2 nor Dota 2, they're just a nice addon to make people A: Use money and as such pay for a free product and B: feel sort of PERSONALIZED and giving something a little extra. This is especially nice since the actual players make most of the cosmetic stuff taking a load off of them so they can focus more on the actual game and also the players themselves making some extra cash in it.
Say what you want about Valve, but their microtransactions are really well done. They're not holding out any content from you, since it's not the actual game you're paying for. Saying that's the actual content of the game is the same as saying that the character creation in an MMO, say Guild Wars 2, is the actual main point of the game. Sure, you can get something extra if you pay but you're not getting locked out of any content.
If there's one thing Valve has done right is you get what you pay for. TF2 is F2P and you can get weapons if you pay for them. But I actively choose not to because I really enjoy the thrill of getting item drops and the like.
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