Microtransactions in games

I wanted to post this in AH to get a broader audience.

This week, I was covering this as a topic in class and was blown away by the amount of money some of my students were spending in games like League of Legends and Arena of Valor.

They said their parents didn't know about it. They also said they were good because you enjoy the game more. Madness. 15 years old spending thousands of dollars on cosmetic bullshlt.


You'd think this would only be a nerd thing but mobile games are the same. Do you spend money on this? Your kids? It's basically gambling. I've spend a grand total of $5 on this and thankfully no more.

whiskeyman

It's unreal.
Didn't Rockstar pull in over 1b from microtransactions in GTA alone?
I never understood the need for clothing / gun patterns etc. All those bits that really don't effect actually gameplay.
Really is a license to print money.

Turtyturd

I’ll buy the game, and story dlc, nothing else.

I like the idea of unlocking cosmetic upgrades for putting in the time and effort reaching certain milestones in games. Two of my favourites are the Hayabusa armour in Halo 3 for unlocking all the achievements in the game and the Helioskrill armour in Halo 5 for completing all the previous 4 on legendary difficulty. I doubt I’d feel as fondly about them if I’d have bought them.

Zorya

Is League of Legends still as popular? Must be an incredibly addictive game, I remember how difficult it was for my lads to fit in the Leaving Certificate around their punishing Leage of Legends schedule. One of them was buying some stuff to go with it, but he didn't have access to enough money to go mad.

Atoms for Peace

The games industry has gone to pot lately. The current blockbuster games such as fortnite have no artistic or technical merit, just generic mush.

Optimalprimerib

They are the worst thing about gaming lately. The art of level design and game progression is gone because of this as they need to make sure that spending money is far more entising than earning the reward by playing the game.

I don't think I ever put a penny into a game on anything but more levels. Even when buying a game, I always get the standard edition.

namloc1980

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I wanted to post this in AH to get a broader audience.

This week, I was covering this as a topic in class and was blown away by the amount of money some of my students were spending in games like League of Legends and Arena of Valor.

They said their parents didn't know about it. They also said they were good because you enjoy the game more. Madness. 15 years old spending thousands of dollars on cosmetic bullshlt.


You'd think this would only be a nerd thing but mobile games are the same. Do you spend money on this? Your kids? It's basically gambling. I've spend a grand total of $5 on this and thankfully no more.

How the hell do their parents not know????

the_pen_turner

whats the phrase,m something like you can only slaughter a cow once but you can milk it everyday

OldMrBrennan83

Never do. Will pay for a mobile game outright if the option is there but avoid all those in app purchase models.
Also avoid all that ultimate team crap in FIFA, Madden, etc. Some people seem seriously addicted to the likes of that.

the_pen_turner

the gaming scene is totally ruined now. years ago you saved up and bought a game and played it for ages and ages. now its play it for a while then move on to the next one. the average person years ago had very few game ( i had maybe 10 proper games and 10 crappier games for my ps1 and maybe the same for ps2. i was in a womans house a while ago and the kid had a huge tv and ps3 and 4 and x box and 2 4ft shelves to store his games ( i was there to put up shelves) . they were almost full. must be thousands in games.


now you have to buy a game and then stay paying in it. crazy

BattleCorp

I'm an adult (ahem..) in my mid 40's. I play Clash of Clans. I spend maybe €60 per year on the game. As forms of entertainment go, this is really cheap.

How long would €60 last me if I smoked or went to the pub. Not long.

Regarding kids spending money on games, they aren't going into debt doing this. They don't have credit cards and can pretty much only spend what their parents give them. Personally I'd be happier to know my kid was spending their money on a video game rather than getting rat-ar5ed drinking flagons of cider in the graveyard like kids used to do when I was a nipper.

By the way, you can happily play Clash of Clans for years if you like and you don't have to spend a bob on it. It's optional if you want to buy extras.

Hercule Poirot

It's not so much the cosmetics but more the loot boxes that worry me

The Belgian government recently declared loot boxes of any type to be a form of gambling and therefore not suitable for games with the PG-style ratings

I don't what EA have done about it but I do know Konami acted very quickly to block loot box capabilities in their Belgian versions

The loot boxes = gambling conclusion has been a long time coming, hopefully more countries follow suit because that's where these gaming companies are the big money

Your Face

I don't play multiplayer, I find them boring.

I'll play a game with a good single player story.
If the dlc is actual gameplay, I might get it if it seems decent.

I've never bought cosmetic extras, it's such a scam.

Irish Guitarist

If you have to spend money to get anywhere in a game I think it's stopped being a game. It's like entering a race and paying someone to carry you on their shoulders.

LessOutragePlz

I can understand the microtransactions if the game is free to play such as fortnite (unless you want to play the story mode which you have to buy). All the stuff you can buy in fortnite offers no competitive advantage. I played it when it was at it's peak in popularity and I do believe the battle pass in fortnite was good value for money if you wanted to unlock cosmetic items. Since you got loads of them for the €10 it cost. Microtransactions are here to stay unfortunately since developers know they can make a bucket load of revenue from although I do prefer games without them but, as long as it's not pay to win it doesn't really bother me too much.

irishguitarlad

NBA 2k has gone to the dogs with the microtransactions, I was given the 2018 one as a present last year and when you start off your career your player is that bad that It makes you fed up and you buy the virtual currency to get his level up. I didn't do this but jesus christ what a grind to get the level up, video games should be about fun, not punishing a player for not buying your ****ty vr currency. Hopefully sales will take a hit for 2k18 or they fold or something,fücking wánkers.

HalloweenJack

I have bought dlc for some games that I enjoyed which unlocked extra playable features or new levels which enhance the gameplay but never for new skins or equipment. I don't play online multiplayers so don't spend money there and I'm not entirely sure how it works. I just don't understand how people can spend so much on it, though. I'm a big gamig fan but I can't understand how people can invest so much in one game. I would consider it gambling, tbh.

As for other people doing it, its their money. I think when it comes to kids though, there needa tp be more protection built in. Sure, they could just be spending the money their parents give them but they also need to manage money properly and make sure they have money for the real world. Then there's also the case where kids spend their parents' money willy nilly without the parents knowing til the bank statements come in. This is equal parts idiocy from the parents but its also irresponsible from the kids.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Mod note: This would be best served over in the gaming forum so I'll close and move it now.


Please note the change of forum and forum rules.


Buford T. Justice