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The Invasion of Microtransactions
Feb. 2nd, 2014 09:55 pmhttp://www.baekdal.com/opinion/how-inapp-purchases-has-destroyed-the-industry/
This is a fascinating and extremely worrying article about the current state of microtransactions in mobile games - specifically with the recent remake/ruining of Dungeon Keeper by (who else) EA. I try to see positives in modern games, but things like this paint the industry as a whole as undeniably worse than in the past - this isn't even pay-to-win, this is pay-to-make-at-all-playable.
And it affects independent developers as well! Specifically, that the iOS market has been such a race to the bottom on pricing that if you charge more than $0.99 for a game, even a lengthy RPG, people will act like you've just broken into their house and eaten their dog. The iPhone isn't a gaming platform first and foremost, but it's where a significant number of people are playing games, and... it's pretty appalling that this is going to be what anyone thinks they're like.
£69.99! That's a macrotransaction, if anything.
This is a fascinating and extremely worrying article about the current state of microtransactions in mobile games - specifically with the recent remake/ruining of Dungeon Keeper by (who else) EA. I try to see positives in modern games, but things like this paint the industry as a whole as undeniably worse than in the past - this isn't even pay-to-win, this is pay-to-make-at-all-playable.
And it affects independent developers as well! Specifically, that the iOS market has been such a race to the bottom on pricing that if you charge more than $0.99 for a game, even a lengthy RPG, people will act like you've just broken into their house and eaten their dog. The iPhone isn't a gaming platform first and foremost, but it's where a significant number of people are playing games, and... it's pretty appalling that this is going to be what anyone thinks they're like.
£69.99! That's a macrotransaction, if anything.
