The Invasion of Microtransactions

[davidn]

http://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.

Comments

[crassadon.livejournal.com]

the presentation of value for video games on mobile devices has been a great stumbling in the progression of video games into society.

[davidn]

It really has - games are much more widely available now, but the completely non-existent pricing of them on mobile devices leaves publishers trying to scrounge money back in alternative ways. It really is a hideous situation to hold gameplay hostage for the sake of being able to charge for it.

[lupineangel.livejournal.com]

I remember when Virtua Racing came out on the MegaDrive with a retail price of £69.99 and everyone was screaming about how ridiculously expensive it was, how Sega were pricing themselves and their games out of the market, how the Model 1 3D effects chip was a nice idea but just too cost-inefficient to implement in practice. Now it's "Best Value" to make it functional at all on a human time scale rather than a geological one. (Okay, I'm flubbing a bit there, because when you adjust it for inflation, £70 back in 1994 is worth about £95 today, but whatever.)

This is exactly the same issue as the advent of 'crippleware' a few years back, where the ironclad security protection routines meant that you couldn't use your £X00 piece of brand new software unless the stars were right and continued to be right every time you booted up your computer. I find myself in absolute agreement with Nerd^3 in that second video; if you are not only willing to accept this as "well, it sucks, but what can you do?", but actively going out and promoting it as "this is the future of gaming! 5 stars!" then you are the cancer killing not only the gaming industry but society and the human spirit as a whole.

And this is why I barely use my phone at all, let alone tout it as an entertainment platform.

D.F.

[davidn]

It's pretty incredible that people allow them to get away with this - there is no conceivable... advantage or desirability of having gameplay held back from you until you pay a fee. But this is apparently now the best way to make money from games, thanks to the iOS store driving prices and the value of games to the bottom and leaving them to seek alternative ways to just keep going. Developers and publishers need to make money, but I preferred the era when they were upfront about it!

I saw on The Escapist that the game actually greets you with this during the tutorial! http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/673/673415.jpg - They seem absolutely aware that they're extorting you - saying "make that timer disappear" in the same tone as someone called Big Vinnie might offer to make the owner of a rival casino disappear. It really is... hostile.

[crassadon.livejournal.com]

Games like farmville have also helped popularify the idea. There have been games, even thinking of, like, Neopets which have certain "wait walls." The concept is becoming expected for a game's design, when that game is in the realm of "low priced" games.

[raptorianone.livejournal.com]

Huh. I was going to try Dungeon Keeper... guess I should be glad that I didn't. Are the microtransactions really that bad?

[davidn]

I haven't downloaded it myself, but the video evidence suggests that it is! The good news is that you wouldn't be out anything if you did download it, because it wouldn't be long until you uninstall it when you realize it takes 24 sodding hours to carve out a block of land unless you pay it £1.50.

(Note, of course, that the original version when Dungeon Keeper was a game and not a social experiment in how much people will pay for gameplay, is well worth playing.)