> 2533274912807552;8:
> > 2533274881560701;7:
> > > 2533274912807552;3:
> > > > 2533274881560701;2:
> > > >
> > >
> > > It is known that most people who pay microtransactions are those who do not have the capacity to understand and want and do not know the importance of money by spending money on simple pixels.
> > > Bad companies like 343 know this particular aspect and they want to take advantage of it
> >
> > “Spending money on simple pixels.” You could argue that video games or even much of entertainment is just ‘simple pixels.’ Watching TV is pixels. Pac-Man is just pixels. Ultimately, video games themselves are almost as pointless as the outfits and transactions within them because we spend money for interactive pixels that give us a sense of pride and accomplishment.
> >
> > I understand that gambling systems often prey on kids which is really scummy. You’re right that they don’t have the same understanding and self control of an adult. But this is a problem that spans beyond just children and the disabled. This is a wide scale psychological game that takes advantage of a variety of people. There are many otherwise normal adults out there who would spend 100’s or 1000’s of dollars on pixels just because it makes them feel good. Really, its the shiny gambling aspect aspect that is the big problem.
> >
> > Microtransactions can be done right. Titanfall 2 has no random gambling boxes. You know exactly what you are buying and how much it is. Halo 5’s was honestly not insanely terrible either. You are guaranteed to eventually unlock just about everything even without spending a single cent. It was just too grindy and too much of the customization and unlocks were directly tied to it.
> >
> > Even without the gambling argument, if kids (or the disabled) completely lack awareness and are in a position to spend 100’s of dollars frivolously, maybe the parents (or caretakers) should pay attention and not allow the kids that kind of spending ability? When I go in a store and buy a $20 dollar shirt but I find out its the wrong size or I go somewhere are gamble but get nothing, at some point my wasted money is my own fault instead of the store’s/casino’s. I don’t want to defend microtransactions, but as scummy, frustrating, and penny pinching as they are, the person spending money is not completely absolved from blame.
>
> No sorry, there is a difference to buy the full game or only a weapon in game… I agree with you that part of the fault is of the people who spend badly their money but who give you the opportunity know what they are doing… and they want this comes real!
It’s far from just a few things. Halo 5 has received extensive support since launch with new modes, maps, balancing, and patching.
The previous model to microtransactions was DLC packs. The DLC pack model had one major flaw: after every DLC pack you would roughly half your playerbase with the ‘complete’ game. That meant that some game modes were only playable if you had the DLC, some parties would get split up when some had it and some didn’t etc. All of that goes counter to what a developer tries to do which is to keep people playing their game and buy their content.
The evolution of that was the season pass model where for a premium price you paid up front for any DLC within a certain period. The problem with the season pass model was that if your game didn’t sell as well as you expected then you risked losing money and/or would have to abandon development of future features because the money stopped flowing in to support development.
Hence we ended up with games as a service supported by microtransactions. In terms of the morality etc. of these that is a wide-ranging debate for elsewhere. Remember that in H5 the implementation is compared to manybothers fairly non-insidious and you can avoid most of it if you want to/have the time to earn things without a ‘shortcut’.
It’s not perfect but it’s just where the industry evolved to. If you want to see where the DLC/Season pass model started claiming victims (without even the issue of multiplayet to worry about) look no further than places like Telltale.
In terms of the comments about kids and disabled people: if someone doesn’t have the capability to make purchase decisions then XBox as a service has many safeguards which can be put in place to ensure they can’t. Parents/carers/responsible adults just need to make sure the safeguards are in place.
Yes, they are still then vulnerable to pester power, but, unlike the DLC model where until someone caves in you are prevented from accessing certain modes/new content at least in the games as a service model everyone should be accessing the same thing.
Games are a business and to support their development (which in this day and age extends years after launch) and support companies need to make enough money: otherwise they fold.