Just Cause 3 & AC Unity reveal the sick insanity of microtransaction culture

Dealspwn writes: "Two games have dominated headlines over the last 24 hours: Just Cause 3 and Assassin's Creed Unity. One a hero, one a villain, both perfect examples of how insane and toxic microtransaction culture has become."

[Fizzler]

Can't wait for microtransactions to become the norm, I'm gonna support every game that includes them!

[Blues Cowboy]

Not sure if serious, but just in case: there's a world of F2P games out there waiting for you that won't ask you to plonk down any money first...

If not serious, heh. ;)

[-Foxtrot]

Then you will part of the problem with this industry

[lemoncake]

Well you are not unlike everyone that went out and bought destiny then, overpriced dlc that was cut from the game ftw. Now excuse me while I go play clash of clans.

[NarooN]

I thought it was obvious Fizzler was joking, lol.

Or is this site so full of shit-tier comments and people, that it's too hard for you guys to tell anymore?

[Ezz2013]

i do this alot too and most people here fall for it
it's clear he's joking but people can't tell any more

[Qrphe]

The average user in N4G is 18yrs old

[Conzul]

Dude they're so bad at telling sarcasm it's unbelievable. I lost two bubbs in one day for being awesome.

It was AWESOME.

[aLiEnViSiToR]

http://www.quickmeme.com/im...

Yes, yes it was !

[The93Sting]

your face says it all. LMAO

[josephayal]

microtransactions are the future, cannot W8

[FuzzyPixels]

Microtransactions and F2P can work if integrated into the very fibre of a game from day one of development. But thank god they're not in Just Cause 3!

Nothing worse than microtransactions gone wrong, and it's all too easy to lazily shoehorn them into a game and disrupt the balance of everything.

[Blues Cowboy]

Oh MTs are fine when a game is F2P and they're done right. Paid plenty of money to Planetside 2, for example, because they let me two dozen hours of the game for free and I felt they deserved some money. I could spend what I wanted, or more appropriately what I thought they deserved, then pick gear I wanted. In this case, a cool hat and a vehicle weapon.

Microtransactions in full priced games, however, are genuinely nasty unless they're cheap cosmetics.

[kevinsheeks]

Gamers support bs that's how it thrives they let devs hit them with half-baked excuses

[Blues Cowboy]

Not to mention then inexplicably defending games companies by saying "well they have to make money" or "it could be worse" or "games are expensive to make." Sorry, but since when is shareholder profit OUR concern?

[Roccetarius]

Unfortunately, the majority of the gamers are uninformaed when purchasing games. That's why this is allowed to happen.

[skwidd]

Yea, sad to say I was sold on Unity's scope and detail that I preordered it a week or 2 before release. I tried cancelling but it didn't work. I still want to play it but being unsupportive of this treatment of companies overrides me wanting to play it. I guess I was suckered.

[Dudebro90]

No matter how much people complain, its not going to stop. Hardcore gamers hate them, but the reality is casual gamers buy them and use them. Can we really be mad at a company for capitalizing on a market that is willing to give them money?

It will forever be debated.

[Blues Cowboy]

"Can we really be mad at a company for capitalizing on a market that is willing to give them money?"

Very depressing but well-said (bubble).

"It will forever be debated."

I suppose that's all we can do. Debate it, call it out if we don't like it and... well, see whether or not the industry crashes or play games that suit us as individuals.

[DanielGearSolid]

as long as i can ignore them, i dont see what the problem is...

Sure if a game forced you to use them... But none have (And please dont give that "THey intentionally made it harder to unlock the stuff without MT's"... It's called PLAYING THE GAME)

Only game that made MT's horrible was nba 2k14, but they learned their lesson and scaled it back in 2k15

[-Foxtrot]

"Can we really be mad at a company for capitalizing on a market that is willing to give them money?"

Yes because it affects the other side of the market, the loyal fans who have been there since the beginning.

Why should we be punished after supporting these devs for years, getting them where they are today, only for them to turn our favourite franchises into crap with horrible MT which will end up getting worse and worse. It ruins our experiences with the games and can leave a bad taste in peoples mouths

No one is saying they can't look for other ways to make money but do it in a way which we'll actually want to.

[Dudebro90]

Yes because it affects the other side of the market, the loyal fans who have been there since the beginning.

That's an opinion, not a fact. I, and many other gamers I know, have never had an experience ruined by a micro transaction.

[Gh05t]

@Dudebro

" I, and many other gamers I know, have never had an experience ruined by a micro transaction. "

That in almost all cases is unverifiable...

How would you know the experience was ruined or not unless you had the game created without the micro transactions and then had the game created with them. I dont know one game that was made both ways.

You claim your experience wasn't ruined but unless you knew what you would experience without them being involved in the development process at all than how would you know? There are a few games that would be far better an experience without micro-transactions... All you know is the experience you are having is still fun for you and that is great.

Hell imagine candy crush if you got to play more than 3x in a row without forking over $0.99 or waiting 0.5 hours

Imagine most games that have timers... wouldn't the experience be better if Money where not the sole purpose of the waiting. The only time I accept timers in games is, like RTS, where it plays into the strategy of survival. I hate the timer for a grind and to delay the longevity of a game or to make you impatient enough to buy your way through the time.

[dmeador]

Stop with the ridiculous entitled logic. You bought the games because you liked them and they were fun, not to support the makers. If they are making bad games, then maybe its time you support other game makers.

[Blues Cowboy]

@Dudebro90: I have -- well, perhaps not ruined, but definitely spoiled or cheapened.

MTs rip you out of a gameplay experience and remind you that you're just consuming a product. Fable 3 and Dragon Age forced me out of the fantasy and into cold hard reality with their 'buy DLC here' sections. Dead Space 3, a game that's supposed to hinge on immersion, kept yanking me out of the game with constant reminders that I could be spending real money. Capcom titles and other offenders withheld content I'd technically paid for on the disc, or automatically installed it to my hard drive without permission as part of a patch before asking me to pay for it.

Etc. Not ruined, I suppose, but it doesn't feel great.

EDIT: @Gh05t: Oh, agreed. Plus, developers use all manner of psychological tricks, carrots and sticks to incentivise this behaviour (see also: skinner box, operant conditioning chamber) that, had they been removed, might have resulted in a better and fairer game. And as you rightly say, we'll never know.

[andibandit]

I dont think "Loyalty to them gamers since the beginning" weighs alot in those boardroom meetings

[Kidmyst]

This all reminds me of the South Park episode last week.

[Gh05t]

"Hardcore gamers hate them"

If someone is willing to spend $100 bucks at a time buying in game content like in ACU, and Madden... I would say they are more "Hardcore"

I am going to refer to myself as a classic gamer now. I am not hardcore enough to keep up with all the players who spend countless dollars to give themselves an advantage.

[Roccetarius]

People with too much expendable cash is usually not called hardcore, but whales. As long as people pay for shortcuts, even in ''AAA'' games to avoid gameplay, then it's a big problem.

And one of the worst excuses is time. Just because you're short on time shouldn't make paying an available path.

[NeoGamer232]

I want to pay one price to get the whole game experience. I do that by buying the games new (not used). If the games microtransaction me or force me to grind endlessly to avoid microtransactions they do not see another dollar from me.

[mhunterjr]

Development costs are going up. I'll take a non-intrusive microtransaction scheme over a price increase any day. I remember when Nintendo was charging $70+ a game on n64.

If some guy wants to pay an extra $99 bucks for a bunch of cosmetic items, that's his perogative. Just make sure that your game is perfectly enjoyable and fair for those who don't want to buy any extras.

[die_fiend]

In the UK we get a price increase too. The problem isn't with the ancillary ones, it's with the ones that make it a real grind in game to get

[SteamPowered]

I paid $70 for Mariokart for Wii U two days ago. It isnt a new game by any means, but Nintendo games never depreciate it seems. Lo and behold on the first screen when you pick your characters there are Microtransactions to open up Link and other characters.
So all told, Nintendo is still charging ridiculous prices as well as Microtransactions. While they arent needed to complete the game, that is total garbage that the First Screen literally has 7 Microtransactions on a $70 game.
I cant wait to see what BS Ninty has in store for SSB.

[mhunterjr]

Do you feel like the base retail game w/o those microtransaction characters is worth $70? If so, then you got your money's worth. If not, why didn't you wait for a price drop?

[SteamPowered]

Mhunterjr,

A price drop? From Nintendo? They are very few and far between Im afraid. There are no Deals with Gold, no PS+ deals, no Steam Sales for Nintendo. Just retailers dropping prices at their whim (which isnt too often)
Microtransactions from a Nintendo game is especially jarring because its Nintendo! They are like an old friend. An old friend that wants you to buy them supper, then cab fare, maybe a movie, then a snack all of the sudden.

[Snookies12]

@mhunterjr - SteamPowered is right, Nintendo has something against price drops on games. It's why I'm always kind of hesitant to buy a Nintendo console these days. I know I'll have to pay really high prices for the games, even the really old ones.

[Master-H]

Microtransactions is paying for cheats, to put it simply.
Developers gain extra profits from them with minimum to zero effort.

[spacedelete]

i only pay microtransactions to first class games. i think of it as a treat for the dev for creating such a magnificent game. i only do this to games that are great.

[itisallaboutps]

No casuals won't use them. People that are impatient will and the game companies feed of peoples emotions, which is sick. Sort of like casinos and gamblers

[Blues Cowboy]

Yup. It's easy to make a slot machine or grindy compulsion loop, then even easier to charge for shortcuts.

[Sir_Simba]

Just cause dev confirmed no micro transaction will be in the game.

[aLiEnViSiToR]

In other words, scam at its best xD

[urwifeminder]

No problems if they are shortcuts for people and are implemented so you have to confirm payment , a game like Ryse got me the other day as i ran out of xp and did not notice and purchased with gold was only $1 or something but was miffed.

[lategamer]

Just Cause 3 won't have micro transactions.

[FastRedPonyCar]

Devs confirmed on twitter that the leaked screenshots were very old and that they did away with the idea of microtransactions, that the game has none at all.

[Tzuno]

Nothing is true ,everything is permitted.

[ScaryMonkey]

Lets all bitch and moan, fight and argue, and just generally complain about something completely optional, shall we? Is this really the generation of micro transactions and delays, or the generation of little kids who whine and cry on the internet about the most pointless of issues. You be the judge.