Unpopular Opinion: Microtransactions aren't the worst thing in the World

Note: it may seem like I am defending Microtransactions, I assure you, I am not. As the pendulum swings back and forth, I will be going from one point to the other, assessing both sides...

[ArchangelMike]

Sure there are worse things in the world - like poverty, war, and disease. Which are caused by abuses of power and unethical and greedy practices in most cases.

But when a game is designed from the ground up for mtx and even loot boxes, then you know that all other aspects of the game will suffer for that decision. It's not even about gambling or children and addictive or compulsive behaviour. That's not the real problem here. That's just a convenient red-herring that the publishers can easily get around.

The real issue is that it is capitalist greed at it's most exploitative. That's the real problem, and that's why it shouldn't be supported. It is exploiting the very same people that give life to the games industry in the first place.

It is the same abuse of power, unethical and greedy practices that contribute to most of the worlds problems. That's why we must not give it a free pass. There nothing more ridiculous than companies that make Billions of dollars a year, exploiting their fan base by trying to say they need more money because of "development costs".

CEO's of these same publishing companies are taking tens of millions of dollars in 'bonuses' a year, while they pay their devs menial wages and work them overtime and then implement crunch on top of all that. Here's a novel idea - why not split the bonus between the entire staff base?

No? Well why not? Let me guess... corporate greed.

That's the real problem with allowing mtx. It is enabling exploitation and greed.

[Mcurry31]

I completely agree with you.

I was trying to hit all the points when it comes to microtransactions, and greed, gambling, and addiction are all valid points in the conversation. The real problem, as you said, is the greed that the companies show when developing games around microtransactions.

[rainslacker]

I dont really disagree with the intent of your comment, but I do find some factual inconsistencies in it, which I assume are made due to your own assumptions or predisposition on the subject. You talk about how the industry is not truthful with their assessment of what they need to make games, which is why I feel compelled to point these out.

1. MT are not an abuse of power, nor are they actually unethical. The only power pjnlsihers have is that which the consumer gives them, and the consumer buying these things is them accepting the power publisher exhibit within a game.

Its not unethical, because none of it is currently illegal. It may current be immoral, but that's subjective, and not consistent across different types of MT. Plus, there is no majority consensus on what it acceptable and what isnt.

It is greedy.

2. The publishers most criticized for implementing bad forms of MT are also the ones that pay among the best in the industry, and tend to have the best benefits. EA for example, despite how consumers think of them, is considered one of the most openly diverse and best companies to work for in the industry. Even with random reports of heavy crunch. Not all CEOs make million dollar bonuses, and many major publishers do have profit sharing plans, as well as general bonuses for sales of the game. Big exec bonuses are usually negotiated as a lump payout when milestones are achieved, and are arranged around said CEOs meeting certain expectations of the investor. It's a shitty thing to think about, but its not exclusive to big game publishers. Stock prices are usually the biggest thing they're paid for.

Otherwise, people paying for them does enable them to do this stuff. But people do pay for them. It's not a majority, but its like any upsell. If you can get 1 in 10 people to buy, then you've increased your margins and revenue

I think of people.really want to slow down MT in games, they'd be better off not focusing so much on the corporate greed of the publishers, because they arent going to care what you think because they're greedy.

Instead, focus on making them less appealing to the end user by appealing to their own consumer interests.

[AK91]

In the world? Definitely not but in gaming absolutely.

[NeoGamer232]

I have nothing against microtransactions.

BUT.

They must not be pay to win or pay to avoid a grind that will progress you in the game.