Gross.
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Tekken 8 has done a good enough job with their game and character customization system that I wouldn’t mind spending some extra money for cosmetics I enjoy.
… That’s not the point here. The point is that they decided that if they launched the in-game shop at the same time as the game’s initial release that they would get a bunch of bad reviews. This is worrying mainly for the fact that if they had this train of thought, that means that it must be super predatory.
Right, I understand. I was just expressing my thoughts on the article.
I don’t have a strong opinion regarding game content rating systems, except that I don’t know how to quantify how much “good” they contribute to society.
And I don’t have much to say about video game monetization models, except that companies will always try to use a model that they think provides them with the most benefit.
The most interesting thought this article made me think of was “I wonder what kind of hats I’ll be able to put on Kuma.”
Edit: I’ve been thinking about this a bit more because I do think my dismissive attitude towards microtransactions in general is alarming. My comment was dishonest and flippant.
As someone who played Payday 2 and had a ton of discussions with my friends about their ever changing monetization models I feel like the ultimate conclusion I came to was “capitalism is exhausting.” And I mean that in the very literal sense that capitalism will result in the physical, mental, spiritual, and financial exhaustion of everyone who doesn’t hold capital. This is not good, but good things can come from it. As more people start to realize the system is broken more people will want to change it. So I was being dishonest, I actually do have a lot to say about video game monetization models.
The other thing I have more to say about is Tekken 8. Not the character customization feature, but about the story mode which is possibly the best videogame story I have ever experienced. I won’t bore anyone with the details, but the story in T8 is the conclusion to a multigenerational feud between a grandfather and father, and a father and son. It is the end to what could have been an endless cycle of hate and violence. And this ending is only possible because Jin decides to face his demons, forgive himself, and forgive his enemies.
This lesson in my mind is literally the most important lesson for a person to learn, and so I’m willing to forgive the inclusion of microtransactions of it means that some kid somewhere who is struggling with accepting who they are can play this game and come to the realization and sense of peace that Jin and I did.
And if anyone wants to talk about this more I would love to.
Or perhaps it wasn’t ready.
If history has shown us anything, it’s that the shop is ALWAYS ready. It goes: build a store front, make a game around it, and lastly remove some features from the game and put them in the shop.
“Okay everyone: the reason this wasn’t in the game at launch wasn’t because it would be unpopular, it’s because the game was launched unfinished. That makes it okay!”
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Mtx are just plain bad for consumers though. They can bleed money from people with bad spending habits and other issues and they hate a lot of content that used to (usually) unlockable in-game content, and if it’s undeniably extra content then they usually become a bit wild like fortnite causing the game to lose a lot of is individual identity that it had at its start, or they just give poorer players FOMO. Other than being a way for consumers to give companies a little extra money for making a good game or content, I can’t think of anything good to say about mtx especially when it comes to the actual game itself.
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Because games took a very noticeable turn for the worse when microtransactions were introduced. Go play some older games and they’re full of secrets and unlockables. Not only did you get much of the very same content, for free, but it was usually a lot more fun and engaging to find/collect everything than just forking over some money. It’s not just games either, the entire business model of declining quality so they can sell you the same things over and over again for more and more money is permeating everything in society and people are getting really ticked off.
Because they are objectively bad for games and gamers. We’re not complaining for the sake of complaining
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You’ve either never seen or played games prior to mtx, a closet gambling addict, or spent too much on something like LoL and now have buyers bias trying to justify your worthless digital “goods”, to be defending mtx as hard as you are.
It is not an objective truth, what makes you think that they’re good for games and gamers?
Remember when games would have you stuff for free by just playing the game normally, rather than having to empty your wallet or play the game like it was a second job? Because I do.
Or that they knew that it’s something a lot of people overreact about.
In other words something a lot of people don’t like.
You are part of the problem.
Why? Why!? I am old and grumpy. Cosmetics are things you earn through game progression. Not locked behind pay walls. Oh It’S oNLy CoSmETicS BrO. Fuck you. Fuck this attitude. Fuck the never ending agreed. Fuck natural game progression. Everything is a locked behind pay walls nowadays cause of this oh its only CoSmETicS bro attitude.
Exactly how old are you? Because I remember when my entire Tekken experience was locked behind a $0.25 to $0.50 microtransaction.
People willfully pay for things they enjoy. It’s a fundamental aspect of any economic system. I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time coming to grips with that.
The only rational and level headed comment here getting down voted into oblivion. Guess I need to start foaming at the mouth because they added a cosmetic only mtx shop or I’m not a real gamer.
Eh. I was being dismissive of people’s genuine concerns. I didn’t earnestly engage with the topic at hand. I was definitely in the wrong and deserved to get downvoted.
I updated a reply I made to another comment in the thread, and I figure I’ll drop it here as well.
As someone who played Payday 2 and had a ton of discussions with my friends about that game’s ever changing monetization models I feel like the ultimate conclusion I came to was “capitalism is exhausting.” And I mean that in the very literal sense that capitalism will result in the physical, mental, spiritual, and financial exhaustion of everyone who doesn’t hold capital. This is not good, but good things can come from it. As more people start to realize the system is broken more people will want to change it. So I was being dishonest, I actually do have a lot to say about video game monetization models, but generally I think capitalism is a self-correcting problem and if you want to reduce the amount of harm caused by greed the only real option you have is to consume less and convince other like minded people to consume less.
The other thing I have more to say about is Tekken 8. Not the character customization feature, but about the story mode which is possibly the best videogame story I have ever experienced. I won’t bore anyone with the details, but the story in T8 is the conclusion to a multigenerational feud between a grandfather and father, and a father and son. It is the end to what could have been an endless cycle of hate and violence. And this ending is only possible because Jin decides to face his demons, forgive himself, and forgive his enemies.
This lesson in my mind is literally the most important lesson for a person to learn, and so I’m willing to forgive the inclusion of microtransactions of it means that some kid somewhere who is struggling with accepting who they are can play this game and come to the realization and sense of peace that Jin and I did.
My dismissal of the “badness” of microtransactions was a result of a belief in the potential “goodness” of the game overall. Obviously these sorts of moral calculations are all relative, but if anyone wants to talk about this more I would love to.
Damn dude, good on you for the self reflection and adding to the discussion. In my opinion, helldivers 2 is a good example of monetization done right in so many ways. $40 price tag, “battle passes” are always available and don’t prey on fomo, and you can find the premium currency just playing the game.
The character customisation is pretty bad that’s one reason. It’s extremely rigid to the point you can’t even change eye colour. Worse then 7’,s even, without even comparing it fairly to Soul Calibur made by the same company. Basically or you can do is put a chapter in casual wear or find something kind of similar and colour the clothes in.
