Let

Microtransactions have gotten ridiculously overpriced in recent years, with titles now offering cosmetic skins worth more than some games.

[Terry_B]

Yup..this is 100% the sad truth

[z2g]

The elephant in the room tho is personal accountability. It’s easy (albeit basic) to blame the big, bad corpo, but microtransactions wouldn’t be where they are if gamers didn’t spend money on them. As it stands the MTs usually make more than the game. Publishers know raising game prices will cause backlash, so they do MTs to compensate. But the adult conversation is consumers determine the success of products with their wallets. So if MTs are a huge thing, it’s because we as consumers told them we like them by giving them a lot of money for them. So if you don’t want them to be a thing, convince your fellow gamers to stop buying them and expect that games will be decently more expensive. You all can disagree all you want, but reality is a bitch, and eventually you have to live in it.

[anast]

Trying to convince people is the least realistic thing. If we are trying to be adults, actual action is what changes things not "convincing campaigns" on platforms owned by the people 'you' are going against. It's madness and idealistic.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Easier said than done. I've told gamers for years to not buy micro transactions, expensive dlc, etc. Gamers bought it anyway. Didn't fit on a DVD that would have fit on a Blu-ray disc.

I also told some gamers to not pay for online like Xbox Live because it would force the rest of the industry to only offer playing online if you pay for it. Told them not to support a broken console that Red Ringed. To not support Xbox One because Microsoft tried to take away game ownership and how you play your games. To not pay for a console by one manufacturer where a, now 3 trillion worth, didn't make enough games at the level of Nintendo or Sony who are worth less money.

How much of that did you support anyway with your money then go back and read your comment again.

[notachance]

yeah that was like telling people not to do drugs or alcohol, these game companies invested a lot of money in researching about how to make people buy MTs, from creating mechanics like loot boxes, purposely make the game grindy, all the way to menu designs and what color and sound effects played when gamers bought MTs.

It was specifically engineered to take advantage of vulnerable and prone to addiction people.

[bradfh]

@z2g
People always struggle with issues like drinking, drugs, and gambling. But in games, especially those played by kids, microtransactions are another way companies take advantage of them. It's a problem that needs addressing.

[S2Killinit]

I recommend everyone read this article.

My suggestion is to name these transactions, what they ARE: Hidden-fees.

[isarai]

I mean except for the amount of content you're paying for.

[Hugodastrevas]

There never was, the only time I paid for a microtransaction was on Blacklight Retribution (PS4) and it was because I enjoyed the game a lot so I felt the devs should get something for all that entertainment (€5 "membership")

[-Foxtrot]

The devs wouldn’t get that though, that shit goes straight to the higher ups who do f*** all let’s be honest.

[Hugodastrevas]

Probably, but I wasn't as cynical back then and €5 wasn't a big ask to get the guns with grinding instead of renting them, and the game was good (still is on the PS5/4)

[Demetrius]

Ikr exactly

[CrimsonWing69]

I couldn’t believe what Blizzard charged for horse armor and cosmetics in Diablo 4…

I remember back in the day when a season pass was $15 and you got everything included in it. Now, I see them at $60 and you still don’t get everything.

[CantThinkOfAUsername]

That's just Blizzard. Unlike Bethesda's $0.99 horse armour, Blizzard's first microtransaction, Sparkle Pony, cost $15.

[Phoenix76]

Bethesda out did themselves a few years back with 76. They released a Xmas bundle for half price on day of release! So, was meant to sell for only $12 from day 1, but tried to convince everyone it was half price, by marking it at $24!

[Shane Kim]

As soon as gaming wasn't deemed nerdy anymore, and reached the casuals this happened. We're smart, but casuals play mobile games and other stuff, and don't really have anything to compare. They think gaming is supposed to be like this and pay for in game purchases.

[GhostScholar]

I thought it was handled perfectly in helldivers 2. I’m not into the game very much but the way the handle rewards abs the season pass and all that should be the benchmark

[anast]

People are junkies. They could raise the price to $100 for the standard version and still heavily monetize the game and people will still buy it and games writers will be quiet about it.

[Fonsecap]

The pricing of Mt's are awful and overpriced but the biggest issue for me is the so little that they add to games, usually cosmetics, time savers and whatnot. I guess that Mt's should be only for dlc like expansion packs or more side missions and quests, but even this should be in the final product anyway...

[mastershredder]

Anymore? This white knighting is really tardy and moot. Microtransaction was a term reserved for mobile app (and early PC) market commerce. You know, 99 cent type stuff? (features, unlocks, add free etc). PC and Consoles adopted this as a standard and negated the terminology from the start in order to cash in on it is much as possible (multi-transactional, becuase as a major for-profit biz {based on peformance} they'd be crazy not too), so why u supprised? This is only been ureasonable for YEARS now. The solution is so simple. Don't buy it and when needed (sites like exputer), actually trash the bad content, based on the development costs for the content in REAL applicable indepth reviews, but that would require investigation and research, stuff exptuer only has opinions about.

[Ninver]

I'm proud to say I've never in my entire gaming life spent a dime on dlc. And if it's announced before the games release I wait to buy it cheap! In other words f@k you for trying to nickel and dime gamers.

[EazyC]

What about GTA IV's DLC?

[Ninver]

Never

[strayanalog]

For something to be overpriced it must first have value.

[Barlos]

Doesn't matter how large or small. Don't buy them. Easy.

I've never supported MTs in any game, and I won't be starting now. Those who spend real money on useless cosmetic crap in their games are the ones to blame for this. It's easy money for the developers. They'd offer shit on a stick, call it a kebab and people would buy it.

[gold_drake]

yea, especially if its story dlc. i hate that so much.

[Chocoburger]

I saw the writing on the wall back in 2005. When micro-trash-actions first started I knew it was only going to snowball and get worse year on year.

I also knew gamers were too stupid to understand this and let it happen by constantly supporting scummy publishers, making games worse for everyone, even people against micro-trash-actions like myself.

Now we're stuck so many live service elements in single player games, endless grinding and filler, lower quality games intentionally designed to soak up your lifespan with trash entertainment, all in the name of coaxing dummies into spending more money in the built-in store.

With each passing year executives control the way games are made, taking control away from the passionate artists that actually desire to craft masterpieces. It'll be even worse next year, and the year after, and so on. What a shame.

[gleepot]

The reality is that mtx are priced at what people will pay for them at. Until they stop selling, they'll keep rising.