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EA to include "microtransactions" into every game (as in DeadSpace 3)

iliveonramen

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Electronic Arts Building Microtransactions Into All Future Games - IGN

What are your thoughts? I have a negative view but maybe I'm just jaded? I think you'll end up seeing things that normally would be in a game sold through a microtransaction? A lot of these things also happen to be things that would normally be unlocked in a game by beating a level on a certain difficulty etc. If they have both that would be fine but I guess ultimately....don't have very much faith in EA.
 
If the content that would be able to be purchased will add on to the game, as opposed to filling gaps purposefully left to facilitate DLC, then I don't care. If they purposefully leave out content that should be in game to force you to buy it though micro transactions then I have a problem.
 
This is the reality of video games, coming to a console near you soon. EA won't be alone, here. I dare say, they are already at this point, really. I just recently started playing the Mass Effect series, from the first game. And the first game felt...complete, like a game fully fleshed out, fully realized. The second game? Not at all. At least 3 characters, that I am aware of, within the game, have to be bought, all adding to the total storyline, through character development, and through expansion on plot themes. And the game CAME with those slots empty in the rosters...as in, it was designed from the beginning as being...more or less unfinished, without adding money to the price. In addition to those characters...there were numerous missions that could be added, for money, of course...that expand on the storyline, some of which, I am told, shed SERIOUS light onto the plot, clearing up a few issues with the storyline. Not to mention, adding exp, and funds, as the regular storyline, side quests and all, that is included with just the basic game, does not even provide enough cash to buy all the upgrades available, on the first play through. I have not yet purchased the third one, but I can only imagine that it gets worse.

I am also a fan of the Elder Scrolls series. The last one, Oblivion, was a complete game, and I will admit, the cost extra add on, Shivering Isles, was amazing, and worth every penny, as it was, essentially, an entire new world, and not just some cave, or extra quest, to do. Haven't played Skyrim, yet. But I'm willing to bet money...that there are cost extra add ons, more so than the last, and I'll bet money, that increasingly, those extras are becoming more integral parts of the story.

Imagine a book that is sold by the chapter.

Add to that, it was announced that the new X-box, whatever number it's gonna be...is going to make it impossible to play used games on it. As in, no buying used games at reduced prices, no trading in old games for new ones, etc. No letting a friend borrow a game, I imagine. Not sure how they are going to handle rentals. And I get it. The developers want to stop handing over such sizable chunks of their profits to store fronts that exist almost primarily to sell used and second hand goods.

I remember when developers would not release a game until it was 100% complete, until they were happy with the product. Now, they stay on schedule, no matter what, because, hey, they can always release an unfinished product, then charge extra for the rest at a later date, once it is finished. I mean, take that Mass Effect series. From Mass Effect 1, to 3, was, like....5 years, tops? They rushed them, because they new they could flesh it out more after the release...and make more money doing it besides. When Final Fantasy came to the SNES, they Square only had time for 3, Final Fantasy 4,5 and the legendary 6. Of which, only 2 of those made it to the US, or anywhere, outside of Japan...so reduce even more developing time, lacking a need for translations. That was over the entire life of the SNES, which was, what, 15 years, or something like that? Final Fantasy 6 along, known as 3, in the US, took YEARS to develop, and it shows. It is still regarded by many as being one of the best RPGs of all time. Great story, excellent music, good character development, good gameplay, the works. I can only imagine how ****ty that game would have been if they had operated then the way they do now.

I was never going to buy another system after the PS2...but a buddy sold me his 360 for 65 bucks...couldn't pass that up. But I can once again say, with certainty, even more so now, that I will not be buying another system after the 360, unless another buddy wants to give that next next gen one up for 60 bucks again, lol. Which is doubtful. If the trend continues, the next systems will be between 600-800 bucks, lol. And while the games still cost 50-60 bucks new, there will be no used ones to buy...and when you DO buy it, if you want everything out of the game, be prepared to spend an additional 30-40 bucks.

And that's something I'm just not prepared to do...especially not for games that aren't up to par with the likes of FF6, FF Tactics, Secret of Mana, Ogre Battle, Suikoden, etc.
 
This is the reality of video games, coming to a console near you soon....

No...I agree entirely. DLC can be awesome and add a lot to the game and be totally worth the money you fork over. It does seem like now-a-days they are making DLC for the game while making the game and release it like a month afterwards.....even when the game seems incomplete unless you have the DLC's....

Microtransactions takes this to a whole different level. Some gun in a fps or a sword in an rpg. Maybe some outfin in a 3rd person adventure game? If it's cool...they won't put it in the game, they'll want you to fork over a couple of bucks each which is just ridiculous.

Now there's always the argument "just don't buy it" and I won't....but as EA buys more and more titles and game production companies it seems like even great finished games that were more than worth the money (Bioware) are like you mentioned are being ran into the ground in order to squeeze every penny possible. =
 
I am also a fan of the Elder Scrolls series. The last one, Oblivion, was a complete game, and I will admit, the cost extra add on, Shivering Isles, was amazing, and worth every penny, as it was, essentially, an entire new world, and not just some cave, or extra quest, to do. Haven't played Skyrim, yet. But I'm willing to bet money...that there are cost extra add ons, more so than the last, and I'll bet money, that increasingly, those extras are becoming more integral parts of the story.

Skyrim, like Oblivion and the games before it, is complete and the DLC is good (the one with the extra houses seemed pretty lame at first but it does add nicely to the game). Fallout-3 and FONV also had great DLC that added to the core game without the core game being weak as a stand alone.

I like the idea of add-ons for the games but, like you say, I hate the idea of, for example, having to spend more to get an additional playable character or special accessories if that's all I'm buying.
 
Skyrim, like Oblivion and the games before it, is complete and the DLC is good (the one with the extra houses seemed pretty lame at first but it does add nicely to the game). Fallout-3 and FONV also had great DLC that added to the core game without the core game being weak as a stand alone.

I like the idea of add-ons for the games but, like you say, I hate the idea of, for example, having to spend more to get an additional playable character or special accessories if that's all I'm buying.
That makes me more excited about the game, then. I'm glad Bethesda hasn't gone that way yet...but I gotta tell you, I think it's just a matter of time before they do. Even my beloved Square Soft sold their soul to the corporate devil for profits.

I'm waiting for the game of the year edition of Skyrim, like I did with Oblivion, so I can get a few add ons with the cost of the core game. Is that game really the bee's knees? Everyone tells me it's mind blowing good.
 
No...I agree entirely. DLC can be awesome and add a lot to the game and be totally worth the money you fork over. It does seem like now-a-days they are making DLC for the game while making the game and release it like a month afterwards.....even when the game seems incomplete unless you have the DLC's....

Microtransactions takes this to a whole different level. Some gun in a fps or a sword in an rpg. Maybe some outfin in a 3rd person adventure game? If it's cool...they won't put it in the game, they'll want you to fork over a couple of bucks each which is just ridiculous.

Now there's always the argument "just don't buy it" and I won't....but as EA buys more and more titles and game production companies it seems like even great finished games that were more than worth the money (Bioware) are like you mentioned are being ran into the ground in order to squeeze every penny possible. =

Take Forza. I started playing that franchise when I got the 360, prior to that, I was a LOOOOONG time Gran Turismo fan. Forza 3 was awesome. My favorite part about Forza, over Gran Turismo? The inclusion of Porsche. I bought Forza 4, and guess what? No Porsche. Why? Because, for the privelege to drive a Porsche in Forza 4....a VIDEO GAME...it costs an EXTRA 25 bucks, or so. It's OK. I'll live. Why? Because the Delorian DMC is ALSO rear engine, RWD. Take THAT, Ferdinand.
 
Skyrim was a complete game, their two add-ons were expansions in the truest sense, they added new content and new abilities that expanded the original content, they did not complete it. However, I entirely opt out of microtransactions. I will buy the game. I will never spend another red cent on it, with the exception of legitimate expansions. I never, ever, ever buy a game at release, I wait until it's been out for a while to see what legitimate players think of it. If a game gets to the point where it's pointless to play without microtransactions, I simply won't buy it at all. If that's the way the whole industry goes, I guess I'll be done with video games forever.
 
Skyrim was a complete game, their two add-ons were expansions in the truest sense, they added new content and new abilities that expanded the original content, they did not complete it. However, I entirely opt out of microtransactions. I will buy the game. I will never spend another red cent on it, with the exception of legitimate expansions. I never, ever, ever buy a game at release, I wait until it's been out for a while to see what legitimate players think of it. If a game gets to the point where it's pointless to play without microtransactions, I simply won't buy it at all. If that's the way the whole industry goes, I guess I'll be done with video games forever.

Same here. Which my wife will love, I guess. I am 31, "too old" for such childish nonsense, right?
 
That makes me more excited about the game, then. I'm glad Bethesda hasn't gone that way yet...but I gotta tell you, I think it's just a matter of time before they do. Even my beloved Square Soft sold their soul to the corporate devil for profits.

I'm waiting for the game of the year edition of Skyrim, like I did with Oblivion, so I can get a few add ons with the cost of the core game. Is that game really the bee's knees? Everyone tells me it's mind blowing good.

It's that good. In a lot of ways I like it better than Oblivion.

Initially I was a little put off (a lot put off) by the UI but once I got over that hurdle the rest was smooth sailing. With more than 300 hours into the game I'm still into it, still haven't completed all the quests, still have to actually fight to survive, am still struggling to get desirable perks, etc. and all of that still with my 1st (and so far only) character.
 
Same here. Which my wife will love, I guess. I am 31, "too old" for such childish nonsense, right?

I'm a lot older than you and I still play. My kids do too. My wife does too. You're never too old to play games, you ought to be too old to be taken advantage of though.
 
It's that good. In a lot of ways I like it better than Oblivion.

Initially I was a little put off (a lot put off) by the UI but once I got over that hurdle the rest was smooth sailing. With more than 300 hours into the game I'm still into it, still haven't completed all the quests, still have to actually fight to survive, am still struggling to get desirable perks, etc. and all of that still with my 1st (and so far only) character.

Unfortunately, I have finished all the quests and my character is pretty much unkillable and right around level 40. I only bring out the game when they release something new to do, otherwise... I'm done.
 
Take Forza. I started playing that franchise when I got the 360, prior to that, I was a LOOOOONG time Gran Turismo fan. Forza 3 was awesome. My favorite part about Forza, over Gran Turismo? The inclusion of Porsche. I bought Forza 4, and guess what? No Porsche. Why? Because, for the privelege to drive a Porsche in Forza 4....a VIDEO GAME...it costs an EXTRA 25 bucks, or so. It's OK. I'll live. Why? Because the Delorian DMC is ALSO rear engine, RWD. Take THAT, Ferdinand.

I think the thing with Forza and Porsche wasnt really Forzas fault. Like it had to do with a disagreement between them when the game was developing but was solved after the game was released but I could be wrong. Either way Forza did have DLC available to buy the day the gay came out and I think thats ridiculous.
 
Unfortunately, I have finished all the quests and my character is pretty much unkillable and right around level 40. I only bring out the game when they release something new to do, otherwise... I'm done.

You can ramp up the difficutly of the battles. I felt the same way...I think people used to RPG's are good at making characters and picking perks and stacking abilities to make them ungodly.
 
You can ramp up the difficutly of the battles. I felt the same way...I think people used to RPG's are good at making characters and picking perks and stacking abilities to make them ungodly.

I don't know how I could ramp up the difficulty of battles when I can pretty much one-hit-kill anything in the game I never saw the point of working hard to get great arms and armor, then just taking it all off so there's "more challenge". Why get all that stuff in the first place if you're not going to use it?
 
I don't know how I could ramp up the difficulty of battles when I can pretty much one-hit-kill anything in the game I never saw the point of working hard to get great arms and armor, then just taking it all off so there's "more challenge". Why get all that stuff in the first place if you're not going to use it?

For Skyrim there's a slider in the options menus that makes the fights harder. I think they increase hit points and damage done by creatures etc. I was feeling the same way you are...it got to the point that I could run through dungeons easily. There's two additional difficulty levels above the default in the option menu.
 
For Skyrim there's a slider in the options menus that makes the fights harder. I think they increase hit points and damage done by creatures etc. I was feeling the same way you are...it got to the point that I could run through dungeons easily. There's two additional difficulty levels above the default in the option menu.

Oh, I already did that, I've been playing at the top all along. There are lots of people who think that running around in your underwear with a dull knife somehow makes a game more challenging. I think it just means you're stupid. :)
 
Unfortunately, I have finished all the quests and my character is pretty much unkillable and right around level 40. I only bring out the game when they release something new to do, otherwise... I'm done.

How the hell did you manage to get all the quests done by level 40? I'm at something like 53 and still have tons more to do but I am trying to do a lot of the side quests too for outfits like the thieves and the DB. I have also heard that there is a special quest that unlocks at level 80 but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to make it that far.
 
How the hell did you manage to get all the quests done by level 40? I'm at something like 53 and still have tons more to do but I am trying to do a lot of the side quests too for outfits like the thieves and the DB. I have also heard that there is a special quest that unlocks at level 80 but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to make it that far.

I've seen people do it in the mid 20s. It's not that hard. I've done every quest it is possible for me to do. The ones I didn't do, there are four quests that are glitched and cannot be completed. I didn't do the Dark Brotherhood quests because I killed the assassin leader and never joined the Dark Brotherhood. Obviously, the endless fetch quests can never be completed because they just keep generating more. Otherwise, I've done it all. The only way I can reach level 82.5 is to max out every skill in the game, but I really have no interest in performing actions that mean nothing but give you more XP in a skill.
 
I've seen people do it in the mid 20s. It's not that hard. I've done every quest it is possible for me to do. The ones I didn't do, there are four quests that are glitched and cannot be completed. I didn't do the Dark Brotherhood quests because I killed the assassin leader and never joined the Dark Brotherhood. Obviously, the endless fetch quests can never be completed because they just keep generating more. Otherwise, I've done it all. The only way I can reach level 82.5 is to max out every skill in the game, but I really have no interest in performing actions that mean nothing but give you more XP in a skill.

Huh...I guess it just never occurred to me to work on power leveling of blowing through the quests. I have focused on trying to find every place on the map and think I have done so but with the add-ons I'm not sure. I haven't started Dwanguard or Bards college at all and I'd kind of like to find all the parts of some treasure map I've been finding parts of. I'm also having trouble remembering who is who and where I need to go to collect various rewards. I've got something like 20 quests sitting in miscellaneous that I haven't sorted out since I keep getting sidetracked.
 
Oh, I already did that, I've been playing at the top all along. There are lots of people who think that running around in your underwear with a dull knife somehow makes a game more challenging. I think it just means you're stupid. :)

Haha! Yeah...that is being stupid.

Wasn't sure if you knew it existed. I had no idea until recently there was a slider.
 
Huh...I guess it just never occurred to me to work on power leveling of blowing through the quests. I have focused on trying to find every place on the map and think I have done so but with the add-ons I'm not sure. I haven't started Dwanguard or Bards college at all and I'd kind of like to find all the parts of some treasure map I've been finding parts of. I'm also having trouble remembering who is who and where I need to go to collect various rewards. I've got something like 20 quests sitting in miscellaneous that I haven't sorted out since I keep getting sidetracked.

Pretty much how I'm playing the game as well
 
With Skyrim, you can skip the Dawnguard add-on, but you have to get the Dragonborn add-on, especially if you played Morrowind. (Like I did, a lot, non-stop, for years)
 
Huh...I guess it just never occurred to me to work on power leveling of blowing through the quests. I have focused on trying to find every place on the map and think I have done so but with the add-ons I'm not sure. I haven't started Dwanguard or Bards college at all and I'd kind of like to find all the parts of some treasure map I've been finding parts of. I'm also having trouble remembering who is who and where I need to go to collect various rewards. I've got something like 20 quests sitting in miscellaneous that I haven't sorted out since I keep getting sidetracked.

I never did that, I spent a lot of time exploring, I'd start at a city and head west, veering off to explore anything that showed up on the map and clearing every dungeon I encountered. Usually, when I did get a quest, I had already found the site and could just fast-travel there and clear it again. I went through and took out all of the main quests pretty early on, I think I killed Alduin by the time I was level 20 at most, I've seen people kill him as early as 13. Like you, I had tons and tons of side-quests in my misc. until I got sick of it and went in and cleared them all out in a weekend. Now, the only quests I have are the four I can't do (and I'm pissed at that) and a couple of fetch quests.
 
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