A View from the Road: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Microtransaction

[Blindem]

I've noticed that a lot of these replies involve concerns revolving around a "level playing field" (or something similar). Keep in mind that this is only one type of the microtransaction we're discussing. As noted in the article -- which I enjoyed, by the way -- there are different approaches to these transactions, and assuming a microtransaction in any game (or, more appropriately, across gaming as a whole) would necessarily affect whether or not there is a level playing field is a mistake. You're talking solely about the kind of transactions that can, and do, have some additional benefits (besides, for example, cosmetic improvements or avoiding days of grinding).

It's extremely crucial, I think, in a discussion like this that we not tar the microtranaction idea with completely the same brush every time. The differentiation made in the article is an important one. While I am absolutely not in favor -- at least in the types of games I play that have a competitive element -- of allowing someone to be able to spend additional funds and thereby gain an advantage over me, there are a lot of circumstances under which I have no problem with these transactions. It should no more be up to me how another person spends their money than it should be up to me to determine how people enjoy playing their games. For this reason, I don't have a problem with microtransactions that are cosemtic or offer no ostensible benefit in a competitive setting to select individuals.

This brings me to another, albiet short, point. Several of the posts above also discuss what people should or should not do vis-a-vis their real and/or in-game lives. I would argue that those points are moot. People have a right to do with their real life or game time as they please, and whether or not you value how they choose to use that time has little place in a discussion of microtransactions. As I said above, we can no more tell others how they should live (unless you're talking about breaking real laws), than we should tell people how they should enjoy a game.

Where I think microtransactions get iffy is where they could arguably be both (cosmetic and/or functional). I've often thought that MMO companies should themselves offer microtransactions to allow customers to supplement their ability to earn in-game cash/loot. However, so many MMOs have competitive elements in them these days that allowing someone to buy extra loot or cash may, in effect, be allowing them a leg up on their competition. One person may be executing a microtransaction to get cash or an item that has no functional benefit, but another person might execute a similar transaction -- for example, buying in-game cash -- which they then use to buy better armor, weapons, skills (or whatever) that do give them a functional benefit. Yes, there are private companies that are doing this anyway -- so there is an argument for why the companies should do it themselves, make more money to support the game, and shut down some of the more questionable business practices out there by exerting greater control over the illicit cash trade -- but if you allow people to buy improvements in a system that rewards those who are competitive, you have a potential for issues. Perhaps the issue is not necessarily that it should be a "Convenience Tax," but it should revolve around several other issues. Is it a competitive game? Can the microtransaction offer a functional benefit? If the answers are no, then why should we care how others spend their money? I don't think we should.

 

[AncientYoungSon]

It funny: years and years ago, a friend and I were discussing the future of MMOs and we thought it'd be funny if you had MMOs were players could play for free as peasants but paying players would get to be knights. We laughed about it then and yet here we are, heh.

But honestly, I love the idea of microtransactions because, like Big Johnny Funk here has said, most of us just don't have the TIME to do the grind.

I enjoyed PvPing in WoW very much, but what I didn't enjoy was having to spend the better part of a year acquiring the gear that would make me such a beast in PvP. If I could've dropped $50 and had the best gear there was to have, saving myself 6 months of grinding (x$15 per month = $90) and enjoying the game a great deal more.

 

[Singing Gremlin]

'Cos red ones go fasta. We'z proved it, boss, in dat race wiv da mekboyz.

Ahem, I do apologise. Any orky reference is enough for me to go off on one. I've never quite understood the microtransaction system myself. As you say, for half the games out there it oughtn't to work. I personally wouldn't play microtransaction games myself if I had a high quality P2P game to be sinking time into instead, although I can imagine playing a game with the system you've outlined, if only to smite the moneyed nooby ones.

Interestingly, you do get a mild parallel to the microtransaction mentality even in P2P games sans gold buying - that is, the practise of twinking. The de-levelling of the playing field from one character with more resources (a higher level character with more money, or... more money). It does make sense that, given low enough overheads, you could theoretically make a profit straight out of that mentality. Still, in practise I'm surprised it works.

 

[pneuma08]

Actually, modern console FPSes are actually getting increasingly like the pay-to-play with microtransactions rather than subscriptions or what have you. The last time I played Halo 3 (which I got to play with friends) we were stuck in a particular game mode because I didn't have the updated maps.

I don't know the details because I wasn't hosting that session, but it was a very negative reaction all around. Sad, really...

 

[thedo12]

why don't we just skip all this non-sense and have SKILL based games, instead of games where haveing better gear means you beat more skilled oppenents.

 

[Helicockter]

To my mind, microtransactions and gold-sellers expose an inherent flaw in the whole MMO system. You are PAYING for the ability to SKIP GAME CONTENT. when you play a regular, offline game, you are playing for the fun of the journey, not the destination. In Mario world, most people don't skip straight to bowsers castle via the star road, they play through the game because the levels themseves are FUN. Any game where actually playing as intended is boring is not doing its job properly.

Sure MMO endgame content should be fun and unique, but there should also be awesome and unique experiences along the way that are not represented in the endgame. There is an implicit assumption in most MMOs that there should be "grind", that at least part of the journey should be boring, perhaps to make the destination seem more worthwhile. Or perhaps the repetitive farming and grind is there simply to pad the time spent in the game; it would be impossible to create unique content enough to keep the hardcore players occupied 8+ hours a day for several years, whereas making them repeat the same quests or gathering tasks many times to gain access to the "fun bits" keeps those $15s rolling in. The only game that seems to break this mold is, to a small extent, EVE, and even them you can only access the cooler content like fleet warfare as a new player if you find a really good player lead alliance with dedicated caretakers and training schemes (which is, to be fair, the kind of emergent gameplay EVE was designed to foster).

I don't know if it's even possible to design a traditional PvE MMO that breaks this mold. WoW and its many imitators are goal based; get the best gear, run the toughest dungeons. If you don't feel like you're building up to something better than the place you are at the moment, will people keep playing?

in conclusion, if you are willing to pay money to skip playing bits of a game, isn't there a problem with those bits of the game?

 

[Helicockter]

why don't we just skip all this non-sense and have SKILL based games, instead of games where haveing better gear means you beat more skilled oppenents.

there are lots of these. We just don't call them MMOs, we call the FPS, RTS, racing games, beat 'em ups etc.

 

[Sparkky]

Sorry but I find this a terrible idea...

I played WoW at the endgame for a number of years and now only play casually and see what some of the changes Blizzard is making to the game are doing to it. In the past the only way to get equipment was to toil though all the content that everyone else had to catch up and it remained this way for a long time. There was no alternate way of getting equipment than through raiding and that's just the way it was. These days it is much easier to gear up. As soon as new content and gear is released last patches best gear becomes easy to obtain, taking comparatively few hours for casual players to obtain. This has created immense uproar already from the hardcore community simply because people who put in 20% of the effort of hardcore players can now get 80-90% of the gear. However it is still acceptable and people have learned to adapt and overall it looks like Blizzard have made more friends in the casual community than they have lost amongst the hardcore followers.

Now just imagine that those casuals could lay down an extra 10-15$ a month and be the SAME not just close but the same as the hardcore gamers... I wont say the game would collapse but I think some troubled times would be ahead.

call me obvious, but you'd notice the two games are very different.
You'd also notice that WoW doesn't have micro transactions for game items... where as exteel does.

You'd almost be able to come to the conclusion there designed around there payment models...
Your argument is akin to saying training wheels are stupid, my car already has 4 wheels why the hell should I worry about it falling over.

 

[Godavari]

I've never played any MMO's except for Runescape (Hey! I quit four years ago! No flaming.) and that was a horrible experience. The free players got so little. : (
I really love the idea that they implemented with Exteel. All content is accessible to free players, but being able to access higher-level content quickly is an awesome way to increase revenue without ticking off the free users. Plus, paid-for and earned equipment is different aesthetically, which means I can get extra iternet points for doing it the hard way!
Yayz.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

And now I want to try Exteel

 

[allieinsa]

I agree 100%
And I liked the comment at the bottom about red making things go faster. I myself would paint at least half of it blue for obvious reasons!

 

[Girlysprite]

The 'problem' with MMO's is not that that they are boring and difficult to go through...well...Initially, that is. There is a problem. WoW is quite fun to go through, the first time. And maybe the second and third time too. But there are many players with more characters like that. And then there is grind. Now they have deathknights which start at a high level, but you can only play it once a character of yours already reached a certain level.
Maybe it's useful to allow players to buy basic high level characters if they already leveled one to that point? I think it doesn't even harm the game balance.

 

[Ashoten]

The only reason to consider in game purchase that give you an advantage is to undercut 3rd party that often use accounts of their clients to advertise or just rob them blind and disenchant or sell their gear.

However I think you are ignoring something. The developers choose how to build their games. They pick what power ups there are and how the numbers crunch out. The problem is making an online game full of useless/pointless gradations of swag that constantly force you to upgrade or die. Remember when FPS games didn't need more then a handful of guns randomly available on the map? When playing a multiplayer game was about just firing up your machine and jumping into a game with friends? No barriers of entry no waiting to level up to your friends level. Just play and have fun without needing a spread sheet in front of you?

Victory was decided by skill and teamwork alone. Why do I care about that? Well video games as a medium for entertainment have the power to be an equalizer. To be able to bring people together without the usual barriers of normal social separation from wealth or education. Micro transactions take that away and make my virtual fantasy world just another place for people to show off their E-peen and social status.

I come to video games to escape from this BS and it makes me sad to see it change in this way.

No I do not have to play these games and many games do the FTP model in a way that is not completely unfair and it makes it easier for those with less cash be able to access the games without being a pirate. But I see how easily it is going to be to turn this medium into virtual casinos. They take your money a quarter at a time but it adds up fast.