Ryse Microtransactions are "Nothing Sinister," Microsoft Promises

[Jamous]

Unfortunately the game itself still looks awful.

 

[Arfreid]

In reality it's nothing different from what ME3's multiplayer did. The problem is people didn't like it then, so there's no reason for them to start liking it now.

Also: ME3's multiplayer was strictly co-op with all players getting the same amount of experience and cash whether they were on top of the scoreboard or at the bottom, so in this case it wasn't even Pay to Win but rather Pay to Become More Effective/Helpful.

Still, I wonder how many people ACTUALLY bought those random gear packs with real money...talk about just pissing your cash away.

I remember this, bought the game, completed it and then jumped into multiplayer and never thought of using any microtransactions, that is until I unlocked enough weapon upgrades to play in mid difficulty matches that I felt that I wasn't 'up to par' with my teammates.

Everyone, even at the lowest difficulty had better gear than me, played a lot more aliens races/classes and did a lot better than me... I first shrugged it off as me just being bad.

But then, the DLC's started coming out.

At first you had to buy some points -Bioware points on PC - for cash, no biggie. Then you realize you can't buy the number the points you need, the ammount of points are tied to different price tiers... I said Ok, sounds reasonable, I'll save the rest for some other DLC.

You get back to the multiplayer and realize that the 'remaining' points you have are the exact same ammount as an top tier item bundle at the store, and you ALWAYS see this because it's right besides the free option, you realize that to pay for this top tier bundle with in-game currency will take you no less than two successfully completed games of 10 rounds each (depending on difficulty and provided you win at least one 'money' round and remember, you lose everything you earned in that session if you disconnect).


You decide to try it, and you recieve your first rare weapon, you try it and realize that this weapon is a lot better than all the weapons you have unlocked during all the grind you have made...


The transaction might have been 'optional' but if you don't use them then the game itself cripples and hinders your progress...

That's when the multiplayer and the game as a whole lost it's charm to me...

 

[Neta]

If you want us to pay for micro-transactions and not feel like you're trying to con us, don't make the game cost $60 to buy first.

 

[RJ 17]

In reality it's nothing different from what ME3's multiplayer did. The problem is people didn't like it then, so there's no reason for them to start liking it now.

Also: ME3's multiplayer was strictly co-op with all players getting the same amount of experience and cash whether they were on top of the scoreboard or at the bottom, so in this case it wasn't even Pay to Win but rather Pay to Become More Effective/Helpful.

Still, I wonder how many people ACTUALLY bought those random gear packs with real money...talk about just pissing your cash away.

I remember this, bought the game, completed it and then jumped into multiplayer and never thought of using any microtransactions, that is until I unlocked enough weapon upgrades to play in mid difficulty matches that I felt that I wasn't 'up to par' with my teammates.

Everyone, even at the lowest difficulty had better gear than me, played a lot more aliens races/classes and did a lot better than me... I first shrugged it off as me just being bad.

But then, the DLC's started coming out.

At first you had to buy some points -Bioware points on PC - for cash, no biggie. Then you realize you can't buy the number the points you need, the ammount of points are tied to different price tiers... I said Ok, sounds reasonable, I'll save the rest for some other DLC.

You get back to the multiplayer and realize that the 'remaining' points you have are the exact same ammount as an top tier item bundle at the store, and you ALWAYS see this because it's right besides the free option, you realize that to pay for this top tier bundle with in-game currency will take you no less than two successfully completed games of 10 rounds each (depending on difficulty and provided you win at least one 'money' round and remember, you lose everything you earned in that session if you disconnect).


You decide to try it, and you recieve your first rare weapon, you try it and realize that this weapon is a lot better than all the weapons you have unlocked during all the grind you have made...


The transaction might have been 'optional' but if you don't use them then the game itself cripples and hinders your progress...

That's when the multiplayer and the game as a whole lost it's charm to me...

Can't say I ever really had that problem, really...but maybe because I started out playing as an Infiltrator and the Mantis (starting sniper rifle) is a pretty good weapon in it's own right. Beyond that, there's a lot of classes that were built so that you'd be less dependent on weapons, some where you only carried one because the game forced you to. Really the only class that would be dependent upon getting good weapons would be the soldier class seeing as how in the early days the majority of their abilities just gave you things like increased fire-rate and accuracy and such. But classes like the Adept, Engineer, Sentinel, and Vanguard really didn't need spectacular weapons in order to be successful, but rather good builds with talent points. In fact it was better for these classes to roll out with just a pistol or SMG so they could get the highest cool-down bonus and use their powers as often as possible. With regards to the Infiltrator, as I mentioned: the Mantis is a fantastic sniper rifle.

It can get frustrating, though, when your friends are getting these kick ass weapons and you're getting the Avenger Mk.8 (standard assault rifle). I still play it every now and then (actually playing it right now) and to this day I still haven't found a single Black Widow. I've got a regular Widow up to lvl 7 though, so I really can't complain about sniping. And with the addition of some of these new characters for the classes, each class has one or two units that doesn't even need to use weapons at all. The Geth Trooper and Vorcha Soldier both have a flamethrower as one of their powers and that is absolutely devastating.

Point is though that all it takes is a bit of patience. Rather than paying $3 or whatever for a high-end equipment pack, I always found it best to just play through a couple rounds to win the in-game currency.

 

[Angelous Wang]

Microtransactions ... they aren't even going to sell many copies of this game, let alone anyone willing to spend more money on it.

The game is a Kinect game and has a heavy amount of QTE button pressing.

 

[Keiichi Morisato]

In reality it's nothing different from what ME3's multiplayer did. The problem is people didn't like it then, so there's no reason for them to start liking it now.

That's the problem with this scheme on this game. People didn't mind or outright ignored the ME3 and Dead Space 3 microtransactions because those were still fun games in their own right and you didn't have to pay anything to make it better. Ryse, on the other hand, is seemingly a standard QTE-laden spunkgargleweewee game, just set in ancient Rome. There's no actual substance or fun to make people forget that they're paying for the game, the console, the Kinect, the online, AND the microtransactions, so people will realise how exploitive and unjustifiable this scheme is.

yeah I know, at least GOW 3 and the prequel are fun games, and the multiplayer in the new GOW game is quite fun and very brutal.

 

[Catface Meowmers]

*thud* *thud* *thud* *thud* Oh don't mind me, I'm just banging my head on a wall while executives fail to grasp how microtansactions work and decide to go down the Dead Space 3 route. *thud* *thud* *thud* *thud*

Captcha: Drum Head. Apropos, isn't it?

Apropos nothing, your computer is watching you . . . and learning . . .

A word of advice: if you're planning on getting a new computer anytime soon, don't back up all your files at once. It will know.

 

[Keiichi Morisato]

I honestly believe what they are saying is true. Everyone really complained about the microtransactions in Deadspace 3, but they were literally optional. I went completely through that game and didn't need to spend dime. I also didn't care to experiment with the crafting system and only crafted things I needed. But, that being said, Ryse doesn't actually look like a good game. I mean, I haven't been keeping up on it, but it doesn't look like anything of value.

it was pretty much developed to compete with SONY's God of War franchise, but changed things up by taking out what made God of War fun even with all of the QTE's.

 

[neppakyo]

Ryse doesn't look very good. Very bland color palette, and graphics do not look as good as God of War 3. Then add microtransactions to a full price AAA game, and publishers wonder why people get a bit upset.

Ryse and Killer Instinct, two promising titles that are executed poorly, don't look appealing to me, and added to my do not buy list, even if i had the inclination of buying an overpriced xbone.

 

[Stevepinto3]

Oh ok, I understand now. The benefits are slim. So you're saying that it's not worth buying. Right, cus that makes sense at all for you to do.

There is this incredibly stupid doublethink every time micro-transactions are put into a $60 game. They have to toe the line and not seem like they're trying to rip you off, but they also have to seem like it's worth spending money on them.

Sorry, you can't have it both ways. Either you are purposefully wasting my time to try to make me buy digital goods, or you are selling me something that you acknowledge is not worth the money you are asking for it.

Stop. Doing. This.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

"It's nothing sinister. It's just us trying to make more money. And it's not like money has ever been called the 'root of all evil' or anything.

"We're just selling 'convenience'. And we all know how progressing through levels and actually working your way up a leaderboard is just so damned inconvenient. So we're going to make Ryse so that it's very easy for you to give us your money.

"We promise."

You REALLY need to fill in between the lines with Microsoft these days.

We want to make our game as convienient as possible, which is why we are locking all of our upgrading content behind a randomised generator so you don't know what you get until you pay for it and open it up, and cannot plan any of your upgrades.

LOGIC!

 

[Vie]

I didn't think they were anything sinister till Microsoft assured me that they weren't.

I mean, from the moment I heard about them I knew it would be yet another money grab tacked onto an already fatally compromised game. But that's not sinister. Depressing sure, but not sinister.

It's funny though, now that MS has assured us there's nothing sinister about it, I'm now creeped out by the very idea.

 

[dragongit]

So, suddenly the Xbox one's launch lineup isn't looking quite as strong as it had before. Ryse was considered one of it's "stronger" reasons to get it. Really the only noteworthy game anymore is Killer Instinct. Dead Rising 3 looks neutered compared to it's previous games. I can accept a few cosmetic things perhaps in some AAA games, a costume or what have you. But literal micro transactions that give you boosters or gear, that takes it to a new level of shit. No thanks Microsoft, or Crytek.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I always get a kick out of when developers say "All of the content is designed to be achieved without paying more money". No shit, really? I paid 60 dollars for the game, so I would think so. It also is rather false, since once you throw in microtransactions, that game is now designed around it, whether they realize it or not.

 

[rofltehcat]

"You just give us money. Nothing sinister about that. What's not to like about that?"
The problem about "pay to gain upgrades faster" is that it can influence design decisions like making unlocking them into a huge grind.

 

[LordMonty]

Its not worth hating, could be totally not evil... unlikely and this may be like watching an insane man covered in petrol trying to light his cigarette... but again i'll wait and see because who ever hated on microtranactions they're so popular.