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[Brera]

So you didnt support them either?

I support their good games.

If you had bought mirrors edge and dead space then we wouldn't be in this mess!

 

[Brera]

Eurogamer's description of how EA's micro-transactions work in Real Racing 3





http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-28-real-racing-3-review

Holy shit!

Never thought anyone would go and do that!

Plus you still end up with shitty motion controls!

 

[Gintamen]

I support their good games.

If you had bought mirrors edge and dead space then we wouldn't be in this mess!

He pointed out your contradicting statements.

So, which is it?

 

[Gen X]

I would like to say I haven't bought a new EA game since the since the ESPN Football debacle, but then I realised I have bought the last three Criterion racers brand new (Burnout Paradise, Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted). Everything else though, second hand. Dead Space 1&2, Skate 1&2, Mass Effect 3.

I don't need your shitty online pass EA and I sure as hell won't be doing any micro transactions. You screwed some of us over years ago and certainly won't get as much from me as you once would have.

 

[Brera]

I think you guys are playing with symantics here!

I bought one 2nd hand and the other was a gift....EA got money for it indirectly!

 

[Gintamen]

In the end you didn't support them at all by yourself with those two games, no need for symantics here.

 

[Queen of Hunting]

Battlefield 4 will be a gold mine if they do this with that title all the little kids on day 1 purchase will be getting their mums to buy them and unlock them weapons and stuff early lol

 

[Yagharek]

I support their good games.

If you had bought mirrors edge and dead space then we wouldn't be in this mess!

But you said you bought one second hand and were given the other as a gift. None of your money went to the publisher as a small voice saying 'I like games like this, please make more.'

I actually bought them both, and they were amongst the last EA games I've ever played.

 

[PedroLumpy]

Battlefield 4 will be a gold mine if they do this with that title all the little kids on day 1 purchase will be getting their mums to buy them and unlock them weapons and stuff early lol

How popular was that BF3 unlock pack?

Create roadblock
Charge to bypass roadblock
Say you're doing it to 'give options to the player.'

 

[Metalmurphy]

How popular was that BF3 unlock pack?

Create roadblock
Charge to bypass roadblock
Say you're doing it to 'give options to the player.'

Are you calling BF3s unlock system a roadblock? lol

 

[POWERSPHERE]

Just release Skate 4 and do whatever you want, i'll pay for it.

 

[synchronicity]

I'm just waiting for the pay X points to win transaction, then I'll be all set.

 

[Omegasquash]

If you're not being forced or herded into buying them (Shepherd), then that's just fine and dandy. I don't have a problem with someone offering me something. I have a problem when someone uses deceptive business practices.

Someone creating new income channels is just fine. That said, I think EA's pricing is a little high, and this talk of $69.99 is unsettling. A high point of entry combined with high priced additional content just means that it'll all cost more, when there are many, MANY other alternatives.

So go ahead, put the offer out there. It doesn't mean that I'll bite.

 

[Dead Man]

Eurogamer's description of how EA's micro-transactions work in Real Racing 3





http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-28-real-racing-3-review

What the hell? Some shitty stuff.

 

[Billen]

"We are building into all of our games the ability to pay for things along the way; to get to a higher level," Jorgensen declared, "And consumers are enjoying and embracing that way of business."

As an oldtime BF player, an (almost, too old to be honest) life long gamer, and a grown man with enough money to buy whatever games he wants I'd like to say this:

Fuck you EA. Honestly. I will stay away from your releases just because of your shitty, pest-infested logo. I will teach my children to hate you and spread the word to all their and my own friends. You have grown too greedy and I hope you end up eating your own tail soon enough.

 

[PedroLumpy]

Are you calling BF3s unlock system a roadblock? lol

Yep.

...

Lol?

 

[PKrockin]

Eurogamer's description of how EA's micro-transactions work in Real Racing 3

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-28-real-racing-3-review

Wow. Pathetic. Sounds like a Mobage Town game.

 

[RoninChaos]

Heh, gotta say that I pretty much agree.

I've only bought about $100 worth of DLC through out this whole gen. I've played/went through just as much content this gen as I have in previous gens before DLC existed (possibly even more content).

Overall, if I see DLC that I don't like, I just ignore it. If a game has too much DLC to the point in which the game is really lacking in content then I just won't buy the game. Simple.

Don't get why some are acting like they are being forced into doing something.

I like how you're ignoring that this idea of microtransactions will directly effect game design. People have said it over and over and over again. Did you miss it?

 

[NullPointer]

Eurogamer's description of how EA's micro-transactions work in Real Racing 3

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-28-real-racing-3-review

Evidence A for everything wrong with microtransactions.

There's a good game somewhere within Real Racing 3 - and there are plenty of free-to-play games that prove this model can work successfully while respecting the player. Firemonkeys, and perhaps more pertinently EA, have got that balance horribly, horribly wrong, to an extent where the business model becomes the game - with gut-wrenching results.

 

[ActionMan]

I think it's entirely possible cheats and "trainers" will return after a 15 or so year absence and will become mainstream. That's the only way I see a game such as Real Racing 3 becomes tolerable, if You get a chance to tweak the amount of prize money and reduce wait times to 1 second on everything.

 

[Kill Your Masters]

'Real Racing 3' is ruined by in-app purchases | The Verge

http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/3/1/4042704/real-racing-3-available-in-the-us-for-free

Next gen will be a shitfest.

 

[sykoex]

'Real Racing 3' is ruined by in-app purchases | The Verge

http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/3/1/4042704/real-racing-3-available-in-the-us-for-free

Next gen will be a shitfest.

Hopefully we continue to see backlash like this and Eurogamer. But as long as EA keeps seeing a profit they won't really change.

 

[UrbanRats]

Was this posted? It cracks me up every time.

 

[Dead Man]

Well, as noted there's a minority that pays tons of money into this stuff, which is also the worst kind of premium buyer to me: they're not paying for an interesting niche game that needs a lot of money from a few people to work, it's a cheap exploitive cash grab some apathetic rich people (or just idiots) don't mind tossing absurd amounts of money into. Though that also makes me wonder how viable such a model is in the long run: if ALL games became like that you'd have this minority who has no problem paying their way to victory, while the games are not interesting enough to actually bring in many new players, so you have a small market from likely fickle people that'll turn and go elsewhere at the drop of a hat, then you have nothing but Tetris and Angry Birds.

Or perhaps that's just a hope, because if something like paying to win dominated then the industry has little right to continue to exist.

Exactly. Even if the majority don't buy, when a few spend massive money it makes it worth while.

'Real Racing 3' is ruined by in-app purchases | The Verge

http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/3/1/4042704/real-racing-3-available-in-the-us-for-free

Next gen will be a shitfest.

GAH! Why do they not have a link to the non mobile version of the story on the damn page?

 

[SolidSnakex]

Was this posted? It cracks me up every time.

I understand that he's talking about going the addiction route. Give players enough content and then they really won't think twice about giving a little extra to keep going. But is that really the first example that popped into his head? I don't think any game will ever actually ask you to pay to reload a clip. But it makes me wonder how deep they're thinking about going with their micro-transaction models. Will something like Real Racing 3's model carry over to BF4? Unlocks would no longer equip instantly and would take additional time unless you pay up with a different form of in-game currency or real money.

 

[televator]

Well Mass Effect was the only thing they had on me... and since they shat on that, this only gives me a real incentive to actively avoid EA games in the future.

 

[UrbanRats]

The main topics have already been mentioned, but I will reiterate that this is indicative of two major concerns:

1) This is indicative of high development costs. As costs continue to rise, everyone (not just EA) is looking for any way they can to squeeze more money out of their existing customers. Don't like it? Stop pushing the tech race.

Are consumers really pushing the tech race? If i think about the best selling games, it doesn't seem like there's a constant obsession towards the shiniest graphics.
Sure CoD is AAA, but it's certainly not pushing boundaries as far as tech goes.
The Mario series is the same deal.
I suspect games like Assassin's Creed 3 that have sold a lot, did so mostly due to the obnoxious level of marketing Ubisoft put through, and not because people were genuinely impressed by the graphics, otherwise Witcher 2 would've sold a lot more than it did.

Even when it comes to machines, it's not like the meatiest ones in terms of tech get out on top (infact, they rarely do).

It seems to me that this obsession to push the "As" over the limit, is more of a self fulfilling prophecy, where the big houses feel that the only way to have a more successful game than the competition, is to throw more money at it than they do.

On a personal level, i do like huge expensive games, i like GTA and Assassin's Creed and whatever else (just as i like smaller ones, of course) but on a more general level, i don't think people actively search for the best looking game.. maybe for the more familiar one.

It seems to me these companies have an interest in reaching unsustainable levels of production, by any means necessary, so they get to control a larger percentage of the market and, despite the losses you pointed out, it seems like they're succeeding (as you mentioned, there are a handful of companies who basically own the gaming software market, as of now).
Bleeding each other to death and to the victor go the spoils.

--
As for the topic at hand, i've had a lot of fun playing videogames this gen, we'll see how it goes, but i tend to approach this things in a very shortsighted way.
I won't buy anything i don't consider enough of a value, i've bought a lot of content for cheap on Steam this gen, including some DLCs, and i'm fine with them; if i don't think they're worth my money, i don't buy them.
I'll do the same with microtransactions: If they're not interesting i won't get them and if the butchered game won't be worth the money they're asking for, i won't buy that either.

I guess it's a flawed reasoning, but i like to keep it simple.

 

[JimmyRustler]

I haven't bought EA games for a while now, so I don't really care. EA must be desperate though. The golden gaming times are long gone. Remember seeing a video of how people who worked at EA could go to the gym, sauna, massage and all that shit. Now people have to do constant overtime and EA has to squeeze bucks out of microtransactions....

 

[JimmyRustler]

Are consumers really pushing the tech race? If i think about the best selling games, it doesn't seem like there's a constant obsession towards the shiniest graphics....

No one is pushing it by purpose but the graphical transition needs to be done at some point. People simply get bored. There is a reason why game sales always peak around 4 years after launch each gen and then start to drop.

The industry could theoratically be substainable in it's current form but I think what it's struggling most against is the variety of stuff people can do in their free time these days. IMO that's what's truely killing the industry. It's not about game quality, AAA or all the shit. Too many people are simply wandering off and doing other things. Only true gamers remain and even those have less time for gaming now.

 

[bigboss370]

i just realized, if its really true all their games from now on will have micro transactions, then i will be really, really sad.

Dragon Age and Mass Effect will have transactions, and so will sports games like FIFA? dear god please no

 

[Eusis]

i just realized, if its really true all their games from now on will have micro transactions, then i will be really, really sad.

Dragon Age and Mass Effect will have transactions, and so will sports games like FIFA? dear god please no

Hopefully the model crashes sooner than later, or at least the bullshit uses of it destroy the games they're in and they're forced to treat them more like paid cheats for well balanced single player games people just want to get ahead in. Because shit like Real Racing 3 should NOT become the fucking standard.

 

[SolidSnakex]

i just realized, if its really true all their games from now on will have micro transactions, then i will be really, really sad.

Dragon Age and Mass Effect will have transactions, and so will sports games like FIFA? dear god please no

Doesn't FIFA already have micro-transactions with Ultimate Team?

 

[UrbanRats]

No one is pushing it by purpose but the graphical transition needs to be done at some point. People simply get bored. There is a reason why game sales always peak around 4 years after launch each gen and then start to drop.

The industry could theoratically be substainable in it's current form but I think what it's struggling most against is the variety of stuff people can do in their free time these days. IMO that's what's truely killing the industry. It's not about game quality, AAA or all the shit. Too many people are simply wandering off and doing other things. Only true gamers remain and even those have less time for gaming now.

It's not really "killing" the industry, then.
It's curing it, as those huge numbers were, evidently, a bubble.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

Was this posted? It cracks me up every time.

There is no game in the world that asking me for money in the middle of it is going to get me do anything but turn it off.

Fuck off.

 

[Jamie OD]

Doesn't FIFA already have micro-transactions with Ultimate Team?

They do. My concern is if we get more cases of accounts being hacked for that sort of content.

 

[El-Suave]

Doesn't FIFA already have micro-transactions with Ultimate Team?

FIFA is the reason we're in this mess. Ultimate Team works and it works brilliantly. It taps into the football card collecting spirit and nostalgia that many of us have had since they were young. They're making so much money on that, it's no wonder they're tempted to put that model on any other game.
My big hope is that it won't stick for other games and that all the number we're hearing just come from one or two big games that are successful in that area. It might be just another bubble/gold rush phase we're dealing with here.

 

[Acrylic7]

simply dont buy their games, even if you want too. Its for the greater good.

 

[fallagin]

Eurogamer's description of how EA's micro-transactions work in Real Racing 3





http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-28-real-racing-3-review

Good lord, that is some Nasty shit.

 

[SolidSnakex]

They do. My concern is if we get more cases of accounts being hacked for that sort of content.

Yeah, that's definitely concerning. And is very serious about it. They're the most aggressive with this strategy among all the big publishers. It'll either work for them in other games or they're going to get a really nasty reality check.

FIFA is the reason we're in this mess. Ultimate Team works and it works brilliantly. It taps into the football card collecting spirit and nostalgia that many of us have had since they were young. They're making so much money on that, it's no wonder they're tempted to put that model on any other game.
My big hope is that it won't stick for other games and that all the number we're hearing just come from one or two big games that are successful in that area. It might be just another bubble/gold rush phase we're dealing with here.

I believe some reports have it sitting at 100m. It's hard to blame them for being so attracted to the model. And to be honest, i'm not really bothered by the idea of micro-transactions. My problem comes up when it's clear that the game is being designed in a way that micro-transactions are less of an option and more of an eventual requirement. That's basically what it sounds like with Real Racing 3. So much of that game seems to be designed around making things take so long that you eventually just give in to giving them some money so that you can advance.

 

[Aaron]

Microtransaction penny pinching just distracts from the joy of playing the game. It's like watching a movie with popup ads.

 

[semiconscious]

Well Mass Effect was the only thing they had on me... and since they shat on that, this only gives me a real incentive to actively avoid EA games in the future.

yeah, this's the only ea game/series i've held on to. aside from a couple other games, i've found it very easy to pass on ea the last half-dozen years...

Was this posted? It cracks me up every time.

to his credit, this's as 'in your face' blatant as you can get. leaving it to gamers/consumers to make the next move...

 

[dreamstation]

The only logical solution to this is to stop paying. A whole lot of people must be buying into their bullshit or they wouldn't be building it into all of their games.

The only games I will spend extra on are the games like Path of Exile which are free. I don't mind throwing those guys 20 bucks to support them and to get some additional storage space for my characters when I've played the game for over 300 hours already for free.

 

[Bisnic]

And consumers are enjoying and embracing that way of business.

What a disingenuous thing to say.

Well, to be honest... there's enough people using the micro-transactions in Mass Effect 3 to make the multiplayer DLCs free.

Thankfully i'm not one of them, so these guys are giving me free DLCs, thank guys!