The_Super_Inframan
"the journey to a thousand games ends with bad rats. ~Lao Tzu" ~Gabe Newell
http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/how-activision-uses-matchmaking-tricks-to-sell-in-game-items-w509288
Rolling Stone article
Full explanation/info is in the Article.
credit to Lashman!
Rolling Stone article
Activision was granted a patent this month for a system it uses to convince people in multiplayer games to purchase items for a game through microtransactions.
The "System and method for driving microtransactions in multiplayer video games" was filed in 2015, but granted on October 17th, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The patent details how multiplayer matches are configured, specifically how players are selected to play with one another. That process used by Activision involves a computer looking at a wide variety of factors including skill level, internet latency, availability of friends and other things. It then goes through a system to first soft-reserve a slot in a game for a player and then assign the players to the same match.
This patent, though, specifically discusses how that system for pairing up players can also be used to entice a player to purchase in-game items.
Full explanation/info is in the Article.
credit to Lashman!