Loot boxes and Micro-transactions

nix

nix wrote:

No its not, you're paying at least twice the price for the game. and the content is all dried up after a year. The others i mentioned are consistently banging out new content, new maps, new characters, new incentives to make playing during the seasonal/promotional event more exciting and unique, they breath life into their games.

Where are you paying twice the price? You pay the base price for BF2 and all additional content is free. As to how much and for how long I've no idea but saying you're paying twice the price is wrong. If you want to have a go at a game for triple dipping the Destiny 2 is far worse, game, preorder bonus, season pass, loot crates and additional dlc. That is truly abusing the system.

ShadowHearth

ShadowHearth wrote:

As I said before, lootboxes are evil, but putting cosmetics in to lootboxes is the lesser evil, then putting game balance items. And I still want them to disapear, all of them. At this point I will just repeat myself for 100th time, but I am pretty sure you will find another way to repeat your agenda.

I have no agenda, just find that people like you saying gambling us an awful addiction that ruins families then defending sine loot crates as the lesser of two evils doesn't make sense to me. I want all loot crates gone, not just ones that may give someone an advantage over me.

nix

Deleted User wrote: »

Where are you paying twice the price? You pay the base price for BF2 and all additional content is free. As to how much and for how long I've no idea but saying you're paying twice the price is wrong. If you want to have a go at a game for triple dipping the Destiny 2 is far worse, game, preorder bonus, season pass, loot crates and additional dlc. That is truly abusing the system.

Sorry I'm still associating BF with battlefield, i thought you were referring to Battlefield. Battlefront 2 doesnt have a season pass, but they were depending on their game altering lootcrate system, but they **** the bed on that and they were made to pull the system by disney (not because they wanted to). I bet you now they wish they went down the season pass route. And I'm not defending destiny 2, i lump that game into the same ****box as battlefront 2 and battlefield, lets just call it the EA box and friends.

Gregk961

[Deleted User] wrote: »

All season pass content and all additional content for BF2 is free.

You cant compare the post release content you get for Battlefront to something like DOTA or Overwatch though. Those games are going strong and will be for years to come, as another poster noted its a gaming community built around a game.

I played Battlefront 2 recently just to see what the all the fuss was over and going by the really awful progression system it seems like they wanted to frustrate people into juicing up their character with a few star cards.

Battlefront is a cash grab designed to squeeze as much money as possible out of each person who buys it. The game itself is shallow and presumably most people who bought the game will not get the full benifit of the "free" season because they will have stopped playing a month or two after release.

Vicxas

Apple come out swinging against loot boxes, well not really swinging.

https://kotaku.com/apple-says-itunes-apps-must-now-disclose-odds-for-loot-1821497923

Mickeroo

Didn't that come out over a month ago or what have they supposedly done now?

SolvableKnave

Mickeroo wrote: »

Didn't that come out over a month ago or what have they supposedly done now?

I thought that was Activision? They had a patent on it but had "No Plans" to implement?

Mickeroo

SolvableKnave wrote: »

I thought that was Activision? They had a patent on it but had "No Plans" to implement?

Yeah you're right now you mention it.

gimli2112

Talking about this yesterday, it's probably happening subtly already, they're hardly going to tell us. I haven't felt the impulse to buy any DLC and I'm quite susceptible to marketing so I'll let ye know.

Kiith

Yeah, it was Activision who had patented a plan like this. This is the first indication that EA were going down this route with Anthem, though it's not surprising, as they've been pushing it for a while now. You'd hope that the Battlefront 2 debacle would stop this, but that won't happen. They'll keep pushing this practice until we are simply used to it.

Has there been any confirmation that Anthem even has PvP in it or is this just another example of Sterling making great leaps in order to have a go? When the day comes that loot crates and then asset flipping games are no more what will Sterling make videos about?

I assume that every publisher and developer has a paper about how to monetize titles for as long as possible. Has there been any evidence that any publisher has started messing with matchmaking to try and get people to buy in-game content or is it just Jim getting offended over something that may happen?

Surely clear evidence of EAs ****ty practices and in particular over the last year would lead consumers to be skeptical about their future games, no?

nix

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Surely clear evidence of EAs ****ty practices and in particular over the last year would lead consumers to be skeptical about their future games, no?

Sadly no, I'm waiting over a decade for the penny to drop with gamers, they still just lap it up.

M!Ck^

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Surely clear evidence of EAs ****ty practices and in particular over the last year would lead consumers to be skeptical about their future games, no?

Should we be skeptical of Blizzard too as they have some pretty crappy practices too, or is it only crappy when the loot crates offer noncosmetic items?

The Sterling videos are little more than click-bait journalism desperate to get people to give him money. He has a history of making huge leaps and poorly researching things as he tries to position himself as some moral white knight who is out there fighting the little people.

Till something comes out a little more concrete than a research paper, this is a nothing story. There are thousands of research papers written by academics and employees of game companies that are nothing more than just that, research papers.

nix

nix wrote: »

Sadly no, I'm waiting over a decade for the penny to drop with gamers, they still just lap it up.

The acceptance of Season Passes and additional DLC was the end of gaming. Since then it has been a long slide into mediocrity in which middle of the road triple-A titles go through the motions while trying to take every last cent they can.

nix

nix wrote: »

Sadly no, I'm waiting over a decade for the penny to drop with gamers, they still just lap it up.

This is it though. Enough warning signs have presented themselves.
Some lads / lassies just still need to wake up to it.
There will always be a few who will still defend this to the hilt for whatever reason.
(For eg. Historically ties to a given franchises / company / or some sense of inherent loyalty)

SeantheMan

M!Ck^ wrote: »

This is it though. Enough warning signs have presented themselves.
Some lads / lassies just still need to wake up to it.There will always be a few who will still defend this to the hilt for whatever reason.

(For eg. Historically ties to a given franchises / company / or some sense of inherent loyalty)

It's a sh1tty practice and bringing up the rear is pre-orders.
But there are people on this thread who will complain about the practice of lootboxes but are more than happy to pre-order unfinished games.
Both lead to the continued crappy practices by publishers to try squeeze every cent outta people.

martingriff

I have no problem with loot boxes or micro transactions as long as

A) There is a way to get any gear by progress in there game (Not ridiculous progression or achievements)

They are cosmetic.

If you want to fork out for these things to make your game easier then go for it. And if it's children I be asking the parents WTF . For online games I be in favour of lobbies for people who have got equipment by loot boxes and not progression for fairness. As for DLC if people by them so be it. The games industry is a business and if people spend they will provide

Grumpypants

Christ I got 8 mins into that garbage. Who follows Sterling that isn't a 12 year old moron and falls for this nonsense?

To save you watching the video, in short an R&D department at EA was doing their job and writing technical documents about possible mechanics that would let players enjoy games more.

One such function was that the game would look out for times where you are getting frustrated and about to rage quit and offer help. It might make it a little easier, give you a hint, or in the case of playing online it would look to match you against less skillful players so you don't get your arse handed to you over and over.

Even though it specifically calls out that this improves player engagement and has no impact on monetization. The tin foil hat wearing dopes managed to take from it that EA are matchmaking to make you buy things. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Sometimes I'm amazed by how little gamers know about game development and business.

kunst nugget

Deleted User wrote: »

The acceptance of Season Passes and additional DLC was the end of gaming. Since then it has been a long slide into mediocrity in which middle of the road triple-A titles go through the motions while trying to take every last cent they can.

Do you really feel that way? If that was my attitude to gaming, I'd imagine I wouldn't be bothered playing at all. I've had great time over the last year playing a load of titles, be they triple-A titles or indies.

nix

kunst nugget wrote: »

Do you really feel that way? If that was my attitude to gaming, I'd imagine I wouldn't be bothered playing at all. I've had great time over the last year playing a load of titles, be they triple-A titles or indies.

Doesn't matter how he feels, that's how it is, majority of DLC's are a joke and are not rich in content. Majority of online games give content for free to keep the player base interested. The likes of EA don't add much and what they do add, they charge for it.

Bring back the day of the expansion packs, when what you were paying for, was brimming with added content :rolleyes:

kunst nugget

kunst nugget wrote: »

Do you really feel that way? If that was my attitude to gaming, I'd imagine I wouldn't be bothered playing at all. I've had great time over the last year playing a load of titles, be they triple-A titles or indies.

Horizon: Zero Dawn is about the only Triple A title in a number of years to show any wit or originality, and even then it's not like they were setting the world on fire in terms of original content. Triple A titles are in that strange space at the minute where no one is really taking any chances, I've enjoyed a lot of big games but it's been a long time since a Triple A title really impressed me.

J. Marston

Deleted User wrote: »

Horizon: Zero Dawn is about the only Triple A title in a number of years to show any wit or originality, and even then it's not like they were setting the world on fire in terms of original content. Triple A titles are in that strange space at the minute where no one is really taking any chances, I've enjoyed a lot of big games but it's been a long time since a Triple A title really impressed me.

I liked how they poked fun at the whole thing. They had lootboxes in the form of a "shard gamblers box".

Pay 10 shards and you either get a rock or a few shards back.

EoinHef

Grumpypants wrote: »

Christ I got 8 mins into that garbage. Who follows Sterling that isn't a 12 year old moron and falls for this nonsense?

To save you watching the video, in short an R&D department at EA was doing their job and writing technical documents about possible mechanics that would let players enjoy games more.

One such function was that the game would look out for times where you are getting frustrated and about to rage quit and offer help. It might make it a little easier, give you a hint, or in the case of playing online it would look to match you against less skillful players so you don't get your arse handed to you over and over.

Even though it specifically calls out that this improves player engagement and has no impact on monetization. The tin foil hat wearing dopes managed to take from it that EA are matchmaking to make you buy things. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Sometimes I'm amazed by how little gamers know about game development and business.

Do you know how to build cars? Yet you buy them,clueless drivers annoy me,they dont even know how to build their own cars:P

Grumpypants

EoinHef wrote: »

Do you know how to build cars? Yet you buy them,clueless drivers annoy me,they dont even know how to build their own cars:P

I don't, that's why I'm not making a fool out of myself with stupid Youtube videos about how cars should cost 2 bob and sixpence, or how car companies charge you for additional features coz you know they are greedy corporations........

Young Yeas take on this

K.O.Kiki

https://twitter.com/Totalbiscuit/status/951142790523650050

https://twitter.com/Totalbiscuit/status/951143587294732291