EA 'pay to reload' gouging

[watercooled]

A friend just sent me a link to this video. I've just watched it myself so I'm not sure how much truth it carries but this is EA we're talking about so I can believe it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR6-u8OIJTE

[Biscuit]

there will be a strong correlation between introduction of excessive micro-purchasing and me not playing games

[KeyboardDemon]

there will be a strong correlation between introduction of excessive micro-purchasing and me not playing games

You and many others, myself included. But the I don't think he was talking about BF3, I think it was about Battlefield Free to Play, and most if not all F2P games are funded through micro payments or in game transactions.

[Knoxville]

There's a fine line to be walked. EA are already and have been doing this for some time in a fashion. You can pay to unlock content you've already paid for in most of their games, especially racing titles... It's not something I can ever see myself doing, it's like buying a guide to a game like Skyrim... "Where's the fun?"

BUT, I can see the point. I can see the appeal of say paying to unlock every track and character in SSX because you work a forty hour week and you just want to play the game with friends when you get home on a Friday without having to put the hours in on your own first or buying more expensive cars in Forza 4 with MS points because you just aren't up for the grind to ten million credits.

That business model is fine so far in my opinion. Just like charging extra for jaunty hats in TF2 now it's free to play or giving me the option to buy coins in Draw Something...

I think, or at least I hope that Mr. Ricatello is using that example to make a broad generalisation for people that know more about blue chips than Red Faction. Because I think any publisher intent on monetising something as simple as reloading or quick saving is going to be met with *ahem* a more than hefty backlash... They know it too.

[Biscuit]

i dont think their approach will be to instantly introduce a policy like that, it will be to slowly transition more and more features away from being included and free.

[watercooled]

Yeah, they may pass it off as something beneficial to the end user, but you know it would gradually move towards being pretty much compulsory e.g. pay to unlock ending.

[KeyboardDemon]

Yeah, they may pass it off as something beneficial to the end user, but you know it would gradually move towards being pretty much compulsory e.g. pay to unlock ending.

Sounds like Mass Effect 3, maybe!

[Knoxville]

Only because that's the way the squeaky wheels want it