News - EA will build microtransactions into all its games

[Andeh13]

Oooooh Westwood studios, I miss you! Tiberian Sun....


And as for this article? SimCity just took another step away from me. I won't be buying that game if only out of moral obligations not to support EA!

[TheAnimus]

So basically EA announce that they do not intend for me to be buying their games in future!

[OilSheikh]

Great video Noxavyl.

I agree with everyone and these are my two cents on the matter :

Pre-orders were initially thought up as a way of making a game last longer months later after release and making sure that gamers got more content ( that THE END wasn't the end and there was more after the end ) and developers to also make a little bit more money on their existing hard work as games created from scratch takes time and money.
I was with them on this and happily supported them and the studios

But, then, it all changed.
Games were initially developed with all the bits and after the whole game was finalized , bits and pieces were taken out and turned into DLCs! This gave rise to pre-orders where you got special maps and weapons if you pre-ordered when these should have been part of the game. Then, you had collector editions which also gave you special maps, weapons or costumes and a plastic figurine if you paid heavily. Then, there was the great Multiplayer scam - all games will come with a special code just so you can play multiplayer and so that you didn't resell your game as these one-time use codes would reduce the value of your Used game and people would also not want to buy your Used game.
On top of all these, at some point devs and studios remembered their original promise and also released expansion packs many months after release.

Then, there was a time when GOTY's were released and had all of the DLCs bunled in.

Then, came the annual subscriptions - you subscribe annually and will pay less overall compared to if you had waited and bought the DLCs sepearately.

And, let's not forget about the non-existence of demos, Better than the actual game " actual game footage" trailers.....

No wonder piracy is so popular. A pirated game will have all the DLCs. It is the studios themselves who shot themselves.

[OilSheikh]

So basically EA announce that they do not intend for me to be buying their games in future!

Imagine Dead Space 4.
Isaac only has one weapon. You need more weapons? you got to pay.
Isaac comes across a boss who can only be killed with a certain weapon ... oh, you need to pay for that gun!
You want to get past a door to finish every level and progress on with the game ? You got to pay
Out of ammo Isaac or low on health Isaac ? You got to pay. Oxgen and ammo aint free you know .. you thought people just left these for you in space for free ?

[Pleiades]

Kinda defeats putting any real effort into playing the games anymore if someone can splash the cash and get better stuff then you have been grinding for months for.

Kinda like Real Life really LOL

[To be fair most games don't use pay-to-win extensively, more pay-for-cosmetic-items. At least so far...]

[ForsakenNGL]

Do what now?

Search for [deleted]

The same applies for Real Racing 3, the game was fine until EA bought the dev studio and released this money grabbing version.

Mod edit: Please don't post piracy advice on the forums

[razer121]

i suspect this will fail...pretty hard as well from what i can tell...EA are basing their findings that this works on facebook games and mobile games, you try shoving that crap into a pc gamers hand...you know exactly where he/she will shove it back.

[kalniel]

i suspect this will fail...pretty hard as well from what i can tell...EA are basing their findings that this works on facebook games and mobile games, you try shoving that crap into a pc gamers hand...you know exactly where he/she will shove it back.

Actually they're basing it on what has been working just fine for PC games. The Sims, Mass Effect, Dragon Age.. all seem to be working great with DLC.

[jim]

The games are popular, but do we have any metrics for the DLC?

[SilviuG]

I remember seeing a documentary on Discovery about companies that have employees that do nothing but grow your character for money... So people do not have to spend time progressing, they just pay someone else to do it... incredible. This documentary was about 2 or 3 years old!

[razer121]

Actually they're basing it on what has been working just fine for PC games. The Sims, Mass Effect, Dragon Age.. all seem to be working great with DLC.

But you see the dlc for ME2 for arguments sake for me was well worth it, yes should have been in the game but i was happy to pay for it, the cosmetic stuff like the alternative outfits i didn't buy they were pointless rubbish i didn't need, that i think is what they are getting at and that for me is just a no go...if this is a ploy for just dlc then it is only going to work for the decent titles like ME3, the sims...ish i dont play it but have find it kind of boring tbh! but sim city, i admit ive started playing that on facebook but i wont be spending money on it and i suspect they are going to do something like what they have with sim city social with the new sim city game, again i dont think many pc gamers would be happy to buy that uber cool looking building for real money...doesn't matter how good it looks or boosts my city, if it cost real money i ent buying it!

I guess this is one of those we will see how this pans out but i just have my opinion...i just don't think its going to work to well..

[kalniel]

The games are popular, but do we have any metrics for the DLC?

You can bet they do. And if they're now deciding to put it into all games then it doesn't take a great leap of imagination to say which way the data points..

Honestly I think this is a good thing. If someone wants to subsidise my own game by buying DLC then great. I'll stick with the core game and if that's not good enough won't play it.

[Saracen]

Imagine applying this philosophy to other things in life.

New blockbuster film out on DVD - buy it now, only £9.99. Ok I'll buy that, looks good. Get home, pop it in the DVD player. Watch an hour when all of a sudden the movie stops and a message comes up. If you want to find out what happens pay £30.

It's a rip off and a way to screw as much money from the gamer as possible.

Secondly I play games for entertainment and a challenge. What's the point if the only way to complete the game is through paying more money?

Oh, but this philosophy, and business model is used in some other things in life .... it's the same business model, and much the same ethical position, of the the typical crack cocaine dealer .... give your victim the first hit or two free, or cheap, and once they're hooked, bleed them hard. It's a bit like the artful vampire .... if you tap a victim for a little, he maybe won't notice and you can keep going back into the same well for a sip here, a sip there. But drink too much and your "restaurant" dies. The first way, you get to bleed them for a lot more, and a lot longer.

I'm afraid I find this entire business model utterly deceitful, and it's part of why I WILL NOT buy into ANY game that requires online authentication, be it EA or Steam. Because if you do, if you part with a chunk of change up-front, you are at the mercy of whoever runs the activation servers changing the terms of access. And then you're .... erm .... stuffed.

I will not buy games that require micro payments for DLC. Period.

Upgrade packs I don't mind, PROVIDED the game I bought is a decent standalone in it's own right. Server fees for something like an MMORPG are fine, because (and only if this is the case) you know the score going in, that it's £x for the game and £y/month for server access.

But this "microtransaction for DLC" model is, in my opinion, fundamentally dishonest, because it is not up-front about what you're buying into. It is the model of the crack dealer, and I will have nothing to do with it. This is the time to kick the EA habit.

[jim]

You can bet they do. And if they're now deciding to put it into all games then it doesn't take a great leap of imagination to say which way the data points..

Yeah, that was where I assumed your argument went, was interested if there were any figures though.

Honestly I think this is a good thing. If someone wants to subsidise my own game by buying DLC then great. I'll stick with the core game and if that's not good enough won't play it.

I wouldn't go as far as to say it's a good thing, as although I have the same attitude as you, I can't help but feel like I'm missing out, which in turn leaves me hacked off with the developers/publishers. It won't change my buying habits though, that's for sure.

[Lord Midas]

What I want to know is, where he gets the:

"Part of the reason for the future direction is because “consumers are enjoying and embracing” the model."

fact from.

Really? As far as I can tell not one single person I know, or anyone on Hexus forums, thinks this model is good or acceptable.

As pointed out numerous times this is clearly a way of sponging more money out of people. Games used to be played for fun. Now it seems to be a way of praying on the weak, so the weak can unlock all the weapons or cars without having to earn them.

[kalniel]

Really? As far as I can tell not one single person I know, or anyone on Hexus forums, thinks this model is good or acceptable.

I think it's a good model, as long as customers are not stupid. If you're not stupid then it's only to your advantage.