The problem with the phrase "vote with your wallet" in this situation is that for the past decade and a half, the video game industry has been absolutely determined to displace the current audience. Most of the tactics that they employ are highly appealing to those who are addicted to mobile games where it has been shown how a small minority of people can completely outspend the vast majority. The AAA publishers see massive $$$ signs in their eyes just thinking of getting those people into the PC/console gaming market. On the way, they have managed to normalize these same tactics for a generation of younger gamers. Now there are indie developers even defending these practices. They say they like Live Service games. Despite these games being designed to drain every penny out of it's playerbase before becoming unplayable. The audience for these games see games as something they experience over a period of time and then they forget about it once there's the next new shiny Live Service game to play. When it comes to that audience, it's pretty much impossible to win any sort of "vote" using your wallet. If everybody that dislikes these games stopped buying and playing them, these games would survive off the few whales. Well.. in theory. Some games do still need the non-whales. However in that situation, IMO it would just mean the next Live service game came quicker. Again, from what I can see, many people are just so addicted to the dopamine hits from the live service mechanics that they honestly could not care less what the game actually was. And the concept of money may have less value. You or I may think it is really foolish to spend hundreds or thousands on something that may not be around in 5-10 years. But I've seen whales pump thousands upon thousands, or even hundreds of thousands on microtransactions in games that lasted less than a year or two, and just shrugged it off. Again, nobody can really compete with that. At best, voting with your wallet could mean letting the marrket know that there is untapped potential for people who want to buy games without microtransactions and all of the Live Service BS. You run into problems there though. AAA publishers will likely still try to appeal to the whales at some point. Even if they think "Well we want to reach this group of gamers", they may just as easily think "Why would we spend x amount of money appealing to these gamers that have higher standards when we can spend the same amount and get way more from people who will put up with any of our BS?" Even if not instigated by the publisher, your niche fandom could be invaded by people who want to turn it into the thing you dislike. All it might take to sway the dev over is to wave a bit of that potential money in front of the dev before they capitulate to appeal to the more lucrative market. Then you and the others leave to find a new fandom, rinse, repeat.
Also to add onto this comment. I've seen quite a few videos from Louis Rossman where he talks about how people will go "we'll you're an idiot for buying x" because all too often bad practices spread and you lose any real choice. His points were mostly in regards to smartphones and how Apple or Samsung or some other brand would introduce some anti-consumer feature such as non-removeable batteries or the missing headphone jack, and people would point at those they saw as stupid enough to buy those phones, only to find other companies started doing it as well. I think there is definitely a problem with how many people do just put up with a lot of these BS. Practices. IMO, a good part of why these practices spread is because people who don't care just put up with it. On the other hand, the video game industry is blatantly anti-consumer in a lot of ways. Like, we've seen time and time again that publishers can make a lot of money without screwing over consumers, and yet they will often go about things in the most blatantly anti-consumer way possible, and sometimes even hurt those making the games as well. The pro-consumer way may make them $$$$, but they want $$$$$. So even if less people were willing to put up with it, I think a large portion of these publishers would do anything to not learn the right lesson. If they screw up royally, they will just pass it onto the remaining customer base or their workers. There have been times where it seems that they are using guilt tactics to get people to buy into their BS. Because the poor devs who worked on it will get fired if this game doesn't sell millions upon millions of copies and make a crap ton in microtransactions. Then they end up firing them anyway because their very business model incentivizes it.
Sadly this is true, however there is hope. In terms of live service games, their name is already becoming poison in the industry and are going the way of marvel movies with only a select few actually succeeding. The problem with live service is they’re high investment high return inherently predatory of the player’s time. As a result, the flood of them is seeing a massive fall off. Inherently if they’re all after your time, there’s only so much to go around, so only a few actually become popular, and even then time comes for them all, especially as they get increasingly predatory. Hell the only reason Fortnite still breathes is they added a separate mode where you don’t have to fight 12 year old Tommy who can create 5 star hotels in 3 seconds flat.
"Most of the tactics that they employ are highly appealing to those who are addicted to mobile games where it has been shown how a small minority of people can completely outspend the vast majority" - This is sadly THE biggest issue with modern gaming. A few years ago a shareholder presentation about a game got leaked (not sure which one) and they basically said that their target audience are "super whales", who have so little impulse control and/or are easily addicted to FOMO, gambling, etc. and spend more then 100$ per month on the game. These super whales contribute to the majority of a games income, despite making up less then 0,5% of the player base.
This is a big reason why I've kinda stepped away from most AAA titles, the sheer fact that you can tell who they're actually after. I've long since come to the conclusion that the large publishers and studios aren't making video games anymore they're making a product for profit. They're selling the game for as wide of an audience as possible because they want every game to give a massive return. The people making the decisions aren't the people passionate about making the games, which is why we get less and less innovation, are stuck in remake limbo, and why most games try to appeal to things and put time into stuff that's not gameplay centric, like the futile climb for higher fidelity meanwhile losing art design. I mostly stick to AA titles that I pick up, or the wild indie game these days. Rarely do I shell out the $60 for a game unless they kinda prove it's a video game and not a product. I think the last $60 game I bought was HogLeg, and a bundle of the Yakuza games. Other than that it's been replaying old titles. The environment truly has too much money behind it, meaning the people who just want a profit are there for the profit not to make better games, a fact that sets in after about the hundredth time you have to tell your friend that no Microsoft doesn't care about Halo. We can come together and talk about how 343 doesn't have an excuse to release a game this bad with their level of funding, but it's obvious the entire company was mismanaged and the people who could have fixed that didn't. The people who built video games into what they were are essentially pushed out, or don't really have the control they need to make what served as the foundation. It kinda has me in the doomer mentality that honestly we just have to let the gaming bubble pop. I think pretty much all triple A studios have to fail and be replaced, and gaming will likely have to shrink before the ecosystem around it really improves.
yes it isnt very predatory, but its an example of releasing a game unfinished, and finishing it over time. its good now, but it took about two years to become satisfactory, and is close to reaching the end of its events.
Hey, careful about speaking too soon because there's still plenty of time to get some hammers involved hahaha. But nah, awesome video you made here, what a great watch! Just found your channel and glad I did, appreciate the effort you're putting in over here!
Speaking of, I'd recommend filtering out more S sounds. (Sibilance) I've gotta save the rest of the video until I'm at a better audio system , but otherwise lovely from what I've seen and heard so far.
Let's not forget that there are also single player games that now feature adverts in them to mak you buy their DLC. And then there was that whole deal with Street Fighter 5 and it forcing ads onto players. That bit about "You will own nothing, and you will like it" is just so sad given that there are regular people out there who will defend this crap to high heaven even though they are the ones losing out in the end. And this is equally true for everything from live services to DRM. As someone who plays a lot of older games, one thing that has stood out to me is just how popular some older titles still are and are still selling and still available. Doom and Heroes 3 are some that come to mind. And both of those with no microtransactions or predatory business practices in sight.
37:11 Blame the general audience for that one. Hardcore gamers are big but the GA like your parents is bigger. There's a reason the Wii did so well: Even your grandparents could get into it. The General audience does not and will not give a shit about stuff like lootboxes, Microtransations, EA and Blizzard being shit, etc. They see new thing, they spend money if it interests them, and considering Soccer is the MOST popular sport in the world, FIFA is typically always in the top 5 best selling games of the year EA has no reason to change.
If game skins still were 2.50 I wouldn't complain, but the cheapest ones are like 20$, this is insanity, A SKIN shouldn't EVER cost as much as a whole ass indie game, let alone those stupid super premium ones that reach 70$
I can't get in my head how people keep buying yearly CoD when it's the same game and it's multiplayer gonna die next year. Not only that, but they are paying for passes and skins in a full price game that's gonna lose relevance very quickly.
Innovation drove sales, and the best games sold more, leading to better games being created. Now, shareholder value drives all aspect of game development. And it’s pretty obvious to see what that has led to.
Nintendo reviving home gaming in the US was definitely a weird era. It was one of those things where capitalism was out for our money, as always, however, it was also a time where any companies asked "how do we ensure we get their money," and at times the answer was "sell a quality product."
Wait no. You don't have ACCESS to an arcade machine without the coin. That's a subscription (sessions or time). Or you can buy it and set it to free play. This argument doesn't really stand at ALL. That's not the origin of micros at all, because it's not even coming from the same idea. It's not a product you already have that you're adding value to. It's a product that you only have ACCESS to via money. At worst, the dragon one counts. But the idea that a general arcade is the offender here is madness. Games have ALWAYS been predatory, as you said. But we should draw a line between these things. Money to play at all vs money to play BETTER is definitely different. They are distinct things
Right, so FIFA ultimate packs and horse armour aren't microtransactions because you have to pay for the game to access it. Whether the game is free to play is irrelevant.
Whenever games start showing me micro transactions before letting me play the game I immediately uninstall, I don't really care about cosmetics and if I already know unlocking everything is impossible with a 40 hour work week I'll just never play the game.
One thing with game studios is some of these games they make have way overblown budgets that game companies feel more inclined to get a return on investment when they made the game more expensive to begin with.
Pretty good video, but would've liked a music list so when I hear music I like I can actually find out what it is, and the subtitles didn't always match up with what was being said
Super distracting. Not sure why the actual script wasn't used to create them, either. Things like 8-bit and NES never got subtitled correctly at all. Even "buy" was subtitled as "by" a handful of times, which is pretty bad considering the topic of the video. I can get the exact same experience from turning on the auto generated captions - but at least those can be turned off when they're inaccurate, or excused for being auto-generated when they aren't. Why bake them into the video at all if zero effort is going to be put into them?
Some of these items would've been unlockable in the 2000s before the internet was everywhere but here we are. With regards to graphics in games, embrace stye, reject realism!!!
I only buy games that don't require online that don't have any microtransactions or premium currency or online stores. And don't have denuvo. I also won't do all these different pre-order tiers.
I actually learned a couple new things from the historical roundup, because arcades and PC gaming are things I didn't have access to for a long time (I bought my first actual gaming PC in 2018). So that was interesting. In general, I stick to what you said at the end of the video - I play what I enjoy and try to keep the bad thoughts away. Do I get frustrated when I see my favorite franchises go the way of the MTX (Monster Hunter, Fire Emblem, many other JRPGs)? Yeah, I do. But at least they're still fun without buying into them. Plus, I've had loads of fun with indies - some of which have had some of the best value DLC I can think of. Monster Sanctuary's DLC was straight up free and added more areas and extra modes for replayability and Fell Seal pretty much doubled the amount of customization you can do each playthrough. Those are things I gladly pay extra for because it really adds to the games and feels like it was done out of passion or because they had new ideas (I'm convinced Fell Seal's monster taming DLC came about because people loved the designs so much)
A real problem is that these micro transactions don't really pay for the games or benefit the developers much. Most if not all the profits go to executive bonuses and shareholder profits. Games that make record breaking profits in loot boxes or other in game purchases still get bare bones support, sometimes even shutdown with the devs complaining of low wages.
This is happening in every sector because we're in a late stage consumerist culture with less and less regulations. Gaming is really egregious because we didn't enter into it with a lot of regulations in the first place. If we look at history what will probably happen is we'll pass a breaking point, enter into a depression, we'll get the modern equivalent of the New Deal, we'll increase regulations enough to get us back on track economically, but as per the great depression, companies will survive those regulations and they'll slowly lobby to strip those away until we're back at this point. And in that process, it's not just more shitty games, it's more physical, real world death.
@@josesosa3337Yet all you do is make a fuss and become politicized elitists. Are you going to rant about minorities or just any one who still can find enjoyment? When I was in middle school the era of gaming companies which captured your love for the industry was still going but coming to an end. I played games old and new with my family and friends. Now you just think someone like me "Approves of and eats up modern slop". I watched as companies changed or their flaws became apparent, as gamers got more pissed off. I have learned to dislike gamers in general and the companies that have become arrogant. Let's pirate everything, let's put gambling in every game, everything is woke or racist or supports facism... Not enough minorities, too many minorities... I hate this so much. Developers suffer from greedy CEO's and executives that hire people that are kept from being great by bad management. They fire people in droves and overwork their employees. Important, irreplaceable directors leave, some games are bad because they were meant to be for profit more than anything else. They ruined AAA, but you could never bring back the gaming you fell in love with. That time in gaming history wasn't made by people like you. It was made by people who didn't have communities biting their ankles, watching their every move like hawks and shouting at any mistake or difference of opinion or political ideals. I met some important people, and gaming communities really aren't wholly bad or detrimental, however I liked video games more when I wasn't on social media. No one was there to tell me the correct way to play, I wasn't playing games that someone on Discord solved for me and everyone else with their team of people. Random people on twitter couldn't get a game changed because they thought it was frustrating or bad and I did not. The general gamer wasn't as keen on enforcing unofficial rules that don't come with the game's instructions. Have a problem with tutorials being bad or information not existing in game like it should? Social media and unofficial websites are more of that issue, and their control over games is sometimes unwelcome. So many games have shared or specific terms for mechanics that might not even make sense with in the context of the sentences they are used in.
The amount of information you covered regarding this topic was great, especially how company's use psychologists to map our habits. I myself have tried out a few of these "free to plays" and found that some of them have now gone far beyond micro transactions, in fact they have daily recharge options that feel more like quests you should complete to drive your playing experience forward. I am also working on creating a game, and this gave me very valuable insights plus new ideas of how to, in a sense, rewrite how micro-transactions work. I really enjoyed your presentation 🤩💯👍
The existence of the yearly retreaded sports game is all the proof that you need that games don't actually have to become more and more expensive bigger and bigger every year. If you can keep the costs the same, the content level the same, the graphics the same but provide a new experience that will be enough. The REAL reason why these things have to keep getting bigger is to justify the increased expenditure that is supposed to translate into increased profits. Spend more make more, forever. It's breaking down because it's meeting with reality, where that doesn't actually hold up.
What annoys me is that so many people get wrong about the horse armor, saying when your horse dies you had to buy it again implying that you had to pay it again which is a lie
While i understand the arcade machine comparison, there is an inherent issue with the argument as a whole. You aren't paying for nothing. You're paying for the time to enjoy whatever activity. The same could be said for theme parks, rollercoasters, movie theaters, any kind of attraction like that. You don't own any of those things, but youll pay for them for the experience and the enjoyment. The exact same stands for live service games and things of that nature where it's "if the server shuts down you have nothing." If a theme park closes, but you went there the year prior, does that mean the money you spent was worthless because you can't go back? Mind you, with all that said, I am also increasingly pissed at the state of video games, leaning heavily in to live service, every other game having a stupid amount of microtransactions, etc. I still feel we need to revert a bit. I would rather have a complete game in one purchase with worse graphics and better story and gameplay than have to constantly spend money on a slightly improved version of the same games.
The industry is flawed because regardless of who's responsible for its current state, it doesn't just encourage people to engage in bad practices, it also encourages developers to create them. If you're a big studio trying to make a living for itself and its employees, given the choice would you spend half a decade of development for the standarized overly demanding arena hero shooter/whatever just for it to flop in a week because nobody wants to buy it or would you low ball it with a F2P with gacha elements that can be developed on the go after launching it with more and more spend happy players being drawn in as frequent updates are pumped out? Despite what their horrendous fans might say, I can tell mihoyo got loads of people passionate about designing characters they like and creating games that feel fun, but they sure as hell are trying to make a profit first and foremost, and they are simply doing what's most effective (read: making a mobile game of every goddamn genre ever) Lootboxes and horse armor and whatnot is obviously a devastating phenomena for the videogame industry but I think it's important to remember it's not a standalone issue. I feel like it has become the safe choice both for developers and players, a symptom of an industry that has become to cumbersome to hold itself. In the example above, the player would also pay around 60 bucks for a full game they're not even sure it's worth it + not to mention the investment of having the medium to play it. Meanwhile most of gacha games and such can be played on most phones so the easy accessibility makes it also tempting. What I'm saying is, more games need to git gud as you gamers say (this is called gamer speech) because video games have started to power creep themselves as gamers say (this is gamer speech too). I really can't think of any game that has been successful on mobile without being a goddamn gacha. Oh Ghost Trick I guess, but it doesn't count. Why is it so hard? What are they doing? Don't want to charge for full games on phone because oooo nobody will buy it? Put out some freaking demos man. Phones are more than able at handling perfectly functioning games but it's just the "uh oh it seems your stamina ran out again! time to insert some quarters!" machine. Before Genshin Impact almost no one thought about having whole ass 3D games like that, all mobile games had to be like "toys" version of "real" games, and I hate Fire Emblem Heroes profoundly for doing it too. I'm not saying all games should be on mobile from now on, I'm saying it seems to have become taboo for non indie devs to make games that are just fun instead of over the top "cinematic experiences", and that's one thing that can be done. I just want to play fun games man. Just a little bit of something well thought out can become fantastic, and indie games that are naturally like this, such as Hollow Knight, are an example of that. I wish they'd rev down the video game making machine, make more genuinely fun experiences that can be as profitable as any other, and stop talking about how good the grass is going to look in this upcoming AAA game.
Deep Rock Galactic is a perfect example of why the average microtransaction-infested game is so awful, and it's because it doesn't do any of that shit. Battle pass is free and once the season ends the cosmetics are added to the loot pool. The majority of cosmetics are also free and the few cosmetic packs are reasonably priced, aren't tied to a bullshit item shop or in-game currency, and supports the developers directly.
MTs have ruined gaming. More and more players will switch to retro only. As they lose all the core gamers, they may finally have a customer base that consists of the "modern audience" - it will be as tiny as it is now though.
Arcade machine's do not fit the definition of micro-transactions. You are not purchasing in-game content or a new feature. That is like saying renting a game from Blocker's was a micro-transaction. The Double Dragon 3 example could be considered a micro-transaction, but not arcade games in general.
There are also many more people with the ability to create video games, there are way more possible customers because gaming has become mainstream, they have shortened development time so they can patch it after they release it they no longer have to make physical media, they don't have to physically ship discs, they don't have to pay stocking fees at stores, and they get tons of free advertising through streamers and youtubers. So while yes there is a larger dollar sign, for the development, there's also a plethora of ways that they've reduced cost, and opened up to a much larger audience
I played a lot of games in my life but never paid anything for the games themselves. If a game requires me to pay money for items and I can't hack it, then I don't play the game. Mobile games are a disaster anyway, with only a handful worth playing. Example, Beastie Bay from Kairosoft. It's actually free right now.
This was great and well put together. Had it on when I was gaming and watched majority of it when I got off. Subbed for sure, enjoyed it. I hate MTX filled games, why in recent years the indie titles in my library have massively gone up. And ofc my love for games like Elden ring and the new black myth wukong is there.
1:16:35 GAMBLING?!? RUNNING RAMPANT?!? i dont think so... i mean seriously... when was the last time you saw loot boxes in games? I may be a bit out of touch but wasent battelfront 2 the one to gain news attention for their shit lootboxes? And didint that lead to then being almost removed from every game? (Aside sports games) I mean running rampant is a large claim, i cant remember the last time i saw a lootbox but correct me if im wrong please. (And btw random loot in games is not a lootbox considering theres no money behing it, psychologicly speaking sinces theres no money involved theres less of a chance for that feature to be addictive.)
In my opinion: Microtransactions can be okay IF they are used properly. I don't think that microtransactions are ruining gaming I think that the overuse of them is ruining gaming. I hate Microtransactions (Im gonna call them MTAs from now on) when there used when they don't need to be or when they are used too much. Such as Mobile games. Mobile games MTAs in mobile games are bad because there predatory and the only reason they are there is to make as much money as possible, by getting players addicted to buying stuff. Same with Battle Passes. They are annoying cause they're used too much. If it was the one off thing it wouldn't be so bad. But because they're everywhere its really annoying. The one off game with MTAs wouldn't be so bad but now that like every game has it its ruining it. Same with Live service games. If anything is used too much we start to see it in more of a negative light. I think the best way for all these things to exist to to have it more balanced. Don't have too much of one thing. Obviously MTAs are a problem and it is ruining a lot of games. But, I think we all feel this way because we can't escape it. Disney live action remakes, if there was a one off movie people would talk about it and then forget about it and it wouldn't be a big deal, but because Disney has released so many Live action remakes that weren't very good, we see it as a big problem. Things that could end up being a problem (MTAs, Live service, Battle Passes) wouldn't end up as hated if it was used as much. If it was the one off thing yeah, people still wouldn’t like it, but its in a few games, so its not as big of a deal cause your not forced to deal with it. Im not saying that its possible to have these things in fewer games now at least, I dont think it is since its too widespread. Also Im just saying problematic things that are in very little content, most people won't care about cause it doesn't affect them, a small flu going around in a city in UK and only in the UK, U.S probably won't care as much as if it was more widespread around the world *cough* covid 19 *cough* Feel free to disagree but this is what I feel. Thank you for anyone who read this entire comment. It took me a good while to find the right words, I hope that even if you disagree that you can see my point of few and understand my thinking. Thank you again for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it.
another banger video. I have only ever spent money on a single microtransaction of an indie game so I can't look down on others from a high horse but I'll still get on my pony to look roughly from above at people who actively play games as services
♪DÉJÀ VU, I'VE JUST BEEN IN THIS PLACE BEFORE♫ ♫HIGHER ON THE STREET AND I KNOW IT'S MY TIME TO GO♪ ♪CALLING YOU, AND THE SEARCH IS A MYSTERY♫ ♫STANDING ON MY FEET, IT'S SO HARD WHEN I TRY TO BE ME, WOAH♪
Buying less is really a good strategy overall. It kills the market, but it's like with the kings: the king's dead, long live the king. And in the grand scheme of things - nothing is ever "too big". Micro-transactions might stay for 5 years, but in 10 years a lot can change and in 20 years everything can happen.
i thpught free to play mmorgs introduced and popularized microtransactions. i remember some older games did a "donate/help support us and get this special thing" and the more prominent companies like bethesda and valve simply borrowed from the web based games
Great video! Lots of research I'm sure! The problem with voting with your wallet is that it doesn't really work. I have voted with my wallet for my whole game-playing like (now 40). I have never bought a micro transaction, a season pass or an add-on and I only very rarely buy DLC:s (think games like Dark Souls and Witcher 3).
Just randomly putting prices into an inflation calculator just seems wrong doesnt it? Has anyone ever tried to use minimum or median wage as a comparison instead?
Underrated video. But the comment on gacha games was really under researched as not all gacha games are as predatory as Genshin (Or any other Hoyoverse game) and there are various other intricacies that make the gacha mechanic in other games a lot more free to play than you think. There is definitely some time investment required, but if players can enjoy the time spent, I don't see a big issue with it.
on arcade machines costing a dollar tho. when you put your change in you knew what you were getting. you knew it was temporary and wouldn't last. vs at home gaming it is expected you own the game you pay for and the microtransactions you bought. its why modern microtransactions are so much worse than arcade machines.
I really like this, but I do think you missed shareware in your timeline. It creates a basis for a lot of the episodic content that followed. The way id software released their big games was a bit of a relic of its time, but there are echoes of it in things that came later. Still, nice video.
I'm so grateful I grew up experiencing the renaissance of gaming, but even now I'm enjoying myself on my pc & xbox console, I just mostly buy into new indie/AA games & good older games I know well, some games are too obnoxious with the macro transactions so I don't feel very compelled giving away so much money for one bundle of something I'll occasionally use, Fortnite I play but I rarely buy into it anymore, I just save up evey battlepass currency for the next season lol
Voting with your wallet never works with micro transactions. Unlike normal where each person gets one vote, a single whale can vote hundreds of times with their purchases. If only 1% of a player base of a game buys all the mtx offered that is still thousands of sales , if not millions for some low effort content like a weapon skin.
As someone who's played apex sense, it came out. When it spilled the BP, I stopped playing. Haven't even started it up sense then, either. I be playing mafia now. 8/10 still better than apex
I'm sorry, everyone. I bought the horse armor when it came out, and I apologize for bringing this apocalypse upon us all, I was just bored and I loved oblivion and I just wanted more. And it was only a couple bucks, so I figured why not. I had no idea what the ramifications could be.
The last season pass I ever bought was fallout 4. It was such an obvious bait and switch after all the "DLC" was out compared to the NV season pass model. it made me feel dirty and used.
Yeah, Warframe is a good example of f2p systems done right. All gear is obtainable by f2p players, there's a player-to-player trade system so you can get premium currency if f2p or adjust your spending, since buying prime gear from other players is cheaper than from prime access, the only things hard locked behing cash are cosmetics - and even then, there's a curated program for community artists to sell theirs for a cut. P.S.: oh, and a battlepass without payed track too.
Yeah, the only thing you really need (rather than want) that costs premium currency is slots, and you can get that premium currency from trading rather easily. Baro is an excellent prime blueprint sink and a reason for any player with money to buy trash from the free and new players.
There will be a tipping point, there will be a crash if the gaming industry doesn’t course correct…..and will relish that in that crash if they refuse to change. Why? Cuz fuck em that’s why.
I was taking this video seriously for a while, Until he immediately just went to horse armor. Doesn't even talk about the many things that happened between those two points, Which is crazy to me. He could have talked about team fortress two And it's a loot box type system being there way before tod Howard's horrible micro dlc. So many systems and decisions came before that stupid armor... but THATS WHAT YOU Focus on.. crazy...
I feel a micro transaction is anything under $10, anything above that, you're buying an expansion. Also I feel it is small additions to the game and not special gameplay content.
Saying that arcade machines use microtransactions is a really bad argument. Generally the didn't, as you were paying to access the game. So you didn't own it. And yiu didn't even own the machine - so yiu were accessing that as well. Very different thing. Not every money exchange can be arbitrarily called a microtransaction.
i bought my 8bit nes games and could own them forever, they're all lost to time. digital is the answer but only if you *ehem* priate the game so the digital online store doesn't just disappear one day and take the games with it.
Define "add value" because most micro transactions, by my definition, do not. Cosmetics, some being just pallete swaps, are certainly of no value to me.
Your Gacha take is badly informed sorry. It's still predatory but you are not fair. Many developers have moved towards much more fair rates for free to play players or low spenders, Many have added "spending limits", Many start giving out much more free units that can compete in the meta of their games. Many became also more generous giving out the tickets and rolls giving player a higher chance to actually get the things they want without mouth of planning.(Or moved away from the fake currencies between) Hence take a game like Nikke (or Blue Achieve) as example. You get a 4% chance for SSR drop and after this a 50% chance it's the rate up character. They also have a pity system that is global. So you basicly can save it up and get a character you want without rolling at all. And if you were unlucky with a character, you at least get the next one quicker thanks to it. This gacha system is so much better that free to play player are able to actually collect every character in the game. Now where is the hook you ask? They sell extremly expensive costumes and that is were they make their money. Your claim they are all the same is simply not true. Some are more predatory as others. And some like Nikke the gacha itself isn't the main source of revenue. You only look at Hoyoverse games and think this is all of gacha. But this is simplefying it!
I miss the days when I could buy a new game and have fun with it, instead of being bombarded with a storefront trying to sell me more things. I am glad that I have some of that old pirate DNA in me, because I can always get those awesome games from the late 90's and early 2000's. YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF ummm, you know. I have a load of these files on my Raspberry Pi, a few good USB controllers, some good friends, and a comfy couch. Life is better this way.
This has made my next move clear. We go back in time and yell into Todd Howard's ear not to go through with the horse armour plans. Industry saved
@masteroak9724 I will keep travelling to the past to prolong it as long as possible so that gaming lasts as long without it as necessary
Wow was doing MTX way before Todd got greedy.
@@calebharch7229 Then we go stop WOW from existing!
If he doesn't do it with horse armor, blizzard does it with WoW mounts. Killing Hitler to fight Shmitler >_>
@calebharch7229 I was there sonny on the front lines it was the horse armor... *eyes glaze over*
The problem with the phrase "vote with your wallet" in this situation is that for the past decade and a half, the video game industry has been absolutely determined to displace the current audience. Most of the tactics that they employ are highly appealing to those who are addicted to mobile games where it has been shown how a small minority of people can completely outspend the vast majority. The AAA publishers see massive $$$ signs in their eyes just thinking of getting those people into the PC/console gaming market. On the way, they have managed to normalize these same tactics for a generation of younger gamers. Now there are indie developers even defending these practices. They say they like Live Service games. Despite these games being designed to drain every penny out of it's playerbase before becoming unplayable. The audience for these games see games as something they experience over a period of time and then they forget about it once there's the next new shiny Live Service game to play.
When it comes to that audience, it's pretty much impossible to win any sort of "vote" using your wallet. If everybody that dislikes these games stopped buying and playing them, these games would survive off the few whales. Well.. in theory. Some games do still need the non-whales. However in that situation, IMO it would just mean the next Live service game came quicker. Again, from what I can see, many people are just so addicted to the dopamine hits from the live service mechanics that they honestly could not care less what the game actually was. And the concept of money may have less value. You or I may think it is really foolish to spend hundreds or thousands on something that may not be around in 5-10 years. But I've seen whales pump thousands upon thousands, or even hundreds of thousands on microtransactions in games that lasted less than a year or two, and just shrugged it off. Again, nobody can really compete with that.
At best, voting with your wallet could mean letting the marrket know that there is untapped potential for people who want to buy games without microtransactions and all of the Live Service BS. You run into problems there though. AAA publishers will likely still try to appeal to the whales at some point. Even if they think "Well we want to reach this group of gamers", they may just as easily think "Why would we spend x amount of money appealing to these gamers that have higher standards when we can spend the same amount and get way more from people who will put up with any of our BS?" Even if not instigated by the publisher, your niche fandom could be invaded by people who want to turn it into the thing you dislike. All it might take to sway the dev over is to wave a bit of that potential money in front of the dev before they capitulate to appeal to the more lucrative market. Then you and the others leave to find a new fandom, rinse, repeat.
Also to add onto this comment. I've seen quite a few videos from Louis Rossman where he talks about how people will go "we'll you're an idiot for buying x" because all too often bad practices spread and you lose any real choice. His points were mostly in regards to smartphones and how Apple or Samsung or some other brand would introduce some anti-consumer feature such as non-removeable batteries or the missing headphone jack, and people would point at those they saw as stupid enough to buy those phones, only to find other companies started doing it as well.
I think there is definitely a problem with how many people do just put up with a lot of these BS. Practices. IMO, a good part of why these practices spread is because people who don't care just put up with it. On the other hand, the video game industry is blatantly anti-consumer in a lot of ways. Like, we've seen time and time again that publishers can make a lot of money without screwing over consumers, and yet they will often go about things in the most blatantly anti-consumer way possible, and sometimes even hurt those making the games as well. The pro-consumer way may make them $$$$, but they want $$$$$.
So even if less people were willing to put up with it, I think a large portion of these publishers would do anything to not learn the right lesson. If they screw up royally, they will just pass it onto the remaining customer base or their workers. There have been times where it seems that they are using guilt tactics to get people to buy into their BS. Because the poor devs who worked on it will get fired if this game doesn't sell millions upon millions of copies and make a crap ton in microtransactions. Then they end up firing them anyway because their very business model incentivizes it.
Sadly this is true, however there is hope. In terms of live service games, their name is already becoming poison in the industry and are going the way of marvel movies with only a select few actually succeeding. The problem with live service is they’re high investment high return inherently predatory of the player’s time. As a result, the flood of them is seeing a massive fall off. Inherently if they’re all after your time, there’s only so much to go around, so only a few actually become popular, and even then time comes for them all, especially as they get increasingly predatory. Hell the only reason Fortnite still breathes is they added a separate mode where you don’t have to fight 12 year old Tommy who can create 5 star hotels in 3 seconds flat.
"Most of the tactics that they employ are highly appealing to those who are addicted to mobile games where it has been shown how a small minority of people can completely outspend the vast majority" - This is sadly THE biggest issue with modern gaming. A few years ago a shareholder presentation about a game got leaked (not sure which one) and they basically said that their target audience are "super whales", who have so little impulse control and/or are easily addicted to FOMO, gambling, etc. and spend more then 100$ per month on the game. These super whales contribute to the majority of a games income, despite making up less then 0,5% of the player base.
This is a big reason why I've kinda stepped away from most AAA titles, the sheer fact that you can tell who they're actually after. I've long since come to the conclusion that the large publishers and studios aren't making video games anymore they're making a product for profit. They're selling the game for as wide of an audience as possible because they want every game to give a massive return. The people making the decisions aren't the people passionate about making the games, which is why we get less and less innovation, are stuck in remake limbo, and why most games try to appeal to things and put time into stuff that's not gameplay centric, like the futile climb for higher fidelity meanwhile losing art design. I mostly stick to AA titles that I pick up, or the wild indie game these days. Rarely do I shell out the $60 for a game unless they kinda prove it's a video game and not a product. I think the last $60 game I bought was HogLeg, and a bundle of the Yakuza games. Other than that it's been replaying old titles.
The environment truly has too much money behind it, meaning the people who just want a profit are there for the profit not to make better games, a fact that sets in after about the hundredth time you have to tell your friend that no Microsoft doesn't care about Halo. We can come together and talk about how 343 doesn't have an excuse to release a game this bad with their level of funding, but it's obvious the entire company was mismanaged and the people who could have fixed that didn't. The people who built video games into what they were are essentially pushed out, or don't really have the control they need to make what served as the foundation. It kinda has me in the doomer mentality that honestly we just have to let the gaming bubble pop. I think pretty much all triple A studios have to fail and be replaced, and gaming will likely have to shrink before the ecosystem around it really improves.
This just makes me think of the people in Apex Legends who think they need every single heirloom to be cool 😂
Splatoon is an anomaly nowdays. You buy the game, and no microtransactions, no lootbox, battlepass, nothing.
Just pure fun.
Catalog is the battlepass
@@KyoukoYamabiko But it's free.
yes it isnt very predatory, but its an example of releasing a game unfinished, and finishing it over time. its good now, but it took about two years to become satisfactory, and is close to reaching the end of its events.
except for the nintendo online pass or whatever the hell they call it...
@@Jared_Logan 20$ for a year, and unlike pc its not infested with cheaters.
Had to reupload this one because of an audio issue - Thanks for not beating me with hammers
can I still beat you with a hammer?
Hey, careful about speaking too soon because there's still plenty of time to get some hammers involved hahaha.
But nah, awesome video you made here, what a great watch! Just found your channel and glad I did, appreciate the effort you're putting in over here!
Speaking of, I'd recommend filtering out more S sounds. (Sibilance) I've gotta save the rest of the video until I'm at a better audio system , but otherwise lovely from what I've seen and heard so far.
Let's not forget that there are also single player games that now feature adverts in them to mak you buy their DLC.
And then there was that whole deal with Street Fighter 5 and it forcing ads onto players.
That bit about "You will own nothing, and you will like it" is just so sad given that there are regular people out there who will defend this crap to high heaven even though they are the ones losing out in the end. And this is equally true for everything from live services to DRM.
As someone who plays a lot of older games, one thing that has stood out to me is just how popular some older titles still are and are still selling and still available. Doom and Heroes 3 are some that come to mind. And both of those with no microtransactions or predatory business practices in sight.
37:11 Blame the general audience for that one. Hardcore gamers are big but the GA like your parents is bigger. There's a reason the Wii did so well: Even your grandparents could get into it. The General audience does not and will not give a shit about stuff like lootboxes, Microtransations, EA and Blizzard being shit, etc. They see new thing, they spend money if it interests them, and considering Soccer is the MOST popular sport in the world, FIFA is typically always in the top 5 best selling games of the year
EA has no reason to change.
If game skins still were 2.50 I wouldn't complain, but the cheapest ones are like 20$, this is insanity, A SKIN shouldn't EVER cost as much as a whole ass indie game, let alone those stupid super premium ones that reach 70$
I can't get in my head how people keep buying yearly CoD when it's the same game and it's multiplayer gonna die next year. Not only that, but they are paying for passes and skins in a full price game that's gonna lose relevance very quickly.
Innovation drove sales, and the best games sold more, leading to better games being created. Now, shareholder value drives all aspect of game development. And it’s pretty obvious to see what that has led to.
Nintendo reviving home gaming in the US was definitely a weird era. It was one of those things where capitalism was out for our money, as always, however, it was also a time where any companies asked "how do we ensure we get their money," and at times the answer was "sell a quality product."
The most expensive games are free..
Gambling
@@Aguriasu You don't need to spend on any of these free games but people do to the tune of 100s and even thousands of dollars.
that were once not free and had implemented such greed like ow lol
Wait no. You don't have ACCESS to an arcade machine without the coin. That's a subscription (sessions or time). Or you can buy it and set it to free play. This argument doesn't really stand at ALL. That's not the origin of micros at all, because it's not even coming from the same idea. It's not a product you already have that you're adding value to. It's a product that you only have ACCESS to via money.
At worst, the dragon one counts. But the idea that a general arcade is the offender here is madness. Games have ALWAYS been predatory, as you said. But we should draw a line between these things. Money to play at all vs money to play BETTER is definitely different. They are distinct things
Right, so FIFA ultimate packs and horse armour aren't microtransactions because you have to pay for the game to access it. Whether the game is free to play is irrelevant.
"Hundreds of skilled people" "Five years of development time" Just to make shit
Designed by committee, to benefit the shareholder, hoping to appeal to the widest audience possible.
too be fair, the shit gets added when the corporate people put their greedy little fingers into the mix
This is a re-upload. I'm pretty sure I watched this before; it's why I subbed
I got the same feeling, or maybe I watched it on another channel. I don't know anymore.
No it’s a re upload. There was an audio issue in the original one
Which you would know if you read the comments and weren't so worried about expressing your own view.
I think you might officially be the TH-camr i listen to while I'm in-between classes for college.
Whenever games start showing me micro transactions before letting me play the game I immediately uninstall, I don't really care about cosmetics and if I already know unlocking everything is impossible with a 40 hour work week I'll just never play the game.
The FF14 music during the Subscription and Expansion Pack part is peak
One thing with game studios is some of these games they make have way overblown budgets that game companies feel more inclined to get a return on investment when they made the game more expensive to begin with.
Testing Triangles posted. August is saved.
Low serotonin levels are associated w riskier behaviors. Explains all my microtransactions sigh
Pretty good video, but would've liked a music list so when I hear music I like I can actually find out what it is, and the subtitles didn't always match up with what was being said
Bro, I love the message but please, proofread your captions
Super distracting.
Not sure why the actual script wasn't used to create them, either. Things like 8-bit and NES never got subtitled correctly at all. Even "buy" was subtitled as "by" a handful of times, which is pretty bad considering the topic of the video.
I can get the exact same experience from turning on the auto generated captions - but at least those can be turned off when they're inaccurate, or excused for being auto-generated when they aren't.
Why bake them into the video at all if zero effort is going to be put into them?
Some of these items would've been unlockable in the 2000s before the internet was everywhere but here we are. With regards to graphics in games, embrace stye, reject realism!!!
I only buy games that don't require online that don't have any microtransactions or premium currency or online stores. And don't have denuvo. I also won't do all these different pre-order tiers.
I actually learned a couple new things from the historical roundup, because arcades and PC gaming are things I didn't have access to for a long time (I bought my first actual gaming PC in 2018). So that was interesting.
In general, I stick to what you said at the end of the video - I play what I enjoy and try to keep the bad thoughts away. Do I get frustrated when I see my favorite franchises go the way of the MTX (Monster Hunter, Fire Emblem, many other JRPGs)? Yeah, I do. But at least they're still fun without buying into them. Plus, I've had loads of fun with indies - some of which have had some of the best value DLC I can think of. Monster Sanctuary's DLC was straight up free and added more areas and extra modes for replayability and Fell Seal pretty much doubled the amount of customization you can do each playthrough. Those are things I gladly pay extra for because it really adds to the games and feels like it was done out of passion or because they had new ideas (I'm convinced Fell Seal's monster taming DLC came about because people loved the designs so much)
A real problem is that these micro transactions don't really pay for the games or benefit the developers much. Most if not all the profits go to executive bonuses and shareholder profits. Games that make record breaking profits in loot boxes or other in game purchases still get bare bones support, sometimes even shutdown with the devs complaining of low wages.
This is happening in every sector because we're in a late stage consumerist culture with less and less regulations. Gaming is really egregious because we didn't enter into it with a lot of regulations in the first place.
If we look at history what will probably happen is we'll pass a breaking point, enter into a depression, we'll get the modern equivalent of the New Deal, we'll increase regulations enough to get us back on track economically, but as per the great depression, companies will survive those regulations and they'll slowly lobby to strip those away until we're back at this point. And in that process, it's not just more shitty games, it's more physical, real world death.
To all my fellow gamers out there: Reject AAA Games, Embrace Indie Games
Nah, I'll just go play some really old stuff in between NES and PS2 era.
@@Dat_Jonx
Sure, go for it if you have the opportunity. There were good games made in this era too.
Embrace retro
@@Dat_JonxVita is awesome. So many great ports and the PSP library. Yakuza PSP 1&2 are both translated and AWESOME
@@arostwocents nah, screen is too small. I want a proper PS2 experience with the TV, maybe even CRT one.
The gaming community are so quick to yell, without looking in the mirror.
Developers and publishers try this garbage because people out there will pay for it. 👍
@jj4lKids getting manipulated I cant blame them but grown adults have no excuse.
@@josesosa3337Yet all you do is make a fuss and become politicized elitists. Are you going to rant about minorities or just any one who still can find enjoyment? When I was in middle school the era of gaming companies which captured your love for the industry was still going but coming to an end. I played games old and new with my family and friends. Now you just think someone like me "Approves of and eats up modern slop". I watched as companies changed or their flaws became apparent, as gamers got more pissed off. I have learned to dislike gamers in general and the companies that have become arrogant. Let's pirate everything, let's put gambling in every game, everything is woke or racist or supports facism... Not enough minorities, too many minorities...
I hate this so much.
Developers suffer from greedy CEO's and executives that hire people that are kept from being great by bad management. They fire people in droves and overwork their employees. Important, irreplaceable directors leave, some games are bad because they were meant to be for profit more than anything else. They ruined AAA, but you could never bring back the gaming you fell in love with. That time in gaming history wasn't made by people like you. It was made by people who didn't have communities biting their ankles, watching their every move like hawks and shouting at any mistake or difference of opinion or political ideals. I met some important people, and gaming communities really aren't wholly bad or detrimental, however I liked video games more when I wasn't on social media. No one was there to tell me the correct way to play, I wasn't playing games that someone on Discord solved for me and everyone else with their team of people. Random people on twitter couldn't get a game changed because they thought it was frustrating or bad and I did not.
The general gamer wasn't as keen on enforcing unofficial rules that don't come with the game's instructions. Have a problem with tutorials being bad or information not existing in game like it should? Social media and unofficial websites are more of that issue, and their control over games is sometimes unwelcome. So many games have shared or specific terms for mechanics that might not even make sense with in the context of the sentences they are used in.
The amount of information you covered regarding this topic was great, especially how company's use psychologists to map our habits. I myself have tried out a few of these "free to plays" and found that some of them have now gone far beyond micro transactions, in fact they have daily recharge options that feel more like quests you should complete to drive your playing experience forward. I am also working on creating a game, and this gave me very valuable insights plus new ideas of how to, in a sense, rewrite how micro-transactions work. I really enjoyed your presentation 🤩💯👍
Props to you for reuploading this to fix the audio issue bro 😎
This channel is criminally underrated. I hope you blow up pretty soon as you deserve it.
That video essaie was tremendous, why does it only have 4K views
I love this TH-cam era. It recommends me great videos from smaller channel and its amazing! Subscribed man, i really like your channel 🎉
The existence of the yearly retreaded sports game is all the proof that you need that games don't actually have to become more and more expensive bigger and bigger every year. If you can keep the costs the same, the content level the same, the graphics the same but provide a new experience that will be enough. The REAL reason why these things have to keep getting bigger is to justify the increased expenditure that is supposed to translate into increased profits. Spend more make more, forever. It's breaking down because it's meeting with reality, where that doesn't actually hold up.
What annoys me is that so many people get wrong about the horse armor, saying when your horse dies you had to buy it again implying that you had to pay it again which is a lie
While i understand the arcade machine comparison, there is an inherent issue with the argument as a whole. You aren't paying for nothing. You're paying for the time to enjoy whatever activity. The same could be said for theme parks, rollercoasters, movie theaters, any kind of attraction like that. You don't own any of those things, but youll pay for them for the experience and the enjoyment. The exact same stands for live service games and things of that nature where it's "if the server shuts down you have nothing." If a theme park closes, but you went there the year prior, does that mean the money you spent was worthless because you can't go back?
Mind you, with all that said, I am also increasingly pissed at the state of video games, leaning heavily in to live service, every other game having a stupid amount of microtransactions, etc. I still feel we need to revert a bit. I would rather have a complete game in one purchase with worse graphics and better story and gameplay than have to constantly spend money on a slightly improved version of the same games.
The industry is flawed because regardless of who's responsible for its current state, it doesn't just encourage people to engage in bad practices, it also encourages developers to create them.
If you're a big studio trying to make a living for itself and its employees, given the choice would you spend half a decade of development for the standarized overly demanding arena hero shooter/whatever just for it to flop in a week because nobody wants to buy it or would you low ball it with a F2P with gacha elements that can be developed on the go after launching it with more and more spend happy players being drawn in as frequent updates are pumped out?
Despite what their horrendous fans might say, I can tell mihoyo got loads of people passionate about designing characters they like and creating games that feel fun, but they sure as hell are trying to make a profit first and foremost, and they are simply doing what's most effective (read: making a mobile game of every goddamn genre ever)
Lootboxes and horse armor and whatnot is obviously a devastating phenomena for the videogame industry but I think it's important to remember it's not a standalone issue. I feel like it has become the safe choice both for developers and players, a symptom of an industry that has become to cumbersome to hold itself. In the example above, the player would also pay around 60 bucks for a full game they're not even sure it's worth it + not to mention the investment of having the medium to play it. Meanwhile most of gacha games and such can be played on most phones so the easy accessibility makes it also tempting.
What I'm saying is, more games need to git gud as you gamers say (this is called gamer speech) because video games have started to power creep themselves as gamers say (this is gamer speech too).
I really can't think of any game that has been successful on mobile without being a goddamn gacha. Oh Ghost Trick I guess, but it doesn't count. Why is it so hard? What are they doing? Don't want to charge for full games on phone because oooo nobody will buy it? Put out some freaking demos man. Phones are more than able at handling perfectly functioning games but it's just the "uh oh it seems your stamina ran out again! time to insert some quarters!" machine. Before Genshin Impact almost no one thought about having whole ass 3D games like that, all mobile games had to be like "toys" version of "real" games, and I hate Fire Emblem Heroes profoundly for doing it too.
I'm not saying all games should be on mobile from now on, I'm saying it seems to have become taboo for non indie devs to make games that are just fun instead of over the top "cinematic experiences", and that's one thing that can be done. I just want to play fun games man. Just a little bit of something well thought out can become fantastic, and indie games that are naturally like this, such as Hollow Knight, are an example of that.
I wish they'd rev down the video game making machine, make more genuinely fun experiences that can be as profitable as any other, and stop talking about how good the grass is going to look in this upcoming AAA game.
every game needs 9000 different in game currencies and a shop now its so irritating
Deep Rock Galactic is a perfect example of why the average microtransaction-infested game is so awful, and it's because it doesn't do any of that shit. Battle pass is free and once the season ends the cosmetics are added to the loot pool. The majority of cosmetics are also free and the few cosmetic packs are reasonably priced, aren't tied to a bullshit item shop or in-game currency, and supports the developers directly.
Rock and Stone!!
MTs have ruined gaming. More and more players will switch to retro only. As they lose all the core gamers, they may finally have a customer base that consists of the "modern audience" - it will be as tiny as it is now though.
Arcade machine's do not fit the definition of micro-transactions. You are not purchasing in-game content or a new feature.
That is like saying renting a game from Blocker's was a micro-transaction.
The Double Dragon 3 example could be considered a micro-transaction, but not arcade games in general.
There are also many more people with the ability to create video games, there are way more possible customers because gaming has become mainstream, they have shortened development time so they can patch it after they release it they no longer have to make physical media, they don't have to physically ship discs, they don't have to pay stocking fees at stores, and they get tons of free advertising through streamers and youtubers. So while yes there is a larger dollar sign, for the development, there's also a plethora of ways that they've reduced cost, and opened up to a much larger audience
I played a lot of games in my life but never paid anything for the games themselves. If a game requires me to pay money for items and I can't hack it, then I don't play the game. Mobile games are a disaster anyway, with only a handful worth playing. Example, Beastie Bay from Kairosoft. It's actually free right now.
This was great and well put together. Had it on when I was gaming and watched majority of it when I got off. Subbed for sure, enjoyed it. I hate MTX filled games, why in recent years the indie titles in my library have massively gone up. And ofc my love for games like Elden ring and the new black myth wukong is there.
You keep making high quality videos like this, you're going to go far. Definitely earned a sub.
Doesn't proofread his captions
1:16:35 GAMBLING?!? RUNNING RAMPANT?!? i dont think so... i mean seriously... when was the last time you saw loot boxes in games? I may be a bit out of touch but wasent battelfront 2 the one to gain news attention for their shit lootboxes? And didint that lead to then being almost removed from every game? (Aside sports games)
I mean running rampant is a large claim, i cant remember the last time i saw a lootbox but correct me if im wrong please. (And btw random loot in games is not a lootbox considering theres no money behing it, psychologicly speaking sinces theres no money involved theres less of a chance for that feature to be addictive.)
In my opinion: Microtransactions can be okay IF they are used properly.
I don't think that microtransactions are ruining gaming I think that the overuse of them is ruining gaming. I hate Microtransactions (Im gonna call them MTAs from now on) when there used when they don't need to be or when they are used too much. Such as Mobile games. Mobile games MTAs in mobile games are bad because there predatory and the only reason they are there is to make as much money as possible, by getting players addicted to buying stuff. Same with Battle Passes. They are annoying cause they're used too much. If it was the one off thing it wouldn't be so bad. But because they're everywhere its really annoying. The one off game with MTAs wouldn't be so bad but now that like every game has it its ruining it. Same with Live service games. If anything is used too much we start to see it in more of a negative light. I think the best way for all these things to exist to to have it more balanced. Don't have too much of one thing. Obviously MTAs are a problem and it is ruining a lot of games. But, I think we all feel this way because we can't escape it. Disney live action remakes, if there was a one off movie people would talk about it and then forget about it and it wouldn't be a big deal, but because Disney has released so many Live action remakes that weren't very good, we see it as a big problem. Things that could end up being a problem (MTAs, Live service, Battle Passes) wouldn't end up as hated if it was used as much. If it was the one off thing yeah, people still wouldn’t like it, but its in a few games, so its not as big of a deal cause your not forced to deal with it. Im not saying that its possible to have these things in fewer games now at least, I dont think it is since its too widespread. Also Im just saying problematic things that are in very little content, most people won't care about cause it doesn't affect them, a small flu going around in a city in UK and only in the UK, U.S probably won't care as much as if it was more widespread around the world *cough* covid 19 *cough* Feel free to disagree but this is what I feel.
Thank you for anyone who read this entire comment. It took me a good while to find the right words, I hope that even if you disagree that you can see my point of few and understand my thinking. Thank you again for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it.
Yeah I agree. especially for live service MTA can help developers keep their games running. Im ok with them as long as they arent overdone.
@@LegendWolfA :)
another banger video. I have only ever spent money on a single microtransaction of an indie game so I can't look down on others from a high horse but I'll still get on my pony to look roughly from above at people who actively play games as services
♪DÉJÀ VU, I'VE JUST BEEN IN THIS PLACE BEFORE♫
♫HIGHER ON THE STREET AND I KNOW IT'S MY TIME TO GO♪
♪CALLING YOU, AND THE SEARCH IS A MYSTERY♫
♫STANDING ON MY FEET, IT'S SO HARD WHEN I TRY TO BE ME, WOAH♪
Buying less is really a good strategy overall. It kills the market, but it's like with the kings: the king's dead, long live the king. And in the grand scheme of things - nothing is ever "too big". Micro-transactions might stay for 5 years, but in 10 years a lot can change and in 20 years everything can happen.
i thpught free to play mmorgs introduced and popularized microtransactions. i remember some older games did a "donate/help support us and get this special thing" and the more prominent companies like bethesda and valve simply borrowed from the web based games
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the stop killing games movement
Great video! Lots of research I'm sure!
The problem with voting with your wallet is that it doesn't really work. I have voted with my wallet for my whole game-playing like (now 40). I have never bought a micro transaction, a season pass or an add-on and I only very rarely buy DLC:s (think games like Dark Souls and Witcher 3).
I love how EVERYONE uses the Hbomberguy "Foreshadowing" quote these days and likewise cuts it off before it becomes "plagiarism" xD
Just randomly putting prices into an inflation calculator just seems wrong doesnt it? Has anyone ever tried to use minimum or median wage as a comparison instead?
You and your channel are so cool! It seems like u have previous experience, you sound professional. I bet you will go very high very soon, good luck
Underrated video. But the comment on gacha games was really under researched as not all gacha games are as predatory as Genshin (Or any other Hoyoverse game) and there are various other intricacies that make the gacha mechanic in other games a lot more free to play than you think. There is definitely some time investment required, but if players can enjoy the time spent, I don't see a big issue with it.
The most telling thing for me was the recent $35 map skin for Clash of Clans. I couldn’t believe my eyes. That’s not so “micro”
Funny Because the 1st "Microtransactions" I seen was from Asain/Jp games like S4L and anything Nexon
on arcade machines costing a dollar tho.
when you put your change in you knew what you were getting.
you knew it was temporary and wouldn't last.
vs at home gaming it is expected you own the game you pay for and the microtransactions you bought.
its why modern microtransactions are so much worse than arcade machines.
I really like this, but I do think you missed shareware in your timeline. It creates a basis for a lot of the episodic content that followed. The way id software released their big games was a bit of a relic of its time, but there are echoes of it in things that came later. Still, nice video.
I'm so grateful I grew up experiencing the renaissance of gaming, but even now I'm enjoying myself on my pc & xbox console, I just mostly buy into new indie/AA games & good older games I know well, some games are too obnoxious with the macro transactions so I don't feel very compelled giving away so much money for one bundle of something I'll occasionally use, Fortnite I play but I rarely buy into it anymore, I just save up evey battlepass currency for the next season lol
Voting with your wallet never works with micro transactions. Unlike normal where each person gets one vote, a single whale can vote hundreds of times with their purchases. If only 1% of a player base of a game buys all the mtx offered that is still thousands of sales , if not millions for some low effort content like a weapon skin.
As someone who's played apex sense, it came out. When it spilled the BP, I stopped playing. Haven't even started it up sense then, either. I be playing mafia now. 8/10 still better than apex
Really good video . thanks for making it
need to start calling then macro-transaction over $9,99. just draw the line at the double digits
Why the reupload?
I'm sorry, everyone. I bought the horse armor when it came out, and I apologize for bringing this apocalypse upon us all, I was just bored and I loved oblivion and I just wanted more. And it was only a couple bucks, so I figured why not. I had no idea what the ramifications could be.
The last season pass I ever bought was fallout 4. It was such an obvious bait and switch after all the "DLC" was out compared to the NV season pass model. it made me feel dirty and used.
Yeah, Warframe is a good example of f2p systems done right. All gear is obtainable by f2p players, there's a player-to-player trade system so you can get premium currency if f2p or adjust your spending, since buying prime gear from other players is cheaper than from prime access, the only things hard locked behing cash are cosmetics - and even then, there's a curated program for community artists to sell theirs for a cut.
P.S.: oh, and a battlepass without payed track too.
Yeah, the only thing you really need (rather than want) that costs premium currency is slots, and you can get that premium currency from trading rather easily. Baro is an excellent prime blueprint sink and a reason for any player with money to buy trash from the free and new players.
There will be a tipping point, there will be a crash if the gaming industry doesn’t course correct…..and will relish that in that crash if they refuse to change. Why? Cuz fuck em that’s why.
The government needs to get involved and start regulating the gaming industry
The micro in microtransactions is about the scope of what you purchase, not the price.
I was taking this video seriously for a while, Until he immediately just went to horse armor. Doesn't even talk about the many things that happened between those two points, Which is crazy to me. He could have talked about team fortress two And it's a loot box type system being there way before tod Howard's horrible micro dlc. So many systems and decisions came before that stupid armor... but THATS WHAT YOU Focus on.. crazy...
“Like my brother in Christ, they always were.” 😂😂😂😂
"Are you familiar with boiling frog syndrome?"
Of course we are. Every content creator on the planet that covers this uses this term at nauseum.
I would love you to do an analysis of Warframe's monetization.
I feel a micro transaction is anything under $10, anything above that, you're buying an expansion. Also I feel it is small additions to the game and not special gameplay content.
God of War 2018 and Ragnarök had No micro-transactions and Free DLC called Valhalla.
Macro transactions is the correct term these day.
Disappointed that you credited Team Fortress 2 for loot boxes. It was MapleStory.
Saying that arcade machines use microtransactions is a really bad argument. Generally the didn't, as you were paying to access the game. So you didn't own it. And yiu didn't even own the machine - so yiu were accessing that as well. Very different thing. Not every money exchange can be arbitrarily called a microtransaction.
Why do people even use AI-generated captions when they aren't any better than TH-cam's?
Only time i payed micro trans was the 3DS Kirby Clash. Just to waste off a couple of cents.
I dont pay for mobile. I don't insert money into mobile.
Nothing micro about those transactions anymore. More like Macrotransaction
Microtransactions should be no more than $5 in my opinion
You sound a bit younger so I'm guessing you werent around in the 90s. But I wouldn't say owning a video game console in the 90s was a luxury
i bought my 8bit nes games and could own them forever, they're all lost to time. digital is the answer but only if you *ehem* priate the game so the digital online store doesn't just disappear one day and take the games with it.
In other news water is wet
Jesus Christ how many videos can a guy make about testing triangles
I still miss when you disnt have to install games on consola
I really like how this was written 👍
If your not going to review your subtitles then let youtube handle them, so many spelling and wrong words used was funny to say the least.
the boiling frog has been disproven -.-
Define "add value" because most micro transactions, by my definition, do not. Cosmetics, some being just pallete swaps, are certainly of no value to me.
Your Gacha take is badly informed sorry. It's still predatory but you are not fair. Many developers have moved towards much more fair rates for free to play players or low spenders, Many have added "spending limits", Many start giving out much more free units that can compete in the meta of their games. Many became also more generous giving out the tickets and rolls giving player a higher chance to actually get the things they want without mouth of planning.(Or moved away from the fake currencies between)
Hence take a game like Nikke (or Blue Achieve) as example. You get a 4% chance for SSR drop and after this a 50% chance it's the rate up character.
They also have a pity system that is global. So you basicly can save it up and get a character you want without rolling at all. And if you were unlucky with a character, you at least get the next one quicker thanks to it.
This gacha system is so much better that free to play player are able to actually collect every character in the game.
Now where is the hook you ask? They sell extremly expensive costumes and that is were they make their money.
Your claim they are all the same is simply not true. Some are more predatory as others. And some like Nikke the gacha itself isn't the main source of revenue.
You only look at Hoyoverse games and think this is all of gacha. But this is simplefying it!
"Micro transactions" cost the same as a whole game sometimes more...
I miss the days when I could buy a new game and have fun with it, instead of being bombarded with a storefront trying to sell me more things. I am glad that I have some of that old pirate DNA in me, because I can always get those awesome games from the late 90's and early 2000's. YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF ummm, you know.
I have a load of these files on my Raspberry Pi, a few good USB controllers, some good friends, and a comfy couch. Life is better this way.
I do blame customers, but I have also accepted that this is what everyone apparently wants.
Gaming is still a luxury, it always has been