Paid content in videogames (DLC, loot boxes, passes, currencies, "surprise mechanics" and - new! - pay more or wait!)

Anything to do with games at all.
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Dblock
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Dblock » Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:23 am

As top 100 trader on xbox for FUT this is very bad news for fifa. If points die the market will follow .

''Saying it's because I was controlling you and making you sad when actually I just asked you to wear some trousers'' :lol: :lol:
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Moggy
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Moggy » Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:07 am

Dblock wrote:As top 100 trader on xbox for FUT this is very bad news for fifa. If points die the market will follow .


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Prototype
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Prototype » Wed Jan 30, 2019 1:02 pm

Delighted with the news from Belgium.

FIFA points are a very addictive mechanic and should absolutely be categorised as gambling.

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Winckle
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Winckle » Thu Jan 31, 2019 2:16 pm

Me: FIFA points are predatory and I'm glad that they are getting banned in Belgium and hopefully that will spread to other countries.

Also me: I have spent £150 on Magic the Gathering Arena virtual boosters.

We should migrate GRcade to Flarum. :toot:
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Prototype
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Prototype » Thu Jan 31, 2019 4:18 pm

Winckle wrote:Me: FIFA points are predatory and I'm glad that they are getting banned in Belgium and hopefully that will spread to other countries.

Also me: I have spent £150 on Magic the Gathering Arena virtual boosters.


:lol:

I spent £750 on FIFA 18's ultimate team. :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp:

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Moggy
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Moggy » Thu Jan 31, 2019 5:24 pm

Prototype wrote:
Winckle wrote:Me: FIFA points are predatory and I'm glad that they are getting banned in Belgium and hopefully that will spread to other countries.

Also me: I have spent £150 on Magic the Gathering Arena virtual boosters.


:lol:

I spent £750 on FIFA 18's ultimate team. :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp:


£750? On FIFA?

gooseberry fool. :dread:

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Hexx
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Hexx » Thu Jan 31, 2019 5:31 pm

Prototype wrote:
Winckle wrote:Me: FIFA points are predatory and I'm glad that they are getting banned in Belgium and hopefully that will spread to other countries.

Also me: I have spent £150 on Magic the Gathering Arena virtual boosters.


:lol:

I spent £750 on FIFA 18's ultimate team. :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp:


Either there's something very very wrong with you. :dread:

Or you're rich and really attractive :wub:

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Prototype
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Prototype » Thu Jan 31, 2019 7:41 pm

Hexx wrote:
Prototype wrote:
Winckle wrote:Me: FIFA points are predatory and I'm glad that they are getting banned in Belgium and hopefully that will spread to other countries.

Also me: I have spent £150 on Magic the Gathering Arena virtual boosters.


:lol:

I spent £750 on FIFA 18's ultimate team. :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp:


Either there's something very very wrong with you. :dread:

Or you're rich and really attractive :wub:


I can assure you im not rich.

But yeah, about 70 quid a month on fifa points. Was totally hooked on it.

NickSCFC

PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by NickSCFC » Tue Mar 05, 2019 8:46 am



Pretty much sums up how I feel, I'm almost now exclusively a single player gamer.

I used to enjoy multiplayer games like Halo and PES, but nowadays every western multiplayer game seems to be about being a service full of bloated bullshit and I've lost count of how many of these hyped titles have released in a broken state.

I think "games as a service" just needs to die now,

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OrangeRKN
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by OrangeRKN » Tue Mar 05, 2019 1:39 pm

So much hyperbole, the games industry is not dying

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Gemini73

PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Gemini73 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 2:16 pm

OrangeRKN wrote:So much hyperbole, the games industry is not dying


It's not dying, but with so many big games all being released at the same time (or very close to one another) and all demanding what precious time we have in and amongst life in general Jim is right that there will be casualties, as we've seen before.

As in my thread the other day I've had to brush aside a lot of the AAA big hitters from last year simply because I've not the time. I'm quite sure I'm one of millions of gamers who have done exactly the same. There just isn't time to play every single game going.

t:games-youve-missed-out-on-this-generation-so-far?f=2

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OrangeRKN
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by OrangeRKN » Tue Mar 05, 2019 2:18 pm

Yeah I understand, I don't disagree with the premise I just find the hyperbolic headline really annoying

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jawafour
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by jawafour » Tue Mar 05, 2019 2:23 pm

OrangeRKN wrote:So much hyperbole, the games industry is not dying

Sterling does exaggerate things but I guess that all critiques do to a certain extent. Even so - and regardless of the style in how he presents his thoughts - I quite often feel that he is on the money with the key aspects; AAA ("Triple AAAAAAAAAAAAA!") publishers are making huge changes to game payment and play mechanisms and they're often not for the best from a player's perspective.

We've gone from the infamous horse armour to multiple season passes at $92.99; extremes, sure, but it is happening and the pace of change and the types of change are often ushered through with little mention from the mainstream gaming media - predominantly because they're invested in these changes through continued advertising and association.

Yeah, Sterling shrieks and poses and his style may not suit all tastes... but it does make for an entertaining change from the quite conformity of most sections of the media and, beneath the bluster and humour, he consistently calls out problem areas.

NickSCFC

PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by NickSCFC » Tue Mar 05, 2019 2:24 pm

Gemini73 wrote:As in my thread the other day I've had to brush aside a lot of the AAA big hitters from last year simply because I've not the time. I'm quite sure I'm one of millions of gamers who have done exactly the same. There just isn't time to play every single game going.

t:games-youve-missed-out-on-this-generation-so-far?f=2


I've decided to just disregard these "bottomless pit" Western AAA games completely, Destiny, Anthem, Sea of Thieves etc have completely passed me by. It doesn't help that they release in such a messy state either.

My favourite games this generation...

- Mario Odyssey
- God of War
- Resident Evil 2
- Spiderman
- Bloodborne
- Uncharted 4/Lost Legacy

...are all single player, highly polished and have clearly defined endings.

Gemini73

PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Gemini73 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 2:48 pm

NickSCFC wrote:
Gemini73 wrote:As in my thread the other day I've had to brush aside a lot of the AAA big hitters from last year simply because I've not the time. I'm quite sure I'm one of millions of gamers who have done exactly the same. There just isn't time to play every single game going.

t:games-youve-missed-out-on-this-generation-so-far?f=2


I've decided to just disregard these "bottomless pit" Western AAA games completely, Destiny, Anthem, Sea of Thieves etc have completely passed me by. It doesn't help that they release in such a messy state either.

My favourite games this generation...

- Mario Odyssey
- God of War
- Resident Evil 2
- Spiderman
- Bloodborne
- Uncharted 4/Lost Legacy

...are all single player, highly polished and have clearly defined endings.


Outside of a few titles for older systems I bought not long after Christmas I'm again being more picky in what new games I'm buying. In short, only games I know I'll definitely sink time into.

Ghost Recon Wildlands (PS4) - I rebought this as I originally had it on X1 and now play this version with friends.

Far Cry 5 (PS4)
Far Cry New Dawn (PS4) - I'm a fan of the FC series and these games will always garner my time.

V Rally 4 (PS4)
Dead or Alive 6 (PS4) - as above for these two titles.

There's perhaps one or two other titles I'll definitely pick up this year, but as with last year I am reeling it in. Like yourself I've no time for Anthem, Apex, SoT and the like. That's time I simply cannot dedicate.

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Lagamorph
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Lagamorph » Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:02 pm

EA: They’re not loot boxes, they’re “surprise mechanics,” and they’re “quite ethical”

Kerry Hopkins, EA’s VP of legal and government affairs, insists that the company’s randomised purchases aren’t loot boxes, but rather “surprise mechanics.” In an oral evidence session with the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, Hopkins compares the mechanics to surprise toys, which have been around “for years, whether it’s Kinder Eggs, or Hatchimals, or LOL Surprise.”

In response to questions from Scottish National Party MP, Brendan O’Hara, Hopkins says “We do think the way that we have implemented these kinds of mechanics – and FIFA of course is our big one, our FIFA Ultimate Team and our packs – is actually quite ethical and quite fun, quite enjoyable to people.



MPs in a spin as games chief appears to deny Fortnite makes money

Epic bosses admit ignoring data protection rules and claim not to know how long users play for

A Commons committee was left baffled as video game executives appeared to deny making money from their own games, admit to ignoring regulations governing data protection and age restrictions, and claim ignorance over how much time their own users were spending on games.

Representatives from Epic Games, makers of Fortnite: Battle Royale, and EA Games, the publisher of the Fifa series of football games, appeared as witnesses in front of the Commons Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee as part of its inquiry into immersive and addictive technologies.

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OrangeRKN
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by OrangeRKN » Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:43 pm

They should not get away with that shambles of answers (or lack of). Completely unbelievable.

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Balladeer
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Balladeer » Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:53 pm

Surely if it’s politicians asking the questions they’ll appreciate the lack of answers?

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Tomous
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Tomous » Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:54 pm

EA’s point on surprise mechanics is valid in a way. It’s been accepted practice in other areas such as toys and playing cards for years, as they point out.

Defending the concept itself isn’t enough though. There are massive problems with their implementation of “surprise mechanics” which are manipulative and unethical.

They need to be defending their own use of surprise mechanics, not simply presenting some kinder eggs and saying, see, you like these.


Also, did Epic send the office intern as their representative? Those answers are staggering :slol:

Last edited by Tomous on Wed Jun 19, 2019 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Trelliz
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PostRe: Paid content in videogames (DLC, season passes, micro transactions and loot boxes)
by Trelliz » Wed Jun 19, 2019 10:01 pm

Tomous wrote:EA’s point on surprise mechanics is valid in a way. It’s been accepted practice in other areas such as toys and playing cards for years, as they point out.


Yes, but the main differences is that those are physical objects which you can trade or sell (at least you have the option to) and in 10 years time whatever card game will technically still be playable, unlike the servers for many games with lootboxes etc. Plus with random toys you aren't paying £50+ upfront BEFORE being given the opportunity to spend more.

“You don’t think it’s necessary to abide by data regulations by establishing the age of the people who play your game?” Lucas asked.

“We don’t,” said Pence. Later in the hearing, Pence denied giving that response, prompting Lucas to suggest he check the record of the hearing.


Wow. strawberry float them all into the strawberry floating sun. Regulate the lot of them, they've had it coming for years and now its time to reap the whirlwind.

Last edited by Trelliz on Wed Jun 19, 2019 10:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jawa2 wrote:Tl;dr Trelliz isn't a miserable git; he's right.

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