gaming Pay to Win in Gaming

[cmarston1 5,954]

I really don't like freemium gaming and a lot of microtransactions in video games.

[Lil Pip 775]

Paying to win is a smart but unjust business tactic.

Its ego driven so people are more willing to do it when they get frustrated and lose because it increases their chances of winning, then some people spend regularly like in sports games and wonder why they blew their whole paycheck on random cards in a videogame, then others just return their game, or buy occassionally. Either way they make mor emoney on those 'micro' transactions so even if like 20% of the people return their 60$ game, there are still 20% spending hundreds on the game.

 

It should be as legal as prostitution. 

[Illusion Fox 77]

If I'm going to talk about pay to win we should also talk about other microtransactions, more specifically the sate of AAA games.

Some games implement it that it doesn't interfere with the game itself (CoD's personalization packs for Gus and Destiny's silver for emotes and dance moves) and games that make it feel likes it pay-to-win (MGS:V's MB coins and AC:Syndicate Helix both are INGAME CREDITS).

[Mez 244]

If I'm going to talk about pay to win we should also talk about other microtransactions, more specifically the sate of AAA games.

Some games implement it that it doesn't interfere with the game itself (CoD's personalization packs for Gus and Destiny's silver for emotes and dance moves) and games that make it feel likes it pay-to-win (MGS:V's MB coins and AC:Syndicate Helix both are INGAME CREDITS).

Thank you for bringing that up, I had forgotten about it. And I do agree that they need to make the micro transactions non-obstructive in the game, or halt your progress because you can't pay for a item or the like.

 

Most of the time it's this.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Mezcass

[Solid 1,326]

Here in China, this is a big problem in the video game industry, worse than its plagiarism issue.

 

We literally have a phrase commonly used to describe this p2w trend, direct translation: "Only 998, you can pow pow pow." 998 being the most expensive and commonly paid amount for IAPs.

 

Chinglish aside, virtually all of the people topping the leaderboards, on top of spending hours everyday, spent thousands of cash to reach there. They are called "5 digit customers" because they literally spent 5 digits worth of cash.

 

As for f2p? Good luck with your first few minutes of experience going up against this. Just look at the design.

 

 

"Only for $99.99! With your first diamond purchase you get double diamonds!"

 

My brother used to play this game, basically a ripoff mobile version of Counter Strike, tried to get me to play it. I quitted 5 minutes after running into a horde of people with these flashy "legendary dragon" weapons. They one hit me while my tiny little normal AK47 cannot kill them with a full clip of 30 rounds, because guess what? They have "legendary dragon" armor, again, only for $99.99. My brother quitted shortly after too, sure he had beast skills and could eventually strafe kill a p2w newbie after one and a half clips of bullets, but the moment he got spawn camped over 20 times by this p2w player who actually knew how to aim in a single match, he knew it was time to throw in the towel and enjoy life.

 

This IAP trend combined with the already rampant plagiarism problem resulted in a massive abundance of low quality p2w ripoffs wrecking havoc in China's already fragile video game industry (particularly mobile gaming). "Remember kids! Only 998, you can pow pow pow!"

 

I get it, companies gotta get that cash rolling in, but how much is the question, until how much would they decide to start paying more attention to whether the general player population (which consists of mostly f2p in most cases) is actually enjoying the game? How far could they push the players to cough up cash until it's too far?

Edited October 29, 2015 by Solid Scorpion

[KirbyFluttershy 2,518]

Thank you for bringing that up, I had forgotten about it. And I do agree that they need to make the micro transactions non-obstructive in the game, or halt your progress because you can't pay for a item or the like.

 

Probably Maple Story has to be an exception. The game may be free-2-play, but most players say it's pay-2-win although Nexon is eliminating the pay-2-win. I Just see a lot of players buy NX with the in-game money, mesos although That seems kind of unfair for other players who try to get better potential on their equipment (or gear).

 

I still find that some pay-2-win games can be frustrating and unfair to (or for) other players.like Maple Story for instance.

[GenderIsAnIllusion 2,177]

That's pretty much the entire freemium, and online multiplayer market for ya..... Can't win unless you put some cash down.

[Mez 244]

Here in China, this is a big problem in the video game industry, worse than its plagiarism issue.

I noticed a game had many songs stolen from Nintendo and other companies.

Probably Maple Story has to be an exception. The game may be free-2-play, but most players say it's pay-2-win although Nexon is eliminating the pay-2-win. I Just see a lot of players buy NX with the in-game money, mesos although That seems kind of unfair for other players who try to get better potential on their equipment (or gear).

 

I still find that some pay-2-win games can be frustrating and unfair to (or for) other players.like Maple Story for instance.

The worst thing is, kids and teens would steal their parents credit cards to pay for items and stuff. It was that bad.

[Chara 1,565]

Pay to Win was ALWAYS something that ticked me off. I played TF2 quite a lot and I sucked ass because I didnt have the paid loot. Also the game Destiny you ALREADY paid for is actually pay2win in it's own right.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Zach The Nightmare

[Mez 244]

Pay to Win was ALWAYS something that ticked me off. I played TF2 quite a lot and I sucked ass because I didnt have the paid loot. Also the game you ALREADY paid for is actually pay2win in it's own right.

Adventure Quest isn't what you think, it's a free game. But you can pay for extra features if you're willing to, not because you have to. All account types have a fair chance against each other, it's just a matter of your play style. The only things you pay for are Armor, weapons, things of that nature, but you don't really need them to beat monsters when you have a massive armory.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Mezcass

[Solid 1,326]

Pay to Win was ALWAYS something that ticked me off. I played TF2 quite a lot and I sucked ass because I didnt have the paid loot. Also the game Destiny you ALREADY paid for is actually pay2win in it's own right.

You could get all the weapons available through the item drop system, but not the cosmetic things. Those "fancy" stuff you see people have paid for (or traded for) consist of cosmetics, special taunts, and weapon reskins/redesigns that does not affect gameplay balance.

 

For example, an AWPer-hand might look really powerful, but it functions identically to the normal sniper rifle.

 

I'be been using stock weapons and had no problem at all. I was so happy with TF2 not being P2W that I actually ended up dropping in some cash for some cosmetics and taunts to show my support for freemium games done well like TF2, and to get me and my brother some treats at the same time.

 

On a side note, I recommend stock loadouts for most classes, it's the most balanced loadouts with no advantage and their consequent disadvantages, which prevents you from developing some pretty bad habits. (i.e. Sydney Sleeper could cause some people to do more charged bodyshots, hindering their headshot ability)

[rarity1 461]

I hate it so I avoid playing those games.