The unethicality of gaming microtransactions

The first sample is free.

Get a taste.

Get to know it.

Get to like it.

But it won't be enough.

You will want more.

We'll sell it to you.

In small doses.

Kodaemon wrote:The first sample is free.

Get a taste.

Get to know it.

Get to like it.

But it won't be enough.

You will want more.

We'll sell it to you.

In small doses.

sounds like a WOW trial.

in Britain- that game is more addictive than smack.

now that is concerning

Hey now,

You get a game for free.
A COMPLETE game. All the quests. All the characters.

The micro transactions come in the form of upgrades and special items.
Beats paying 15$ a month for everything, doesn't it?

How is it unethical?

Not talking about any particular game here, just the general idea. Petro's approach is a bit better, but still dodgy.

It's not unethical, it's marketing. And all marketing tactics are ethical. [/sarcasm]

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 3/12/09 11:38:43 AM

Kodaemon wrote:Not talking about any particular game here, just the general idea. Petro's approach is a bit better, but still dodgy.

well think about it.

support for games like RA3 is always going to be limited- since after the initial sale- there is no more money going into EA for spending hundreds of hours developing patches and bug fixes.

you may say it is an obligation to the company to complete a game- but the small things like 100% balanced game will never be achieved- and look at how many people EA hires to do something like patch development. we shall use 42- just because it is a random number i am giving out as an example.

now- if these 42 people are on a wage of USD $25/hour(disclaimer: THIS IS AN EXAMPLE)- do you want to do the maths as to how much money EA is spending to get something like this done? now do the calculations for lets say for example's sake- 83 hours. now if this is for one patch and the average time spent per person on a single patch is 73 hours- calculate that average into 9 patches(looking at TW here). look how much money EA has spent on after- sales service.

now gaming subscriptions and microtransactions is actually a smart idea for the company- since what it does is it ensures that all that hours and money spent is generating revenue for the company- thus ensuring longer support periods. obviously- if the game doesn't make enough money- then the project will be ditched.

this is the sole reason why blizzard has kept WOW going for so long- it isn't about the fanbase- it is about their wallets.

if you think entrepreneurship is unethical- you are living in the wrong age buddy- the world is in recession- and money needs to keep flowing.

So far I'm really not bothered by how game companies are doing DLC. Perhaps others feel differently, but take even the recently released Street Fighter 4 on the 360 - there are a ton of items already on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The difference is though, I know I don't need all the fluff like themes, wallpapers, in-game costumes, etc. As long as I still get a pretty solid game as is, that's all I care about.

i respect gaming companies for their products- not their means of making money. as long as they make a good product- they can keep the money i gave them

Microtransactions are where you buy prepaid 'points' to spend in multiple doses so you don't get multiple bank fees.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 3/12/09 2:22:55 PM

Kodaemon wrote:The first sample is free.

Get a taste.

Get to know it.

Get to like it.

But it won't be enough.

You will want more.

We'll sell it to you.

In small doses.

LOL
It is funny how ya'all dont see it is like with drugs .

Sure it is bad . It is freaking horible . All would be fine if cost of those dlc stuff would be fair . But how fair it is to pay for 1 quest in follut 3 a 20$ . IT is greedy unethical behavior . How fair it is to segragate people with xbox membership . Moral downgrade on gaming industry.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 3/12/09 3:37:17 PM

greenP wrote:

Kodaemon wrote:The first sample is free.

Get a taste.

Get to know it.

Get to like it.

But it won't be enough.

You will want more.

We'll sell it to you.

In small doses.

LOL
It is funny how ya'all dont see it is like with drugs .

Finally someone got it, I was starting to lose my faith in humanity.

Kodaemon wrote:Finally someone got it, I was starting to lose my faith in humanity.

I wonder why.

Elearen wrote:Microtransactions are where you buy prepaid 'points' to spend in multiple doses so you don't get multiple bank fees.

Kodaemon wrote:The first sample is free.

Get a taste.

Get to know it.

Get to like it.

But it won't be enough.

You will want more.

We'll sell it to you.

In small doses.

Partial reinforcement conditioning

Kodaemon wrote:You will want more.
We'll sell it to you.
In small doses.

Also kodaemon you missed the key point.

People don't have to buy anything, and they can stop anytime.

Yeah, just like with any drug.

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