Micro-Transactions
In my previous post I wrote a list comprised of the fundamental areas I need to research in order to write a fully informed paper. I briefly touched upon the types of DLC in my presentation (see post #1) but now I want to discuss a controversial type of DLC which is dealt via micro transactions.
In my previous post I wrote a list comprised of the fundamental areas I need to research in order to write a fully informed paper. I briefly touched upon the types of DLC in my presentation (see post #1) but now I want to discuss a controversial type of DLC which is dealt via micro transactions.
One of the most prominent types of
DLC currently floating around the gaming industry are MICRO-TRANSACTIONS. What
are micro-transactions I hear you ask? Well, it is when small payments are made
by the player using actual real life money to purchase in game content such as
new items, characters or weapons.
Micro-transactions are seem all over the place regarding the PSN Store and Xbox Marketplace. Players can buy avatars and clothes to customise their online appearance and match it to their personality as much as possible.
Avatars on PSN can cost anywhere between 20p and £1 and can be bought using the PSN store if the player has their PS3 system hooked up to the internet.
Micro-transactions are seem all over the place regarding the PSN Store and Xbox Marketplace. Players can buy avatars and clothes to customise their online appearance and match it to their personality as much as possible.
Avatars on PSN can cost anywhere between 20p and £1 and can be bought using the PSN store if the player has their PS3 system hooked up to the internet.
An example of how
an avatar can be purchased and used to define the players online status (this
is my very own online profile).
Micro-transactions have been around for ages in the gaming world but recently they have become the “norm” even with triple A titles. Players pay top buck for a new freshly released game only to then find content they need to pay more money for being released along side it. Is this a good thing?
One of the first examples of micro transactions being scrutinised was when Bethesda added a optional add on in the form of “Horse Armor” for its popular RPG Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
Micro-transactions have been around for ages in the gaming world but recently they have become the “norm” even with triple A titles. Players pay top buck for a new freshly released game only to then find content they need to pay more money for being released along side it. Is this a good thing?
One of the first examples of micro transactions being scrutinised was when Bethesda added a optional add on in the form of “Horse Armor” for its popular RPG Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
The armor would protect the players
horse from weaponry and other damage but cost 200 Microsoft points (£2.50).
Many gamers felt this was a good thing but overall the community felt negative
about having to add on an additional £2.50 to their already £50 game for one
small piece of extra content.
Looking at an old post from 2006 on
the matter, Gamespot (http://uk.gamespot.com/) show
some messages left by players on the subject of the horse armor (I tried to
access the forum debate myself but the link didn’t work).
Positive
Mtpgamer: "I agree that small stuff like that SHOULD be free, but in
this day and age it's unlikely that we'll get a lot of 'free' content. If you
are into the game as much as I am, you're going to shell out the $ for
downloads. Microsoft knows this...so the best we can hope for is that it will
be free (unlikely) or inexpensive (as is the case here).“
Negative
ReverieDLM: "This is not a matter of it being expensive in the
grand scheme of things. This is not a matter of it being a requirement to buy.
It's a matter of basically spitting in the consumer's collective face.
Something like horse armor is a trivial addition to the game. Xbox 360 owners
already paid more for the game than PC owners, charging [Xbox 360 owners] for
something that is then free on the PC is an absolutely disgusting disregard for
the consumer. Bethesda should be ashamed of it."
Current Day
Micro-Transactions
Despite the negative impact of the horse armor upon the Oblivion gaming community micro transactions have continued to evolve throughout the current generation of games. Some modern examples of micro transactions can be found in Naughty Dog's smash hit Uncharted 3 (well, it’s multiplayer mode anyway).
Despite the negative impact of the horse armor upon the Oblivion gaming community micro transactions have continued to evolve throughout the current generation of games. Some modern examples of micro transactions can be found in Naughty Dog's smash hit Uncharted 3 (well, it’s multiplayer mode anyway).
The game has a loot drop scheme where
players can pick up randomly dropped treasures which alter depending on their
rarity. The treasure may then unlock a new weapon, skin or other form of
customisation unique to that player and those who also have found that specific
treasure.
However, this soon turned into rough competition where players complained they couldn’t unlock certain treasures no matter how much they played or farmed game modes; these treasures weren't dropping and they couldn’t get the special item they wanted. This led to Naughty Dog offering micro transactions to players who wanted to just buy the item they were trying to find in game for small amounts of money instead of waiting for it to become unlocked.
There were negative and positive feedback for this form of DLC, many players argued saying they were going to keep farming and that they shouldn’t have to pay for ingame content but other players thought it was good because they were fed up of having to wait for the precious treasure to drop. I farmed a co-op mode on Uncharted 3 for hours with a friend who got the treasure I needed TWICE and it NEVER dropped for me! So I was sort of glad I was able to by it. Although actually unlocking it would have felt far more rewarding. Damn those kitty ears >:)
Having said this, to test the water (I guess?) Naughty Dog released hats which players could unlock by finding treasures just like all the other items, however, these ere the first items made available to buy via micro transactions.
Valve actually started the hat craze
in 2009 where a series of hats were introduced to the game among an update made
available. This sparked a phenomenon where players began to build their own
hats and sell them for small amount of real money as well as Valve making more
for the players to buy in the form of micro transactions.
XBOX 360 Achievements: The Scary Reality of Dead Space 3's Micro Transactions
Here are links I have been finding
today which have helped me become more informed about micro transactions and
the great DLC debate. I am posting them for future reference so I can refer to
them in my essay if I need to.
http://www.gatheryourparty.com/articles/2012/04/24/the-problems-with-dlc/
Of course these are all very mixed
approaches to micro transactions. When you look at Free2Play games which
survive of micro transactions then you can begin to understand why they can be
viewed negatively. Free2Play games offer the game for free but in return the
player must buy the necessary downloadable content for the buy via micro
transactions. This way they player can progress through the game. Gamers argue
that if they pay for a game then anything worthy of a micro transaction amount
of money should come free.
I must make a comment on the most recent form of micro transaction, however, which is being released with upcoming triple A title by Visceral Games, Dead Space 3.
I must make a comment on the most recent form of micro transaction, however, which is being released with upcoming triple A title by Visceral Games, Dead Space 3.
Recently it was announced that Dead
Space 3 would ship with 11 pieces of “day 1 DLC” including micro transactions.
I found a really interesting article written by Lee Bradley (staff writer at
X360 Achievements, http://www.xbox360achievements.org/author/lee-bradley/)
which has some valid points about the micro transactions and why they are being
introduced to console games.
XBOX 360 Achievements: The Scary Reality of Dead Space 3's Micro Transactions
More Useful Links
for my Essay
http://www.gatheryourparty.com/articles/2012/04/24/the-problems-with-dlc/
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