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I mean, yes and no. Every business exists to make profit, but most companies thrive when their customers are happy, not miserable. Many (but not all) microtrans
by caffeinewriter 7y ago
I mean, yes and no. Every business exists to make profit, but most companies thrive when their customers are happy, not miserable. Many (but not all) microtransactions in gaming, particularly in the more predatory free-to-play models, don't exist for the good of the product, but to offer a relief to the player as the game applies more pressure and pain to try and force the player to cave and spend money. Even the "just cosmetic" microtransactions lean hard on techniques to get the player to spend as much as possible. Both sides of this aren't universal, some businesses are very much "minimum effort, maximum profit" without much care for the quality of their product, and some games take great care to not fall into predatory monetization techniques, even with microtransactions, but speaking generally, it's something that seems rather unique to the game industry.
- leoc 7y agoI have to say that as a player I had an absolute blast in the TF2 hat economy: so many stylish and amusing items and combinations. I'm certain that not everyone had such a good time (it helped that I wasn't buying high-roller items or chasing the dream of a trading profit) but I don't think my experience is exceptional at all.
- adam12 7y agoI found the hats to be annoying. It ruined the aesthetics of the game for me.
- ansible 7y agoI recall some in-game commentary from TF2 where they talked about the design of each class. And how they worked hard to ensure that the look and even the outline of each class was unique to aid identification. What happened to that?
- sincerely 7y agoThe same thing happened to Dota2 cosmetics: https://i.imgur.com/jD8L6rh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/jD8L6rh.jpg
- ethbro 7y agoI believe parent's point was a bit more about employees at Valve. I.e. Why would anyone struggle and sacrifice quality of life to make great art, when they can make equal or more money rent seeking?
- jrmcauliffe 7y agoBecause they link quality of life to making great art rather than rent seeking(?)
- walterbell 7y agoDo owners, or employees, benefit more from: - rent seeking - making great art Is it possible to do both, e.g. pipeline of new creative titles that attract top-tier talent, a subset of which will mature into rent-seeking properties?
- de_watcher 7y agoValve's hat business feels more like walking into a shop that sells hundreds of shiny little things you don't need, but can buy and put everywhere. Battle Pass is like some kind of on-going carnival with the bulk sale of this stuff.