5 ms·

No Microsoft game has monetization as bad as Fallout 76. So whatever Bethesda does from now on can't be worse than what it does today. ;)

Whiteshadow12 6y ago
This should be filed under the "Tell me in 2 years" section.
- DominikD 6y ago
  Sure thing. But this also changes the reference point. If the entire video game industry is THAT predatory by 2022, it's hard to single out Microsoft for that and hold me responsible for my optimism today. ;)
- Sebb767 6y ago
  Let us hope, at least
iruoy 6y ago
What would you say is Microsoft's worst game for microtransactions? I've played Forza Horizon 4 for a while and you can buy cars in that game, but you earn enough points that they all become pretty cheap after only a few hours in the game.
- DominikD 6y ago
  Forza Street probably. Anything with microtransactions is bound to be bad for customers but FS is probably the most criticized MS product to date (and yeah, it's a re-skinned, acquired product but I'd still count it against Microsoft since they attach themselves to it).
- gambiting 6y ago
  The biggest issue for me was that certain in-game cars were locked behind the spin-the-wheel game, and while(thankfully) there was no way to spend real life money for more spins, it still felt absolutely shit that I could have 100+ in-game hours, hundreds of millions of in-game currency, and yet no, I can't have that Mercedes E63 AMG, because it can only be won through spins. In Horizon 3 you could just buy any car at any point, it was just a matter of getting enough currency.
  - djsumdog 6y ago
    Horizon 3 was a lot of fun, but 4 just got repetitive and boring. It felt like the same game with really dumb gimmicks like being able to buy houses.
    - gambiting 6y ago
      Agreed, I do actually think that 3 was a superior game, even if 4 had a prettier map.
  - WorldMaker 6y ago
    Thankfully Microsoft experimented with the real money payment for sort of the "spin-the-wheel" equivalent in the mainline Forza Motorsport series (off hand I can't remember if it was 5 or 6 that was the absolute nadir), and learned enough from that failed experience (and a similar one in I think it was Gears 4 and Halo 5) that it never infected the Horizon series.
- Aeronwen 6y ago
  You can't buy them in-game without buying them with real money first. Once you unlock the car pack, or spend 1/3 as much to unlock that particular car, you can buy as many extras as you want with in-game money.
- snuxoll 6y ago
  Halo 5, Warzone REQ packs could be a money sink for certain kinds of players. Personally, I haven’t spent a dime on the game except the initial purchase - but it really soured the community that one could spend real money on power weapons. Given that many items in REQ packs are single-use rather than permanent unlocks it can be a whale magnet as well, and I absolutely do not think game developers should be allowed to capitalize on people with addiction problems like this.
ehnto 6y ago
The weird thing about F76 is that the monetization doesn't effect the game, it's just not very good. I have never supported a game through microtransactions, but I actually felt I wanted to for F76 as it seems like a candidate for a "Forever Game" fallout world that gets expanded upon. But they have nothing I would ever want to buy.
- zamalek 6y ago
  I hope this acquisition will fix Bethesda. Skyrim was their last game worth talking about, everything since then has either been effectively a Skyrim mod or a cash grab. With exception to Doom.
  - noncoml 6y ago
    I loved Fallout 4
    - citizenkeen 6y ago
      Every game has somebody who loves it. Even that terrible Superman game. Fallout 4 wasn't total garbage, but it was huge step down from Fallout 3 or Skyrim.
      - noncoml 6y ago
        > it was huge step down from Fallout 3 or Skyrim In what way? And how is your opinion better metric than my opinion? You have data to back it up?
        ck425 6y ago
        It was a huge step down if you liked RPG games, which given Bethesda traditionally made rpg games and that fallout was originally an rpg series is hugely important. Fallout 4 suffered from quest repetition/duplication, an emphasis on combat over other rpg driven approaches to play and a relatively low ability to effect the world as the player. It's not a bad game per say but it's a mediocre rpg. It was arguably more disappointing given how incredible an rpg New Vegas was despite not having been finished properly.
gdulli 6y ago
I only started Fallout 76 this summer so I can't speak to the bad state it launched in. But the recent major update got good word of mouth and it was on sale for $15. I haven't paid a dime extra and I've had a full single player experience that matches or succeeds Fallout 4. If you just want another single player Fallout game, this game is a steal and has no monetization problem. What I can't do is build up a camp using a lot of different trinkets from the store, but luckily I don't care about that.

Whiteshadow12 6y ago

This should be filed under the "Tell me in 2 years" section.

DominikD 6y ago
Sure thing. But this also changes the reference point. If the entire video game industry is THAT predatory by 2022, it's hard to single out Microsoft for that and hold me responsible for my optimism today. ;)
Sebb767 6y ago
Let us hope, at least

iruoy 6y ago

What would you say is Microsoft's worst game for microtransactions? I've played Forza Horizon 4 for a while and you can buy cars in that game, but you earn enough points that they all become pretty cheap after only a few hours in the game.

DominikD 6y ago
Forza Street probably. Anything with microtransactions is bound to be bad for customers but FS is probably the most criticized MS product to date (and yeah, it's a re-skinned, acquired product but I'd still count it against Microsoft since they attach themselves to it).
gambiting 6y ago
The biggest issue for me was that certain in-game cars were locked behind the spin-the-wheel game, and while(thankfully) there was no way to spend real life money for more spins, it still felt absolutely shit that I could have 100+ in-game hours, hundreds of millions of in-game currency, and yet no, I can't have that Mercedes E63 AMG, because it can only be won through spins. In Horizon 3 you could just buy any car at any point, it was just a matter of getting enough currency.
- djsumdog 6y ago
  Horizon 3 was a lot of fun, but 4 just got repetitive and boring. It felt like the same game with really dumb gimmicks like being able to buy houses.
  - gambiting 6y ago
    Agreed, I do actually think that 3 was a superior game, even if 4 had a prettier map.
- WorldMaker 6y ago
  Thankfully Microsoft experimented with the real money payment for sort of the "spin-the-wheel" equivalent in the mainline Forza Motorsport series (off hand I can't remember if it was 5 or 6 that was the absolute nadir), and learned enough from that failed experience (and a similar one in I think it was Gears 4 and Halo 5) that it never infected the Horizon series.
Aeronwen 6y ago
You can't buy them in-game without buying them with real money first. Once you unlock the car pack, or spend 1/3 as much to unlock that particular car, you can buy as many extras as you want with in-game money.
snuxoll 6y ago
Halo 5, Warzone REQ packs could be a money sink for certain kinds of players. Personally, I haven’t spent a dime on the game except the initial purchase - but it really soured the community that one could spend real money on power weapons. Given that many items in REQ packs are single-use rather than permanent unlocks it can be a whale magnet as well, and I absolutely do not think game developers should be allowed to capitalize on people with addiction problems like this.

ehnto 6y ago

The weird thing about F76 is that the monetization doesn't effect the game, it's just not very good. I have never supported a game through microtransactions, but I actually felt I wanted to for F76 as it seems like a candidate for a "Forever Game" fallout world that gets expanded upon. But they have nothing I would ever want to buy.

zamalek 6y ago
I hope this acquisition will fix Bethesda. Skyrim was their last game worth talking about, everything since then has either been effectively a Skyrim mod or a cash grab. With exception to Doom.
- noncoml 6y ago
  I loved Fallout 4
  - citizenkeen 6y ago
    Every game has somebody who loves it. Even that terrible Superman game. Fallout 4 wasn't total garbage, but it was huge step down from Fallout 3 or Skyrim.
    - noncoml 6y ago
      > it was huge step down from Fallout 3 or Skyrim In what way? And how is your opinion better metric than my opinion? You have data to back it up?
      - ck425 6y ago
        It was a huge step down if you liked RPG games, which given Bethesda traditionally made rpg games and that fallout was originally an rpg series is hugely important. Fallout 4 suffered from quest repetition/duplication, an emphasis on combat over other rpg driven approaches to play and a relatively low ability to effect the world as the player. It's not a bad game per say but it's a mediocre rpg. It was arguably more disappointing given how incredible an rpg New Vegas was despite not having been finished properly.

gdulli 6y ago

I only started Fallout 76 this summer so I can't speak to the bad state it launched in. But the recent major update got good word of mouth and it was on sale for $15. I haven't paid a dime extra and I've had a full single player experience that matches or succeeds Fallout 4. If you just want another single player Fallout game, this game is a steal and has no monetization problem. What I can't do is build up a camp using a lot of different trinkets from the store, but luckily I don't care about that.