4 ms·

I think it is largely "casual" gamers and or gamers who can't afford the upfront $50 or $20 for a game and are lured in by the "Free" game and then of course ad

I think it is largely "casual" gamers and or gamers who can't afford the upfront $50 or $20 for a game and are lured in by the "Free" game and then of course addiction kicks in and they spend $100 or more on it. Sad state of affairs, and something that has only gotten worse with app stores. I don't know if it is causal but they certainly haven't helped stop it.

paulmd 5y ago
a skin in some of these games is $10 or more. Even as someone who might conceivably be tempted (I've bought stuff for TF2 before), there's a point where it's just an obviously bad use of your money. 20 bucks is a nice dinner out, I'm not spending that on a skin. Maybe I am just stuck in 2012 but $2-3 is about the limit for me for a skin. "Unusual" hats (particle effects) in TF2 are basically the original NFT, they are unique items with a very limited number in existence, and they are worth more, but I'm not going to pay $10-20 for the same skin as a million other players. Of course that's why they've started tying them to gameplay, like Rainbow 6 Siege and Battlefield 2042 "operators"... it's taken studios a long time but they've finally gotten us to bite on "pay to win" by framing it as player choice. (although I guess DLCs/expansions having OP weapons that beat the base game is nothing new, but charging $10 or $20 a pop for each unit is new.)
- paulryanrogers 5y ago
  Star Citizen has taken unit monetization to a whole new level. It's basically art as a service: buy these ships that are unlikely to ever render during gameplay. And now they can't stop. If it stops expanding the whole thing will collapse under its own weight.
  - usrusr 5y ago
    Star Citizen discovered a way to sell the imagination of being fully engaged in a game to people who don't actually have the time for playing that much (but have fond memories of wasting countless hours). It's a rather brilliant discovery. I wonder though how much of that has already been ruined by whatever beta versions exist.
- bigger_cheese 5y ago
  I play Path of Exile. I've sunk 1000's of hours into the game at this point. I discovered PoE because I was so disappointed in Blizzard and Diablo 3 (which had terrible monetization problems - real world money auctions etc.) I buy in game cosmetic items like skins occasionally. Are they bad value? Yes, however I don't consider that when I make the purchase. I've played this game so much and gotten so much enjoyment out of it I see the cosmetic purchases as a donation to the dev team for their time. If paying $30 for some fancy armor every so often helps fund ongoing development I'm happy to do it. There is a line between "Pay to win" and "Purely cosmetic" microtransactions. I'm happy with the later but try to avoid games with the former.
- antifa 5y ago
  > Maybe I am just stuck in 2012 but $2-3 is about the limit for me for a skin. Even this is way overpriced for me, I've never in my life paid for a DLC of a skin or item.
  - jamesgeck0 5y ago
    I bought a few skins for my favorite character in Heroes of the Storm after I'd played the game for free over a hundred hours. I kinda felt like the developers had earned by money by that point.
    - antifa 5y ago
      That's at least more respectable and reasonable then what's going on in fortnight or the average android game.
russdpale 5y ago
Studies show the vast majority of the purchases on those apps are whales. Like 90% or more IIRC. If it weren't for whales those games would make no money.
- throwawaylinux 5y ago
  Do you have any of those studies at hand?
  - rrdharan 5y ago
    https://deltadna.com/blog/how-whales-spend/ https://deltadna.com/blog/how-whales-spend/ https://www.pocketgamer.biz/comment-and-opinion/72369/mobile-gaming-whales-spending-more-than-ever-according-to-gameanalytics/ https://www.pocketgamer.biz/comment-and-opinion/72369/mobile...
mbg721 5y ago
Or kids who don't have a credit card at the ready, but can ask after they get attached to the game. (Which makes it that much worse.)

paulmd 5y ago

a skin in some of these games is $10 or more. Even as someone who might conceivably be tempted (I've bought stuff for TF2 before), there's a point where it's just an obviously bad use of your money. 20 bucks is a nice dinner out, I'm not spending that on a skin. Maybe I am just stuck in 2012 but $2-3 is about the limit for me for a skin. "Unusual" hats (particle effects) in TF2 are basically the original NFT, they are unique items with a very limited number in existence, and they are worth more, but I'm not going to pay $10-20 for the same skin as a million other players. Of course that's why they've started tying them to gameplay, like Rainbow 6 Siege and Battlefield 2042 "operators"... it's taken studios a long time but they've finally gotten us to bite on "pay to win" by framing it as player choice. (although I guess DLCs/expansions having OP weapons that beat the base game is nothing new, but charging $10 or $20 a pop for each unit is new.)

paulryanrogers 5y ago
Star Citizen has taken unit monetization to a whole new level. It's basically art as a service: buy these ships that are unlikely to ever render during gameplay. And now they can't stop. If it stops expanding the whole thing will collapse under its own weight.
- usrusr 5y ago
  Star Citizen discovered a way to sell the imagination of being fully engaged in a game to people who don't actually have the time for playing that much (but have fond memories of wasting countless hours). It's a rather brilliant discovery. I wonder though how much of that has already been ruined by whatever beta versions exist.
bigger_cheese 5y ago
I play Path of Exile. I've sunk 1000's of hours into the game at this point. I discovered PoE because I was so disappointed in Blizzard and Diablo 3 (which had terrible monetization problems - real world money auctions etc.) I buy in game cosmetic items like skins occasionally. Are they bad value? Yes, however I don't consider that when I make the purchase. I've played this game so much and gotten so much enjoyment out of it I see the cosmetic purchases as a donation to the dev team for their time. If paying $30 for some fancy armor every so often helps fund ongoing development I'm happy to do it. There is a line between "Pay to win" and "Purely cosmetic" microtransactions. I'm happy with the later but try to avoid games with the former.
antifa 5y ago
> Maybe I am just stuck in 2012 but $2-3 is about the limit for me for a skin. Even this is way overpriced for me, I've never in my life paid for a DLC of a skin or item.
- jamesgeck0 5y ago
  I bought a few skins for my favorite character in Heroes of the Storm after I'd played the game for free over a hundred hours. I kinda felt like the developers had earned by money by that point.
  - antifa 5y ago
    That's at least more respectable and reasonable then what's going on in fortnight or the average android game.

russdpale 5y ago

Studies show the vast majority of the purchases on those apps are whales. Like 90% or more IIRC. If it weren't for whales those games would make no money.

throwawaylinux 5y ago
Do you have any of those studies at hand?
- rrdharan 5y ago
  https://deltadna.com/blog/how-whales-spend/ https://deltadna.com/blog/how-whales-spend/ https://www.pocketgamer.biz/comment-and-opinion/72369/mobile-gaming-whales-spending-more-than-ever-according-to-gameanalytics/ https://www.pocketgamer.biz/comment-and-opinion/72369/mobile...

mbg721 5y ago

Or kids who don't have a credit card at the ready, but can ask after they get attached to the game. (Which makes it that much worse.)