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> It means I get to play tons of games now for free, subsidized by others. The article does mention some tactics that would prevent this, such as a bottleneck

by hoherd 3y ago

> It means I get to play tons of games now for free, subsidized by others. The article does mention some tactics that would prevent this, such as a bottleneck in the game where a level is so difficult a user can't reasonably win without having to pay. With such a tactic, you would not get to completely play tons of games, and the game becomes more of a free demo where the later parts of the game are unlocked with money, but that fact is hidden behind a manipulative psychological mechanic.

SirMaster 3y ago
Ah, I only play multiplayer games, and so I have never really seen much of anything that I can't do for free.
- simiones 3y ago
  There are many multiplayer games, especially on mobile, where the more you spend, the more powerful you are. One of the more infamous recent examples was Activision-Blizzard's Diablo: Immortal, where the most powerful items were locked behind either significant monetary investments (think tens to hundreds of dollars) or unfathomable amounts of grinding (literal decades for a >80% chance at some of the top-tier items, or something crazy like that). And these items were very much usable in PvP combat, where any non-paying player has about 0 chance of ever winning.
  - SirMaster 3y ago
    >There are many multiplayer games, especially on mobile, where the more you spend, the more powerful you are. Sure, but none of the ones I play work like that. There are plenty that don't. Easy to simply avoid the ones that do.
    - simiones 3y ago
      Companies are actively working to make it harder. Some games now launch without microtranscations of any kind, or with cosmetic-only ones. Then, after they gain popularity (and thus hook you in), they start adding more and more pay-to-win transactions. Sometimes it's also unclear that an item they offer for sale will make it easier to win, by hiding the advantage behind various layers of obfuscation. Also, if you agree that these types of games are not worth playing, perhaps you also agree that not much would be lost if they were outright banned?
tiltowait 3y ago
The mobile Dungeon Keeper was pretty infamous for this.

by hoherd 3y ago

SirMaster 3y ago

Ah, I only play multiplayer games, and so I have never really seen much of anything that I can't do for free.

simiones 3y ago
There are many multiplayer games, especially on mobile, where the more you spend, the more powerful you are. One of the more infamous recent examples was Activision-Blizzard's Diablo: Immortal, where the most powerful items were locked behind either significant monetary investments (think tens to hundreds of dollars) or unfathomable amounts of grinding (literal decades for a >80% chance at some of the top-tier items, or something crazy like that). And these items were very much usable in PvP combat, where any non-paying player has about 0 chance of ever winning.
- SirMaster 3y ago
  >There are many multiplayer games, especially on mobile, where the more you spend, the more powerful you are. Sure, but none of the ones I play work like that. There are plenty that don't. Easy to simply avoid the ones that do.
  - simiones 3y ago
    Companies are actively working to make it harder. Some games now launch without microtranscations of any kind, or with cosmetic-only ones. Then, after they gain popularity (and thus hook you in), they start adding more and more pay-to-win transactions. Sometimes it's also unclear that an item they offer for sale will make it easier to win, by hiding the advantage behind various layers of obfuscation. Also, if you agree that these types of games are not worth playing, perhaps you also agree that not much would be lost if they were outright banned?

tiltowait 3y ago

The mobile Dungeon Keeper was pretty infamous for this.