This isn’t another rant about the abomination that is Dungeon Keeper and its microtransactional hell. No, this is about another of EA’s free-to-play mobile games: Plants vs zombies 2. I loved the first game, when Popcap was still Popcap, but the second one, instead of being a paid product is instead a free-to-play game. Crucially though, one needed to not spend a single cent to play through the entire game, which is how free-to-play games should be. It looks like that’s changing.
According to a rather troubling report on the internet’s front page, EA seems to be making some rather fundamental changes to the game. A change that’s implemented for one single reasons; to make more money.
In Plants vs. Zombies, you get five lawnmowers as a "safety" in case one of the zombies should happen to reach your house,” says rather angry Redditor sketchampm. “The lawnmower will mow down the zombie and everything in it’s path, but once it’s gone, that’s it…at least until you restart the level.”
In the new update, I noticed that after losing a lawnmower I had the option to "buy it back" using in-game currency. Now this being a "Free to Play" game, the in-game currency takes quite a long time to acquire and can also be obtained more quickly by using your iTunes account to actually buy large amounts it. Interesting, but I wasn’t going to use my coins for a lawnmower. They’ll be back after I fail the pinata event anyway. NOPE. I used some coins to retry the event (I think this is new as well) and noticed my lawnmowers were gone. Huh. So in the events, doing a "retry" will not respawn the lawnmowers. You’ll have to buy them back. Well that sucks.”
That does suck, but it is a special event, so it’s almost acceptable. Plus, it’s such a huge game, and it’s free – even if the micro-transactions have stripped away the game’s charm. nothing to complain about, really. Except it gets worse.
Following the new update, the same user noticed that the lawnmowers were disappearing from the actual campaign levels too, and you’d have to pay the in-game currency (2000 coins a pop!) or actual money to have them reinstated. This changes a fundamental part of the game as a way to extract cash from users.
Curious, I updated my own copy of Plants vs Zombies 2 and found no option to buy-back lawnmowers. In fact, I found no evidence to support these claims at all, so I scoured the Reddit thread again, and found numerous users – on both Android and iOS - who’ve corroborated the claims, along with many who’ve said that they, like me, aren’t affected. Users on NeoGAF have also complained of similar gouging.
It seems that EA and Popcap are doing A/B testing of sorts to see just how far consumers are willing to be pushed before they break; trying to see just how much money they can get out of people before they’re incensed.
And perhaps, they’ve finally crossed the line.
[Thanks to Daniel Keevy for the tip]Last Updated: February 12, 2014
Tarisma
February 12, 2014 at 11:08
I honestly would rater buy the game for 100 bucks than have to put up with this shit
Anon
February 13, 2014 at 00:13
How about you just don’t put up with that shit and tell them to fuck off.
RinceandLeSIGH
February 12, 2014 at 11:09
My gods. They really are going for a hat trick of worst company awards. Oh shit, sorry, can’t get a hat trick unless you BUY them…
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:19
I’d buy votes through microtransactions if it gets them a vote.
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:10
You know seriously just F OFF with the flipping microfucktations yes I said that! EA go take a shotgun and shove it up your ass and pull the trigger repeatedly until you learn that people are sick and tired of this shit!
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:19
“pull the trigger repeatedly” what if it’s a pump action?
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:20
I don’t want to have that image in my head thanks.
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:23
LOL Timmy started it….
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:24
I was venting for good reason.
RinceandLeSIGH
February 12, 2014 at 11:56
damn bro, you have a troll!
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:58
I’m that awesome!
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:20
eish, then get a M16 it should suffice
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 12, 2014 at 11:25
Dan moet jy maar pomp :/
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:26
soos a pomp stassie?
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 12, 2014 at 11:27
That’s what she said?
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:27
Ass pumping a shotgun. Are we really going there?
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:27
Yip!
Willem Swanepoel
February 12, 2014 at 13:31
anal pump action
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:10
Does the Pope crap in the woods?
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:10
no but a bear does.
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:11
So does a pope
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:11
news to me!
Weanerdog
February 12, 2014 at 11:40
Does the Pope eat beaver?
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:41
The nuns yes
Weanerdog
February 12, 2014 at 11:43
What? No! Beaver is defined as fish that can be eaten on Fridays. Some guys minds.
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:44
Dirty! I said the Nuns yes, as in the nuns eat beaver! the fish… Think so little of timmy.
Weanerdog
February 12, 2014 at 12:00
Just for Timmy
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 12:01
Hey that’s not nice!
Weanerdog
February 12, 2014 at 12:03
No its not, but it is rather funny.
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 12, 2014 at 12:44
lol – I bet his parents are disappointed.
Skoobaz
February 12, 2014 at 13:13
Is he begging?? For Cash?? For Jetfuel?? On ..Mars??
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 12:18
LOL dunno? Does he?
Weanerdog
February 12, 2014 at 12:26
According to QI, it is approved for eating on a Friday hence classified as fish. So if he is out shitting in the woods and hungry he may partake in some beaver. But beware of the Zombiebeavers.
Umar Reborn
February 12, 2014 at 11:16
EA have long since crossed the line….I just pray to god that customers will NOT support this.
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 12, 2014 at 11:24
Of course they will, people have proven this over & over again – and they’ll even complain while clicking buy because they’re stupid. That’s why EA is doing it, people are dumb enough to pay for microtransactions like this because they can’t comprehend NOT doing it. Instant gratification for a virtual thing lol.
Sometimes I wonder what percentage of people are actually below avg intelligence, but then I get despondent & think about Bambi’s mom dying instead because it’s less heartbreaking.
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:24
:'(
RinceandLeSIGH
February 12, 2014 at 11:27
“get despondent & think about Bambi’s mom dying instead because it’s less heartbreaking” WIN!
Weanerdog
February 12, 2014 at 11:44
For $100 you can have a new happy end.
RinceandLeSIGH
February 12, 2014 at 11:45
$100? Under Claremont Main bridge it’s only R50! I’ve been told… 0-O
Weanerdog
February 12, 2014 at 12:01
Not a happy ending, and never pay less than R500 for that.
Umar Reborn
February 12, 2014 at 11:50
Lol Horrible hey. The general populus can’t seem to fathom struggling through a game. Money makes the world go round. It also keeps EA in business sadly…
VampyreSquirrel
February 12, 2014 at 11:19
I am doing my best to NOT support EA for anything anymore… will see how that goes 😛
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:20
Same here. No more EA for me.
They really have gone too far.
RinceandLeSIGH
February 12, 2014 at 11:22
Agreed. It’s like Xbox with buying the right to use a headset. I think they must have the same business analyst working for them…
Hondsepop
February 12, 2014 at 12:30
Jip, with you.
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:21
AND THE WINNER IS!
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:21
I will pay for microtransactions that will help shut EA down.
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:22
I’d pay for that too!
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:22
I’d give a months salary
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:22
Hardcore man
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:23
Deal
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:24
Right as soon as we have it on paper. Terms and conditions will be about as thick as the yellow pages to ensure they don’t respawn under a new name or something.
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:26
Electronic Arts my ass.
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:27
The A in EA isnt arts its abuse
VampyreSquirrel
February 12, 2014 at 11:28
I’d give your salary too 😛
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:29
Hahahaha well played
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:29
Id give it to
myselfThe needy!VampyreSquirrel
February 12, 2014 at 11:32
lol! nice use of strike through!
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:32
thanks 😉
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:31
I think some of those single micro transactions are bigger than my salary.
VampyreSquirrel
February 12, 2014 at 11:31
Same here 🙁
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:22
But can we rate it one star?
VampyreSquirrel
February 12, 2014 at 11:27
That requires a “down vote troll” transaction at $20 each
El Capitan del Blade
February 12, 2014 at 11:23
What if everyone, I mean Every gamer, in ONE DAY, just didn’t buy anything EA related. Just One Day, Several Million gamers (PC/console/mobile) don’t give them any money…. I wonder how much they would lose….
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:23
Revolucion!
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:25
not much
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 12, 2014 at 11:36
Nothing. 95% of the people who’d do that would buy it the next day because they’d proven their point!
melodicmizery
February 12, 2014 at 12:45
actually it would somewhat still work out alot. alot of companys depend on daily income, it would drive stocks berserk as well. sometimes they depend on money coming in one day to pay for something else the next day. its like when people say well if i dont buy gas today ill still have to get it tommorow but people dont understand that they depend so badly on revenue in one day that it can cause a spiral. although it would work best if people did it for a quarterly instead of a day. i would do it. i have enough games to last me for months if everyone else had a plan i would just not buy anything. of course though the stupid people in the world produce alot more stupid kids then the bright ones do
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
February 12, 2014 at 11:23
As long as there are stupid people on the planet, this will work. Those of us who refuse will not make a dent in opposing this practice.
FoxOneZA
February 12, 2014 at 11:31
^THIS… It’s the elderly with their shiny new tablets that fall for these tactics.
ToshZA
February 12, 2014 at 13:26
Or 10 year olds. just saying.
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:31
The people like this
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:34
EA muh muh muh muh makes me sad.
Unavengedavo
February 12, 2014 at 14:04
Oi, do you enjoy making fun of people with a speech impediment? You are worse than the guy who decided to put an “S” in the word lisp! O_o
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 14:07
LOL
Hondsepop
February 12, 2014 at 12:32
Hehehe, I play movies in my head when I go to sleep.
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
February 12, 2014 at 13:33
You m-m-m mmake me hap-pay!
DrKiller
February 12, 2014 at 11:31
pfff, real gamers don’t need lawnmowes! Its not a garden simulator 🙂
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:32
I use a flamethrower. Like a real man.
RinceandLeSIGH
February 12, 2014 at 11:37
Haha. Indeed. So when we having a meet up again? We were at John’s place last weekend testing out the PS4. Was awesome.
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 11:37
Oh. Nice. Don’t know man. The past few weeks were crazy for me.
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:38
Don’t be the Blitz man!
General JJ the ashamed
February 12, 2014 at 12:22
Hey! I ain’t the blitz
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 12, 2014 at 12:40
Not anymore. Tim spoiled the surprise.
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:37
check this out
TiMsTeR1033
February 12, 2014 at 11:33
Oh the downtroll Timmy troll is back! It’s like that huh bitch! I open up an can of whoop ass on you now and beat you like a red headed step child!
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:35
Doesn’t matter. I hand out upvotes faster than EA charges for microtransactions.
Rags
February 12, 2014 at 11:35
This is a problem with a lot of free to play games. :<
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 11:37
Yea a lot free games has microtransactions but you don’t see companies update their games to do what EA does.
fred
February 12, 2014 at 11:41
Soon you will have to pay to quit the game.
Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!
February 12, 2014 at 11:48
right. I shall update mine and report back
Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!
February 12, 2014 at 12:07
Right, so I updated mine and thankfully mine doesn’t try to ask me for cash to respawn my mowers.
However I did see that before I could get in to the game it asked me my age. Now why PvZ would need to know my age is beyond me. Perhaps the microtransactions are only activated on certain age groups? Those EA believe will pay?
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
February 12, 2014 at 12:10
I had that – along with ads for dungeon Keeper.
Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!
February 12, 2014 at 12:34
Yep, had the DK ads as well.
I smell something fishy
Unavengedavo
February 12, 2014 at 14:01
Wait, did EA buy up Big Fish Games as well? O_o
Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!
February 12, 2014 at 14:10
lol
SheHulkNigri
February 12, 2014 at 11:56
Dear Goldmine oh sorry Gamer
We at Electronic Assholes sorry Electronic Arts are dedicated to screw you over in any way we can imagine oh sorry no. We are dedicated to give you the best experiences ever from our beloved, benevolent studio.
Hence, going forth, you will be charged R25.00 for simply viewing our little animated logo intro thingy. Remember, at EA, our motto is still, charge everything sorry challenge everything.
Now please, bend over and take it in the ass like the good gaming sluts you are sorry thank you for your constant support of our gaming franchises.
Your pal as long as you have money oops no here’s hoping to a wonderful gaming future together.
Love and wallet-rapes
EA
Marius Nell
February 12, 2014 at 12:01
As Jim states so brilliantly it is free to wait not free to play http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/8773-Free-To-Wait
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 12:18
Clever guy that.
Unavengedavo
February 12, 2014 at 12:24
So wait… Everyone is complaining about EA having Free-to-play games with Micro transactions, but at the same time they want Zenimax/Bethesda to do the same thing with The Elder Scrolls Online?
Kromas
February 12, 2014 at 13:03
What you mean a subscription so they can pay off their voice actors and implement more stuff. Comparing apples to oranges here. Go play a Free to Play MMO and get frustrated at all the stonewalling then come back and complain again.
Unavengedavo
February 12, 2014 at 13:13
Everyone is saying that TESO should be free-to-play… I tried to stick with SW:TOR when it went free to play but couldn’t stand it. I prefer the sub model because they have a steady flow of income and they can continue to release amazing content.
VampyreSquirrel
February 12, 2014 at 13:22
I’m not saying it SHOULD go FTP, but that it’ll probably go that way with the price of the game and what the subs are going to be like for those of us that aren’t in “first world” countries.
DC Universe Online was cool before it went FTP, now it’s still cool, but in all honesty playing more than one MMO at a time kills all your spare time.
ToshZA
February 12, 2014 at 13:24
Right, so I don’t want it F2P. I just don’t think a sub is worth the cost at all. If it goes F2P, well so be it. I still won’t get it.
I have Skyrim. If I want an ES experience, I can just load that up. And with Skywind still in the works, that looks to expand the world to basically never needing another ES game.
Unavengedavo
February 12, 2014 at 13:56
This is the 1st I heard of Skywin(I think they could have at least come up with a better name), but it looks really interesting
Kromas
February 12, 2014 at 13:36
Exactly. People who want free to play need to understand you pay for what you get. Actually I don’t mind free to play as long as it is not pay to win. Dota and TF2 did it nicely.
Willem Swanepoel
February 12, 2014 at 13:19
Nope, I agree with Unavengedavo here.
You cannot shout F2P and then you also want them to make it F2P how you want it. A company still need to pay for their servers and staff and they will always introduce things in a MMO to make money out of the impatient person but a paid subscription you get proper content and no bullshit restrictions.
I prefer a sub based MMO compared to a F2P MMO.
The restrictions that they add in a F2P model is stupid. I do not have time to grind my ass off to get the resources or the equipment to make a F2P worth it.
That is why I lost interested in EVERY F2P game so far.
Funny enough, SW:TOR got a sub based system where you get lots of features and the F2P currency to buy extra features, so in a sense I gain more to pay for a sub.
Kromas
February 12, 2014 at 13:44
Uhm okay.So you agree with us both cause we both agreed on the same thing. Agreed? 😛
Willem Swanepoel
February 12, 2014 at 13:29
What I do not agree with this micro transaction bullshit is when I buy a game that does not require the company to host a server… IE a single player game and they add cool features that can only be unlocked by micro transactions.
It is a sick trend that EA and others are following. I just wish the gaming market crashes like in 1983-1985 so that they go back to their roots of proper game development. This also means that the smaller and good companies will suffer and it is the sad part but I am getting sick of these micro tran BS.
Kromas
February 12, 2014 at 13:38
And that is why I will keep on throwing money at CDProjekt Red.
Johan du Preez
February 12, 2014 at 14:22
There is a difference between pay to win and Free to Play. Go and google and you will be enlightened.
Micro transaction done by a company that does not take advantage of their users is perfectly fine with everyone.
Pay to play is a entire different ballgame.
Rikus
February 12, 2014 at 12:29
Not really micro-transactions, but still typical of EA
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 12:34
Damn!
Hammersteyn
February 12, 2014 at 12:34
I wonder if EA will respond to our disagreements?
Weanerdog
February 12, 2014 at 13:39
Wonder no more I have the answer for you.
Unavengedavo
February 12, 2014 at 14:06
They would, but you need to pay $5 to see it
melodicmizery
February 12, 2014 at 12:38
i HATE microtransactions. warframe is a fkn MESS. i spent days being stonewalled because everything i needed was a micro transaction. its really stupid. id rather just pay a regular price for the game and be able to by weapons with regular xp money instead of having a free game that everything is locked and you have to buy credits with real cash.
i made a ps4 video when ps4 came out saying how many features were removed in ps4 compared to ps3 and got alot of crap by people for it who kept saying give them time to add the features in. what they werent understanding is they do this stuff to us because they know they can get away with it. people like being pushed around and are so soft on game companys that they keep removing stuff and giving us less and charging us more and gamers just aare ok with it. the games keep getting worse and worse. they are laughing at us basically to the point they are releasing games that are broke and just halfway patching them until they run out of time and leave the game broke.
the future of gaming is going to be crap and were to blame for it. people dont understand the game companys are at the mercy of the users. we have the numbers to request what we want or just simply not buy the game and let them go bankrupt. yet we still keep caving in and buying overpriced dlc, microtransactions, 5$ for a gun or outfit lol, and the ever so dreaded online passes. just because online passes arent being used doesnt mean they are gone. the ps4 faq said games are still allowed to use them if they choose.
Craig Lotter
February 12, 2014 at 13:35
Or they could be doing what King does with Candy Crush Saga. When you reach the end of a block of levels you need to gain access to the next “area”. The usual culprits are there in terms of spamming facebook or paying money to gain access, but in earlier versions there was also the option to play three ‘quests’ to unlock the next section – basically a replay of three tough levels, spaced out over a 48 hour period. Current versions of Candy Crush Saga hide this option if it detects an Internet connection – basically it assumes you can either give them money or spam facebook because you are online. Interestingly enough, if you load the game up with wireless/data turned off, the mystery question option is now available – because they don’t want you to stop playing and know that you can’t spend money/spam facebook.
Sneaky (but great because it means a) I don’t have to spend money and b) I don’t have to spam facebook. This makes me cheap, I know.).
DBL_ZA
February 12, 2014 at 13:54
Unsurprising, considering EA’s reputation for
looking aftersqueezing the last pennies out of its customersAnon
February 13, 2014 at 00:13
Fuck EA, fuck mobile “gaming”, and fuck micro-transactions. Also, fuck Microsoft, Sony, and their bastardization of the games industry while I’m at it.