The buzz word in gaming right now is micro-transactions, gamers universally hate them but yet still utilise them so we are currently wallowing in the cess pool that is freemium gaming.
Freemium gaming has really been around since the early 80’s where it went by the moniker of shareware but in the last few years it has really evolved into an entirely different and disgustingly ugly beast.
The latest freemium AAA title is Killer Instinct on the Xbox One. Killer Instinct is a top end fighting game that you can download for free which comes with a single fighter. To unlock more fighters you simply need to hand over a mere $5 or R50 each. Right now there is no top limit to the number of fighters released but there are a guaranteed 8 fighters so if you want the full game it’s going to cost you at last $40 (R400).
But we all know that if people start buying these fighters then the new fighters will just keep on coming.
Then you have World of Tanks which dominates the Eastern European and Russian gaming landscape which offers you the ability to upgrade your tanks and sign up for a premium membership. The premium membership costs 24 000 gold coins a year which works out to around $120 a year.
And what do you get for $120 a year? 1 1/2 times the experience in battles and the ability to research tanks at a faster speed. You will however still be expected to buy more tanks and DLC as you go.
But all of this pales into comparison to what Rovio has done with their latest milking of the Angry Bird licence. The new Angry Bird game is Mario Kart with Angry Birds and it is free. Take a look
To continue reading this article click on the Buy Now button below and pay $0.99 for the privilege…
It looks like fun and something my kids would be really into and this is where it gets nasty.
You start with a rickety wooden cart but with just a few taps of your fingers you can use your shiny new credit card, linked to your iTunes account, to upgrade all the way to the Big Bang Special Edition for a mere $99.99, that’s coming on R1000 for a virtual go-kart.
But that won’t be enough as your little bird gets tired after racing a few races and needs to rest for a certain period of time. Or you can use more of your hard earned money to boost his energy level to keep on playing. But even your new energised bird still is unlikely to win races as everyone else has special boost abilities that you need to, yes you guessed it, buy separately.
You could quite easily spend over $200, R2000 in just a week on this game and that’s being classed as micro-transactions.
Now to be fair to Rovio, that poor multi million dollar corporation who we are hating on for milking humanity dry, they have announced that these are soft launch prices and they are relooking at them now. Well you would since the media made a stink about it wouldn’t you?
And let’s end this little rant with the upcoming Forza title for the Xbox One. This cutting edge next generation title is shipping at full price with 200 cars while the existing Forza 4 boasts a count of over 500. But don’t fear since if you buy a $50, R500 season pass you will definitely receive an extra 50 cars over the next 6 months. At that rate it’s going to cost you $300 to get to the same number of cars that Forza 4 currently offers.
And before you Gran Turismo fans pipe up, your loving company actually posted this image to show how much you can get for your micro transactions. Or in other words how much stuff they’ve made that they won’t put in the game unless you hand over more cash.
How is this acceptable? We gamers are not cash cows designed to fund your lavish lifestyles, how about you tell your shareholders to only buy one island this year and to stop milking the golden goose that is gaming.
You all disgust me.
When you are now paying over the price of the original game, or an original game, then it is no longer a micro-transaction it’s a rip off. Stop doing it.
Last Updated: November 28, 2013
Admiral Chief Duke
November 28, 2013 at 13:36
FILTH FILTH FIIIIIIILTH
Kensei Seraph
November 28, 2013 at 13:37
You shouldn’t insult filth like this.
Admiral Chief Duke
November 28, 2013 at 13:36
You wanna charge me again???
http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/aqmGWPj_460sa.gif
Captain GUZ
November 28, 2013 at 13:49
Hahahaha No longer angry birds its now angry ducks
Hammersteyn
November 28, 2013 at 13:38
I interpreted the header as Lags making money…
Admiral Chief Duke
November 28, 2013 at 13:39
No, that would look like this:
(refresh for pic)
Graeme Selvan
November 28, 2013 at 13:46
LOL
Admiral Chief Duke
November 28, 2013 at 13:47
Hahaha, you remember that?
Graeme Selvan
November 28, 2013 at 13:52
I do, it was for the Gamescom trip, I had to pay to reserve their hotel booking for Gamescom 🙂 Good times
Admiral Chief Duke
November 28, 2013 at 13:53
Sure sure, whatever you say Mr Selvan…
😉
Graeme Selvan
November 28, 2013 at 13:53
😀
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 13:50
BOOM
TiMsTeR1033
November 28, 2013 at 13:53
You can see he feels bad to see the giving of money being documented, but he will accept it!
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 13:59
That CLEARLY looks like money being given away though. not made?
Admiral Chief Duke
November 28, 2013 at 14:00
Or a reverse-over-the-shoulder-accept
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 14:01
AHA!
RyseandRepeat
November 28, 2013 at 13:42
When does a micro transaction become a full payment? Answer: When Gavin’s wife is playing Candy Rush!
Admiral Chief Duke
November 28, 2013 at 13:45
BOOOOM
VinTaco
November 28, 2013 at 13:46
Just a note, it costs $20 to unlock all the content in Killer Instinct. The $40 option just gives more aesthetic things that can be unlocked in game, and an emulated version of the first game.
Researched this yesterday.
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
November 28, 2013 at 13:48
That’s for Season Pass 1. Season Pass 2 will be another $20, adding a second set of characters for a total of 16.
VinTaco
November 28, 2013 at 13:50
That still ends up costing less than a retail game. I think its a FASCINATING model for a high profile launch game. I really really hope they do it properly.
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
November 28, 2013 at 13:52
On Season 2:
“You can pay $20 again and now you have 16 characters, or you pay $40 again and you’ll get the everything version,” Lobb said.
In the end, the full game after Season two will cost $80..for a fighter with 16 characters. MS has also said it plans on doing more seasons after that.
VinTaco
November 28, 2013 at 13:56
What is the extra $20 for in season 2? As far as I can see, buying the $40 pack now is pretty dumb as its just costumes and shit that you can get ingame anyway (though a legal emulated Killer Instinct 1 is boss).
What makes this model so interesting to me is how modular it is. You literally buy the pieces you want:
Base game – Free < the unusual part of this.
Characters – $20
Extra aesthetic stuff and emulated KI1 – $20
Lets assume S2 keeps the same model. In total you can spend $40 on all the actual content which is $20 less than a premium fighting game would cost to begin with.
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 13:53
The problem is when a game that already cost you close on full retail price AND then you still need to add more moolah in the mix for the Microtransactions. Then the game costs you almost 2 full retail games for content that used to be included all in one go.
Here is a picture stating exactly what I mean:
http://images.lazygamer.net/2013/11/microtransact.jpg
VinTaco
November 28, 2013 at 13:54
Killer Instinct is free btw. You download the base game for literally the cost of the bandwidth.
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 13:55
But Forza and the like aren’t. Very few games actually do MT’s right
Killer instinct sure. I can handle that. But the problem is most games (AAA games) aren’t starting out freemium. Most have a very real world monetary obligation to get the game first
RyseandRepeat
November 28, 2013 at 13:54
I agree. This model could work very well. I mean, I wouldn’t pay for half the characters in Street Fighter. But they need to make it work, not get greedy and at a later stage make character upgrades you have to buy for balance reasons etc.
Rock789
November 28, 2013 at 15:21
I wouldn’t pay for any of the characters in Street Fighter… Silly game!
**runs and hides under desk – tin foil hat engage!** 🙂
RyseandRepeat
November 28, 2013 at 16:05
That foil will not protect you! By the way, seems my office is closing because of tomorrow, so working from home, WIN! PS. How was last night 😉
Rock789
November 28, 2013 at 16:11
Nice… Much better to stay safe. I’m staying the heck outta the CBD tomorrow…
Last night was a bust for the original plan… Unfortunately my friend cancelled on me at last moment, so I went to movies with another friend instead. And drank beer! WINNING! 🙂 Finally got to see Thor2. Really good movie… Interesting ending! 🙂 And is it just me, or was the ‘mid-credits extra scene’ more vague than usual… Still trying to figure out what it is I saw.
RyseandRepeat
November 28, 2013 at 16:13
Glad you saw it 🙂 Here you go! http://www.themovies.co.za/2013/11/12/kevin-feige-explains-ramifications-of-thor-the-dark-worlds-mid-credits-scene/
VinTaco
November 28, 2013 at 13:58
DISCLAIMER: I think most micro-transaction models are absolute horseshit, but when its purely optional just vote with your wallet. If it is needed to complete a game, then its worthy of hellfire and fury.
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 14:04
DISCLAIMER:
In most of my comments I am disagreeing with you but I am not trying to be stubborn.
I actually do agree with you that Microtransactions (done right) can actually boost the industry and be a good thing.
I just don’t believe the industry has what it takes, however, to make it work because there are clear cases of games where it’s already not being done right and that sets a trend which all others then follow because it “seemingly” works.
VinTaco
November 28, 2013 at 14:08
I am very worried for the exact same reason. I try and support DLC done right (Mass Effect whore of note reporting in) and ignoring the plethora of dumb shit out there on PSN.
That all said, I’ve spent around R2k on League of Legends. 😛
I think we agree in a way that sounds like disagreeing, ha.
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 14:11
Good grief man 0_o. I’d never be able to justify spending that much on any game lol.
Although… 2 years of Eve online not paid from in-game cash for the game time… Ok nevermind. As you were
Kromas
November 28, 2013 at 14:50
Mass Effect love does not make you a whore. Mass Effect love frees countries and stops wars. I gladly give my money for Mass Effect love.
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
November 28, 2013 at 15:23
That “cars take time” excuse is bullshit. I love Forza to bits, but I don’t buy that excuse. R32 for a car? (Forza Horizon)
10 cars and you’ve got the price of the full game after 6 months on shelves.
BLAME APPLE WITH THEIR ITUNES STORE THAT STARTED ALL THIS
VinTaco
November 28, 2013 at 15:31
It isn’t bullshit, its fact – have you seen the detail that goes into those models? All four layers of the paint reflect things properly. This is Forza 5, I don’t know about the others.
If you don’t like it, don’t pay for it. If we all did this, this shit wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
December 2, 2013 at 08:20
You have a point and I may be wrong, but one would assume that with technology increasing exponentially, things would take less time to develop.
I don’t like, and I don’t pay 🙂
VinTaco
December 2, 2013 at 08:23
I do agree that that is how it _should_ be, but it isn’t for reasons that I don’t understand (perhaps LG can speak to a Dev about increasing dev times?)
E.G FF13 had much less world detail (towns etc) than previous FFs due to the dev time it took. Gran Turismo 5 is another example.
I know for a fact though that rendering cars in Forza 5 (its the only Xbox One game I want so I read up on it) takes ages due to the insane amount of detail in them.
Good job on voting with your wallet. More should do it ^^
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
December 2, 2013 at 10:41
Imagine if Forza 5 was open world.. Sigh
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 13:49
Disgusting. Agree with your final sentiment 100% Gavin.
What ever happened to games where the extra content was unlockable by doing things in-game. Not forking out a credit card.
Greed is the one and only word that springs to mind.
Well done Gavin. however it’s like pissing in to the wind. People buy and so the mega game corporations will continue to push MT’s until they enough money to actually affect the gravitational pull and spin of the earth
Chris DeWet
November 28, 2013 at 13:49
Makes you wonder when Microsoft is going to start charging Windows users for updates….
Admiral Chief Duke
November 28, 2013 at 13:50
YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!!! YOU ARE GIVING THEM IDEAS!!!!!!!!!
Captain GUZ
November 28, 2013 at 13:54
OMG I just spat my coke out! that would be the worst idea every, will go ubuntu then
RyseandRepeat
November 28, 2013 at 13:56
“Windows has a new notification for you” Don’t give them ideas!
Chris DeWet
November 28, 2013 at 14:01
Luckily Microsoft doesn’t care about the consumer. We should be safe for now at least. I apologize in advance though if they do start doing it. Look on the bright side,Steam OS is almost downloadable….
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 13:58
You think it’s not gonna happen? Look at how they are going with Office 365. Yearly subscriptions to use it.
It’s a testing platform to see how it’s received. Then they will do it with Windows 360 or whatever they will call it. Yearly based subscription to use your windows product that’s linked to the cloud
Chris DeWet
November 28, 2013 at 14:34
Hasn’t Adobe been doing this for a couple of years now? I see a shit storm coming.
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 14:38
I’m pretty sure the world is going to eventually try run completely from the cloud and annual subscription fees
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 28, 2013 at 14:48
Yes, because we don’t own the products we buy, we’re “licensing a service” or “renting” them. FUUUUUUUUCK THAT!
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 14:52
Yeah dude. It’s kind of a sad world we live in where what we pay for isn’t legally ours anymore. I just shake my head
RyseandRepeat
November 28, 2013 at 13:53
The thing that makes me freak out is how EASY it is to spend money. You give your phone to your kid and next thing you have a R1000 charge because they tapped the screen a few times? It’s shit like this that makes me give up on companies.
TiMsTeR1033
November 28, 2013 at 13:56
You can give up on the companies… but Microsoft wont give up on abusing you!
RyseandRepeat
November 28, 2013 at 13:58
You know it man!
VinTaco
November 28, 2013 at 14:02
I’m not sure about security settings, but if I buy any piece of content on my iPad, it asks for my password. I really hope all parents have this (I’ve made sure my mother has around my siblings)
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 28, 2013 at 14:19
It’s like one-click shopping for Kindle books heh.
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
November 28, 2013 at 15:17
Set your account to request a password on each purchase. I did that for my nephews so they don’t buy everything with a fancy icon.
Wyzak
November 28, 2013 at 13:58
Doesn’t look like you have played much WoT. You don’t have to buy a single premium tank or spend a single cent on anything else. The premium tanks all have something wrong with them and they are weaker than most other tanks. The only reason I bought a premium tank was to support the developer for a great game that I’ve spent a lot of time playing. I spent $25 on a tank, half of what a new game costs.
You also don’t need premium at all, it just helps you to progress slightly faster.
There has never been DLC for WoT, so not sure what you are on about there either.
Weanerdog
November 28, 2013 at 14:07
The only content that you cannot unlock in world of tanks playing free are certain premium tanks which are not more powerful at their given tier than any normal tank. In fact most are at a disadvantage to a fully upgraded tank of the same tier they do produce better credit returns for your game. Premium ammo and consumables are all available for in game credits that you earn while playing, but they cost a lot, the advantage they give you is something that skill could overcome in most instances. The grind is seriously cut though if you pay.
Umar Seeker of Truth
November 28, 2013 at 14:08
What bugs me is having a season pass for cars over a 6 month period…don’t exactly know when thi all happened. I don’t agree with the buy seperate characters in a fighting game either…If you play fighters you would know every character has it’s own play style and it’s own merits, so how exactly would I know what character I’m going to main or enjoy playing with. Segmenting full games and selling pieces seperately is pure robbery, but it’s video games so it’s fine right?…Can’t believe people pay real cash in freemium games…..fuck this…..Do i look like I suffer from a mentl illness to pay real money so that my bird doesn’t tire from a race?? Mario never gets tired you bitch ass bird
Kromas
November 28, 2013 at 14:10
I have overstated it time and time again. You want a pricing model that is proven to work AND appease gamers then look no further than Valve’s Dota2 and Team Fortress 2.
Matthew Holliday
November 28, 2013 at 14:36
Mass Effect and Borderlands almost got it right aswell.
a single campagn run took 30 hours +
i dont really hesitate when they ask for 5-10$ for a 4-5 hour DLC pack or 20$ for a seasons pass.
it has to feel like a BONUS
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 28, 2013 at 14:43
Yes the Borderlands season pass was definitely worth it, it’s all the other stuff they released in addition to it that irritates me heh.
Matthew Holliday
November 28, 2013 at 15:00
the extra skins and stuff was just annoying, even if it was like 0.9$
took up space on my screen…
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 28, 2013 at 15:19
The icing on the cake was the GOTY version not including all DLC.
Matthew Holliday
November 28, 2013 at 15:41
you get ultimate vault hunter, all the major DLC packs and mechromancer, cant remember if krieg was included, thats close enough.
level 72 and overpower 8 is a waste of time anyway, trust me.
Kromas
November 28, 2013 at 14:47
I cannot agree with you more but we are talking about completely free games here and unfortunately both of those come with a price-tag.
ToshZA
November 28, 2013 at 14:13
3 Cheers for Gavin!
ToshZA
November 28, 2013 at 14:16
You say FU to these transactions, and this is what happens:
http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/aBKnGgD_460sa.gif
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
November 28, 2013 at 15:14
LMAO that’s funny
Matthew Holliday
November 28, 2013 at 14:21
Paying for bonus content is bull shite
Battlefield 3 and 4 premium almost ruined the franchise for me. Its just lucky that CoD Ghosts was as bad as it was.
Dota got the micro transactions right, chests and item packs and tournaments and stuff are all bonus content that doesnt affect gameplay.
its a free to play game, and this way it atleast feels like im supporting the developers further develope a fantastic game.
But I feel cheated when a game comes with only 4-6 hours of gameplay or minimal multiplayer maps/fatures, but then they expect you to pay for more.
with games like Mass Effect and borderlands, which both vanilla games gave me atleast 30 hours each on one single player run, Im perfectly happy to drop 5-10$ on another 3-4 hours of bonus content, content that actually feels like a BONUS, instead of content that the original game was cheated of.
Kromas
November 28, 2013 at 14:48
If I recall even Mass Effect’s first 2 or 3 multiplayer DLC was free.
Matthew Holliday
November 28, 2013 at 14:53
as far as i remember, most of it, if not all of it, was free
Kromas
November 28, 2013 at 15:12
That is why I am praying for a bountiful and successful Dragon Age cause that will dictate the outcome of ME4.
Matthew Holliday
November 28, 2013 at 15:38
Glad Im not the only one who considers Dragon Age a trial run for Biowares real game.
Kromas
November 28, 2013 at 17:21
Also if you ever get the itch gimme a call since I still partake of the ME3 multiplayer goodness to this day.
No Longer SIR Twakkus
November 28, 2013 at 14:23
I would support Micro transactions if it is done right.
Like if you want to see how the game is, download it for free.You dont necessarily have best weapons or characters but they are good enough to see how the game mechanics functions etc. Then you can either buy the game normal price. Say $40 and receive all characters and/or weapons. At this point you have the full game. No maps, weapons or anything else excluded which SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE GAME. Thus not paying for part of the painting which you should have had, as is the case with BF.
Now if you buy the premium version for say $50 you can get all the extra’s such as skins and who knows what else. You might even be awarded with FUTURE DLC’s. But currently this model is completely mal. R2000 for a digital go-kart. Hope it digitally invest my money for that price.
DrKiller
November 28, 2013 at 14:23
lol the paypal link is actually legit.. Thats funny 😛
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 14:24
Lol. you are right! $0.99
Hahahaha. I’m not sure if I should be shocked or rolling around with laughter
DrKiller
November 28, 2013 at 14:26
I’m getting the idea that you are stalking me… (The monitoring app told me)
😛
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 14:29
*sir rants uses minimize. Sir-rant’s evasion sharply rose*
Gavin Mannion
November 28, 2013 at 16:06
So glad someone noticed. Took us ages to figure out how to make that work. We put effort Into our humour
DrKiller
November 28, 2013 at 16:08
You owe me $0.99 now though.. I didn’t see the conclusion after paying!
Robert Hart
November 28, 2013 at 14:31
GT6 and Forza you can get the non-DLC cars for free (after the orignal game purchase). There is an optional “get these instantly without grinding” micro-transaction which unlocks them.
So it is exactly the same grind as previous games.
FreddyBear
November 28, 2013 at 14:36
Aaaarh yes, and the pirates will flourish!
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 28, 2013 at 14:38
I am so tired of this, and it’s just getting more & more prevalent. Sometimes they barely even bother trying hiding the fact that they’re milking gamers. My favourite is when they try to defend DLC/MT pricing with their “value” argument. Keep that crap for your shareholders – I’m not buying it.
I found the easiest solution – PATIENCE. I’ll wait & buy the whole game once, at a discount, a year down the line. Even if GTAV had been released on PC I still wouldn’t have bought it for this very damn reason.
Except for you Witcher 3 – I love you! Because CDPR are the boss when it comes to NOT pulling this shit.
Matthew Holliday
November 28, 2013 at 14:40
“waiting” is not in my vocabulary, Im not even sure what it means.
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
November 28, 2013 at 14:40
Exactly. This always boggles my mind. Folks spend loads of cash, effectively double the game’s actual price and then BOOM. They get a slap in the face by having it all release a year later, for less than a full price, on special, all the bells and whistles attached.
CoffeeDrinker
November 28, 2013 at 14:45
Just saying that the Publishers and Developers always moan about Piracy of games, well, this is a good start to really flood the market with Piracy, cracked games, that have everything unlocked at no additional costs. i refuse to pay for anthing that is out of the original game purchased.
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
November 28, 2013 at 15:10
This is true
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
November 28, 2013 at 15:10
I agree. You are 100% right Gavin. But how do you change the minds of the masses? The companies will go where the money is.
Brian Murphy
November 28, 2013 at 16:22
“And before you Gran Turismo fans pipe up, your loving company actually posted this image to show how much you can get for your micro transactions. Or in other words how much stuff they’ve made that they won’t put in the game unless you hand over more cash.”
Just to elaborate here, because it’s not actually stated. The Gran Turismo microtransactions refers to the ability to purchase in-game credits (which has been a monetary facet of GT since the beginning). You pay for credits (Or earn them like an actual person), those cars shown…aren’t DLC (though I’m sure there will be some, as there was with GT5).
Gavin Mannion
November 29, 2013 at 07:26
Honestly to me that is simply marketing spin.. we used to be able to customise and build our own cars in most games for free.. so why the hell do we have to pay for that right now when the technology obviously exists in the game?
Brian Murphy
November 29, 2013 at 14:56
I don’t understand what you’re asking? You’ve always had to buy cars, buy the upgrades/customizations in Gran Turismo. Always. The only change here, is the credits that you earn for winning races, can now also be purchased with real money…which I think is a travesty myself, but…the rest is as usual.
There’s never been a time in GT where you could customize and build cars for free…and to do so would simply ignore the reality of owning, operating and maintaining a race ready vehicle 🙂
Nick de Bruyne
November 29, 2013 at 16:31
http://imgur.com/gallery/QZfIZTh