Predatory microtransactions: Difference between revisions
Corrected which game added the notorious horse armor DLC -- it was Oblivion, not Skyrim, with the DLC predating Skyrim by five years. |
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Microtransactions (MTX) act as a format of additional monetization within games. This can range from purchasing in-game currency, to cosmetics, boosts, and more. On a small scale, MTX has minimal harm towards the experience of consumers, however as trends have shown, companies have grown to be over-reliant on MTX to fund their games, often converging with [[advertising overload]] to encourage consumers to be constantly purchasing these new pieces of content. It is often cited by consumers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Caldwell |first=Don |date=Apr 19, 2013 |title=Horse Armor |url=https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/horse-armor |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Know Your Meme}}</ref> that the first potent form of MTX in AAA gaming originates with the Oblivion golden horse armor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oblivion Downloads |url= | Microtransactions (MTX) act as a format of additional monetization within games. This can range from purchasing in-game currency, to cosmetics, boosts, and more. On a small scale, MTX has minimal harm towards the experience of consumers, however as trends have shown, companies have grown to be over-reliant on MTX to fund their games, often converging with [[advertising overload]] to encourage consumers to be constantly purchasing these new pieces of content. It is often cited by consumers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Caldwell |first=Don |date=Apr 19, 2013 |title=Horse Armor |url=https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/horse-armor |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Know Your Meme}}</ref> that the first potent form of MTX in AAA gaming originates with the Oblivion golden horse armor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oblivion Downloads |url=https://www.obliviondownloads.com/StoreCatalog_ProductList.aspx?SubCategoryId=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061223190230/https://www.obliviondownloads.com/StoreCatalog_ProductList.aspx?SubCategoryId=1 |archive-date=Dec 23, 2006 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Bethesda Softworks}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Surette |first=Tim |date=Apr 3, 2006 |title=Oblivion horse armor now available |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/oblivion-horse-armor-now-available/1100-6147013/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910133616/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/oblivion-horse-armor-now-available/1100-6147013/ |archive-date=Sep 10, 2015}}</ref> | ||
==Why it is a problem<!-- Moar sauce for reference: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Battle_Pass -->== | ==Why it is a problem<!-- Moar sauce for reference: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Battle_Pass -->== | ||
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===Point 3: Pay to win<!-- Include investigations into pay to win minecraft servers -->=== | ===Point 3: Pay to win<!-- Include investigations into pay to win minecraft servers -->=== | ||
In some scenarios, games will further encourage users to get an advantage over players, often leaving META-influencing content to be paywalled<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Flavio |date=Aug 2, 2023 |title=Price to pay: the damage caused by Pay to Win games. |url=https://flavio-lee.medium.com/price-to-pay-the-damage-caused-by-pay-to-win-games-74cc533bf9d8 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> as a method to force consumers to either invest more into the product, or risk lacking an important edge within matches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why do people seem so hellbent against people using "pay to win" methods in games? |url=https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-seem-so-hellbent-against-people-using-pay-to-win-methods-in-games |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Quora}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lelonek-Kuleta PhD |first=Bernadeta |last2=Piotr Bartczuk PhD |first2=Rafał |last3=Wiechetek PhD |first3=Michał |date=Oct 13, 2020 |title=Pay for play – Behavioural patterns of pay-to-win gaming |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563220303393 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Science Direct}}</ref> P2W also has ties in manipulating resource progression in games,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=(Owner of Illumination Gaming) |first=Aiden |date=Jul 22, 2022 |title=How Pay-To-Win Games Ruin Player Experience |url=https://medium.com/illumination/how-pay-to-win-games-ruin-player-experience-a52b7edf5744 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium}}</ref> so players may be at a competitive disadvantage in a game because a newer user purchased their way through progression, or alternatively, punishing players into grinding far more excessively as a method to encourage paying to skip progression. | In some scenarios, games will further encourage users to get an advantage over players, often leaving META-influencing content to be paywalled<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Flavio |date=Aug 2, 2023 |title=Price to pay: the damage caused by Pay to Win games. |url=https://flavio-lee.medium.com/price-to-pay-the-damage-caused-by-pay-to-win-games-74cc533bf9d8 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> as a method to force consumers to either invest more into the product, or risk lacking an important edge within matches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why do people seem so hellbent against people using "pay to win" methods in games? |url=https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-seem-so-hellbent-against-people-using-pay-to-win-methods-in-games |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Quora}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lelonek-Kuleta PhD |first=Bernadeta |last2=Piotr Bartczuk PhD |first2=Rafał |last3=Wiechetek PhD |first3=Michał |date=Oct 13, 2020 |title=Pay for play – Behavioural patterns of pay-to-win gaming |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563220303393 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Science Direct}}</ref> P2W also has ties in manipulating resource progression in games,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=(Owner of Illumination Gaming) |first=Aiden |date=Jul 22, 2022 |title=How Pay-To-Win Games Ruin Player Experience |url=https://medium.com/illumination/how-pay-to-win-games-ruin-player-experience-a52b7edf5744 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium}}</ref> so players may be at a competitive disadvantage in a game because a newer user purchased their way through progression, or alternatively, punishing players into grinding far more excessively as a method to encourage paying to skip progression. | ||
This has especially been documented within casual mobile games, where players are often left to wait excessively on tasks to finish, or pay to have the task be completed immediately.<ref name=":0" /> Frequently, these games have also exhibited methods that give players a "free sample" of what it feels like to skip this wait time.<ref name=":0" /><!-- Will need more example images below! --> | This has especially been documented within casual mobile games, where players are often left to wait excessively on tasks to finish, or pay to have the task be completed immediately.<ref name=":0" /> Frequently, these games have also exhibited methods that give players a "free sample" of what it feels like to skip this wait time.<ref name=":0" /><!-- Will need more example images below! --> | ||
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*''All Points Bulletin (APB) Reloaded'' | *''All Points Bulletin (APB) Reloaded'' | ||
*[[Dungeon Keeper|''Dungeon Keeper'']]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sterling |first=Jim |date=Feb 2, 2014 |title=Dungeon Keeper Mobile Review – Wallet Reaper |url= | *[[Dungeon Keeper|''Dungeon Keeper'']]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sterling |first=Jim |date=Feb 2, 2014 |title=Dungeon Keeper Mobile Review – Wallet Reaper |url=https://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/editorials/reviews/10956-Dungeon-Keeper-Mobile-Review-Wallet-Reaper |access-date=May 19, 2024 |work=The Escapist}}</ref> | ||
*[[League of Legends|''League of Legends'']]<br /> | *[[League of Legends|''League of Legends'']]<br /> | ||