• KoboldCoterie
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      9 months ago

      I used to work for a company that ran a free-to-play online game with predatory microtransactions; I can absolutely confirm this. More than 90% of their revenue was generated from less than 5% of the userbase. It was honestly pretty disgusting. Most players spent <$25 over their entire career, but a small number of people spent thousands.

      I can kind of let it slide with free-to-play games; they do need to make revenue somewhere, but when it’s a buy-to-play game that still pulls this BS, that’s crossing a line.

      • GladiusB@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        When I pay 70 for a game I should get everything. Period. I’m paying up front for the cost of the game. If you create more content, it should be included. I don’t even play games with loot crates for glams. Glams can be extra on free games or whatever, but it’s pure cosmetic. It is not a game if you can’t play all of it under paying for it. Fuckin a man. What happened to people where they think buying their concept gets to hold people to a different standard?

    • Seasoned_Greetings@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      It’s largely kids with dad’s credit card who don’t understand that you shouldn’t be spending $10+ / month on skins.

      It’s sad, but the target audience of a battlepass is people who can’t fight their impulse.

      • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
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        9 months ago

        Its the same with alcohol, gambling and anything else that targets people with underlying mental health conditions. Instead it get stigmatized so johnny doesnt go to the (overexpensive) doctor for treatment and instead drinks, gambles, makes 10 children and the only love they know is expensive games.

      • KoboldCoterie
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        9 months ago

        $10 / month doesn’t even rate on the whale scale. It’s people with addictive personalities who get FOMO or lose a match and think “If I just bought 10 more loot boxes…”, and can’t stop themselves. They’re the people these games are built to take advantage of. Some folks spend hundreds / month or more on these games.

        • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Warthunder has loot boxes and airplanes that cost hundreds of dollars on their market, and people pay for them. I sold some random tank once for like $35 and it wasn’t even anything special.