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I hate what video games have become

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Re: I hate what video games have become

#401

Post by dematz »

XCSme wrote: post #377
Karawebnetwork wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Laurey LoL statistics indicate players spend an average of $92 a year on the game."

The thing about IAPs in games is that most money comes from whales, people spending thousands of dollars for customizations or pay-to-win items, this rises the average by a lot. It would be nice to see the distribution of payments.

This is the only thing that makes me pause before dismissing the article as ridiculous in cases where it's people choosing to spend money on cosmetics. There might be whales who are addicted to the spending or gambling somehow.

Otherwise as someone noted it's just price discrimination, and in a way that lets people try and play games for free. Really I love what video games have become.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#402

Post by [deleted] »

arealaccount wrote: post #31

Just started playing fortnite after resisting cause free to play rules. Its a really fun game, and theres no buying competitive advantage. I bought a skin to support the devs, just like I did on Among Us. As a generally “always by the cart” type of person, I think I'm starting to come around to the “pay what you want” model.

[deleted]

Re: I hate what video games have become

#403

Post by LargeWu »

cheerioty wrote: post #165

I feel like Rocket League is like the smallest offender. What really shocked me when I discovered that like 99% of FIFA streams were about loot pack openings these days, not actually anyone playing/enjoying the game. And when they dare to do so anyway, their live viewer count drops right away. Also in this case it’s pure gambling, as you don’t know what you’ll get with any buy. Edit: People tried to fight this in cou…

FIFA is one of the worst offenders, because it's not just cosmetic. There's a constant flood of player cards of escalating ability, and you have to either keep grinding for objectives, or drop tons of cash, just to stay competitive. I've quit playing because of it because it just stopped being fun, even as a casual player.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#404

Post by yomly »

HWR_14 wrote: post #280
yomly wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think those numbers are all relative? If you're a bored prince with billions of liquid cash and even more billions of yielding assets, do you really care about 10-20k of weekly outlays? Or reduce the scale, if you have 100k annual salary, do you miss that $3 a day you spend on coffee or $5 a week you spend on mobile gaming? ... or $15.99 a month you spend on Netflix? Everyone has a thing and a threshold they are co…

Some people have enough money that they don't care about the money. But other people become addicted and end up spending money they don't have. Just like some people dropping 100k in Vegas in a weekend are paying for the experience and VIP treatment and others just need one more bet to replenish Johnnys college fund.

sincere question - how big of a problem (in terms of #people suffering) is there of people spending beyond their means on online cosmetics?

I could see How common is the pattern for paid-for lootbox cosmetics (as compared to buy-it-now) cosmetics? Wouldn't say I'm particularly deep in either the RL/Fortnite ecosystem..!

Re: I hate what video games have become

#405

Post by paulmd »

__ryan__ wrote: post #286
williamscales wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look good, feel good, play good? It seems to me that it definitely has a psychological impact for some folks (myself included) in both off-line and on-line competition.

Look “good”? Come on. If not having the Pickle Rick decal for your car makes you play worse it has nothing to do with looking “good”. Perhaps look “like I own this exclusive cosmetic”, which applies to offline as well, don’t you think? The real problem is that loot boxes are gambling, and are addictive, period. It triggers something in otherwise rational people, especially children, that makes it feel good to spend m…

At some level it probably does. Even in Rocket League, which is more cosmetic than most, if your teammates are passing to you more than they would have with the default skin, then you'll do better.

As a medic in team fortress 2, I usually pocket and ubercharge the players with cosmetics. It's an important team resource, and the odds of someone with a "default" skin making good use of it are fairly low. Much like plumage for a bird it's a reliable signal of "virility" - if you're invested enough in the game to own a $200 hat and a coordinated outfit then you've probably played it long enough for me to trust you sight-unseen.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/katietiedrich/comic26...

If you're a pro player with the default skin, you're gonna have a bad fucking time, because you're last priority for heals, you're not getting an ubercharge, etc. That is gameplay-affecting even if the cosmetic itself is not.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#406

Post by spiderice »

andechs wrote: post #394
Karawebnetwork wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Laurey LoL statistics indicate players spend an average of $92 a year on the game."

The median spend might be zero $ per year.

Also might be more.

And with a game like Lol, where it is literally pay to win, I wouldn't be surprised if it were more.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#407

Post by criddell »

dado3212 wrote: post #7

I have basically the opposite opinion of this article. I often hold up Rocket League as an example of a great free-to-play game. 1) You 100% can unlock a lot of cosmetic items through free play. 2) The items that you buy have absolutely no impact on gameplay and are just visuals. For the same reason that people wear nice clothes in real life, why are you surprised that some people want to look cool in a video game? A…

> Are you surprised when you can’t resell a shirt you wore for a year at the same price as when you bought it?

The complaint isn't about depreciation but rather the inability sell the items at all.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#408

Post by anon23anon »

omgmajk wrote: post #333

I mostly hate what mobile games have become. It feels like there are pretty much zero games that you can play that doesn't have microtransactions or a wait time between stuff. Unless you go into the premium store and then most games require a controller - which I don't want to use.

I personally don't see the big deal in paying $5-$10 for a video game. Yes I realize for people in the third worlds that's a lot of money but if you're struggling w/ food and water spending money on games for your phone is probably just a bad idea overall.
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