If reception to Baldur’s Gate says anything, it’s that people hate microtransactions in their AAA games.

  • Gargleblaster
    link
    fedilink
    441 year ago

    Baldur’s Gate 3 is certainly the latest and most prominent example, but Elden Ring, both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. The Witcher 3. The Last of Us Part 1 and 2. No cash shops, substantive DLC, if there is any.

    And what do all those games have in common?

    They’re solo games.

    It’s PvP and MMOs where you can purchase an advantage, show off your bling, or purchase expansions to get a head start on the competition. That is where the microtransaction infestation occurs.

    • iAmTheTot
      link
      fedilink
      241 year ago

      That is where the microtransaction infestation occurs.

      Horse armour has entered the chat.

      • @EremesZorn@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        4
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        No, you’re right, it’s all of them. Ubisoft is one of the worst perpetrators of this shit actually. Far Cry games having an online shop is so unnecessary.
        Edit: In fact, they’re so bad they attempted to implement NFTs in Ghost Recon. Like… what?
        That didn’t last though.

        • @vanquesse@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          link
          fedilink
          English
          21 year ago

          the nft implementation in breakpoint was so bad that it seemed like it was missing the point on purpose. It was just different serial numbers printed on a helmet and the rarer the helmet the more play time you had to have on your account to actually wear it. So the nfts were barely unique, didn’t look cool and you couldn’t just buy whatever to show it off. Respect to the devs that managed to pull this off when execs asked for nfts.

    • Neato
      link
      fedilink
      14
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      And…every single ubisoft game. And bethesda games. I could go on…

      And Baldur’s Gate is multiplayer. You can easily play 4-player online co-op.

    • alternative_factor
      link
      fedilink
      131 year ago

      Yup, this is why the last two Diablo games have been always online, no one is going to spend $25 on a skin macrotransaction when nobody else can even seen it.

      • @NightOwl
        link
        English
        31 year ago

        I have wondered what percentage of gamers don’t purchase any mtx in those type of games. We get revenue numbers, but I’ve wondered how many gamers avoid that aspect while playing the game.

        • @Firemyth@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          4
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          The problem is you only need a handful of whales to buy all the things for mtx to be profitable

          • @NightOwl
            link
            English
            31 year ago

            Oh yes. Well aware of that. Just more wondering how much of the userbase never actually spends money. Curious as to either how much of a majority or minority the active users who don’t buy any mtx is.

          • alternative_factor
            link
            fedilink
            2
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            I’ve been an MMO gamer for a VERY long time and I would say the whaling thing is a perfect analogy. I often pre-order expansions to MMOs like WoW and FFXIV but I have never bought cosmetics other than two race changes for FF, which would make me a “dolphin”.

            I noticed in WoW and FFXIV that if someone has one mount you can only get from the cash shop, they are VERY likely to have bought TONS of other cosmetics from the cash shop. If they don’t have any cash shop mounts, they won’t have any cosmetics from it either. It seems like most people are either “all in” or nothing, people like me are very rare.

            • frog 🐸
              link
              fedilink
              21 year ago

              I’m a lot like you as well. I’m one of those players who buys cosmetics from cash shops when I see something I really fall in love with, but I don’t feel the need to buy everything. I look at it as an occasional treat: sure I won’t own it when the game shuts down at some point in the future, but if I spent the money on, say, a takeaway meal or a night out, that lasts a couple hours and then it’s gone. I’m definitely a dolphin, not a whale.

              But I wouldn’t spend a vast fortune on trying to get everything if I have to spend real money. In some MMOs I’ve bought cash shop cosmetics from the auction house, though. I think that can distort the impression of how much someone has spent in the cash shop, making it look like they’re “all in”, when in reality, they’ve just been playing for so long that they have more in-game currency than they know what to do with.

              I reckon the “dolphins” are more common than you think.

        • Veraxus
          link
          fedilink
          21 year ago

          It’s a small percentage (10% on avg), but those who do spend, tend to be repeat spenders.

          • @NightOwl
            link
            English
            11 year ago

            Is there any actual concrete sources? It’s what I believe to be true too, but would be nice to see something concrete. It is fascinating how a small percentage of gamers change the landscape for a huge majority of gamers.

    • ampersandrew
      link
      fedilink
      101 year ago

      I don’t want the lesson to be learned that devs should only make single player games either. Baldur’s Gate 3 itself is co-op, for instance, and Elden Ring has substantial online components for multiplayer and otherwise.

    • @worfamerryman@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      11 year ago

      I wonder if this is largely why I stopped playing online games?

      I played overwatch1 a bunch and while it had dlc, it was nothing you could unlock on your own. I stopped playing overwatch 2 almost immediately.