Microtransactions - What Does Good Monetization Look Like? - Extra Credits

Microtransactions can actually build loyalty and increase player satisfaction with a game while still earning a ton of money--but only if they're designed ethically and with the player's best interests in mind.
Subscribe for new episodes every Wednesday! bit.ly/SubToEC (---More below)
(Original air date: July 13, 2011)
This week's art provided by Erin Siegel (again)!
esda06.devianta...
www.youtube.com...
_______
Get your Extra Credits gear at the store! bit.ly/ExtraStore
Play games with us on Extra Play! bit.ly/WatchEXP
Watch more episodes from this season of Extra Credits! bit.ly/2n8QcIn
Contribute community subtitles to Extra Credits: www.youtube.com...
Talk to us on Twitter (@ExtraCreditz): bit.ly/ECTweet
Follow us on Facebook: bit.ly/ECFBPage
Get our list of recommended games on Steam: bit.ly/ECCurator
_________
Would you like James to speak at your school or organization? For info, contact us at: [e-mail]
_________
♪ Intro Music: "Penguin Cap" by CarboHydroM
bit.ly/1eIHTDS
♪ Outro Music: "Test Dummy" by A_Rival
ocremix.org/rem...

[@FerralVideo]

It's amusing how a 5 year old video is more relevant today than it was when it was uploaded...

[@tinyfoxpaw6670]

*terrifying and terrible

[@soylentgreenb]

5 years have just made them look more like cretins than they did when they released the video.

[@GodwynDi]

@soylentgreenb Your comment makes you sound like an ass. They still sound perfectly reasonable if not prescient.

[@Luis-Torres]

amusing but sad...

[@Etheoma]

It's also funny to see that Extra Credits is now defending micro translations in $60 games now as well...

[@Stratatician]

7 years later and the industry is still going full speed down the wrong way.

[@simonkrayt1970]

What I have thought was. If the game is free then only sell cosmetics that do not affect the game in anyway shape or form. The cosmetics can be like a thank you for making the game. If the game costs money on release then no monetization is requires.

[@jainimaijainitai]

Simon Krayt Fortnite and Ninjala do this well

[@iz_bizz2010]

Have you heard about Nintendo Online? You have to pay to have online play on SPLATOON. *SPLATOON!!!*

[@No-jz1jk]

8 years.

[@Bigzthegreat]

@@No-jz1jk 9 years

[@choob5906]

There once was a thing I liked a lot called demos.

[@TheGreatRakatan]

Yup, back when demos were useful and games journalism was barely a thing and when costs of development weren't as high. And now they aren't feasible or necessary to sell a game.

[@BedlamsStudios]

LIKE IF YOU ARE A BRONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@TheGreatRakatan]

Romano Coombs Development costs are regulated by the studio. And your much larger team of developers that is making a much larger game is asking for professional salaries. Also, I like nice 3D graphics, and they do take a lot longer to make than pixel art so are more expensive in terms of man hours. You can complain about first person experiences that are akin to theme park rides, but video games cost much more to develop now, and games have reviews out for them almost always before release, meaning a demo is much less useful.

[@wellthen...5420]

Unoriginal_Name.exe yep (-_-) (-_- ) ( -_-) (-_-) i miss demos...

[@newCoCoY6]

Pirate, then buy if you like the game. Happens to me alot in steam. Just feels so much better. Also you have another option. In steam i mean...REFUND games you dont like.

[@PrincessFelicie]

Lol, a 70$ cosmetic was "the worst thing ever". This video hasn't aged well yet it is too real.

[@blueberry1vom1t]

99.99$ lootboxes. Nuff said. THAT WAS AN ACTUAL THING A LARGE MMO DID

[@sfirro]

Killian The Gamer *millions

[@somerandomguy___]

Have you ever heard of csgo or tf2

[@Jupi446]

Killian The Gamer Those aren’t meant for you to buy with real money. It’s the end goal for traders.

[@arttukettunen5757]

rare limited CS:GO knives costing 10000s of dollars: *oh really*

[@rapper250]

Micro-transactions generally do not belong in Full $60 games.

[@TheNinjaDwarfBiker]

rapper250 They belong in F2P

[@InsanestFoxOfAll]

+rapper250 Need an example: GTA Online

[@MrSmiley-en1ej]

What about CSGO?

[@minihali]

+Mr. Smiley0389 You can't buy skill in CS:GO. Unlike some F2P's where you can as Dan stated, buy power.

[@Weirdude-rj3rc]

+rapper250 mgsv, uncharted 4, payday 2, halo 5, rise of the tomb raider...i think we've gone past the fight it option and are just poking a dead cow

[@kylezaking]

0:27 The only people worthy of wearing monocles in this world are people willing to blow $70+ on a small accessory with nothing but aesthetic value, so to be fair EVE is just making their monocles as realistically accurate as possible.

[@Luke29121999]

Or just any semi rich banker that buys aurum credits of the market and then buys the monocle.

[@gustavowadaslopes2479]

Why not just create fake monocles? They will still look fancy, so why not?

[@davianthule2035]

the ironic thing is such a monocle literally has a place in eve, since its possible to accrue 70 dollars of ingame wealth relatively easily if your an experianced player, speaking as an eve vet of 7 years

[@Kitkat-986]

1. do not sell power 2. don't separate paying and non paying players 3. do not sell power 4. allow all currencies to be earned in game 5. DO NOT SELL FUCKING GAME BREAKING POWER

[@justanotherstarinthesky]

..unless there's a way to earn the same power a couple months later through rng and a 14h/day grind. then everyone's totally fine with it.

[@Data-Expungeded]

@@justanotherstarinthesky I’m not

[@jatmo6991]

Sell power. Got it.

[@SnivyTries]

I know this is old, but I have a CIP(Case in point) for separating the community. Runescape. Non-members have an estimated 10% of the game. Not even the game, the website ITSELF. More then half the servers alone will not let you on them unless you are a member. Out of the 800 quests they offer, about 50 are non-member. Most of the ingame world actually has the phrase "You must be on a member world to access this content". About half the skills have the same label. Granted, you can't use member items in non-member servers, but this still leads to issues. Also, my biggest complaint. Here's a tale. I was a f2p runescaper. I used the daily wheel, got an expensive member item, but had to throw it away. I complained to the devs, and got this response. "If you want to request a change to the game, post in the suggestions forum." Guess what? Only members have access to the forums. I complained about a members only service...then was referred to a members only service. Yeah.

[@brwntwn123]

Lmao

[@AGrumpyPanda]

I do have to say though, as someone who played many many years back, when I hit the soft level cap of around 40 (where free content stops and member content starts for most things), I was well enough invested in the game to actually want to be a Member. Nowadays I tend to think of free Runescape as a demo for the real experience.

[@SnivyTries]

AGrumpyPanda It's kinda hard to reach that point when the huge paywalls loom over you so early. Actually...that can be taken literally with the ACTUAL wall that does that!

[@AGrumpyPanda]

SnivyTries I agree that, like so many things in Runescape, the system is a lot worse now than it was before. As I said, back then you didn't really notice you were being restricted until you hit around level 40, geographical restraints notwithstanding, so you were well invested in the game by the time the paywall was presented to you.

[@brwntwn123]

A better coment to have made if I knew about this back then would be #rekt m8.

[@MissingWorldsMedia]

To let you know, our business team re-watches this video every few months, so we can get our monetization system right out of the gate. I know we've said it before, but you guys are a resource every game developer needs to use.

[@soylentgreenb]

That's very easy. Just don't include microtransactions. They are a pure unredeemable, unmitigable cancer.

[@CowfaicdRealm]

...How is it that I only NOW, after having seen this video about 20 times, I only NOW see the Zero Punctution reference?!

[@SoLaRIrishArmyGuy74]

+Cowfaic'd Realm what reference

[@fayoken7447]

+TheIrishNinja it's at 0:43

[@SoLaRIrishArmyGuy74]

Fayoken thank you for that

[@mikkokivisto4414]

I hate him

[@CowfaicdRealm]

jukke toffe I don't

[@AValveFanboy]

I'm pretty sure that TF2 has this down. The Mann-Store only sells cosmetic items and weapons. Weapons can be found in-game, but players have the choice to get them faster for money. Cosmetic items like hats or shoes are basically useless aside from making your avatar look cool, so there's no way that you can buy your way to the top of the scoreboard. Also, in-game items like crates or Stranges can be sold on the Steam Market to earn Steam Credits, which means that zero-budget players with a keen eye for pricing can still make enough money to buy the more expensive items on the store. Valve, you truly are the masters of gaming.

[@araknidude]

Yup.

[@antikytheracookie619]

@@araknidude I'm here 7 years later, how are yall doing as a tf2 player

[@araknidude]

@@antikytheracookie619 NOT GOOD MAN

[@BionicDance]

Oh, man...that Korean model, the pay-for-extra-lives model...? That'd be the quickest way to make me _quit_ a game. If I can't _keep_ playing, I'm not going to _get_ better. If you make me _wait_ to play, I'm going to get both bored and frustrated. And it _will_ feel like extortion. No, no...don't ever do that to me.

[@TheGreatRakatan]

BionicDance But you were the one that messed up and died. They didn't artificially inflate the difficulty to make the game harder. Obviously that's only one part of the design, and other parts work in tandem with it. Design choice like player resurrection, shallower difficulty curve, teleportation and other ways to make dying more rare would all support the design. If it was a game like Dark Souls, on the other hand, where dying is an important part of the gameplay experience, that would not support such a business model.

[@BionicDance]

TheGreatRakatan ] *But you were the one that messed up and died.* Not necessarily. The game might have a learning curve, or something you've never encountered before; you find things out by dying, you learn from it. But if you can't apply what you learned because you've lost all of that day's lives, it'll be very frustrating. *If it was a game like Dark Souls, on the other hand, where dying is an important part of the gameplay experience, that would not support such a business model.* I'm not familiar with Dark Souls. I just know that if getting to play all day is part of the micro-transactions, that's not a game I'm going to play.

[@TheGreatRakatan]

BionicDance Once again, there are likely gameplay mechanics in for death to be less punishing for new players that I mentioned. Resurrection items or mechanics, shallow learning curve (something you completely ignored), or teleporting out of a bad situation. I also highly doubt that a single death is going to stop you from playing for the rest of the day.

[@BionicDance]

TheGreatRakatan *Once again, there are likely gameplay mechanics in for death to be less punishing for new players that I mentioned* Maybe. But it's still not a model I'd support. If they want to limit my gameplay time unless I pay, I'll feel extorted. Even if I'm the most kick-ass player on the entire game and die almost never, it'll still feel like it's hanging over my head, this possibility that I might be forced off the game unless I shell out. And as these videos--there'z more than one on this topic--keep saying, if you make the players feel extorted, you're Doing It Wrong™.

[@nushia7192]

BionicDance well, its not that they want you to get more lives, heck I can play a game without even spending a dime on one like that. why not just avoid death? I mean come on its a game. research your game thoroughly first before playing them.

[@AmorAmarillo09]

the part that yahtzee's avatar appeared made me laugh xD

[@baconpopcorn2565]

it's awesome how many KZbinrs know/ know of each other, there needs to be a game like the 6 degrees of Kevin bacon but for KZbinrs referencing each other.

[@nicolasjamo]

Bacon Popcorn Didn't extra credit begin as a part of the Escapist (with Yahtzee and Jim Sterling) before leaving and starting their own channel

[@SuprememessageNG]

I believe that microtransactions need to be limited to multiplayer games, it just doesn't make sense to put microtransactions into, say, a singleplayer horror adventure or an RPG where nobody else will ever see your equipment anyway.

[@denisnevsky3734]

Ahem squarenix ahem

[@ChristianCTaken]

I honestly don't mind how Bamco sells like, levelups for Tales Of; it helps people who aren't any good, but want to go through the story.

[@bocatadeclavos1274]

+Kenpokid4 then being able to choose the difficulty without having to pay seems like the right answer, doesnt it?

[@ChristianCTaken]

Kursed If they don't wanna fork over the last couple bucks, then they can just grind. So they do choose without paying, one just takes less effort.

[@bocatadeclavos1274]

Kenpokid4 I think that if you're playing for the story, leveling up in order to progress is the less engaging part of the game. I see your point though, maybe if you get stuck in a certain area you want to just skip that effort and move on.

[@rustyshackleford9261]

Selling power = Pay to Win

[@TheBoxyBear]

yes, you CAN get all the cards in clash royals by playing... it will just take you a few decades

[@memo7450]

joujoubox lol I got three legendary in one week

[@r.u.s.e3586]

havent spent a cent and I only have 10 cards to go.

[@bubbleslasher]

I got 7 legendaries f2p

[@bubbleslasher]

So it's mostly possible

[@luciuscroy6656]

@@bubbleslasher okay max a single legendary card just one! Only one!

[@Kersakofu]

I immensely dislike paying for faster XP gain. That just screams to me that the developer deliberately made it so the game is a crawl to get to the next level so you have to pay. Cosmetics are always the way to go, or like you said, having extra content with only some of it sectioned off, but allowing you to play with friends. Which is why I enjoy the PAYDAY 2 model to some degree, heist wise.

[@DTDplays]

Honestly, imo. If they are paying to get EXP up, it's either they are too busy so they rather spend the money or they are just lazy at grinding. The developer can put it there, it's fine since there are a lot of busy people out there. I honestly don't mind. I'm only annoyed at those that allows you to pay for gear that gives so much of a difference that it generates a gap between paying, non-paying and minimal-paying players.

[@MajesticSundew]

theagiknight23 If the developer cared about the convenience of busy players, they wouldn't make it such a slog to progress to begin with. Remember when grinding was a design flaw, not a feature?

[@crono276]

MajesticSundew It depends on the game. In Single player games, mostly rpgs, grinding is generally used to get a level or two in order to beat a boss. In mmos, it's a different story. If there's no challenge in getting to a high level, people get bored. If it takes too long, people quit. Maple Story was like a slow grind for a lot of people when it first started, in the US that is. There were probably only a handful of people that could get to a high level. Now, you can get to lvl 70 in very little time, what used to be a lvl cap.

[@MajesticSundew]

Ken Zhang If a progression system is designed correctly you shouldn't ever have to grind.

[@crono276]

Like I said, it depends on the game and player. Bad players are more likely to grind then good players.

[@riKringkast]

I've never been comfortable paying more for DLC or microtransactions than I would for a conventionally sold full game, and I doubt that I ever will. If I have the choice between buying a $60 game or getting a free game that heavily incentivises me to spend more than $60, I will always get the former. Micro-transactions are fine right up until the point where they break/significantly alter the core game. At that point, I'm spending my money elsewhere.

[@SerDerpish]

You could also just play the F2P game and cap your spending to the equivalent of the full-price game. That's usually what I do. It is rare that a single game holds my attention long enough to spend more on it than I would have if I had bought it new for $50-60 at a gamestop or something

[@Fisticufss]

Dungeon keeper mobile: why microtransactions are evil when handled by big companies

[@Shadethewolfy]

NFSW: Why EA lost my respect for the second time.

[@just_ugu]

that roach stayed in the screen for way more time than it should

[@adrianmcbride1666]

I agree.

[@Nekrotix12]

I agree with all of this except the whole "You get 5 lives and then, when those are all used up, you have to pay to play more." I don't play an app game to play for like, 10 minutes before being forced to pay money simply to play more. Why can't I just play as much as I want instead of having to wait several hours in between sessions?

[@TheNetherlandDwarf]

this all sounds reasonable, but then you remember some AAA titles think its ok to utilise this system but still charge you full price for the initial now-lacking-content game...

[@yourfavoriteasshole6557]

+ChannelShoreyo Fucking GTA 5

[@therainbowwillow4453]

I LOVE the “let players gain all types of currency in game” model! I think I would be much more willing to pay if I didn’t feel force to pay. Maybe something costs 1,000 coins and I need a hundred more? I’d probably buy the extras instead of waiting.

[@ValerieCambron]

I remember a few years ago when I clicked on an ad for one of those online dating sims. I played it for about a month before I just up and quit. Why? The 'gameplay' consisted of moving between rooms and talking to people. But in order to move from room to room, you used a currency of 'action points'. When you signed up, they'd give you a good amount (about a thousand I think?) which lasted for a good hour of playtime. But after those ran out, you had two options: a) pay real money for more points, or b) log in to get ten points. Once a day. I think you can see how that got old pretty quickly, especially since just moving from room to room didn't consume just one point, but two! It was such an integral part of the game that if you didn't commit and play it every single day, you wouldn't be able to do anything. In my opinion, it was a really game-breaking design choice and if it had been a system that didn't force me to either pay or move along at slower than a snail's pace, I might still be playing it.

[@Dan-tc4je]

The intent was to provide players with a sense of peace ide and accomplishment for unlocking different heros.

[@crackersphdinwumbology2831]

I must agree, microtransactions can make a game >better< than before, it's all about execution. Just look at TF2.

[@FortWhenTeaThyme]

***** That is an unfair comparison. The $70 monocle is stupid because they sell it that way, brand new, in the store. Of course limited edition items will sell /between players/ for more, but that has nothing to do with greed, as the makers don't get any of that.

[@sexyxetsu]

FortWhenTeaThyme Valve gets 15% of any item a user sells on their Marketplace. Even if someone is trading instead of selling, someone at some point has to buy the keys to trade, or to open the crates with so they can find something worth trading to someone else. Either way, Valve gets money.

[@crackersphdinwumbology2831]

Herp Derp Which is entirely reasonable.

[@FortWhenTeaThyme]

Herp Derp It doesn't matter, Valve still isn't the one deciding prices.

[@DoctorWhoNow01]

No one ACTUALLY buys from the TF2 store. A real gamer unlocks hats and guns.

[@Su_Nes]

HEY, REMEMBER DEMOS???

[@TheRealPentigan]

+The Talking Potato Yeah, they did an episode on why demos are not a good value proposition for publishers. Demos rarely help to increase takeup of a product.

[@FilthyNobeard]

+TheRealPentigan Couldn't hurt.

[@eggs3195]

+TheRealPentigan They say that, but I in my current state would literally kill just to play the rest of silent hills pt

[@AdmiralTails]

+Flithy Nobeard Actually, if you watch the episode they mentioned about demos, it CAN hurt, if the demo is bad, despite the full game being good.

[@bigjermini]

+Weetile Gaming yeah, and the issue is that goofies put out the main game with just a trial or demo active thinking since you dl'd the whole thing and its good you'll buy the key to unlock. Made it soooooo much easier for pirates. Small dl for just the demo only no other content does just as good and keeps some of the Pirates...*puts on sunglasses*...at Bay. Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!

[@spacecadet1393]

No matter what people think of League of Legends, it has a fantastic pay structure. The only things you can buy that you can't with in game currency are Skins/EXP Boosts (Both of which you don't need whatsoever) and Riot even give you some 'pay' currency every now and again if you reach certain milestones. It's incredibly simple and other games in my opinion should adopt this structure.

[@umbreonman10]

same thing in dota

[@DexterTiffany]

My favorite structure would be Loadout, as weapons cannot be bought with real money. Nothing you buy will make you more powerful.

[@xaosbob]

I would love for you to do a follow-up video, now that's it's been a few years. Given the current state of monetization in the industry (in 2017), your level-headed voice about this seems pretty needed in the community.

[@johnsprunger5224]

I've actually just started working on some mobile development and this is still all relevant today. Thanks for the video!

[@christianchung9412]

Valve/TF2 has this perfectly. I played 200 hours as F2P before buying a key, then a couple more to trade for a couple hats. All premium does is give you more backpack space to hold more weapons or hats or cosmetics, but stock weapons are pretty much the best. Also, hats drop. The end. No 50% damage bonus or health reform or anything. Also, you st certain hats from achievements even without playing, and one pair of goggles. Thu is why tf2 is so popular and awesome.

[@sytherwusky]

i would also say leauge is good at this to some degree

[@MJR_heyfunny]

Path of Exile is very good this way as well.

[@christianchung9412]

Just like to pop back in and say this 7 years later, but lootcrates have infested games and it's terrible.

[@soylentgreenb]

@@christianchung9412 Fee-to-pay made the game drastically worse. It rewarded cheaters; you just make a throw-away-account and keep cheating on a new account if you get banned. It churned through a lot of players who were crap and didn't really want to play the game, but only tried it because it was free and they had nothing better to do. Never mind that TFC was a vastly superior game on its own.

[@christianchung9412]

@@soylentgreenb based TFC player (I have like 1 hour in it lol) what did you like more about TFC?

[@BedlamsStudios]

8:03 Don't judge me, but I think it would be cool to live in a house like that!

[@artsandlovecrafts3512]

Bedlams I will judge you. I judge you to be awesome.

[@BedlamsStudios]

+TechnoSpectre Thanks!

[@AnimilesYT]

Battlefield with its DLC really splits the playerbase :(

[@jasonneu81]

+Animiles Just like CoD does ;-;

[@trollbreeder2534]

+Jason Neu Just like payday 2 does, alot.

[@jasonneu81]

trollbreeder True, the game is good but the DLC policy is quite shit :'D

[@trollbreeder2534]

***** + whats worse? its the first time a paid game got microtransactions.

[@rhysblack7000]

I love Battlefield to bits, but it saddens me how cut off I am the moment I buy DLC. Sure, I got these cool new maps, but no one will play them because they don't have £12 to spend..

[@vanandagames7350]

its 2017, this is a old episode, cant believe he's still uploading. good job man

[@Ecl713]

Freemium games, DLC, and microtransaction is one of the biggest reasons i've got into retro gaming. You know you back in the day when you paid to play a game once and only once and you got the whole game too.

[@Dudugs2000]

TF2 is the perfect example of micro transactions done well.

[@araknidude]

I agree so strongly that I can't put it into words. I'm torn between singing "Hallelujah" and just saying "ikr".

[@soylentgreenb]

Except it's not. It was a mediocre game before; now it's an unplayable cess pool.

[@PotPam]

@@soylentgreenb what? Explain why?

[@MJR_heyfunny]

Its ok but Path of Exile's is better since they add new content every 3 months

[@keffypoo]

There are two very important points there. 1) Never sell power: yeah, but many of the other things you can buy in a lot of games affect your power. Selling power indirectly is still selling power. 2) There should not be any content exclusive to paying customers, as you stated when drawing a parallel to the Korean model. Developers can be huge hypocrites when it comes to that issue.

[@thomascarson9523]

***** It's not so much the regular staff as it was the fact that the creators sold out and venture capitalists now control the majority of the game. It's a game run by accountants, not gamers, now.

[@Shadethewolfy]

Thomas Carson D: that sucks.

[@HalfBreedMix]

Mobile market and its hordes of casual-gamers will keep the micro-transactions alive and well. I remember a mobile game called "Family Guy: the quest for stuff" there was basically NO gameplay, you just paid money to get more things to stick on the map. Leave it to Seth to rub it in peoples' faces just how bad this trend has become.

[@thegreathighpriestcthulhu8320]

Fuck game of war clash royale and all that other shit

[@kanewilliams775]

I really love the fact I that you guys put feathers on even a cartoon raptor, that's cool

[@akliyen]

WOW, Airmech followed this ideal model perfectly!

[@DeathgodAnubis3]

watching this made me remember warframe which i still think has the best f2p model i've seen to this date there's no obligation to buy anything if you put in time and dedication you can get premium currency for 0$ though i did stop playing it eventually because of it's mindless grinding but still worth a look for anyone imo.

[@greenguywa4719]

I was thinking the same the whole time as well

[@alexr6705]

QCAnubis3 what's the game? I want to see!

[@DeathgodAnubis3]

warframe

[@MJR_heyfunny]

Path of Exile's is better but Warframe is my 2nd fav model.

[@VilasNil]

Whoa, if you had known how the market is nowadays... You would have been waaaaay more afraid

[@ty12450]

Coming back to this video in the midst of the Star Wars Battlefront II debacle is...just...*sigh*. Every single person who worked on that monetization system should be required to watch this video.

[@haydenmiller4543]

I was baffled when you started talking about "Bad microtransaction models" and you showed a screenshot of Tiny Tower. Tiny tower is a great game with a FANTASTIC free to play model. All currency is available without purchase, and the "Higher end currency (You know, that one currency that they give you a bit of at the start to get you to learn how to spend it so you can get through the tutorial levels, then the only way to get it is to buy it, but it gets all the really cool stuff) Does not sell power, but convenience. just like you said. It does everything right and you still put it as a "Bad model". James (or Dan, it doesn't really matter), if you haven't, get it on the Appstore, and play it for about an hour. I think it has a fantastic model.

[@nachellegoar9463]

Thank you for drawing microraptor feathered. I just hate it when people say Dino's aren't feathered👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@umbreon545]

yes I'm not the only one who noticed! It was a nice touch :)

[@MultiRemixDude]

I hate microtransactions, DLCs and other various things, that should be free, when you bought the game. Ofc, f2p has to have Microtransactions, and I dont mind them if it is done right. But I do hate it, if I pay for a game and then I have to pay even more to get stuff, that I already paid for. Remember the PS2 days? Or the PS1, NES, Gamecube days, where you bought a game and you acctually owned it, with all the content on the disk, without special features reserved for payment, without feeling that you basically paid for a demo? I want that back. I don't want to spend 60 Dollars on Sims 4 and having to spend another 200 Bucks to get the DLCs, because the basegame alone is nothing anymore. Companies milk money out of people not only by microtransactions in f2p, but also in games that you have to pay for upfront, and thats not fair. The gamers dont own games anymore. At least not for the regular 20-60 Dollars. Please kill me.

[@MultiRemixDude]

***** Yeah I know and I agree, DLCs can be great, when it's not a necessetiy within the game. And I was not talking about MMOs, tho you have a good point there. I am mostly talking about EA (Since this is the company I hate the most and just want to burn down). For example sims4 came out and the basegame contains literally 7 Diffrent pieces of furniture and clothing. Everything else is DLC. THAT is exactly what I am talking about. Or locked content on discs, that you legally paid for, you gotta pay twice. There is no point in buying AAA Title anymore imo, because of this. Ofc i'm still gonna buy those games, but more or less I will be pissed at every new game that operates exactly like that. That's nonsense. Thats why I miss 'the old days' because I feel like back then developers really worked on their games and didnt release it unfinished to bring some dlcs out later and screw the gamers over twice. A lot of people turn to piracy because of that. and I can 100% understand them tbh.

[@TooCooFoYou]

DLC all depends on the situation, a good example of how DLC done right is Fallout 3 and NVs DLC

[@MultiRemixDude]

***** I know, I know. I worded my statement a bit short. I don't think that DLCs are necessaritly bad, I just hate it, if its done just to get money, if it was something obvious that should have been in the game from the start. For example extra weapons for premium Members, or Maps or other items that you have to buy, those things are what I hate the most. Esspecially when we are talking about a 60$ game. Anyways, you're right, DLCs can add a great deal of fun to the game, but I just don't see that as a common thing.

[@rhysh6026]

LeCat Yes, Like take the sims 3 for example, its a good game! But to get things like pets which should be in the game anyway because its meant to be real but noo... You gotta pay 200 dollars just to get stuff for the game that should be in it anyway.

[@MultiRemixDude]

rhys landon Yes and you don't even get a decent game if you concider the techincal problems of sims 3. I can't play it because my graphics card is too new and powerful. Well fuck, what now? I hate EA with a passion.

[@ProtoMario]

No, absolutely not, I lived a good 20 years without them in gaming and things were just fine, even when DLC came, guess what, it wasn't a serious problem. Now because of battlefront 2, micro-transactions are complete crap.

[@kenjidayan7579]

ProtoMario depends on how its done.

[@xylo5750]

I'm sorry, I just can't take someone who wears ugly sunglasses in each of their videos seriously.

[@mrsaltyauthor5992]

Yeah I enjoyed being left out of 75% of the game because I didn’t have disposable income and it was all hidden behind a DLC wall.

[@dragonkingofthestars]

can we get a plushy micro transaction raptor?

[@leomcdonnell2553]

dragonkingofthestars I would buy one

[@yusuf_kizilkaya]

It would be really nice

[@No-jz1jk]

I see where this is going

[@No-jz1jk]

Y e s

[@KnakuanaRka]

Great as usual. Still manages to be relevant and on-the-spot, and explains things well. As a primarily mobile gamer, I’ve always been irritated by currency that can’t plausibly be amassed without paying; mainly because I save what money I have for actually buying games rather than stuff within them. And all those “selling power” IAPs have especially reeked of ripoffs; extra inventory slots and whatnot aren’t so irritating. And don’t get me to how SO many games reserve those special VIP benefits for those that purchase premium currencies; way to be classist, boys! Also, the little raptor mascot is so cute; you should use him again sometime.

[@BFedie518]

I love the sass Erin brings to the art.

[@AlexanderKrivacsSchrder]

This has probably been mentioned in the existing 1,000+ comments, but I think it's a big problem with a lot of current-day microtransaction games: Creating a false wait time, and then ask players to pay to shorten or remove it. If you've ever looked at Dungeon Keeper Mobile, you know exactly what I'm talking about. That shit has to stop. They literally ask you to wait 24 hours to break some of the blocks in the game. It's ridiculous.

[@hwurst38]

FUCK Microtransactions reason: PERSON 1: "Hey you LVL 50 Player the burning Sword you're so proud of, where did you get that?" PERSON 2: "Last weekend I spend a whole night with my Buddies to kill a fire-breathing Dragon we really earned this. It´s rear because the Dragon is damn strong." PERSON 1: "Whatever you are not that specially strong I just got the same sword for 2$ at the shop, without wasting my time." What would you feel as PERSON 2 ? Who ever comes not to a conclusion which says something that includes "Fuck you, get out of the game I love." Does NOT understand our proud and honest gaming culture.

[@rurik36]

+hwurst38 I would feel "Well as long as we're both having fun with the game, I don't mind. The time I spent with my friends is what makes this sword special to me, not its power or rarity or anything like that. I'm sure you've got reasons, maybe you just recently started playing the game because your hubby plays it, and you just want to be able to jump into the late game content he's doing, but don't have the time to put into catching up to someone that's played the game for over a decade because you've got real world responsibilities to worry about."

[@Ben-fx9kx]

+Dee Twenty the point of struggle is to get stronger which is also the point of life. By doing this bullshit you're cheapening the gaming experience and making it much less fun for everybody else. I don't know why you don't see that

[@rurik36]

ben zhong For one I find that to be silly. Life is enough struggle already, I play video games to escape that struggle. For another I don't feel the need to measure myself against others, I'd rather spend a weekend with my team in PSO2 doing subtunnel runs to get the launcher I want than buying a month of premium so I could buy it through the market, but i don't consider myself to be better for it, it's just the method I consider to be more fun.

[@Ben-fx9kx]

Dee Twenty I really don't think you understand my point of view. This pay to win system to you is fine (very libertarian thinking) but has consequences on other people who play. Instead of the leaderboard being based on who has the most skill or play the best it becomes who's mommy and daddy has the most money (thus it becomes real life). Instead of a meritocracy where people play hard and get strong its just pay some money and boom instant win, as i said this cheapens the experience for everyone else. Also "Life is enough struggle already, I play video games to escape that struggle." the difference is life is an unfair struggle while games are a fair struggle. In real life all your effort doesn't mean shit in the game your effort translates to better equipment and stats. The pay to win gaming model is truly what makes it unbearably like real life. We play games to escape reality that's very true but when you play to win it essentially becomes reality, those with the most money in real life thus get everything good and everyone else gets shit upon (that's as real as you can get). And take it from someone who's been poor before i play games for the exact same reason you do to escape reality but when even gaming becomes unequal to "real world money" you may as well give all the awards and accolades to spoiled rich people. The very ability to pay to unlock shit renders all achievements meaningless and instead of representing something great it becomes shallow and pointless (and yes gaming objects are inherently meaningless but again its the fantasy that matters). Also you play games with your husband to spend time with your husband, in your mind the important thing is playing with your husband not necessarily playing the game, to other people the care about playing the game far more than that, that game to them is a unique experience and to them playing the game is the most important thing.

[@pramitz6500]

I want to see them talk more about the hearthstone/black ops 3/madden ultimate team/team fortress 2 style of opening packs/crates of items, and gambling for something good.

[@thegreathighpriestcthulhu8320]

yeau

[@EightThreeEight]

TF2's situation is very different from pretty much any other game. Considering it's been around for nearly 10 years, wasn't F2P originally, and has made more money than God over the past few years.

[@Proletrolliat]

you forgot PAYDAY 2

[@Lectwar6]

Man, these guys saw the future with so much clarity. Heroes of the storm. I played that game for free, for 4 years. Hundreds and hundreds of ours. And then I got my friends into it. The reason I stayed playing it was because they played. Then when my career gave me a bit more cash, suddenly i felt like investing into the game with things like mounts and skins. I paid based on how many hours I would put into the game. If i played for something like 30 hours in a 2 week pay period, ya...ill buy that 5 dollar skin. Thats 6 hours of entertainment for each dollar, very worth it to me plus I got the skin. I think over the course of a year I sunk a bit of money into that game and I was totally ok with that. I got new heroes immediately and neat themed mounts and skins in bundles. Then the activision/blizzard merger happened and loot boxes were introduced. I could no longer buy something knowing what I could get in return. I had to spend money to roll the dice. My friends that I got into the game are still playing, but ive stopped. I never have purchased loot crates in any game and even with rebalance of stats and more new characters, I'm burnt out on the game. They also removed the skins only available after a hero reaches level 10 which was kind of a bragging right thing to own. My incentives to play the game were removed and replaced with $$$

[@TheFoxfiend]

I love the characters they use in these videos, this time I practically fell in love with that micro-transaction bird.

[@danihk2872]

With the whole "splitting community" thing there is a compromise. Paying players get some exclusive maps but are able to invite non-paying players into them for party matches. So when that friend isn't available, the non-payers remember how much fun it was with them and one of them pays for the other guys. The more this happens, the more people have payed and enjoyed themselves with their friends.

[@reubenfrench6288]

+xen You mean sorta like Starcraft?

[@sunainahussain]

Fallen London did something like this with their "Exceptional Stories" iirc

[@458Nighthawk]

Yahtzee! 0:43

[@Levian-Durai]

I've gotta say, I actually agree. I am dead set against microtransactions - I detest it with a vengeance. Yet there is one game, just one that I've played that I've actually paid up for some extra stuff. Guild Wars 2. It's exactly what you describe as a good microtransaction system. You start with a limited number of character slots, limited backpack slots and bank space. The first thing I ended up buying was an extra bank slot. And then a backpack slot. Then a couple more later. And finally after spending a decent amount of time in the game, I caved and bought a character slot or two, wanting to experiment with different classes. This was the only game I have ever paid for microtransactions, and wasn't angry about them offering it. The entire game was available to me if I didn't pay. The company had earned enough goodwill with me that I actually wanted to support them by buying something now and then

[@delta6244]

the Industry representing monster at 3:05 looks soooo adorable.

[@MicroMac]

This is why I like Rainbow Six Siege. Everyone gets the maps and operators for free (with earned in game currency that is), and the season pass only allows people to earn in game items more quickly.

[@AikanaroSauron]

"Microtransactions aren't going anywhere" Oh yeah? Then gamers are. Back to pirating.

[@er4795]

Extra Credits is the GradeAUnderA for gaming 'nuff said

[@galaxygamerbroficial]

except it has less "Fuck off mate"s, "it's fucking stupid"s, and "Right"s

[@nicholascooper945]

With less swearing and more games.

[@lunaticbaku7097]

+Nicholas Cooper The way it should be.

[@justarandomguy9234]

I hear that!

[@chair547]

I now imagine Dan speaking in grades voice

[@Elemental-Phoenix]

actual, I feel League of Legends has an awesome F2P system. Doesn't affect your gameplay at all but a good incentive to buy, yet still giving a fair choice to pay if you believe the game is good enough for it.

[@AGrumpyPanda]

^ It has its flaws, but League's micro system is designed to allow people without much time to pay their way to more content (i.e. more champions), while still rewarding those who play more dedicatedly by way of the runes needed to gain an advantage.

[@NoahWeisbrod]

It's one of the best in terms of both real-world and in-game money. You can only buy variety, not power. There are plenty of cheap champions like Udyr and Tristana (Tris actually being free) who are just as good as expensive ones like Lee Sin or Caitlyn. I just wish you could buy skins with IP.

[@XyntXII]

Noah Weisbrod not only that, but by the time you actually play ranked you will be able to have even a few of the expensive champions as well as a few runepages. (though i did not play for half a year now, so i do not know, how valid this is i actually think, that your examples are rather bad, because cait and lee always felt stronger to me. but in the end most champions are viable (poor poor Urgot.))

[@NoahWeisbrod]

XyntXII Tris outranges Cait. You can argue that Lee has better ganks than Udyr, but Udyr has a better lategame.

[@XyntXII]

well, yes. both of those champs have the better lategame. But cait actually outranges trist in the laning phase.

[@Soroboruo]

Nails a lot about how I feel abt microtransactions today, honestly. Also one big thing you touched on, that comes up again and again, not just for $$$ but in general, is "player choice is good, actually". Yeah, some games are better off linear, but it's really amazing how much difference adding or removing a minor option can be.

[@TyLovePie]

This video has aged so well. I can't believe it has been 12 years since it was made! If only AAA studios would have listened, there probably wouldn't be massive layoffs in the gaming industry.

[@vincenttheune2052]

With all of these points I think: jep, warframe does that, and that, and has that. On of the reasons a lot of people call warframe the best (FTP) game there is.

[@TroublingMink59]

6th most played game on steam ATM, mostly nobody has heard about it. Wierd.

[@gabriel300010]

+vincent theune I spent 400 hours there... but I didn't have any playing friends and that its not the kind of game you can solo... it has been a long long time since I opened it

[@vincenttheune2052]

gabriel ferraz I also don't play it with friends. i am in a clan which is build on one not to popular youtuber (gopher) so it is a lot of the same kind of people (nice ones) so that might help, and i am not the kind of person who plays a lot with friends anyway. and it still does not take away that it is a great game. OMG the second dream.

[@jamesfratner3190]

+vincent theune This, the entire time I was thinking how Warframe does all of this so well, and comes with updates frequently for a F2P game (every couple months isn't bad at all)

[@vincenttheune2052]

bcount1 it is all optional, you can just trade for it.

[@iamlordstarbuilder5595]

I feel like whoever is in charge of Warframe's microtransactions watched this video. Epic Games seems to have a decent handle on it too.

[@greap2294]

EXACTLY love the game

[@dracklord1725]

0:43 YAHTZEE!!!

[@ashleapatterson82]

who is yahtzee

[@ayylmaoicanchangemyname7072]

Love the Zero Punctuation bit at the beginning.

[@WolfHeroEX]

I really do feel that at this point, with all of the people linking your free-2-play game videos on various forums and social media outlets as their arguments that you folks could consider reviewing MMO microtransaction systems in specific games as a new series. It might be incredibly popular.

[@blitzkrieg6699]

I didn't see this video till now. And, looking back at it EA violated all of these rules when making Battlefield 2. Its almost comical to watch the backlash at this point. It's a shame too. That game looks really fun.

[@nitrocide1746]

A good example of being able to earn all currency and microtransactions is Firefall. Yes, the mmofps. Because there are 3 currency types. Crystite (in game currency) coins(auction house money) and red beans (publisher currency). And you can exchange currency in implements. you are allowed to turn your crystite into coins at a rate of 25 crystite per coin (i think) and you're limited to how many coins you can make in a day. KEEP IN MIND IT HAS BEEN MONTHS SINCE I HAVE PLAYED so I think this information may be obsolete. Coins to red beans is more complex. you make an offer for red beans with coins or choose to sell red beans for more coins (as low as 100 coins per bean and no upward limit) But you're competing on a market, so buyers are more likely to buy cheaply so 100 is almost set in stone. And because of this, you can choose to buy items that players have already bought with real money with your currency that you earned from in game farming. or you can buy them yourself as you earn more of the base currency. Everything is available. because even if you personally do not buy anything... another player can buy and sell a "cash item" on the auction house, and the developer still gets paid.

[@joedav67]

Nitrocide17 i agree with everything you just said

[@DarkBykeTwitch]

+Nitrocide17 Still applicable.

[@mozata6838]

0:43 shout out to Zero Punctuation

[@ghana7536]

best microtransaction scheme ive seen was in a game where the free way to get currency was by spriting enemies/gear for the game designers. it made updates come out faster, helped players learn some new skills, and led to feeling great when your sprites got accepted and getting your stuff.

[@demon_xd_]

This is soooo old (I only found it on 11-5-2020) and despite that, this is extremely important *rn*

[@berzerk130]

One amazing example of how to do this wrong is angry birds go. Its a decent kart racer in and of itself, and you can download it for free. But not only oes it use that bullshit "wait to play or but energy" thing they've talked about before, not only are there no cosmetic options for your characters or karts, meaning you can ONLY BUY POWER, not only do they require you to buy a new kart for every circuit, when one can cost over 20 bucks each and you must buy a new one for every track pack, but the real kicker is THERE IS NO MULTIPLAYER.thrtr isnt even anyone to prove anything to. Rovio deliberately makde a game with the sole purpose of squeezing as much money out of the audience as possible by exploiting the recognizeable angry birds name, using colorful graphics and competent mechanics, then made it impossible to truly enjoy the game unless you pay for it. And even if I were to pay for it (Which I didn't) the only reard you are given is the opportunity toBUY MORE STUFF. I could go on and on for hours about how flawed and generally horrendous this game was, how I hope he angry birds franchise dies for its sins, and how rovio oficially ruined all respect I could possibly have had for them,but I think I've made my point.

[@araknidude]

Umm... by "buying power" he meant being able to get crazy-powerful abilities or items just by putting a couple bucks into the game(for example, if you could get a murderous-1-hit-kill-game-unbalancing-super-weapon-that-attacks-from-the-sky of a sword for about $50 in an MMO-type game.)

[@araknidude]

araknidude Other than that, yep, this comment speaks the TRUTH!

[@eclpism]

@@araknidude 😂

[@araknidude]

Dude I’m an idiot. This is totally logical wtf.

[@KOVIK]

I played a game (Flyff) where I spent $70 on Black Wings. But I was one of maybe 3 people total on the entire server that I ever saw with them. And when you had them on, people circled around to ask you how you got them, how strong you were, or whether you were willing to trade them for some seriously huge amounts of money. Then, the game was sold to another company and suddenly a lot of accounts were hacked en masse, mine included. They took a lot from me, including those wings. When I tried to get them back, the company was willing to restore the money and gear that I lost, but not the wings. I was never able to play again, no matter how much I enjoyed the gameplay. I just couldn't stomach the fact that this injustice was done to me and vowed to never again give money to WEBZEN for any reason no matter how great of a game they release. Also, they expire your Cash Shop money now after only 1 year. Bastards.

[@KOVIK]

K.

[@musaran2]

The hard-learned lesson for all these pay-games : Once you give your money, it is THEIRS. They have no obligation to maintain what you think you paid for, and have very little interest in doing so.

[@thereaIitsybitsyspider]

Guild Wars 2 does microtransactions right. They just made the store items extremely expensive to obtain legitimately.

[@cateatingpancakes]

You're dead wrong.

[@JohnDoe-zw6to]

I love how the "rocket science" is actually EVE-O's in-game skill requirements.

[@Mostlyharmless1985]

Well, that 70 dollar monocle turned into a full blown player riot in the game and stands as a good example of correcting a miss step to win back player confidence. It also shows the power we as consumers have in not taking bullshit.

[@emperorphil2547]

sadly this entire video of negatives completely represents runescape lol

[@DeepDiveDevin]

Seeing Yahtzee there made me laugh so hard I had to restart the video to get the point again

[@zsewq55912]

runescape done free to play right the 1st time

[@NaughtyBlastoise]

Not exactly, since they essentially split up the players, as said in the video. Paying customers get access to areas and objects a non-paying player will never see.

[@zsewq55912]

iDefCon5 ya but they aollow members to play with the non members that aollow them to show off what the pay side have.

[@Funnnyminnie]

iDefCon5 The old runescape method was very successful. Just because this video says otherwise doesn't make it true. These are opinions of him and his team. Not facts.

[@NaughtyBlastoise]

You realize I can turn this around and state the exact same thing about your comment, right?

[@krowodom5719]

that picture of a grenad launcher wielding raptor riding a shark equiped with a laser cannon had me rolling.

[@Alpharius93]

The "don't split the community" part instantly reminded me of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. You have this awesome multiplayer, with several game modes (including a co-op)... and then they decided to include new maps and game modes via paid DLC's. At that point, the whole multiplayer started to drop. Many people wouldn't buy the DLC's, reducing the number of players on the new maps, making them have to wait longer for finding a match, forcing them to go back to the standard content just to play, making them feel like they wasted their money. And since the company didn't add dedicated servers to the game, the community couldn't be saved that way by the players themselves.

[@metalshorty0]

like. like. like. don't sell power

[@Sinclairelim]

I'm surprised more MMOs haven't started to allow players to work for the company in exchange for payed content. In Nevewinter Nights, although not an MMO, dozens of players spent hours and hours building and mantaining MMO-like servers for free. After the servers stopped being supported the players even started paying for servers to keep their creations alive. Neverwinter, which is clearly inspired on NWN, allows players to create quests and gain "tips" of in-game money from other players, but this foundry is not really designed to be flexible, and it's badly done. If the guys at obsidian would make it so the engine allows a more intuitive and powerful quest building tool, and payed players to build new content, the game would develop exponentially. Now imagine also using such players as dungeon masters that created events for other players, and paying them for it.

[@GrandCorsair]

Legal issues is my guess

[@musaran2]

Tempting idea, but what if the content is plagiarized ? Oh, and of COURSE they would hide dicks in it.

[@nexus3756]

microtransactions are cool but dont be fucking put it in games that cost 60 dollars

[@dalf_souls2199]

£60+ since people are actually thinking of buying infinite warfare legacy which will probably have dlc as well as being £80

[@NightTimeNathan]

9 years later and still relevant content, very interesting to see how well that aged!

[@Azurepeahen]

Looking back at this is very eyeopening.

[@hnybdgrcommando1671]

Why is the concept of micro-transactions represented by an archaeopteryx?

[@mistertadakichi]

Just because.

[@joshuahadams]

It's a microraptor, not an archaeopteryx.

[@PiercingSight]

Please do a video on Battlefront II and Pay 2 Win.

[@Wizard-cr2dx]

PiercingSight yes

[@DaeZey]

Hahahahahahahah oh. Oh for the days of a cosmetic item with no in-game effect costing to much being the worst thing games are doing in microtransactions.

[@Phe0niz]

I love how they looked at zero punctuation when saying "Trying to be the calmer voice."

[@eporcheetahka5086]

You should really do a follow-up to this story and see how it's progressed or degenerated based on your observations especially with all the things going on with current microtransactions market such as EA and Warner Brothers would be interesting to see

[@gumerzambrano]

make an updated video

[@Longshotsz]

do you want microtransactions? they will eventually start charging more for them, they will start being essential, and when games will become more expensive (and oh you can bet yourself that it will) how much are you willing to spend? 80$? 90$? 100$? and thats only if they dont take away part of the game for DLC so a game will cost 100$-150$ no game that costs over 2$ should have microtransactions.

[@rapsody230]

Microtransaction in non f2p games are ALWAYS bad. It smashes in pieces some basis elements that we had until now in video games. Let's take gta online... They are fucking rich, the single player made them earn billions. Then the online comes up, glitchy, bad and whatever, but stil fun. micro transaction included. Then after one month they nerfed the earnings INSIDE THE GAME, the experience and the money where nerfed to make people pay for micro transaction. THEN they cut the option to replay missions to AVOID GRINDING, a game that makes impossible to grind! REAlly??? Well that is why micro transaction are bad. Because the industry change the game in worst limiting the freedom of the player so that eventually he will pay more of that 60 fucking dollars the player already paid.

[@muhumads]

I agree with you thats why I stopped playing it, couldn't make money because I didn't have many friends who played the game and random people just don't work well with each other and they never put up bank heists on the multiplayer

[@TheBluestflamingos]

Thats an issue with the company, not microtransactions. Saying that paying with cash is horrible because some cashiers give you the wrong change is practically the same.

[@strawman5300]

Julia M. The whole concept of microtransactions is infyting to it though.

[@crazking01]

For some reason I just love the Micro-Transaction-Raptor. Would I go so far as to ask for it on a shirt? Yes. Yes I would.

[@c.d.dailey8013]

This video is awesome. It is one of my favorite Extra Credits videos. I enjoy the ones about how the economy works in games. Ironically I am normally not interested in economics. this video does a good job of explaining what to do and why. I eventually figure out how to do F2P monitization, if I add one to a game. I have two kinds of currency. The regular currency is earned through game play. It can be used to buy all of the items and services in games. The premium currency is earned through real world money. It can only be used to buy cosmetic items. Regular money can be converted to premium currency. However premium currency can't be converted to regular currency. That is it. There is the potential of buying convenience and leveling speed. However that it a bit too iffy for my taste. I am going to stick with cosmetics. I have had experience of how a bad monitization would work. It is in Magic the Gathering. I am very ambivilent with this game. Maybe it is a case where the monitization system doesn't jive in with the game. The part that I love about the game is the core game play. It is a lot of fun to build decks, play card games and figure out the strategies of the color pie. The part I hate about the game is the monitization. The monitization is really bad. It made me quit the game despite the game being otherwise enjoyable. The main problem is that it does "sell power". Players can buy card packs using real world money. Then it is easier for them to get more powerful cards, and have a better chance of winning. It is not fair for me. I can't afford to pay. I have to grind slowly for cards using dailies. I am also forced to do PVP before I am powerful enough to stand a chance. If I don't do PVP I won't earn the in game currency to get more cards. I get defeated a lot by stronger playing players. It is frustrating. I think the monitization system should improve. If Magic Arena cleans up its act, I will come back. There are only two small changes I want, and that will keep the game tolerable. One change is to give the option to complete quests using easy bot matches. Sparky is a lot more fun to play with than a whale any day. The other change is to remove the timer for quests. I can do as many quests as I want at once. It is more convenient. Being forced to do quests every day to maximize output on a slow reward schedule starts to feel like a chore. It takes the fun out. Doing these two changes should be relativly easy. Ideally the game should have its whole monitization system revamped. That is more difficult but doable. I recommend there is a system like the one I suggest. Gold can be the regular currency. Gems can be the premium currency. There is one thing that Magic Arena does right. It does sell cosmetics. There are card styles, avatars, pets and card sleaves. I recommend to have gems buy these cosmetics and nothing else. Real world money can buy gems but not gold. This makes the game fair for free players like me. I did come up with my own solution. I make my own card game using idex cards and pencils. It is a rekin of Magic the Gathering. It is good for me to practice game design. The grinding is making new cards. It is theraputic. It is not too hard and not too easy. I do playtest, and that is fun. Index cards are really cheap, so they are affordable. For the less artistically inclined, one could print out proxies. I can get all the info on Magic the Gathering for free on the Internet. I recomend databases that show all the card art. It is especially bad for a game, if I am looking for alternatives.

[@drwalka10]

Yall cry about pubs price gouging its customers but the $$$ earned tells me most people love it … y’all in the minority on this and being lied to by KZbinrs like this for views.