Stop Buying Microtransactions - Inside Gamescast

[@historish165]

You said it near the beginning. Monopoly Go made more than Ellden Ring. Gamers aren't driving this industry.

[@PBaloo01]

This was one of your best pieces of content yet! Learned a lot about the current state of the industry; interesting breakdown and commentary. Thanks for the awesome and bravest gaming coverage.

[@TheRustyShackleford]

so happy I have found this channel. Love you two from early funhaus days. life got in the way of gaming and youtube for me- but this channel is such a mature way to keep up with what is going on with games today

[@simmonslucas]

PLEASE STOP. It isn't just about getting screwed when you buy them, but when a mount makes blizzard more profit then the whole of Starcraft 2, THEY WILL NEVER MAKE ANOTHER STARCRAFT!!

[@therrawyr]

You are right that's why the Devs. left (and other reasons).

[@ToneyCrimson]

Sadly not gonna happen, i have noticed that most people actually have no self control. I thought it was the other way around, that they were the exception not the norm. Its kinda scary when i think about it to deeply...

[@Top_Weeb]

@@ToneyCrimson It's the whales.

[@Minednam]

They have to make a game for the micro transactions to exist. So yes if StarCraft is worth it.. they can just sell you a mount in StarCraft. One has nothing to do with the other.

[@michaelpurdon7032]

Idc

[@Ayyylan344]

The astronomical amount of money that mobile games and microtransactions makes from whales and casual mobile gamers always FLOORS me. Nobody can get them to stop or stop it from influencing game monetization. I don't see microtransactions going away any time soon.

[@MorbidEel]

Just saw an article about how much The Elder Scrolls Online made in 10 years. Coincidentally it is the same amount mentioned in this video about Monopoly Go in 10 months.

[@kayc7442]

Just a way for gamblers to get their fix

[@MorbidEel]

@@kayc7442 Actually it seems like the real money is made in p2win and p2play. Those are also much better at exploiting the token feeding behavior mentioned in the video.

[@efrainjrivera]

It's sad. These games are super pervasive and shadowy too. Growing up my mom hated me playing so many video games. Now a days, she can't sit down to watch something on the tv without a dumb cell phone open (probably candycrush). I told here: "you know the games I play are way better than that, right?" But it doesn't really click for her, is like a different product for different markets altogether. And they are that different. I don't think my mom spends money on it though, just because she's really frugal. But, there she is, the video game hater, playing the worst video games possible.

[@TheTinyTimmyTimTim]

This is a problem with how the industry is structured. Dead Space 2 Remake was shot down because the Dead Space 1 Remake *only* sold *2,000,000* copies. *Only…2,000,000…* The industry cannot survive like this. The rent seeking parasites who are sucking the life and passion out of gaming are going to doom it. MTX is a symptom of the broader industry plague.

[@PhilinSaniachen]

I agree with you but just letting you know that story wasn’t true apparently. Motive never had any plans to make a DS2 remake in the first place, which also sucks. I think they’re working on an Iron Man game.

[@builtbywalsh]

I don’t necessarily agree that it spells doom for the industry, maybe just the AAA side. Indie games are still crushing it and finding critical mass with their target audience (which is suspect is a large portion of this community).

[@KingSulley]

MTX are genuinely a plague. I remember when TB was educating people on why they were so awful, and it's insane to see how much more intrusive they've gotten since then.

[@ChocolateBurrito93]

He's rolling in his grave right now

[@saackowski2625]

"There is a very black art in just doing the right amount of sparkles and happy sounds and buttons that are fun to tap on. That is some deep monkey brain stuff." - Lawrence Quote of the digital era regarding mobile games.

[@Raggles22]

USA needs something like the consumer gaurantees act we have here in New Zealand. If you buy something in NZ and it doesn't work as advertised then any store legally has to give you your money back. This is how i got my money back on Fallout 76.

[@fenrir7878]

Yes yes yes. We need those laws too, I'm pretty there's already an FTC or other consumer law on thd books, just hasn't been applied to video games. Consumer backlash also works to an extent. Creative Assembly gave a partial refund for Pharaoh Total War because the community was passed. That being said, Fallout 76 was one of the worst offenders. Poor quality gameplay is inexcusable, but it's particularly egregious in game with so many micro transactions and early access. It's essentially a Ponzi scheme. Can you imagine if you bought a car with a customized dashboard that had rusty wheels? Or an overheated engine? Or buy or rent a house or apartment where the toilet doesn't but got 300 options for door paint. People would drag those retailers to their federal authorities for consumer fraud.

[@TheMahaffeymg]

I think the most egregious part of the Star Wars Outlaws pricing is that once the game comes out they’re not going to adjust the price to reflect the fact players can no longer get early access. They are going to keep the price the same which means the bundled skins essentially cost more.

[@MaxRamos8]

I was able to buy it for $58 from Green Man Gaming with my gold account and a voucher. I'll buy dlc after it's all released and only if it's worth it. No microstransactions only expansions. Aint no way I'm paying ubi anything over $60!

[@DroosterH]

​@@MaxRamos8 You are, quite literally, part of the problem.

[@Xoulrath_]

​@@DroosterHliterally what I was thinking as I read the comment. 😂

[@LePedant]

@@DroosterH You need to reread his comment. He said he only bought the base game, he won't buy microtransactions, and will only buy the DLC if it's worth it. That is literally how gaming used to be before microtransactions, and it's what it should go back to.

[@LePedant]

@@MaxRamos8 Nice! That is how gaming used to be. Buy the base game, and only buy additional content if it's worth it.

[@Zoombeanie132]

Hardcore gamers that care about mtx are unfortunately a very specific niche. Casual gamers don't really care about these things, just look at how much the fifa mtx sell its insane. The best we can do is not buy them for games that are targeted to us and maybe make a bit of a fuss about them in the hope that dev's stop making them for the games we consume. That's also a long shot, cause publishers are always going to pressure dev's to sell "fifa numbers". It's honestly pretty depressing

[@eddythefool]

The issue is that it's that niche that is responsible for the majority of the money the company gets so they will cater to them. If we use the 20:80 rule we can estimate that roughly 0.8% of the gaming population is responsible for over 50% of the money the game company is getting so the companies will focus on that 0.8% and generally ignore the other 99.2%.

[@TriopsTrilobite]

@@eddythefoollmao

[@Zoombeanie132]

@@eddythefool What company? Smaller indie publishers and some first party AAA devs maybe. But publishers generally finance multiple dev teams that cover different demographics. Activision Blizzard can always point to the shitload of money Candy Crush makes and force their other dev teams to include as many microtransactions and other "early access" bs schemes as possible.

[@eddythefool]

@@Zoombeanie132 it's a statistics rule that can help us understand the impact of whales. This is why companies release stupid micro transactions because they don't expect the majority of people to buy them, but it'll help them understand the preferences of the 0.3%. I remember there was an incident in a p2w mobile game years ago where they changed central parts of the game and the only reason they changed it back is because a whale that has spent over $200k on the game demanded it. Companies will cater to their whales because they are the customer they care the most about.

[@ri3sch]

I’ve never paid for a single micro transaction. I’ve never even bought a DLC that was not already included in a discounted edition years after release. And I’ve been purchasing games on my own for 20 years. So, I unfortunately can’t withhold anymore funds from these publishers

[@rabidkangar00]

You're such a bastion of morality...

[@ri3sch]

@@rabidkangar00 thanks for the sarcasm

[@dustblowingman]

How sad that you have had to wait years for some of the great actually worthwhile DLC and expansions because of some principal or conviction

[@TailBloom]

Well, I commend you for sticking with your convictions, if that means anything. Not like we'll have enough lifetime to experience every single 10/10 game that comes out anyways.

[@guillej47]

You are what I wish everyone was

[@CDour]

1:02:50 Remnant 2 is a AA title and is one of my favorite games from the past few years, and it doesn't have a single micro transaction 🎉

[@aarontylee7243]

Stop calling them micro transactions. They're not micro any more.

[@SilverSurfer17]

Very true I thought it was bad when they actually were micro

[@Nacho_Buddy]

macrotransactions

[@joestewart2026]

I love listening to these guys talk games. Always good perspectives.

[@SnowOrShine]

The only option is to go smaller. You can't just bet it all on something like Immortals. It was made by a completely new company mostly founded by ex-telltale devs, starting from scratch Publishers keep throwing millions at studios who don't have experience making the game they want them to make. Anthem, Redfall, etc etc. The Fable reboot is being made by a car game company. What on earth are they doing? Fund medium-sized studios like Moon to make games they're already good at making. Take the best of THOSE, and see if they can handle a God of War when they're ready

[@ChristopherCricketWallace]

There should be 0 micro-transactions in a game you pay for. Period. If there are going to be micro-transactions they have to be in the game at first launch. No adding it later--after you paid. I want to buy and play a game--not a marketplace.

[@itslegion1324]

Base price for Outlaws is 89.99 in Canada for me and 169.99 for the Ultimate Edition which is insanity

[@MaxRamos8]

I was able to buy it for $58 (U.S.)from Green Man Gaming with my gold account and a voucher. I'll buy dlc after it's all released and only if it's worth it. No microstransactions only expansions. Aint no way I'm paying ubi anything over $60!

[@devvoff]

Love the podcasts guys! Been listening them at work and they help past the time.

[@offbrandsoda3097]

Been buying a lot of physical old PS2 games and playing them on my PS2 from the 1st grade and it’s wild to see how much the industry is changed. When you bought a game back then you got the whole package. Any cosmetics or cool skins had to be unlocked through various challenges that were already in the game. I feel like it was the beginning of the peak of gaming

[@carlosu7097]

Really good episode. love the thoughtful discussion here at Inside Games keep up the good work.

[@Howler54Z]

The selling of Early Access is probably what I'm most disgusted by in recent years. They are blatantly using gamers excitement for a game to cash in an extra 30-50 dollars. It costs them nothing, it's free extra revenue. And who won't pay for it? If you want to play a game , and it's available, why wouldn't you pay the extra 30 dollars. *nerd rage*

[@Payload25]

Hello from France. In my country, we can still find stores that sell video games as a flagship product and generally we can get them for 50/60€ or even 69€99 for certain exclusives. On the other hand, on online stores, you will find them at the prices recommended by the publishers. So the maximum price. For several years I have often heard that dematerialized games are selling more and more compared to physical games and I wonder why people buy dematerialized games which are sold more expensively? You must not forget that by purchasing a dematerialized game you are not purchasing intellectual property but just a right of use. Which makes the act of purchasing this format even worse. I don't understand why people don't care about this. They want to download their games directly without having to travel. Steam also helped a lot to install this method of consumption on PC but there are often sales so that helps to understand but on the console market, it's normal to buy a game and be able to lend it to these friends or be able to resell and I'm happy that the physical format still exists and I hope it stays like that for a very, very long time. I can't imagine a world where gamers buy games that aren't theirs and it's normal. When you give money for a game, it must belong to you. Like with a book or a movie. The problem is that with dematerialization, your game may one day be deactivated or removed from the servers and you lose access to your property. This is totally abnormal and people continue to buy dematerialized products without worrying about the future or the sustainability of their purchase. Ps: And if we look at the subject of safeguarding audiovisual heritage, dematerialization is a real cancer. And I haven't talked about the video game resellers and stores that are closing down because of digital gaming. They were places of conviviality and sharing of our common passions.

[@originalterrterrbear]

Bruce: 0:10 Me: . . . Okay **Plays Balatro** ♠️♣️♥️♦️

[@kanden27]

What's bad is that these strangleholds with microtransactions and dlc is that they tie them to franchises and stories people like. People like DC so they put Kill the Justice league loaded with paywalled stuff, Halo with the armor behind a timer store, even some single player games have paywalls.

[@IrisCorven]

It's weird being older, having grown up from the NES era to now. When I was getting big into video games, it was the 90's PC era. You bought something like Warcraft II or Starcraft or Diablo 2, and months to a year later there'd be an ENTIRE game's worth of content released as an expansion, for about half the price of the game itself. Not 2-6 hours, not some new quests and a set of armor. A full goddamn game worth of content - and stuff that had legs for years, in the case of Brood War and LOD - for half the price of the original game. And then now, where I'm having to shell out half the price of the game I like for an extra two hours of content in it. Or $15 for a season pass that could be worth it, or could just end up being a bunch of cosmetics. It's a huge disconnect, versus what I grew up with and grew to love gaming for. On the topic of Outlaws: I miss that 2008-2015 era of games "Ultimate Edition" and "Collectors Edition" coming with something physically tangible. For years, I mainlined a backpack I got with my copy of InFamous 2. Now, it's just usually skins or content you can buy separately later. I can get behind buying a collectors edition for a figure, statue, or merch that is exclusive to just having bought that edition. But something I can just wait a month and shell out $2.99 for on Steam? Not worth the price of an entire extra game, to me. And sure, that merch might have been of varying quality, but it was neat. It was exciting to have something physical from the game itself: A Master Chief helmet, Cole's Backpack, or more recently, Death Stranding coming with a Cargo Case/BB in Pod statue. And in the case of Dead Space Remake - I think that kind of news would sit better with people if we knew what their "internal" expectations were. There are a lot of conflicting reports on how much DS Remake sold (Anywhere between 1 million and 2 million), but even if we had those numbers, we have no clue what EA considered acceptable for their internal targeting. It might have been some obscene number, like 60 million. The problem is not knowing, and also not knowing if those numbers are feasible, if they're pure greed or actually just a reliable and substantial profit, etc. So it's all muddy, in those terms. Especially in the case of EA, because we've seen the depths of their greed over the years, and it's upsetting to know that entire franchises can die simply because they only saw a 200% profit over cost versus a 300% profit.

[@EatWave]

Ferry stones are not available to purchase in Dragon's Dogma 2. There was a single Portable Port crystal for sale, something normally given out for quest progression.

[@darter9000]

I have gone from getting FOMO...to getting FOGI (Fear of Getting Involved) and has lead to some weird perspective of game releases and announcements. @.@;;

[@BlueBloodPenn]

What doesn't help is when people say "it's only cosmetic". That lie has been thrown out for decades now and it was literally the root cause of the problem. They took content out of the game and sold it back to players. Not enough people called it out early enough and then we went years of the common thought being it was fine becuase at least it wasn't something else/worse. Give them an inch and they take a mile. Gamers, influencers, reviewers, etc gave them much more than an inch and now they want everything. Buy a game and do not spend a single dime more unless it is for significant content that is actually new, you can support studios and franchises in other ways. Gaming is pretty much the only industry where they set the price then charge for what used was once was standard. Doesn't happen in basically any other media or consumer market. Don't stand for it.

[@fenrir7878]

The ideal spot i think was PC gaming 10 20 years ago. They gave you a base game at a set price. You played it. If you loved it, you can get an expansion. If you still love it, they had multiplayer. If the gaming companies worry about revenue, monetize they multi player experience with a fee. But still provide a base product and DLC as an option. Don't ruin the game by turning it into a pure revenue stream. The multiplayer experience and base game revenue also drove really well done sequels.

[@tomepsullivan]

I was trying to find the middle ground between the gambling / movies point. It might be more a kin to; you buy a room in a casino hotel for a flat fee, but you have to walk through the gambling floor to get to the room. Games do this is free games, they put the store right in you face and push you to paying real money.

[@KingRelyk01]

It seems quite reductive to think that the problem here is just micro transactions. I think especially free to play games, purchasable cosmetics allow the free content for all players to roll in while people who want to buy can buy. The problem arises when games make it more difficult to play the game without microtransactions (pay to win/early access/whole parts of the game paywalled) I fully believe cosmetics are morally a better monetization option over paywalled playable content or p2w content.

[@gogomonstertruck]

Y’all remember the uproar for Horse Armor in Oblivion? I bring this up a lot whenever this conversation happens and I’m still in disbelief of how normalized this stuff has gotten. Like Dead Space 3 got such heat for their gun DLC that straight up broke the game, Metro Last Light got shit for a $5 hard mode, people criticized Mass Effect 3 for having an important character locked behind Day 1 DLC, lost goes on. But now? There are straight up skins that cost more than a full game that’s fulfilling for hours or life changing in the moments you play them. It’s disappointing to be real.

[@easygoingdude9990]

I listened the cast while playing Super Auto Pets. It’s really fun and has one of the fairest monetisation models I have ever seen. I’ve been playing it for years and haven’t spent any money on it at all. This entire time I have never felt short changed by not paying money for more pets.

[@bluegrave4376]

The way that I see it is if gaming ever truly goes to shit, there's enough good games rn for me to play for the rest of my life. Don't think I've even played a third of the games that I'm interested in

[@builtbywalsh]

Really enjoying these longer form episodes! This show feels built for this.

[@Lima0620]

Gaijin and Creative Assembly are two examples of devs directly responding to overwhelming critisism by making the game more playable without paying for premium currency/ lowering the price of DLC, just from last year. Just something that came to mind.

[@axellsabode]

Would be interesting to see the % for paid content for games broken down (i know not possible). amount spent per player or per item etc to see which games are taking it to extremes

[@elekktrik_0339]

Paying $30 plus for Operator skins in MW3 is absolutely crazy. What's worse is the amount of people that do 🤨🤨🤨

[@crancelbrowser5478]

I can't tell you guys how stoked I am that you're doing a podcast together once more

[@Rocinante808]

Kids & whales are main issue. Nobody can stop whales which are like 1% of players but if we teach kids to deal with their bullies, realize the idiocy to be bullied for never buying micro-transactions like Kids say they’ve got bullied & labeled broke if they’ve a character without a Fortnite outfit like Air Jordans were it’s a status symbol so quite tragic. We teach kids any money spent Bored Ape NFT’s, digital outfits, art, all of it is the same as burning cash since you never actually own it anymore. Also, after buying any micro transactions like Epic outfit never give a dopamine rush, it never feels good like physical products deliver. It’s like ‘hey bro give me $25 a day I’ll rent out my based imaginary friend! The bullies are Epic slaves anyways which is the only way to flip this context back to reality, and surely it’s not easy to hear as a kid but it’s worth it to show how silly it is when it’s not real. Give a fresh perspective to a kid can be truly powerful if we help them deal with their bullies. Especially since 2020 reports show over 50% of inflation never had any basis on supply / demand nor shipping issues. 50% of price raises all was the greed full stop🛑the same reason each year rental landlords see ‘rental listings went up, I bet I can raise my condo’s rental rate too’.

[@Depositron]

I have mixed feelings about this whole thing. The customer is always right in matters of taste. It took me a long time to realize my own hypocrisy when I would tail about EAs micro transactions but happy fork over thousands of dollars for Counter Strike cases and keys. If the “community” takes issue with that then I guess I’m not “a gamer”. I don’t think there is anything wrong with these mobile games that people are taking joy in because that’s the whole point right? A little digital distraction during our day to day. Even the most well written, well acted, artistic Indy or triple A is stil just a little escape. If people want to escape with Monopoly Go and not invest in elden ring then that’s all for the good. It’s all the Games industry and I think it’s fine. I love the gaming community and I love Inside Gaming and the crew involved but it kind of comes off as elitist. “These plebs and their silly mobile games are killing our beloved industry” in likely reading too much in to it but in a world where every year thoughtful, we’ll directed triple A’s, artistic and fun Indy games, intriguing dungeon crawlers and mobile time wasters are all existing year in and year out I don’t see the hullabaloo. The overall theme of vote with your wallet is a good one. If we all truly don’t like the micro transactions we should stop buying them, but that just isn’t the case so let people enjoy the medium. Rant over and I love you all.

[@johnmetzakis2910]

showing my age here but i miss the times when the only time you hear about a game was when it was released, or saw the few coming soon ads in gaming mags that generally had it advertised a week or so before launch, now gamers just seem conditioned on FOMO, and one side effect being that studios cant keep up with the voratous consumer monster they have created meaning busted and rushed products, and the products themselves still designed around relying on an infinite consumer base but given to a limited population in reality

[@NotFaildozer]

I had to quit playing NBA2k because the career mode that i would start wasnt available after 2 years, because you dont have the ability to purchase their currency due to the servers being shut down, so I couldnt continue my career that i potentially could have dropped 100s of real world dollars on fast tracking my stats, I could only start a new one, so I did that, and never bought a new version, i am forever playing 2k16, and 2k never gets my money.

[@leonelrivera3082]

NBA 2K 11 was my last one. I feel after that one it started going downhill fast

[@crancelbrowser5478]

Worse than just the micro transactions, I've seen similar sentiments on tik tok and on other videos, and there are tons of comments saying things like "if you don't like them just don't buy them, simple as that" when it's really not that simple and the industry really needs to fundamentally shift away from this because it's destroying so many opportunities for artistry, creativity, and cool shit in lieu of pickle Rick skins

[@maxxmittelstadt4798]

I bought Frontiers of Pandora used for $40 and it retail was $70. The season pass DLC is $40 "2 additional missions, 1 side quest, and 1 skin pack included". The 1 side mission and 1 skin pack have been released. I watched someone play one side mission and it's not worth the time playing. I bet the 2 missions are not worth the price of another game.

[@Draw2quit]

I played a ridiculous amount of Space Engineers recently. It cost me less than a tenner but it's also on game pass. After playing 50 odd hours I decided to spend around another 10 pounds or so on dlc. Partly because the dlc was significant and expanded what you could do in game and partly as a sign of encouragement to the developers to keep supporting the game or even work on other, similar projects. That's my limit when it comes to microtransactions.

[@CJGriesmeyer]

The point around organized protest against bad practices, reaching out to senators, etc. feels very much like what Ross's Game Dungeon is doing right now with Ubisoft, The Crew, and the Australian government. It might be early in the story to see coverage on it, but would love to see you guys speak to it at some point.

[@Draw2quit]

If you find you're playing in a game with a whale. Block them on whatever platforn you're on. Tell your friends to block them, tell anyone you come into contact with to block them. Then message them to let them know why. If enough people do this, they will find that they no longer have anyone to play with.

[@dsel307]

If nobody ever bought that stupid horse armor just imagine where the gaming space would be now

[@sugarpolecat4781]

Its hard to stop people paying for microtransactions, when the mobile market is making gazillions on those transactions. Its become highly profitable, so... Youll have to convince milions of people to completely stop paying for that and thats highly ambitious goal...

[@evagelios]

I also think that without a succinct message, sometimes they will accidentally make the wrong assumption. Pretend Dragons Dogma 2 didn't sell well, say we all got together and said the MTX is too much but we didn't communicate that, just assumed they'd get it. Do we really think they'd see that THE GAME didn't sell well, and they would think "Oh it's the MTX!" ?? They wouldn't. They'd say "Well, no one wants this game. Let's not make it anymore."

[@VictorVonGrooove]

I've noticed that when a mobile game is really starting to get to that point where it's forcing you into spending money you just need to cycle to another game. Come back a few months later and they will throw stuff at you because you came back. Don't fall for their toxic gaming tactics. When you notice the bottleneck, leave.

[@Vis117]

Patient gamers is the way. Just wait for these games to get fixed and go on sale.

[@jraluark]

52:22 To Bruce's point here, that is where the real power is in the world. The work of the little people is what moves every needle in the world.

[@LeAFyromster]

I also hate Demo's labels as prologues to trick players into playing a "free" DEMO and buying the game to continue playing. mislabeling things to trick players to do things are getting pretty annoying.

[@mikefink7548]

i very rarely ever do the microstransactions except for maybe a rare few now and then where theres actually something really cool to add into gameplay but thats like a 1 in 1000 rarity

[@halokelt]

I'll never stop! Never! I'm giving Dragon's Dogma 2 all my money and none of you can stop me!

[@Slagomancer]

I keep posting this and I feel like I'm going insane: I remember when Deus Ex: Mankind Divided had the Early Access as a Pre-Order bonus and people borderline RIOTED against Eidos for that. It really feels like they just kept trying to do it until a reputable company got away with it and now it's the fucking expectation, it's BONKERS

[@kevinlatta6142]

I am shocked the dollar per minute argument from the old days did not come back up here. Spoole be proud!

[@klassicneo]

Well, if the gaming industry (and any other growing industry) can't stop the infinite possibilities there are on their products, then don't blame various authorities for regulating them. Anything is infinite in this world, until it has to be capped.

[@Yogurt1701]

Digital content should be cheaper, if anything. No production or manufacturing costs, no shipping costs, no retail costs. All these savings should be passed on to the end consumers.

[@GhostOfSnuffles]

Bethesda now charges $7 for a single mission, at this point they're macrotransactions.

[@TheGhostTrooper1]

Sticking to your guns is extremely import as I sit here playing MechWarrior Online, a game that I quit two years ago in 2022. Not that its a bad game per say but I started reading more into its lore and discovered so many new characters, mechs, locations and storylines that I wanted to be explored more. So I got the tabletop miniatures and maps and started playing them but sometimes I find myself going back to MechWarrior Online for the gameplay it provides, its just so immersive with its cockpit hums and displays. But its fine we have a story focused MechWarrior game now called MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries and soon, MechWarrior 5: Clans. Again I stopped playing MechWarrior Online because I just wanted more immersion by creating playing a character from any faction I want and to start with any mech I want, and to participate in major storylines and events. So far only MechWarrior 5 and BATTLETECH (2018) has done that for me. So to anyone reading this, just support your passions and indulge in them, enjoy what you like and don't focus on all the negative.

[@Cookie_Cuttings]

Love you guys, keep up the excellent content and thoughtful discussions!

[@Duraltia]

@24:56 With it having been my first MMORPG I'll probably remember Vanilla and The Burning Crusade World of Warcraft for a *_LONG_* time... Not all Classes were balanced back then but man was the Game fun because of how engaging it was... For things to work out you really had to do your part unlike much later when things got more and more casual to the point where ppl basically just got stuff handed to them for being there - Not for pulling their weight and when things somehow managed to get south despite the low bar requirements they just went poof.

[@MrWright14]

The Dead Space Remake was one of my favorite games of last year. Really sucks they aren’t going to continue with them

[@tec5x5]

my numbers are totally opposite I spend a whopping $2.99 on digital games last month and a $90 on physical games

[@EpicLatios]

I always enjoy Bruce and Lawrence's reasonable takes in a sea of reactionary content

[@theblackenedone1366]

It feels like everyone is chasing their own tail on this topic. The amount of people willing to spend their money outnumber the ones not willing to. I do admit, it's pretty sad watching people constantly burn their hand on the lit burner on the stove.

[@Flarocket]

Lest we not forget, Activision patented a method to drive people to microtransaction, U.S. Patent# US20160005270A1. Activision at the time claimed that they haven't used it but has anyone seen if this patent was actually used? I somewhat enjoyed Callisto protocol myself, but I refused to buy their DLC which had the literal ending to the entire game.

[@TriopsTrilobite]

I like what Lawrence said at the start. It’s incredibly sobering hearing the numbers, and asking these companies to leave that kind of money on the table is out of the question. My only solace is that hopefully its enough to continue to afford weird and unexpected games like Death Stranding or Helldivers

[@BillNyeTheBountyGuy]

We have decades of excellent games, fan projects, and everything in between. City of Heroes Homecoming is the BEST version of that game ever. Not only is it a faithful recreation of the original, with all the expansions and sanctioned by NCSoft, but it removed all the monetization bloat. You just can play the damn game.

[@TheITTman]

I think it’s worth acknowledging just how much cheaper it is to make a one-mode free to play game with skins that don’t cost a lot to make than it is to make a full fledged single player game. Elden Ring can sell a shit load of copies but it’s still cheaper and more profitable to make a skin in Valorant and sell it for $20

[@UNSCMarine117]

I think the only time i bought a micro transaction was a loot box with some left over money from a gift card. And that was 8 years ago. Never again.

[@michaelbreeze9548]

Please make more of these. It reminded me of Dude Soup. I really enjoyed it.

[@biogopher]

53:38 hear me out. What if they reduce the number of fairy stones in the next game to force us to buy them until it makes the game unplayable?

[@xRhadical]

Great insight guys, although I'm really disappointed that there's no special appearance by Michael Transaction .

[@alicool11]

I never pre order, buy all my games disc based if possible and haven't bought a DLC/skin since mass effect 2 on 360. I'm doing my part

[@Yackass]

I don't understand how literally EVERYONE complains about MTX while still buying a shitload of them, year after year. Ever since the 'live service' model took off around 2015ish, I only paid for maybe 3 cosmetics across 3 different games. All for a complete total of around $30-40.

[@MorbidEel]

If that is true then the people complaining are a vocal minority or the complaining is performative.

[@Xoulrath_]

YOU are complaining about them. I am complaining about them. Most gamers watching this content, and especially those commenting, are complaining about them. The overwhelmingly large casual market that gaming has picked up over the last couple of decades don't have a fucking clue that what they are doing is bad. They have no reference for what came before. to them, this is normal and part of gaming. At some point, the bubble will burst, but that's an easy 5 to 10 years away.

[@rabidkangar00]

Because it's cool to bitch in the gaming space.. But seriously, that's all it is. Clearly not enough people care for this to be an issue. And to be honest, if I want to buy a silly hat every now and then, who the fuck are you or anyone else to care? Nobody is forcing anyone to buy this stuff. It's optional. Don't like it, don't buy it. We don't have to make a whole thing about it. It's no different than the Call of Duty community bitching about SBMM for like 4 years but still logging on every day. It's the "in" thing to complain about whatever one's favorite streamer doesn't like that week. There are free to play games I've spent more than $60 on and haven't had a single regret. And to be honest, it shows who the assholes are when they all collectively say "you shouldn't enjoy that thing because *I* don't like it"

[@Xoulrath_]

@@rabidkangar00 I can't fucking wait for games to cost $100 per one hour play session with that type of attitude. Enjoy.

[@iluvmusicqwe]

The people who buy them are a minority of gambling addict's, they're not a huge portion of the gaming market.

[@iluvmusicqwe]

This is a mistake people in the gaming community make. They think that you just make some broad appeal to everyone. The fact is that the people who buy micro transactions are gambling addicts, you can't really just appeal to them they can't help themselves

[@Malaena]

I never saw a single ad or video for the Dead Space remake when it was released or even before it, and I am an old person that carries arond a bit of nostalgia.

[@biagioruggiero4571]

I'm convinced the bubble is going to burst in the next 10 yrs and we'll see the return of smaller budgets - micro(macro) transactions is just the last squeeze of the orange before that happens

[@jrp335]

Ubisoft might just fix the gaming industry. Between them killing one game and price gouging in a new game, the amount of gamer rage may get something to change, right?

[@korno96]

WHOA WHOA WHOA… WHEN DID LAWRENCE AND BRUCE START A PODCAST?? …subscribed.

[@darter9000]

Online rage is how people still buying micro transactions assauge their guilt for buying micro transactions?

[@CaptnNuco]

It's a form of gambling, when companies manipulate your habits to make you play or buy more microtransactions. There is no Middle ground.

[@flake4179]

they are not micro anymore when many of these now cost 30 to 60 bucks.. might as well buy a whole game for those prices..

[@justin188541]

Foamstars with 5 week seasons so it's $6.99 every month and a week to get one new character and new skins and emotes and banners for your player card.

[@JasonwithaJay]

Brilliant guys. We need more gamer influencers championing this course of action

[@ClarkyLee]

Regarding whales, I used to work at a company that monetized whale players. There still needs to be a balance to design the experience well enough that free users can somewhat enjoy the game and help with other metrics critical for free to play games (enough active users for a saturated player economy, keep up app store ratings for discoverability and new user perceptions, etc). But some of the games we had VIP programs that were a line of contact to whale players to fix their issues as top priorities. It's like just enough that the typical gamer can see some enjoyment, but in future updates, we (the game devs) are just trying to pick their pocket with more dark patterns. In hindsight, I didn't enjoy working on those games or playing them. It's a shameful stain on the game industry on what we've ended up moving towards.

[@lycanwarrior2137]

Every company works like this. They prioritize their most profitable customers. It's the so-called "80-20" rule in effect. Hate to say it, but is just smart business at the end of the day.

[@ClarkyLee]

@@lycanwarrior2137 Definitely, hurts to read it as well for an industry that makes stuff we all love! I'm cheering on the indie darlings that have their priorities set up differently.

[@waywardgun]

I miss the days of Battlefield premium pass, sure it was roughly the same as buying an entirely new game but would give you access to each expansion which would be like 4 maps at a time, a bunch of new weapons, vehicles AND cosmetics. Plus the DLC maps in 3, 4 & 1 are arguabley better than the base game ones. I can see why people moved away from that model, unfortunately, as you can put in far less time & effort making skins that earn you a boatload more money.

[@tio8194]

HELLDIVERS 2 tho

[@oniresurrect6969]

I stand with you no more digital content for me at all.

[@miyaux2023]

That damned Michael Transactions ruining games again!

[@Artreas01]

Unfortunately the Whale problem will never go away. I expect any of us have experienced it in any number of playthroughs of games that have an in-game currency with upgrades - once you have so much currency, you buy up everything without much thought. That is everyday life for these Whales... Luckly, as Lawrence/Bruces closing thoughts in the video mentioned, there are so many games being released that have so much quality without the MTXs. Whales won't be able to play every single game as there is a limited amount of them, so all the rest of us can do is be smart with our purchases and celebrate what we enjoy to encourage Devs to do more of that.

[@intalek305]

MTX are not the problem. Buying games from companies that have already shown you repeatedly they don't care about their games is the problem. Also fact is, vast majority of players are your Fortnite/Call of Duty/FIFA/NBA2K players and virtually NONE of them are paying attention to games outside of those spectrums. You want them to stop buying microtransactions you might as well ask them to stop playing those games. Good luck on that, but the people who care about the influence of MTX like you and me ain't watching these videos. They don't care about games that much, and don't even know most times that other games could give them way better experiences they think most games are just like that. I mean I was literally in a PS5 party of 14 people, all playing GTA, COD, and Dead by Daylight. None of them has played the Witcher 3, in fact only 2 of the 14 people had even heard of the Witcher, saying "isn't that a Netflix series? I didn't know it was a game." That is where we are really at.

[@thomascartwright1699]

I'm a massive star wars fan and more than likely will buy Outlaw but this podcast has talked me into only buying the base game

[@AnamolHouse]

Honestly i don't have a problem with early access. Its whatever it doesn't bother my personal experience other than waiting a week to play something. But shit like battlepasses I HATE. I had to stop playing CoD because i got so tired of downloading 100GB just for sinks that I will never use and take me out of the game. I think its telling that 3 of the buggest game this year were games made by independents that really had no micro transactions (and the only one that did helldiver's actually has a VERY fair transactions and makes sure no one completely misses out)

[@iEpicus89]

Bruce mentioned that you can play a free-to-play game without spending a dime. While that's very true, I've come across two mobile games (Phone Destroyer, and King of Fighter '98 UM OL) where you hit a wall where you can't progress in the game or get stronger than an online player who has purchased micro-transactions. With this wall, I stopped playing these games due to the inability to progress and I enjoyed these games, too! 😒