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[PCgamesn] Every Take-Two game will have microtransactions from now on

7K views 77 replies 60 participants last post by  votum 
#1 ·
Quote:
--0110
Take-Two are wholeheartedly embracing the games-as-services model, and plan to only release games with "some ability to engage on an ongoing basis" and "recurrent consumer spending" options - that is, microtransactions - from now on.

"We aim to have recurrent consumer spending options for every title that we put out at this company. It may not always be an online model. It probably won't always be a virtual currency model, but there'll be some ability to engage on an ongoing basis with our titles after release across the board.

"That's a sea change in our business. Recurrent consumer spending is 42% of our net bookings in the quarter. It's been transformative for us, and the only reason it's transformative for us is because it's transformative to our consumers. The business that once upon a time was a big, chunky opportunity to engage for tens of hours, or perhaps 100 hours, has turned into ongoing engagement, day-after-day, week-after-week. You fall in love with these titles and they become part of your daily life."
source
 
#8 ·
Given that the quality of their games still hold up, microtransactions will continue to provide a large revenue stream.

Once the content begins to suffer, or be stripped apart and resold, consumers will realize whats going on.

If people had an issue with this model already, then GTA V would of been boycotted. However, it was met with open arms. Even on PC where modding was killed.

Yes, there is a core community, that I am apart of, that believes this is ruining their games. I haven't touched GTA V online and I never will. I know MANY others who feel the same. Yet, it's the best selling game of all time.

It will take many many years of malpractice for the developer and publisher to understand that this is wrong.

However, the majority of consumers are saying we want this. This is why the industry is the way it is today.

It's reactive design, not proactive.
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by tpi2007 View Post

I'm glad I didn't embark on the GTA V train. Didn't buy it and didn't play it.
You missed out on a great game.
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Setzer View Post

Crash and burn Take Two.
Unfortunately they probably won't. The current and next gen of gamers are being conditioned by mobile games to expext microtransactions as common place in games. Even all the moba games are making it common place also. As older games keep saying they will vote with their wallet and expect the companies to suffer, it seems to me they forget they are not the target audience anymore and have no more power.
 
#12 ·
This honestly doesn't bother me. Its always things like cosmetics anyways, and thats pretty much the norm for DLC right now. If its a non competitive game, i dont care if someone buys something to give them an edge in their game.... it doesn't effect me, so let them have their fun. If there are leaderboards or anything competitive about the game, micro trans should only be Cosmetic. For instance, the new south park games has micro transactions (i think), and if there is something someone can pay 5$ for to get the super awesome weapon or whatever.... why should I care? I know i will never buy it because it makes it takes the fun out of my experience. If there was a cool outfit i could buy for 5$, I DONT NEED IT, but if i think its super awesome and i must have it... sure why not. Day 1 DLC is dumb for sure, but with cosmetics is it really a problem?

I see people against it on principle, but i dont think they think of it in the situations. Micro transactions are fine in moderation.
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrzev View Post

This honestly doesn't bother me. Its always things like cosmetics anyways, and thats pretty much the norm for DLC right now. If its a non competitive game, i dont care if someone buys something to give them an edge in their game.... it doesn't effect me, so let them have their fun. If there are leaderboards or anything competitive about the game, micro trans should only be Cosmetic. For instance, the new south park games has micro transactions (i think), and if there is something someone can pay 5$ for to get the super awesome weapon or whatever.... why should I care? I know i will never buy it because it makes it takes the fun out of my experience. If there was a cool outfit i could buy for 5$, I DONT NEED IT, but if i think its super awesome and i must have it... sure why not. Day 1 DLC is dumb for sure, but with cosmetics is it really a problem?

I see people against it on principle, but i dont think they think of it in the situations. Micro transactions are fine in moderation.
I understand the gist of what you're saying but there is another issue here.

They locked out users from being able to create their own content and servers (See previous GTA's modding community) to build this microtransaction system.

Their philosophy is not to allow the community to have fun with their games anymore. Not to see what they do. Now it's to control the community.

Now, under further control by the publisher, the developer does not prioritize meaningful content.

If they did, they'd put 1000's of hours of work into DLC campaigns for GTA V. Just like IV's Ballad of Gay Tony or their other expansions.

And sure, fine, if you forget all of that and you just look at it for what it is. Face value, it's just cosmetic DLC. But Take Two just said themsleves, this is what they're focusing on developing. Day after day, years after release.

You may not see it now, but wait. Soon games like RDR2 and other titles will have base shallower games that they can release sooner.

I don't know about you but I would rather buy into a community driven game knowing new, meaningful content will come down the line.

Look at The Witcher 3. Blood and Wine?! Fantastic content! Where are these expansions for GTA V? I'll gladly spend $20 on that.

However, they been proven, by their own revenue, that they can continue to make cars and skins, and generate more money.

So screw it. You want to see what happens to these characters? Too bad, they're not worth out time anymore. Enjoy the skins and cars, that community members used to make for free, from us and continue paying us for it.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by p4inkill3r View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by tpi2007 View Post

I'm glad I didn't embark on the GTA V train. Didn't buy it and didn't play it.
You missed out on a great game.
The single-player? Probably, but I've got so many great games that I still haven't gotten around to playing that I really don't miss out on this one. The problem with their intended approach is that it limits from the outset the creative direction. Games will always have to be designed with certain hooks - quantified to the micro-milking cent - in mind. There are games that they won't make because they can't fit micro-transactions in them or they will forcefully shoehorn them in and tarnish the game's character. I don't like the principle, the premise of it; I don't feel like I'm playing a game, rather the game is playing me into spending more money.

Quote:
Originally Posted by starliner View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Setzer View Post

Crash and burn Take Two.
Unfortunately they probably won't. The current and next gen of gamers are being conditioned by mobile games to expext microtransactions as common place in games. Even all the moba games are making it common place also. As older games keep saying they will vote with their wallet and expect the companies to suffer, it seems to me they forget they are not the target audience anymore and have no more power.
This is true. Luckily, the way the system works means that these big studios are risk averse and thus many of the first games that end up leading to a successful franchise were and still are made by smaller studios that still think differently and add something fulfilling rather than fast food games produced according to the Ford Model T principles that leave me feeling a little empty inside at the end of it.

But you're right, I'm certainly not the target demographic for this kind of thing. GTA V has a "Mixed" 65% overall reviews on Steam, but other people are still buying it and it's still regularly being sold at the full 59,99€, this for a game that is more than two and a half years old (the PC version; the others are even older).
 
#15 ·
I'm still buying stand alone full games. Even if it means waiting a year for a GOTY version etc.
If they bring half arsed games just to force micro-transactions to get the full experience, and request full payment as well, I will not buy a single game from them.

The only games I accept to have micro-transactions as actual part of the game, are F2P games.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slaughtahouse View Post

However, the majority of consumers are saying we want this. This is why the industry is the way it is today.

It's reactive design, not proactive.
I don't think saying consumers want it is quite correct, it's more a case that it's more profitable and people will tolerate it.

If you can get people to spend £5.00 for a virtual currency, which they can then trade for some type of cosmetic loot drop items, that is a much easier sell with far less development work involved than the full £20.00 - £30.00 involved in traditional game expansions.

Maybe they'll lose 5% of their player base, but they more than make up for it if average sales per user reaches £15.00 - £20.00 or so. Then of course there are the so-called "whales" that drop thousands on these kind of luck based micro-transactions and cosmetic drops.

One thing that does concern me, and that I believe should be regulated, is that a lot of these practices leverage the same tactics as gambling.

Chance based drops, mini-rewards and time limited rewards (with paid unlocks) are all used to create a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement that you'd more commonly find in slot machines. All designed to generate little bursts of dopamine and reinforce opening those cosmetic packs/loot drops or whatever as positive behaviour.

I'm not sure if a study has already been done on this, but it wouldn't surprise me if people that played these games frequently were not only vulnerable to becoming addicted to the in-game rewards themselves but also become predisposed to developing more severe gambling addictions.
 
#18 ·
I bought a "One for all" remote and it turns out I need to use a phone app to get updated codes and additional functions. Of cause the support for my Yamaha RV-571 receiver are just some random function put on number buttons, yes I can select Hdmi 5 input but what about 1-4? Have they, on purpose, stunted the product to force the use of the app? These kind of things will make it more and more difficult to use my money, ironically.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by starliner View Post

Unfortunately they probably won't. The current and next gen of gamers are being conditioned by mobile games to expext microtransactions as common place in games. Even all the moba games are making it common place also. As older games keep saying they will vote with their wallet and expect the companies to suffer, it seems to me they forget they are not the target audience anymore and have no more power.
This, our "era" is long gone. Also there's something with the term "recurring consumer" that rolls in my mouth. In that article, the words "gamers", "fun" and "enjoy" are nowhere to be seen and I don't expect to see it in any time soon in other articles like that. Well played publishers, you managed to change a fun hobby into an accountant wet dream. Even if that won't make a difference, I will continue to vote with my wallet. As amazing as Battlefront II looks and as much I like RDR, these 2 games won't join the rank of my collection. I was a big fan of Mass Effect and Deus Ex and with all the stunts EA and Square pulled, I did not gave Andromeda and Mankind Divided a chance and not interested in doing so in the future either.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by NihilOC View Post

One thing that does concern me, and that I believe should be regulated, is that a lot of these practices leverage the same tactics as gambling.

Chance based drops, mini-rewards and time limited rewards (with paid unlocks) are all used to create a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement that you'd more commonly find in slot machines. All designed to generate little bursts of dopamine and reinforce opening those cosmetic packs/loot drops or whatever as positive behaviour.

I'm not sure if a study has already been done on this, but it wouldn't surprise me if people that played these games frequently were not only vulnerable to becoming addicted to the in-game rewards themselves but also become predisposed to developing more severe gambling addictions.
Previous regulatory efforts went as far as British parliament. The response from them last month was that "only games where items can be exchanged for real money would fall under the purview of Britain's Gambling Commission" (source)

As for why this has even proliferated, the industry claims its not making enough money with the $60 a game business model. Sounds like classic greed...
 
#21 ·
I've stopped caring about gaming in recent years, just spending more time outside with friends/family and hanging out with real people instead. The gaming market is just a huge cash cow now. The most use i've gotten out of my Titan X Pascal is MadVR processing while watching TV Shows.

CD Projekt RED is the only AAA company I trust anymore, and there's a few indie developers that are great.. but overall gaming just isn't worth the cost and time anymore.
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by lombardsoup View Post

Previous regulatory efforts went as far as British parliament. The response from them last month was that "only games where items can be exchanged for real money would fall under the purview of Britain's Gambling Commission" (source)
Hah, that sounds like a very long winded way for them to say "we realise it's an issue, but we're not going to do anything yet."

Quote:
Originally Posted by lombardsoup View Post

As for why this has even proliferated, the industry claims its not making enough money with the $60 a game business model. Sounds like classic greed...
You can't really blame them, with something like this the additional revenue is immense with very little added cost. Developers that don't do it are disadvantaging themselves, and rendering themselves vulnerable to competition from less scrupulous developers.

Take two said in the statement in this article micro-transactions now constitute 42% of their revenue. Given that if I was running a company I'd make sure all my games could be monetised in this manner.

That also means this is something the market won't correct for, even if it's unpopular with the majority of consumers, so if it can be shown to be a damaging practice it should be regulated.
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by NihilOC View Post

You can't really blame them, with something like this the additional revenue is immense with very little added cost. Developers that don't do it are disadvantaging themselves, and rendering themselves vulnerable to competition from less scrupulous developers.

Take two said in the statement in this article micro-transactions now constitute 42% of their revenue. Given that if I was running a company I'd make sure all my games could be monetised in this manner.

That also means this is something the market won't correct for, even if it's unpopular with the majority of consumers, so if it can be shown to be a damaging practice it should be regulated.
I'd love to see an in depth breakdown of their spending in that regard. Tax filings would be even better. Something stinks...
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by lombardsoup View Post

I'd love to see an in depth breakdown of their spending in that regard. Tax filings would be even better. Something stinks...
Do you mean their user's spending, or Take-Two's?

Because I would really like to see data on the number of users that make in-game purchases. Frequency of purchases, average (mean and mode) amount spent and what the upper bound on user spending is.

Ironically that's the kind of data that would be necessary to establish whether it's a harmful practice, and the only companies with access to it are the ones with every reason not to share it.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by frickfrock999 View Post

Be honest.

Knowing this, will you still buy Red Dead Redemption 2?
Nope, after GTAV hacking and their refusal to actually fix the issue? Nah. Getting money dumped on me then having my entire bank account emptied because they didn't know how much i actually made? They can bite it.
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by NihilOC View Post

Do you mean their user's spending, or Take-Two's?

Because I would really like to see data on the number of users that make in-game purchases. Frequency of purchases, average (mean and mode) amount spent and what the upper bound on user spending is.

Ironically that's the kind of data that would be necessary to establish whether it's a harmful practice, and the only companies with access to it are the ones with every reason not to share it.
Take-Two's. If there's any meaningful amount of wasteful spending, the claims that microtransactions are 'necessary' for them to survive are BS.
 
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