Whether it be movies, TV shows, video games, or some other entertainment medium, there will always be a divide between the people “at the top,” those making the products, and those who buy the products. That divide is natural due to how things work within these industries, but the true “divide” is when the ones at the top two levels think they know so much more than those at the third level, the consumer, that they keep pushing their own agendas, even when the consumers beg them to stop. Microtransactions in the gaming space are one such example of this happening.
At first, microtransactions were small, and they rarely ever showed up in gaming due to them being a new concept. However, once certain developers realized that they could “make serious money” off of them, they kept pumping them into every one of the titles they made, and now, there are whole titles based on the “pay to get the good stuff” model.
Fans have made it clear just how much they hate these micropayments, especially after they pay full price for a video game, only to need to pay more afterward. However, certain developers and publishers “don’t care,” an they continue to make them. That being said, at DevCom, Dexerto decided to interview a whole bunch of developers and asked them if they felt these payment-filled titles were necessary to make a game successful, and the reply was interesting:
So, what does this tell us? Honestly, it tells us that many developers hate microtransactions just as much as the gamers do! Now, as some pointed out in the comments, we don’t know who exactly was interviewed, how many were interviewed, and that developers don’t always have the final say about these payment options. Often, it’s the publisher who has the final say in that, or asks for these kinds of payments to be put into the games.
That being said, it reveals a lot that so many don’t feel you need microtransactions just to have a successful video game title. The irony is that this has been proven for decades, including in recent years! Numerous best-selling video game titles don’t have cosmetics, loot boxes, or even DLC at times! Nintendo has had hit after hit without any live-service elements, while other live-service games have seen serious drops in players since the title’s launch.
Until the higher-ups see the mistakes they’re making, though, these kinds of tactics will continue in the gaming space.
