say it with me people
- games charging for non-game-essential goods and services IS NOT “predatory”
For the love of everything that’s holy, please look up this word–lots of you dont seem to know what it means.
2 Likes
Well while you all are at it, also look up virtual currencies in games. You know what? I looked it up for you. And here it is:
"Predatory virtual currency in games
involves manipulative tactics like hidden costs, layered currencies, and time-limited offers to pressure players (especially children) into spending more than intended, which cause financial harm. Regulators, like those in the EU, are cracking down, forcing more transparency and better disclosure to protect vulnerable consumers from these “addictive designs”.
Oh my, and just look at what Blizz wants to do with Wow:
Yes, if you dont like the game you shouldnt pay for it. WoW is doing just fine monetarily and they have millions of players. It will be alright.
you googled a term with your own biased adjective in it and got that as a result? Color me surprised (eyeroll)
Predatory means that you are somehow forced into choices where neither one are “good for you” in the long run. Predatory ISN”T where you’re presented with a choice that COULD be negative for you in the long run but you still have the choice to not participate or to do something else.
I just made an amazing house and didnt spend a dime. I have been playing for 22 years at this point and I have most of the “achievement” decor. I also don’t need to make some Gallywix Pleasure Palace as a home and be mad that I can’t afford it or something.
These constant posts in every game’s forums where people complain about OPTIONAL systems having a cost just boggle my mind.
Maybe if people weren’t trying to own 238190383209483204809 games or hell, stayed within their budget, they wouldn’t be so upset.
It’s not “predatory” to “monetize” an optional side-quest/cosmetic system. If anything, it’s smart for their bottom line.
You dont have to participate.
1 Like
You just don’t get how bad this is for a lot of players do you. You yourself are extremely biased pro the company or just naive.
I’m neither of those things, but please continue to fling insults when someone doesn’t agree with you.
- I understand how business works, whether or not i “like” that is irrelevant
- If I was going to criticize the game’s business model, I’d start with the fact that we STILL have a box price + a monthly sub, yet ALL of the customer service we had is gone and the development team is what? maybe a third of what size it used to be. So what EXACTLY are we paying for?
- Simply put–this is the issue to complain about, not blizzard putting in some optional system (which they have on ALL their games) where you can buy customizations for your non-game-essential systems.
1 Like
Ok, then, that is a good point, “What exactly are we paying for” Well. What is happening is that Wow has lost so many subscriptions over the years that Blizz is desperate to increase profits, specially with the parent company breathing down their necks. So they decrease staff, and add predatory monetization models to increase profits.
This type of thing does not bode well from an economic perspective or player trust.
Also think about this: If we are already paying for the ability to play Wow on a monthly bases. WHY should in-game items? These things should be accessible to all of us who pay a subscription as attainable through in-game questing and loot drops.
what is predatory about the housing items?
The aggressive cash shop & gambling boxes within ESO is very easy to ignore. Also, the subscription is not mandatory. I’ve played a lot of ESO, and never once care to get the Subscription. Don’t need it.
I would rather have that model because the negatives can easily be ignored and I am able to pay for what I want within the MMO rather than having to worry about a monthly fee, which yes. $15 isn’t much but can stack up overtime if I want to play the game consistently, or I just stack it with other monthly fees that I want to have for my own gaming hobbies.
The monthly subscription is why I only play WoW rarely and sparingly because I want to make sure I am in a mood for it so that I will play it quite a bit for a month or two before I back out again and do other things. With ESO, even if I am not in a mood to heavily play it… I can still get on it freely, maybe do a few dailies, and get off. Since there is no subscription requirement for me to worry about.
Nothing in the game we pay a subscription for should be sold for extra real world money.
The cash-shop should not even exist.
that’s a whole different ball of wax but also just doesn’t work from a real-world business perspective.
Wow would not sustain increasing the sub price without losing people; the only way to increase revenue would be to subsidize it with the optional systems. Practically every game does this and has for years. I crack up when streamers call the people who participate in this system “whales,” because most of them time, they are those whales, they just want people to think they’re not so they dont lose credibility (with whom? i dont know)
Again, since it’s optional and not required, I dont think it’s predatory hon.
And when Blizzard removes something from the game, the price of what is left remains the same, but the value has gone down. For instance, Pet Battling.
Removing features while charging the same is essentially increasing the price.
they haven’t though.
What they HAVE done is continue to try (and fail) to decrease the active xpac duration, which to me makes the box price unacceptable.
To be fair it is getting a little much IMO. But there is a whole group who fork over the money so 
I would respectfully ask you to please read this entire thread because many people have posted about how predatory game monetization models actually work. If you don’t want to do that, then please google the topic so you can get your own informational results. Thanks.
I have,..no one has proven or made any statements that show that you’re forced to participate in these systems.
1 Like
Ok then. Here is what you are missing. These predatory monetization models prey on players from a psychological subliminal perspective.
Try to convince the people who used to enjoy pet battling that they don’t have less to do now.
I agree that decreasing the time between expansions while maintaining expansion price is a profit move. Also remember that as development time has decreased the quality of content and features players see has declined.
TL;DR:
- Identify a player demographic that can be manipulated to become addicted to some aspect of the game, using standard industry psychological techniques backed by scientific research;
- Manipulate the heck out of them, to make them play more and spend more. Push them to the limit, even though it will result in burnout on the top end and turn off on the other.
Your wall of text does not change actual facts. For instance, we can go on about global warming and weather patterns but if you called the Earth a Cube then that comment is still wrong.
You made a mistake. You thought you were being clever by using the word Vapourware. That is not what Vapourware means. Just own it and move on.
No matter, for I can tell, you are under the delusion the world is flat.
I was making an analogy. Tis a pity you have trouble understanding what you read.