Nothing inside a video game should cost real money.
Ban the entire business model.
Entertainment is a tool for emotional manipulation - usually toward enjoyment. Fiction seeks suspension of disbelief and attachment to completely artificial interests and goals. Charging actual currency for anything under that fiction is an abuse. It’s exploiting your brain’s fuzzy separation of wants. However much you desire a goal in soccer, it’s just a ball going through some posts. It has no economic utility. There is no exchange rate between score and hamburgers.
Maximizing that mistake is the entire driving force of this industry-swallowing abuse. It’s half of all revenue. Boycotts don’t work. It’s in $70, flagship-franchise, single-player games. It costs nothing to add, even in games you already bought. Only legislation will fix this.
Now the usual excuses.
‘Just don’t pay them.’ The entire game is expertly crafted to make you crave whatever they’re charging for. Games make you value arbitrary nonsense - that’s what makes them games. Gently convincing you over time is the developer’s job.
‘You want it for free!’ You want it ‘for free.’ I want people to buy games. Like how it worked for forty years straight.
‘But servers need money.’ This shit’s in World Of Warcraft - a subscription MMO. You think Blizzard is hurting?
‘But arcades–’ were renting someone else’s machine. Your own phone doesn’t get to charge you a quarter per minute.
‘But cosmetics–’ are still an engineered desire which can be denied until you pay more money.
‘But budgets–’ follow revenue, always always always. It has never been easier to make a game. Companies choose to spend millions because they expect to make billions.
‘Well it’s better value.’ This bullshit makes them more money… and they get the money from you… so this “free” bullshit costs you more money. You get it? In no reality should it be possible to pay the price of a whole-ass game for one imaginary hat.
Nothing inside a video game should cost real money.
Ban the entire business model.
Entertainment is a tool for emotional manipulation - usually toward enjoyment. Fiction seeks suspension of disbelief and attachment to completely artificial interests and goals. Charging actual currency for anything under that fiction is an abuse. It’s exploiting your brain’s fuzzy separation of wants. However much you desire a goal in soccer, it’s just a ball going through some posts. It has no economic utility. There is no exchange rate between score and hamburgers.
Maximizing that mistake is the entire driving force of this industry-swallowing abuse. It’s half of all revenue. Boycotts don’t work. It’s in $70, flagship-franchise, single-player games. It costs nothing to add, even in games you already bought. Only legislation will fix this.
Now the usual excuses.
‘Just don’t pay them.’ The entire game is expertly crafted to make you crave whatever they’re charging for. Games make you value arbitrary nonsense - that’s what makes them games. Gently convincing you over time is the developer’s job.
‘You want it for free!’ You want it ‘for free.’ I want people to buy games. Like how it worked for forty years straight.
‘But servers need money.’ This shit’s in World Of Warcraft - a subscription MMO. You think Blizzard is hurting?
‘But arcades–’ were renting someone else’s machine. Your own phone doesn’t get to charge you a quarter per minute.
‘But cosmetics–’ are still an engineered desire which can be denied until you pay more money.
‘But budgets–’ follow revenue, always always always. It has never been easier to make a game. Companies choose to spend millions because they expect to make billions.
‘Well it’s better value.’ This bullshit makes them more money… and they get the money from you… so this “free” bullshit costs you more money. You get it? In no reality should it be possible to pay the price of a whole-ass game for one imaginary hat.