"Pay to Play" Games are Egregious and Need To Go Away

[x Tame Impala]

A catch all thread on P2P games would be better than taking over the SWBF2 thread so here it is...

This is sadly becoming more and more popular with big games and it needs to be called out for the scam that it is and it can't be supported anymore with our consumer $$$ otherwise it will never go away. I think this Battlefront controversy gives gamers a potential real opportunity to have their outrage actually heard and we should take advantage of this so things don't get worse than they already are.

Click to read more...

 

[Hammettf2b]

The prob is the majority of players that will have SWBF2 will not have heard a damn thing about what is going on right now.

I refused to buy NHL this year because of several things, but the biggest being the need to pay a lot of money in HUT (the only mode I play). I just wont do it anymore.

 

[KingBran]

BF2 isnt pay to play however I agree that its a stupid system. I have said my piece about BF2 in the thread and the long and short of it is that I think its easy to ignore (ive been playing it) and reviewers tend to agree... its got a 79 on metacritic right now.


But I have a couple mobile games that quite literally are pay to pay. They are free then you get to a point where its 'give us money or wait 24 hours to play the next level'

If the game is good id rather just pay $5 for it than pay $2 every other day to move ahead. That said ive never paid to play those games and usually uninstall or wait the 24hrs.

 

[Hammettf2b]

When it comes to "Ultimate Team", I think MLB The Show does it right. There are so many ways to earn really good cards and or stubs (in game currency used to buy players/packs) all of which require 0 real money spent.

 

[Pilky01]

Dont buy them.

I know complaining on internet forums is fun, but the only thing they will listen to is sales.

I don't even own a PS4 or XB1 because all I ever hear about is micro transaction bullshit which kills any enthusiasm I might have for new games.

I will probably crack once Red Dead Redemption 2 comes out because Rockstar seems pretty smart with the way they have implemented in game purchases but games like Battlefront or Forza....games I would have loved 5 years ago, I have zero interest in.

 

[x Tame Impala]

My main experience with "Pay to Play" games has been Hockey Ultimate team and EASHL in the NHL series so I'll just talk about that...

I'll preface this by saying that I've been playing HUT from the beginning (NHL 11) until NHL 16. I was never not in either Division 1 or 2 for the majority of the time I played. I spent hours working the market and I also bought packs with real money like a total chump (I think i spent close to $300 on packs one year).

In regards to HUT it isn't just that people can purchase packs with real money, since we've been able to do that since day 1 in NHL 11, it's that (at least in NHL 16 and 17) there have been major complaints that there isn't enough disparity in attribute effectiveness for players (Little to no difference between say, an 85 OVR Valterri Filpulla and a 90 OVR Duchene, for example) and you don't see a real difference in player effectiveness until you get these legend cards, TOTW cards, special cards, etc...which are EXTREMELY difficult to get just from opening packs. You have to either grind out pucks in the market (which takes a big commitment) or invest a lot of money. So when you couple that with EA's apparently now confirmed manipulation of games through momentum it makes for an artificial competitive experience where people can pour hundreds of dollars into getting collectibles and completing sets so they have super teams that are very difficult to beat when you get into the top 3 Divisions.

HUT gives you "increased chances of rare Gold Cards" in certain packs but those rares were a lot of the times just stock players in the 87-90 OVR range and they had a double-sided problem with them. They were not only nowhere near as effective as the Hero/Special cards, they were insanely similar to the player cards in the lower overall tiers (83-86) range where most players fell into. So I could grind away for weeks, playing games, working the market, and building a team full of high-80's players on it, which I actually liked doing as it was part of the fun of building my team, but then when you get into actually competitive divisions (DIV 1-3) you start going up against players with a lot of skill and a lot of great players.

Originally in the first few years of HUT this wasn't that bad of an issue. You really could beat teams that were better than yours by playing better than your opponent. Now, however, with dynamic difficulty/ice-tilt/momentum/etc...the outcome of the game is less and less in your hands and beating teams full of Bucyk's and Bure's that people built by spending money on packs is a lot more difficult. You have to beat a superior team built with real money AND beat EA's dynamic difficulty.

THIS is "Pay to Play". It sucks. The competition is this inflated mess where you absolutely must have the best players just to have a chance to overcome the randomness EA throws at you.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Dont buy them.

I know complaining on internet forums is fun, but the only thing they will listen to is sales.

I agree completely.

Every year there's a new NHL thread and every year there are plenty of people who say "these games suck and I'm not buying it anymore" and I'd always roll my eyes at them. This year really was the first year that I didn't buy the new NHL game and I really don't think I will again for a very long time.

 

[Pilky01]

I've had a couple of FIFAs and NHLs over the last decade and have NEVER invested serious time into the Ultimate Team stuff. It kind of annoys me when game reviewers focus on that mode because its simply a cash grab. But its a cash grab that can be completely ignored so I have no issue with it.

 

[Dick Sledge]

Since when is a 79 on metacritic for a full priced AAA game considered good?

Do you honestly think even EA (burn in hell EA execs) thinks that's a good score?

 

[McDNicks17]

Microtransactions are far too profitable.

And I would assume pay-to-win content is much cheaper for companies to produce than cosmetic content, so you'll probably start seeing a lot more of it.

 

[syz]

Since when is a 79 on metacritic for a full priced AAA game considered good?

Do you honestly think even EA (burn in hell EA execs) thinks that's a good score?

It's also... not even the real number. 75 on PS4 (28 reviews), 72 on X1 (13 reviews), 79 on PC (4 reviews).

 

[RandV]

Since when is a 79 on metacritic for a full priced AAA game considered good?

Do you honestly think even EA (burn in hell EA execs) thinks that's a good score?

Unfortunately for a game like this it probably does nothing for EA's bottom line but costs some developers/employees (who don't necessarily make these decisions) bonus pay.

While the big companies are going to keep doing it because it's profitable you have to hope that at some point there's a turning point of too many people pissed off/turned away that the whole system collapses.

 

[Tatar Shots]

I think it's going to get much worse. I'm expecting a lot of console games to go F2P with microtransactions. Maybe this happens with the next console cycle.

Look at EA Sports games, the ground work is all there to go F2P. Ultimate Team is already an absolute cash cow. Charge people $9.99 to start or continue a season in career mode. Quick match will be free with cool downs or you can pay to skip the cool down. This is the future of gaming

 

[rangerssharks414]

When it comes to "Ultimate Team", I think MLB The Show does it right. There are so many ways to earn really good cards and or stubs (in game currency used to buy players/packs) all of which require 0 real money spent.

I hardly played the Diamond Dynasty mode, but I agree. You could get packs just by logging in every day. And you get cards after games.

Unfortunately, I think it will get worse because people are willing to pay extra.

 

[Mitchy]

Disney can't be happy with the metacritic userscore. yikes.

That's going to make at least some headlines.

 

[Emperoreddy]

The problem is whales that drop insane money that keeps them profitable. We can vote with our wallets and still lose in the end.

Anthem is going to be an absolute disgrace.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Disney can't be happy with the metacritic userscore. yikes.

That's going to make at least some headlines.

Already happening. BBC did a story on all of this. Forbes and CNBC also did an article about EA’s stock and fears that sales are going to tank.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Good. Let it all burn. Gaming was fine before all of this "freemium" stuff started anyway and EA has been taking advantage of their customers for years

 

[SpookyTsuki]

Good. Let it all burn. Gaming was fine before all of this "freemium" stuff started anyway and EA has been taking advantage of their customers for years

Yeah I’m rooting for the industry to crash. It’ll suck for a few years but I’ll still have my 360 and all my old systems. When it comes back it’ll be better and a lot of the people that spend 900 dollars on this probably won’t care about it anymore. Bonus

Maybe I should root for ea and activision on to crash but that is unlikely for that to happen

 

[Emperoreddy]

The thing that could really blow this all up is the slot machine and gambling label.

On one side you got the watch dogs out there wondering if developers are selling gambling machines to kids.

Add on that even gambling is more transparent then game developers. They legally have to post the odds and can’t just change them on a whim without telling anyone.

 

[Commander Clueless]

While I wholeheartedly dislike lootbox systems and CCGs being shoehorned in wherever possible, and do enjoy yelling about it on the internet, the market is dictating this stuff.

People want it, people buy it. It's that simple.

Not to my taste, but I guess that's what AAA has become.

 

[KingBran]

Since when is a 79 on metacritic for a full priced AAA game considered good?

Do you honestly think even EA (burn in hell EA execs) thinks that's a good score?

A 7.9/10 has always been considered good.

Please, stop trying so hard. People are liking the game.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Dont buy them.

I know complaining on internet forums is fun, but the only thing they will listen to is sales.

Without an outcry about problematic practices, the average consumer will not take notice and the cycle will continue. So complaining on internet forums and other outlets absolutely can affect change in some capacity.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Without an outcry about problematic practices, the average consumer will not take notice and the cycle will continue. So complaining on internet forums and other outlets absolutely can affect change in some capacity.

A combination of voting with your wallet and a public outcry are likely the best methods for encouraging change. That said, I think sales will drop naturally. Logically, people that don't like the game won't buy it.

Problem is, we're in the minority here. The loot box craze is sweeping the globe.

 

[Pilky01]

A 7.9/10 has always been considered good.

Outlets like IGN simply do not give scores below a 5. We all know 7.9 is not a very good score.