This is the business model of
many free-to-play games.
For instance: Overwatch relies on whales to purchase their excessively expensive and worthless in-game skins, and fund the business.
For instance: Overwatch relies on whales to purchase their excessively expensive and worthless in-game skins, and fund the business.
I did something similar with World of Warcraft, buying a level boost that I ended up not using, just to "round out my character list." It was a low point in my life and I will never go back to that behavior.
I recognize these games can be used and enjoyed responsibly, just not by me and that's okay.
Hearthstone lowered that barrier significantly, and I still consider it an excellent game, aside from the predatory/monetary trappings. I might still play it if it could be done with real magic at my dinner table with friends, for a one-time flat fee or for the caloric cost to summon all the components, assuming some reasonable magic system.
As it is now, I like playing Cribbage with my wife, and am looking forward to teaching our daughter how to play Chess, Go, Backgammon, Arimaa, and any other game that isn't packaged in a predatory wrap.
Smoker before smoking is widely recognized as an addiction:
> I recognize these herbs can be use and enjoyed responsibly, just not by me and that's okay.
Ok, tbh, not all games and gaming are addictive. Though a big proportion is, with the rest being wasting one's life, as defined by a certain set of moral values. Though that is not yet a crime.
And the odds of the machine were rigged and personalized to you, which is illegal in real gambling
Now you just buy what you want.
Like you go into a store and buy a Gucci wallet. You go into the Overwatch store and buy the latest One Piece Collab.
No slot machine or anything.
Not sure if you're into buying designer stuff, but that industry is going in a similar-ish direction.
People buy a bunch of undesirable crap just so they can be put on the VIP list and maaaaybe get the opportunity to purchase the actually desirable products at a far below market price.
Not sure if Gucci themselves do this, but I know Rolex and at least one of the big handbag brands (Hermes?) operate this way.
It’s not a good fit either: A game company can terminate your account and you lose it all.
Depending on the game, but in some you also cannot resell or transfer your skins. Therefore the only thing of value is the account, but terms of service also make this a non-starter.
What’s consistent here is that the business model revolves around feeding and addiction and relying in said addicts (aka, whales).
Gambling based games like cs:go and genshin absolutely apply to what you’re saying though
Nowadays it's all servers that are only run by the developer, who could just flip a switch tomorrow and tell you "Remember that $80 you spent on Game 1 few years ago? You're gonna have to pay up again for Game 2. Also we're turning off the servers for Game 1."
"Remember that $80 you spent on Game 1 a few years ago? Well, you get Game 2 for free. Also, were turning off the servers for Game 1"
It doesn't sound as wrong but the community still hated it.
It only seems odd if all context is left out.
Blizzard's whole pitch for Overwatch 2 is that it would introduce single player and co-op PvE content. It didn't do that.
Overwatch 2 was much stingier with rewards for gameplay than Overwatch 1.
Overwatch 2 started locking new heroes behind a paywall, where they'd previously been entirely free in Overwatch 1.
Overwatch 2 charged much more for it's items, and limited specific items to bundles in an attempt to force players to spend much more than they would for the item itself.
Overwatch 2 made multiple changes to balance, that weren't always well received.
The sad thing is that people seemed fairly excited for PvE Overwatch. That excitement was strangled through a combination of hubris, corporate greed, and an inability to deliver.
Also, you mention unpopular balance patches, but "Blizzard sucks at balancing" has been a complaint since the early days of OW1 :P I remember when the first Mercy rework dropped... and the Bastion rework... and everything about Brigitte...
The cloest Overwatch has ever gotten to a custom map was when a (offical) OW map designer was desinging a level with his viewers on Twitch one day. Blizzard than later suprised everyone by putting it in the game for a limited time.
The missions they released have nothing in common with what was discussed. PvE was meant to have persistent hero levelling, skill trees, and a proper story. What they eventually released wasn't far off what would've been a seasonal event game mode in the past, in addition to being laughably expensive and horribly broken.
> Also, you mention unpopular balance patches, but "Blizzard sucks at balancing" has been a complaint since the early days of OW1 :P I remember when the first Mercy rework dropped... and the Bastion rework... and everything about Brigitte...
The OW2 changes went beyond a broken hero. They made fundamental changes to the way the game is played with the reduction in team size and changes to tanks.
I discovered OW1 a year before it was ended. I was addicted to this game like I haven't been since I was a teenager. I would sleep and dream of the music.. it was bad.
OW2 came out and it instantly changed things. Tanks were no longer fun to play. I haven't played a single game of OW2 in almost 10 months.