EA Building Microtransactions Into All Its Games

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Electronic Arts seems pretty damn smitten with microtransactions lately, so much so that the company plans to put them in all its upcoming games.

"The digital business is broken up into a couple of pieces, one is pure digital downloads of full games," Jorgensen said during an investor conference call last Tuesday. "The next, and much bigger piece is microtransactions within games. So, to the extent that as [EA CTO Rajat Taneja] said, we're building into all of our games the ability to pay for things along the way, either to get to a higher level, to buy a new character, to buy a truck, a gun; whatever it might be. And consumers are enjoying and embracing that way of the business."
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the "catch" is IMO.. usually when you see a game that uses this method.. it is also free up front, which i seriously doubt EA will be doing
 
Problem is when you put microtransaction into games which are not being continuously develop for a long time the way online MMO does. Games like Dead Space 3 are individual titles with perhaps some DLC (which are not free either) and then you move on to the next sequel. So I'm not sure why EA feels the need to have microtransaction in these games that they still charge $60 bucks anyway.

If they want to make the Star Wars MMO microtransaction-based, fine. But games like Dead Space and Crysis does not need that. These are not games meant for the player to "live in", to grind the way online MMO are.
 
I can see it now. $60 for the game, then $1-5 throughout the game to actually play it.

Fuck EA. I'll never buy another one of their games.
 
two words about microtransactions in games.


No Thanks.

IF the game is good i will buy it. however the second i have to buy an item/content to finish the game, is the day i stop buying games.
 
And by "enjoying and embracing" we mean with torches and pitchforks.
 
ninjaturtle said:
Ninja edit:
I can see this to maybe restrict pirates since they can't pay do to not having a legit copy.
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The pirate version wont have any DRM so micro-transactions will be stripped too. Sounds like the preferred distribution platform to me.
 
Disgusting. Yet somehow people keep throwing money at these companies for this crap? DLC, micro transactions, paying $60 is a joke nowadays for not even a complete game. I think the last time I paid full price for a game was Dark Souls, and that's been it for the past 4 years. I feel bad for the programmers and actual people who LIKE to make video games being forced to put in this crap from higher ups who just care about emptying the pockets of its customers.
 
And consumers are enjoying and embracing that way of the business."
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I would like to see these customers, whatever fucking focus group they held where they found this to be the case. If this was a matter of a free, or EXTREMELY cheap game (< $20) with a series of microtransactions ok sure maybe. But if I pay full price for a game, and oh hey on day one of me playing Simcity, I'm laying down a firehouse, then notice a greyed out "Advanced Firehouse" with a popup that says for 2.99 I can get the advanced social buildings pack, then EA go fuck yourself.

This is the true reasoning behind the "always-online" requirements of games, it has zero to do with piracy, it has zero to do with any multiplayer or interactive nature of the game, it has everything to do with being able to control everything about your game and make this plan more feasible, Blizzard opened a Pandora's box of fuckall and now other major companies are looking to exploit it as well.
 
I can see it now. Madden NFL 14: "Congratulations on finishing the regular season. Download the Postseason Pack now for only $9.95! Don't forget the Superbowl Add-On also only $9.95!"
 
Super-D said:
I can see it now. Madden NFL 14: "Congratulations on finishing the regular season. Download the Postseason Pack now for only $9.95! Don't forget the Superbowl Add-On also only $9.95!"
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You forgot...

$4.99 for 5.1 Sound instead of 2 speakers.
$12.99 for real NFL decals
$7.99 for HD face textures
$2.99 to play another season
 
I have a feeling that this will backfire. Doubling down on micro-transactions in "everything" is going to piss a lot of people off. At least be more tactical about it. i.e. this game could benefit both us and the end user if we do it, this one not so much. There you go, I'm a business man who cares, not a greedy c-word. yay!
 
I haven't bought a game from them since the original Crysis in 2007 and I haven't planned to either.
 
All this does is either make people not buy their games or wait a year or two for it to all get bundled for one price. These companies keep reporting record development costs and with the exception of a handful of games I just don't see it. We have some very antiquated game engines out there, and the overall base content of the game keeps shrinking. Besides inflation most of the growing costs are the useless management teams and the shareholer's greed.

EA hasn't gotten my money in a while. As soon as they started requiring an Origins account I stopped buying. I really want to play Mass Effect 3 and Deadspace 3 and would have gladly paid full price for both had they been avalible on Steam or GOG. I don't want to be forced to use their service. If they want their own digital download service that is fine but don't try to artificially stimate it.
 
Ha, I havent bought a single EA game in a long time. I dont know where they are getting data from but I speak with my wallet and true to my word I have not given them a single cent since battlefield 3 and origin + the online interface bs is annoying and pissed me off so no more for you EA.
 
As long as they understand that no matter how attractive a new game title is to me, I am never again letting Origin be installed on any of my computers. Every time in the past that I fell for and "obvious" must have title like BF3, it became evident that they succeeded in making the game bad. So, apart from EA making "can't miss" titles broken and boring, they have bound them to a service so frustratingly bad that even if they made the best game in the world, it wouldn't be worth it.

I'm guessing more and more people are eventually going to learn this. The last one to catch on will be EA.
 
I want to know up front, before you try and sell me a pre order:
- what is going to be for sale and how much will it cost
- When will (fill in platform) get said DLC / Micro stuff

I'm not falling for that oh, yeah platform X is getting it first then Y then Z.

Please don't let them ruin the BF series or DICE for that matter
 
I know exactly where they get this microtransaction idea from and why they think they need it or that players like and want it.

World of Tanks, WoT is a MMO based free to play, tank combat game. The download and updates are all free. You start with a Tier 1 tank from each nation which currently is US, USSR, Britan, Germany, France, and China. As you level your tanks the grind slowly builds and by around Teir 8 it get's hard to even keep your tanks repaired and stocked with ammo. At this point you have to decide how you will continue but the trick is you don't have to keep going, you could sit at Teir 5 and happily just play the game with your 6 tanks.

The major content in the game though is Clan Wars which is mostly all Teir 10 and that costs real money to be competative.

Almost everything in the game costs Credits(Silver), but there are things that cost Gold(bought online with real money. Some are smart buys and a big help, some are convience buys for those who don't want to just work for it. Their are special events that can net you some gold, but owning land in Clan Wars is the primary method other then just outright buying it.

WoT won the Golden Joystick award this year for best MMO.
 
lcpiper said:
I know exactly where they get this microtransaction idea from and why they think they need it or that players like and want it.

World of Tanks, WoT is a MMO based free to play, tank combat game. The download and updates are all free. You start with a Tier 1 tank from each nation which currently is US, USSR, Britan, Germany, France, and China. As you level your tanks the grind slowly builds and by around Teir 8 it get's hard to even keep your tanks repaired and stocked with ammo. At this point you have to decide how you will continue but the trick is you don't have to keep going, you could sit at Teir 5 and happily just play the game with your 6 tanks.

The major content in the game though is Clan Wars which is mostly all Teir 10 and that costs real money to be competative.

Almost everything in the game costs Credits(Silver), but there are things that cost Gold(bought online with real money. Some are smart buys and a big help, some are convience buys for those who don't want to just work for it. Their are special events that can net you some gold, but owning land in Clan Wars is the primary method other then just outright buying it.

WoT won the Golden Joystick award this year for best MMO.
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They got the idea from mobile gaming. There's a new "web based strategy" game released on Android that forces you to wait hours for stuff to build or pay money to get it done now.
 
I can't honestly think of the last EA title I purchased or played - I think it may have been BF:BC2 on steam.

I refused to use Origin, and have yet to install it. I have no intention to. At this point in time, I dont feel like I'm missing anything at all not playing EA games - With the exception on BC2, I dont know another EA title off the top of my head that I actually enjoyed until i start heading back 5+ years into my games.

This is just another move that further enforces that I will not purchase another EA title in the forseeable future until they turn completely around - Which I dont see happening.
 
HydroBudz said:
Fuck EA. I'll never buy another one of their games today.
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Fixed again. This is why EA will continue to do whatever they want. People never put their money where their mouth it. If the sequel to your favorite game comes out and it just happens to be made by EA, you are going to buy it.

I don't really have a problem with this, though. EA has annoyed me in the past, but I won't buy a game, if it has features I disagree with.
 
"Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen is pretty sold on the idea of microtransactions as a business model."

NO KIDDING?! :rolleyes:
 
EA used to make good games, but honestly, that EA is dying or dead.

The microtransactions are only good for the "freemium" model, and even then it's abused to hell. The best example of this model is Dead Trigger for Android. You can play the game without any real problem without paying anything, but if you want some weapons faster, you can pay to get them faster. More importantly, though, you can earn them without paying a cent. And it's fun to do so.

A full $60 game should NOT require you to spend more money to get objects in the game. Dead Space 3 has a mechanic where you get to build guns from parts you find. Parts in general are extremely rare in the game, and they offer the parts as a micro transaction. That is REAL bullshit.
 
In Just Cause 2 there were optional guns and vehicles to buy, do those count as micro-transactions?

EA is pretty bad, but I don't really care if the main game has shotgun, M-16, sniper rifle, pistol but for fees players can get the plasma cannon, gatling gun, railgun, bazooka, nano rifle, etc.
 
1174g3r.jpg
 
ballistic90 said:
A full $60 game should NOT require you to spend more money to get objects in the game. Dead Space 3 has a mechanic where you get to build guns from parts you find. Parts in general are extremely rare in the game, and they offer the parts as a micro transaction. That is REAL bullshit.
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Was that how it worked in Deus Ex: Human Revolution?
 
The demographic they are shooting for, will probably eat this up. 1.99 here 2.99 there.
I can see player x getting owned by player z, then player x buys better armor or weapons to get back at player z.
instant gratification/ level upgrade.
sounds like a goldmine.
 
hpglow said:
All this does is either make people not buy their games or wait a year or two for it to all get bundled for one price. These companies keep reporting record development costs and with the exception of a handful of games I just don't see it. We have some very antiquated game engines out there, and the overall base content of the game keeps shrinking. Besides inflation most of the growing costs are the useless management teams and the shareholer's greed.

EA hasn't gotten my money in a while. As soon as they started requiring an Origins account I stopped buying. I really want to play Mass Effect 3 and Deadspace 3 and would have gladly paid full price for both had they been avalible on Steam or GOG. I don't want to be forced to use their service. If they want their own digital download service that is fine but don't try to artificially stimate it.
Click to expand...

I held out on ME2 for so long ME3 had been out for a month, got the deluxe version for $9 off Amazon (awesome 24 hour sale price digital copy), after all the important DLC was purchased, it was $4 more than the current price of the standard edition ($32 at the time), only did that because I wasn't expecting a trilogy set any time soon and I already had ME1.

After getting burned with Dragon Age by spending $70 on DLC and the expansion, they brought out the ultimate edition for $50. The only time I will buy an EA game that requires DLC for a complete story, is when they go on sale for $15 or less, oh I'm sure it's hurting someone down the line, but I can't help but shaft EA on their current idea of making money, and if enough of us act this way they might pay attention...And they want an extra $10 when the new consoles come out!???
 
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