Once upon a time, we could unlock all cosmetic items just by playing the game we paid for.
When cosmetic DLCs came around, framed as a way to support the developers it was still somewhat accepted. If you wanted to look pretty, pay a little more. Fine.
But what’s up with all these seasonal passes and whatnot? So, you’re saying I can pay a game for the privilege of working to earn these cosmetics. And there’s a seasonal rotation, so I can still stand to miss out if I don’t play enough in the given time frame?
That’s a bad deal if I’ve seen one.
I know it’s been around for a long time, but it’s a crappy business proposition. It’s a sad state that we can’t just pay for a completed game and avoid any microtransaction bs in game while playing.
I say this as someone who doesn’t like MTX, but I’ve never understood how optional cosmetics ever factor into whether a game is “complete”. The only way they could be seen as an important part of the game is if you play games to play dressup. Which I get if you’re playing a fashion designer style game or a game thats almost purely social, but in the majority of games they don’t fucking matter at all. How do people get so bent out of shape about them?
The only way they could be seen as an important part of the game is if you play games to play dressup.
You really shouldn’t be but I feel you’d be surprised how many people, especially MMORPG players, care about this. I personally play GW2 a lot and since there’s no gear treadmill unlocking cosmetics is one of the main goals you can actually do there, to show off your accomplishments or hard work. Ofc it’s not the only thing keeping players engaged but it is a major part of it.
Besides, if it didn’t matter to players then it wouldn’t be monetized as much in the first place. So whenever I see this argument “well its just cosmetics so it doesnt matter:”, I get kinda frustrated because obviously it matters, obviously it works which is why it’s still a thing to monetize so much.
I’m not arguing it doesn’t matter, I’m arguing it shouldn’t matter.
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It’s a sad state that we can’t just pay for a completed game and avoid any microtransaction bs in game while playing.
Well, you can still do that. Just play other games; there are more than enough around to fill a lifetime.
Personally, my experience is that games where everybody is obsessed with cosmetics aren’t that fun to begin with.
Have you ever found that game where it plays well, mechanics are solid and the art is also up your alley. But at the end of each round you play you just see the little battle pass section trying to prey on your sense of FOMO, trying to scrape out just a little more, even though the price tag upfront is already a bit higher than what you’d normally pay for a game in the same vein.
I found a game I probably could’ve genuinely enjoyed for a long time. I was talking it up to my friends to buy it on release together so we could play co-op. The demo was really great.
For it to come with a Day 1 battle pass (plus online only access when it had singleplayer modes) makes the developer’s intent very clear: we want more money, and we’ll use every FOMO trick in the book to achieve it. And once you pay, you still have to work for those rewards you paid for.
Cosmetic DLCs are fine. I play a fair bit of DST and I enjoy collecting twitch drops and free skins, and if I wanted to support the Devs more I could buy a pack. That’s upfront and transparent. I don’t get reminded every time I build a chest that “There’s 16 more skins you can unlock for this item”. That would be scummy.
