RANDOM VIDEO GAME NEWS - DA REAL DEAL

[Lexx]

I don't really get why they had to waste a truckton of money on an online game first, to be able to make the singleplayer game. Pretty sure they just wanted to follow games such as World of Tanks, instead of releasing a singleplayer game that might or might not be played by just a few people before it'll be forgotten again.

 

Now we're finally getting what we wanted all along.

Edited October 9, 2017 by Lexx

[Azdeus]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-09-star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem

Now I'm torn wether I'm going to get the game, I am interested in the alleged singleplayer campaign. Though I don't know if I should reward the company with any money when pulling **** like this even though I will never set foot in the MP bit or pay for their p2w crates.

[Rosbjerg]

Don't, this is a figurative cancer of the gaming industry, that really needs to die. It adds nothing, except a way to pull even more money for less content.

[HooAmEye]

NEW STAR CONTROL

 

REPEAT 

NEW STAR CONTROL

 

https://dogarandkazon.squarespace.com/

[Katphood]

Capcom trying to fix DR4: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-09-dead-rising-4-update-will-bring-back-original-proper-frank-west

 

Still haven't played 3 or 4, I wonder how bad they can be.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-09-star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem

 

Now I'm torn wether I'm going to get the game, I am interested in the alleged singleplayer campaign. Though I don't know if I should reward the company with any money when pulling **** like this even though I will never set foot in the MP bit or pay for their p2w crates.

 

Shadow of War, Battlefront 2 and now... *drum roll* AC: Origins: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-09-heres-the-deal-with-assassins-creed-origins-in-game-loot-chests

 

 

I can't believe they are putting this sort of thing in a single-player game! I thought Deus Ex: Mankind Divided would be the first and last game to introduce misconstructions in a SP game but it seems I was wrong. I'll be sure to spend my money on games such as Cuphead, A Hat in Time and Steamworld Dig 2 before I touch any of that stuff. I'll probably buy those other games once they hit the bargain bin.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Katphood

[Mamoulian War]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-09-star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem

 

Now I'm torn wether I'm going to get the game, I am interested in the alleged singleplayer campaign. Though I don't know if I should reward the company with any money when pulling **** like this even though I will never set foot in the MP bit or pay for their p2w crates.

If you really want the game, and are able to wait some time, just wait for some big discount or buy secondhand on console.

 

This practice really needs to die, and giving them full price for this ****, will encourage them to put even more **** in their future games :-/

[Fenixp]

I thought Deus Ex: Mankind Divided would be the first and last game to introduce misconstructions in a SP game but it seems I was wrong.

Oh they were already in Rise of the Tomb Raider, nobody started the ****storm back then tho :-P Just goes to show how much do people 'jump on the bandwagon' as opposed to doing their own research. And Ass Creed: Unity / Syndicate too, for that matter, as far as I know anyway.

 

Still, they were straight-up microtransactions - if you don't want them, you don't touch them, and when you do, you just buy the things you do want. Loot crates abusing addictive tendencies is something a wee bit different. Nonetheless, those were around for ages too - in MP games and Asian RPGs.

 

I think all this stuff can be traced at the very least all the way back to Diablo II and real-money grey market surrounding it, which grew considerably with the second game. It then felt rather disgusting when Blizzard decided to support the practice by an official market-place, but people pushed back against that decision sufficiently for it to be taken down, so that's a good thing I suppose.

 

At any rate, gaming community accepted abusing addictive personalities for ages now, to the point of it being rooted in the media so firmly that I'm pretty sure legal steps will need to be taken to stop it. If gamers win the loot crate battle, concept will just return under a different name.

[Lexx]

Mass Effect 3 multiplayer had the same system. You play a match and then you get random loot. You could also spend money and get random loot. Nobody cared about this at all. Probably because the "chose your own color"-ending overshadowed it, no idea.

 

I guess DX:MD really just had bad marketing. Ever since this "augment your something something" pre-release stuff happened, people were jumping on it at any time possible. Once you're in this phase, it's very hard for a game to get out of again.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Lexx

[Katphood]

 

I thought Deus Ex: Mankind Divided would be the first and last game to introduce misconstructions in a SP game but it seems I was wrong.

Oh they were already in Rise of the Tomb Raider, nobody started the ****storm back then tho :-P Just goes to show how much do people 'jump on the bandwagon' as opposed to doing their own research. And Ass Creed: Unity / Syndicate too, for that matter, as far as I know anyway.

 

No, it just goes to show that at some point, even people like me who aren't exactly a video game journalist notice something like that appear in a Deus Ex game as opposed to 'some Asian game I heard of once'. That's the point where **** hits the fan and people(naturally) start to 'jump on the bandwagon'. Please, pardon us simple folks if our 'jumping on the bandwagon' happens to insult your intelligence, chief. Oh yeah, I guess I have to add one of these, too: ' :-P '  

 

There!

[Fenixp]

Oh that wasn't a jab at you specifically Katphood, it's just... We have accepted this kind of bull**** for nearly a decade now, and if I've noticed anything in gaming communities (altho it may not be specific to them), it's that they'll scream loudly about a controversy and then stop when they get bored and move to another one, things only changing when systematic solution is put into effect (like refunds forced by law)

 

I've just grown rather cynical ever since I was one of the people yelling loudly about DRM like 10 years ago for it to subside for a little bit just to become a standard practice later on - titles with always online DRM are still released, most just don't care anymore. In fact I'm encountering increasing amount of "Damn those dirty pirates, always-on DRM is good! Oh yeah and Steam is DRM-free!"

 

Putting existing content from a game as DLC is a thing, SP microtransactions are a thing, paid mods are becoming a thing (altho I'm still not sure how bad of an effect that'll actually end up having) - most just sort of forgot about these and moved on to the next thing, so...

 

That's precisely what'll happen with unregulated gambling. If gaming community comes together and fights loot crates, publishers will probably drop them for a bit and then bring them up under a different name, with a different excuse - and they'll keep trying until the practice is either accepted or regulated by law.

 

And after all that's exactly what laws are for, so I'd actually say the way to go, as opposed to not buying the game, is to write a letter/e-mail to your chosen representative/political party, explain the situation and try to get the change to happen that way.

 

Please, pardon us simple folks if our 'jumping on the bandwagon' happens to insult your intelligence, chief.

I will never do such a thing. Edited October 10, 2017 by Fenixp

[Keyrock]

The most effective way to fight the encroachment of microtransactions and gambling on full priced premium games is to not buy the game.  Making a bunch of noise about it might help a bit, but if the games continue to sell well, they'll keep doing it and keep pushing the boundaries, unless the governments step in and force them to put M ratings on the games due to gambling, but, at least in the US, our government is WOEFULLY behind on such matters and it will likely take them many years to catch up to it.  Don't buy the games, plain and simple.  What the publishers are doing is wrong and dangerous, because of the highly addictive nature of gambling, and the people pushing this know damn well how wrong and dangerous it is, yet they continue to not only do it, but push the limits AND market it to children, who are especially susceptible.  These people are evil, straight up evil.  Don't support their greed.  Don't buy the game.

 

It's not easy, since some of these games are damn good games.  But then, doing the right thing is often difficult.

[Fenixp]

The most effective way to fight the encroachment of microtransactions and gambling on full priced premium games is to not buy the game.

If videogame history is anything to go by, it certainly is effective, but it won't help. To my knowledge, loot boxes in SP games started off as a part of EA sports games - which are largely marketed towards a crowd that won't really care about such controversy, if they even know the controversy is a thing.

 

And, sure enough, titles like Battlefront have a much larger overlap with core gamers, but even those are just a subset of who the game is marketed towards - and only a small subset of core gamers will actually avoid buying the game. And if enough people realize the danger of such a move and end up avoiding the game, next few titles by EA won't have loot boxes until things calm down and then they'll introduce them as something slightly different. Precisely like it happened with always online DRM, precisely like it happened with lack of dedicated servers (which are also a rarity these days.)

 

As opposed to lack of dedicated servers or always-on DRM, however, this practice is genuinely dangerous and harmful - and as long as large companies don't get hit by court-ordered sanctions, they'll keep trying until players finally accept it. We've seen it time and time again.

 

Edit:

Speaking of, Shadow of War got released, and its after launch player peak is already comparable to recent titles like Prey, Dishonored 2 or Nier: Automata. We'll see if it'll keep climbing or go down from here. Source: http://steamcharts.com

Edited October 10, 2017 by Fenixp

[Keyrock]

Sure, fighting this, either with your mouth (or keyboard) or your wallet may seem like a losing battle, and maybe it is, but it's worth fighting.  I can say with 100% certainty that things won't get better if people do nothing.  Maybe my own personal boycott of games with these practices is a tiny drop in an ocean and means nothing, but I'm still going to do it.  If enough like-minded people also boycott the games we can stem the tide, for a while, then we'll have to fight again on another front.  I'll also boycott those games if and when they change the evil scheme.  If nothing else, I can sleep at night with a clear conscience that I'm not contributing to the problem.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Keyrock

[Azdeus]

Shadow of War, Battlefront 2 and now... *drum roll* AC: Origins: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-09-heres-the-deal-with-assassins-creed-origins-in-game-loot-chests

 

 

I can't believe they are putting this sort of thing in a single-player game! I thought Deus Ex: Mankind Divided would be the first and last game to introduce misconstructions in a SP game but it seems I was wrong. I'll be sure to spend my money on games such as Cuphead, A Hat in Time and Steamworld Dig 2 before I touch any of that stuff. I'll probably buy those other games once they hit the bargain bin.

 

Oh, I can very much believe them putting those things in SP games. There's a buck to be made there, so ofcourse they will try to fleece you.

 

If you really want the game, and are able to wait some time, just wait for some big discount or buy secondhand on console.

 

This practice really needs to die, and giving them full price for this ****, will encourage them to put even more **** in their future games :-/

Yeah, it'll have to be a massive discount though before I consider it.

 

The biggest problem is that we are such a minority. We might be talking about something like tens of thousands of people that consider this **** vile while millions will still pick it up, not to mention alot of teens and such whose parents don't give a **** or are clueless to the contents of what they are buying. I doubt it will ever dissapear, it's way to lucrative; Doesn't matter that it is immoral...

 

But alteast we've got to try to get them to get rid of it, it's better to fight back than to just spread ones cheeks and lube up with Megadeath sauce with liquid rage.

[Blarghagh]

Reading that article it sounds to me you buy it with in-game currency only and the vendor shows up in random places? I mean, just getting random loot for in-game currency doesn't make it a loot box in the style of real-money-gambling stuff. Loot boxes are a red flag for me too, but in this case it doesn't sound much different than, say, gambling for gold back in Diablo 1.

[Fenixp]

Sure, fighting this, either with your mouth (or keyboard) or your wallet may seem like a losing battle, and maybe it is, but it's worth fighting.

Oh fighting with your mouth (or keyboard) is essential, I'm pretty sure a lot of negative press and PR can go a long way - not buying the game, however, is very much a losing battle. Which doesn't mean I'm saying you should stop fighting - just to use other means than those that have repeatedly proven to be inefficient. If player numbers of Shadow of War are anything to go by, approaching it by informing the masses and boycotting the game failed yet again.

 

I mean, I'm sure as heck not buying them either - but I'm not really expecting that to change anything in the long run. Pushing legislation on the other hand, especially in countries these big companies are based in... Well, that would be a game changer.

 

Reading that article it sounds to me you buy it with in-game currency only and the vendor shows up in random places? I mean, just getting random loot for in-game currency doesn't make it a loot box in the style of real-money-gambling stuff. Loot boxes are a red flag for me too, but in this case it doesn't sound much different than, say, gambling for gold back in Diablo 1.

You can buy the in-game currency for actual money, and doing so will then give you advantage in the semi-MP component of the game. Or did any of that change? Edited October 10, 2017 by Fenixp

[Blarghagh]

I only read the linked Eurogamer article on AC:Origins, but it pretty clearly states: "But these chests are only purchasable with in-game currency, and there for those people who like to play the game naturally and pad out their wallets." It then goes to explain it's something for effective gold-hoarders to spend their in-game currency on. That's all I know. I doubt buying currency with real life money won't be added at some point, but right now it's not AFAIK.

Edited October 10, 2017 by TrueNeutral

[Bartimaeus]

So then the next obvious question is how do you get the in-game currency, and can you pay real money to get a lot of it? The answer is...not yet clear, as it's not stated anywhere that I looked up either way.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Bartimaeus

[Mamoulian War]

Well, that is the newest strategy of "big boys". First sell the game with some "in-game" currency only, to get more favourable reviews, then introduce real money shop in game later with the patch, with something like "Our research shows us, that loot crates are enjoyed by a big number of players, so we are introducing more options to you, to enhance your experience even more" bull****...

[Keyrock]

^ Of course, the trick is to introduce this kind of crap gradually. The publishers are quite crafty and insidious in how they attempt to sell us feces.

[213374U]

Mass Effect 3 multiplayer had the same system. You play a match and then you get random loot. You could also spend money and get random loot. Nobody cared about this at all. Probably because the "chose your own color"-ending overshadowed it, no idea.

 

The way the narrative goes in the ME3MP community is that the microtransactions bs was offset by the fact that they put out a rather decent amount of quality DLC for free. Many people bought biower moniez as a means to show their support. Largely, it worked, even though some parts of the RNG based system were infuriating (no streak breakers). Then... Andromeda came. They cranked the greed up to 11, and additional content delivery was reduced to a token effort. It was inevitable, in retrospect.

 

 

 

The most effective way to fight the encroachment of microtransactions and gambling on full priced premium games is to not buy the game.  Making a bunch of noise about it might help a bit, but if the games continue to sell well, they'll keep doing it and keep pushing the boundaries, unless the governments step in and force them to put M ratings on the games due to gambling, but, at least in the US, our government is WOEFULLY behind on such matters and it will likely take them many years to catch up to it.  Don't buy the games, plain and simple.  What the publishers are doing is wrong and dangerous, because of the highly addictive nature of gambling, and the people pushing this know damn well how wrong and dangerous it is, yet they continue to not only do it, but push the limits AND market it to children, who are especially susceptible.  These people are evil, straight up evil.  Don't support their greed.  Don't buy the game.

 

It's not easy, since some of these games are damn good games.  But then, doing the right thing is often difficult.

 

I used to think this way, too. Then I saw this (it's even possible someone posted it here).

 

 

 

I'm fully inclined to refrain from buying in those cases where, beyond ethical concerns, the scheme is actually detrimental to the game as a whole because it's a central design element, without which the core experience suffers: 2K18 comes to mind. In that case it's not really a boycott -- you're simply not buying a **** product.

[Keyrock]

Whether my boycott is futile or not, I'm still going through with it. I won't buy any game that includes this kind of crap. I will also support any vocal opposition and pressure on lawmakers to take a stand against these kinds of practices, so long as the opposition and pressure is done in a reasonable, nonaggressive manner.

 

Ultimately, lawmakers might be our best bet to stem the tide, but I've learned that our government tends to drag its feet quite a bit when you ask something of them, so I wouldn't expect results any time soon, hence why I mostly wrote that off as a solution. Worth a try, though.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Keyrock

[HoonDing]

ELEX is out in a week! I expect GoTY!

[Katphood]

I've just grown rather cynical ever since I was one of the people yelling loudly about DRM like 10 years ago for it to subside for a little bit just to become a standard practice later on - titles with always online DRM are still released, most just don't care anymore. In fact I'm encountering increasing amount of "Damn those dirty pirates, always-on DRM is good! Oh yeah and Steam is DRM-free!"

DRM is normal nowadays?!

Sony won this generation with this video and this video alone!

 

However:

Well, that is the newest strategy of "big boys". First sell the game with some "in-game" currency only, to get more favourable reviews, then introduce real money shop in game later with the patch, with something like "Our research shows us, that loot crates are enjoyed by a big number of players, so we are introducing more options to you, to enhance your experience even more" bull****...

^ Of course, the trick is to introduce this kind of crap gradually. The publishers are quite crafty and insidious in how they attempt to sell us feces.

I am afraid Sony is no stranger to this tactic either:

 

https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/691087-playstation-4/75377513

Edited October 10, 2017 by Katphood

[Mamoulian War]

OpenCritic review aggregation site planning to take a stand against loot boxes.

 

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/10/loot-boxes-in-video-games-will-soon-get-a-review-flag-from-opencritic/