How games companies manipulate gamers for profit

[Retro]

Ever been annoyed how the you can't get to all parts of that expensive game without spending more on it, or without buying a specific console, or get the impression that it's been created as an addiction machine rather than something to be played for fun and think there's something funny going on? You're not imagining it. Josh Strife Hayes explains what's going on and unsurprisingly, it's all about money. Big money. The gamer is just a cash cow to these companies to be mercilessly exploited.

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[Tiffany]

Yes, a common conversation in our house for years. You can see right through gaming companies schemes and it's very frustrating. Some games create a divide between the gamers with less ability to put cash in the game compared to those that do put real cash in the game. Some games are created well enough that if you don't have the real cash to put in the game, you can grind away or trade for the item you want, however, I'm seeing more and more of the "pay to play" scenario, which leaves the gamer without cash bereft of making many gains and left frustrated. What happened to the fun of the game?

 

[Retro]

Exactly Tiffs, exactly. They're turning games into money making scams nowadays, so no wonder they're controversial and people complain about them and scathing articles are written about them. The frustrating irony is that the power is actually with the consumer: just don't buy this garbage and the companies will soon be forced to stop these underhand practices and deliver proper games again.

The problem of course, which they exploit, is how to get millions of people across the world to act in this synchronised manner (the hive mind aka the Borg in Star Trek...) The answer is you don't, hence the practice continues. One can try to start campains, but good luck with that. The only other way is to legislate against this, but I can't see that ever happening, and even if it did, the companies would find sneaky ways round the restrictions turning it into an infuriating game of whack-a-mole leaving us no better off.

As for me, I've always ignored these pay to play upgrades and expensive trinkets, but I think the last straw for me is the way that CoD now limits the multiplayer game modes available at any one time. They have something like 12 modes available, but now only allow a subset at any one time are enabled, on rotation. Thus, my favourite, Gun Game, has been missing in action for weeks now for no good reason and that's extremely frustrating. I doubt I'll be buying the next CoD game now due to this, especially as online gaming with my friends hardly happens nowadays. It used to be an epic experience.

 

[Tiffany]

I'm sorry to hear about all of the changes in CoD. Games are meant to play with others and I'm sure it was a good time to catch up with your friends online. Another game maybe?

Game companies don't realize how disappointing it is when they make major changes to a game that affects the players loyalty and enjoyment. When they make it too hard to earn an item, people get exasperated. When they change the voice, skin, or appearance of a character it can be off-putting because you get used to the character's idiosyncrasies, especially, if the character's lore dictates what their skin as an armor should appear like, and frustration also not limited to their changing their voice, hair and mannerisms.

 

[Crims]

Ive had a skeptical eye on games... since around 2010. It was when Treyarch began making CoD titles I figured it had reached its peak. I have tracked most of good titles, and do a lot of choosing the best over the 10 years of boring corporatist uncreative game development. For sure Gun Game was fun in 2010 when it began. However I played FFA more though. I began to dip out of games when it became more grindy.

 

[Retro]

Talking of grinding, years ago, someone tried to get me into the Eve Online space game. Looks beautiful, but oh so boring! I quit soon after.