• Sconrad122@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Blizzard: willfully engage in a business model that manipulates players into constantly looking for the next thing, and structures their games around that model to drive sales of microtransaction

    Blizzard’s Player Base: fills with people responding to that manipulation

    Blizzard:

  • spudwart@spudwart.com
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    1 year ago

    I’m ruining friendships by doing this, but idc. If a game is “Free to Play” but features a bunch of “Optional purchases.” That’s an immediate NO from me.

    So many times this cycle has gone “Free to Play” but the game is only meaningfully playable and fun if you invest ??? money into it.

    That’s a NO, and a BIG no.

      • bosnia@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        How a paid for game can just switch over like this is beyond me. Bonus points if they drop support for an OS as well like rocket league.

      • Gamma@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        How is Fall Guys only meaningful if you pay? You can literally only buy cosmetics, which I guess could be upsetting if you’re into fashion

    • Wahots@pawb.social
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      1 year ago

      I avoid F2P games like the plague now. Even if it was paid before. It’s just not ever worth it. Even if it’s not predatory now, the only way they can make money is through season passes, P2W mechanics, or ads/data selling. All unsustainable imo.

      • Statick@programming.dev
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        1 year ago

        Only exception is Counter Strike. Went F2P but there are no P2W mechanics unless you count agent skins.

    • skizzles@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      If all it takes to ruin a friendship is not playing a game with someone then I would reevaluate whether they were actually my friends and not just casual acquaintances.

    • shiveyarbles@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      That’s called pay to win. Obvs free to play has to make money somehow, reputable companies accomplish this through cosmetics, etc. a bad actor here is Blizzard, who are selling skins for $20, battle passes for $10 , and they used to be free in OW 1 which many people paid for.

  • stephfinitely@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This of their own making. That keep using FOMO and then get angry that people start to expect that feeling.

  • Seasoned_Greetings@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Share holders decide one-time payment games don’t make enough money

    CEO transfers their major IPs to a “pay as you go” service promising a steady stream of new content to be worth it

    Degrades or drops older games that players still enjoy to force the new games-as-a-service model

    Players expect new content that was promised in exchange for the seasonal payments they now make

    Surprised Pikachu face

  • CaptDust@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Was anyone even asking for diablo to be a live game? Saying as politely as I can, we ran the same D2 campaign for YEARS and there was enough variety in just characters and play styles to keep us busy.

    The bit of D3 I played seemed to come down to finding a cheese build, whirlwinding through increasingly large enemy hordes, and collecting a golden trinket at the end, one you’d never use because it didn’t match the meta.

    Now the only people left playing want to “zone out” and mindlessly tear through blizz content faster than they can pump it out, blizzard did this to themselves.

  • essell@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Yes, Blizzard, when you expect people to pay continuously, they expect something for their money continuously.

    Did you imagine they were happy just to hand it over out of love and kindness for your profits?

    • ChrisLicht@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Right there with you. I don’t enjoy OW2 as a heals & tank specialist. I have a pet theory that they should have bifurcated the tanks in OW1 into two different required classes and kept 6v6.

      Looking forward to this, just in time for summer:

      “Only $79 for early access to Overwatch Classic!”

  • Blizzard@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    Blizzard have no shame. They want a lot of money for the game, more money for subscribtion and even more money for cosmetics in the store.