All right, let’s have a talk. You and I both know that microtransactions aren’t going anywhere; they’re here to stay. The fact of the matter is, no matter what we say we think about it, we spend money on extra content all of the time. EA just had an investors meeting where it reported that microtransactions from extra content are a $1.3 billion business for them. That’s huge, guys. That’s a significant chunk of EA’s total revenue, and I’ll bet you a season pass that a huge focus for EA in the next fiscal year will be maximizing the appeal of, and desire for, extra content. Microtransactions add up to not-so-micro sums of extra income for publishers. They’re going to capitalize on that for sure, and I don’t blame them one bit.
Now typically when you hear the word “microtransaction,” there is a negative connotation there. We equate the term with greed, exploitation, and dishonesty. Not all microtransactions are bad, though.Extra content is offered in a variety of ways that can be game-changing or not. For the sake of simplicity, and for our conversation today, I’ve organized microtransactions (called MTs for the rest of this article) into three categories.
Category 1 – These are the frivolous things; the flashy things. Bells and whistles. Weapon skins, character outfits, custom decals, extra animations… these are all things that would fall under category 1. Category 1 MTs don’t affect gameplay whatsoever, and are usually only for those who just love the game enough to jazz up their avatar or otherwise support the devs / publisher by offering more money. Saying in effect, “I love this, and I want more of these silly things to make this game more my own.” There are typically low in cost and have negligible effects on the community, if any.
Category 2 – Category 2 MTs are all of the things that give you an easy way out, or serve as a fast-track to this or that reward. Think of CoD points in Black Ops 3 , REQ Packs in Halo 5 , or the grinding and gold maps you can buy for Fire Emblem Awakening. These are usually pretty nice to have, as they don’t affect multiplayer communities in a significant way, or break single-player games. I’ve noticed a trend toward category 2 MTs, and I’m not complaining. We’re seeing more games like Rainbow Six Siege, Halo 5, and Street Fighter V offering all additional content for free, but you have to earn it by playing the game a lot. If you’re impatient or busy, grab a season pass or purchase some in-game currency and catch up.
Category 3 – These are the disruptive guys. DLC packs, map packs, expansions, weapons or enhancements that affect gameplay. This is usually where resentment is generated and frustration brews. I don’t want to pay $65 for a game and then get left behind when half of the online community moves on to matchmaking featuring map pack 1. Destiny fans felt shafted, having to pay 4 times (original game, two DLC packs and an expansion) for a game that still feels obtuse and incomplete.
I know it’s a little broad, but that’s how I think of MTs. Sometimes they can be really cool or convenient, and sometimes they can be obvious cash-grabs or divide the community. In the case of EA’s 1.3 billion dollar MT business, I think the majority of it is pretty tactful. Roughly $650 million of that came exclusively from the “Ultimate Team” modes in Fifa, Madden, and NHL. That’s some category 2 fluff. It’s coming from people who don’t want to wait and earn the in-game currency they need to purchase certain players for their ultimate team draft. If the players are having fun, are satisfied with their purchases, and EA just happens to make a killing, I don’t see a problem with that.
What do you guys think of the extra content business bringing in potential billions for the big boys? Surely that’s going to drive their marketing strategies, and we’ll be seeing a lot more of this kind of thing. Are you ok with that as long as the majority of the content falls into one of the first two categories? Are you just totally against all extra content and microtransactions in general? Sound off and let’s talk about it.