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General: Not In My Nature
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
In this week's Player Perspectives column, MMORPG.com's Jaime Skelton takes on the issue of the free-to-play market and the contention made by some that it's in a player's nature to want to purchase items from in-game shops. Jaime tackles the microtransaction issue with compelling arguments against that thought. See if you agree.
In an interview last week with GamesIndustry.biz, Todd Eckert, the North America operations director for Eutechnyx, was questioned about the company's pursuit of a microtransaction driven game. In staying confident of the course, Eckert claimed that the microtransaction model is “human nature.” Said Eckert, “It's not artificially inflated, it's just the way people think.” Before this statement, Eckert had explained that players were apt to buy things that reflected status, such as a Ferrari in a racing game, in a culture that reflects an “I want to own” mentality – in the same way that music lovers may wish to purchase single tracks instead of a full album.
Read Player Perspectives: Not In My Nature and tell us what you think.
Comments
Interesting article, and all I can say is I've played only 2 F2P games with any seriousness, and in both cases I spent money on in game items, so I guess its in my nature to do so.
But I do so because at this point in my life I can, in earlier and less prosperous times I don't think I would have bothered, I still prefer the monthly access model.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Probably the best critique of the F2P payment method I've read on this forum. I guess what it all boils down to is the personal perception of value for your money spent on a game no matter the payment plan.
The lesser of two evils is still evil.
There is nothing more dangerous than a true believer.
Good article and I definitely agree. It's not human nature at all, but if I like the company and the item they are offering for a reasonable price, then I'll give em my money in the same way I will pay for a subscription if I like what the P2P MMO is offering. Realistically those virtual items that people pay for will probably last longer then many of the things we spend money on day-to-day. It's just business as usual, and just like in the real world I think some merchandise is a total ripoff! Yeah, all MMOs charging $25+ for a single mount, I am talking about you!
p.s. Hey, is that gold-armored horse mount for sale somewhere? lol
p.s.s. Nevermind, that's from Oblivion.
Yes it is such a fact that human nature wants microtransactions that no other major services use subscriptions........ oh wait.
Telephone service/cell phone service/cable and satellite TV/Internet/Magazines/Netflix/Radio/Xbox Live/insurance/ etc. etc. etc.
With how successful those services are, and how many of them are tied in directly to daily life, it would seem that a monthly subscription is the thing that is part of human nature, not microtransactions. Although it is nice to see how greedy developers that want to milk their players dry like to spin things.
Those are terrible examples. Telephone services are notorious for charging additional fees for various extras. Cable and satellite charges extra for pay-per-view specials. We subscribe to the internet, but then have to pay extra for so many online services. Magazines have special issues that they either offer as a bonus to subscribers or charge additional for them. TV/Radio/Internet is arguably just an advertising medium these days for more products (a LOT worse then cash shop advertising). Insurance lets you subscribe then asks you for a deductible payment every time you need it.
So really, you're just hurting the argument against RMTs. If anything, MMO developers are slowly following suit with the way the rest of the world already works. Charge consumers for everything that can be sold. I don't like it, but I think your examples have kinda highlighted why they are moving that direction.
Nice writeup Jaime. Now I just wonder if anyone else in addition to your choir/congregation here will take your words with any measure of seriousness.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
@risenbones hit the nail on the head. The success of any transaction system will sit firmly in the value perceived from its consumer base.
@SnarlingWolf and @ZenNature also open the discussion to an interesting comparison. I wouldn't be surprised if micro-transactions and subscription systems became some tiered, bundled feature system.
Imagine a space opera game where you could play the space combat and some planet missions for free, but the really cool sectors of space and the majority of the planet missions required a subscription. Throw in pay-to-play special events and a few other paid services and you get a game that's similar to your phone/cable/insurance/periodical subscription services.
I cant see where F2P games take away items from a player beside some pvp games with player loot option but then its taken away by a player.
And yes, i think either flatrate and microtransaction are human nature.
When i played Perfect World, i bought a nice outift, and a few of these Guardianamulets that refresh Health an Mana if below 50% with a cooldown about ten seconds slowly consumed up that way.
I think that is a great way to have a "pay per activity" option as any hour or minute based modell will anytime set stress on you to use your "expensive" bought game time as effective as possible.
The pay per activity model let you settle down for socializing, exploring, whatever else beside fighting you want to do without stressing your feeling about to care for effective use of your gaming time.
Most people fear the F2P games are crap and some are but also p2p games are crap the evidence is mmorpgs games list^^
PvP-Players fear they have to spend money to stay on top while they in a flat rate game only need to be first in the game and play more time then others.
So called competetive style Players always want be on top and its the same as with the PvPers.
Its true in a F2P game without self-control and self-responsibility your fare not as good as in a flatrate-game.
Does that mean F2P is bad therefore? I say no!
A good F2P is more convenient, more flexible, catches more players and the fluctuation is nowhere higher than in the hyped p2p games with a soon monthly shrinking subscriberbase and the comunity is as good or bad as in any other MMO.
"Torquemada... do not implore him for compassion. Torquemada... do not beg him for forgiveness. Torquemada... do not ask him for mercy. Let's face it, you can't Torquemada anything!"
MWO Music Video - What does the Mech say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF6HYNqCDLI
Johnny Cash - The Man Comes Around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0x2iwK0BKM
And F2P's are supposed to generate more income. Because really, wasting more than 600 $ to refine a single piece of armor, and still fails, Is something that can be considered as a "wallet raper".
Your argument suggests a sub with a micro tran that offers shinies is the way to go. That is not what MMOs are doing. They're creating psuedo F2P game with severely limited content and attempting to force anyone who actually wants to play the game as intended to buy buy buy.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
I have zero extra fees on my cell phone plan, none at all. Unlimited text messaging is included in my plan.
I've had many magazine subscriptions in my life and never once had an extra fee for any kind of bonus issue/feature.
I do far more with my internet then look at advertising. I use it to game, shop, get news etc. Some sites may choose to advertise but it is not an advertising medium. The providers don't get any of that advertising money.
If you subscribe to different internet radio services the subscription cuts out the ads, if you don't subscribe you have the ads. So once again not a paid for advertising medium.
You can choose no deductible on Insurance plans.
You didn't have any statements for Xbox Live or netflix so I don't have to explain how you're wrong on those.
I'm not sure what world you're living in, or how you manage to get ripped off. But when I have subscription services I pay for the subscription and that is it. So my examples stand as correct examples for how subscription is more human nature then micro transactions. But I could make up completely false information to shoot down other posters arguments too.
Oddly, this F2P article is better than the local F2P writer.
It still remains that a sale is entirely based on the perceived value of the purchase from the customer. If the customer percieves it a good value, then they will lean toward a purchase. Some may need encouragement. But for others, they lean agaisnt it being a good value and need a lot of encouragement or will never buy it.
I play WoW. I would never buy the sparkle pony. Why? I dont think the pony is worth ~50 days playtime. Its not a valueable purchase. Just like I don't see buying 10k gold for $38 is a good buy. Thats 75 days playtime. I can, and am on track to, make more than 10k gold in 75 days.
Thats a more objective approach to it, but it is still founded by the purchase being a good value or not.
Yeah, wanting to pay for status is human nature, and the rest of us who just want to have fun playing a game have to suffer for it.
The cash model can be likened to "keeping up with the Joneses". Thats why the sprakle pony sells, not many people will be satisfied with not having something everyone else has. Very often it is not a matter of needing to spend money in a game to enjoy it, its a matter of spending money to "keep up" or to not lose. The P2W is what most people against microtransactions fear. I have played some F2P games and ahve done fine without spending any money as long as what I am spending on is centered on my content. Wizards101 is like this you can subscribe or you can pay to open new areas. Opening new areas can be done at your pace and is not directly P2W. I dont play that particualr game anymore as the farther in you go, the more often the pay areas appear. Each subsequent area and time to play is less than the previous.
Good article, nice write-up.
Gaming since Avalon Hill was making board games.
Played SWG, EVE, Fallen Earth, LOTRO, Rift, Vanguard, WoW, SWTOR, TSW, Tera
Tried Aoc, Aion, EQII, RoM, Vindictus, Darkfail, DDO, GW, PotBS
I think you did a pretty darn good job summarizing how I feel about the concept of micro vs. subscription.
I don't play my MMO's just to collect items or for 'looks/appearances'. I play to interact with other gamers of the same interest and have some fun.
Subscriptions are, for the most part, a level playing field where so long as the player can afford the monthly fee.. they get access to pretty much all the necessary parts of the game to participate with others on a more-or-less equal footing. The investment is 'time'.. which is still dollars in the end.. however that 'time' is invested playing the game (or grinding something).
I am not after items just to have items.. sure I like the looks of certain things.. but I don't want to spend my own money just for looks alone. I think most MMO players are not here for a 'fashion show' concept.. but here to have fun playing/interacting.
I'd rather pay for time/access than items/fashon any day. I know I am not alone in this.. and while micro transaction-based games will keep enticing players to try them out.. sooner or later they discover the old addage: "Ain't no such thing as a free lunch"
Sooner or later, the fun 'stops' and you need to break out your credit card to keep up with the Jonses. Free is only free for a short time.
Subscription, at the very least.. is a preset investment that I can manage and budget into my lifestyle.
Transactions.. just how much will this cost me to keep having fun. Thats that question I keep asking myself before installing the next 'best' FTP MMO game. I am not about to 'invest' my interest in something that will cost me too much in the end to fully enjoy.
Tell me up front how much you want... per month/year... to play XXX game. I'll buy into that if I think its worth it. Micro-transactions scare me.. because its a variable I am not in control of.. someone else is.
SWG/STO/(SWTOR)
I look at microtransactions like tips, not impulse buys. In times when money is flowing freely, I don't mind giving a little extra to reward an enjoyable service. When my budget is tight, I have to politely stop. When it comes to how this affects my choice of games, the key factor to me is "how am going to feel during the hard times". If the game is going to hold out its hand and gently cough when my budget is locked down, my attitude becomes hostile very fast.
Which is why what EQ2 is worth noting.Eq2's content is NOT 'severely' limited. You can access just about all of it for free (though some of the high level stuff will be real challenging without spending 10 bucks, but a lot of it doable).
And if you want to play the game as intended, you just pay like you did before (granted to stay on the extended servers you have to put up a full year which is a bit offsetting, but you could always go to the live servers)
Unfortunately people wanting more than they can reasonably obtain does seem to be human nature, be it money, power, respect, sexual satisfaction, what have you.
The desire to own far more than could a person could financially afford was at the core of both the credit crunch and the housing crisis. I know people love to blame crooked banks and/or governments which I agree did not help matters, but the reality is that too many people feel the need to be in debt up to their eyeballs so they can surround themselves with what is essentially cargo cultist junk.
And now thanks to @$$holes like Mr Eckert it looks like this mentality is going to start seeping like a broken septic tank into our day to day MMO entertainment.
"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves, we were called by the Admin of the site . . . "
Turbine's (now Warner Bros.) DDO is also a bit of a hybrid model where literarally all content / classes / races can be accessed without paying a dime. It's not as quick or easy as buying it, but there is no restriction. I believe character transfers and one other non-content item may require real money, neither qualifies as 'must'.
Illegible
Nice write up, I haven’t seen the permanence aspect considered before. It still really comes down to if you respect your game and the effort players put into it, F2P is no better than cheating. If the Eckert and the industry are all about stealing as much money from players for shiny stuff, we will be better off quitting the games and taking our escapism to the strip club. If cheating and getting ripped off for shiny things is human nature, I would rather have a motorboat 8)
* I read most of what Jon Wood writes
* He needs more bullet points though
I would say you are both partially correct.
Netflix = Subscription, Redbox = Microtransaction
Cell - 2 year contract = subscription; Prepaid, $.05 texting, pay-per-minute = Microtrans
Telephone (traditionally) Flat subscription for local, Pay-per-minute Long distance
Cable / Satelite - Basic / Premium (i.e. HBO) - subscription, OnDemand / PPV (Fights / special events etc) - Microtransaction
iTunes = Microtransaction, Rhapsody = Subscription / Hybrid [iirc]
While there are some pure subscription services, many services are a hybrid of subscriptions with one-time-buys sprinkled in. Note that two of the biggest players (Sony / WB) are not choosing one way or the other, but planning to accept you in whichever combination you choose to purchase.
Personally, I'm a fan of retail because I like infinity play on my time, however, I'm also enjoying the microtransaction model that lets me spend as little or as much as I like. The subscription model works great for my Netflix because I can always still permanently by my own copy if they shut down. I stayed away from several games where that was the only option. i.e. Diablo / Diablo II [Retail - only] - Purchased, played local and on line. Netflix [Subscription-based] - subscribed. World of Warcraft [Subscription-based] - Never played. DDO [Suscription / Free / Microtransaction] - I'll Play.
Agreeing with the writer, I won't pay for something I don't enjoy regardless of the model.
Illegible
Achivevements.
I call it "virtual power". Whatever we call it, its the same.
If people can buy it using real money legally from the game item mall, its wrong, globally, no exceptions.
Noone can make an argument against virtual power being bought with real money being acceptable. Thats imoral and in the future it will be against the law.
Any item that affects XP gain is not aesthetical. It doesnt matter if there is a level cap and bought eventually will reach it. Its a falacy. What matters is that there is a frame of time in wich there is a difference in virtual power caused by real money used in the cash shop.
I offen hear people saying "they dont have time", therefore "they cant compete". They try to justify buying virtual power with real money. Its a falacy as well. Its a losing excuse like any other, and no excuses justify real money as a solution.
Another falacy, "Buying virtual power with real money through RMT is ok, because people can buy in the blackmarket as well".
In one, if people get caught, they are banned. In the other, nothing happens. in fact, in games where people can buy virtual power in cash shops, you notice wide game changes with the objective of forcing people to spend more money.
Falacy from the Developers after adding virtual power to the item malls/cash shops: "We have to pay the server costs".
Nothing justify such a change. Or they do it from the get go, informing everyone and people who play do it knowing how it works: "to compete I will have to spend real money, ok, I understand and accept it". Or they are breaking the goodwill of the contract, causing damage to the consumer, wich is not acceptable. If they do that, they have to indemnize, wich will hinder the ability to pay server costs even more.
Its part of the risk of the business principle that companies known from the start what are their servers costs and if they will be able to pay it under the rules of the contract. In this case, the contract say: WE WILL NOT HAVE IN OUR CASH SHOP ANY ITEM THAT AFFECTS DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY THE VIRTUAL POWER OF CHARACTERS SINCE WE ARE ONLY OFFERING AESTHETIC/COSMETHICAL ITEMS.
Once defined, it cant be changed, neither justified. And if changed, they can be sued for it.
Stating your Prejudice against "Pay to win" RMT models is one of the ways to educate and evolve the communitys of mmo player, it is one of the ways to force changes.
If we started labeling such rmt models and filtering them on the big communities along with all the following prejudice, soon enough game companies would stop this ridiculous way of forcing people into giving them money.
I propose this new FILTER for all "MMO"s:
Subscription, pay per month
Free to play, pay to win <- so we can trolling it right away or just ignore it altogether.
Free to play, aesthetical items
Add "pay to win" to all MMOs that have any item that affects virtual power, directly or indirectly. And soon companies would start making changes just so they would be one of the "aestheticla items" free to play games, just so they can enjoy the fairness reputation it comes with and the popularity, because people would certainly start considering if they want to play "pay to win" or "aesthetical items" free to play games.
Dont be naive. They dont announce their real plans, because that would prevent people from getting hooked. Once people are hooked, you will start to see more and more stuff in the item mall that are certain to affect the balance of power between players. No F2P lives without the "pay to win" factor. What do you think is the % of income that comes from aesthetic sells and the % of income that comes from "power". PEOPLE WILL BUY POWER. If 100% of the power available in the cash shop costs $10, people who have $!0, will spend $10. If 100% of the power available in the cash shop costs $300, people will spend the maximum they can to reach that power, some will be able to spend only $10 still, but some will spend $50, some will spend $300.
We are starting to see Micro Transactions / Cash Shop / Item Malls whose 100% of the power benefits require more than a thousand dollars spent on items malls. They purposefully make it so the more money is spent the higher the overall effect in competition. One thing is a % of the total benefits you can get from the shop. Another thing is the % of the total power you get with cash shop and without it. So, besides seeing games where to get all the possible benefits from the cash shop would require more money than they are willing to spend or what they think is fair, or justified for such type of game, WE ARE SEEING GAMES WHERE A BIG CHUNK OF YOUR TOTAL POWER IS DEPENDENT ON THE CASH SHOP.
Example: One guy without spending on cash shop, but playing all day long 12+ hours a day after three months get lets say 75% of the TOTAL POWER ACHIEVABLE FOR A CHARACTER. (with everything accounted, from levels, skills, items, etc) And lets say that the only way for that character to go past that 75% is start spending money on the cash shop. And then, we have another guy, who bought 100% of all the power available in the cash shop (through all the stuff that gives you more power, directly or indirectly, like itens that makes you get more xp, more/better drops/rewards, higher chances of upgrades, or items that prevent failures or permanent loses of equipment, all kinds of gambles/lottery mall schemes) That guy, play only 6 hours every day, for one month. He achieved 75% of the TOTAL POWER ACHIEVABLE, except that 50% of it, he got playing 6 hours every day for one month, and 25% he got BUYING STRAIGHT FROM THE ITEM SHOP. Both are balanced. Is it the type of game you want to play? To be the special hero, legendary guy on that game, not only spending 12+hours a day for three months, but buying the 100% of all the power available in the cash shop. Those who do that will be the ones who will "own".
Thats what you get in f2p games. Aesthetical MT is how they introduce/justify its existant in the game while trying to prevent an outbreak in the community so you actually get the people to play your game. Normally, three months or so after, they start introducing "POWER" in the Cash shop. And then, what are you going to do? Get a refund for all the time and spent on the game? Put them on court because they significantly changed the core game mechanics breaking the good will of the contract? All the marketting was a lie and you want a indemnization? Dont be naive.
They will sell power in the cash shop, down your throat and use stupid excuses: "We have to maintain the servers" Dont be a fool. Untill we have laws preventing them from changing how the power is achieved without damaging old players, or without changing the cash shop afterwards, you are signing an empty contract. Did you read the CONTRACT? It says: "We own your account, your character and everything on it." "We can change everything we want any time we want." "We make the rules and change them without your approval." "We can ban you based on our own criteries."
MMORPGs are not products. MMORPGs are services. Still they didnt got enough attention on the court rooms and in the laws and juridic cases. We have no rights. Dont believe stupid things like the Champions Online "We will have only asthetic stuff". Hey you developer. If 6 months later you decide to change anything, will you commit sepuku? Can I go and kill you because you broke your promisse? How do I get revenge? Can I sue your ass for big bugs because you made me spent over a hundred hours of my life pursuing virtual power that now, because of your change, is now worth just a fraction? My time and effort spent was shrinked, thrown out of the window, will you compensate me how I think you should? I laugh at the faces of ignorant youngsters who doesnt know how things works. Im a lawyer and a player and let me tell you... "Players rights" will exist in the future, you will own your character and your time and effort spent on the game will be your propriety and significant game changes will be seen as a break in the contract, but not now, it is still on its infancy. There is a lot of theory to be written and analogies to consumerists rights start to apply and popularization/awakening of the people with real power so we get our "rights".
if you dont like it.
Rant about it, lets make an uproar.
Lets flood the internet with our opinions, convince others, influence people, make the community evolve
Force companies into our view.
Not "dont like, dont play it". Dont tell us what to do. If we dont like it we flood the internet walls with our opinions untill everyone is zombified and brainwashed that no opposition survives!
Subscription is human nature? I also doubt that "perhaps thousands […] of lists of how to run a successful business […] fail to include the customer" (Jaime Skelton). What does this even mean? I don't like the pseudo-science tone mixed with ideology at all (human nature = X). Purchasing is not human nature. How could it be? People lived without capitalism for quite some time. And no, sharing, exchange and purchase is not the same.
Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you. — Tyler Durden
In digital. The End.
Wait. It's way more complicated than anyone here, me included, would ever fully understand. It's called microtransactions because of a simple idea: People didn't want to spend large amounts of money on some virtual, non-existing thing for rent. And look closer, they don't even buy the custom Pink Pants of Doom at all. They give their real world money away in exchange for fantasy currency. This is the purchase. The fantasy currency has endogenous value in the fantasy world because it can be exchanged for something else that has meaning inside the fantasy world, something players for some reason like to have. Like they want to have the sofa issue handled in the real world.
Brilliant and well-thought article.
One of the best on the f2p model read on this site.
From the research I've done on various F2A games' item malls, if every MMO became microtransaction only, it would quickly price me out of being able to continue to play MMOs. That's the irony. I was investigating if games like Runes of Magic, or Allods would be good for me to switch to for the time being since I have to go offline periodically due to my career choice, but it looks like they cost too much, even in comparison to EVE, which is one of the more expensive MMO subscriptions out there.
I think F2A is not a wise move for the industry to take considering the financial crisis. This sector has done well because it is one of the cheapest forms of entertainment left. But with the microtransaction model, it's much more expensive. Someone mentioned top-ups for mobile phones being a good comparison, but everyone knows that top-ups only work if you don't use your phone often. If not, it becomes much more expensive than getting a subscription plan for your mobile phone. That's how I see F2A games as well.
Playing MUDs and MMOs since 1994.