Diablo-bolical.
Long gone are the days, where, if
it wasn't on the disc, you didn't have it - and we as gamers are currently
suffering through the age of the microtransaction.
They have begun to appear more and
more as games have started to be released free. Developers quickly
learned that they could make far more profit from in-game add-ons, rather than
simply charging you for the game in the first place. This is a practice that is
noticeably rife in the mobile gaming industry.
Microtransactions can appear as
harmless snippets of DLC - an easy way for a studio to hoover up any spare cash
fans have yet to part with. This is seen mostly with skins and other design
alteration elements.
However, there is another
approach, something more sinister; the pay-to-win approach.
Developers have been abusing this power for some years now and it has left a
horrible atmosphere in its wake. Some consider it a fun vacuum, while others
feel it's not cheating if you've paid for the privilege. The general consensus though, is that it is unnecessary. It is certainly a tactic that leans
on an individual’s competitive nature - their need to be the best.
While microtransactions certainly
exist on home consoles, it is mobile games that make full use of this
questionable strategy. Diablo: Immortal is one such mobile title.
Released only a few days ago on
June 2nd, Diablo: Immortal has already garnered plenty of negative reception.
With fans sharing the mutual feeling that Diablo: Immortal is nothing more than
a roulette table with a Diablo theme.
On YouTube, Bellular News,
broke down in their video what it would cost to fully upgrade your character.
The conclusion was a staggering $110,000, that's £88,000 in the Queen's
English, showing just why the free-to-play angle is so lucrative for
developers. If only a fraction of that was spent, per player, Blizzard would be
laughing all the way to the bank. It easily offsets the cost of releasing the
game for free.
Joe Grubb at Blizzard claimed,
back in May, that the microtransactions would be in no way necessary. He said
that the core gameplay would remain intact regardless of the additional content
and that the microtransactions were purely a bonus. Arguably, much like
all other free-to-play mobiles games, that's true, but having to fork out for
extra Crests - to speed up time and to help level you up faster - has all left a sour taste. Belgium and the Netherlands are not even having a release due to Immortals' inclusion of loot boxes, as their laws forbid them. Loot boxes are well known to be something that both children
and those prone to gambling addiction easily fall prey too.
Blizzard certainly aren't the
first to have ventured to such depths. EA have been mixed up with
microtransaction controversy for years. However, I think people just expect big
well known developers to be more upfront with their business dealings, to be more
transparent. In reality though they are a business and if their competitors
are doing it, and raking in bucket loads of cash, then they will grab a slice of
that market too. At least while the law allows.
I think AngryJoeShow, on YouTube, expressed just how many feel about this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upw3488N3Gg
I hope you enjoyed this article.
Make sure to leave me your thoughts in the comments.
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thumbnail image ©: Blizzard Entertainment, Microsoft, Hong Kong NetEase Interactive
Entertainment Limited
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