If you’re an avid gamer, especially on the
mobile platform, you’ve probably noticed the multitude of free to play games hitting
the market. All of these games are free except
they include a form of micro transactions to advance in the game without
putting in the required time or provide items to help win areas. While many individuals argue gamers do not
need to purchase the items to complete the game, the question quickly becomes
at what point is a game structured to take your money by intentionally
creating obscene time requirements?
For this article, I am going to use the
example of World of Tanks. I was
fortunate enough to play the beta and quite enjoyed the game prior to its final
launch; however the beta did not include the in game store or premium
feature. I recently decided to download
the final release of the game and found myself enjoying it immensely until I
realized the in game requirements to unlock higher tier tanks seem absurd!
At this point, I thought to myself well
that’s OK, I can always purchase gold to help unlock the tanks or get the XP
boost with premium. Gold prices begin at
$6.99 for 1250 or $99.00 for 25,000 as the most expensive. My experience with gold in the beta (20,000
gold was provided for free) was that a fairly decent chunk is required in order
to play with higher tier tanks, purchase equipment, and consumables. As a result, the game requires a steady
influx of cash if you wish to obtain the higher tier tanks.
The time requirements to obtain the same
amount of XP to unlock higher level tanks, consumables, and equipment is the
equivalent of playing 10-15 hours a day.
While most hardcore gamers do not mind playing 10-15 hours a day to
reach the required amount, the majority of gamers will either succumb to paying money for
higher tier tanks (And some argue better game play) or walk away from the
game. I’m not against free to play games
by any means as some are simply superb in their execution, such as World of
Tanks. I am against hitting a wall where
it feels like no amount of grinding and mining of XP will result in
successfully advancing in the game.
This is simply one example of one free to
play game with micro transactions becoming nearly absolute in order to progress
in what is an otherwise excellent game.
This trend is present in many other free to play games which are setting
the precedent for future developers to follow.
Free to play games quickly become an expensive investment time wise and
financially. These games are designed to
plateau gamers to a point where they must purchase content in order to be
successful. All in all, these games are
absolutely not free to play. You’re
better off making a one time purchase than continuing to invest time and money
into a game that is designed to simply take your cash.
PC won this for me hands down
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a chance to play World of Tanks on PC yet; however I have heard awesome things as the PC version contains crews that can drastically alter the combat experience! I'm hoping the 360 version will include crews in the future :D!
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