When Do Microtransactions become too much

[Ciaran]

I had my 360 replaced last month, and now the only arcade game I brought online has reverted back to being a demo. If I have to buy all these microtransactions again everytime I need a replacement machine, I think I'll give the whole thing a miss. Plus, will they be transferable when larger capacity Hard Disks come out ? I dont want to keep switching HD's like they were memory cards.

They should be linked to your gamertag.

[Family Fry]

Its linked to your gamertag so as long as your using the same gamertag on your new 360 you should be able to Re-Download the full arcade game for free.

[Concrete donkey]

It's strange. When I first got my new 360 Geometry Wars was a demo version. I checked again a few days after as I showed a friend how it had turned back to the demo version. When I went to see if I had to pay for upgrading to the full version, it had already been restored. Maybe I won't write off these micro transactions afterall.

[EvilBoris]

You do have to be signed into Live for it to show up as the full version.
Could that be why?

[Concrete donkey]

You do have to be signed into Live for it to show up as the full version.
Could that be why?

No I dont think so, my 360 logs on automaticly when I switch it on. When I got the new machine, I got live working before checking anything else

[MikeRox]

What concerns me is PGR3 has now cost me near enough ?60. If I was gonna buy a game in a shop an it was that price I'd think "no way", I had a similar thing with PGR2. Yet I'm a complete sucker when they release extra cars an stuff and want them.

[MJ]

I wish you could get a refund. It would be good if they offered a limited time period for refunds, like one week.

If the extra content has been developed after the final game's release then maybe I don't mind getting it, if it's something I really want and is reasonably priced, but if it's content that has been developed during the final game's production, then why should we pay for it when it should be in the final game.

I really want GRAW Chapter 2, but I'm not paying ?10 for it. It's overpriced for what it is.

My biggest regret is buying SFII and I regret not downloading the trial more, like I normally do. I would rather have put these points towards the overpriced GRAW Chapter 2.

[Brats]

Micro Transactions become too much when:

1) Stuff is obviouly missing from the game AND the cost to buy the extra stuff increases the cost of the game more than it's true value.

2) Buying stuff gives an advantage in online games that cannot be gained in any other way.

I haven't got a problem with Lumines. If the game were released as a normal XBox 360 game on disc with all the modes included, it would have been ?30. I would have bought it at that price quite happily. By buying the Live Arcade version and all the add ons (which I probably will) it'll still end up costing less than ?30.

I think a lot of people have lost perspective when it comes to microtransactions. Lumines 2 on the PSP costs more money than Lumines Live plus all the extra packs, yet no-one bats an eyelid.

There are lots of advantages with microtransactions too, but no-one ever seems to discuss those.

[bwi]

I think a lot of people have lost perspective when it comes to microtransactions. Lumines 2 on the PSP costs more money than Lumines Live plus all the extra packs, yet no-one bats an eyelid.

But with the psp version you actually have a physical game that can sit on your shelf. Trade/sell on and do whatever you want with it.

bri

[Brats]

True, but when I look at the value of a game, I look at the value of what it means to actually play and enjoy it, not the potential resale value.

You could argue from the other way that digital distribution allows you to store media on your hard drive which is easier to access and it avoids any issues with lost/damaged discs.

[NekoFever]

You could argue from the other way that digital distribution allows you to store media on your hard drive which is easier to access and it avoids any issues with lost/damaged discs.

I'd prefer to take the risk with an optical disc that I can take care of and keep in its case than risk it on a hard drive. I've never had discs arbitrarily fail on me but it's happened to a couple of hard drives in the last few years.

The problem with Lumines is that comparable games are far cheaper on the Marketplace. Stuff like Geometry Wars or Hexic doesn't have downloadable bonus songs as an added revenue stream but are still available for a few quid. I wouldn't have a problem if they sold a limited version of Lumines and then expected you to buy an added pack to get everything, but it's already much more expensive than most of the other games on the Marketplace.

[Brats]

I'd prefer to take the risk with an optical disc that I can take care of and keep in its case than risk it on a hard drive. I've never had discs arbitrarily fail on me but it's happened to a couple of hard drives in the last few years.

It doesn't matter if you're hard drive fails though. The game is linked to your gamertag and you can re-download it again for free to your new hard drive. If a disc ends up scratched, you have to buy a new one.

Regarding the Lumines price, it still has a lot more game modes than most Live Arcade titles even in the basic version. You can't really compare with Hexic (which was a give away with the hard drive) or Geo Wars (which was cheaper because previously BC had given the game away for free with PGR2).

[MartyG]

When you comapre it to bank shot billiards ( which was also released at 1200 ) with dozens of different modes, it doesn't look like quite the same bargain.

If this title hadn't of done so well on PSP, or had never been released as a full price game, I seriously doubt it would have been quite as crippled on XBLA.

[Brats]

You're right, but if Lumines Live had been released on a disc with all modes for ?30, no-one would be complaining one jot. And that's the point, that as of this poin today Lumines is perceived as a higher value title on the PSP, but within Marketplace it is compared to other titles which is not a fair comparison.

Put it like this. There's no way Bankshot could have been released as a ?30 title on any system. Lumines can, so it seems kinda obvious to me that it should cost more.

[Concept]

The problems I have with microtransactions are the occasions when greed and opportunism get the better of certain publishers. Episodic content I'm all for. Buy a new in-game t-shirt or golf club and I start to become extremely wary.

The important thing to take into consideration with the microtransaction model is that it's only one of out of a number of possible alternatives. It needn't become the dominant way we start paying for our games, because if it does then it's very easy for it to develop into a form where every type of game is dissected and offered in bits and pieces.

It's simple for me. Microtransactions work in some games and genres, and not in others.

My threshold is when a game starts to be carved up like a worm multiple parts over so you have to keep spending, spending, spending to get it into a state it should have been released in. I don't have any problem with content which is substantial and clearly developed (or in development) after release of a game however.