Microtransactions are the Bane of my Existence.

Lately I have found that there are many games that I would love to purchase.  My Steam wishlist has a whopping 20 items on it!  This is a lot for me..I usually pick five or less that I am interested in and don't add many more than that.  Even with a packed wishlist I have found myself unwilling to start dropping the cash to start ticking some of these games off the list.  Why?  Microtransactions.  It feels like what should be a fun gaming experience is all too often being driven not by what gamers enjoy, but by shameless money grabbing.

Just this last week this article came out.  A former developer who worked for BioWare (who has made some of my favorite RPG's in the form of the Mass Effect trilogy....and, also, Andromeda--which I disliked) stated that developers are pushed to make larger open-world games and especially to make sure they have some sort of multiplayer aspect.  Because gamers love multiplayer?  No.  Because it's easier?  No.  Because they are listening to what gamers actually want?  No.  Because you can make more money.  Period.  Although this isn't earth shattering news, I find it refreshing that someone is actually copping to this.

A lot of Mass Effect fans were very irked by the fact that Mass Effect:  Andromeda wasn't going to include any singleplayer DLC.  The only updates and support it would receive would be in terms of adding more multiplayer options.  This was a extremely disappointing because there were many hanging storylines that many understood would be resolved in the form of additional DLC.  But, at least we know why--money.

Another new game that I was highly anticipating was Middle Earth:  Shadow of War.  I enjoyed sneaking around and stabbing orcs in Shadow of Mordor so I actually considered paying full price to pick up the next chapter (I usually wait for sales).  Unfortunately all the reviews revealed that once you get to a certain point in the game microtransactions in the form of loot crates are really pushed on players.  Reviews reveal that the end of the game seems to be a huge grind that is designed to bore players into buying additional items just to make it go by faster.  Other reviews revealed that players are required to sign up for some sort of WB account right from the start and that from the first minute that microtransactions are pushed.  A game that I was highly anticipating has turned into an instant 

"no."

Some Deus Ex:  Mankind Divided microtransactions.

Sadly, Shadow of War isn't my only example.  Deus Ex:  Mankind Divided was another that I was really looking forward to but decided not to buy.  The clear cut greed gets even worse in this case--players could buy Praxis kits (items that grant you skill points) but these were only single use items.  In a singleplayer game....seriously?  Reviews also stated that the main storyline ends and that the only way to see the story resolved is through purchasing a DLC.  A...freakin' DLC...just to finish the main storyline!  Absolutely ridiculous.

I could keep listing off examples, but I think you get my point.  It has become completely standard fare for the big dogs (EA, Activision, etc.) to use these anti-gamer, anti-consumer practices to simply inflate their ridiculous profits.  But maybe we're the ones to blame and not the companies.  They wouldn't use these practices if they didn't work and apparently, they REALLY work (that same article that I listed above mentions a specific example of someone dropping $15,000 on loot crate equivalents).

I personally try to avoid microtransactions and loot crates like they are the plague.  I don't want to pay more for something I've already paid for.  All too often the rewards we hope to gain don't happen.  I would encourage others to do the same thing as a way to discourage developers from using these anti-consumer practices.

As someone who really enjoys singleplayer RPGs this makes me concerned about the future of one of my favorite genres.  Is the push to make more cash going to make strong story and character based RPGs a thing of the past?  Are we doomed to a future of nothing but multiplayer games filled with thinly veiled forced purchasing schemes?  I really hope not.

ADDENDUM:  10/29/17
I stumbled across this gem of an article that came out just in the last couple of weeks.  It describes a patent filed by Activision (makers of Destiny and Overwatch) to use matchmaking as a scheme to influence players to purchase loot crates.  It sounds a little weird on the surface, but they are using psychology to influence people to buy crates.  Basically they pick a number of experienced players or players who have unlocked a lot of great items (through buying crates) and pair them up with newer players.  The idea is that the newer players will see how amazing the experienced/geared players look (and probably perform--due to skill or their uber-items) and will be influenced to want to buy crates so they can look just AS LEET!  Nice use of social psychology Activision...  I get a weird slimy feeling just writing about this.

Another part of this patent seems to be giving a certain unlockable item an advantage in certain matches.  Maybe a map pops up that rewards sniping--and before the match players are given the option to buy crates with the hope of unlocking a really good sniping weapon.  This would also put pressure on players to buy crates so that they could rack up more wins due to this advantage.

Activision vehemently denied that this is what they were trying to do.  They claim that they were just "testing out" the idea.  Sounds fishy to me.