On 02 Jun 2022, Kaelon said the following...
Ka> How many of you plan on playing Diablo Immortal?
Ka> _____
Ka> -=: Kaelon :=-

I might check it out but not dropping money on it. I prefer to own my games. Not pay for them over time. What game provider should do is Well you the game and then have a small charge onces there isn't enough traffic to keep the server going. This way of people want it to stay online they can vote with their dollar.

Better than micro transactions. Everything I read says its basically pay to win.

DrClaw
Noverdu BBS sysop
Noverdu.com SSH/Telnet/Web at Port 808

Re: Re: Diablo Immortal
By: claw to Kaelon on Sat Jun 04 2022 02:30 pm

> Better than micro transactions. Everything I read says its basically pay to
> win.

You are correct. It is essentially pay-to-win, if you want to reach the highest stages of the game and be competitive. If you just want to play the storyline and get moderately geared, you don't need to drop a single cent on the game. But, yeah, the micro-transactions are obscene and this represents a new brazen and offensive standard. It is a Netease game, though, and they are really good at the micro-transaction game.
_____
-=: Kaelon :=-

---
■ Synchronet ■ Vertrauen ■ Home of Synchronet ■ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net

-=> Kaelon wrote to claw <=-

Ka> You are correct. It is essentially pay-to-win, if you want to reach
Ka> the highest stages of the game and be competitive.

I play WarThunder, and think of the in-game transaction costs as
entertainment costs, and I'm OK with that. Like the game you describe, you
could be a successful mid-tier player without spending a cent, it's once you
get into more expensive vehicles, or get impatient grinding up to get new
vehicles that spending money in-game makes sense.

Then again, if I were better, I'd make more in winnings and could maybe
subsidize the game without paying.

It's all about entertainment, and I enjoy it.

.... Slow preparation, fast execution
--- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
� Synchronet � .: realitycheckbbs.org :: scientia potentia est :.

Re: Re: Diablo Immortal
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Kaelon on Mon Jun 06 2022 08:14 am

> -=> Kaelon wrote to claw <=-
>
> Ka> You are correct. It is essentially pay-to-win, if you want to reach
> Ka> the highest stages of the game and be competitive.
>
> I play WarThunder, and think of the in-game transaction costs as
> entertainment costs, and I'm OK with that. Like the game you describe, you
> could be a successful mid-tier player without spending a cent, it's once you
> get into more expensive vehicles, or get impatient grinding up to get new
> vehicles that spending money in-game makes sense.
>
> Then again, if I were better, I'd make more in winnings and could maybe
> subsidize the game without paying.
>
> It's all about entertainment, and I enjoy it.
>
>
> ... Slow preparation, fast execution

I think the problem does not come from the fact you have to invest money to
play a certain way, but rather from the fact payments interfere with the gaming
experience.

See those village building games in which you may be having trouble, but then
you swipe your card loaded with in�-game-currency to get critical
infrastructure built in a second. This sort of thing removes the escapist
aspect of games because it keepds reminding you ever and ever again that the
game has IRL implications which happen to be finantial.

When I play old games, only the game exists in my mind while I am playing. WHen
there are IRL economics going it feels like such fact is competing with the
actual game experience for my attention.

--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

---
� Synchronet � Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Re: Re: Diablo Immortal
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Kaelon on Mon Jun 06 2022 08:14 am

> It's all about entertainment, and I enjoy it.

I generally agree, and have historically looked at monthly recurring subscriptions to video games as a very cheap and effective form of entertainment. When you think about what we have been paying for decades to go to the movies, for example, you'd be out of pocket ~$40 for a ticket, some concessions, and gas money to basically see a 2 hour film at the theaters. So $15/mo. is a bargain.

That said, Diablo Immortal is redefining the floor for how much a gaming company can nickle-and-dime you to consume the content. Want to complete the dungeon more quickly? That's $2 for a 4 minute run. Want to get extra gear just from logging in? That's $9/mo. Want even more? That'll be another $20/mo. What about in-game gold or other currencies? You can buy them, anywhere from $10 for about 20-30 minutes worth of farming, to $10,000 to skip ahead and get perfect gear.

It is pretty brazen, and my preference is just to ignore the most extreme parts of it. That said, it's already banned in certain countries, and it is likely going to spark the debate in the United States and Canada. Regrettably, it does confirm that Blizzard's good name has truly seen the end-times, as having sold the Diablo franchise to NetEase, a notorious Asian mobile games developer with a penchant for these micro-transactions, puts the nail in the coffin of what little goodwill remains for this brand.
_____
-=: Kaelon :=-

---
■ Synchronet ■ Vertrauen ■ Home of Synchronet ■ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net