Tag Archives: microtransactions

Buying a triple-A game is now a slow drip-feed of your cash into publisher coffers. Brenna worries there may be greater concerns than anti-consumer fleecing.

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Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has posted a passionate defence of microtransactions, insisting vocal detractors are a minority and citing investor pressure as the motivating factor for alternate revenue streams.

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EA COO Peter Moore expects within the next 5-10, microtransactions will be “in every game,” with access to the game free andpublishers monetizing the add-ons.

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During the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference yesterday, THQ’s Brian Farrell told investors that in order for the firm to realize the potential of its new pricing model – which debuts with MX vs ATV: Alive – console makers need to “adjust their business models.”

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THQ’s Brian Farrell has said the company plans to experiment with a hybrid model of monetization with its titles in the future.

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Stop! Don’t lay a finger and/or hammer on that piggy bank! Age of Empires Online, you see, has no need for your nickels and dimes.

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EA has revealed some of the premium packs gamers will be able to download for Madden 10.

No word on pricing for any of these, but here is what is known so far:

• Super Superstar – Downloading this will enable your Superstar to get maximum progression for the length of his career.
• Pick A Superstar – Downloading this will allow you to pick any NFL player to start Superstar mode with.
• Dig Deep – For one play, your players respond to the challenges of the moment. All players receive a 10% boost to all stats.
• Game Day Instincts – For one game, your coaching staff is in the zone. All players receive a 5% boost to all stats; can be used once per year, per franchise.
• PK Scout – Download this to use a special scout who will reveal all true stats for Punter and Kicker prospects in the upcoming offseason. This is usable in Franchise only.
• Play Through the Pain – Using this allows for one player to recover from any injury no matter what the severity; usable once per season, per franchise.
• Not Done Yet – Downloading this allows you to keep one player out of retirement for one more year; usable once per season, per franchise. This is used in Franchise Mode only.

In addition to these, players can purchase Elite Status through the multiplayer lobby, which provides access to “exclusive VIP lobbies, leaderboards” and access to “the all new Elite Gametype” which features “All-Madden difficulty level and is tuned exclusively for the hardcore”, which IGN says will run you $5.00.

Game’s out next week. Hit the links for more.

Via Joystiq.

Sony Online’s Free Realms has close to 5 million registered players and the game has only been live since April 28, according to SOE president John Smedley,

During it’s first ten days, the game hit 1 million subscribers and has steadily grown by leaps and bounds each week.

Smedley attributed the popularity and success of the game to the company’s free-to-play business model, with microtransactions.

More through Gamasutra.

Cryptic currently has Champions Online in closed beta, and one of the things being tested is a Real Money Trading (RMT) system.

Testers trying out the in-game Champions Store have the option to use RMT, but currently the option is disabled with the error message “microtransactions” popping up.

Cryptic confirmed through a statement that it’s “currently testing functionality for in-game transactions,” but plans have yet to be finalized as it is still deciding if RMT will be implemented in future releases.

The statement also said that microtransactions are “a necessary component of the greater Cryptic platform since we plan on working on a number of different titles using our technology platform,” something that Chief creative officer Jack Emmert has shown disgust over in the past.

So far, the game’s to be your normal subscription-based MMO when it launches July 14 in Europe and North America.

Thanks, Eurogamer.

Analyst firm Screen Digest has estimated that MMO subscriptions grew 22 percent in 2008 and accumulated over $1.4 billion in Europe and North America.

World of Warcraft dominated the sector.

In a report titled “Subscription MMOGs: Life beyond World of Warcraft,” it is estimated that 58 percent of the share of western spending on subscription-based MMOs has amounted to $2.2 billion since 2005.

Free-to-play, micro-transaction-based games were not included in these findings.

By 2013, Screen Digest expects the subscription market to top $2 billion.

Press release after the break.

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Earlier today, Sony’s director of PlayStation Home in the US, Jack Buser, announced that Home’s beautiful, wide-open frontier will soon be paved over with tens, hundreds — maybe even thousands — of themed spaces.

“You’ll see about three new spaces launched a month – I’ll be shocked if we ever go under that number, we have so much in the pipeline,” Buser said during a talk at GDC.

Among other things, he also encouraged developers to implement microtransactions in Home with the following rationale:

“What else can you buy for 49 cents? You can’t even get a cup of coffee. It’s great value for the gamers.”

Yeah.

Tons more through the link.