The Microtransaction: It’s Older (And Worse) Than You Think.
December 14th, 2006
“Horse armor.” I saw that vein in your forehead twitch.
Microtransaction is becoming a household word for gamers. It’s also becoming a dirty one. It’s not all bad, but it is starting to be abused. By now you’ve probably heard about EA’s market place practices. You know, how they charge money for content that’s available via cheat code on other platforms. And let’s not forget my favorite gem, Grand Turismo HD, which may end up costing almost $1000 for the complete game.
The Xbox Live Market place was the first and now Sony and Nintendo have followed their lead. Do you blame Microsoft of the evil they’ve unleashed on to gamers? Well before you go give them a piece of your mind on their customer complaint desk, take a look at how some other companies have been handling microtransactions for some time now.
Let’s start with Gunbound. It’s a cute and addictive game where players have cute little anime characters… that blow up other cute little anime characters. And it’s FREE! Sort of. The appeal of the game is to buy items and clothes for your characters to make them EVEN CUTER, and of course stronger. Most of the items are purchased with in game gold or Ijji Coins (like Microsoft Points). 10 Ijji Coins are equal to $1.00 , so it’s up to you if you wanna drop the cash or work hard to get that pirate hat you’ve been eying. But certain items can only be purchased with Ijji Coins… especially some of the more desirable stuff, like the Golden Armor Set. It’s only available with Ijji Coins and you can purchase it for a week, month or keep it forever for 32, 63 or 630 Ijji Coins respectively. So if you want to keep it forever, you’re shelling out $63 on virtual armor. You’d have to play, never changing your armor, for at least 10 months to get your money’s worth. And $6.30 a month for a “free” game is kind of high. Why not pick up that copy of Word of Warcraft instead… you’d probably have more fun.
Not crazy about the idea of renting items? Well than you’re gonna hate Maple Story. Maple Story is another adorable and “free” online game. It’s an MMORPG and you can customize your character, choose their class, and of course buy them crap. There’s tons of armor, accessories and abilities that players can purchase with in game currency. Again, there are exclusive items you can only buy with cold hard cash at the appropriately named Cash Shop. The cash only item list is huge, with hair styles, pets, clothing, abilities… and unlike in Gunbound where items increased your stats, many of these items are cosmetic only. But the real difference, you don’t have the option to buy an item forever. Most items expire after 90 days… some expire in less. So to buy one of the games more expensive items, the Huskie Package, you have to pay 26,000 “cash” which comes to $26. That’s right… $26 for an item that will expire in 90 days. Just for that item pack, you’re spending almost $9 a month. And forget about selling your Cash Shop items for gold… that will get you banned. Seriously, how dare you encourage another player not to pay them real cash for it!? And if you do want to sell your (non-Cash Shop) items, you have to purchase a store permit… which is only available at the Cash Shop for $5 And hurry because you only have 14 days to use it!
Now this brings me to Gaia Online. It’s not a game per say, but it also has the addictive process of making a character and spending all of your resources to make it cuter. It’s actually the most fascinating of these examples because they removed all the fun gameplay elements and stripped it down to JUST avatar building. And somehow, it’s a wild success with over 5 million users. So what is Gaia? It’s just a website… but if websites were drugs, it would be the crack of the internet. You sign up, click, post in the forums, comment, vote or play flash minigames and you’re rewarded with gold for every click! You can use that gold to buy items for your avatar or furniture for your house. And yes, this too is free. But of course they make their money off ya. You guessed it: special items! They handle microtransactions a bit differently than the other guys. Each month they release Monthly Collectible Items. They used to be called Donation Items, but some angry parents brought it to their attention that “since Gaia is not a non-profit organization, ‘donation’ is probably not the most appropriate word to use.” You can choose from 2 different items, for $2.50 each and its yours forever. Sounds reasonable. But they hook you into spending more, because each item can be worn 8 different ways… so if you absolutely HAVE TO have all versions of both, potentially you’re spending $40. Most users wouldn’t spend nearly that amount, but the sale potention is there. I’m not against this practice exactly, especially now that they no longer call them “Donation Items.” That was just sick. Oh and don’t miss out on this month’s extra Collectible Item, where you can pick from 3 items and potentially spend $60 instead of $40… which they describe as being “just really, really great.”
So if you’re still mad about some of the microtransactions taking hold of your gaming experience, at least you know you’re not alone. And while Microsoft isn’t to blame for starting the trend of selling us virtual goods, they, as well as Sony and Nintendo, are responsible for not letting it get out of hand. Something that clearly can (and has) happened with other companies. But remember, the responsibility doesn’t only rest on the shoulders of the content providers… it also rests on yours. Don’t let yourself, or the gaming community, be taken advantage of. Talk with your money! (Believe me, they’re listening) Don’t just buy every new piece of content that comes out. They’re only selling because you’re buying.
-JENNI CHASTEEN
Tags: DLC, free games, Game Industry, microtransactions, online games
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December 15th, 2006 at 10:41 am
I must admit, Gaia doesnt sound that great when you put it like that. However, its fun to do, making goals to get enough gold to get the items you want. But its not just that, theres the whole point of naking friends all over the
world.
Its just like myspace, but you can choose how you are portrayed. Nothing wrong with that now, is there?
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December 15th, 2006 at 10:48 am
Thats amazing how you got that information, its cool too. I agee with you though, Gaia is much better when it comes to the items and customizing your avatar, but some of the other games might be more fun. But the main thing I agree with you about is how the other games lie to you, saying its free, when its not. My cousin had recently reccomended maple story to me, and now thanks to you, I know the drawbacks to it. Im sticking with Gaia. Thank You!!
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December 15th, 2006 at 10:55 am
Hi , I have noticed that you make a very fine point, and your right! It is true, microtransactions are way out of hand , and this needs to be fixed, but theres an issue, the admins of our liked websites also actualy need some of the money to pay the $5 a month to keep our web sites up! And several of the web sites we like depend on the microtransactions! So, my proposition is that we ememsly lower the prices on micro transactions So that we save money, get the items that we want on these web sites, and the web sites stay up! Because people pay way to much for little pixils! Take gaia online for example, they are “free” but they have monthly items , and they charge $2.50 for only one item! Holy cow that is high, if you want more than one. So I think they should lower their price to at least $0.25 or less and they will still make a profit , just not as much, and we will save money! Microtrans actions are very out of hand there needs to be a big price change! Prices need to go down at least 65% of what they are now! If they do things should work out! THINGS NEED TO CHANGE here on the internet!
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December 15th, 2006 at 10:55 am
Shardan,
No, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with sites like that… I just think that some companies are profiting a great deal on items that at first glace are extremely cheap… but when you think about it have outrageously high profit margins… so I just want to remind people that they don’t have to buy every little thing because it’s new and the only way to controll the prices of stuff like this is to not pay for things that are too expensive or really worth it.
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December 15th, 2006 at 11:06 am
sellesion,
Actually it costs sites like that much more for hosting and upkeep… not to mention to pay for all of the artists/writers/programers/etc… but they make plenty of money to upkeep that stuff from advertisers and sharing information. (Statistics, not stuff like your credit card)
And I agree that the prices should be lower, but as long as people pay that much for intangibles, they will remain the same.
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December 15th, 2006 at 2:03 pm
I play gaia online and many other internet games such as monstersgame. I’ve never paid for the so called “donation items” or anything like that, since I consider it a waste of money.
The problem is that, in Gaiaonline and other games which right now are beginning to introduce their “pay system” like Neopets, is that players who pay have an advantage over players who don’t.
This is unfair because some people are underage and cannot pay for these things or they just think it isn’t worthy, meanwhile, those who do can sell their donation items at high prices which aren’t controlled by the gaia staff (the reason is that the Gaia staff want more people to donate for their items knowing that, if they don’t do, the items they want will rise incredibly).
Also, in other games like Ogame or monstersgame, what you get for paying are advantages over the normal players, like, in the case of the first one, many tactical stuff which would take me a while to explain. In the case of the second one, you get access to different “pets” which help you fight other users (whose pets are, of course, significantly weaker than the ones you can get by paying).
The thing is, the gaia staff won’t do anything to stop that. Something happened during november, which was that people didn’t like the items, and they were beginning to sell them at the marketplace for low prices, so they introduced the UFO’s flying feature and the price of the UFO for those who hadn’t bought it via paypal or with gaian gold before the flying feat, rised incredibly. If something like this happens again, the Gaia staff will do something so people think they MUST buy those items and I won’t be surprised if, in January, every previous collectible costs 20k gaian gold more.
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December 15th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
Mike,
I hear you about it being unfair… I don’t get why people who have more money get to do better in a game than people who work hard and become good at it. It takes away some of the fun… it’s kind of like how rich kids do better on thier SATs because their parents can afford classes. Gaming was the one place where the only thing that mattered is how good you are… and now that’s starting to not matter as much anymore either.
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January 8th, 2007 at 12:29 am
to Mike: I’ve been on Gaia since 2004, and I have to ask you: WHAT “pay system”? Gaia pays *you* for every click on the site, whether you’re just browsing, answering a poll, playing the mini-games, or having discussions. Not only that, they even *reward you* with a random “event” of either a pink link (one of the threads has a pink background; you get 1000 gold from this), a giftbox (one of three colors, each with an item in it) or a enchanted trunk (one of two colors, with items for your “house” in it).
NOWHERE does it say that you have to pay *anything* to get onto the site or do anything…. yet. Gaia, in general, is in the *alpha* stage, and like Winamp, may stay at that stage forever –all because of the OPTION of buying Collectibles or any of the real items in the GStore. And even then, you don’t have to use cash to get the Collectibles; you can always save up gold to buy the current “sealed” envelopes in the Marketplace.
Yes, some Gaians have more than others, but that’s because they got smart and either (a) offered a *service* for gold (such as the artists who do avi arts or draw pictures of one’s avatar) or else, like me, saw a good thing and saved the Item for at least six months before selling it. Sure, there are sites who offer cheap prices for getting Gaia gold — and every single one is operating AGAINST THE TOS OF GAIA. Use one of those, and you’ll carry a high risk of getting banned for good, losing everything in the process.
As for myself –I’m going to play fair. And I hope that articles like this who spin online FREE sites like Gaia are in the minority.
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January 8th, 2007 at 12:36 am
p.s: As for the UFO’s : At the time those were released, Gaia was going along with a storyline that had started at Halloween, went through Christmas, and is *still* ongoing. After all, what good is a UFO if it can’t “fly”? (That works only in Towns, not the whole site.)
The Storylines are part of what make people stay with the site. If you missed anything, go look in the “plot” thread in the Gaia Community Forum. It shows you all the storylines from the very beginning of Gaia up to the present.
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January 9th, 2007 at 6:37 am
Whoa. I see someone has been sucked in.
There are obviously many different perspectives with regard to these gaming sites, but I would say, from the above responses, Gaia would be very well loved.
I appreciate Gaia Online or Go Gaia which it was once called when I first joined it. And I joined it in April 2004. I have obviously bought nothing - for it would be a waste of money, and seriously, the smarter people wait for the less sensible ones to buy such envelopes, to ’sell’ the extras they don’t need (you can imagine how much they [make their parents] fork out), and then buy them using Gaian gold in bulk for cheaper. True, one can save up, but the problem is: inflation. With all that moneywasting, people wish to sell their envelopes as high as they can, so there you go.
With regard to “all the storylines from the very beginning of Gaia up to the present”, Ketira, I contend that. Because the whole storyline business started way after the ‘beginning of Gaia’. Everything has changed - from the outlay to the present ‘Towns’, which never quite existed some 3 years ago.
I’m sure the UFO flying is indeed a marketing ploy, but perhaps to say it was employed to boost the sales.. well, I don’t know the stats, so I’ll leave it at that.
If you talk about smart Marketplace buying, look at me: I got my Kikis and Cocos when they were but a fraction of their current prices, went off Gaia to do a bit of University for some months, and Lo! They’ve shot up to some delectable prices. But why would I, or anyone sell it? With inflation, greed and demand, Im sure in 2 years, my investments would be superb.
Essentially, Gaia Online, or Go Gaia, as I fondly know it, was a brilliant site. But with so the excessive shower of many new, younger users, old ones have fled, for the content, especially in Extended Discussion, has become a shadow of what it once was. I would say it is inevitable, as I believe that Gaia had always started out with a moneymaking objective, from the first Donation Letter (priceless Halo, anybody?) to those 3-in-1 valuable letters today. It’s a pity, really. All the people hoarding stuff happily welcome the ones who actually buy the virtual stuff.
And oh, did I forget to mention Gift Credits?
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January 20th, 2007 at 9:14 am
I think you’re misrepresenting Maple Story!
First off, when you buy the Pet, it does NOT cost 26 dollars for a Husky Package. That package is only about 12-14 dollars, I can’t quite recall. It also comes with the Item Pouch and Meso Magnet, which actualy aids in the game, by collecting your items as you kill, increasing training speed, with no lag.
Since the items all last for three months thats four dollars for an aiding item. Also the Pet last forever, all you need to do is buy a Water of Life every three months. Which is only about three dollars.
The most basic Shop Permit is only $1.80 and you can have up to 16 Items in it. It last for 90 days, not 14. This is also not the ONLY way to sell items, as you potrayed it. You don’t NEED a permit to sell items.
And no I havent bought any of these things, but you should give Maple Story a fair shake.
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