Micro-transaction Fever: A Psychological Game

With the upcoming release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain just around the corner, a huge outcry has been heard throughout the gaming community about micro-transactions in full retail games. Many people are bashing these games, saying that micro-transactions make the game "pay to win" and that the content should be able to be acquired easier in game. I'd like to take a while to show why micro-transactions are toxic to gamers and the games that they are present in.

One major reason is that micro-transactions make games unbalanced in multiplayer. Let's take the fine example of Mass Effect 3's multiplayer. Even though I liked the game, micro-transactions allow people to quickly and easily get extra and powerful gear. Although you can get this gear without paying the money, it's much harder and time consuming to do so. Getting this gear allowed those players to generate in-game currency faster, and take the currency from the people who didn't pay.

Another major reason is that adding micro-transactions make gamers feel inferior when they play. Let's say you are in a game, trying to get a shiny set of rare armor. Let's also say that you could pay to get said armor with micro-transactions. Naturally, you would feel bad when you see someone in that armor that truly didn't earn it. Furthermore, some strong items take hours and hours of grinding to get. Or you could play a couple of dollars to get it immediately. And if this weapon is strong and is available in multiplayer, it could cause a unbalance in gameplay that is undeserved.

In the end, micro-transactions in full, retail games are unacceptable. Games should not have shortcuts to get items built into it. They are just a weak attempt for companies to get your money. And you know what? It works. People use their money to get in-game cash because they feel like its a sound decision. The only sound way to get micro-transactions out of our games is to stop buying them, but that doesn't seem like that's going to happen any time soon.

Sorry for the delayed and rushed post today, school just started and I'm still trying to get my bearings. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below!