14 DAY TRIAL // Cliff Bleszinski, the designer most famous for the Gears of War franchise, has talked about microtransactions and defended Electronic Arts' recent strategy of putting in-game stores with content players can buy with real money in all of their upcoming titles.
Microtransactions are slowly engulfing the video games industry as while they were once seen as a novel way of video game companies to squeeze more money out of players, they're now a crucial profit venue for free-to-play games.
However, many gamers are still quite adamant about microtransactions as they claim it's just a way for developers and publishers to "nickel and dime" them even if they paid for an actual game.
Cliff Bleszinski, Epic Games' former creative design, begs to differ and posted on his blog a few interesting facts about the games industry and its new relationship with microtransactions.
"The video game industry is just that. An industry. Which means that it exists in a capitalistic world. You know, a free market. A place where you’re welcome to spend your money on whatever you please… or to refrain from spending that money," he said.
Bleszinski emphasizes just how much it costs to produce and market a triple-A game and how publishers need to supply not just great benefits for employees but also increased value for shareholders.
"I’ve seen a lot of comments online about microtransactions. They’re a dirty word lately, it seems. Gamers are upset that publishers/developers are 'nickel and diming them.' They’re raging at 'big and evil corporations who are clueless and trying to steal their money.'
"If you’re currently raging about this on forums, guess what? You’re the vocal minority. Your average guy that buys just Madden and GTA every year doesn’t know, nor does he care. He has no problem throwing a few bucks more at a game because, hey, why not?"
Bleszinski once again emphasizes the importance of DLC as games need to stay relevant for as long as possible with players while continuing to make a profit for the developers and publishers.
"Every console game must have a steady stream of DLC because, otherwise, guess what? It becomes traded in, or it’s just rented. In the console space you need to do anything to make sure that that disc stays in the tray. If you don’t like the games, or the sales techniques, don’t spend your money on them. You vote with your dollars."
Even if lots of gamers have begun complaining about microtransactions, companies will continue to implement them in new games just to make sure that, if players want to spend more money, they have the possibility of doing so easily.