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Infinite Obsolesence
Guest
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| "I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore!" |
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Micro-content addons are the equivalent of the convenience store purchase: grossly overpriced, largely products based on habitual consumption (cigarettes, soda, alcohol, snacks), in small packages requiring daily (potentially multiple daily) purchases at prices that 'feel' small but add up quickly to a rip off.
First, I agree with FatBastard, it appears in game building architecture (Mage's guild) was set up to include macro-pay/micro-content add-ons.
Second, I do not mind paying for add-ons with a proportionate cost. At such a cost, the horse armor would have been about 1 penny, as this is the smallest unit of effective transfer by cash.
I won't be making a habit of micro-content purchases. I suppose a whole lot of American suburban kids with disposal income (daddiecome) will be buying these up.
I say that Bethsoft should start selling cigarettes, candy bars, energy pills. and soda along with these addons on their website. $2.00 for a can of Pepsi that your character can pretend to drink.
How far can an empire's excesses go? Don't look to Tamriel, folks. |
Mon Apr 10, 2006 2:58 pm |
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xSamhainx
Paws of Doom
Joined: 11 Sep 2002
Posts: 2192
Location: San Diego |
| Re: "I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore!" |
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quote:
Originally posted by Infinite Obsolesence
Micro-content addons are the equivalent of the convenience store purchase: grossly overpriced, largely products based on habitual consumption (cigarettes, soda, alcohol, snacks), in small packages requiring daily (potentially multiple daily) purchases at prices that 'feel' small but add up quickly to a rip off.
First, I agree with FatBastard, it appears in game building architecture (Mage's guild) was set up to include macro-pay/micro-content add-ons.
Second, I do not mind paying for add-ons with a proportionate cost. At such a cost, the horse armor would have been about 1 penny, as this is the smallest unit of effective transfer by cash.
I won't be making a habit of micro-content purchases. I suppose a whole lot of American suburban kids with disposal income (daddiecome) will be buying these up.
I say that Bethsoft should start selling cigarettes, candy bars, energy pills. and soda along with these addons on their website. $2.00 for a can of Pepsi that your character can pretend to drink.
How far can an empire's excesses go? Don't look to Tamriel, folks.
Every day I stop off at some convenience store and get coffee and what not, and even lately, I'll get a gallon of water or milk. I'll pay a buck more to get it done quick. I dont see the daily consumption things such as this being comparable to an extra bit of game content here and there, they arent asking for a daily download here, let alone a "habitual" one, that adds up to some rather substantial amounts. Five of these little addons are going to cost me what, ten bucks? And it's anything but "convenient", anyone who has to stop and fill out all their info to simply get it, then activate it, will attest to that.
And I dont think that suburban kids (of which I am formerly of) or any kids for that matter, are too pleased at all about this. They are some of the most affected by this in a negative way, as they seldom have credit cards themselves, and allowance is a five or ten dollar bill. Now they have to bug their parents for a credit card purchase online, it's a pain when youre that age!
I have to disagree also with the notion that "forums outrage" does not matter, as I have witnessed games being patched and modified in certain ways, purely as the result of people spazzing out on forums, official and otherwise. Granted, the bottom line is more than likely the final arbiter in most cases, but with high-profile titles, I do think the collective voice of the community does matter to some degree.
I'm sorta mixed on this whole thing personally. Part of me does see the inconvenience of it all quite clear and the potential for Darth EA nickle and diming us to death, the other part of me has no problem paying a couple bucks here and there for something extra.
Im curious to see what the future holds.
_________________
“Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving.”-Mark Twain |
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Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:17 pm |
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TheMadGamer
High Emperor
Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 487
Location: Southern California |
| Re: "I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore!" |
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quote:
Originally posted by xSamhainx
I have to disagree also with the notion that "forums outrage" does not matter, as I have witnessed games being patched and modified in certain ways, purely as the result of people spazzing out on forums, official and otherwise.
You may be right that some amount of forum outrage may be one reason why a game gets patched. But more probably, games get patched in order to maximize potential sales, or help meet sales estimates. That a game gets patched for reasons other than forum outrage is no reason for any developer or publisher to come clean and say, 'well yeah we patched the game, but not because all of you on the forums are pissed.' The game gets patched, let the mob think what they will as to the reasons why it got patched.
The truth is, that at least right now, gamers as representative of numerous threads on numerous forums on the internet, represent themselves as a very immature group, who will complain profusely no matter what a developer does or does not do. And for kicks and giggles, many times they just make sh!t up and then complain about that too.
The way I see most developer and/or publisher controlled message boards is that they are by default a damage-control project. How well can that developer or publisher mitigate the verbal damage from leaking into anything resembling mainstream? Oblivion, by all counts, is a huge critical and commercial success. So the folks at Bethesda probably are trying to bring as little attention to their own forums as possible. Evidence of this is the pronounced absence of direct communication from any Bethesda employee - because any dialog from them, at least right now, is analogous to grabbing firm a bee-hive and giving it a good shake. Case-in-point: Downloadable content message from Pete Hines.
If you have a situation where no matter what you say or do is over-analyzed and hyper-critisized in every single instance, you're going to have a situation where you don't take that person or group too seriously. And that's where I think the gamer-community is right now. Since the internent is so annonymous, I feel that the human race will have to evolve somewhat before people can represent themselves as something other than an enraged ape because leaves are 2-D sprites or because NPCs have daily schedules but they never go to the bathroom - both of which are candidates for outrage and dissention as far as the internet-gaming-coummunity is concerned.
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The Poster Previously Known As NeptiOfPovar |
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Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:50 pm |
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corwin
On the Razorblade of Life
Joined: 10 Jun 2002
Posts: 8376
Location: Australia |
Yes, I TOTALLY lost immersion because there was NO toilet paper in the game!! How could YOU developers do that!!!!!!!!! 
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If God said it, then that settles it!
I don't use Smileys, I use Emoticons!!
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Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:16 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
U NEWB! Wut u think leaf is being 4? U so dum.
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=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:57 pm |
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