Free To Play Games: Do You Buy Microtransactions?

[Mr. Hatty 1,808]

Hello all, it's me again

 

We are living in a world where F2P gaming is a juggernaut, and increasingly becoming the easiest way for a company to monetize their product. Pokemon Go is a really recent example, and I've been seeing a lot of people saying how they don't usually buy microtransactions for games but broke that rule for Pokemon Go, and it had me wondering, how many of you out there buy microtransactions/IAPs? If you do, what games have you bought them for?

 

 

Despite initially not liking the business model, these days I play a lot of F2P games.

 

I at various times have frequently played Miitomo, Town of Salem, Happy Wars, Clash Royale, Pokemon Go and a few others but have yet to spend a dime on any of them.

 

Counter to that though, I have spent a lot of money on Hearthstone, a handful of dollars on Team Fortress 2 (not sure if it counts since I bought the game back when it wasn't F2P though), $2.99 on Dragonmania Legends, and possibly a few others I don't recall in this moment.

 

 

So tell me, what were the games that did you in, and why or why not?

Edited July 10, 2016 by Mr. Hatty

[AdamBRT 421]

I have played a fair few free to play games; War Thunder, Warframe, Smite and a couple of others that I can't think of, I have never spent any money. Mainly because as soon as the game goes 'Pay to Win' (depending on whether I can reach the higher unlockables in my lifetime) then I uninstall the game because it becomes a waste of time.

 

However the weird thing that doesn't make much sense the only microtransactions I have bought are CS:GO and TF2. The reason that it's weird is that I give money to a big gaming company that doesn't need it because people pay for the game, rather than giving to a smaller games developer who put out a F2P and help them continue developing the F2P game. 

 

I guess it goes back to the Battlefield thing where whats the point in playing the game when there is nothing left to unlock. 

 

TL;DR: F2P games are a GG when not P2W and I have never spent money on microtransactions. 

[Vinchenzo 296]

I have been guilty of paying for a micro transaction here or there, but it's very rare and only for cosmetic things. 

 

I'm really curious to see how much Microsoft receives in revenue from it's micro transactions with Halo 5, seeing that you can only unlock assassination animations, new armors, weapon skins, etc. with the "REQ packs".

 

The biggest purchase I made would be for Smite, to unlock all the characters, it costs about $30.00 USD usually. Though I technically wouldn't call it a micro transaction, more of a way to unlock the game.

 

There is currency in the game, called gems, that unlock skins and are only obtainable from RNG chests. This means instead of outright buying a skin, you have to pay with real money (or earn gems very slowly in game) just to get a chance to get a skin you want. (which means significantly more money IRL by using RNG)

[daikonboy101 406]

I bought all of the characters for Smite then played it two more times...

 

Other than that, though, no. It's less because I don't like the concept and more that I'm scared of spending money (which makes me ask myself why the hell I bought all of the Smite characters.)

[Bloob 582]

I generally only play mobile games when I want to waste 15 minutes before an appointment or something, so I would never spend money on those. In games I play more heavily, I might consider buying costumes or something I guess, but I don't think I've ever actually done in-game transactions before.

[Chris 1,202]

Interesting to hear some of you guys' thoughts on this topic. I guess most of us started gaming around 10+ years ago before microtransactions became more common practice, and so are less likely to buy into the idea. I myself still have trouble deciding whether to buy DLC or not, let alone microtransactions.

 

But there are a couple of F2P games I have spent money on, although these games only come around once every few years. The first was Spiral Knights. I had already put roughly 70+ hours into that game before putting any money into it, and at that point I wanted to support the developers in some way anyway. In the end I racked up ~240 hours in Spiral Knights and only spent ~£15. More than satisfied.

 

The other game was Warframe. I was really into that game a few months back, but unless you're willing to pay $$$ you hit a brick wall at end game if you want to keep playing (well you can keep playing, but advancing your Frame is pretty much halted until you buy more inventory slots). In the end I think I racked up about 70 hours gameplay and only spent £7. I only stopped playing because any longer than that and the game would become more about ticking boxes for me than its good gameplay. I definitely had my fill of Warframe in those 70 hours so I don't regret spending the £7 because it gave the game a little extra longevity towards the end.

[Mr. Hatty 1,808]

Not that it's entirely relevant, but these days I tend to give more consideration to microtransactions than I do to season passes.

 

I am also much more inclined to pay for microtransactions in F2P games than full price games. Other than Team Fortress 2, I refuse to engage in IAPs for titles I already paid for upfront unless it's a full-fledged DLC add-on.

 

I also will generally opt for the "unlock the full game" option if one is available for a game I like. For instance, despite being a big Pac-Man fan I did not engage with Pac-Man 256 due to its Free To Play nature, but the game was recently rereleased on consoles for $5 with all traces of IAPs cut out, and so I bought it and am having a blast.