Microtransactions in games

[Guest]

Yes, haha. I used to buy League of Legends skins, specifically a lot of Caitlyn and Ahri skins.

One time, I emailed riot to ask them if they could tell me how much money I've spent on my account... And they said... 1.6k  ...
That was back in like 2016 though so I'm sure that amount has skyrocketed anyway!

As for the main question posed for this thread: Yes, I regularly buy microtransactions. I don't enjoy them, but I pay up anyway. I suppose I could be considered part of the problem, but I generally don't mind paying for certain things in games, especially if it's solely down to convenience. There are a few things I'm unwilling to pay for, such as P2W games, but cosmetics and convenience are things I don't personally mind having to pay for. For example: Level boosts and glamour in FFXIV.

Gacha games are a particular sore spot for me, because I really enjoy gambling... So I tend to just avoid them at all costs :D

[kurohaato]

I feel like it depends. If it's extra monetization on top of frequent ads, I despise the system. Absolute waste of time and money. If it's something like TF2, Pokemon Go or Project Sekai, I don't mind spending a couple bucks here and there. It keeps the game servers running and allows me to not have to sit through a billion ads, so it's a win-win. I have sold my soul to the gacha gods in a couple rhythm games before, but I never really spent more than $5 in each. I like the challenge of getting gacha items just by playing the game, plus I have an aversion to spending more than 5 dollars on something anyway.

[owlhari]

we used to play cookie run ovenbreak a ton in high school. eventually we played it so much, we figured "hey, why don't we spend some birthday money on a few runs of the gacha? we play this game so much anyway." and then paid some more when a new character came out. and so on. it didn't become a problem, mostly only because we didn't have a job yet and could only spend money we got from birthday gift cards and stuff.

but looking back, we definitely spent more than we'd have liked. not a lot in the grand scheme of things, again we were a teenager without a job, but still. we don't play it anymore just because it became so bloated and not very fun. felt like a chore to log in every day to do the seven million daily tasks for quest rewards and event tokens. same with cookie run kingdom, although we never spent real money on that one.

the only other time we've paid for microtransactions actually isn't a mobile game! it's a petsite called pokefarm q, where there's a premium currency for certain stat-boosting items and a month-long "hypermode" that powers up shiny chances and gives you some other rewards. what we like about pfq though is that you buy hypermode with the premium currency, not actual money. and because the currency is available through trading with other players, there are quite a few users who pay for their hypermode without spending any real money at all.

we played pfq for a while before buying anything. then we wanted to do a shiny hunt, it was around our birthday, and we'd just been paid, so we tossed a couple bucks in for hypermode and some premium currency items. we plan to continue that whenever we're shiny hunting, because honestly we play the game a lot and it brings us a lot of joy to collect our silly little pokemon guys.

[virtue]

I do not think I have ever spent money on a video game beyond paying for the actual game, strictly excepting actual DLC like CrossCode: A New Home. I've always been very strictly against that kind of thing due to my general aversion to predatory practices like that. But I think I kind of have an immunity to this...? I mean that microtransactions are typically only implemented on games that are designed to maintain high concurrent playership, which is generally speaking ONLY games that are oriented around around online multiplayer. And I cannot STAND online multiplayer games! I typically only enjoy singleplayer indie games which means I almost never play games that even have microtransactions in the first place. I do not know if I will ever truly understand the appeal of large-scale online multiplayer games, especially competitive shooters. I actually played the original Destiny for quite a while, and I think I'm one of the only people who outright refused to purchase ANY of the DLC, because I staunchly believed that the DLC simply should have been part of the original game, which was already rather expensive. Is my aversion to multiplayer games, DLC, and spending money on video games besides purchasing them strange, or does anyone else operate similarly? I guess its also worth noting I personally do not really consider myself a 'gamer' even though I do play a lot of games, largely just because I do not think its something that takes up enough of my time or makes up enough of my identity to bother describing myself with it.

[myleszey]

I'm guilty of this... Though not to the extreme extent I was in high school.

I buy every new "expansion" or "battle pass" there is in Dota 2... There has been a dearth of content for that game though recently which is at least somewhat fortunate for my bank account.

A few years back I was obsessed with Team Fortress 2 and League of Legends and spent a ton of money that ended up going to nothing in the end x_x at least it was fun at the time

[SquidDied]

iv been a victim of lootbox mechanics in the past and to this day i refuse to play any games that even have microtransactions in them no matter what form they take. im also a former mobile game developer and my game did have purchaseable cosmetics within it (along with ads) just as a way to monetize since obviously making some money for my work was the goal. as i was a learning developer i was exposed to various lectures from big professional devololers, instructing others on the best practices for monetisation. an unsettling amount of these are more better described as tutorials on how to manipulate and exploit vulnerable individuals into bankrupting themselves, and its absolutely disgusting they ways they talk about those individuals, they really do see their audience as an infinite spring of money. be careful and please reconsider the next time ur peompted with a limited time deal or exclusive skin or whatever.

[dotmidi]

the absolute worst offender of microtransactions has to be the trend of having to PAY A SUBSCRIPTION FEE to play multiplayer (squinting at Nintendo Online). I miss when everything wasn't about trying to make as much profit as possible, but, i wont lie i am not immune to microtransactions since i HAVE nintendo online 
one other thing i've attempted to do a microtransaction of was for "Finch Plus" on my phone because it's a mental health app that keeps track of things i need to do in the day, it's a friendly reminder for my ADHD whenever i pick up my phone .. which is rarely now, so i haven't been keeping tabs on Finch 

[georgemoody]

Due to sanctions put on my country I can’t actually buy not only micro transactions but a lot of other online purchases. But if we put that limitation aside for a moment, I wouldn’t touch anything that goes further than simple, individual cosmetics; loot boxes? no. Ads alongside it? nuh uh. Battlepasses? I’ll pass over that.

[klonpa]

the absolute worst offender of microtransactions has to be the trend of having to PAY A SUBSCRIPTION FEE to play multiplayer [...] i wont lie i am not immune to microtransactions since i HAVE nintendo online

ME TOOOO i feel very similarly about it.... i was in super denial-mode when they originally announced the subscription stuff like mayyyyybe it wont actually be happening for a bit and we can still have free online play .... o<-< but i gotta be able to play splatoon with my girlfriend ....

im generally speaking pretty good at avoiding microtransactions and gacha stuff bc i dont like spending on impermanent things but i had a solid period of highschool wehre i was VERY OBSESSED with love live. i think i spent just a little over 100 on it total which is really not bad in the grand scheme of things but made me very when i noticed... i just wanted nice rin cards T_T

i really dislike subscription-based stuff in general and the fact that its all so unavoidable at the present is definitely not helping (streaming services bane of my existence ...)

in terms of specific thoughts on microtransactions as a game feature... the ideal implementation for me is some sort of premium currency that can be earned through gameplay as well as bought with real money if desired, i guess? that idea mostly works for online + mobile stuff i think. whats on my mind mainly is stuff like robux... i miss the old system they had with tix DIRELY. learning they got rid of tix after having not played roblox since i was a kid was very
i just prefer the idea of like. you can pay for the convenience if you want but theres also things to Do that give you access to the exact same stuff