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this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
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I think there need to be a balance. If it’s a service game, they need money to keep servicing the game. There is a fine line between a reasonable voluntary option to support a game in exchange for some symbolic cosmetic and gross predatory practices.
I don't think every topic deserves nuance. Every mtx shop is predatory, every successful service game lives off whales. You'd just draw an arbitrary line at how aggressivly they hunt whales, but they need them all the same. Even if you can get everything with ingame currency drops, if people wouldn't spend enough, the game wouldn't get new content.
The only fair solution is to scrap mtx entirely and make all service games subscription based. But people aren't ready for that, this conversation often comes down to "as long as they don't exploit me, I'll take my free games".
It's OK for people to spend as much money as they want supporting a game. If you enjoy the work that a developer does for a live service game, it makes sense to fund their business.
I paid for a couple of the cosmetic packs in DRG for example. They genuinely made a great game, and they released additional content as well. I like that I'm not pressured into a subscription, and I can choose how much extra money I want to throw their way.
Destiny 2 is a bit ridiculous in my opinion. The DLC is very expensive, each pack corresponding to the cost of a full game, and there are several of these packs at least. That being said, some people really like Destiny 2. Who am I to say that their spending is wrong? It's their hobby, and they're funding it by supporting the company that makes the content for them.
If it were a level playing field I'd be inclined to agree with you, but it isn't. These companies are hiring specialists in the psychology of creating a sense of need where there is no need. It doesn't work on everyone for everything but there are people who are susceptible to these techniques and they're the people funding everything. The issue isn't people spending their money on what they want, it's them being put in the situation where they feel compelled to purchase things and encouraged to do so by companies who know full well that these people can't handle it and will cough up the dough no matter what comes their way.