Micro-transactions (MTX for short) have long been a talking point in the gaming world, some even treat it like the boogeyman. Say it 3 times fast and they will never purchase your game. This topic has once again reared its ugly head and has social media in an uproar over the recently released Dragon's Dogma 2. But are they really that big of a deal? Let's discuss.
As we reported late on Thursday night, Dragon's Dogma launched with MTX that seemingly caught everyone off guard and the reception was not good. The discourse surrounding the game on it's launch day had suddenly turned into a constant argument online about them rather than the game itself. There was all kinds of misinformation spread regardless of what side of the argument you were on and it just spiralled out of control from there. But what is the big deal really when it comes to Dragon's Dogma 2?
The main issue seems to be that they were "hidden" and didn't get turned on until the game went live, so reviewers never mentioned them. And while that is technically true, reviewers were told about them in the review kits sent to them. So this seems more like a communication issue. Either companies need to better communicate what's in the game (many reviewers seemingly don't read all of the review kit they get sent to avoid spoilers) or reviewers need to just read what they are given. The answer probably falls somewhere in the middle.
The other issue I see most is that because Dragon's Dogma 2 is already a "premium" title that you need to pay $70 (or more in countries like Canada and Australia) so it shouldn't have MTX. And while I understand that argument to a degree, I personally don't care. Unless you NEED to spend money on something (it's very rare that you do) then I don't see the issue in a single player game.
If someone wants to spend $5 to get a cool looking armor, or save themselves an hour grinding away killing the same enemy over and over again for gold or experience, let them. It doesn't affect you or I at all. If they choose to make a 30 hour game a 29 hour game because they wanna spend extra money to do so, go right ahead. People complain all the time about not having enough time to play everything. So if they value their time more than that extra $2, so be it. It's how they want to experience the game.
Even the more egregious ones like some of the $30+ skins in Diablo 4. That's an insane amount of money if you ask me for a skin, but it doesn't affect me all if someone wants to blow that kind of money to look a special way.
The only time I do have a real issue with MTX in single player games is when they lock stuff away behind them that should already be in the game or that you should be able to earn that actually effects the game. Earlier this year for example, Like A Dragon:Infinite Wealth launched with New Game+ locked behind a paywall. This in my opinion is a pretty dirty move and something I don't support.
Multiplayer On The Other Hand...
Now the real problem for me with MTX is when they get put in multiplayer games to give people advantages. Again I don't care about skins too much, you wanna pay $3 for a gold gun in Call Of Duty! Knock yourself out. But when you are offering the chance to buy better weapons, XP boosts etc etc to give someone a competitive edge, that's a big no no in my eyes.
Some will argue that as long as the stuff can be earned there is no big deal, but I'd disagree. If you can "pay to win" regardless of time spent or skill, that's a problem. If I've played 5 hours and you've played 5 hours we should have the relatively same experience with the game.
In Conclusion
So that's essentially my take on this whole drama. If you want to make a single player game easier and make extra cash as a company, go for it. I won't be buying it but if others want to I'm more than fine with it.
But when you start locking things away and giving people a paid edge in multiplayer games, that's going to far.
