Intro
It is becoming more clear as time goes on that many video game companies are taking advantage of players through various post initial-purchase mechanics in order to get more and more money out of them, and there are three main ways that this is being accomplished. The first, Downloadable Content (DLC), is able to be bought after a player buys the game and often includes additional content, however now companies are releasing unfinished games and selling the end of the game as DLC to make more money at the expense of the consumer. The second is by Pay-to-Win, which are games that allow you to pay a fee to bypass long and generally more boring portions of a game to advance. Lastly through loot-boxes, which are boxes earned for free through normal game-play, but unlocked with real world money. This increase in purchasables shows that many companies are more interested in making a quick buck than respecting the players that are having to pay upwards of $70 to play a full game.
Argument 1
One of the ways companies make money off of a player after the initial purchase of the game is through Downloadable Content (DLC). DLC was originally introduced as a way of both adding more content for players, while the company could still be making money before the next full game release. Often it would include an additional chapter to the story mode, new maps with a unique design, more cosmetic options for a player’s character, or even additional weapons and items. In recent years, it has become a problem because some companies are beginning to release unfinished games for the price of a full game, and advertising DLC that would contain the rest of the game for sometimes ridiculous prices. A player could spend $60 on a “complete” game, only to find out after buying it that in order to play with all the characters or complete the story they would need to spend another $10 to $30.
Support Information:
- Lizardi, Ryan. “DLC: Perpetual Commodification of the Video Game.” Democratic Communiqué, vol. 25, no. 1, 18 June 2012, https://journals.flvc.org/demcom/article/view/78739.
- Kain, Erik. “EA Goes Full Dark Side With $50 ‘Star Wars: Battlefront’ Season Pass.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 Oct. 2015, https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2015/10/12/ea-goes-full-dark-side-with-star-wars-battlefront-50-season-pass/#57678a3435e3.
Argument 2
Pay-to-Win is a special term that is used most often in mobile gaming to refer to any way you can spend real world money on something in game that will put you farther ahead of the competition. This mechanic has been around for a long time, almost as long as the app store has existed. Almost all mobile games are created for one purpose, and that is to make as much money as possible. One of the ways this is done is by integrating advertisements in to the game-play, for example making the user sit through a 30 second ad at the end of the match or every time they wants to speed up the wait time on a certain task. This is where the second money-making technique is used, in the form of in-app purchases. Why would someone sit through a 30 second ad at the end of every game when they can just pay $4.99 to disable them. Often times in-app purchases are used to skip the wait timer that players would otherwise have to sit through, thus giving those who choose to spend a couple dollars on a game an advantage. They pay, they win.
Support Information:
- Iqbal, Mansoor. “App Revenue Statistics (2019).” Business of Apps, Business of Apps, 13 Sept. 2019, https://www.businessofapps.com/data/app-revenues/.
- Nelson, Randy. “Global App Revenue Grew 23% in 2018 to More Than $71 Billion on IOS and Google Play.” Sensor Tower, SensorTower, 26 Jan. 2019, https://sensortower.com/blog/app-revenue-and-downloads-2018.
Argument 3
loot-boxes are a very common mechanic used in many multiplayer games today. As a player plays games they will be awarded these loot-boxes, which they will then have to spend real world money to open. They almost always only include a random cosmetic option for the players character or weapons, thus they don’t give players an edge on competitive games, only on how they look. The issue with loot-boxes is that they are considered by many to be a form of gambling. Since video games are not age restricted, and many parents don’t know how to properly monitor their children in online gaming, the problem becomes apparent; loot-boxes are an easy way for children to gamble online. The problem also extends to people that have a gambling addiction. Both of those groups of people are at risk of spending lots of money, and becoming addicted to it.
Support Information:
- Zendle, David, and Paul Cairns. “Video Game Loot Boxes Are Linked to Problem Gambling: Results of a Large-Scale Survey.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, 21 Nov. 2018, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0206767.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that the topics discussed suggest that the consumer is pressured to make payments beyond the initial-purchase of the game. DLC, loot-boxes, and Pay-to-Win games are all extremely common methods of companies accomplishing this goal, and they all should be regulated to ensure fairness to the consumers.