imgur website + /w5kzEJp PERIOD jpg. I'd have to say some AAA games do fit this bill.. thoughts?
I think somebody has an axe to grind against microtransactions and is looking for some validation. Hereās the image in question:
So first off, the meme is disingenuous in its message. The meme-maker never actuallyĀ purchased anything; this is a screenshot of the UI from a Free to Play mobile game called āAsphalt 8ā³, by Gameloft. Itās currently available at the App store and via Google Play. Weāve already established that in-app purchases are probably going to be there because (as we have firmly established in the past) money has to be made somewhere and the game is free. But letās break the meme down a bit further.
The purpose of the game is to race cars on tracks to earn currency with which to buy more cars and tracks. One can spend real dollars to purchase more cars and/or tracks. That is really no different than Gran Turismo, Forza, Mario Kart, or really any other racing style game that offers paid DLC. As a racing game, a lot of the UI is going to be dedicated to displaying information about your cars, your tracks, and your statistics. Here is Asphalt 8ā²s:
The sections in red are, of course, things that lead to in-app purchases or managing in-game currency. This is where they offer you new tracks and featured cars. The sections in greenĀ are buttons to immediately race. The meme tried to downplay the one in the lower left, but itās there. Finally, all of the sections in blue are dedicated to showing you pertinent information, not selling in-app purchases or handling in-game currency. These show things like options, leaderboards, what cars you own and their stats, and so on.
Letās compare this to the UI for a AAA racing game like Gran Turismo 5:
Using the same breakdown, weāve got the blue still representing player info, the red representing options to spend game currency, and the green to actually start the game. The overall menu favors theĀ āimmediately playā much more, but the overall is not that far removed from Asphalt 8. This isnāt so different from other games that feature a similar emphasis on statistics, play, and the spending of currency:
As I said, the meme itself is disingenuous. Itās conflating any element that isnāt āstart gameā withĀ āGIVE US YOUR MONEYā, and thatās unfair. If you look at AAA games, they certainly have some elements of it but I donāt think itās as oppressive as the meme makes it out to be. Heck, even Doom II only had two out of five choices in the main menu to immediately start playing - New Game and Load Game. 60% of that menu doesnāt lead to gameplay!
In all seriousness, if you donāt like microtransactions or in-app purchases youāll probably want to avoid certain genres of games that have wholly embraced them as a business model. Sports, racing, MMOs, or any game with a heavy ācollectibleā emphasis will probably feature them, because they want to make it easy for players who want to buy things to be able to do so. But I donāt really think that the meme maker has a point other thanĀ āI really donāt like microtransactionsā. I understand not liking something and do sympathize, but there are a lot of people out there who are voting with their wallets. In-app purchases and microtransactions are here to stay.
blakekathryn
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