Micro-transactions, cheating and videogames. Major drama inc?

[Wilian]

Cheats, clever use of game mechanics, tweaking your own gamefiles, varied Trainers and plenty of other similiar things has been part of the games as long as gaming itself has existed, but now it seems their time has come to an end.

Why you might ask? Microtransactions.

We have enjoyed their presence on multiplayer games for quite the while now, but now their ugly head is rearing to the single player games aswell. I personally wonder, how will they affect the landscape of which this topic is on about for us, gamers.

The first big backlash on this front was of course the Mass Effect 3 DLC, that was on disk and with a simple .ini tweak was usable to anyone.
This didn't go well with EA's plans and they quickly in yet another lapse of the PR judgement likened anyone who did that to a level of a pirate.

Only for doing something that probably every "educated" PC gamer has been doing for years and years.

Latest case was revealed just yesterday when people found an in-game way to duplicate items in singleplayer game Dead Space 3, speeding up their progress immensely with this cheat.

The downside is that it was not supposed to work that way because EA had planned buy 2 win scheme for those who wanted faster progression in their game.

More info on that: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21367852

Thus far EA has not commented on the subject, whetever it will patch this glitch and then seek to somehow punish those who abused it so the future of this case remains open.

It still raises quite the interesting question in my opinion. Where do we as a gamers draw a line, or atleast think where it should be?

Traditionally, if I wanted to cheat it game it was in fact readily available feature but nowdays you might even risk breaking the law if you attempt anything, depending on from what perspective law is being read.

My perspective to whole thing is very consumer based in this case of course as a consumer and I would like to keep my "right" use the product I paid for in any way I see fit as long as no copyright laws are broken.

To me this seems like yet another step towards the direction where we cease to have any rights to a product regardless if we buy them (When they use words such as sell/buy, I will keep using words own/mine and assume the product is mine in every sense of the word) and that sucks some major donkey balls.

[Video Games]

My bf and I exploited the glitch earlier so he could make better weapons. Fuck the pohleace. It was also in 1 and 2 so it's their problem for not fixing it still.

[Dezerte]

I'll continue to not buy products from companies that practice these sort of anti-consumer agendas, I'll also support those who are consumer friendly.

But it seems like most people don't care, and either it's because they simply don't care or they aren't informed about their rights as a consumer. I think these sort of things needs a lot more media attention.

[Deleted]

It's seriously getting into a minefield now. I grew up gaming, I grew up with cheats, hacks, consoles, file editing, modding - and all those were fine, because there was no such thing as an "in game purchase" when I was growing up. There's a whole generation of gamers who have been exploiting bugs and playing games "not as intended", which increased their enjoyment and entertainment levels and affected no one - and the developers were more than happy to let it continue as ultimately it made people enjoy their products, talk about them online and offline.

Now we have the massive boom in multiplayer FPS and MMOs, and the hacks/bots that you find in those that can actually be quite detrimental to the enjoyment of the other gamers in the matches, and most people will agree that the rules are there for a reason in this sort of game - to ensure everyone can have a good and fair playing experience. So exploiting in a competitive multiplayer game can be very bad for the game, create frustration and imbalance.

But when it comes to a single player, non competitive game, and you're told you should not exploit, hack, cheat, edit, or modify your own product which you've just spent $60 on because it will affect the "in game purchase potential" of the profits of the developer then it gets confusing and awkward and quite frankly I really hate this commercialisation.

In this case, it seems to be a flaw in their development and testing, but the "exploit" seems to just be a way to farm/reset goods - something gamers have been doing for decades and I'm pretty sure I remember doing it in DS1 (didn't play DS2). I don't have a problem with that. If developers want to ensure that the game is designed so that people are encouraged to buy their in-game purchases then it's their responsibility to ensure that the balance is there and they can expect gamers to try and get the most out of their games and push their limitations.

[cFortyfive]

Pretty sure you are breaking the eula somewhere and that ea might decide on any day to act on it. I really find it appalling how this development is totally fine with most of the gaming population but well then again there is not really something to do about it.

[Marthenil]

Cheating in online games as a whole? You sir are a scumbag and should get the capital punishment.
Cheating in single player games? It's your game, you get to do what you want with it.
Regarding the companies that implement ridiculous drm and/or "cheat protected" single player games well to those I say yarrr. Or if not available I don't buy it period.
Pretty much my view on the subject.

Now, theres also a matter of consumer rights here. And this is the worst thing regarding games. In my opinion gaming companies are the ones respecting the consumer the LEAST. I sometimes feel like a 2nd class customer when buying games.
Bottom line though, it really is up to us, the consumers, to change things.

[Shinzai]

I queried this back in the Dead Space 3 thread. I still wonder if EA's got the balls to ban people for cheating, in their own, personal, single player game. It isn't like Diablo 3 where items can be sold and tendered for actual money or could severely effect the game's created economy system, instead it just means EA can't leech more money out of impatient people's wallets.

I still think this has absolutely no place in a single player game and I couldn't care less myself if people cheat their way through the game and deny EA the transactions. I'm just genuinely curious to see how they eventually respond to it.

[Elexo]

EA finds a new way to earn money by charging for cheats.
Consumers figure out a way to use the cheat without spending the money.
EA gets mad.

Am I meant to feel sorry for them when they're trying to milk money from me?
EA is not customer friendly but expects the customer to be friendly to them.
Better luck next time.

[Deleted]

read "EA Games" Was not suprised by anything else stated afterwards.
Online DRM, Micro transactions, Shitty customer service, Day one DLC's that should have been available with the game, EA is guilty of it all.
Terrible business practices designed for one reason, and one reason alone. Squeeeeeze every single penny possible out of the gamer.

[Dezerte]

I don't blame people for pirating games, for as long as this bullshit exists.

[Wilian]

While I'm all in for fighting The Ultimate Evil EA, they haven't made their judgement on this case yet. They might surprise us positively as they did with the case of gift coupon having multiple uses and people abusing it.

[Henako]

I don't blame people for pirating games, for as long as this bullshit exists.

Piracy came first.

[Dezerte]

Piracy came first.

It sure did. Your point?

[Henako]

It sure did. Your point?

It's a retarded, frustrating response to piracy. Piracy leads to DRM, DLC and micro-transactions, which leads to more piracy, which leads to a grim future for gaming.

[Dezerte]

It's a retarded, frustrating response to piracy. Piracy leads to DRM, DLC and micro-transactions, which leads to more piracy, which leads to a grim future for gaming.

You can argue all you want that piracy leads to anti-consumer agendas; it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Piss of your customers and it should come as no surprise that they find even more justification for pirating your game.

Notice I said I don't blame people for pirating, as long as these anti-consumer agendas exist.

[Oerba Yun Fang]

I admit, I often cheat on games or use trainers, but only in a singleplayer game. I have a separate coalesced.ini for ME3 for SP and MP, so that I'm sure nothing I have changed in the SP .ini for cheats affects the MP game. I'll only cheat if my experience is the only one being effected. For me, it ups my enjoyment of a game, as I tend to play for mindless fun or story more than to challenge myself.

Frankly, I think developers should back off for singleplayer games. Cheating in multiplayer is definitely not okay and should be punished, as it ruins the game for everyone else, but it doesn't do anything to other people in singleplayer games. The only thing it could possibly do to affect other people is skew leaderboards. :/

[Larath]

I don't blame people for pirating games, for as long as this bullshit exists.

the more people pirate the worse this shit is gonna get though.

hey, people pirated the humble indie bundle aswell and payed 0.01 dollar so they had to pay for the transaction themselves, people are scumbags, even if its a DRM free game they'll still pirate it.

[Magpai]

To me this seems like yet another step towards the direction where we cease to have any rights to a product regardless if we buy them (When they use words such as sell/buy, I will keep using words own/mine and assume the product is mine in every sense of the word) and that sucks some major donkey balls.

If you're not willing to buy the game on their terms, then you shouldn't be agreeing to their terms of use or whatever, if they have any such thing.

A producer ought to be able to dictate under what circumstances its product can be purchased, so long as nobody is compelled to buy it. If you don't agree with their conditions, you have no entitlement to their product even if you're willing to pay what is in your opinion a worthwhile price.

---------- Post added 2013-02-08 at 12:29 PM ----------

But it seems like most people don't care, and either it's because they simply don't care or they aren't informed about their rights as a consumer.

The only "rights" you have if you don't accept a company's terms for buying their product is the right not to purchase it.

---------- Post added 2013-02-08 at 12:31 PM ----------

I don't blame people for pirating games, for as long as this bullshit exists.

"It's okay to steal something if the owner won't sell it under my terms."

I hope someday a similarly minded person steals your car after you refuse to sell it to him.

[Wilian]

If you're not willing to buy the game on their terms, then you shouldn't be agreeing to their terms of use or whatever, if they have any such thing.

A producer ought to be able to dictate under what circumstances its product can be purchased, so long as nobody is compelled to buy it. If you don't agree with their conditions, you have no entitlement to their product even if you're willing to pay what is in your opinion a worthwhile price.

---------- Post added 2013-02-08 at 12:29 PM ----------



The only "rights" you have if you don't accept a company's terms for buying their product is the right not to purchase it.

---------- Post added 2013-02-08 at 12:31 PM ----------



"It's okay to steal something if the owner won't sell it under my terms."

I hope someday a similarly minded person steals your car after you refuse to sell it to him.

I really hope each book and movie came with 20 pages of Terms of Use papers which you have to sign in order to read the book. Just to show how fucking ridiculous it has gotten.

[Magpai]

While I'm all in for fighting The Ultimate Evil EA, they haven't made their judgement on this case yet.

Why would you "fight" the EA? Why would you just not give them your business?

You and many gamers like you are either taking it way too personally that you're not getting things the way you want them, or are confusing free market transactions with political causes.