So let's take a walk, shall we? (Gaming)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Friday, January 24, 2020, 08:34 (1765 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Can you perhaps explain it to me a bit when you say my criticism comes from a place of privilege?

We should all be so privileged to demand such unwavering purity in the content we consume.

This comment was aimed at your rather high standard of not being willing to touch any title that dared to sully itself with microtransactions, even though cosmetics don't affect gameplay.

It does effect ‘gameplay’. Your premise is wrong. Unless the only way to get the cosmetic items is to buy them, the game design must necessarily be altered with frictions in order to encourage you to buy instead of simply earn by playing. That is why I have a problem with them. That is why they aren’t benign or innocent. That is why they are in bad faith.

I ignore Tess 99% of the time. On the rare occasion a cosmetic catches my eye, I buy it. Sometimes it cost "free" currency, sometimes it's actual money. That said, I pay little or no attention to the amount of bright dust currency I have or that I am likely to earn from any activity.

How do microtransactions affect MY gameplay?

An analogy: I think lotteries are evil. I think they're basically an innumeracy tax that can have negative effects, especially on the poor. The people of my state decided that lotteries were a good way to pay for education, so now almost everywhere I buy gas, they sell lotto tix. I could go out of my way to find an outlet for gasoline that doesn't traffic in the scratch offs, or I could accept that that's not really an effective strategy for changing things, acknowledge that the sale of those at any location doesn't affect my experience at the pump, and that the real reason I want to avoid them is to lord my superiority over all the chumps who frequent these stations. I also recognize that profit margins on gas stations are low, and that percentage on those lotto tix might make the difference in some cases as to whether a station exists. Very few consumer choices (or much else in this world) are without some moral calculation. I choose to buy gas at the most convenient station with decent prices (and that isn't Exxon). Plus, this standard allows me to go to that one Shell station with the grill that serves fantastic chicken salad sandwiches.

I'm not attacking your choice. I respect it. I do think you may be throwing many babies out with the bathwater, and I'm mainly taking issue with your global statement that it affects gameplay. It doesn't affect my gameplay or how I play.