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As Gensihn continues to rake in money, another anime-inspired multiplayer RPG is set to take to the market: Wuthering Waves. Kanishka takes a look at the upcoming game after its recent beta test to see if it has what it takes to contest Genshin for its throne atop the market.
Comments
The only reason companies would have shifted from making money from just selling access to a game, to making money from all these forms of micro transactions, is that it makes them more money. Unless something changes outside of the industry, so that is no longer the case, don't expect the industry at large to change.
It should also be noted that the standard micro transaction in service based games are things that were basically taken out of a game, so they can be sold back to the player. This can be in the form of something direct, like a cosmetic, mount, or pet, as well as quality of life related things, like less inventory space, lower drop rates, a poor enhancement system. When games only make money by selling access, the company in general is trying to make the best game they can to convince the consumer to buy it, although when making money at least mainly through micro transaction, the game is effectively made worse on purpose, so they can sell you the means to make the experience better. Basically they're intentionally making a bad game, just not a shit one, as if they go to far, even those willing to spend money, would quit instead.
Honkai Impact 3rd part2 + Honkai Star Rail has soaked up alot of Genshin's spotlight; though all 3 miHoYo games have curves and swings in their popularity depending on whats going on.
Not even mentioning ZZZ because thats going to suck up a lot of the atmosphere when that finally drops out of beta.
To me the miHoYo games are like the World of Warcrafts & FFXIV's of the gacha community, there might be distractions here and there, but eventually everyone retreats back to their respective miHoYo games.
Fishing on Gilgamesh since 2013
Fishing on Bronzebeard since 2005
Fishing in RL since 1992
Born with a fishing rod in my hand in 1979
yes sure it will happens, developers and publishers will release the games for free without getting a single coin. keep waiting x.x
It will come, as soon as you are willing to go to work without getting paid.
Not replying to you specifically as a number of posters have dismissed the idea that gaming can make do without all the monetarization that is now involved with making a game.
Firstly you do all (if you are old enough and I assume you are) remember that we used to have none of this; no loot boxes, multiple currencies etc? If not then you must be old enough to realise we did not once have early access. All these and many more dubious practices from studios have brought gaming to the position it is in today, where live service is falling out of favour (finally!) and massive lay offs are occurring.
This merchandising and monetarization has changed the face of gaming and it is a poorer form of entertainment because of it. We are playing for a gambling and shopping buzz rather than for the gaming ethos of a fair playing field.
Can things be done another way? We see games like Fortnite selling only outfits, BG3 with only one additional dlc (deluxe edition). You are accepting the studios narrative that "we can't make these games without all the extra cash". It just isn't so.
We are in late capitalism, the meaning of everything is money. I do not argue that this is right, but to expect companies to think otherwise is naive. Developers in the gaming industry know well how this business model works. We’re all doomed by the stockholders.
Consumers are not the problem. Moreover, the boycott is something that hardly works, especially when millions of people do not even question the morality of these widely accepted practices. Even Europe accepts gambling, as long as it complies with legislation. The problem is not people, but the system.
If you told me to do this 1999 or 2010 no way would I have even looked twice but I have become that frog in that slowly boiling pot over the years. We have accepted a lot and by accepting it the gaming companies have pushed and pushed until may be we are stuck with picking and choosing the least egregious game to play. That is what it has come to choosing the one model you can live with because the game is fun and good enough in all the other areas. That was what Undecember was to me. I paid for all the storage options opened everything up like I did in Path of Exile and mind you whenever I go back to Path of Exile I end up buying more space for my junk. Then I paid for the loot pet, even saying it makes me cringe. There you have it I compromised because I wanted to play and not have to go back and pick the loot up. I enjoyed that game so much and played for hundreds of hours so I paid.
There was a time that these things never existed but like they keep saying 'genie> bottle> out', no way can we put that chubby giant back in. You cannot change this and a few people who do not compromise lose out on games where you can play well not to the top level but a lot of the game without engaging in any of it. Is it right, no but seriously what are you going to do.
I am growing older everyday and pretty soon I will not be able to play at all so I decided to accept that these things may reduce in intensity and one way is to wait as a game ages the aggressiveness of their pay scheme whatever form it may take will be reduced to accommodate the dwindling numbers. However you will lose the fun of a crowded game at the beginning of it's life. Is that something you are willing to forgo?
Covid definitely was a boon for them because we were all stuck in our homes but things have improved, thank god, and we are now enjoying the outside and playing less. So naturally companies who grew in that time are shedding their employees. It sucks and the only good thing is that these obviously predatory ones are failing faster.
However no one expects these game companies to suddenly slay the golden goose in one fell swoop. It will never happen and no amount of 'look at the game' is going to make them not try for one slimy scheme the worst of which being gacha and those games that require resources to reduce the chance of failing equipment upgrades. Those need to die in a fire. Heaven forbid they find even worse ways to stick it to us and by golly they will.
I am resolved to only play games I enjoy and if I find them good I may pay the developers for costumes, loot pets (gah) and what not but no gacha {I better not say that if the pity system is forgiving, I am going to, I know, I know it}.
It's a personal choice. You decide what you can live with but railing against players like me who have surrendered our souls for fun is not going to do much because I want to play and not have anything to play. I got 650 hours in Undecember. How many of you can have had fun for that long and I noticed I paid less than a monthly sub if I calculated it all based on the number of months I played. Permanent unlock like storage space in a game is like the buying price of a game. The pet was like a monthly sub. Can you live with that? If you cannot then you're stronger than me. Me I am weak and I love to play games so I will fall for these schemes often and then justify it in long winded posts on every forum.
I recognise there is a degree of wishful thinking on my part here, I have waited a very long time for gamers to look at monetarization and say "enough is enough."
We have all changed, from the gamers we once were to gamers who have had to accept a lot of crap if they want to keep gaming. I once said I would never play a F2P MMO, look at how hard it would be to stick to that now. I have played very few of them (though many became F2P after I joined), but I would have to cut of my nose to spite my face to hold to that ideal. Likewise I came to the decision that if I was playing a F2P game that I liked, I would always buy something to show my support. So far always a mount or an outfit.
I have never gone down that road as much as you have, but BDO is a good example or where I might have done that. If the guild had been better, if there were any guilds with a roleplaying angle (I could not find one) I would have been tempted to stay. And that would have meant put a lot more money in, I really don't know what I would have done then.
So there is nothing to be sorry about here, we have all had to do things we don't like to play the games we love.
P.S. When I look at your original post there are no similes, but when I quoted it I can see them. That is odd.
Unlikely. While often complained about such are often purchased. Actions will definitely speak louder than words when money is involved.