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I see your $62k Runescape microtransactions and raise you $150k in Transformers

dark494

dark494

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
4,598
Seattle
A large part of the Game Connect Asia-Pacific conference, held days before PAX Australia as part of Melbourne International Games Week, is developers sharing their wisdom with other developers. Some of that wisdom comes in the form of monetization strategies, because most Aussie developers are small studios working on mobile platforms or free-to-play titles, and at the end of the day, everyone needs to pay rent.

So there's often quite a few talks about making money, what strategies work for what games, and at what parts that should factor in the design process. Henry Fong, the CEO from mobile publisher and developer Yodo1, and Featherweight Games co-founder Dylan Bevis, spoke about how free-to-play games needed to consider the monetisation process from the design stage, instead of factoring it in afterwards.
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Given the concern and outrage over microtransactions already, like the player who spent $62,000 on Runescape purchases, it's hard not to imagine this capturing the attention of regulators. The authors of the recent Entertaiment and Media Outlook told the Australian games industry only last week that regulator attention on loot boxes and microtransactions was likely to intensify.
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...Fong explained that it was even technically possible to build in logic that would target different players with different monetisation packages.
But such a model would ultimately backfire. When asked to clarify the capabilities of the tech that, Fong explained it would be a net loss for the studio, since the backlash from players would be disastrous. "We don't want to create a situation whereby different people pay different prices for the same thing," he said.
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For additional context:

Please get help and don't get trapped in this. Think of your future and of those around you.

Monetize me if old.
 
TeenageFBI

TeenageFBI

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,320
It shouldn't be legal to allow someone to spend $150k on a videogame. If the game companies won't regulate themselves, governments should step in.

edit: Clarified.
 
saenima

saenima

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
11,892
TeenageFBI said:
It shouldn't be legal to allow someone to spend $150k on a videogame. If the game companies won't regulate themselves, governments should step in.

edit: Clarified.
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You should step in TeenageFBI.

dale-cooper-thumbs-up.jpg
 
spad3

spad3

Member
Oct 30, 2017
7,132
California
As horrible as microtransactions are, there has to be a point where the player(s) must realize that "wow, what the fuck am I doing"

Shame on the companies that allow this predatory shit.

150k in MTX is absolute bonkers
 
WestEgg

WestEgg

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,050
I borrowed like 25K in student loans and am going to be paying that shit into my thirties, I can't fathom spending 6x that on microtransactions
 
Doorakz

Doorakz

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
617
You don't need the government to step in to fix this. The industry needs to self regulate. They know what's right and what's wrong with their scummy, whale targeting practices.
 
Zombine

Zombine

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,231
Please remove these games from your life. Don't even tempt yourself if you have the predisposition to even spend a fraction of this. It just isn't worth it.
 

Deleted member 16657

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
10,198
Holy shit this is the scariest part of this:

Another element of the panel concentrated on the possibilities of automated tools and finding ways to locate the most likely spenders in a game. One tool allowed developers to automate the moderation of communities within mobile games, while the Yodo1 developers created a machine learning neural network that analysed player behaviour and session times to predict what players would become high spenders.

The bot could spot "potential whales" with about 87 percent accuracy, but "we think we can get it up to about 95 percent," Fong said. The model was trained with around two and a half years of player monetisation data, and Fong explained that it was even technically possible to build in logic that would target different players with different monetisation packages.

But such a model would ultimately backfire. When asked to clarify the capabilities of the tech that, Fong explained it would be a net loss for the studio, since the backlash from players would be disastrous. "We don't want to create a situation whereby different people pay different prices for the same thing," he said.
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It wouldn't work for games that have online communities discussing. But it would work for many other kinds of games... You could get away with it if you weren't too blatant. Push more offers to AI identified whales, with inflated prices. You could get away with it. Fuck the mobile games industry needs regulation.
 
huH1678

huH1678

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,029
It's fine, whales pay for the rest of us gamers said. What's the harm he can just like stop playing ya know easy. Don't you guys want "free" content that is drip fed to you?.

Doorakz said:
You don't need the government to step in to fix this. The industry needs to self regulate. They know what's right and what's wrong with their scummy, whale targeting practices.
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The same companies running on unchecked capitalism profiting at all cost? lol you people are living in lala land with those thoughts of self regulation.
 
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Inugami

Inugami

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,995
Doorakz said:
You don't need the government to step in to fix this. The industry needs to self regulate. They know what's right and what's wrong with their scummy, whale targeting practices.
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We can't even get companies to not sell out to foreign powers for a quick buck, in what world do you imagine these companies self regulating?
 
Parcas

Parcas

Member
Dec 12, 2017
1,738
Fuck them and wish they burn in hell

Any developer that does not implement any systems in their games to prevent this sort of addiction behavior.
 
Eriol

Eriol

"This guy are sick"
Member
Oct 27, 2017
825
Santiago, Chile
Self regulation, lmao. Industry cant self regulate on fundamental rights like water/food/electricity/education, and will sure do it with the game industry.
 
TheEchosOfTheCyborg

TheEchosOfTheCyborg

Member
Feb 24, 2018
5,324


Also what did that game do to Optimus Primal and Megatron 2?! Maximals and Predacons are meant to look like actual animals yet they look like Cyborgs and as blocky as the G1 Autobots and Decepticons.
 

Syril

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,895
Doorakz said:
You don't need the government to step in to fix this. The industry needs to self regulate. They know what's right and what's wrong with their scummy, whale targeting practices.
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If they knew right from wrong they wouldn't make games where someone could spend four to six figures.
 
OnionPowder

OnionPowder

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,323
Orlando, FL
Doorakz said:
You don't need the government to step in to fix this. The industry needs to self regulate. They know what's right and what's wrong with their scummy, whale targeting practices.
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Yeah, also while we're at it remove building regulations and just hope that builders self regulate

If i wish hard enough capitalism will become ethical i swear on supply side jesus.
 

Lcs

Member
Aug 9, 2018
268
TheTurboFD said:
you don't need the government to always step into stop yourself from doing something idiotic.
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Won't somebody think of the sleazy corporations?!?!?!

JFC, the people who spend this kind of money have a disease and are being exploited, have some empathy.

Doorakz said:
You don't need the government to step in to fix this. The industry needs to self regulate. They know what's right and what's wrong with their scummy, whale targeting practices.
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So why haven't they?
 
TheTurboFD

TheTurboFD

Banned
Nov 24, 2017
317
Lcs said:
Won't somebody think of the sleazy corporations?!?!?!

JFC, the people who spend this kind of money have a disease and are being exploited, have some empathy.



So why haven't they?
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You act like the government stepping in is going to save this person. It hasn't saved drug addicts with the war on drugs, citizens getting shot with gun control, and gamblers from gambling at the casinos..... They're not here to help you if you couldn't tell from our current climate.
 
Doorakz

Doorakz

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
617
Lcs said:
Won't somebody think of the sleazy corporations?!?!?!

JFC, the people who spend this kind of money have a disease and are being exploited, have some empathy.



So why haven't they?
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Because no one has given them a good enough reason to, they're making too much money. Consumers have supported the practice immensely, apart from a few highlighted major whale instances which highlight the problem.

I'm fine with the Government putting pressure on the gaming industry to change, im all for it. BUT, you don't want them regulating it for you. They're going to over regulate the hell out of it because they're not knowledgeable in this space and won't get it right. Give them a little power and they'll just continue to creep into other areas of gaming where we don't need their "help".

Do we need the government to solve all of our problems? They should be a last resort if the gaming industry/ESRB continues to ignore and not address the situation AND there's evidence it's affecting a majority of the gaming community for the worse.
 
Nome

Nome

Designer / Self-requested ban
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,312
NYC
PogChamp said:
Holy shit this is the scariest part of this:



It wouldn't work for games that have online communities discussing. But it would work for many other kinds of games... You could get away with it if you weren't too blatant. Push more offers to AI identified whales, with inflated prices. You could get away with it. Fuck the mobile games industry needs regulation.
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A lot of games with communities already do this and the communities don't care.
 

Syril

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,895
Doorakz said:
Do we need the government to solve all of our problems? They should be a last resort if the gaming industry/ESRB continues to ignore and not address the situation AND there's evidence it's affecting a majority of the gaming community for the worse.
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Why do problems need to affect a majority to be worthy of doing something about?
 

Lcs

Member
Aug 9, 2018
268
TheTurboFD said:
You act like the government stepping in is going to save this person. It hasn't saved drug addicts with the war on drugs, citizens getting shot with gun control, and gamblers from gambling at the casinos..... They're not here to help you if you couldn't tell from our current climate.
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And you're acting like the only form of government intervention is prohibition and as if no single public policy has ever been succesful.

Should we also abolish mandatory seatbelts? I mean, we shouldn't try to stop people from doing something idiotic right?.
 
Syriel

Syriel

Banned
Dec 13, 2017
11,088
I would be interested to know if that is a "normal" user, or a streamer who is making more than $150k on stream and writing off the cost as a biz expense, like a lot of the Madden MUT streamers who just open packs all day.
 
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