Are Microtransactions Ruining The Game Industry?

It's painfully obvious that the game industry is about to go through some major growing pains in the next few years. Everything from massive development costs to an economy that has no way to "recover" threatens to bring radical changes to an industry that once seemed invincible.

One of the biggest points that could make or break the industry is the implementation of microtransactions in full priced retail games. Originally a concept utilized in "free to play" games and MMO's, microtransactions where meant to offer access to game content through real world money. While many gamer's seemed to either love or hate the concept, the idea has caught on in the mobile market and been successful due to the low costs usually associated with it. To be clear, this is a different issue than downloadable content (DLC) which actually has a level of merit and value when implemented properly.

The XBone and PS4 are the first major home consoles to implement microtransactions into their full priced retail games right out the gate and people are not happy. Instead of overexplaining this issue, I will direct you to a couple of videos from YouTube user boogie2988. Some of you may know him better by his alter ego Francis who expresses his nerd rage through pure emotion and is the perfect representation of the typical American reaction to a problem. Boogie2988 himself is a rather level headed individual who does a great job of explaining a particular issue within the industry. Please watch both videos and be sure to share your feelings on microtransactions below (Warning: Check your volume for the Francis video as he tends to get a little loud). Also, I recommend reading a fascinating article about Boogie2988 himself which was recently posted on Kotaku seeing as the man behind Francis is quite interesting. Enjoy!

Francis HATES Microtransactions and In App Purchases

On Microtransactions and In App Purchases