In 2017, the “AAA” game industry went all-in on loot boxes – microtransactions that emulate gambling to maximize ill-gotten gains. In 2018, new games aren’t using them and old games are scrubbing them. Are they done in the mainstream business, or are companies just biding their time?
After months and months and months on the market, Monolith Productions claims it’s just started to realize the loot boxes MIGHT be undermining the gameplay. Of course, loads of people were saying this even before launch. I said it often, loudly, repetitively. I’m shocked less about the removal of the…
Source article: https://www.polygon.com/2018/2/27/17057978/esrb-loot-crate-box-in-game-purchases-label The ESRB, paying lip service to the controversy surrounding loot boxes, is going to apply an incredibly broad “in-game purchases” label to games that offer additional content for cash. So… that’ll be most of them, right?
Once again the “AAA” industry thinks it has a golden goose, and once again it’s primed to bang that goose until the eggs come out filled with nothing but decaying spunk.
*CORRECTION: For some reason I said 2K Games instead of Warner Bros. at one point. I blame these companies being so interchangeable. And the drugs.* 2017 had some absolute gems, but they were more than outnumbered by this year’s horrors, stinkers, and utter flops. From those games mutilated to earn…
The episode we all knew was coming. The Jimquisition at last smashes into the “It’s Just Cosmetic” argument with a bulldozer. Many will defend certain types of microtransaction and loot box by claiming if they sell only cosmetic DLC, it’s fine. Cosmetics “don’t affect gameplay” and therefore anything goes. This…
This is the year loot boxes came to gaming in a big way. Encouraged by Overwatch, “AAA” publishers went all-in on destroying their games in the name of easy money. And no, Blizzard, you’re not special. You deserve as much blame as EA, Activision, Ubisoft, 2K Games, WB, and Microsoft….
It’s Halloween, and it’s time to make a killing. Put the BLOOD in BLOOD MONEY as we show you how to not just slay, but get paid doing so.
Our last look at Shadow of Mordor delves deeper into how the loot system has changed the game, and the fact that Orcs have lost their flavor. __ Jim’s Big Ego (No Relation): http://bigego.com/
Activision’s patented idea of utilizing matchmaking to trick players into buying DLC is an unsettling one, but if you think that’s as bad as it gets, you don’t know videogames. Let’s talk about Scientific Revenue, the service that demonstrates exactly what games want from you – they want to turn…
Full patent page here: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=9789406.PN.&OS=PN/9789406&RS=PN/9789406 After receiving loads of emails about this, I woke up ready to give this patent a good going over. While patents never guarantee real-life implementation, they can be reflective of a business, and boy does this one – a matchmaking system based on selling microtransactions…
Loot of the Rings! How does Shadow of Mordor’s sequel stack up after months of controversy? Let’s find out! __ Don’t know about the changes to Jimpressions and the new “screw you” approach to game reviews? Learn more: http://www.thejimquisition.com/changing-criticism-or-fuck-game-reviews/
