In the past few weeks, I have been rather upset about specific things, sometimes well-researched and sometimes not so much (*cough*). Today, I want to talk about a topic that I generally see as the “plague” of the 21st century in the gaming industry. No, it is not absurd DLC mechanics, but it comes pretty close. It’s about real money shops in general, and I would also like to hear your opinion on this at the end!
In the past, the world was still alright
When I was young (in demon years, that’s quite a while ago), the world of video games was relatively simple. You owned a GameBoy and had saved up for “Pokemon” (red! – what else?!) over several weeks or simply received it as a birthday gift. Most of my friends did the same, and then we happily played together and against each other.
A little later, the first LAN parties took place, where we played Warcraft 3, Counter-Strike, or Call of Duty extensively. Let’s not talk for a moment about why each of us had those games… oh well, moving on!
Games made us equal…
What I’m getting at now is as follows: Games back then were something that connected young people in a very special way. Because within the game, it didn’t matter whether you were the son or daughter of a poorer family or the child of the prosecutor. By playing, barriers that were established elsewhere due to social differences (to be honest, they are more financial differences and nothing social) disappeared. Everyone was equal, and the only differences were, if any, the time invested in the respective game.
… but today, some make them more equal
Today, it’s different. Those who have a lot of money in real life can almost always express that within the virtual world. You just buy 20,000 cartel coins, acquire a burning metal horse for €20, or possess all skin variations, even if they only differ by the eyeshadow of the left eye. A whole generation of free “games” now only lives on hiding every fun and success behind additional purchases (examples: Heroes Charge, Travian, etc.).
Of course, I also understand the developers’ perspective because if you can make money from people, then that is always the right decision as a company. F2P titles like SMITE, LoL, or many others rely on such purchases to survive. Nevertheless, I miss the time when you laid down 70 DM on the table and could achieve everything in the game. Nowadays, if you want, you just throw in another €300 and become a very special snowflake. And that creates differences that play in the minds of gamers, whether consciously or unconsciously. In principle, with the introduction of the internet, these differences could have been beautifully eliminated.
What do you think about all this? Am I too stuck in the past again? Or do you even enjoy such cash shops? Let me know in the comments.
