Today TechwareLabs takes a look a microtransations in the context of gaming. Specifically, they look at how some companies have gotten in right and others have screwed the pooch.
One of the companies they call out as Doin it Rong is Microsoft with their MS Points system. I can agree to an extent – when they make you buy points in specific increments that don’t line up with the cost of the games or content you want to buy, you are either forced to buy a second “chunk” of points or you are left with a surplus in an odd amount. Often I’ve found myself with 430 points or something, and the thing I want is maybe 560 or 600 points, and I have no choice but to buy 500 points to get it. On top of that, the conversion rate from $ to MSP is some kind of sorcery. At least the Nintendo system of $1 = 1 point makes sense.
Microtransactions are a smart move in the realm of online content, if for nothing more than the fact that credit card processing fees make microtransactions via CC impractical or impossible. However, there is a cool way to do it and then there’s the “we’re gonna trick you” method. Perhaps one day there will be a national debit system and we can do away with microtransations as well as credit cards, but until then, microtransactions will have to fill the gap.
Articles RSS