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@ElectroArchiver Yeah, I read the comments in Steam about the Conan Exiles game. They didn't start with microtransactions, but added them later for basic game supplies. Now a lot of the comments are ultra negative. So they did a bait and switch and damaged their user base. I also saw that their is tons of DLCs. Which is another red flag to me. When the base game is 30 to 40 dollars, but the dlcs cost hundreds then I just walk away.
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@Demolishun The main problem of SAAS is that the moment you stop paying or the provider goes belly-up you have to migrate somewhere else. If your business depends on it, that means, your business stops until you migrated away. Also you have to directly trust the service provider with your data.
But for hobbyists, the cheaper or even free SAAS plans might be a viable alternative to a full product installed on their machine - especially if their machine is a potato and they have no clue what they are doing.
And if the SAAS provider is big and offers long-term contracts, it might be better for a bigger company to just go SAAS with a support contract. -
For gamers, microtransactions can be good or bad.
If they make a PvP game pay-to-win, that is horrible for non-paying players - and such games tend to just die a quick death after they attract a few wales. Sometime the wales already paid for the development by then. Sometimes they didn't. It is a pretty risky business model.
But in PvE games or when you can only buy ornamental stuff (skins, stat-less clothes, titles, badges...), going free-to-play with microtransactions is a viable alternative to fixed pricing with DLCs or subscriptions. Keeping an online game running and relevant costs money.
It gets into malpractice territory real fast when companies change payment models after release betting on the sunk cost fallacy keeping their old user base in the game until the wales take over.
And obviously, subscriptions and microtransactions make no sense for single release titles without company-provided servers - apart from the obvious greed. -
Wales are rare compared to the average gamer, but normally, money has no value for them because they got enough "disposable income" to waste - or some disorder that leads them to spend more than they should anyways.
Regardless whether it is morally right to go microtransactions in a specific case or not, it almost always makes some business sense to at least try. If a game attracts wales, it normally starts to get more and more wale-centric to the point where normal players just leave. Only after that, the wales leave too. But till then, the wales keep paying.
So for the wales out there: Money might be irrelevant¹ for you. But if you like the game please don't kill it by being too generous.
¹If money is an issue and you find yourself spending way too much on loot boxes or other microtransactions/gambling mechanics, don't be afraid to seek professional help. Gambling issues are common in our society and can ruin individual lives and families when left untreated.
Came up with this meme at 3 in the morning
Employee as a Service
I had a discussion about SAAS and microtransactions with another dev. They are a little bit younger than me. The trend toward this in games and android apps were discussed. We found that we both avoid software which employs these business models.
We cannot be the only 2 people who avoid products employing these common business models. So I wonder what demographic pays for these services and products? I am to the point that if my kid asks to buy something in a game, I tell them that we will get rid of the game if they keep asking.
The only time I have paid for SAAS is when there is extraordinary perceived value. Quickbooks for small business is one such product (way cheaper than an accountant). Another is the Xbox game pass. So apparently for the game pass I am in the demographic.
Do we not like it because it is new? Or is it a kind of sleazy business tactic? I dunno. I would rather pay up front for most things. I feel like SAAS will be employed in software with proprietary file formats which require a subscription to even get to your data. Vendor lock-in.
rant
microtransactions
saas