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Dead Space 3 has microtransactions because mobile gamers
Visceral Games has justified the controversial microtransaction system in Dead Space 3 by claiming mobile gamers expect them now. Well, that's a totally reasonable ... wait, what? "There’s a lot of players out there, especially players coming from mobile games, who are accustomed to micro-transactions," Visceral's John Calhoun told CVG. "They’re like 'I need this now, I want this now.' They need instant gratification. So we included that option in order to attract those players, so that if they’re 5000 Tungsten short of this upgrade, they can have it." So ... mobile gamers, who play games on mobile devices, expect microtransactions, which means a home console game, played on a home console, should have them. Is that really all it takes to sell a game to a mobile player these days? The promise of in-app purchases? Is Visceral not trying to run before it can walk, offering a mobile gaming structure before it even knows it has an audience? This doesn't even go into the fact that Visceral conveniently forgot something else mobile gamers expect -- games that don't demand $60 up-front before they start offering their little extra purchases. If Dead Space 3 is being designed for mobile gamers now, why does it costs exactly $59.99 more than Temple Run? Of course, Visceral is still stressing that micro -- sorry, in-app purchases -- are totally optional. "There’s also the hardcore Dead Space players, who are reluctant to spend money outside the purchase of the game. Honestly, most of the dev team are that way, we’re kind of old school, a little bit older. So not only are the micro-transactions completely optional, but all packs are available to purchase using in-game resources that you find. "So, your scavenger bot will go out, and sometimes when he comes back he’ll deliver ration seals. You’ll start to accumulate ration seals at a pretty steady clip throughout the game, and everything that can be purchased with real world dollars can also be purchased with ration seals." On the surface, that sounds reasonable, but I refuse to think of microtransactions as an optional feature when the game constantly reminds you about them. It might be optional to take Dead Space 3 up on its offer, but it's not optional to have the offer constantly there, trying to demolish the game's atmosphere by reminding you you're playing a videogame, and it's a videogame that'd really like more money. It's not optional to have a game drag out the accumulation time of resources, hoping you'll get impatient enough to drop some cash. Microtransactions work by attempting to psychologically beat the consumer. The system is adversarial, it tries to hold out longer than the player, who likewise is attempting to see if he or she can resist until the game absolutely has to give up the goods. You can't just choose to brush past that. Dead Space 3's entire currency and weapon system has been dramatically altered, now cynically designed to support its own little economy, and that wasn't an option. I'm currently playing the game for review and I'm bound to an embargo, so I can't say much. All I will say is that this particular topic of discussion is not on my list of favorite things about the game. Interview: Dead Space 3 producer on micro-transactions and keeping the horror alive [CVG] Did you know? You can now get daily or weekly email notifications when humans reply to your comments.
12:00 PM on 05.26.2013 Impressions: The Art of Dead Space Enhanced EditionEarlier this week I got the chance to take a closer look at one of Titan Books' recent iOS endeavors, Awakening: The Art of Halo 4 Enhanced Edition. While I enjoyed seeing the beautiful and picturesque vistas created by John ...
2:00 PM on 05.15.2013 Game music on guitar like you've never heard beforeTop honors for this month's Note Worthy go to a new guitar duo, The Altered Beasts, who you may recognize as the guitar players from the best game music cover band out there, The OneUps. The two team up for their debut album,...
11:30 AM on 05.13.2013 Contest: Win Art of Halo & Dead Space digital art books![Update: Contest over! Winners have been contacted via Dtoid PM.] Our friends at Titan Books have hooked us up with three codes for The Art of Halo 4 and The Art of Dead Space digital editions! These enhanced editions contain...
8:30 PM on 05.10.2013 Xbox Infinity, Greatness Awaits, Watch_Dogs & Saints RowHey everybody, here's today's Destructoid Show. It was a Friday, so it was live, so it's a little bit extra stupid because of that. We discuss the how "Greatness Awaits" with the Playstation 4, the possibility of the next Xbo...
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9:00 AM on 05.08.2013 Dead Space 3 is the latest game to have officially failedIt had co-op and cover-based shooting, but Electronic Arts' flailing attempts to make Dead Space 3 "appeal to a wider audience" apparently failed. Visceral's latest game now joins Tomb Raider, Hitman: Absolution and Resident ...
6:45 PM on 05.07.2013 EA: SimCity sales 'solid,' Crysis and Dead Space were notElectronic Arts held an investors' call today, and one of the talking points was the performance of some of its biggest properties. Unfortunately, some of the information that was divulged was sort of disheartening. EA appear...
2:00 AM on 05.06.2013 Replica Dead Space Plasma Cutter will burn your face offYouTuber AnselmoFanZero built himself his very own replica Dead Space Plasma Cutter. Oh yeah, the gun can actually burn stuff, as demonstrated in his video. As for the gun itself, it weighs about 4.4 pounds, took about 200 hours to build, and features 1,500-milliwatt burning blue lasers. Space zombies beware – hobbyist builds a real-life Plasma Cutter [Gizmag, via Gizmodo]
5:00 PM on 04.20.2013 This Dead Space fan movie blew me awayWe might never get around to seeing a live-action Dead Space movie on the big screen but I'm not sure if a film coming out of Hollywood would nail the aesthetic of the games as well as this short, fan-made film. It...
3:00 PM on 04.15.2013 Jimquisition: Dark Souls and Dark SalesDark Souls sold over two million copies and is a bonafide success. Tomb Raider sold over three million copies and is a disappointing failure. Wut? Different projects obviously have different standards for succ...
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