Electronic Arts is resurrecting Theme Park on iOS, but if you think that's Bullfrog's charming little simulation game has returned, you're in for a sour awakening. EA has made it a "freemium" game, which wouldn't be so bad if the concept of "freemium" hasn't been mutated to Zynga degrees.
For starters, leveling up in the game (a requirement to get new rides) is painfully slow, presumably to encourage people to cheat with their wallets. Even worse is the fact that some rides cannot be obtained at all without in-game tickets bought using real-life money. Games Blog did the math to find the cost of one Skull-Train roller coaster and it's ... well, brace yourself.
Sixty dollars. It costs $60 for a single in-game roller coaster. And that's one of the cheaper rides.
The tickets obscure the actual cost, very much like those horrible restaurant/arcade hybrids that encourage children to gamble with their parents' money. However, under scrutiny, it would appear that Theme Park iOS is nothing more than a common garden scam.
Freemium games can have some ludicrous costs for in-game gold, but usually the items bought are purely optional and/or aesthetic in nature. Charging as much as a retail game for a single in-game ride is just scummy, and the fact they used the lovely Theme Park to do it is what really stings. Then again, I don't know why I'd expect better from the company that's put subscription fees in Tetris.
Contest:
8:14 AM on 12.06.2011 | 
They'll never write $60, but with all the different currencies, levels lock and whatsnot, you've paid big money before understanding what you're doing exactly.
You do realize I couldn't do these posts if EA wasn't giving me fresh material, right?
You SHOULD be sick of the fact that EA's been able to provide something new and horrible to post about every day, but of course, it's a lot easier to just blame me, because that's what you do best.
(I really want to say that till I read the story :(
WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?!?
Yep. Pretty much. The whole forum banning thing from yesterday I can understand but this and the Tetris thing are just silly things to get upset about.
It's not so much that I'm sick of hearing about EA, it's more like I'm sick of EA being a bunch of money-grubbing dick-bags. I honestly can't believe how shitty they've become. It's cliché but they really are making Activision look reasonable by comparison.
If they want to act like this, then I think it's worth reporting.
http://insertcredit.com/2011/09/22/who-killed-videogames-a-ghost-story/
The myth of free to play has to be one of the more insidious concepts to emerge the last few years. People who lament 60 dollar price points or monthly subscriptions have no idea how much money they'll spend to play "free" games and get the same enjoyment they might from the more traditional pricing structures.
Additionally, in a culture and society consumed by "now now now" and instant gratification to make basic play mind crippling slow and pay play accelerated is like dangling drugs in front of a junkie or xeno morphs infront of Jim while demanding a insane price to get it.
All this adds up to more prove that we are no longer consumers and fans to be sought after, cherished, and rewarded for purchasing a game companies products. We are now wallets and purses to be herded, right up a ramp to a slaughterhouse to be squeezed, wrung, and bilked of every last possible cent.
I wonder how long the industry can survive with this mentality of freemium, day one DLC, over charged map packs, and so on before either A: a backlash occurs and revanues reflect a rebellion against the bullshit or B: another industry crash as people stop supporting entirely what at best can be described as sleazy business design and ethics. Time will tell.
Game, set, match. :-D
For now.
What I'm worried about, and what I think Jim may be driving at, is this is a *shitty* direction for games to be taking. It's definitely a bad precedent that shouldn't be acceptable. The Tetris thing was milder, I think--it was a crazy-pants fee/season pass deal, but I think EA might have got the picture after no one paid for it.
This, on the other hand, comes off as pretty predatory in nature.
I'm sure that comment won't be much appreciated, but just remember, you and people like you gave EA the in.
If you're sick of reading about EA being assholes, blame EA, not the messenger. Either that, or make your way to a less informative game blog that conveniently keeps the wool over your eyes just so you have a comfy reading experience.
These companies are only beginning to fuck us.
AT ARMS MEN, WE WILL PUSH BACK THE SARAC-EA-N ARMIES TO THE DEPTHS OF HELL THEY COME FROM!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
</sarcasm>
I'm jealous actually. I only wish I had the imagination to convince people to give me their money in exchange for nothing, or practically nothing.
Certainly, the people who will pay for this are part of the problem. But that doesn't absolve a company of ethics. Merely launching this product in the first place is an insult. Even if we don't buy it, it's a very good indicator of just how EA thinks of us. It's gross.
Remember a couple years ago when EA turned everything around and was the one company offering up new IPs and taking risks and -almost- becoming the video gamer's company? What happened EA? Why do you gotta be like this?
EA does not know the meaning of MICRO-transaction
I'm not saying this isnt bullshit. It's just that I did a quick run-through of my other frequented gaming sites and I saw nobody even mention this, gives me the impression that you're going out of your way to find more dirt on EA.
/opinions & perspectives
What's the problem, again?
No. He's going out of his way to find out bullshit in the industry, and put the spotlight on it. The other game sites simply don't care, and that's fine. But Jim is one of the few who provides the spotlight on bullshit practices and gives them their deserved criticism. If you don't like reading it, then just don't read it. Dtoid has a whole lot of other content that would suit your tastes. And no Jim stories don't overtake as much of dtoid as you might think it does.
One of the all-time greats, and one of the best heel turns in wrestling history.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtX0RZLoBz0
Trust me.
In any case, you admitted it was BS, so why be annoyed about it? Why not at least be pleased that Dtoid at least brought something *new* to your attention.
To attack me for it is to deflect from the issue of what EA's done (which again, you ADMIT is bad) and basically apologize for it by claiming I'm on a crusade, like I'm bullying poor defenseless EA.
@Tristrix even by Zynga's standard $60 for an in-game item sounds mercenary.
Why?