| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
PRpaTi
Rated R
Joined: 16 Mar 2005
Posts: 89
Location: SI, NY
|
 Posted: Sun, 20 Mar 2005 14:18:59 Post Subject: New tradepost system in console games (News) |
  |
|
| Quote: | LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - New car: $1. New helmet: 5 cents. Flashy new warrior's sword: 50 cents. Bigger baseball bat: three for $2. Magic spell to help defeat that tricky warlord on level five: 10 cents per use.
Welcome to the online store of the future -- the one embedded in your favorite video game.
When Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) releases the new version of its Xbox (news - web sites) video game console -- presumably this year -- it plans to include a storefront that will offer "microtransactions."
The idea is that everyone wins: players with disposable income can spend a few cents here and there to enhance their gameplay in most any way they like, and publishers get a way to create a continuing revenue stream.
"Not only do you have to sweep away the distinction between virtual and real, you have to stop looking at video games as a toy and start looking at them as an entertainment service," said Edward Castronova, an associate professor at Indiana University who studies video game economics and is the author of the forthcoming book "Synthetic Worlds."
Microtransactions are so named because the purchases are generally a few cents or a dollar or two, often too small to be made by a credit card. That is where intermediaries, like the proposed Xbox service, come in to play.
"Generally if you do anything less than $5 you end up eating up the bulk of that $5 in transaction fees," said Cam Ferroni, general manager of Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service. "At the heart of it'll be a points-like system where you buy points and then use those points to make purchases."
Game publishers will have to cooperate by building access to a common storefront into their software, and some purists may argue that such trade creates an unfair playing field.
"In a multiplayer game there's a problem because if I choose to wreck the fantasy by buying my way around stuff, I don't just wreck my fantasy, I wreck others," Castronova said.
But Microsoft executives suggest those who do not take part will hear from unhappy fans.
"If you don't believe in the self-expression thing, so be it. Let's let it play out in the market," said J Allard, a Microsoft corporate vice president who has a key role in building the services in the next version of Xbox, in an interview at the recent Game Developer's Conference.
BIG MONEY
Analysts say the money is good -- perhaps too good to pass up, whether a publisher likes the concept or not.
"We believe that an online marketplace will provide varying high-margin incremental revenue opportunities for all of the major video game publishers with the Xbox 2 over the next five years," American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy said in a recent note.
Some publishers have estimated the potential for an additional $5 million in revenue per game by offering an extra level to an already released title. That potentially could be structured as a microtransaction.
That plan could be a drop in the bucket, though. Ferroni said it was conceivable that someday, the Xbox marketplace would let users trade and sell among themselves.
That paradigm already exists for PC games, which often allow for trading of virtual items. Castronova estimates that players pay between $100 million and $800 million in cash to buy such items on trading and auction sites like eBay.
"What they're saying to developers is if you don't design this into the game the fan site community, these external people, will capture this money stream," Castronova said. |
Yahoo News
I'm not a console player, but if they implement this new system it would violate everything I've learned to love about PC games. I mean, if you want a better weapon/car/artifact/whatever, you have to freaking earn it by demonstrating your skills in the game. It's the natural order of things. I may sound like a purist here, but I think this is a load of @#$%... Are you kidding me?
What do you guys think?
(BTW, nice site...  )
EDIT: hhmmm... maybe this should go in the news section... sorry... |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Little Bruin
Boo Boo
Joined: 07 Apr 2003
Posts: 667
Location: Pic-A-Nic Basket |
|
|
BeerCheeze
*hick*
Joined: 14 Jun 2003
Posts: 9285
Location: At the Bar
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dadx2mj
Happy Camper
Joined: 10 Aug 2003
Posts: 2994
Location: SoCal
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
HackaX0rus
Rated XXX
Joined: 20 Jan 2005
Posts: 1972
Location: Cen. CA
|
| Posted: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 17:40:59 Post Subject: |
|
|
that sucks rich kids already have the advantage..."like paying college kids to beat the game for them  "...they dont need anymore help
_________________
Ignore this^^ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Enforcer
Rated NC-17
Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Posts: 183
Location: Salinas, CA
|
| Posted: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 18:09:17 Post Subject: |
|
|
Wow, someone finally picked up on why CCC's (Collectible Card Games) generate so much money and applied it to games. I can see it now:
Jeremy: "Hey, I just got this new Konami game for my Playstation 16! My grandfather told me about a code to put in....."
Robert: "Yeah lets do it!"
(up up down down left right left right B A is entered on the pad)
Contra 42 game: "Congradulations! You discovered the SECRET code! For only $4.99 you can have this code activated immediatly!"
Jeremy: "What the......"
In a more recent case, I can see this...
Simas: "Yo dude, I picked up this great cheat code, it works for ALL the new games!"
Timothy: "Really? is it like a special number you put in?"
Simas: "Kinda, its a 16 digit number, then I put in this special month and year, and my dad's name and poof, instant cheats!!!"
Timothy: "Can I borrow that code to try on my own games?"
Simas: "Sure, I'll post it on the school forum so everyone can try it out!"
_________________
Jinsei to uchuu to subete no koate wa.. yonjuuni |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
HackaX0rus
Rated XXX
Joined: 20 Jan 2005
Posts: 1972
Location: Cen. CA
|
| Posted: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 19:01:15 Post Subject: |
|
|
BWHAHAHA...as if microsoft doesnt have enough money
edit: Micro$oft
_________________
Ignore this^^
Last edited by HackaX0rus on Tue, 22 Mar 2005 17:31:47; edited 2 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Shadowsilence
I <3 Chevrolet
Joined: 11 May 2004
Posts: 618
Location: Fort Walton Beach
|
| Posted: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 19:36:25 Post Subject: |
|
|
Bwahahahahahahahah |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Little Bruin
Boo Boo
Joined: 07 Apr 2003
Posts: 667
Location: Pic-A-Nic Basket |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum
|
|
