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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Kotaku's Jason Schreier thinks MTX are merely annoying

Though his comments were inane, unwarranted, and misinterprets the problem, this title and op does the same thing. Its not that he is ok with micro-transactions its that in this instance he feels it is "annoying at worst" not predatory, and youtubers are being clickbaity and not actually looking at the difference between what is actually exploitative. Not only do I not agree, I'll readily criticize any and every non f2p game that uses them. Especially games I want. But the you dumb down his argument to being, "mtxs are ok" is actually the only dishonest thing here.

More importantly you're just using this opportunity to jump down his neck on something completely off-topic and what he reviewed almost a year ago. Talk about holding a grudge.

Last edited by Dravenet7 - on 10 October 2018

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I think it's best to just ignore anything that comes out of sites like Kotaku or Polygon



They are okay if done right and only cosmetic imo. Also not sure if Xeno 2 is sexist but it so full of cringe. Saw some cut-scenes and clips. Yikes.



Dravenet7 said:

Though his comments were inane, unwarranted, and misinterprets the problem, this title and op does the same thing. Its not that he is ok with micro-transactions its that in this instance he feels it is "annoying at worst" not predatory, and youtubers are being clickbaity and not actually looking at the difference between what is actually exploitative. Not only do I not agree, I'll readily criticize any and every non f2p game that uses them. Especially games I want. But the you dumb down his argument to being, "mtxs are ok" is actually the only dishonest thing here.

More importantly you're just using this opportunity to jump down his neck on something completely off-topic and what he reviewed almost a year ago. Talk about holding a grudge.

In my mind, saying that MTX are annoying at worst is the same thing as saying they are ok. But I'll change the OP, because I never intended to misrepresent somebody. I actually couldn't remember whether it was Kotaku or Polygon that posted the misleading image on twitter. 



Cerebralbore101 said:

In my mind, saying that MTX are annoying at worst is the same thing as saying they are ok. But I'll change the OP, because I never intended to misrepresent somebody. I actually couldn't remember whether it was Kotaku or Polygon that posted the misleading image on twitter. 

Fair enough and to be fair I should have at least noted that you posted the video earlier that does go into what he said, rather than merely criticizing you.

I do understand what you're coming from in terms of the normalization of mtx's caused by the complacency of it, much like DMC 5, but translating to others in that way does give it a jump that was unintended. 

Nonetheless, looking back out it now, sorry for coming off the way I did. Could've been better about it

Also I think its kotaku that posted that image. That criticism of XB2 is rather shallow, but to me it really feels detached from this.



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Bisa said:

He's put 50hrs into it, he's in his right to critique a game regardless if its "atleast 80hrs" long. You also don't need context when it comes to Pyra, her character design alone is "Sexist" ...

This thread is basically "reviewer x didn't like a game I did"

80 hours is the minimum amount of time to beat the game if you rush through everything. I wouldn't trust a book review if somebody read half a book. Same goes for seeing half a movie. 

Edit: I didn't actually see the end credits scene for Xenoblade 2 until I was 130 hours in. And even then I kept on playing for another 60 hours to do all the side quests, and unlock everything I felt like unlocking. 50 hours makes me seriously wonder whether or not he even got past the last tutorial.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sexism

How does her character design foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex? Are all characters that happen to be scantily clad, or in skintight outfits sexist? Does this include men, like comic book super heroes that wear spandex? Is her character design sexist because she has big breasts? Are comic book characters with big muscles sexist too then? Doesn't Xenoblade 2's overarching story, about blades being people too, send a message that is clearly anti-sexist? 

I mean, yes there is one character in the game that is sexist for sure. Dahlia is a blade with breasts so large that they shouldn't be physically possible (Large wouldn't have been sexist, but impossibly large is another thing entirely.) But does one sexist character out of 45 that are locked behind a gacha system make an entire game sexist? 

Reviewer X that couldn't be bothered to actually finish a game, before writing a review for it, and then took a scene out of context for the purposes of writing a false narrative, now says that non-cosmetic MTX are annoying, but acceptable in games. 

Last edited by Cerebralbore101 - on 10 October 2018

He's a good reporter, but he's wrong on that one. Also, Xenoblade itself might not be sexist (I haven't played it yet), but its character designs are anything but progressive, that's for sure.



I make game analyses on youtube:

FFVI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSO6n8kNCwk
Shadow of the Colossus: https://youtu.be/9kDBFGw6SXQ
Silent Hill 2: https://youtu.be/BwISCik3Njc
BotW: https://youtu.be/4auqRSAWYKU

GameOverture said:
He's a good reporter, but he's wrong on that one. Also, Xenoblade itself might not be sexist (I haven't played it yet), but its character designs are anything but progressive, that's for sure.

Oh, it's in line with progressive values. Just look at these proud progressive women on this picture during a slut walk in Israel. Pyra would just fit in .



In the wilderness we go alone with our new knowledge and strength.

As with everything else in video games, whether microtransactions are predatory and exploitative or not depends on how they are used and what you can actually buy with them. If the microtransactions affect the game's balance, giving players tangible gameplay benefits they wouldn't have without them, then they are exploitative and are often the mark of a game being balanced around those microtransactions to make it more difficult to play or progress without paying for them.

I have no issues with cosmetic microtransactions, especially in free to play games where they are often the main way those games make money. However, in $60 dollar AAA games I have absolutely no patience for them. Microtransactions are a symptom of the kind of industry that the AAA developers have themselves created over the last 20 to 30 years. When we get to the point that a game like Assassin's Creed or Battlefield not only has the normal $60 main game, but several special editions often costing several hundred dollars, season passes that cost another $40-60, DLC, advertising tie-ins in-game, and microtransactions among other things, we've long since gone past the point of trying to justify this as a necessary evil to combat the rising costs of development.

Again, this is a situation the industry has themselves created, and if they genuinely can't make a profit selling literally millions, maybe tens of millions of copies of their biggest games, then they don't deserve to in the first place. They are the ones handling their own business poorly at that point. It may be true that costs of development, especially at the high end of development have ballooned out of control over the last decade, but that's once again the industry's own doing. Microtransactions are nothing but yet another desperate attempt to temporarily hide a growing issue without actually addressing the causes of that issue.



What a mix of non-sense to attack the person.

50h of gameplay on a 80h game is plenty enough to evaluate it and I would bet most reviewers put much less than this.

And he have a right to think MTX are only a nuisance. I won't buy any and don't support the practice, but I'm yet to find a game where that really broke it for me (F2P, because the full games had only it for costumes and the like).



duduspace11 "Well, since we are estimating costs, Pokemon Red/Blue did cost Nintendo about $50m to make back in 1996"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=8808363

Mr Puggsly: "Hehe, I said good profit. You said big profit. Frankly, not losing money is what I meant by good. Don't get hung up on semantics"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=9008994

Azzanation: "PS5 wouldn't sold out at launch without scalpers."