The drama
When the internet learned that the next Devil May Cry title fill feature micro-transactions, the backlash was swift and aggressive. The general consensus can be summed up as a ‘’ yet another triple A title that shoehorns greedy micro-transactions in order to artificially boost Capcom’s revenue’’, and many people still argue that micro-transactions have no place in a AAA game , regardless of their nature.
In my opinion, micro-transactions can be done right, if the offer additional content that is in fact worthy and it was not stripped from the original game (ahem, faction packs in many modern RTS games). They are away to earn extra revenue for extra work, after the game launched and delivered its main content.
But when it comes to Devil May Cry, the only micro-transaction revealed until now may be the worst idea since the Battlefront II, and Capcom is sure to suffer in the long run.
The issue
You may now wonder why this is so controversial. The problem is that the micro-transactions in question allow you to buy red orbs for real cash. For those unfamiliar with the previous games, red orbs allow you to buy upgrades, moves and other useful items for your character. This means that you can shell out x amount of dollars in order power-up from the start and steamroll through the game. In the light of a recently announced multiplayer mode, you will need a lot of time to level the 5 five player characters for multiplayer.
Capcom’s defense is also weak: players should choose how they want to play and this allows people with less time to enjoy the whole experience. Well, why not include a free cheat code that disables trophies and achievement, while also granting unlimited everything? Because the free part won’t earn them any cash for exactly 0 efforts, since the orbs are already in the game. Or make the cheat a one-time fee. But here we can already see the shimmer of predatory practices.
There are hundreds of games that let you tinker with the experience. It’s called difficulty level, and difficulty modifiers for more advanced game, and they come included with the price.
The decision will certainly alienate a large part of the player base and if Capcom doesn’t act fast real damage may soon hit company.
As a passionate gamer since the 1990s, Vadim has kept his passion alive since then, and he is here to cover video games news, as well as to share with you all the novelties out there regarding gadgets or games-related tech.
