Hopefully the news that next gen will have microtransactions in it isn't actually, uh, news to you: the practice of charging money for an in-game bonus has practically become an industry standard. Of course some next gen games will have it!
Still, we haven't heard the specifics of what some next gen games will try to sell us via microtransactions...but that's changing. VideoGamer reports that Ryse—which you might remember as the Roman Empire action game exclusive to Xbox One where you can 'mash to mastery'—will in fact include microtransactions. Here's how it'll work according to a Microsoft producer:
"When we talk about the progression system for multiplayer, it's armour-based," said the producer.
"The way that you get armour is very similar to how you get it in like Mass Effect or FIFA. You only earn gold while playing multiplayer [and] you use that gold to buy booster packs. Those booster packs contain random sets of loot. Based on the different tiers of loot that you get - whether you buy Bronze, Silver or Gold Packs - guarantees whether you get rare or common items.
"One of the things that we did a little different is that you can buy them with in-game currency and real world currency. The difference is that if you're close we also have small microtransactions.
"Say for instance a gold pack costs 15,000 gold, [and] you've only got 12,500 you can actually buy the difference and only spend a little bit to make it go to a Gold Pack. So we offer some variety there."
You can read the rest of the interview here, where the producer explains how players will be able to grind and customize gear in-game.
It's all fine by me, as long as it's optional, but—what do you think, would you purchase something like this? Does its existence bother you?
UPDATE: Crytek sent Kotaku the following additional information about the microtransactions in Ryse.
The progression system in ‘Ryse: Son of Rome’s’ cooperative multiplayer experience offers players the freedom to customize their gladiator with a wide range of armor customization options and upgrades which are accessible across five tiers. Players must advance through each tier by earning experience through gameplay before being eligible to acquire ‘booster packs,’ which contain in-game upgrades. Once players have reached a new tier, they may either purchase ‘booster packs’ using in-game Gold earned through battle, real-world currency or a mix of both, and then must continue to play to advance to the next tier (there is no way to ‘buy’ your way to the next tier). Players who purchase ‘booster packs’ with real-world currency will only receive a minor boost in how quickly they acquire the items they’ve earned compared to those who only use in-game Gold.
Ryse has microtransactions [VideoGamer]