Kotaku: Microtransactions

Dragonvale Captured My Heart and My Wallet in 2011

Mike Fahey — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:30:00 EST

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I never should have downloaded a free iOS game about breeding cute and colorful dragons; it was a tremendously bad idea on my part. More »

D.C. Universe Online Adds Microtransaction Support

Owen Good — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 EDT

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D.C. Universe Online has launched something called the "DCUO Marketplace," and while its shelves are pretty bare, what it could portend down the line is worth paying attention, if not cash. More »

New Features Aren't All Free in NCAA Football 12

Owen Good — Wed, 25 May 2011 22:00:00 EDT

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There may not be any optimal time to tell gamers about all the microtransactions and DLC for which they can expect to pay extra in an upcoming release. But the official reveal of a game's main features - the stuff folks expect to come with the $59.99 retail price - would probably be the least optimal. More »

Nickels, Dimes, Pennants, Pennies or Points, Sports Gamers Still Get Value

Owen Good — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST

>It didn't take long after MLB 11 The Show's release for everyone to notice its microtransactions menu and give it a good public flogging. While I don't claim that these things are in anyone's interest other than the publisher's, gamers do a fantastic job of making this out to be a more odious threat than it really is. More »

Call Of Duty For China Is Free To Play

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:40:00 EST

The people who publish Call of Duty have been talking about their plans to bring more players into the online multiplayer fold, specifically targeting Asian players. Today, Activision finally divulged some details on its Chinese Call of Duty plans. More »

NHL 11 Will Sell You 93 156 Different Powerups

Owen Good — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:30:00 EDT

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Sharp-eyed DLC watchers today spotted the month-early upload of more than 90 player attribute enhancements for NHL 11, offering three tiers of created-player boosts ranging from 80 to 160 Microsoft points. Update: There are now 156 boosts on Xbox Live. More »

Buy Yourself A Better City Of Heroes Mutant

Mike Fahey — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:20:00 EDT

If you've ever wished your City of Heroes mutant character could mutate just a little bit more, now's your chance, as Paragon Studios unleashes Super Booster V: Mutant on the NCsoft online store. More »

Madden 11 Scouts Your Online Games — and Sells Others the Report

Owen Good — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:00:00 EDT

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Madden NFL 11 will log every play you call online, building a book on your tendencies that will available, in-game, to any multiplayer opponent. While the reports can be earned or unlocked, they can also be bought for cash. More »

Facebook, Farmville Reach Truce on Virtual Currency

Owen Good — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:00:00 EDT

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The maker of Farmville, shedding users by the millions, got a jolt of good news on Tuesday when the game's parent company reached an agreement with Facebook, settling a standoff over the handling of virtual currency transactions. More »

The Federation Can Get You Ferengi And Klingons Wholesale

Mike Fahey — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST

The United Federation of Planets in the time of Star Trek Online isn't beyond adding the odd Ferengi or Klingon, as long as the price is right. How much would you pay for the privilege? More »

Home Produces Sodium

AJ Glasser — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:01:00 EST

PlayStation Home is moving its social network toward the gaming space by releasing a real, honest-to-god video game through Home. Meet Sodium, "an arcade shooter in an MMO wrapper." More »

Sleuths Dig Up Microtransaction Language in Old Republic TOS

Owen Good — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:20:00 EDT

The terms of service agreement for Star Wars: The Old Republic, included in its recently announced Game Testing program, mention both "points" and a "game store," possibly tipping off plans for microtransactions. More »

Acclaim Re-Develops The Chronicles Of Spellborn

Mike Fahey — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:30:00 EDT

Acclaim is hanging out their "Please Pardon Our Re-Development" signs on their MMO The Chronicles of Spellborn, transforming it into a free-to-play, transaction-based game by next year. More »

Online Gaming Jumps in 2009

Brian Crecente — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:20:00 EDT

Although PC online gaming has dipped slightly, a recent survey by the NPD Group shows that online gaming as a whole has increased from 19 to 25 percent this year. More »

Runes Of Magic Item Shop Is Open For Business

Mike Fahey — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:20:00 EST

There's a reason Frogster America's free-to-play MMORPG Runes of Magic is free, and that reason is the Runes of Magic Item Shop, now accepting cash in exhchange for items that make your grind easier. More »

Petroglyph Takes Strategy Online With Mytheon

Mike Fahey — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST

Real-time strategy developer Petroglyph and True Games have just announced Mytheon, which promises to combine the best elements of action, strategy, and RPG gameplay into one massive online game. More »

The 'Megatrends' of Gaming

Maggie Greene — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Pascal Luben has an interesting article — soon to be part of a set of articles — on the 'megatrends' of gaming. Some of it is obvious ('multiplayer to the rescue!'), but the discussion of what all this means for game design and games of the (near) future. Luben has written about three 'megatrends' - increasing the commercial life of games, the emergence of 'fast gaming,' and increasingly believable universes - in this article, with at least two more subheadings coming in a future piece. He is quick to explain he's not simply ruminating on what may happen in the future, but is discussing trends that are already underway or quickly gaining steam: More »

The Science of Defrauding MMOs

Maggie Greene — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:30:00 EDT

I find security issues facing games pretty interesting; PlayNoEvil is one of my favorite spots for discussion about security related issues. Gamasutra sat down with Gene Hoffman, CEO of Vindicia, a billing and fraud management company, about the issues facing MMOs and ways to mitigate those issues. Of particular concern are the RMT resale markets (if it exists), and chargebacks. And what of the mingling of real and virtual economies? Hoffman has this to say: More »

What Activision Can And Can't Change About Blizzard

Leigh Alexander — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:20:00 EDT

The development talent at Blizzard now has a new publisher and parent in Activision Blizzard. If you ask the developers, they're enthusiastic about the change. "All game development is still completely within our Irvine headquarters," World of Warcraft game director Jeffrey Kaplan told Kotaku during our sit-down today. "There's no outside influence at all in the development of Diablo 3, StarCraft 2 or WoW." More »

Study: MMORPG Biz Needs More Freebies

Leigh Alexander — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:20:00 EDT

More free games will help the MMORPG market expand, found a Parks Associates study. Apparently, only "hardcore" gamers, who represent only a small portion of the audience surveyed, are willing to pay subscription fees, and so for everyone else, the study recommends offering more free titles. More »

Sams: No Free WoW

Leigh Alexander — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:20:00 EDT

It's currently popular to theorize that nearly all gaming will end up free or nearly free at some point, distributed via browser and monetized through ad support, microtransactions or scalable subscription models. Faith in this business model's been instated by the early success of many free-to-play web-based MMOs (many of them for kids, mind). More »

SOE Clarifies The Agency's Real Money Trading

Mike Fahey — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:20:00 EDT

Last month Sony Online Entertainment announced that upcoming titles The Agency and Free Realms would be utilizing the Live Gamer service for real money transactions, which many people took to mean that players would be able to buy weapons and equipment to enchance their gameplay. In an interview published over at Eurogamer, lead designer Hal Milton explains that this isn't the case at all. More »

SOE's Agency, Free Realms To Support Real Money Trading

Leigh Alexander — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:20:00 EDT

Sony Online Entertainment announced that its upcoming titles, The Agency and Free Realms, will support real money transactions, through the company's ongoing partnership with e-commerce platform Live Gamer. More »

Valve Would "Love" To Micro-Transaction You

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:40:53 EDT

Micro-transactions aren't the future, they're the now. While companies like EA are totally on board with nickel and diming players for added content, some companies aren't. Take, Valve for instance. It hasn't gone micro-transactional. But would it? Let's hear what Valve's Dough Lombardi has to say: More »

NCsoft Introduces Fake Money For Fake Things

Mike Fahey — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Anyone will tell you that paying for items that don't technically exist always feels better when done through a middle-currency - gPotatoes, linden, and now, NCcoin. NCsoft is getting into the fake money business with the new NCcoin program, that will allow players to purchase fake money using real money to purchase fake in-game items. $1 equals 100 NCcoin, which can then be spent in Exteel - where the program is debuting - and eventually many other existing and upcoming NCsoft titles.

NCsoft's goal is to bring more and more people into the online gaming market, and part of achieving that goal is to continue to diversify how customers can pay and play," said Chris Chung, NCsoft North America's president. "This system will offer our customers much greater flexibility and convenience in paying for content.

NCsoft plans on introducing items that can only be purchased with their fake money, along with items that can also be earned in game, so it isn't just about skill, but cash as well. Awesome. Hit the jump for the press release. More »

EA Charging For Bad Company Weapons?

Mike Fahey — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:40:21 EDT

Word from the Battlefield: Bad Company beta test is that several weapons in the game's arsenal are locked, with "Available for purchase on Xbox Live Marketplace" notations next to them. In total 10 weapons are listed as for sale, with five of them also available in the Gold Edition of the game. What this basically means is that people willing to drop a little extra cash, be it in the store or on Xbox Live, will have more weapons to choose from than someone who scrapes together just enough to pick up the game itself. This is not the way microtransactions should be used. Cosmetic additions and extra maps are all well and good, but allowing players to pay in order to get a leg up on the competition is just slimy. Multiplayer games suffer from enough balance issues without this sort of thing going on. Where will this lead? Perhaps eventually they'll allow you to purchase a much better surrogate player to represent you in matches, taking the term "professional gaming" to an all new level. Maybe we can pay for ammo next! "Everybody down! He bought extra clips!" *sigh* More »

Microtransactions Come To The Wii

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:30:00 EDT

Don't kid yourselves with the Wii's cute, cuddly exterior. Nintendo, and anyone else publishing on the console, are as thirsty for your cash money as any other company on Earth. So when you read this post and learn that Namco Bandai are bringing microtransactions to the WiiWare service (users can buy additional stages for word-puzzler Mojipittan), do us all a favour and don't act so surprised. You had to know this day was coming. More »

GameSpy Launches Direct2Game

Mike Fahey — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:40:33 EST

Let the microtransactions commence! IGN Entertainment's GameSpy has just launched their latest bit of gaming middleware, Direct2Game, an in-game commerce system that allows game publishers and developers to easily create and maintain in-game storefronts, giving them the ability to deliver add-on content without taking the player out of the game. Gamers will be able to purchase add-ons, mods, soundtracks, maps, and anything developers want to sell really, without having to go to a separate website to complete the transaction.

"With the launch of our Direct2Game commerce service, GameSpy is now bridging its dual heritage in digital distribution and in-game technology, opening up new revenue streams and business models for publishers and developers," said Jamie Berger, senior vice president of consumer products and technology for IGN Entertainment.

In other words, more, better ways to get your money! Thanks GameSpy! More »

Are Microtransactions The Future of MMO Games?

Mike Fahey — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:00:53 EDT

What do you get when you put Everquest II producer John Blakely, Matt Firor of ZeniMax Online Studios, Mark Jacobs of EA Mythic, Raph Coster of Areae, and GoPets CEO Erik Bethke into one room to discuss opportunities for increasing revenue and reaching new players in the MMO space? From what I saw this afternoon, you get a debate over microtransactions versus traditional subscription payment systems. I attended a panel called "Where are the Biggest Online Gaming Opportunities?" which was supposed to about experimenting with new MMO design and innovative new revenue models, but it quickly because a debate of old school MMO systems versus the new ones. The subject of microtransactions has popped up a lot this week, most notably in the Dave Perry Q&A from earlier in the day, where Perry sings the praises of the ad-supported, microtransaction funded business model. More »

DANCE! Online Lets You Dance... Online!

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:40:33 EDT

Acclaim, which has been reborn from run of the mill publisher to massively multiplayer online game development house, has released its latest MMO, DANCE! Online for public consumption. More »

New Downloadable PS3 Content Comin'

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 21:20:10 EST

An e-mail from the PlayStation Underground indicates that new downloads are headed to the PlayStation Store. More »

New EA Cheat Microtransactions For You To Enjoy!

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 22:20:36 EST

Don't feel like playing your games to get the unlockable content? Then buy your progress, you lazy, horrible business model supporting prick! Major Nelson updated his corporate blog to send us the good news: 1120 points (or $14 USD) worth of cheats for EA's Need For Speed Carbon are available for suckers who like to flush cash down the toilet via the Xbox Live Marketplace. More »

Probst on EA Innovation and Microtransactions

Brian Crecente — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 10:12:27 EST

Where part one and part two of N'Gai Croal's interview of Electronic Arts CEo Larry Probst was lecture and brimstone, part three is much more Probst dancing around the harder questions. More »

Rare Not Sure About Downloadable Content (Neither Are We)

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 02:22:27 EST

Add Microsoft owned developer Rare to those who aren't sure downloadable content is teh future. While some companies exploit the crud outta micro-transactions to profit from half-finished games, Rare is waiting it out. Take the company's Viva Piñata, which is short on things you can buy online. Says lead designer Gregg Mayles: More »

An Ode To The Microtransaction

Mike Fahey — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 13:40:39 EST

Chris Remo came up with this little ditty for the Played Podcast that neatly summarizes microtransactions, the new darling of game publishers everywhere.Rumor has it the actual song is going to be much longer, but you'll have to pay $2 per minute to complete it. Michael Fahey More »

Moore Talks Microtransactions

Brian Crecente — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 17:20:23 EST

Stephen Totilo managed to corner Peter Moore at the recent Microsoft event in New York and ask him some pointed questions about the increasing cost and exuberant use of microtransactions by third-party publishers. Specifically, he asked him about the recent angst surrounding Electronic Arts $50 worth of add-ons for Need for Speed: Carbon. More »

Major Nelson On Microtransactions: "Don't Like 'Em, Don't Buy 'Em"

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 03:22:16 EDT

Microsoft's Major "Larry" Nelson and 1Up's woolly Andrew Pfister talk about the current micro-transactions brouhaha. Both make good points, but man, Lar gesticulates like crazy. Brian Ashcraft More »

Lumines Live is Filthy With Microtransactions

egauger — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 20:55:52 EDT

Greeting me from the tips inbox today was an email so full of white-hot rage, profound spiritual hurt, and f-bombs that I thought I was getting Florian's fanmails by accident again. More »

Rumor: PS3's GT To Microtransaction You to Death?

Brian Crecente — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 11:02:46 EDT

It looks like microtransactions are getting macrofied. More »

Legos 360 to Charge for Prequel Characters

Brian Crecente — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 16:00:32 EDT

I must have missed it when the first story hit, but I was browsing through Neo-Gaf and saw someone point to this Games Radar story. More »