It's Just Cosmetic (The Jimquisition)
The episode we all knew was coming. The Jimquisition at last smashes into the "It's Just Cosmetic" argument with a bulldozer.
Many will defend certain types of microtransaction and loot box by claiming if they sell only cosmetic DLC, it's fine. Cosmetics "don't affect gameplay" and therefore anything goes.
This is rubbish. Cosmetics absolutely impact gameplay, and to argue otherwise is to heap insult upon games as a medium.
Comments (12)
I realised just how much „cosmetics“ meant to gameplay when (back in the day) SOE decided to change the look of some of the guns I had paid for in Planetside 2, and I never touched them again, because all of a sudden they looked like shit. I did not care much for the guns statistics. change those all you want, as long as it’s for balance reasons, but that move really pissed me off.
I always wonder how much the "It's just cosmetic" crowd spend on their video card.
Thank you for continuing to speak loudly and clearly about this issue. Blatant gambling mechanisms in video games are disgusting. People trying to deter you are misguided. As long as you have thought-provoking commentary on the subject, you should address this issue.
So just to be clear, we're not talking about this sort of shit in freemium games. Secret World Legends or Guild Wars 2 or RIFT all are either pure freemium or buy to play and you pay a fee upfront, then never have to pay again, and usually sell cosmetics in a straight forward manner, no (or limited in the case of SWL) lootboxes. We're talking about pairing cosmetics with lootboxes? Yeah I can get behind that
I tend to go with the most straightforward explanation... They're just not worth the money. I let myself get suckered a bit, I thought about how much fun I had vs how much I spent, and it just plain wasn't worth it. Aesthetic content is something that I might be willing to buy, i am interested. But it just isn't worth the money if randomized, carved up, and over priced. Simple as that.
Well, and I think you've made this point before Jim many times, but to gamers like me, part of the experience of any game is "getting all the things." If there are "things," I want them because I want all the "things." So, to gate off a substantial portion of the "things" is to gate off a substantial portion of the game. It certainly doesn't feel optional or "cosmetic" to me, especially if the odds of getting all the things is astronomically low through actually playing the game...
'A' can be worse than 'B' and yet still have 'B' be bad. In as much as there ARE people who don't care what their character looks like so long as they can play it with all game-mechanic-related abilities intact and identical, cosmetic loot boxes aren't as bad as game-mechanic loot boxes, which effect everyone. And those people aren't playing the game 'wrong' because they're content with the default art, which may still be quite attractive. That said, it's true that the pseudo-gambling compulsion-fostering mechanic still aims at a vulnerable (and often under-aged) population to make a bigger profit. And that deserves a side-eye. But then, I would say the same about indie Rogue-likes that use randomization and perma-death to string out the lean amount of actual game content they have to offer- just because they're throwing random numbers to compel you to spend extra TIME rather than extra MONEY doesn't mean the practice isn't often sketchy. You're still waiting for that one throw of the dice that will go your way, the element that's out of your hands no matter how skillfully you play.
I would argue that there is also people that don't care too much (or don't care at all) about the competitive side. They care about the aesthetic of the play itself, and would rather stand out in beautiful shiny skins, and get some aesthetically pleasing moves, than do the stuff that makes you win. For those, game-mechanic loot boxes might not be as bad as cosmetic loot boxes. And those people are also not playing the game wrong. In the end all loot boxes affect the community, in different ways depending on the specific part of the community and the specific box.
I agree with you a 110%. I like playing OverWatch but that's Cosmetics expecially it's holidays events, pisses me off cuz it cost a lot more than the normal stuff. I feel like I'm just grinding and grinding just to buy or lucky enough to get it in a loot box... It's fucking ridiculous!
You forgot to mention, that the whole billions of dollar cosmetics industry in real life is, and let's be frank about that, purely cosmetic. And then there is the art market...
Who else noticed Jim started with red glasses and ended with yellow.....and then red again?
183% correct. If graphics and customizability are part of the gameplay - and they absolutely are - then holding back an undetermined or undisclosed portion of the game and representing that I'm paying full price is . . . fraud. Plain and simple.