Week in Gaming: Microtransactions are seeping into console gaming, and it makes me feel bad

By Kate Gray

Imagine you’re a child. Imagine you’re out in the park one day, and you find a shiny 50p. Also, imagine it’s the 90s. Stick with me here.

You take your hard-earned pocket money to the corner shop, selecting for yourself a paper bag of sherbet lemons and some Opal Fruits (“what excellent, historically accurate detail,” you say. “I am so totally immersed right now”). The huge, hairy shopkeeper looms at you. “It’ll cost you extra if you want anything but yellow Opal Fruits,” he booms. “Also, I’m out of sherbet lemons. You can have peeled grapes instead. Maybe come back tomorrow, but you’ll have to pay again.” You pay, unhappily, taking your yellow Opal Fruits (the worst flavour) and your peeled grapes. He doesn’t give you a bag. “50p extra for a bag,” he snorts, turning away to read his copy of Smash Hits.

Microtransactions are the peeled grapes of our time. We’re so used to people putting up prices, charging more for our petrol, houses, and sherbet lemons, that we just keep wearily handing out coins in the vain hope that one day, we might actually own a thing and all the salespeople will just go away forever. Microtransactions are …read more

Source:: techradar.com – Gaming