Whilst I would have made use of and enjoyed split screen, it's not a big deal for me. I understand it is for many people though. For me the Requisition system is a much bigger issue and negative. I personally had no idea so many hours would be required to unlock everything. The time it would take is probably a lot more than Angry Joe's prediction of 660 hours, as most games last longer than 10 minutes, and there's the RnG element too. Really, no game should require 1000 (maybe more) hours of play to unlock everything, especially an online shooter like this. It is quite clearly designed to incentivise micro transactions.
Before I begin, please tell me if I--at any point in this post--come off as aggressive or hostile or disingenuous or even simply misinformed.
Continuing on.
If I remember correctly, the microtransactions in the game were by and large a tradeoff between community "togetherness" when it comes to who has what maps/content, and the money required to produce said content. It was either going to be paid DLC map packs/content packs or microtransactions, as 343 Industries has alluded to in the past (again, this is if I'm recalling my facts correctly). As it stands, the system currently in place is largely to fund, not only those aforementioned map packs and content downloads, but the competitive community and, obviously, some healthy margin of profit.
It stands to reason that the issue is centered more on the decision of what money goes where and what should be prioritized than simply the principle of the matter or the relative level of timesink each option entails (timesink vs. no timesink).
Bear in mind: while, ideally, developers should support their games post-launch with added content at no extra cost--similar to how things were largely done back during the late 90s and early 2000s (with regards to online multiplayer competitive games)--games of today cost a shit ton of money to make, and extra content isn't exactly free in any case, as someone's gotta pay money /somewhere/, even if that someone is not the individual player.
If you want the community to retain its "togetherness" with regards to added content, then the tradeoff is microtransactions. If not, then it's pay however much per content pack.
I recognize that the issue might not be as cut and dry as I've laid it out on the proverbial table, but with my admittedly limited knowledge of the game's development--even The Sprint doesn't really elaborate too much on every fine detail--I can't logically deduce other options, based on the information we're given.
Personally, I'd rather see the microtransactions stay and simply be tweaked towards a more sensible endgoal, because I kinda want my "free" maps.
