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[Gravy Boat]

The well it's not me so it's ok argument is nuts. I don't drink so alcohol must not be bad for anyone

I don't see how it's bad for anyone.If they choose to buy them, that's on them. Likewise if someone chooses to drink, that's their choice. It's also weird comparing totally non obtrusive, optional micro transactions in a game to a drug.

 

[Straight Edge]

The well it's not me so it's ok argument is nuts. I don't drink so alcohol must not be bad for anyone.

Alcoholics get treatment and therapy. We don't stop breweries from selling beer. Again if loot crates are fucking up your life and finances, join a program or talk to a psychologist.

If loot crates are causing someone that much distress, they likely have a severe addictive disorder and I doubt loot crates were their first trigger.

 

[Archie]

You can buy every weapon in TF2 for $2.50 if you do a bit of legwork.

Buy a key
Trade off the key at scrap.tf
Use the credits on that site to buy every gameplay affecting weapon

 

[TaterTots]

For $20, or $50 as part of the Orange Box with HL2 and both episodic episodes and Portal as well.

True, but Overwatch launched with twice as many maps and characters, so it balances out perfectly fine to me. People are really under selling the value of a MP only title. One can get a ridiculous amount of time from MP. Not to mention the free content that will be added later.

 

[CosmicQueso]

Oh nevermind.

 

[Warnen]

Alcoholics get treatment and therapy. We don't stop breweries from selling beer. Again if loot crates are fucking up your life and finances, join a program or talk to a psychologist.

If loot crates are causing someone that much distress, they likely have a severe addictive disorder and I doubt loot crates were their first trigger.

Yeah breweries don't have any oversight at all. Its a free for all!






The loot boxes don't bother me at all, I've bought 2 of the $40 sets and I don't blame anyone but myself. I have the income to waste so all is good.

The issue is blind blizzard devotes can't admit the MTs in this game are designed from the ground up to milk buyers out of as much of there money they can get.


Again nothing wrong with liking something and pointing out flaws, it doesn't make you any lesser of an obssesed fanboy.

The MTs system in this game is bad, there are tons of ways they could have done it and still made the games fan base not splinter, they just chose the way that most costly for the ones that buy into it. The only games that have worse set up are free to play, and this is dam close.


Great game, shitty exploitive mt system.

 

[Japanmanx3]

The MTs system in this game is bad, there are tons of ways they could have done it and still made the games fan base not splinter, they just chose the way that most costly for the ones that buy into it. The only games that have worse set up are free to play, and this is dam close.



Great game, shitty exploitive mt system.

Overwatch's fan base is splintered now???

 

[Perfect Cha0s]

Overwatch's fan base is splintered now???

The voice line haves and the voice line have-nots!

 

[partyphone]

the unlocks are all cosmetic. i don't understand where the disconnect it. how could you possibly think this game is a new low or anywhere near the worst?

 

[Warnen]

Overwatch's fan base is splintered now???

No some people suggested that a season pass option would have splintered the user base and the current system was the only way to avoid it.

 

[brickwalker0]

the unlocks are all cosmetic. i don't understand where the disconnect it. how could you possibly think this game is a new low or anywhere near the worst?

1. people's addictive personalities are coming to light (even though they might not see it themselves)

2. "hey that guy has a really cool skin i want, why dont i have it, thats not fair, i bet he paid for it"

 

[Onemic]

the unlocks are all cosmetic. i don't understand where the disconnect it. how could you possibly think this game is a new low or anywhere near the worst?

Especially when there are already voice options for every character from the get-go....

It's not even like you have to buy loot crates either. You can just unlock them by playing the game.

 

[ScriptedReality]

Makes no difference to gameplay, shrugs. By level 15 I had enough to buy every voice line for a character, not that I would waste money on that.

Should add a L into your name

😂😂😂😂

 

[partyphone]

1. people's addictive personalities are coming to light (even though they might not see it themselves)

2. "hey that guy has a really cool skin i want, why dont i have it, thats not fair, i bet he paid for it"

these are problems with microtransactions in general. but even here it's not a new low since all of the unlocks are permanent. compare that to a game where you can repeatedly buy one time use items

 

[Straight Edge]

Yeah breweries don't have any oversight at all. Its a free for all!

Yeah you have to be 21 to buy alcohol. Are you suggesting that you should be a legal adult to buy a loot crate?

 

[Mattenth]

Amazing how fast the industry went from "OMG there's DLC ON THE DISC I PAID FOR" to rationalizing "Meh, Overwatch is just fine. I don't actually want any of that anyway. It's all cosmetic. <.<"

The TF2 comparisons are shit because I didn't pay $40 or $60 for TF2.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

snip

Uh, it is possible to get them for free? TF2 drops currency several times a week. Just because hat drops are rare doesn't mean you have to pay for hats. Save up enough free currency and buy the hat you want, same deal with OW in that regard. You don't even have to bother crafting, just spend five minutes on a website set up for this exact purpose and trade for it.

The difference comes down to how far your real-life money goes. In TF2, you can directly purchase the vast majority of hats for $.30 without partaking in the gambling system. In Overwatch, you're forced to partake in the gambling system. The latter means that getting the skin you want ultimately costs considerably more.

 

[Bookoo]

Amazing how fast the industry went from "OMG there's DLC ON THE DISC I PAID FOR" to rationalizing "Meh, Overwatch is just fine. I don't actually want any of that anyway. It's all cosmetic. <.<"

The TF2 comparisons are shit because I didn't pay $40 or $60 for TF2.

Aren't those two different things? I mean content like maps or weapons on disc locked behind a paywall than different costumes for your character.

I think it changed because people grew up and realized it's not that big of a deal.

 

[partyphone]

Amazing how fast the industry went from "OMG there's DLC ON THE DISC I PAID FOR" to rationalizing "Meh, Overwatch is just fine. I don't actually want any of that anyway. It's all cosmetic. <.<"

there's room for criticism of overwatch's business model. saying it's a new low is ridiculous.

they obviously need some sort of revenue stream to maintain servers and pay for further development. i think it would be better if you could just buy the unlock you want with money. but even with that people would spend way too much money. so it's not a great system but at least everything is cosmetic. so people with self control can still enjoy the full game, further development is funded and the user base isn't splintered.

 

[Afrodium]

The notion of spending $20 to get, at best, a handful of skins is crazy to me. If you put in cash and don't get what you want you're a fool to not just cut your losses. At least with gambling you keep putting in money in hopes you can recoup what you lost. Continuously buying loot boxes only means that the skin you want now costs $40, $60, $80...

 

[Jito]

Amazing how fast the industry went from "OMG there's DLC ON THE DISC I PAID FOR" to rationalizing "Meh, Overwatch is just fine. I don't actually want any of that anyway. It's all cosmetic. <.<"

The TF2 comparisons are shit because I didn't pay $40 or $60 for TF2.

Yeh I remember the days of buying Mortal Kombat and having all the characters and costumes unlocked from the start...

Surprising that you have to play the game to unlock things in it right? Pretty standard system for games for decades.

 

[Dreavus]

Amazing how fast the industry went from "OMG there's DLC ON THE DISC I PAID FOR" to rationalizing "Meh, Overwatch is just fine. I don't actually want any of that anyway. It's all cosmetic. <.<"

The TF2 comparisons are shit because I didn't pay $40 or $60 for TF2.

Those are usually two different things though. The DLC on the disc complaints were often for mini expansions or "season pass" style extra chapters that were literally on the disc but you needed the code to get access to. Also mostly referenced in regard to single player games.

This is similar in some ways, but you aren't missing out on any content that affects gameplay, which is huge. Microtransactions that give power or gameplay-altering "options" are pretty much a death knell in MP games as far as I'm concerned. It is all cosmetic, which is the best way it could be handled IMO.

I know the following argument is weak because we haven't seen any future content for the game yet, but: this cosmetics-only model is allowing them to keep their player base intact when they eventually release new maps and characters. It sounds like a cop out right now, when nothing has been released because the game just launched, but I am expecting Blizzard to make good on this based on their fabulous post launch support for their other games.

 

[Warnen]

I'm more worried the extra content will be more like this:

blizzard sees the box market simmering down, pull the release legendary taunts/intro switch. Influx of cash. See it dying down again, bam 2 new legendary skins for all.

Maybe a gameplay mode added, then maybe a new character or 2 6 month in.


I'm sure the priority is unlockables, that's the money maker here.

 

[KiefbladeMaster]

I'm more worried the extra content will be more like this:

blizzard sees the box market simmering down, pull the release legendary taunts/intro switch. Influx of cash. See it dying down again, bam 2 new legendary skins for all.

Maybe a gameplay mode added, then maybe a new character or 2 6 month in.


I'm sure the priority is unlockables, that's the money maker here.

They'll obviously be adding more unlockables in, but it seems like it'll be alongside gameplay content as well. That's one of the main reasons for the MT's in the first place.

 

[Felix Lighter]

I'm more worried the extra content will be more like this:

blizzard sees the box market simmering down, pull the release legendary taunts/intro switch. Influx of cash. See it dying down again, bam 2 new legendary skins for all.

Maybe a gameplay mode added, then maybe a new character or 2 6 month in.


I'm sure the priority is unlockables, that's the money maker here.

The priority is remaining relevant. They will do what they need to do to make sure the game remains as popular as possible.

 

[Kurdel]

People who are "worried" or "concerned" about the loot boxes should just relax and play the game.

If you want them faster, you can get them faster.

If you are morally opposed to shortcuts, you still get them passively, which is much more generous than Heroes of the Storm (no backlash there, oddly enough).

 

[Eduardboon]

Loot boxes are fun. They do NOT afffect the game at all. They keep on giving you stuff over the span of lots of games. It keeps the reward mechanism working.

It's fun!

 

[Interfectum]

I'm more worried the extra content will be more like this:

blizzard sees the box market simmering down, pull the release legendary taunts/intro switch. Influx of cash. See it dying down again, bam 2 new legendary skins for all.

Maybe a gameplay mode added, then maybe a new character or 2 6 month in.


I'm sure the priority is unlockables, that's the money maker here.

Their "money maker" is to keep people playing and have the game remain relevant on Twitch and the rest. They'll do that with content. To supplement the content they'll probably add more shit for boxes, new boxes to buy, limited holiday boxes, etc.

It's not one or the other. Content and loot boxes go hand in hand for this to work.

 

[borghe]

I'm more worried the extra content will be more like this:

blizzard sees the box market simmering down, pull the release legendary taunts/intro switch. Influx of cash. See it dying down again, bam 2 new legendary skins for all.

Maybe a gameplay mode added, then maybe a new character or 2 6 month in.


I'm sure the priority is unlockables, that's the money maker here.

which is why blizz only releases cosmetic upgrades for HOTS. And Hearthstone. And WoW... oh wait.

They want this to be a service. Gameplay updates is the only way for that to happen. Gameplay updates cost money to develop, lights cost money to keep a service running. The MTAs are the only way for that to happen. No way are MTAs the focus. If that were the case (it's not) that will sink the title within months. The focus is likely new maps, new characters, and new game modes in that order. The cosmetics development and MTAs are just there to fuel that stuff.

Their "money maker" is to keep people playing and have the game remain relevant on Twitch and the rest. They'll do that with content. To supplement the content they'll probably add more shit for boxes, new boxes to buy, limited holiday boxes, etc.

It's not one or the other. Content and loot boxes go hand in hand for this to work.

precisely. It baffles me how people are assuming (and believing) that blizz is focusing on the business of making digital hats. I mean they have three other games as a service out for years now, and two existing without a subscription. This isn't rocket science. Blizzard released 12 heroes for HOTS last year.. and have so far released 6 this year. And this game is arguably WAY more dependent on new hero releases than HOTS. Hearthstone saw two adventures and an expansion totaling 200 cards last year. But clearly blizz just cares about releasing new hats with Overwatch?

C'mon people, use your brains. Online games live because of continued gameplay support from the developer. Continued support costs money. Loot boxes provide that continued money.

 

[Mattenth]

Surprising that you have to play the game to unlock things in it right? Pretty standard system for games for decades.

Has anyone done the math yet on how long it takes to unlock everything in Overwatch?

If I could unlock everything in ~50 hours of gameplay, I'd be very happy with that standard system. But my estimate is that it's closer to 500 hours of gameplay and even that feels like a lower-bound.

 

[Warnen]

Has anyone done the math yet on how long it takes to unlock everything in Overwatch?

If I could unlock everything in ~50 hours of gameplay, I'd be very happy with that standard system. But my estimate is that it's closer to 500 hours of gameplay and even that feels like a lower-bound.

If you get a box every hour, never get a dupe (lols) it would take 262.5hrs. With dupes more like 1000s if not 10,000s hours.

 

[Interfectum]

Has anyone done the math yet on how long it takes to unlock everything in Overwatch?

If I could unlock everything in ~50 hours of gameplay, I'd be very happy with that standard system. But my estimate is that it's closer to 500 hours of gameplay and even that feels like a lower-bound.

Most games like this have no intention of having you unlock everything in the game. That's not really a goal, imo. By the time you get close to unlocking everything Blizzard will have most likely added a ton more shit to unlock.

 

[Pixel Fist]

I'm sure in time there will be more ways to obtain loot crates anyway.

You only have to look at Hearthstone and how, over time, they have added monthly rewards based on your ladder rank and a free pack each week by winning a match in the Tavern Brawl. They even gave you a load of free packs with the release of the recent expansion... give Overwatch time, its only been a week!

 

[Warnen]

precisely. It baffles me how people are assuming (and believing) that blizz is focusing on the business of making digital hats. I mean they have three other games as a service out for years now, and two existing without a subscription. This isn't rocket science. Blizzard released 12 heroes for HOTS last year.. and have so far released 6 this year. And this game is arguably WAY more dependent on new hero releases than HOTS. Hearthstone saw two adventures and an expansion totaling 200 cards last year. But clearly blizz just cares about releasing new hats with Overwatch?

C'mon people, use your brains. Online games live because of continued gameplay support from the developer. Continued support costs money. Loot boxes provide that continued money.

WoW after losing tons of subs has added MTs, Diablo 3 real money auction house (so horrible had to be removed), HearthStone f2p with aggressive MTs. Well at least Starcraft worked out great, I mean had to buy it 3 times over a few year but could be worse...

Yeah really wonder why not everyone think blizzard is gods gift to gaming

 

[partyphone]

diablo 3 REMOVED the auction house. the only way they make money from that game is by selling it. and they still add meaningful updates.

hearthstone is a CCG which is way better than its physical counterparts because you can get a useful collection absolutely free.

not to mention these are amazing games. trying to spin them as negatives is HILARIOUS.

 

[Warnen]

diablo 3 REMOVED the auction house. the only way they make money from that game is by selling it. and they still add meaningful updates.

hearthstone is a CCG which is way better than its physical counterparts because you can get a useful collection absolutely free.

not to mention these are amazing games. trying to spin them as negatives is HILARIOUS.

Haven't played Hearthstone more then a few mins so can't comment on its greatness but yes the other are excellent games with some flaws, just like Overwatch. Hell maybe if people get annoyed enough with the current MTs system they will change it in the future. If anything it's clear Blizzards correct there mistakes given time. You are welcome in advance.

 

[David___]

I'm more worried the extra content will be more like this:

blizzard sees the box market simmering down, pull the release legendary taunts/intro switch. Influx of cash. See it dying down again, bam 2 new legendary skins for all.

Maybe a gameplay mode added, then maybe a new character or 2 6 month in.


I'm sure the priority is unlockables, that's the money maker here.

The money maker is keeping the userbase engaged/ growing said userbase. You arent going to do that with stuff that changes the appearance of a character you cant see at all 99% of the time.

 

[Warnen]

The money maker is keeping the userbase engaged/ growing said userbase. You arent going to do that with stuff that changes the appearance of a character you cant see at all 99% of the time.

People buy the game once, what are they going to make off of people that own the game.? There is a ceiling to how many copies of a game that can be sold. Overwatch isn't going to be a Gta 5. If they don't make a sequel, cosmetic dlc is the only way this game stays making money (if they stay true to the not charging for maps and heroes).

Don't poo poo the skins, it's going to keep the game funded.


Edit:

Yikes so I read in the OT apparently the Legendary skins change audio cues. I.E. Mcree wont say it's high noon with a skin...

So much for not affecting gameplay...

 

[borghe]

Don't poo poo the skins, it's going to keep the game funded.

Yet this thread is bitching about exactly that....

Yikes so I read in the OT apparently the Legendary skins change audio cues. I.E. Mcree wont say it's high noon with a skin...

So much for not affecting gameplay...

no way... This needs way more confirmation, at the very least that it's not a bug or coincidence. The pause between the audio and the ult is critica to gameplay. Calling BS without further clarification.

Edit - really want to test that. May buy the skin just to see. Horrible design on Blizz's part if true. The rest of the stuff is all cosmetic. But that one is pretty big if someone isn't familiar with it and doesn't run for cover.

 

[David___]

People buy the game once, what are they going to make off of people that own the game.? There is a ceiling to how many copies of a game that can be sold. Overwatch isn't going to be a Gta 5. If they don't make a sequel, cosmetic dlc is the only way this game stays making money (if they stay true to the not charging for maps and heroes).

Don't poo poo the skins, it's going to keep the game funded.

You misunderstood what I meant by that.

They need a userbase in the first place in order for the micro transactions to be a good revenue stream, which is what I meant by retaining/ slightly growing the userbase being the money maker.

Adding new customization items helps, but only for the short term. If they want better player retention then actual gameplay content is going to help more than MTs. And the more active people playing means more people buying the MTs.

 

[LordofPwn]

surprised this thread has gotten this large. there's a lot of misinformation here and several people have tried to point it out, only to be ignored.

all playable content is available to all players the moment the game is fully installed.

instead of leveling up and unlocking a more powerful weapon you receive a loot box, that contains cosmetic changes to stuff you already have. there is no power boost from any of these items. i've played overwatch for over 20 hours, i've opened 32 loot boxes, i've obtained 3 legendary skins, and purchased all of the taunts for 1 character with the credits i've obtained from those loot boxes, of which i've maybe used 3 time total.

you do not need to purchase loot boxes to obtain everything in the game.

You do not need to earn loot boxes to enjoy the game.

Loot boxes are just a way to incentivize playing the game if you need a progression system to enjoy a game in the first place.

it feels like the only people complaining about the microtransactions in this thread, are the people who haven't even played the game. is the problem that someone got a skin you wanted before you, and that they may have purchased additional loot boxes to obtain it? idk about you but i don't waste money on rng.

would you rather not have any cosmetics? would you rather all cosmetics would be purchasable only? or would you rather have all cosmetics be obtained through in-game achievements? if you're going to say the system is bad at least offer up a solution...

 

[shoreu]

The well it's not me so it's ok argument is nuts. I don't drink so alcohol must not be bad for anyone






I have no issue for they charging for extras. I'm not advocating they make a season pass and parse out the game. I'm saying the system is bad because it designed to take as much money as possible from the ones that would buy into it.

That first comparison is insane.

I why do you care how other people are spending their money.

Oh think about the people with gambling issues.

Lol I don't care maybe, they should go get some help?

 

[borghe]

You misunderstood what I meant by that.

They need a userbase in the first place in order for the micro transactions to be a good revenue stream, which is what I meant by retaining/ slightly growing the userbase being the money maker.

Adding new customization items helps, but only for the short term. If they want better player retention then actual gameplay content is going to help more than MTs. And the more active people playing means more people buying the MTs.

It's both. People keep playing because of the new game play content. The new content gets funded through MTAs. You can't have one without the other. It's the same for every game as a service without a subscription. Essentially like 20% of the player base keeps the game funded for everyone else through MTAs. I'm into the game for $120 on boxes. If 20% of even 5m contributes even half of that, that's $60m in revenue for Blizz to develop with. Basically win-win.

 

[Warnen]

That first comparison is insane.

I why do you care how other people are spending their money.

Oh think about the people with gambling issues.

Lol I don't care maybe, they should go get some help?

I don't care how people spend there money, I'm just calling a horse a horse. Denying that the MTs in this game and set up in an expoltive manor is just wrong.

There not much grey here it's black and white. The system is set up that way.

 

[Zackat]

People who are "worried" or "concerned" about the loot boxes should just relax and play the game.

If you want them faster, you can get them faster.

If you are morally opposed to shortcuts, you still get them passively, which is much more generous than Heroes of the Storm (no backlash there, oddly enough).

I feel like I am taking crazy pills. People want to pay 10-15 bucks for skins now? Heroes got slammed for this. There can be no winning with people.

 

[Mass Appeal]

This thread is still going lol? I posted my opinion a few times already but I will say it again.


Overwatch does MTAs better then any current gen game out today and I hope they don't change it.

 

[Glass Shark]

I think this is a valuable conversation to have if continued under the right premise but the thread title at this point is laughable.

 

[keltickennedy]

Again, why are you pretending like Bastion is the only character in the game and that others don't have actually sentences that they speak?
Of course more sentences means more personality, more variety and more fun. It always was a high-point in MP shooters updates when they added new speech.

Whaaaaa???

Different strokes I guess.

 

[Mr. Robot]

Holy shit! the responses in this thread...
I for one like the unlock system, everything points that maps, heroes, skins, lines, sprays will be free, and the people that are willing to do it, can pay for gambling on getting them, no one is forcing you to pay for dlc to get something, you wont be forced to buy anything to use the new content.
I could argue that they are not even enticing people to buy anything, since you are not buying anything directly, and if you do, it's your own fault for not wanting to play the game to unlock a damn costume that you could get for free.

Someone should invent a "Costume/Speech Unlocker Simulator 2016" game, there's clearly an audience.

 

[shoreu]

This thread is still going lol? I posted my opinion a few times already but I will say it again.


Overwatch does MTAs better then any current gen game out today and I hope they don't change it.

Halo 5 is slightly better imo no duplicates for cosmetics and the post launch support has been stellar