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Does Borderlands 3 have microtransactions?
- Thread starter ggx2ac
- Start date
I agree, and with something like Fortnite I'd say that's MTX if the only thing you can buy is virtual currency. If that's how it works, I don't play it myself. OTOH if all those cosmetics were in the platform store for dollar values, then they'd be DLC.
Microtransactions are just a fancy word for DLC with the lowest value. Cosmetics you just outright buy were the worst over a decade ago but loot boxes and virtual currency is so, so, so much worse it's kind of feels unfair to group them in with horse armour.
Could've said "it will have the same model as BL2 in regards to cosmetics and DLC", prefers to throw dumb arguments that make no sense on Twitter instead.
Marketing departments should be able to overrule CEOs social media accounts, holy shit.
Marketing departments should be able to overrule CEOs social media accounts, holy shit.
He literally said in the previous sentence of his speech that there were going to be cosmetic DLC and expansion packs. The meaning is crystal clear: monetization is going to be more or less the same as BL2 was.
It's really dumb gotcha journalism.
What do you call a recurring $100 GTAV Shark Card purchase? What do you call a recurring $3 GTAV Shark Card purchase?
Yeah like technically they are MTX but when people think of the boogie man MYX they usually think of blind lootboxes or currencies to buy things.
If it is content, and cosmetics are content, that isn't part of the original purchase price, then it's a micro transaction/DLC.
So yes, Randy, your game as micro transactions. Just the kind that is more acceptable to gamers.
So yes, Randy, your game as micro transactions. Just the kind that is more acceptable to gamers.
There's nothing inherently wrong with microtransactions. Implementation is everything. I don't think anyone would argue that in good faith (and I won't waste the time even if someone would). Articles or media titled "X game has MICROTRANSACTIONS" ignore that.
I blame Jim Sterling and the whole lot of "Angry yelling youtube gaming person" for it, and find it hard to blame anyone for beating around the bush on that stupid, stupid buzzword.
I blame Jim Sterling and the whole lot of "Angry yelling youtube gaming person" for it, and find it hard to blame anyone for beating around the bush on that stupid, stupid buzzword.
Ayyyy lmao speak for yourself, they were micro transactions back then too. A rose by any other name...
I'm with Randy on this one. "Microtransactions" to me signifies buying in-game currency or lootboxes.
If it's just regular DLC, where you pay a set price for item X and get item X, then that's just DLC.
If it's just regular DLC, where you pay a set price for item X and get item X, then that's just DLC.
Bit of a meltdown there by Randy lol
Cosmetic buys are classed as mtx, I don't get why he's so upset at GI.
Is this thread really about the argument that mtx are bad?
You're going down a rabbit hole that aint being argued imo
Cosmetic buys are classed as mtx, I don't get why he's so upset at GI.
Is this thread really about the argument that mtx are bad?
You're going down a rabbit hole that aint being argued imo
It is being argued though. I'd say the term has been so conflated with predatory practices that when Mr Pitchford says there's "No microtransactions" it's pretty reasonable to assume he's not intentionally being dishonest but stating that they've done these sorts of transactions in an un-predatory way.
Ah ITT people re-writing actual definition with what they feel it should be.
This thread has some a prime examples of why people support anti-consumer practices.
And no, MTX does not have to inherently bad. It is exactly what it is since the day the horse armour was made available for purchase.
This thread has some a prime examples of why people support anti-consumer practices.
And no, MTX does not have to inherently bad. It is exactly what it is since the day the horse armour was made available for purchase.
Honestly, get that guy outta here. Gearbox obviously have a PR team, can they please let them do the work instead of Randy making a mess of things.
And, yes. It's obviously a microtransaction. Cosmetics/game changing items: both the same thing.
And, yes. It's obviously a microtransaction. Cosmetics/game changing items: both the same thing.
Yes, the game literally has microtransactions, but not the dirty kind that people associate with the word. I think that's why randy went off in the first place. He made it clear on stage that they are doing the kind that people usually don't have a problem with, and was still attacked for it. People liked when they did it for bl2 iirc
$100 worth of virtual currency still counts as microtransactions because virtual currency by itself has little to no value. A lot more work goes into a shitty texture swap of a weapon skin that cost $1 than a million GTA bucks.
That's how I see it.
He is certainly right about BL2 being the gold standard for post launch DLC though. He is 100% right in that front
I would say that any DLC under $5 is a microtransaction, even if it's a one-time thing and not repeatable.
If you buy something with real money I consider it a microtransaction.
Randy was just trying to be a hero and get an applause 👏, but he messed it up and should have said no lootboxes .
Randy was just trying to be a hero and get an applause 👏, but he messed it up and should have said no lootboxes .
Cosmetics can be predatory if awfully implemented but thats neither here nor there.
But again, the thrust of the thread is that buying cosmetics are mtx, which is a perfectly suitable title.
Sure I don't think Randy was tryna intentionally hoodwink folks either but him getting a little terse over that applicable classification is weird.
The official term for this kind of content is "in-game purchase" or "in-app purchase". The word "microtransaction" started getting used because it was a word said in some investor meeting, and the word sounded so ridiculous that it became a meme, and now it has been said so much it's just a standard term used by everyone.
As I mentioned, an in-game purchase (or "microtransaction") edits a value in your save file or online profile. It does not download anything to your system permanently. This is distinct from DLC which is downloaded to your system. The famous Horse Armor is DLC because when it has been bought once, you will always be able to re-download the unlock file (as long as Microsoft/Sony's servers are up) and get it in-game.
So the answer to the question "Does Borderlands 3 have microtransactions?" depends on how the cosmetics are implemented. What happens when you buy one of these cosmetics? If it simply edits a value in your save file, that's a in-game purchase/microtransaction. If it downloads an unlock file to your PC/console, it's DLC. The latter will allow you to re-obtain the cosmetic item when you start a new game without having to buy it again.
Apart from the fact that I don't remember that term being used 7 years ago, my point was obviously that public perception has changed significantly in that time in regards to this area and that specific word is synonymous these days with modern predatory game design.
(edit) the whole crux of the issue is between what the word technically means and what the word means in terms of public perception.
Well that and the fact that Randy need to take a step back before commiting to a twitter response.
Hmmmm....
You say something that a lot of people will be confused about or think you are lying about, so journalists write articles clarifying the position.
You then attack the journalists, that instead of spending time only talking about the game you just showed off, felt the need to let their audience know the unambiguous truth.
I love the Borderlands franchise, but am seriously doubting wether or not to buy the game that helps support this guy. His lack of professionalism as the head of a major developer is astonishing.
You say something that a lot of people will be confused about or think you are lying about, so journalists write articles clarifying the position.
You then attack the journalists, that instead of spending time only talking about the game you just showed off, felt the need to let their audience know the unambiguous truth.
I love the Borderlands franchise, but am seriously doubting wether or not to buy the game that helps support this guy. His lack of professionalism as the head of a major developer is astonishing.
I find issue with saying he was attacked. He was corrected and maybe that was seen as an attack, but there was no aggression in setting the record straight. You could very well call the outlets pedantic and I agree he was very clear about the type of monetization, but the stigma attached to the word doesn't change its meaning.
We are talking about Season Pass, and that is not Gold Standard in my opinion. What the hell is Witcher 3 Season Pass then? Or AC Odyssey?
Honestly, I can empathize with both sides. I don't think Pitchford gets to just rewrite the definition of a micro transaction as he sees fit. But I also think GI's headline Could be worded in a way that's a bit less baiting of internet scorn. The headline isn't factually wrong, but I mean, cmon. It's also clearly going to mislead readers into thinking something else until they have full context.
This seems fine, though I wonder about this:
1. In an SP game, you only need to have the cosmetic present when you buy it, so it can be a download after purchase, which would make it DLC.
2. In an MP game like MK or BF etc., everyone needs to have the cosmetic present because other players might be wearing it, therefore everyone will already have it on their hard drive, and if you purchase it then it's editing your profile stored on their server, which would be MTX.
So the same purchase value of the same content could be implemented in two different ways, and therefore be defined two different ways?
Holy shit, Randy's lost it. Cosmetic-only or not, it's a microtransaction. It's literally as simple as that.
I'm unfamiliar with the ACO season pass contents but I do consider BL2 to be up there with TW3 in terms of overall addition to the main game.
Randy got greedy about a talking point and was rightfully called out for it. If what he meant by "No microtransactions" was "No pay for easier game mechanics" or "No paid lootboxes", then that's what he should've said. But he didn't, knowing full well that "no microtransactions" is a better talking point. Going after Game Informer for pointing out how what he said was wrong is exactly the worst way to handle this.
AC Odyssey Season Pass contains two 3 part DLCs with huge new areas, quests, weapons, abilities... AC3 Remastered. Not to mention free monthly updates that brought more customization options, level cap increase, new quests, weapons and many other things including QoL updates.
I disagree. They literally sold you a level cap DLC (inside the season pass). Without it, harder difficulties for the vanilla game were nearly impossible....
Yep. I have nothing against people using curse words, but the way in which Randy - the CEO of Gearbox used them - seemed aggressive and unprofessional. Also, the context in which he used them is just not the way someone in a position of leadership should use them, as well as his general messaging.
Randy wanted the crowd to cheer by using a tired "we're not like the others" line. Nothing more, nothing less. Only problem is a MTX is a MTX and this will be full of them.
He should go back to losing his porn thumbdrives with trade secrets on them in restaurants. That's where he's a viking.
He should go back to losing his porn thumbdrives with trade secrets on them in restaurants. That's where he's a viking.
After the stream ended I went looking for a summary and saw lots of people saying "no microtransactions". Randy might've thought he was clear enough in his explanation but clearly he wasn't.
If I didn't see the clarification and Borderlands 3 ends up with dozens of paid skins I would've felt lied to. Game Informer made the right move writing that article.
If I didn't see the clarification and Borderlands 3 ends up with dozens of paid skins I would've felt lied to. Game Informer made the right move writing that article.
Well the tweet especially is framed in a weird way. "We've been told cosmetics are purchasable" why did they state this like it's some big secret that only they were told? Randy told the thousands of people on stream watching when he said they were going to do campaign dlc and heads and skins on stage. Seems like they were trying to set it up as some big secret so it would be like they "exposed" randy and he would get attacked. I agree with him that the tweet is clickbait
if u take to the letter, YES it has,
if you follow the context in which he put the phrase, I dont think so
imo, nowadays the word MTX refers to a predatory practice of developers who want to monetize every aspect of the game
He said that it was not like the F2P games kind of MTX.
if BL3 offer the same amount of customization ( heads, skins, colors, skins for rides ) of the previous game for free and monetize some skins, I have no problem with that and i ll not consider this as MTX, since nowadays the practice of this modality ends up harming even the progression in some games, as is not the case here and we will not have any kind of content ( guns, backpack slots, ammo clip size, diferent kinds of rides ) locked exclusivity through paywall, I m with Randy on this one.
imo ppl has takind this personal cause it him.
if you follow the context in which he put the phrase, I dont think so
imo, nowadays the word MTX refers to a predatory practice of developers who want to monetize every aspect of the game
He said that it was not like the F2P games kind of MTX.
if BL3 offer the same amount of customization ( heads, skins, colors, skins for rides ) of the previous game for free and monetize some skins, I have no problem with that and i ll not consider this as MTX, since nowadays the practice of this modality ends up harming even the progression in some games, as is not the case here and we will not have any kind of content ( guns, backpack slots, ammo clip size, diferent kinds of rides ) locked exclusivity through paywall, I m with Randy on this one.
imo ppl has takind this personal cause it him.
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This is nitpicking of the highest degree. Pitchford clearly stated what kind of content they planned to sell post-release. He made a simple mistake with his phrasing but anyone who watched the event understood exactly what he meant.