Whether it’s Facebook, Pogo, Google Play, Steam, or any other outlet, we’ve all encountered video games that feature microtransactions. Essentially, microtransactions involve purchasing in-games items with minimal singular impact- often being a weapon, costume item or more in-game currency. While this is simply an alternative way of obtaining more in-game products or accessories, many find the existence of microtransactions to simply be a shady, unethical way of developers and publishers milking even more money out of unsuspecting consumers. Microtransactions have proven to be a financial nightmare to unsuspecting parents and users, as there are previously reported cases of unaware children and adults spending thousands of dollars on in-game items.
Regardless of your stance on the alternative form of profit, microtransactions exist in various genres across all gaming platforms. Not too surprisingly, EA has now integrated microtransaction support for Battlefield 4. Fortunately, the addition of an internal item-purchasing market will not shift last year’s shooter into “pay-t0-win” territory, as microtransactions will only cover Battlepacks. According to Battlelog, players can now purchase them directly through the PlayStation Store, XBL, and Origin.As with the in-game item-drop, Battlepacks that are purchased will contain a randomized assortment of emblems, dog tags, knives, custom paint, profile pictures and varied experience bonuses.
The transaction-based Battlepacks are available in Bronze, Silver and Gold, and are priced at the reasonable amounts of $1,$2 and $3 per Battlepack. Again, even with the microtransaction update, Battlepacks will still randomly drop after each multiplayer match. The microtransaction-based marketing scheme has recently made its way into other console and PC-based titles, such as 2013’s Sim City and Plants VS Zombies: Garden Warfare. While some cases are reserved for simple character customization on a cosmetic level, microtransactions have been given a negative stigma, as they often lead to players purchasing the highest-level items in the game, without having to progress through the game itself.