Opinion: Microtransactions In Video Games Are Good For The Industry As A Whole

Microtransaction has quickly become one of the most reviled and disliked terms thrown about this year in gaming. Even though the practice had been around for awhile, recently gamers have been up in arms over the fact that microtransactions have been put into blockbuster titles, such as Dead Space 3 or (as of today) Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Many have been questioning why companies worth tens of millions of dollars such as EA and Activision are asking players to spend even more money on a game. After all, this isn't like a struggling indie developer releasing a game for free and asking players to spend a few bucks so that the company can continue. These are the giants of the industry asking for handouts, or so the critics of microtransactions claim.

For those who staunchly oppose the very idea of microtransactions being available in their favorite games, I have a simple counter-argument: vote with your wallet, and don't buy them. It literally is that simple. Nobody is forcing you to buy these add-ons, so if you don't like them, you can just keep playing your game without them.

Granted, developers are asking for a lot of money from gamers already, $60 for a brand new release, more for a special edition of a game, and even more if there is DLC available. Buying a game and all its extras could run up around a hundred dollars already, so getting prompted to buy more by a company can put people over the edge. But what separates microtransactions from regular DLC? Instead of spending $10 or $15 on extras, microtransactions allow gamers to instead grab a small bit of extra content for a few dollars. Did we complain when musical games like Rock Band allow users to buy individual songs for the game, or when the original Dead Space offered players the chance to buy powerful armor before playing the game? Or when FTP games started to offer premium currency for sale? But now, suddenly, gamers have gone up in arms about the chance to buy extra ammo or vanity items in new titles. How is this any different?

Gamers often forget about the human aspect of game development as well. This article lists out the average salary of several positions in the video game industry. While there are some decent salaries in the industry, there are very few six figure salaries available. When gamers rally against the opportunity for companies to make more money, it isn't the people on top that suffer, but these regular people who do. As companies get more revenue, they can afford to employ more people and pay large salaries. If microtransactions can lead to more profits, it benefits everyone at a company, no matter if the company is one or one thousand people.

I understand gaming on a budget. I get that it annoys people who spent sixty bucks on a game when that very game urges them to spend more of their hard-earned money. I would much rather spend far less money on a downloadable game or app and be able to fill my gas tank rather than buy the latest blockbuster title. But this medium we dabble in is an industry. It is designed to make money, not art. When games like Journey or The Unfinished Swan get heaped with critical acclaim and push the boundaries of gaming, it is possible because of the giant companies behind the developers could afford the chance to take risks on artistic, avant-garde games. Indie darlings do not stand alone, they rely on companies like Sony, Valve and Microsoft to fund their projects and distribute their product. If buying a new weapon skin or premium currency in a FTP leads to the funding of the next big thing in gaming, then I am on board.

**The opinions reflected above are not endorsed by Latinos Post