YES

by Claude Errera , Sunday, March 03, 2013, 06:57 (4066 days ago) @ Cody Miller

The problem is you're equating intentionally crippling with any and all forms of microtransactions. That is simply wrong.

In the rare case of a developer intentionally crippling a game and pushing the fix to microtransactions, then yes, I'd wager you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks that's a Good Idea.

Every instance of microtransaction use intentionally cripples the game.

1- Items only available through purchase. Intentionally crippled by not including them in the base game. Ask yourself if it would be better with everything available without having to purchase it. The answer is always yes. Intentionally crippled.

lol - "The answer is always yes" - Cody, you're amazing. At least finish the sentence:

Ask yourself if it would be better with everything available without having to purchase it, if the purchase price were $10 higher at the start.

If you could buy ALL the content added via microtransactions in the original package, from the start, but at a cost that is $10 higher than the base price of most games (to account for the added work/time of the devs), would you accept it as 'not crippled'? (I'm not asking if you would BUY it for $10 over the base price - I don't really care if you buy it or not. I'm asking you to look honestly at the view you've put forth, and explain whether or not this model passes your moral muster - and if not, why not.)

2- Items available through purchase and play. Players paying for items are paying not to play, and this means that aspects of the game are unpleasant enough to pay to avoid.

Again - it means nothing of the sort. There are times I will go to a restaurant and order something I am perfectly capable of preparing for myself. I will pay much, much, MUCH more for the restaurant dish than I would pay for the version I built at home - and yet, I will not be unhappy with the situation. I am not choosing to go to a restaurant because preparing the meal personally is unpleasant enough to pay to avoid - there are a myriad of reasons I might be doing this, and many of them don't even take into account the comparison!

We do not all think the way you think, and we do not all have identical motivations for similar actions. You really, really, REALLY need to start considering that there are people not like you in the world when you are developing your universal guidelines.