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Pardon the dust! This page includes some jargon that hasn't been added to the site's glossary yet. I'll be around to fix this later, but sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime. |
What are in-game purchases?
A quick answer
Many games allow the player to purchase in-game goods or services for a small amount of real money. These exchanges are known as in-game purchases or microtransactions.
Often, players don't purchase what they want directly. Instead, they purchase a fictional currency or credits for a given amount of real money, then use these credits to buy whatever they want from an in-game store. For clarity, we'll call these credits "premium currency", as it's a different fictional currency than what the game uses for everything else.
One advantage to the credit system is that games can allow players to slowly earn this premium currency through normal gameplay or by viewing a short advertisement. This lets everybody get something useful from the in-game store, even if they aren't a paying player. However, this system can obscure how much money you're actually spending on a game, as you rarely get 100 credits for each $1 spent.
To help give you an idea of how this all works, the rest of this page will cover some of the pros and cons of this relatively new addition to video game mechanics.
Often, players don't purchase what they want directly. Instead, they purchase a fictional currency or credits for a given amount of real money, then use these credits to buy whatever they want from an in-game store. For clarity, we'll call these credits "premium currency", as it's a different fictional currency than what the game uses for everything else.
One advantage to the credit system is that games can allow players to slowly earn this premium currency through normal gameplay or by viewing a short advertisement. This lets everybody get something useful from the in-game store, even if they aren't a paying player. However, this system can obscure how much money you're actually spending on a game, as you rarely get 100 credits for each $1 spent.
To help give you an idea of how this all works, the rest of this page will cover some of the pros and cons of this relatively new addition to video game mechanics.
How can in-game purchases benefit players?
Ideally, in-game purchases can benefit everyone: the game's developers get a little extra income, and players get a little more out of a game they're already enjoying. There's no limit to the ways these purchases can be used in a game, so I'll just cover three common examples here.
The first way in-game purchases can be used sounds a little silly, even if you're familiar with the system. As it turns out, players absolutely love dressing up their profiles and characters, and they're even willing to pay actual money for just the right virtual outfit. This is even the case when the new outfit doesn't offer any gameplay advantage. So, a lot of games offer a wide selection of clothing for players to purchase, and it's also fairly common for these games to offer limited edition or holiday specific outfits for a slighty higher price.
Another way games use in-game purchases has to do with advertising. Free games may include paid advertising. This allows the players to enjoy the game for free while still providing the developers with some income. Many ad-supported games include an option to remove the advertising for a small fee. Interestingly enough, many ad-supported games will also remove the ads if you purchase anything from the in-game store, not just the ad blocking option.
The third and final use for in-game purchases has to do with the metagame - ie, things that are related to the game without actually being part of it. Examples of this include paying a small fee to change your online nickname, more space to store your in-game belongings, and the ability to have additional characters on your account. Another example would be requiring players to purchase a "trader's license" before they are allowed to sell items in the game's marketplace. This last bit might seem unfair, but it helps prevent bot accounts from unbalancing the game.
The first way in-game purchases can be used sounds a little silly, even if you're familiar with the system. As it turns out, players absolutely love dressing up their profiles and characters, and they're even willing to pay actual money for just the right virtual outfit. This is even the case when the new outfit doesn't offer any gameplay advantage. So, a lot of games offer a wide selection of clothing for players to purchase, and it's also fairly common for these games to offer limited edition or holiday specific outfits for a slighty higher price.
Another way games use in-game purchases has to do with advertising. Free games may include paid advertising. This allows the players to enjoy the game for free while still providing the developers with some income. Many ad-supported games include an option to remove the advertising for a small fee. Interestingly enough, many ad-supported games will also remove the ads if you purchase anything from the in-game store, not just the ad blocking option.
The third and final use for in-game purchases has to do with the metagame - ie, things that are related to the game without actually being part of it. Examples of this include paying a small fee to change your online nickname, more space to store your in-game belongings, and the ability to have additional characters on your account. Another example would be requiring players to purchase a "trader's license" before they are allowed to sell items in the game's marketplace. This last bit might seem unfair, but it helps prevent bot accounts from unbalancing the game.
How can in-game purchases be abused?
As the previous section explained, microtransactions can be a welcome feature if used properly. However, it's also possible for them to be abused, and when this happens, players end up wasting their time and money. Fortunately, most of the ways developers abuse this concept fall neatly into one of two categories, which makes pay to win games easy to spot.
One way to spot that a game is abusing in-game purchases is to look at how progresson is handled. In a good game, you'll be able to make progress without having to use any of the game's paid features. There can still be a harsh difficulty curve, but skilled players should always be able to overcome every challenge the game throws at them, given enough time and practise. An easy way to check for this is to watch for special events - if the only realistic way to complete the event is to use paid items to speed things up or provide additional boosts, then there's a problem.
The other way microtransactions get abused is by introducing gambling mechanics into the paid options. For example, players may not be allowed to purchase the items they want using money or whatever premium currency the game uses. Instead, they'll have to purchase a "box" that has the potental to contain several different items, including the one they want. Once the "box" has been purchased, they can open it to see what it actually contains. In order to get the item they really want, players may need to purchase many of these "boxes", and these repeated purchases add up quickly.
If this sounds really scummy, that's because it is. In fact, this became a major scandal around 2015, which led to legislation to try and control what was (rightfully) seen as gambling aimed at children. You might have even heard of the term lootbox, which came to refer to any sort of purchasable "box" containing virtual rewards.
One way to spot that a game is abusing in-game purchases is to look at how progresson is handled. In a good game, you'll be able to make progress without having to use any of the game's paid features. There can still be a harsh difficulty curve, but skilled players should always be able to overcome every challenge the game throws at them, given enough time and practise. An easy way to check for this is to watch for special events - if the only realistic way to complete the event is to use paid items to speed things up or provide additional boosts, then there's a problem.
The other way microtransactions get abused is by introducing gambling mechanics into the paid options. For example, players may not be allowed to purchase the items they want using money or whatever premium currency the game uses. Instead, they'll have to purchase a "box" that has the potental to contain several different items, including the one they want. Once the "box" has been purchased, they can open it to see what it actually contains. In order to get the item they really want, players may need to purchase many of these "boxes", and these repeated purchases add up quickly.
If this sounds really scummy, that's because it is. In fact, this became a major scandal around 2015, which led to legislation to try and control what was (rightfully) seen as gambling aimed at children. You might have even heard of the term lootbox, which came to refer to any sort of purchasable "box" containing virtual rewards.
An Additional Problem
There's a lot of research being done on how modern media, such as the internet and video games, is affecting our children. Some of these studies are reporting worrying results, especially when it comes to in-game purchases.
Perhaps the biggest issue I've seen reported so far is that the younger a child is, the less likely they are to understand the difference between an advertisement and a page's content. This carries over into gaming, where they have trouble recognizing when they are using real or pretend money. Prompts for passwords, warning messages, and other visual clues just don't seem to work.
On the plus side, if you can call it that, this seems to be a conceptual issue, much like conservation
or the theory of mind. If so, then this isn't willful misbehavior, just a lack of understanding.
Perhaps the biggest issue I've seen reported so far is that the younger a child is, the less likely they are to understand the difference between an advertisement and a page's content. This carries over into gaming, where they have trouble recognizing when they are using real or pretend money. Prompts for passwords, warning messages, and other visual clues just don't seem to work.
On the plus side, if you can call it that, this seems to be a conceptual issue, much like conservation
or the theory of mind. If so, then this isn't willful misbehavior, just a lack of understanding.
Summing it up
To recap: in-game purchases involve spending real money on virtual goods. This can make games more enjoyable or provide players with useful advantages, but it can also be a serious problem. Be sure both you and your children understand when games are asking for real money, and watch out for games that push their in-game shops a little too much.
On the plus side, you're probably only going to encounter in-game purchases in free online games, such as MMOs, MMORPGs, or mobile games. Other genres tend to get their funding through a retail fee, and provide their "premium" perks through DLCs.
On the plus side, you're probably only going to encounter in-game purchases in free online games, such as MMOs, MMORPGs, or mobile games. Other genres tend to get their funding through a retail fee, and provide their "premium" perks through DLCs.