Talking about WWE 2K18's God Damn Loot Boxes

No, it's from Black Books.

Felice Enellen

Yes

Matthew Penman

Was that the music from Danger 5 at the start?!

binchi

I don't even understand how Loot Boxes are the new 'style'. I pay for my games at the outset, why should I continue to pour money into it afterwards just so that I can continue to play it without being shat on by the game itself? If they're purely cosmetic they're not interfering and I suppose that's okay (like CS:GO and Overwatch), but that then opens it up to companies who take advantage and build a pay wall out of Loot Boxes. It's awful.

Alley

I don't think loot boxes will kill Battlefront 2. Playing the Beta I thought they were kinda just there but a skillful player could still have a good time and not have to worry too much about needing the extra abilities or whatever. But yes in general, it doesn't look good. What all of us *here* have to remember is that there are an awful lot of people involved in this casual audience, or even the ones who are more than casual but just don't care. There are an awful lot of them and they are quite happy to keep on paying money for these games and unless they go away then the business model is not going to change. However, there's still a lot to be positive about. There are the occasional big developers like CD Projekt Red who actually care about their fanbase and drop the price of their game when the GOTY edition comes out. And there are so many wonderful indie games out there that you'll still be spoilt for choice. And beyond that, just have fun playing the AAA games a few years later when the price has gone down if they're actually decent games. I'm having a great time going through Dark Souls I and I couldn't give a monkeys that the game came out originally five years ago. But it is still sad to see the way AAAs are going. All we can do is fight it as much as we can, don't give them our money and speak loudly against anything we see as wrong.

Mike Jones

Loot boxes can be an okay thing, but only if done correct. I dont buy them, becasue i dont have to. Ganes like CS;GO and Overwatch have loot boxes for skins or cosmetical items. I think thats fine, if you want to buy them, go for it. But it doesnt put anything towadrs the gameplay, it might make someone go, 'oh thats a nice skin', but they wont go 'oh that guy has paid money to win'

James Barber

I know they're a business and want money. Video games are art, they are a way to create stuff and be beautiful. But the AAA games whilst sometimes are fun, they make loot boxes way to big of a fucking deal. Its fucking disgraceful.

James Barber

The current gaming industry is just taking a nosedive, and some of the indie-games are fucking brilliant. Watch a video of RecRoom and tell me that the devs are the nicest people to make this big super fun game, free to play.

TheInternetLord

Well this is disappointing, I usually skip my career as I get the 2k games for purely Universe mode. This time around I was going to give career mode a good go. I will give it an hour and see how I feel, but this doesn’t sound like it’ll give me what I expect from a wwe game. I play the games for creativity primarily and I feel a lot of others do as well. To limit creativity to increase playtime doesn’t make sense to me unless they have something to benefit from it.

Reece Fowler

see, this is a great idea... but the game companies will just go 'oh ok, we won't sell these games in the UK then' and enough people will still buy them for the devs to get away with this

MrDuckie

But the thing is, it *is* gambling and should be seen as such. I fully agree with you that the government shouldn't have to step in. But you have to realize how serious of a problem lootboxes like this are. Microtransactions as a whole, I don't think the government should have say over it. But this is the cases of seeing what you want, putting up the money for it and getting exactly that, 100% of the time. It's a great way for Free-to-play games to make money, and it's a shitty practice to shove them in a game you already paid for, especially if said items aren't permanent, but that's not something the government should have a say in. The only thing keeping lootboxes from being classified as gambling is that you're always given something. That's it. And what may be easy to ignore for you or I, or something we might spend $20 on before we decide that's all it's worth, there are people who can't control themselves. Like legally-classified gambling, it's an addiction. Some people could spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars because they can't get enough of that rush. That's what this system feeds on. The "whales" as they're known. Not you or I, who can easily ignore it if we choose. And it goes beyond "They should just stop throwing money at them" because that's what makes it an addiction. They can't bring themselves to. So I do think that they should be regulated to a similar degree that other online gambling sites are, if they should be allowed into games in the first place because of the ease of access they have.

Love~

1

For those in the UK there is a petition to have the laws regarding gambling to be ammended to include loot boxes. <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/201300" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/201300</a>

ChevronTango

At least Wolfenstein 2 still looks good...

Timeskip

I feel bad for some of the developers that work for some of these publishers, as they often love the game, and have a vison for the game. and the publishers shit on them so hard, as it needs to make them rich. the fact dead space was shot down as it didnt sell 5 million copies is a perfect example, I really hope bethesda doesnt start this, as they make good stuff, and seem to have shyed away from this.

Gareth Bass

Well, my thoughts are simple, loot boxes can piss off. We don't want it, we don't need it, vote with your wallets. - However, it does raise an interesting question in my mind. Will Nintendo see unprecedented growth in the near future due to an exodus by gamers away from the major publishers that are pushing this shit? I think its possible and becoming more and more likely, to be honest. Strange that Nintendo being 5 years behind the curve may actually be their saving grace..... But indies are sitting there, with baited breath, just waiting...... Don't forget kids! #VoteWithYourWallet

I like the blackbooks intro.

Sandwich247

I can honestly say that I've watched this happen for a very long time, and it's been a slow decline of games that's accelerated these past four or five years. As someone who hasn't actively been a part of the gaming consuming market in that time but has been a spectator, the shift has been horrible and disheartening. It's surprising and it also isn't. The poor judgement, practices, and execution of games made or published by AAA companies has become glaringly obvious to most. And you know what's sad is that the gaming community's argument has shifted as well to where a lot of people either support the microtransaction/lootbox rhetoric or there are gamers who retaliate only with 'It doesn't bother me'. And it's okay if it doesn't bother you, but those are the people that AAA devs and publishers are going to hone in on. They're going to focus on them because they'll still generate money out of those supporters and "non opinioners". As a whole, we have to care about the games we consume because we throw our money at them. A lot people will dance around why a game doesn't work or will make excuses for a game while pointing out the glaring issues. "Oh, even though this game is grindy as hell, if you dedicate the 60 hours to a slow moving story narrative, you'll really enjoy yourself." That shouldn't be acceptable. You paid money to play a finished game – not to gamble, not to grind, not to pay MORE money on top of a ridiculous premium rate, and definitely not for season passes of a game that's literally still in progress. The fact that lootboxes and microtransactions have become a standard says a lot about the games that are just expected to be made and the mostly blasé attitude towards them. And it became a standard VERY quickly. And I think that's troubling. I'm irked; I'm upset, and even though I haven't been able to buy and play a big name game in a while means that I can only follow the progress and pay closer attention to what's coming out and how it's coming out. And I am not liking what I'm seeing at all.

murasaki mamba

I called something like this would happen at the start of this year we’re there are just more loot boxes etc and he’ll hole of games! (But indies etc will be ok). The divide is gaining stronger and stronger and it’s only a matter of time till it pops. I miss thq... I enjoy playing some of their games they made back then. At least I own a switch I’m ready for the apocalypse. I do wish developers were allowed to do what they want because there would be so many amazing games. But that’s not the case

Valthexus

Its like Fifa, brilliant to play with friends and family horrible to play FUT. and my player abandoned. They gave us a bit of an upgrade on career with cutscenes when buying players but I still like I’m being messed with, but I buy it to have fun with my friends and family not the FUT bit witch is annoying because I don’t like that.

Valthexus

I wish that all money-hungry c*unt-publishers, like EA, just burn and die a horrible death. Their greedy asses should have no place in the game-industry. They just ruin games and waste the potential of developers

This is my general thought. I don't like them, but if they're purely cosmetic, I have less of a problem with them. Overwatch players with less common cosmetic items are likely those that have spent more time. I would never consider buying the loot crates myself, but I do kind of like them as another way to reword progression in a game that can't really give you new moves without being unfair.

Allen Hillaker

Lootboxes are bad, yes, but Overwatch irks me less due to the fact that they have listened to the fans so now duplicate items cannot be picked out of a lootbox (and the fact that it is all cosmetics, and can be gotten by just playing the game).

Finally got around to listen to this. And i think its great! Keep it up Dan!

Wayne Chan

Yaaay, great dude)))

Microtransactions are a cancer upon our belovéd video games and they need to go away. I, too bought the 'Cena Nuff' edition because I have played every WWE game since WWF Attitude and I figured 'Why not?' and I regret it *BITTERLY*. That Star Wars game would have been good but NOPE! EA! Fuck these money grabbing cunts for destroying my video games.

I have never really taken stock in whether or not a game is triple A or not, but the current trend in video gaming in general has been going to "profits over quality," which is frustrating. It seems, to me, that every time gamers complain about a new money making idea, the publisher of said game will come up with a scheme to try to "make gamers see the light," so we get things like no microtransaction loot boxes that are overpriced on in game currency. However, it will not stop until the market crashes again, like it did after ET.

Anna Leigh Wilson

Thing is I like the idea of getting more powerful moves the more you play and like evolving your move set but this loot crate system with consumable moves is fucking shit and I really hope they realise people hate this and move back to the old system.

deadduck456

I'm just going to try my hardest to ignore the pay to win shit in Battlefront II, as I've been excited for it for such a long time. However, if this continues with the next battlefield/battlefront games, I'm just going to stop. This whole ordeal really pisses me off, and I know lots of my friends are pissed off as well. I do agree with you about the publishers dragging developers down, I've believed that for a long time.

Natalie Schmidt

Welp, I'm going to avoid this, then. It's happening with a game series I loved for a long time in Forza 7, it's fucking murdering overwatch as well. I've felt the same way as Dan is feeling now, that games aren't made for me, for a while. I miss games that just give you everything you paid for from the start... anyway, I'm off to play the GOOD battlefront 2 online with some friends.

They have a whole multiplayer to shit over. I'm pretty sure that the single player will be fine.

Xelias

My make or break moment is RDR2. If there is even a HINT of microtransactions in the single player i will swear off gaming for life

Matt

The craze of loot boxes will pass, we just need to wait. In the meantime, play Mini-metro!

Companies exist by the wallets of the people. Even the largest corporation is at the mercy of each and every consumer. At some point...likely very soon...people will stop buying into the terrible systems. When that happens, they will need to adapt and change or die off. The good news is there are always and forever will be indie developers and smaller developers that will fill in any void created by the loss of these big companies. The only thing we need to do is talk with them the only way they understand, with our money. Well that and teach our youth what good gaming actually means. The last thing we need is a new generation having no concept of micro transaction free gaming. That's our responsibility as adults.

Matthew Walters

Government getting involved regarding the lootboxes is a terrible idea. We have had enough shit flung at gamers throughout the years by the government. Now we have finally shaken all that off and they have stopped trying to interfere and censor gaming. Having a bunch of people who know nothing about gaming and gaming culture make a bunch of decisions about gaming would be a terrible idea.

Skylos

2k doesn't really bother me all that much because I never enjoyed Mycareer in the first place, but loot boxes are fucking cancerous and I honestly can't stand them. I really hope it becomes a stigma in the industry within the next few years

You can’t even change your race in MyPlayer.

To clarify, the creation suite stuff is only locked for career mode. If you have no interest in the career mode, it's fine. But if you're like me and had your hopes up for this mycareer, it's a shithole

As someone who owns it, it's not that bad. Mycareer sucks but as long as you avoid it, it's a solid game

Sounds like I may not be getting 2k18 after all, this sounds like massive bs, and I was excited for it as well...

Well I picked it up the moment I could 9:00 on the 12th of October at Game Stop and I played it that night after I finished my homework and I created my character, was confused about why all the clothing items were locked then confused why all the moves were locked. Clicked on it, saw the message for a loot box and turned it off and then my friends came over Saturday and we made characters not in the my career mode and had a great time but the My career pissed me off so god damn much so I will only play that game when my friends come over and I will probably just continue to play my 2k17 career mode. 2k18 is a fantastic couch game and great to play with friends but a boring and annoying single player.

It's really late for me so I'll have to listen to it in the morning. Thanks Dan! (I had to edit this post 4 times to get the grammar right)

lost it at the 5 year curve comment

Mirriky

Bit

Another great uhhh... Uhhhhh. Talking but Dan!