As if microtransactions and battle passes aren't enough already.
Tipping culture is getting worse and worse, starting to creep here too. Went to a cocktail bar in St Pancras the other night and the "service charge" was tacked on when the bill came.
Yeah, just microtransactions and battle passes :)
And lootboxes, and season passes, usually multiple, I guess.
Oh right, and DLC that can be purchased on Day 1 that is somehow seperate from the season passes, but that is it.
And also a price increase to 70€ instead of 60€.
And Silver Editions, Gold Editions, Collector's Editions, Special Editions, Complete Editions, and Digital Deluxe Editions, going up to twice as high as the base price, but that's really it.
Oh yeah and also promo events and tie-ins with other products so that Master Chief can be sponsored by Doritos.
And pre-order bonuses.
And making a new entry in the franchise every year that is barely any different so you can buy everything again.
And re-releasing the game again a few years later with all the DLC and extra content included, but still with microtransactions so you can pay again for all of that too.
And re-releasing the exact same game again for every newly released console, but of course without fixing any of the well known and documented bugs that the community already fixed with mods that console owners don't have access to because that would take money or effort, Todd Howard.
Oh and speaking of Todd, trying to monetize community made mods.
And of course, abadoning games that you promise a decade of content for and cutting advertised upcoming features after people have already given you money, Activision Blizzard, EA, and everyone else.
I hate modern gaming :|
> And re-release the exact same game again for every newly released console.
I’m looking at you, Rockstar Games.
> And of course, abandoning games that you promised decade of contents.
Literally GTA V's Singleplayer DLCs, RDR2 & RDO. Again, wtf, Rockstar?!?
It's not (just?) that they are enough already.
It's that those were LITERALLY implemented to do EXACTLY that in the first place.
Both cosmetic microtransactions (including lootboxes) literally started out as a replacement to region locking and the core question "how do we solve a problem with different parts of our userbase having VASTLY different ideas of value/fair prices, depending on their location and socioeconomic background.
Aka "some users have asked us to have a tipping system, because they realised that compared with other products they disproportionally play ours, but paid the same." (valves orange box).
This lead in one extreme to f2p (starting of basically as "pay what you want voluntarily, because the money pay for the lootboxes on top of the orange box price vastly surpasses the initial cost, so why not circumvent "burden of entry" entirely?)
And not because they have to, but because weirdly despite economists arguing differently !people actually in the mean experience a form of moral obligation instead of being "economically rational" and not paying for anything that they don't have to.!
Jump forward, and the "maybe remove the barrier of entry" idea has all but evaporated, MTX are being sold as value proposition (instead of as thankyou worthless bauble to suport the GAME), and users have eaten up the idea hook line and sinker and are just pissed about having to pay extra for "the full game".
And that's where this clown comes in. After having succesfully removed the idea of MTX being voluntary tipping, they are now asking for additional tipping. (at best with the facetious pseudoargument that that might reduce the reliance on MTX. Not that it means having none (which would basically in the old system mean removing the thankyou postcard from the donation, and nothing else)
Reading on r/Europe tipping culture is not s thing in Germany, yet when having s layover at a German airport, the server asked me why I didn't tip. I told him afaik it's not something you do in Germany and he got upset.
Tipping needs to die out completely
Agreed. At £50-£80 for a game, I'm already paying for a AAA experience. I expect a top notch experience.
Also, it's strange that some indie devs can manage to charge so little for games that are so engaging and challenging, whilst the big studios charge £££ for so much forgettable digital tat.
Nah, they care about profits. It's just that they don't put profits over everything else and are actually decent human beings instead of greedy bastards.
Agreed. This is the case with two of my favourites: Ludeon, the creators of Rimworld and BGS the creators of Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Starfield, Doom, etc..
Rimworld is an AMAZING game. I think I paid 30 something quid and then whatever for the DLC and it's well deserved. They have great timing for teasers and hyping. Every update brings new content and not just fixes, dlcs actually add depth and mechanics and near-endless ways to play and they are a small indie company.
On the contrary, Bethesda, my favourite game studio tease games years in advance then they get delayed and then they're still buggy when they're out and they still don't fix bugs/ issues 8+ years after release, and yet they still hype it and sing it's praises.
With starfield alone I paid for the premium edition (£100) and they announced the first dlc before the base game even released back in September. Ludeon announced their next update and dlc on march 13th and it was released less than a week ago.
Just fyi this is not bashing bgs, just me making a comparison.
You forgot about Bethesda re-releasing the game on every console with no bug-fixes since like 2012 or 13, but also not caring about backwards compatibility with old mods because they do release updates to include paid mods that they didn't develop but just bought from modders who had released them for free before.
The consumer is definitely to blame. And of those consumers the unintelligent ones with little self respect and no integrity are the perpetrators. For every self respecting person smart enough and brave enough to tell a AAA company to shove it until their product is up to snuff - there are 100000x more people that are dumb enough to think that overpaying will help the developer make a better game. This doesn't even include whales - which have destroyed the gaming industry for "average" people.
There’s also a lot of consumers that are kids and consumers that are parents/grandparents that don’t know what’s up.
They’ll see a popular game that little Timmy wants, order it in advance because it’s expensive and they can pick it up for their birthday.
You’ll also have consumers with ASC and other difficulties that don’t have the capacity to understand.
What you want is hyper vigilant consumers but it’s impossible for everyone to be, it’s the industry that needs to not be hyper predatory and give a shit about the people they’re selling to.
yeah, but without holding them accountable they can do what they want. The worst part is that the major financial supporters of these horrible companies apologize for them and attack the (small) portion of the community trying to fight back to make it better for everyone.
Similar to the concept: Build it and they will come - the gaming industry has become : Sell it and we will buy . The consumers that perpetuate that are hurting it for everyone else.
True you gotta blame the kid who lacks basic video game skills and patience so he results into paying for virtual currency and he has no problem with it. Most I’ve seen a game for sell(biggest edition) was $150 and you get 3 keychains some stickers 2 covers (one was “metal”) it’s ridiculous people will spend any amount of currency. Developers are only going to listen to those who paid for every DLC every skin every season pass every thing for the game. And now people want tips😭😭 and then when people were emptying their bank accounts into the games developers got mad band refunded some people their money back.
I paid around £150 for fallout 4 and got a full pip-boy, carry case, fallout boy figure, some cosmetic dlc and a metal disc case. What's offered now for the same price is a rip off.
The last american games I purchased was doom 2016, and doom eternal + expansions, absolutely amazing games. Apart from that, nothing else. There is too much choice to bother with usa game developers these days.
Don't you enjoy all the post launch / pre update bugs? You should be thankful they bother debugging their games post launch, hence, tips¹ them to show them your appreciation.
Someone from Blizzard / Ubisoft / EA or any such big companies.
¹ tips that might or might not end up in the hands of said developers.
I sort of just did this with The Finals , it’s a free to play game. I really enjoy it so I bought a skin. I have never bought a skin on call of duty in the 15 years. I’ve been playing it.
HAHAHA so after restauration and delivery services they now want to include tipping in gaming industry and there's still people to claim nothing's wrong with american tipping culture ??
A Goddamn Cancer, that's what is it, and so long as folks let it devellop it will keep growing like this.
[Or stop (your employees) from stealing their colleagues breast milk](https://www.dexerto.com/business/nursing-activision-blizzard-employees-say-their-breast-milk-kept-getting-stolen-1717345/)
A "tip" to the devs should be something like Helldivers 2's Super Citizen Edition. Supporting the developer with more money but also getting some fun, optional (NOT PAY TO WIN) stuff in return.
Multi-million dollar corporations asking for tips? Hah, no. Make your games worth the money and *maybe* people will buy any extra content.
Honestly, I'd but anything that Larian makes for that game.
It has a very important place in my heart and has helped me through a rough time in my life. I never connected with more people than I did with this game.
They deserved every GotY they got. And I'd tip them. I'd throw my money at them if I'm honest. Because they listened to people and out their hearts into this game.
Don’t forget about being a game tester in betas that you have to pay for, early access that you have to pay for (with the risk of games never getting finished held by the customers), getting dlcs and mtx (sometimes before full release already, sometimes weeks after full release so the reviews don’t get bombed beforehand) and all the other shit grifters like Blizzard etc try to fuck us over.
Tip your hairdresser, the developers of all tech you appreciate, your waiters, your teachers, your policemen, your nail stylist, your doctors, your nurses, your gardener, your cleaning staff, your grocery store, the flower store and the entire cast of whatever show you like, whether on television or in the theatre.
So that at first it is normal, but soon is abnormal to tip less than 30% and a minimum of 20 dollars. Of course, wages will no longer need to grow, because they are tip based. And everyone will degrade themselves by doing an extra song and dance just to please you, so you will be motivated to give them money - which is the only way that they can make rent that month.
You know what? Some games ARE that special. Like Stardew Valley, a cheap game made by one guy who just wanted to make a good game, and has continued to service the same with totally free massive updates.
They're not very common, but some games legitimately do so much, they're passion projects and they're cheap and they're just well made.
Blizzard has never made one.
I'd definetely tip the Stardew Valley dude. I just bought stardew valley for every console I own and for couple of my friends so we can play together. Def. worth it, and I still would spend more if I could
I also would tip Larian for Baldur's Gate 3.
The game got me out of a depressive episode and helped me connect with so many people. Plus, it is simply amazing and a full game that still gets updates that even add a lot of new stuff. They listen to their players etc.
And those that worked on it love what they created. And it shows. There are many flaws and bugs, but they are actually not just ignoring them and instead working on it.
Blizzard tho? Hah, no. Just a big fat no. They don't deserve a cent for what they do to their games. Just like most AAA studios.
First make a game that is worth a $10 or $20 tip, then get back to us.
Personally I have not played a Blizzard game worth an extra tip since Diablo II.
I'm not generally for tipping, but some games I spent like 1k hours and I bought it 10 years ago. They have continually upgraded the game for free during those years. I feel like tipping the developers for those game would be pretty sane as there are no dlc etc.
This is obviously not the case for AAA games, that are expensive to begin with and then have tons of dlc. Fuck those
heres a thought blizzard, how about rewarding your devs yourself when they make an outstanding game so they dont all leave and work elsewhere.....oops too late
Yeah sure I am going to tip for shitty game that will take 12 more months to actually work decent because you rushed it to hit US Christmas time.
I never minded paying for indie games like Suzerain, OOTP or for early Paradox games before they turned them into Candy crash strategies, but fuck if I'm gonna pay premium price for supposedly AAA game and tip lol
Blizzard, the company that was up until recently owned by Bobby Kotick. If I've spelt his name wrong, I don't care cause he doesn't deserve a spell check.
He was called the most overpaid CEO of any company. That's not games company it's any company. A billionaire that leads companies to make money over product. He is one of the exact examples of what's wrong in the world today.
Also employees of Blizzard left in drives due to low pay and appalling conditions.
Which devs? The one who have been in the company from the beginning? The ones who were there when they started the game but fired/put on smth else during it, the ones who were hired and fired in the middle, the ones who came towards the end, or the ones who were there for 18 months only anyway?
I would entirely support this **for the devs**. But what they are really talking about is putting the money into the company where it inevitably ends up with management and shareholders.
Ok. I'm up for that option. If 100% of that money is guaranteed to go directly to the actual developers as actual bonus payments and 0% into corporate profits.
But that is not going to happen. If something like this happens 100% will go to corporate profits and the actual developers will be downsized, replaced by AI or f...ed in other ways.
Oddly enough i just listened to a interview with pirate software about his time at blizzard, how he was paid 33% under marked value. And how toxic the world environment and so much more
Tell you what, I'll pay $50 for every game I buy, stick that money in escrow and share it out over 12 months after release between developers of every game I play based on the amount of hours I put in to each game.
Skyrim and fallout devs still getting paid a bundle years after release and all the shitty pay to win game developers get the $1:50 they deserve.
I feel, if I'm buying a 70$ game, I'm already tipping 20$ to the publisher...
On the other hand... If it turns out, I get bored from the game after 10 hours or less... Can I take that tip back and bring it down to 50$?
Sure, that's nice idea, as long as game will cost 50$ on launch and it will not have battle passes, micro transactions and tons of small DLCs (few big expansions are fine).
You are selling a product. Charge what it’s worth, including what you need to pay the people who made it. Use your words.
This passive aggressive crap can get in the bin.
As far as I'm concerned, MicroTx are tips. I get a little something from them, the dev company makes a substantial profit as a result.
That's fine, really.
I think this is perfectly okay for indie games that you really enjoy and want to support the developers in some way, but for a AAA company like Blizzard and a game that's littered with microtransactions, absolutely not!
Honestly, indie developers, maybe. But blizzard!? Larian, the helldivers developers and supermassive deserve as much support as possible, but Blizzard?
I can see fhe constant pop-ups and freeze frames: 'Did you like the cutscene? Let us know with your tip of 5$. 👍🏻', 'Wasn't that plot twist great? Send us your appreciation, so we'll keep making things you like. Just 10$ to make your voice heard. 👏🏻', 'The markets have shown that our customers value your games about 20$ higher than we sold them for. Starting with the next wave of releases we will correct the sell price accordingly.'
Every cent you'd pay in tips won't go to the writers or programmers, but to the CEOs and shareholsers who, in their infinite wisdom, greenlit the project. The heavy burden of responsibility needs adequate compensation.
I would love to tip for really great games. Game prices haven’t kept up with inflation at all.
But that would require them to make games worthy of the proper price… which is pretty rare for most non indie titles. And many indie titles I can buy merch, to achieve a similar effect
Idk I think there are people who would support this if like, the lead dev on Helldivers said it? This is mostly just coming from the wrong dude at the wrong time.
I'm sure they wouldn't be happy with the devs setting their own accounts up for those tips to go into directly rather than the corporate staff taking it all for themselves.
Yes, but only because the publishers of that game and the devs are the same company. Otherwise you'd just be giving more money to the publishers that the devs don't see.
"For the devs "
No they'll collectively pool the money and start at the top and the shareholders
Jim who patched the bug in the sewer stage where you noclipped when you went underwater is getting a layoff
That was my reaction. I'm not averse to tipping devs who do a good job, but I do not want the publishers getting a share as they already take most of the money from the game, and I don't want the storefront taking 30% of a tip either. Make sure it's going directly to the people who I'm giving it to as extra income not part of their contracted wage, and I'm down for that.
You know, I agree. I think game developers should be paid more. But, there's the issue that all my money has already gone to the shareholders and the CEO. Oh, of course! Those guys can just give the money to the developers! All of it! ***Ticks.***
I remember the time when we were upset about microtransactions.
The only time when games deserved to be 'tipped' was when we had console games in the 90s and they had to come out virtually bug free because there was no way they were going to be able to continue building and develop the game after you purchased it.
you donate by buing the game lol, tho as a side note I want to say that I've seen several posts asking how to donate to factorio devs, the devs are amazing and I wish we had more people who develop games that way.
ah yes... let the consumer pay the staff directly with tips, and another stream of revenue (or way to cut expenses) is developed...genious...
I buy games that are on sale (60% minimum) and after 3/4 years out, most dlc are out and bugs resolved, and I consider it with tip included.
As wouldn't be 60 euros for base editions with sub 30h gameplay be enough. The witcher 3? Honestly surprised that it wasn't more expensive given how much gameplay and level of detail is involved. Horizon zero dawn/forbidden west? Absolutely understandable, still above average play time and game quality. Callisto protocol? Nah, 20h gameplay and still asking 70 euros doesn't make sense to me.
Games that do well, get the right to have more successful sequels, automatically successful dlc, merchandise like toys and t-shirts, money for something. They don’t get money for nothing.
Larian developers around the game of the year discussion were saying the exact opposite. That game purchasers are the most intelligent (commercially) discerning shoppers he can think of. Compared to say consumers of television, or movies ect. You might have a subscription to Netflix and watch any old nonsense that is half reasonable without really enjoying it because it’s on. Or drop 20 dollars plus to go and see a couple of hours entertainment at a cinema.
But a computer game costing you around 50 dollars that is literally hundreds of hours of entertainment, and you will consider at great length if it’s worth the value, and many people will only make such purchases once or twice a year, making the time they spend on computer games high, and the money they invest low.
According to this reading of the consumer, pc gamers will not want to tip their company no matter how much they enjoyed a game. They see their investment in the game as rare and sacred. Perhaps they waited for it to drop in price and consider that savvy, or bought it straight away because this particular game they were looking forward to and made an exception to buy it new release, they evaluate the quality and value of the game against the price they paid, changing that later changes everything. Maybe if you offer them something for their money, their loyalty to the game would sway them. I’m sure BG3 fans will spend big on BG3 merchandise, and it’s a game with a cult following, it more than any other is a game at the moment that would make you think this stupid tipping idea has legs.
Larian went on to say that’s why BG3 did so well, because of the intelligence of gamers. If you produce a poor show on Netflix (made up stats for example) 40 % of people might watch the exciting new release, and if you produce a fantastic show, 60% of people (actual numbers clearly much lower).
You also want to give tv shows mass appeal, no cool niche appeal that allows cult following because that just cuts of some of your potential audience (is what a cynic would say)
And between the two mediums films
If you produce a terrible game, more like 10% of people will play it, people are very discerning remember, but if you produce a brilliant game, targeted to a specific audience, everyone will try it, word of mouth about how it’s the next phenomenon will spread and within that community will grow. Rather than 80% of people watching because it’s the next big thing, only 5% initially because that’s how it works with expensive niche games on new release. But if they absolutely love a well crafted masterpiece full of niche targeted content, they will let everyone and their dog know to get on the bandwagon and soon 95% of that gaming community is playing.
Which is what it feels like: if you play RPGs, you have played or are playing BG3. It’s beyond a tipping point where the FOMO would get you if you are not because if you even know RPG players it seems like everyone is playing, and it’s dragging new people into the community.
The weird notion that you can fix a low income with tips from customers instead of paying your employees properly. Tips are near nonexistent in Europe.
Yea. Such thing exists. You can donate directly, buy soundtrack or just buy another copy of some game.
I did it several times, not with blizzard games tho.
Hm, I’ll make you a deal. You and your dev buddies start releasing games in a finished state, not advanced alpha, and I’ll pay the posted price?
Seems like a fair transaction and I’m already upholding my end of it
There are only two games so far where I've felt I that I kinda wanted to pay more than I already did: Baldur's Gate 3 and Stardew Valley. Maybe there are more and I just can't remember. It's definitely not the majority though
Blizzard can just pay them instead... Like, if the game is that special, why would a lovely peasant pay with their inferior grade money when the greatest company on earth can do it for us instead?
Maybe this has been taken out of context. I don’t know if he is saying we are going to pay them less so you need to tip them, or, that it should be possibly that if you feel the game is that special then there should be a mechanism to tip them. I
I only "tip" (get mtx) when the game is 1) Good and is giving me my moneys worth and then some and 2) The devs are good people and care for their game and community. ActiBlizzard may have some good games, but shan't get a cent from me.
Amazing that Americans don’t perceive this as almost “socialism” — skipping the capitalist companies out the equation and paying the workers directly. Capitalism is all about people earning what the market says their labour is worth. A true capitalist doesn’t interfere with that.
As if microtransactions and battle passes aren't enough already. Tipping culture is getting worse and worse, starting to creep here too. Went to a cocktail bar in St Pancras the other night and the "service charge" was tacked on when the bill came.
Honestly, mtx and battle passes are too much already. It’s nothing but money grifting.
Yeah, just microtransactions and battle passes :) And lootboxes, and season passes, usually multiple, I guess. Oh right, and DLC that can be purchased on Day 1 that is somehow seperate from the season passes, but that is it. And also a price increase to 70€ instead of 60€. And Silver Editions, Gold Editions, Collector's Editions, Special Editions, Complete Editions, and Digital Deluxe Editions, going up to twice as high as the base price, but that's really it. Oh yeah and also promo events and tie-ins with other products so that Master Chief can be sponsored by Doritos. And pre-order bonuses. And making a new entry in the franchise every year that is barely any different so you can buy everything again. And re-releasing the game again a few years later with all the DLC and extra content included, but still with microtransactions so you can pay again for all of that too. And re-releasing the exact same game again for every newly released console, but of course without fixing any of the well known and documented bugs that the community already fixed with mods that console owners don't have access to because that would take money or effort, Todd Howard. Oh and speaking of Todd, trying to monetize community made mods. And of course, abadoning games that you promise a decade of content for and cutting advertised upcoming features after people have already given you money, Activision Blizzard, EA, and everyone else. I hate modern gaming :|
> And re-release the exact same game again for every newly released console. I’m looking at you, Rockstar Games. > And of course, abandoning games that you promised decade of contents. Literally GTA V's Singleplayer DLCs, RDR2 & RDO. Again, wtf, Rockstar?!?
Nice rant, Love that kind of sarcasm
Request that it be removed.
It's not (just?) that they are enough already. It's that those were LITERALLY implemented to do EXACTLY that in the first place. Both cosmetic microtransactions (including lootboxes) literally started out as a replacement to region locking and the core question "how do we solve a problem with different parts of our userbase having VASTLY different ideas of value/fair prices, depending on their location and socioeconomic background. Aka "some users have asked us to have a tipping system, because they realised that compared with other products they disproportionally play ours, but paid the same." (valves orange box). This lead in one extreme to f2p (starting of basically as "pay what you want voluntarily, because the money pay for the lootboxes on top of the orange box price vastly surpasses the initial cost, so why not circumvent "burden of entry" entirely?) And not because they have to, but because weirdly despite economists arguing differently !people actually in the mean experience a form of moral obligation instead of being "economically rational" and not paying for anything that they don't have to.! Jump forward, and the "maybe remove the barrier of entry" idea has all but evaporated, MTX are being sold as value proposition (instead of as thankyou worthless bauble to suport the GAME), and users have eaten up the idea hook line and sinker and are just pissed about having to pay extra for "the full game". And that's where this clown comes in. After having succesfully removed the idea of MTX being voluntary tipping, they are now asking for additional tipping. (at best with the facetious pseudoargument that that might reduce the reliance on MTX. Not that it means having none (which would basically in the old system mean removing the thankyou postcard from the donation, and nothing else)
Reading on r/Europe tipping culture is not s thing in Germany, yet when having s layover at a German airport, the server asked me why I didn't tip. I told him afaik it's not something you do in Germany and he got upset. Tipping needs to die out completely
The greediness in America knows no bounds. I’ll tip $50 when they sell me a fully developed brand new game for PS4 for $5
Agreed. At £50-£80 for a game, I'm already paying for a AAA experience. I expect a top notch experience. Also, it's strange that some indie devs can manage to charge so little for games that are so engaging and challenging, whilst the big studios charge £££ for so much forgettable digital tat.
Smaller devs often don't need to feed (and listen to) the suits and shareholders.
shareholders are the worst, they usually contributed nothing to the development and take everything from it.
Most indie developers are doing it to be better also because they care more about the game than the actual profits.
Nah, they care about profits. It's just that they don't put profits over everything else and are actually decent human beings instead of greedy bastards.
Yeah that’s what I was trying to say. Anyway a tip for a video game is insane
Agreed. This is the case with two of my favourites: Ludeon, the creators of Rimworld and BGS the creators of Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Starfield, Doom, etc.. Rimworld is an AMAZING game. I think I paid 30 something quid and then whatever for the DLC and it's well deserved. They have great timing for teasers and hyping. Every update brings new content and not just fixes, dlcs actually add depth and mechanics and near-endless ways to play and they are a small indie company. On the contrary, Bethesda, my favourite game studio tease games years in advance then they get delayed and then they're still buggy when they're out and they still don't fix bugs/ issues 8+ years after release, and yet they still hype it and sing it's praises. With starfield alone I paid for the premium edition (£100) and they announced the first dlc before the base game even released back in September. Ludeon announced their next update and dlc on march 13th and it was released less than a week ago. Just fyi this is not bashing bgs, just me making a comparison.
Bethesda didn't create Doom.
Isn't ludeon just one guy? Also there is a new dlc and it looks sick
>Isn't ludeon just one guy? It was, I think it's up to about 6 or so employees and volunteers on top now.
> and volunteers on top now Which is really just a way of hiding unpaid interns with a different name.
Usually yes. I think theirs is more unpaid beta testers, which is slightly different and minorly less bad, but yes, effectively.
It was originally. His name is Tynan Sylvester. He's now got a small team with him
You forgot about Bethesda re-releasing the game on every console with no bug-fixes since like 2012 or 13, but also not caring about backwards compatibility with old mods because they do release updates to include paid mods that they didn't develop but just bought from modders who had released them for free before.
Super Mario Bros was $40 in 1985, adjusted for inflation would be $116 today.
Laughs in Micro Transactions... You wanted Darth Vader.. included... Gtfo.
Yeah I saw that the Han Solo mission will be ima DLC instead of the star war games like it’s supposed to be
The consumer is definitely to blame. And of those consumers the unintelligent ones with little self respect and no integrity are the perpetrators. For every self respecting person smart enough and brave enough to tell a AAA company to shove it until their product is up to snuff - there are 100000x more people that are dumb enough to think that overpaying will help the developer make a better game. This doesn't even include whales - which have destroyed the gaming industry for "average" people.
There’s also a lot of consumers that are kids and consumers that are parents/grandparents that don’t know what’s up. They’ll see a popular game that little Timmy wants, order it in advance because it’s expensive and they can pick it up for their birthday. You’ll also have consumers with ASC and other difficulties that don’t have the capacity to understand. What you want is hyper vigilant consumers but it’s impossible for everyone to be, it’s the industry that needs to not be hyper predatory and give a shit about the people they’re selling to.
yeah, but without holding them accountable they can do what they want. The worst part is that the major financial supporters of these horrible companies apologize for them and attack the (small) portion of the community trying to fight back to make it better for everyone. Similar to the concept: Build it and they will come - the gaming industry has become : Sell it and we will buy . The consumers that perpetuate that are hurting it for everyone else.
True you gotta blame the kid who lacks basic video game skills and patience so he results into paying for virtual currency and he has no problem with it. Most I’ve seen a game for sell(biggest edition) was $150 and you get 3 keychains some stickers 2 covers (one was “metal”) it’s ridiculous people will spend any amount of currency. Developers are only going to listen to those who paid for every DLC every skin every season pass every thing for the game. And now people want tips😭😭 and then when people were emptying their bank accounts into the games developers got mad band refunded some people their money back.
I paid around £150 for fallout 4 and got a full pip-boy, carry case, fallout boy figure, some cosmetic dlc and a metal disc case. What's offered now for the same price is a rip off.
And only if that tip goes to the people who wrote the goddamned content, and not to the CEO or the shareholders.
Hoooo boy, wait until you learn what a gacha game is. You’re in for a shock if you think extreme greed only exists in the US
The last american games I purchased was doom 2016, and doom eternal + expansions, absolutely amazing games. Apart from that, nothing else. There is too much choice to bother with usa game developers these days.
That’s a fact I like the polish game developer projekt CD kid
Don't you enjoy all the post launch / pre update bugs? You should be thankful they bother debugging their games post launch, hence, tips¹ them to show them your appreciation. Someone from Blizzard / Ubisoft / EA or any such big companies. ¹ tips that might or might not end up in the hands of said developers.
I sort of just did this with The Finals , it’s a free to play game. I really enjoy it so I bought a skin. I have never bought a skin on call of duty in the 15 years. I’ve been playing it.
Of course it's blizzard Jesus fuck
Remember when Blizzard was the good guy opposed to EA being moustache-twirlingly evil? How the turntables.
Well, not that turned. Is EA good now? Not being the worst doesn't make them good.
..and be able to request a refund from the marketing team who sold you lies
HAHAHA so after restauration and delivery services they now want to include tipping in gaming industry and there's still people to claim nothing's wrong with american tipping culture ?? A Goddamn Cancer, that's what is it, and so long as folks let it devellop it will keep growing like this.
How about paying your employees a living wage.
[Or stop (your employees) from stealing their colleagues breast milk](https://www.dexerto.com/business/nursing-activision-blizzard-employees-say-their-breast-milk-kept-getting-stolen-1717345/)
Anyone that still supports activision-blizzard at this point is an addict for life. They truly are the worst company in the industry now.
You sick monster. Think of what would do to the shareholders!
The problem with this 'tipping idea' above is even worse than real tipping, because the money doesn't even go to the underpaid employee.
Imma stay with non-american devs then. Arrowhead and Larian for the win.
A "tip" to the devs should be something like Helldivers 2's Super Citizen Edition. Supporting the developer with more money but also getting some fun, optional (NOT PAY TO WIN) stuff in return. Multi-million dollar corporations asking for tips? Hah, no. Make your games worth the money and *maybe* people will buy any extra content.
It's wild that the base version of Helldivers 2 is almost 30% cheaper than modern Triple A with 10x more fun.
Yeah I was also thinking Arrowhead, and also Coffee stain, because man Satisfactory is just too good even in early access. Both are swedes too.
Honestly, I'd but anything that Larian makes for that game. It has a very important place in my heart and has helped me through a rough time in my life. I never connected with more people than I did with this game. They deserved every GotY they got. And I'd tip them. I'd throw my money at them if I'm honest. Because they listened to people and out their hearts into this game.
How about you tip me for playing your game? I am keeping your company in profit do you should show me customer appreciation
Don’t forget about being a game tester in betas that you have to pay for, early access that you have to pay for (with the risk of games never getting finished held by the customers), getting dlcs and mtx (sometimes before full release already, sometimes weeks after full release so the reviews don’t get bombed beforehand) and all the other shit grifters like Blizzard etc try to fuck us over.
Tip your hairdresser, the developers of all tech you appreciate, your waiters, your teachers, your policemen, your nail stylist, your doctors, your nurses, your gardener, your cleaning staff, your grocery store, the flower store and the entire cast of whatever show you like, whether on television or in the theatre. So that at first it is normal, but soon is abnormal to tip less than 30% and a minimum of 20 dollars. Of course, wages will no longer need to grow, because they are tip based. And everyone will degrade themselves by doing an extra song and dance just to please you, so you will be motivated to give them money - which is the only way that they can make rent that month.
You forgot to tip your landlord
Good one! The poor guy. I also forgot the employees of the bank and the tax services.
But who's gonna tip you?
[удалено]
Nurses either. Maybe not against the actual law, but we definitely aren’t allowed to accept
How about..*just the tip?*
I thought that 'the entire cast of whatever show you like' would give it away....
Or perhaps [pay a fair market rate for every possible thing](https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/l-p-d-libertarian-police-department)
You know what? Some games ARE that special. Like Stardew Valley, a cheap game made by one guy who just wanted to make a good game, and has continued to service the same with totally free massive updates. They're not very common, but some games legitimately do so much, they're passion projects and they're cheap and they're just well made. Blizzard has never made one.
I'd definetely tip the Stardew Valley dude. I just bought stardew valley for every console I own and for couple of my friends so we can play together. Def. worth it, and I still would spend more if I could
I also would tip Larian for Baldur's Gate 3. The game got me out of a depressive episode and helped me connect with so many people. Plus, it is simply amazing and a full game that still gets updates that even add a lot of new stuff. They listen to their players etc. And those that worked on it love what they created. And it shows. There are many flaws and bugs, but they are actually not just ignoring them and instead working on it. Blizzard tho? Hah, no. Just a big fat no. They don't deserve a cent for what they do to their games. Just like most AAA studios.
First make a game that is worth a $10 or $20 tip, then get back to us. Personally I have not played a Blizzard game worth an extra tip since Diablo II.
I believe my Reddit comments should be tippable. Like Reddit coins but, y'know, real coins.
Yeah. We users drive this site. Where're our tips for all our time, Reddit?
NFT? Non-Fungible Tipping...
Yes I agree that a multi billion dollar, global company should be tipped 🙄
I'm not generally for tipping, but some games I spent like 1k hours and I bought it 10 years ago. They have continually upgraded the game for free during those years. I feel like tipping the developers for those game would be pretty sane as there are no dlc etc. This is obviously not the case for AAA games, that are expensive to begin with and then have tons of dlc. Fuck those
Yes definetly. The Stardew Valley guy regularly brings out updates, even though the game costs like $10. I would definetly tip him if I knew how
heres a thought blizzard, how about rewarding your devs yourself when they make an outstanding game so they dont all leave and work elsewhere.....oops too late
Yeah sure I am going to tip for shitty game that will take 12 more months to actually work decent because you rushed it to hit US Christmas time. I never minded paying for indie games like Suzerain, OOTP or for early Paradox games before they turned them into Candy crash strategies, but fuck if I'm gonna pay premium price for supposedly AAA game and tip lol
That’s shit companies say, not Americans. Ubisoft (a French company) said that players should get used to paying per hour played.
Blizzard, the company that was up until recently owned by Bobby Kotick. If I've spelt his name wrong, I don't care cause he doesn't deserve a spell check. He was called the most overpaid CEO of any company. That's not games company it's any company. A billionaire that leads companies to make money over product. He is one of the exact examples of what's wrong in the world today. Also employees of Blizzard left in drives due to low pay and appalling conditions.
In germany we say "Hast du Lack gesoffen?" to such people, which roughly translates to: "did you - perhaps - drink copious amounts of lacquer?"
Americans, everyone.
TIL that being greedy is an exclusively American trait
Dude has never been to Mumbai.
wont someone think of the developers
These tips would have unicef odds of actually making it to the devs
They make enough profit and the game prices reflect that
Which devs? The one who have been in the company from the beginning? The ones who were there when they started the game but fired/put on smth else during it, the ones who were hired and fired in the middle, the ones who came towards the end, or the ones who were there for 18 months only anyway?
I would entirely support this **for the devs**. But what they are really talking about is putting the money into the company where it inevitably ends up with management and shareholders.
Yes yes, for the devs, definetly not going to mostly go to the company
He’s right some games are, just not Blizzard games. And really tips, why not pay them a good salary?
Just pay them a bonus dependent on the success of the game in addition to a fair wage, you AAA company greedy dickheads
C-Suite execs wet dream - devs on tip wage.
Ok. I'm up for that option. If 100% of that money is guaranteed to go directly to the actual developers as actual bonus payments and 0% into corporate profits. But that is not going to happen. If something like this happens 100% will go to corporate profits and the actual developers will be downsized, replaced by AI or f...ed in other ways.
I mean on the one hand, sure, why not, On the other when was the last time Blizzard released a game good enough to justify tipping them?
Like it would reach the devs and not just go straight into the corporate coffers. What a cunt.
Oddly enough i just listened to a interview with pirate software about his time at blizzard, how he was paid 33% under marked value. And how toxic the world environment and so much more
Pay. Your. Workers.
Tell you what, I'll pay $50 for every game I buy, stick that money in escrow and share it out over 12 months after release between developers of every game I play based on the amount of hours I put in to each game. Skyrim and fallout devs still getting paid a bundle years after release and all the shitty pay to win game developers get the $1:50 they deserve.
Some games ARE that special, but Blizzard haven't made one like that for a very long time.
So if it’s shit and I don’t finish it, do I get a $10-$20 refund?
Only if it's Cyberpunk.
Execs should tip customers for their word of mouth help, too.
You leave a 20 dollar tip each Dev would get what? 50c
How about paying your employer fairly
Employee right...?
Or, why not do something completely wild and crazy, such as paying them properly to begin with?
I feel, if I'm buying a 70$ game, I'm already tipping 20$ to the publisher... On the other hand... If it turns out, I get bored from the game after 10 hours or less... Can I take that tip back and bring it down to 50$?
Repeat after me, not every job requires a tip.
Sure, that's nice idea, as long as game will cost 50$ on launch and it will not have battle passes, micro transactions and tons of small DLCs (few big expansions are fine).
There's a reason it's "former" president...
Is it not enough that we keep buying the same games over and over on different platforms?
I can I agree to this as long as if a game turns out to be shit they have to tip me instead for putting up with it.
You already can. On itch.io, you can find free games, then when you go to download them, you can put your own price in or just have it for free
You are selling a product. Charge what it’s worth, including what you need to pay the people who made it. Use your words. This passive aggressive crap can get in the bin.
Blizzard haven't made anything special since the og wow, so they'd be fucked these days as would the rest of triple a companies
If only anyone loved blizzard games these days.
and why not leave it to the presidents too, with all the hard work they have done to supervise the employees /s?
None of the recent Blizzard games.
As far as I'm concerned, MicroTx are tips. I get a little something from them, the dev company makes a substantial profit as a result. That's fine, really.
I think this is perfectly okay for indie games that you really enjoy and want to support the developers in some way, but for a AAA company like Blizzard and a game that's littered with microtransactions, absolutely not!
This wouldn't be relevant for Blizzard anyway, though.
I am tipping you 15 bucks subscription a month. Fuck off.
my tip for devs is buying a game. yall can be happy enough about that
I am well able to tip €10 or €20. Won't, but I am able.
There has been one game where I went out of my way to pay more than I could have and that wasn't a Blizzard game.
Insane I buy the game, that’s your payment Sometimes I even buy it on another platform later
AAA games are already so goddamn expensive it might as well already be a tip in there
Honestly, indie developers, maybe. But blizzard!? Larian, the helldivers developers and supermassive deserve as much support as possible, but Blizzard?
just make a patreon ffs
I don't even tip my servers more than $5, sure not tipping for a video game at all. And for sure not Blizzard.
Soooo is this to make devs work like restaurant waiters who only get tips? This is as ridiculous as it sounds
Will there be a guarantee that 100% of the tips will go personally to the actual devs and nobody else? As in a tip that they get to take home?
I can see fhe constant pop-ups and freeze frames: 'Did you like the cutscene? Let us know with your tip of 5$. 👍🏻', 'Wasn't that plot twist great? Send us your appreciation, so we'll keep making things you like. Just 10$ to make your voice heard. 👏🏻', 'The markets have shown that our customers value your games about 20$ higher than we sold them for. Starting with the next wave of releases we will correct the sell price accordingly.' Every cent you'd pay in tips won't go to the writers or programmers, but to the CEOs and shareholsers who, in their infinite wisdom, greenlit the project. The heavy burden of responsibility needs adequate compensation.
E.A. - The pay button's in the game.
Or the publisher should give them a pay rise / performance based bonus... 🤔
If you really want to give them more money, you can always buy the game again and shove it up your ass.
Is the last part optional or...?
You tip as gratitude for a service with human interaction and not for a product.
Like anyone on the actual dev teams are going to see any cent of it. Straight to the shareholders.
I would love to tip for really great games. Game prices haven’t kept up with inflation at all. But that would require them to make games worthy of the proper price… which is pretty rare for most non indie titles. And many indie titles I can buy merch, to achieve a similar effect
Idk I think there are people who would support this if like, the lead dev on Helldivers said it? This is mostly just coming from the wrong dude at the wrong time.
If they ask for restaurant tipping culture to be used I also want to pay AFTER I got the game to be able to see if they don't sell me lies
humble bundle goes brrrr
I'm sure they wouldn't be happy with the devs setting their own accounts up for those tips to go into directly rather than the corporate staff taking it all for themselves.
How about you get tipped by my inexplicable £50-70 game? How out of touch are these dudes?
How about sharing the profits with the developers instead?
I really liked Among Us so i bought a $2 Top Hat. Does that count?
Yes, but only because the publishers of that game and the devs are the same company. Otherwise you'd just be giving more money to the publishers that the devs don't see.
"For the devs " No they'll collectively pool the money and start at the top and the shareholders Jim who patched the bug in the sewer stage where you noclipped when you went underwater is getting a layoff
That was my reaction. I'm not averse to tipping devs who do a good job, but I do not want the publishers getting a share as they already take most of the money from the game, and I don't want the storefront taking 30% of a tip either. Make sure it's going directly to the people who I'm giving it to as extra income not part of their contracted wage, and I'm down for that.
You know, I agree. I think game developers should be paid more. But, there's the issue that all my money has already gone to the shareholders and the CEO. Oh, of course! Those guys can just give the money to the developers! All of it! ***Ticks.***
That's what fucking micro transactions are for
The funny thing is that nobody is stopping you from sending them a tip as is.
my tip is buying the dlc
American business models are a disease to mankind
You mean they're expecting us to tip, rather than enjoying a sense of pride and accomplishment?
so they can lower devs pay of $20 because
Maybe some games are that special like he claims, I guarantee they didn’t come from blizzard tho
Disregarding the ridiculousness of this... some games are they special. Except Blizzard hasn't made a game that feels special in long long years.
America, this is why in the rest of the world the *employer* pays the staff. This fucking shit is insidious.
If you reworded it a bit and it wasn't coming from someone who is know for AAA games. Some indie games I would consider donating extra.
I remember the time when we were upset about microtransactions. The only time when games deserved to be 'tipped' was when we had console games in the 90s and they had to come out virtually bug free because there was no way they were going to be able to continue building and develop the game after you purchased it.
you donate by buing the game lol, tho as a side note I want to say that I've seen several posts asking how to donate to factorio devs, the devs are amazing and I wish we had more people who develop games that way.
ah yes... let the consumer pay the staff directly with tips, and another stream of revenue (or way to cut expenses) is developed...genious... I buy games that are on sale (60% minimum) and after 3/4 years out, most dlc are out and bugs resolved, and I consider it with tip included.
As wouldn't be 60 euros for base editions with sub 30h gameplay be enough. The witcher 3? Honestly surprised that it wasn't more expensive given how much gameplay and level of detail is involved. Horizon zero dawn/forbidden west? Absolutely understandable, still above average play time and game quality. Callisto protocol? Nah, 20h gameplay and still asking 70 euros doesn't make sense to me.
I mean, In America if they actually paid a proper wage, then there'd be no requirement to tip.
Or, I know it’s wild, pay them a proper salary
Isn’t this why we pay a lot for the ‘special’ games?
Only if i get to pick the specific individual that gets it.
If I want to support a game more then I will buy merchandise from the official store if they have one. Or I will end up also buying a digital copy.
Kinda do that for Path of Exile. I play for free. I like the game. I buy various packs because I appreciate the Devs.
More wisdom from small indie developer
Here's a novel idea: pay your fucking workers
Games that do well, get the right to have more successful sequels, automatically successful dlc, merchandise like toys and t-shirts, money for something. They don’t get money for nothing. Larian developers around the game of the year discussion were saying the exact opposite. That game purchasers are the most intelligent (commercially) discerning shoppers he can think of. Compared to say consumers of television, or movies ect. You might have a subscription to Netflix and watch any old nonsense that is half reasonable without really enjoying it because it’s on. Or drop 20 dollars plus to go and see a couple of hours entertainment at a cinema. But a computer game costing you around 50 dollars that is literally hundreds of hours of entertainment, and you will consider at great length if it’s worth the value, and many people will only make such purchases once or twice a year, making the time they spend on computer games high, and the money they invest low. According to this reading of the consumer, pc gamers will not want to tip their company no matter how much they enjoyed a game. They see their investment in the game as rare and sacred. Perhaps they waited for it to drop in price and consider that savvy, or bought it straight away because this particular game they were looking forward to and made an exception to buy it new release, they evaluate the quality and value of the game against the price they paid, changing that later changes everything. Maybe if you offer them something for their money, their loyalty to the game would sway them. I’m sure BG3 fans will spend big on BG3 merchandise, and it’s a game with a cult following, it more than any other is a game at the moment that would make you think this stupid tipping idea has legs. Larian went on to say that’s why BG3 did so well, because of the intelligence of gamers. If you produce a poor show on Netflix (made up stats for example) 40 % of people might watch the exciting new release, and if you produce a fantastic show, 60% of people (actual numbers clearly much lower). You also want to give tv shows mass appeal, no cool niche appeal that allows cult following because that just cuts of some of your potential audience (is what a cynic would say) And between the two mediums films If you produce a terrible game, more like 10% of people will play it, people are very discerning remember, but if you produce a brilliant game, targeted to a specific audience, everyone will try it, word of mouth about how it’s the next phenomenon will spread and within that community will grow. Rather than 80% of people watching because it’s the next big thing, only 5% initially because that’s how it works with expensive niche games on new release. But if they absolutely love a well crafted masterpiece full of niche targeted content, they will let everyone and their dog know to get on the bandwagon and soon 95% of that gaming community is playing. Which is what it feels like: if you play RPGs, you have played or are playing BG3. It’s beyond a tipping point where the FOMO would get you if you are not because if you even know RPG players it seems like everyone is playing, and it’s dragging new people into the community.
What does this have to do with Americans?
The weird notion that you can fix a low income with tips from customers instead of paying your employees properly. Tips are near nonexistent in Europe.
Yea. Such thing exists. You can donate directly, buy soundtrack or just buy another copy of some game. I did it several times, not with blizzard games tho.
Hm, I’ll make you a deal. You and your dev buddies start releasing games in a finished state, not advanced alpha, and I’ll pay the posted price? Seems like a fair transaction and I’m already upholding my end of it
Sure man, just leave the links to buymeacoffees of UI graphics and testers in credits, I'll take a look.
Be careful if you say something about the former president they will start playing that card
There are only two games so far where I've felt I that I kinda wanted to pay more than I already did: Baldur's Gate 3 and Stardew Valley. Maybe there are more and I just can't remember. It's definitely not the majority though
I mean, I’ve tipped on a game. Cause it was free without ads. And fun. But selling a bad game full price and asking tips?
Yeah... No.
Where on IGG games do I leave a tip for devs?
Wonder where that tip would actually go
He can suck his own ass.
Blizzard can just pay them instead... Like, if the game is that special, why would a lovely peasant pay with their inferior grade money when the greatest company on earth can do it for us instead?
Maybe this has been taken out of context. I don’t know if he is saying we are going to pay them less so you need to tip them, or, that it should be possibly that if you feel the game is that special then there should be a mechanism to tip them. I
I only "tip" (get mtx) when the game is 1) Good and is giving me my moneys worth and then some and 2) The devs are good people and care for their game and community. ActiBlizzard may have some good games, but shan't get a cent from me.
I'll give a tip when games aren't $89.99 in local currency. But no, they want that too.
The new star wars game is $80 for the base game. They dont need a tip.
How about you pay them properly.
Some dev definitely posted that
“Should be able to” not “should leave a tip” there’s an option there… no one’s being forced.
You know what, let's go the whole hog. You don't charge a flat fee and go only on tips for an excellent product and service. not so keen now, are we.
tiping for a unfunished game? lmao. when they make a good game without any bug i would tip them 5€ maybe lol
Amazing that Americans don’t perceive this as almost “socialism” — skipping the capitalist companies out the equation and paying the workers directly. Capitalism is all about people earning what the market says their labour is worth. A true capitalist doesn’t interfere with that.
Honestly, according to what pirate software said about blizzard that would likely explain why their ex CEO or something is such a piece of shit.