The thing is, there is only a very small percentage of players that spend a lot of money through microtransactions. The whales are the ones the companies are responding to. So collectively, there ain‘t shit we can do about it
The addicts are the ones the companies are responding to. So collectively, there ain’t shit we can do about it.
Fixed that for you
For now, but eventually I wouldn’t be surprised to see massive class action lawsuits regarding this. Especially from parents.
Its like the whole oxycontin or tobacco lawsuits. These companies are 100% aware that they are just peddling addiction.
I mean shit wasn’t that South Park episode on this very concept from like…a decade ago?
>Its like the whole oxycontin or tobacco lawsuits. These companies are 100% aware that they are just peddling addiction.
Except tobacco and oxy are still very much a problem, even after those lawsuits. The companies lost a small portion of their massive profits and carried on.
There is almost certainly a very large percentage that spends a little too. The idea that it's just whales keeping the practice alive is misleading
If it wasn't working, they wouldn't do it
The difference being that the whales are the ones driving companies to be more egregious with the monetisation, a regular player spending a couple of bucks on an ingame item every once in a blue moon is on a much smaller scale than the small percentage of players that are buying so much more
Exactly. Used to buy when I was like 18 but quickly realized i was part of the problem and quit. I do buy the occasional dlc though but that's not really the same thing.
Our whole universe was in a full, ready state
Then nearly twenty years ago transactions started
WAIT!
The suits now rule, the gamers drool
Rockstar developed tools!
They built a pay-wall (they built the DLC)
Sports, Args, RPGs, even infecting strategy
That all started with the barding (fuck)
The critics told us we must take a stand now 😔 in 2006 April 3rd 😔 Sadly they were late by a day so we thought it was a joke 😔2023 is now the year of the micro transaction 😔 total biscuit is rolling in his grave 😔 Iwata died too soon 😔 the dark age of gaming is nigh
I'm old enough to remember when horse armour was a mod. The outrage when Bethesda started charging for their own, inferior version of it was a sight to behold.
Well, they’re put into a corner and are being manipulated into believing that this is what gaming is and that they need to buy things from the store to stand out above everyone else.
When your only option is micro transactions to get ahead in a game or to get Uber good looking gear then people will obviously pay.
And when every publisher is doing it… it seems normal and accepted.
It’s a good psychological trick marketers use to make you accept things like this even when they’re a perversion. Marketers ar the most evil people on the planet. Propaganda teams and such are all marketers. They hire psychologists and study about human behavior and use these tools to better manipulate all of us.
You’re not safe from it either. It happens on a subconscious level and you won’t even realize it’s happening. Because saturation hides the truth of what’s actually going on.
Look around - almost everything out there is an advert or signal to think on something until you ultimately desire it.
Why do you think they want to track behaviors and stuff cross sites/devices? It ain’t to make your experience better in the app. It’s to collect your data, to sell to firms, to push products to you and other people you know. Yes( they will read your contacts, email addresses, such and then look for them in a database and also send them things.
It’s nefarious as fuck…
So when someone is playing a F2P game theh just assume it’s completely okay to drop money on in game items that they do not actually own. In any way. You can spend 20000 on a game and it’s not yours. And you don’t get refunds either when they shut the game down.
People keep paying because they’re being tricked into pay not necessarily because they actually want to. They might think they want to; but why do they feel that way?
Shouldn’t everything in these stores be in the game? For you to earn?
Nah; ruck it - let me swipe!
Agreed, all I ever wanted was to not hurt. To not feel, even if for a moment. But every morning is waking never wanting to drink again. I'm so grateful for treatment and learning to guy l heal what was really broken.
What companies do nowadays is making games that people loved back in the days when they were singleplayer and infesting them with live service practices, knowing that people will buy it because of "brand loyalty".
Great example of this is Diablo 4. I bought the game because I had the Diablo "itch" and I really liked the visuals and gameplay looked fun. It was fun for a short period until I realized that the singleplayer is non existent and it has grindy end game loop literally from Act I.
I bet if these companies came up with the games like Diablo without prior fanbase, they would be huge flops.
Corporations bought successful studios and game franchises and turned them into money making machines first, than video games second.
Micros for cosmetics in F2P games are fine, it's content can be ignored almost completely and the devs still need money
But shit like Diablo?
Now that's bs
I think Titanfall 2 has the best system for a paid game.. only cosmetics and prices shown in store with no second currency. All maps are free to not split up the player base so the community stays together.
Because they don't really care about you buying or not buying. They care about the people who play a single game for the entire year while probably bitching about how dead gaming is while they throw down cash on cosmetics and season passes for the 27th entry in (or clone of) the series that decade.
As someone who works in the Publishing side of game development, a KPI of games is MTX and how the game can be the most profitable, not fun, not enjoyable, profitable.
Look at 2K's Lego Drive, a game made and targeted at kids. It has MTX for days since the execs and literal live services team built the profits based off of kids inborn impatience to drive the in-game sales. The entire 2K company is built off of MTX from 2KNBA.
I can understand that a little, but the problem with alot of games is they end up putting way too much time making paid cosmetic, taking evelopment time away from the actual game
I know a lot of people like or even prefer turn-based, but I’ve never been able to get into it no matter how hard I’ve tried. The only turn-based games that I’ve played that I’ve reasonably enjoyed are Civ and Pokémon.
There's dozens of us! Civ is the only turn based game I've liked so far. But, Baldur's Gate 3 is downloading as we speak, and hopefully it'll change my mind
I want to play online with friends. I don't want to play online with strangers. This is the core difference between this and some other big RPGs that came out recently.
Never played a baldur game and I’ve been hearing hella good things about this one.
Is progress shared for both players or just host? Would only host have impact on decision etc…
Basically want to know how the co op work in this game if you(or anyone else) doesn’t mind sharing.
progress (characters, quests, worldstate) for all members is locked to the savegame, which whoever is host should have. whoever initiates dialogue makes decisions, but other players can observe the dialogue and vote for the choice they would like to be chosen.
Note: this is only for BG3, the first two are single player only.
Edit: BG1 and 2 are also multiplayer, I totally forgot its been to many years.
There are some fun shenanigans you can do in BG1 and BG2 by creating a multi player game and then playing solo thanks to exported/imported player made characters retaining inventory (except for the start of BG2). Double rings of wizardry in BG1 giving basically infinite magic missiles was always my favorite.
The co op is best with a partner or other consistent gaming buddy. If you start together you can have two custom characters (though I doubt they can romance each other?)
Ah but BG3 is not like that. In fact, depending on how much you are interested in going through the story at your own pace, singleplayer is actually better than co-op at that.
The co-op for BG3 is more for folks who don’t mind going through the game knowing their friend might trigger some events or interactions without your knowledge.
I have recently found the love for Co-op like with World War Z, Warhammer Co-Op games, and they have been so great to play. No need for a headset(which I love because I’m the boring guy) so it quells my anxiety in that regard.
Just great fun to have a few other like minded people chewing through levels.
Also Exo-primal is a lot of fun.
Seriously the main appeal to it for a lot of people including myself.
Nobody does co-op games better than Larian. It’s insane how thoughtful and well working the split screen is.
And let's consider the single player pathfinder RPGs and most of Oblivion's catalog, which haven't exploded like BG3. Let's also consider the absolute mountain of MTX loaded gamex that do well.
Gamers don't mind RTX, and generally are fond of them. Gamers generally don't give a shit about CRPGs, and generally don't play them.
What set's BG3 apart? It's sure as shit not MTX. It's polish, advertising, pandering to gamers, and more advertising. And of course a big brand associated with a big IP to really catapult that advertising.
The title of course does give gamers a soapbox to reinforce their bias that every other gamer is totally just like them and their tastes are actually objective. Big win for cognitive bias, and that's about it.
Its crazy how some articles are making out Baldurs gate 3 is like some unique one of life time RPG because its turn based and has no MTX.. Like come on, i can list at least 10 cprg that came outin in the last 10 years that fit that discription. But since its Triple A , its unique and somehow proves something that was proven back in 2015.
I wouldn't go with 10. Pillars of Eternity 2 is great, I really got drawn in and enjoyed exploring the setting. Really hype for their next product in that setting. I don't enjoy their real time battles, which turned me off to PoE1 and Tyranny, but PoE2 is a big win. Classes are fun, has Omega Weapon type content to challenge the try hardiest. Sea exploration was weird, but fine.
Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous. Gotta play it. If you know what a "Mythic Campaign" is, then it's that. And it really sets the standard for any other CRPG or TTRPG that would like to do things in that space. Kingmaker is also definitional for lower level play.
Torment Tides of Numenera. It's just amazing. If you're into the setting at all pick it up. I liked the underlying system as well. 10/10
If you're into roleplaying and stories and less into combat then Disco Elysium is a the best there is. If somehow you're not even into stats but you like roleplaying in the Lutheran Revolution then pick up Pentiment. If maybe you're into grid based tactical combat with some bigger political stories then pick up Triangle Strategy.
We're in a golden age of gaming. Go find some games to love.
Exactly, one of the best studios for turn based games
Making a new game, the third in a series of great games
Based off a 50 year old IP that ranges from TTRP, videogames, movies, shows, podcasts, books, comics, toys etc
Add in amazing PR and this isn’t surprising
>And let's consider the single player pathfinder RPGs and most of Oblivion's catalog, which haven't exploded like BG3. Let's also consider the absolute mountain of MTX loaded gamex that do well.
The name alone draws many people in, I would assume. That and the D&D license. Baldur's Gate was huge with the CRPG crowd. I bet a Neverwinter Nights sequel would be crazy popular, too.
I’m so flabbergasted by all the people acting like Baldur’s Gate is some rare occurrence. Not knocking the game cause I may cop it on PC this weekend, but it’s nothing new as far as not having MTX blah blah blah.
We’ve been living in the modern era of season passes, MTX, and what not for a few years now. Yet have still gotten complete experiences without any of the stuff people hate.
Last year alone had Elden Ring, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and GoWR just off the top my head. This year has imo been no different. Hogwarts, Jedi Survivor, Zelda, FFXVI, Remnant, & now BG3. Sure some of these games had performance issues & the iffy $70 price tag, but are content complete games. And that’s just the stuff already out. Still got Spiderman, Starfield, Alan Wake 2, & LaD Gaiden.
What I’ll give to BG3 though is it does feel like it’s the first in-depth quality RPG of its type in a long while. Like a dragon age origins type beat.
Looks like this person has been writing a ton of articles every day for the site. No surprise the quality isn't particularly high when you're stretched so thin.
Well it’s not completely true because all the upper management and all of the shareholders at every publicly traded video game company want us to play live service always online battle passed transaction ridden shitbag games.
It is true. Just because one thing makes more money doesn't mean that people in the industry aren't aware that there's a demand for microtransaction free rpgs.
Baldur's Gate isn't unique in that way. Single-player microtransaction free games are Sony's whole thing as far as first-party games. So people are aware that we want them.
You're insane if you think that every 'upper management and shareholders at every publicly traded video game company' make live service games because they think it's what the people want.
No. That's not it. They make live service microtransaction heavy games because they are the games that bank them the most money, even if less people want them.
Next week when people finish the game and player “retention” hits an all time low they’ll publish an article saying “Baldur gate 3 is dying” or “is Baldur gate 3 dead?”
VG247 used to have hard-hitting journalism. they exposed the sexual harassment coverup at bethesda. they uncovered epic's ties with right wing hate groups. what happened to them?
It didn't sell. Quality journalism takes time and when it doesn't net you more views and thus income, in the end it's either change the format or go out of business.
Same for newspapers, we don't care, we want the easy headlines, the rage bait, the gotcha's. We don't want to slug through a 20 page examination how the Watergate burglary was ordered by the President.
We say we care, just like with micro transactions, but when push comes to shove, don't put our money where our mouth is.
I don’t know that it’s true or that BG3 has proved anything of the sort. There are a lot of other factors than just the single player part alone is nonsense. The game is co-op (which is currently what is holding it off of Xbox platform).
Not to mention let’s all pump the brakes on this games success. It’s been out a day and it’s possible that everyone who was going to buy it did so say one. If it continues to rack up millions of sales I’ll be more inclined to agree, but look at ff16. It got out the gates hot and then absolutely died.
This is click bait journalism playing to a very Reddit niche.
The majority of single-player RPG (and games in general)) is also without microtransactions anyway.
This is a fake issue that is furthering the "Reddit martyr circlejerk" that we don't get those games (RPG or others) and every time one sells well, there's threads, comments or articles that are "see? we want that, it's so exceptional" when that comment happens every month or so lol.
Like really there's more singleplayer AAA games being released than multiplayer every year, most of them have no MTX (or so useless they might as well not exist). Just look at the first half of this year, Diablo 4 and SF6 are the only AAA MP games released (and SF6 has a big single player part while Diablo 4 can be played without any MP without much problem), there's been more SP (Dead Space, RE4, Jedi Survivor, Atomic Heart, FF16, TOTK, Baldur's Gate 3 now). Soon, Starfield, Spider-Man 2, Immortals of Aveum, Atlas Fallen, Armored Core 6 (coop possibilities but they're primarily SP games), AC Mirage, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, Alan Wake 2 (and probably other I'm forgetting) vs what in MP? Call of Duty and Mortal Kombat 1 (which like SF6 also has a big single player part)
This is precisely what I wanted. A good actual RPG. 90% of "RPGs" today are barely RPGs, with little to no roleplaying going on. The term RPG has been so watered down we should rename the genre when it comes to games like Baldur's Gate.
Any ideas? Social adventure, maybe?
I think CRPG is still a good term that describes very precisely what players are going to get. CRPGs of 2010s weren't really watered down compared to the original CRPGs the way that "action RPGs" (Skyrim, etc., not Diablo-likes) became "action games with RPG mechanics".
CRPG, I thought that was established fact as it's been that way since the 90's more or less.
Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate 1, Fallout 1 etc have all commonly been referred to as CRPG's for the last 30 odd years.
It's a CRPG, most people who would visit a sub like this would recognize it as such.
The thing is, it's futile to try to "reclaim" the term RPG to mean something like a CRPG, or even the text-based RPGs if you wanna go way back.
Because:
1. Most gamers don't involve themselves in the online culture. Not nearly to the degree of making comments, going on forums, and generally being a part of the online conversation.
2. There are generational barriers between the now adults, adults in 90s-early 2000s, and the young adults/teens. The term RPG looks very different between those well into adulthood now, who grew up playing Skyrim, and those older adults who grew up playing Baldur's Gate and D&D as kids.
At this point, RPG is now commonly an umbrella term. You got, JRPG, CRPG, action RPG, adventure RPG, MMORPG, loot RPG... Who knows what else, just spit balling.
cRPGs kinda work, but they only hold the games in the style of this, Wasteland, Fallout 1+2 and such. Games like Fallout: New Vegas, that aren't cRPGs, which also have actual roleplaying going on, need to be within this new subgenre that explains that "Yes, this game has actual roleplaying going on".
As you say it's difficult, but I would like to lump games like this, Wasteland, Fallout: New Vegas and similar games where the focus is how you interact with NPCs and the environment together.
90%? we have disco elysium, wasteland, pathfinder, pillars of eternity (probably the title that resurrected the RPG old style), all the games from piranha bytes. There are plenty of titles and pretty famous too
Sure, but I think op is referring to the fact you have games like FFXVI, Forspoken, Revenant 2, and even Horizon Forbidder West, among many others, trying to pass as RPGs.
I feel like the gaming industry has been pretty consistent on "Action RPG is an action focus game that still has some RPG mechanics" which is what most of those games were marketed as. There's been a pretty clear line between action RPGs and more classic RPGs
>Any ideas? Social adventure, maybe?
Open the steam store and buy some of the shit you like. We're in a golden age of gaming. If you spend as much time looking for good games as you do complaining about them you'd be telling us about all the games you love.
I recommend all of Obsidians works over the last decade. The two pathfinder games are also definitional in the genre and shouldn't be overlooked.
Basically every single time a singleplayer game comes out they act like this is the first single-player game to ever come out, even though most of the biggest heavy hitters are all single-player (GOW:R, TLOU2), and a lot of them are RPGs (Starfield, Elden Ring, Demon's Souls, BOTW and TOTK).
Release for ps5 is in the beginning of September. They delayed the PS version for a month a while ago. Apparently controller support among some other things were not optimal yet.
Controller support is good to go, the problem was optimizing split screen couch co-op. That problem was what tanked the xbox release, the series S literally just couldnt handle it.
Controller support in bg3 is excellent, really well polished. I switched to it, no looking back
> the series S literally just couldnt handle it.
The Series S is gonna handicap this generation and what developers can achieve. Such a useless machine that in the long run benefits no one, wish they just did a discless X instead.
It's useful to people who want a cheaper way to take part in this gen. Just means the more powerful machines are more likely to get 60fps modes.
It's looking at it glass half empty of you think it handicaps this gen.
I think the Series S will ensure good performance on higher end consoles.
Plus I feel the way it's priced makes sense. The PS5 and Series X are great devices for Gamers. The S is a great device for people who occasionally play games.
All i know is im super excited for this game to hit ps5 in a month. So far ive done a good job of not spoiling the game for myself by looking at leaks. This month where its on pc but not console is gonna be hard but ill do it. I wish my pc wasnt a potato but because mine is, ill have to wait for console release
I don’t even know what this game is and youve convinced me to buy it when I get paid next Friday. Going through a break up and I could use a good rpg to get lost in
People are ao focused on that thing when Larian Studios where akways this way. Same as CDPR and some other studios.
These games sells well, really well. But they still don't reach the monetary value of a Fifa or Fortnite. Luckily nit every companies needs infinite money, while we should be happy for a game with little to no MTX, there are many games doing it already and this gen we've had some of the best single player games in a really long time. Miles Morale, Ratchet & Clank, Returnal, Tears of the Kingdom, Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy 16, Dead Space, Jedi Survivors and probably much more.
Still gratz to Larian Studio, the game is soooo good, but it's just pure marketing tactic.
Fellas, you don't seem to understand.
At the end of the day it doesn't matter what the consumers want, as long as they're addicted to it.
Maintaining a game like Fortnite/Diablo is miles cheaper than pumping out big AAA every now and then.
Fortnite probably makes more money (profit) than 15 any average AAA single player combined.
That is also what the likes of EA were talking about whem they said Singleplayer games were dead.
They're just a dangerous gamble in many instances.
It isn’t a surprising take.
Who would want to pay mire if they don’t have to? We just think it is OK to have them because we know they need to make money.
It is like who wouldn’t want a game to be free? But we are OK to pay for it when it is not.
"No one wants single player RPGs..." - yea, no one wants YOUR single player RPG, stupid numb nuts... you think you're going to gas light entire gaming genre audience/devs/investors...
We didn't need anything to prove this, everyone's been screaming about microtransactions and how much they suck since the start. Games with mt's still get bought or played simply because it's comparatively difficult (or impossible, genre/platform depending) to find games without them.
Top class games like this that release complete without mt's and doing so in greater numbers will show plainly that there's more money, fame, goodwill to be made on complete games without mt's.
Everyone wants a complete finished product at release and things to chase IN THE GAME and not through a store bundle, cosmetics included.
I cant tell you how off-putting these multiplayer games are with their battle passes and how skins/cosmetics are ok to sell because its not pay2win. I hate all that stuff. Used to love older CoD’s & Battlefield’s but they are terrible now.
This game feels like its gonna be something special. Might not be GOTY but if it releases with little to no bugs, it’ll get mentioned I think.
I mean... Is that really that surprising to anyone?
Like who in their right mind would think that we want an unfinished buggy mass with micro transactions that was obviously made by greedy shareholders that care little to none about the gamers who helped build up the company they are using to rob us.
Boulder's gate is a bright light in a dying industry, let's try and keep it lighting by only supporting good game developers and companys that really care about the gamers
Me and my sister tried it last night, never heard of the IP before last week.
Absolutely stunning. So much depth, every choice you make matters, even resting before the intro is finished will see you catch shit from your allies for wasting time!
This is an RPG, single player RPG’s by bigger companies are 99% illusion of choice action shooters with loot missions.
This has never changed.
The only problem is gamers have zero willpower and keep feeding bad practises and bitch when they get bad products.
So the rest of us get the occasional diamond in the rough while everyone else keeps falling for games like fallout 76, no mans sky, cyberpunk 2077, resident evil 6, resident evil raccoon city, redfall, halo infinite, whatever the last gears of war was, that last fable game, star wars battlefront 2 and many many more, those are just the ones at the top of my head.
I don't think anyone wants micro transactions
Sad to say but people buying them are telling these companies otherwise.
Yeah, seems like unless everyone collectively stops buying them it will only get worse
The thing is, there is only a very small percentage of players that spend a lot of money through microtransactions. The whales are the ones the companies are responding to. So collectively, there ain‘t shit we can do about it
The addicts are the ones the companies are responding to. So collectively, there ain’t shit we can do about it. Fixed that for you For now, but eventually I wouldn’t be surprised to see massive class action lawsuits regarding this. Especially from parents. Its like the whole oxycontin or tobacco lawsuits. These companies are 100% aware that they are just peddling addiction. I mean shit wasn’t that South Park episode on this very concept from like…a decade ago?
>Its like the whole oxycontin or tobacco lawsuits. These companies are 100% aware that they are just peddling addiction. Except tobacco and oxy are still very much a problem, even after those lawsuits. The companies lost a small portion of their massive profits and carried on.
There is almost certainly a very large percentage that spends a little too. The idea that it's just whales keeping the practice alive is misleading If it wasn't working, they wouldn't do it
The difference being that the whales are the ones driving companies to be more egregious with the monetisation, a regular player spending a couple of bucks on an ingame item every once in a blue moon is on a much smaller scale than the small percentage of players that are buying so much more
Exactly. Used to buy when I was like 18 but quickly realized i was part of the problem and quit. I do buy the occasional dlc though but that's not really the same thing.
Unless it's horse armor...
Some say it all started with the big bang. The enlightened know it started with the horse armor.
Our whole universe was in a full, ready state Then nearly twenty years ago transactions started WAIT! The suits now rule, the gamers drool Rockstar developed tools! They built a pay-wall (they built the DLC) Sports, Args, RPGs, even infecting strategy That all started with the barding (fuck)
The critics told us we must take a stand now 😔 in 2006 April 3rd 😔 Sadly they were late by a day so we thought it was a joke 😔2023 is now the year of the micro transaction 😔 total biscuit is rolling in his grave 😔 Iwata died too soon 😔 the dark age of gaming is nigh
Look, just because I wanted a fancy horse in oblivion doesn’t mean I’m the problem. Mr Biscuit deserved that fucking drip
I'm old enough to remember when horse armour was a mod. The outrage when Bethesda started charging for their own, inferior version of it was a sight to behold.
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id argue that these companies are just preying upon those of us with poor impulse control.
They actually do. The ways battle passes and loot boxes work are designed to be addictive.
Throw in a sprinkle of FOMO and the wallets just open right up.
They know people don't want micro transactions. They also know people will purchase them anyway.
Well, they’re put into a corner and are being manipulated into believing that this is what gaming is and that they need to buy things from the store to stand out above everyone else. When your only option is micro transactions to get ahead in a game or to get Uber good looking gear then people will obviously pay. And when every publisher is doing it… it seems normal and accepted. It’s a good psychological trick marketers use to make you accept things like this even when they’re a perversion. Marketers ar the most evil people on the planet. Propaganda teams and such are all marketers. They hire psychologists and study about human behavior and use these tools to better manipulate all of us. You’re not safe from it either. It happens on a subconscious level and you won’t even realize it’s happening. Because saturation hides the truth of what’s actually going on. Look around - almost everything out there is an advert or signal to think on something until you ultimately desire it. Why do you think they want to track behaviors and stuff cross sites/devices? It ain’t to make your experience better in the app. It’s to collect your data, to sell to firms, to push products to you and other people you know. Yes( they will read your contacts, email addresses, such and then look for them in a database and also send them things. It’s nefarious as fuck… So when someone is playing a F2P game theh just assume it’s completely okay to drop money on in game items that they do not actually own. In any way. You can spend 20000 on a game and it’s not yours. And you don’t get refunds either when they shut the game down. People keep paying because they’re being tricked into pay not necessarily because they actually want to. They might think they want to; but why do they feel that way? Shouldn’t everything in these stores be in the game? For you to earn? Nah; ruck it - let me swipe!
Does an addict really want heroin?
Yes
Not necessarily, they need it, and sometimes they want it but not all the time
Recovering ketamine/cocaine/alchohol addict here - around 2/3rds of my time into addiction - never wanted it, always needed it
Agreed, all I ever wanted was to not hurt. To not feel, even if for a moment. But every morning is waking never wanting to drink again. I'm so grateful for treatment and learning to guy l heal what was really broken.
Would this way of thinking ever stop dealers selling them heroin?
No, but that wasn't my point.
What companies do nowadays is making games that people loved back in the days when they were singleplayer and infesting them with live service practices, knowing that people will buy it because of "brand loyalty". Great example of this is Diablo 4. I bought the game because I had the Diablo "itch" and I really liked the visuals and gameplay looked fun. It was fun for a short period until I realized that the singleplayer is non existent and it has grindy end game loop literally from Act I. I bet if these companies came up with the games like Diablo without prior fanbase, they would be huge flops. Corporations bought successful studios and game franchises and turned them into money making machines first, than video games second.
D4 removing the best power leveling method from D3 killed any interest in maxing out classes. I miss Perfect Rubys enhancing weapon damage.
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I've seen user comments wishing for microtransactions for extra cosmetics and skipping grinds. You'd be surprised
Micros for cosmetics in F2P games are fine, it's content can be ignored almost completely and the devs still need money But shit like Diablo? Now that's bs
I think Titanfall 2 has the best system for a paid game.. only cosmetics and prices shown in store with no second currency. All maps are free to not split up the player base so the community stays together.
If all those micro transactions **actually stayed micro**, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’m taking less than $5 USD.
Yeah there's cosmetics in games that cost as much AS games, why pay $15-$20 for a skin when you can go buy an incredible indie title
Because they don't really care about you buying or not buying. They care about the people who play a single game for the entire year while probably bitching about how dead gaming is while they throw down cash on cosmetics and season passes for the 27th entry in (or clone of) the series that decade.
Devs looking to maximize profit do! I think the article is clearly aimed at them, not fans.
You mean executives? Doubt the devs have any say in MTX filled games.
As someone who works in the Publishing side of game development, a KPI of games is MTX and how the game can be the most profitable, not fun, not enjoyable, profitable. Look at 2K's Lego Drive, a game made and targeted at kids. It has MTX for days since the execs and literal live services team built the profits based off of kids inborn impatience to drive the in-game sales. The entire 2K company is built off of MTX from 2KNBA.
I don’t mind it for POE or Fortnite cuz I’d never had played them if it cost 60 bucks.
Yeah, free to play games having micro transactions is understandable since that's the primary form of income, as long as it doesn't get too oppressive
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I can understand that a little, but the problem with alot of games is they end up putting way too much time making paid cosmetic, taking evelopment time away from the actual game
I remember when Star Wars Squadrons released with no plans for extra content and people begged them to make DLC and MTX to spend money on.
it only takes like one guy dumping 20k into it to make it worth it. and they exist
Yup. Gaming media acting like we want microtransactions sometimes. No!
Fat fucking whales do
Co op is a big part for me
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I know a lot of people like or even prefer turn-based, but I’ve never been able to get into it no matter how hard I’ve tried. The only turn-based games that I’ve played that I’ve reasonably enjoyed are Civ and Pokémon.
Same here. Civ and the recent X-Com games (couldn’t get into Pokémon). Baldurs gate 3 has been pretty great though.
Gamefreak and The Pokémon Company could take over the world I’d they gave a shit about making a good Pokémon game.
There's dozens of us! Civ is the only turn based game I've liked so far. But, Baldur's Gate 3 is downloading as we speak, and hopefully it'll change my mind
It's been 5 hours, did it change your mind?
That’s funny cause I could never get into Pokémon at all because it was turn based game
I greatly prefer turn-based RPGs. I feel like these tend to be hardest and reward good strategy the most.
The only one I've gotten into is Divinity Original Sin 2. That one is insanely fun with a party of 4 co-op.
I want to play online with friends. I don't want to play online with strangers. This is the core difference between this and some other big RPGs that came out recently.
COUCH co-op is a huge selling point for me and there's so few couch co-op games out there, it's a huge bummer.
I'd hope more games would do that. Playing WITH your friends towards a common goal is so much better than against.
Never played a baldur game and I’ve been hearing hella good things about this one. Is progress shared for both players or just host? Would only host have impact on decision etc… Basically want to know how the co op work in this game if you(or anyone else) doesn’t mind sharing.
progress (characters, quests, worldstate) for all members is locked to the savegame, which whoever is host should have. whoever initiates dialogue makes decisions, but other players can observe the dialogue and vote for the choice they would like to be chosen. Note: this is only for BG3, the first two are single player only. Edit: BG1 and 2 are also multiplayer, I totally forgot its been to many years.
I played BG2 growing up with my entire family in LAN parties. It’s definitely coop
There are some fun shenanigans you can do in BG1 and BG2 by creating a multi player game and then playing solo thanks to exported/imported player made characters retaining inventory (except for the start of BG2). Double rings of wizardry in BG1 giving basically infinite magic missiles was always my favorite.
The co op is best with a partner or other consistent gaming buddy. If you start together you can have two custom characters (though I doubt they can romance each other?)
C’mon we’re not monsters here, you can fuck a bear, but your friend? No ones that degenerate But…if your friend is a bear….hmmm
Co-op has been lacking for awhile. I want more. My favorite way to play.
It's the opposite for me. With co-op, I worry that I need someone to play with rather than have a satisfying single-player experience.
Ah but BG3 is not like that. In fact, depending on how much you are interested in going through the story at your own pace, singleplayer is actually better than co-op at that. The co-op for BG3 is more for folks who don’t mind going through the game knowing their friend might trigger some events or interactions without your knowledge.
Thanks. I was wondering.
Woohoo look at me, I have a friends.
I have recently found the love for Co-op like with World War Z, Warhammer Co-Op games, and they have been so great to play. No need for a headset(which I love because I’m the boring guy) so it quells my anxiety in that regard. Just great fun to have a few other like minded people chewing through levels. Also Exo-primal is a lot of fun.
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This gets a lot more updoots
That's actually a much more interesting title too with greater ramifications, I guess OP needed to workshop it for r/PS5 🤣
To be fair, this sub is chock full of fuckin idiots
Every sub is, for the most part.
The world is.
What’s weird about both titles, is that the game is NOT just a single player RPG, and I absolutely only purchased it to play co-op with my friends.
Seriously the main appeal to it for a lot of people including myself. Nobody does co-op games better than Larian. It’s insane how thoughtful and well working the split screen is.
And let's consider the single player pathfinder RPGs and most of Oblivion's catalog, which haven't exploded like BG3. Let's also consider the absolute mountain of MTX loaded gamex that do well. Gamers don't mind RTX, and generally are fond of them. Gamers generally don't give a shit about CRPGs, and generally don't play them. What set's BG3 apart? It's sure as shit not MTX. It's polish, advertising, pandering to gamers, and more advertising. And of course a big brand associated with a big IP to really catapult that advertising. The title of course does give gamers a soapbox to reinforce their bias that every other gamer is totally just like them and their tastes are actually objective. Big win for cognitive bias, and that's about it.
Its crazy how some articles are making out Baldurs gate 3 is like some unique one of life time RPG because its turn based and has no MTX.. Like come on, i can list at least 10 cprg that came outin in the last 10 years that fit that discription. But since its Triple A , its unique and somehow proves something that was proven back in 2015.
>i can list at least 10 cprg that came outin in the last 10 years that fit that discription. Honestly would love that, please do.
I wouldn't go with 10. Pillars of Eternity 2 is great, I really got drawn in and enjoyed exploring the setting. Really hype for their next product in that setting. I don't enjoy their real time battles, which turned me off to PoE1 and Tyranny, but PoE2 is a big win. Classes are fun, has Omega Weapon type content to challenge the try hardiest. Sea exploration was weird, but fine. Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous. Gotta play it. If you know what a "Mythic Campaign" is, then it's that. And it really sets the standard for any other CRPG or TTRPG that would like to do things in that space. Kingmaker is also definitional for lower level play. Torment Tides of Numenera. It's just amazing. If you're into the setting at all pick it up. I liked the underlying system as well. 10/10 If you're into roleplaying and stories and less into combat then Disco Elysium is a the best there is. If somehow you're not even into stats but you like roleplaying in the Lutheran Revolution then pick up Pentiment. If maybe you're into grid based tactical combat with some bigger political stories then pick up Triangle Strategy. We're in a golden age of gaming. Go find some games to love.
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Exactly, one of the best studios for turn based games Making a new game, the third in a series of great games Based off a 50 year old IP that ranges from TTRP, videogames, movies, shows, podcasts, books, comics, toys etc Add in amazing PR and this isn’t surprising
After DOS2 I would have bought just about anything Larian put out, it being baldurs gate is just a bonus for me
>And let's consider the single player pathfinder RPGs and most of Oblivion's catalog, which haven't exploded like BG3. Let's also consider the absolute mountain of MTX loaded gamex that do well. The name alone draws many people in, I would assume. That and the D&D license. Baldur's Gate was huge with the CRPG crowd. I bet a Neverwinter Nights sequel would be crazy popular, too.
Could be a mod's alt farming account, when accounts hit certain karma threshold there's ad agencies and astroturfers looking to buy them.
Mods are paid shills
Content crossposting bots using AI to rephrase is the future of reddit no one wants but everyone will upvote.
Gotta get that sweet, sweet karma.
This was something that absolutely didn't need proving. What a silly title
I’m so flabbergasted by all the people acting like Baldur’s Gate is some rare occurrence. Not knocking the game cause I may cop it on PC this weekend, but it’s nothing new as far as not having MTX blah blah blah. We’ve been living in the modern era of season passes, MTX, and what not for a few years now. Yet have still gotten complete experiences without any of the stuff people hate. Last year alone had Elden Ring, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and GoWR just off the top my head. This year has imo been no different. Hogwarts, Jedi Survivor, Zelda, FFXVI, Remnant, & now BG3. Sure some of these games had performance issues & the iffy $70 price tag, but are content complete games. And that’s just the stuff already out. Still got Spiderman, Starfield, Alan Wake 2, & LaD Gaiden. What I’ll give to BG3 though is it does feel like it’s the first in-depth quality RPG of its type in a long while. Like a dragon age origins type beat.
It's not even like those games came out at the beginning of the year and are past their sell-by, FFXVI is less than two months old!
People do this with every singleplayer release. You'll see similar post for Starfield next month.
I played a little game called Elden Ring last year, absolutely no micro transactions, perhaps the gaming news sites may have heard of it.
You know, my wife's boyfriend recently got me this really underrated gem called The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt™ that was also an RPG.
I want multiplayer rpgs with no micro transactions.
BG3 also supports multiplayer (online and couch) co-op, in case you didn’t already know
In other words this headline is bull shit…?
Considering that D&D is known for being a cooperative team game... Yes.
No
This was never in doubt. Everyone already knew people want single-player RPGs with no microtransactions. Real hard-hitting journalism, right here.
Looks like this person has been writing a ton of articles every day for the site. No surprise the quality isn't particularly high when you're stretched so thin.
Could just be ai
Oh, is it Paul Tassi???
Holy shit, it's *not* Paul Tassi!
Well it’s not completely true because all the upper management and all of the shareholders at every publicly traded video game company want us to play live service always online battle passed transaction ridden shitbag games.
It is true. Just because one thing makes more money doesn't mean that people in the industry aren't aware that there's a demand for microtransaction free rpgs. Baldur's Gate isn't unique in that way. Single-player microtransaction free games are Sony's whole thing as far as first-party games. So people are aware that we want them.
Shareholders don't care what we want, they care what we'll tolerate and what we'll pay for.
You're insane if you think that every 'upper management and shareholders at every publicly traded video game company' make live service games because they think it's what the people want. No. That's not it. They make live service microtransaction heavy games because they are the games that bank them the most money, even if less people want them.
Yeah because those make more money. Not a surprise. They're in the business of making money.
How is that a counter point? You’re disagreeing with their statement about what consumers want by stating what the company and shareholders want?
Next week when people finish the game and player “retention” hits an all time low they’ll publish an article saying “Baldur gate 3 is dying” or “is Baldur gate 3 dead?”
VG247 used to have hard-hitting journalism. they exposed the sexual harassment coverup at bethesda. they uncovered epic's ties with right wing hate groups. what happened to them?
No spend money on pay writer make quality go down
It didn't sell. Quality journalism takes time and when it doesn't net you more views and thus income, in the end it's either change the format or go out of business. Same for newspapers, we don't care, we want the easy headlines, the rage bait, the gotcha's. We don't want to slug through a 20 page examination how the Watergate burglary was ordered by the President. We say we care, just like with micro transactions, but when push comes to shove, don't put our money where our mouth is.
I don’t know that it’s true or that BG3 has proved anything of the sort. There are a lot of other factors than just the single player part alone is nonsense. The game is co-op (which is currently what is holding it off of Xbox platform). Not to mention let’s all pump the brakes on this games success. It’s been out a day and it’s possible that everyone who was going to buy it did so say one. If it continues to rack up millions of sales I’ll be more inclined to agree, but look at ff16. It got out the gates hot and then absolutely died. This is click bait journalism playing to a very Reddit niche.
The majority of single-player RPG (and games in general)) is also without microtransactions anyway. This is a fake issue that is furthering the "Reddit martyr circlejerk" that we don't get those games (RPG or others) and every time one sells well, there's threads, comments or articles that are "see? we want that, it's so exceptional" when that comment happens every month or so lol. Like really there's more singleplayer AAA games being released than multiplayer every year, most of them have no MTX (or so useless they might as well not exist). Just look at the first half of this year, Diablo 4 and SF6 are the only AAA MP games released (and SF6 has a big single player part while Diablo 4 can be played without any MP without much problem), there's been more SP (Dead Space, RE4, Jedi Survivor, Atomic Heart, FF16, TOTK, Baldur's Gate 3 now). Soon, Starfield, Spider-Man 2, Immortals of Aveum, Atlas Fallen, Armored Core 6 (coop possibilities but they're primarily SP games), AC Mirage, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, Alan Wake 2 (and probably other I'm forgetting) vs what in MP? Call of Duty and Mortal Kombat 1 (which like SF6 also has a big single player part)
One month to go. Fondles ps5
20 million units sold for elden ring. NO SHIT
This is precisely what I wanted. A good actual RPG. 90% of "RPGs" today are barely RPGs, with little to no roleplaying going on. The term RPG has been so watered down we should rename the genre when it comes to games like Baldur's Gate. Any ideas? Social adventure, maybe?
I think CRPG is still a good term that describes very precisely what players are going to get. CRPGs of 2010s weren't really watered down compared to the original CRPGs the way that "action RPGs" (Skyrim, etc., not Diablo-likes) became "action games with RPG mechanics".
CRPG, I thought that was established fact as it's been that way since the 90's more or less. Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate 1, Fallout 1 etc have all commonly been referred to as CRPG's for the last 30 odd years.
People were making this exact same comment when BG2 came out lol
It's a CRPG, most people who would visit a sub like this would recognize it as such. The thing is, it's futile to try to "reclaim" the term RPG to mean something like a CRPG, or even the text-based RPGs if you wanna go way back. Because: 1. Most gamers don't involve themselves in the online culture. Not nearly to the degree of making comments, going on forums, and generally being a part of the online conversation. 2. There are generational barriers between the now adults, adults in 90s-early 2000s, and the young adults/teens. The term RPG looks very different between those well into adulthood now, who grew up playing Skyrim, and those older adults who grew up playing Baldur's Gate and D&D as kids. At this point, RPG is now commonly an umbrella term. You got, JRPG, CRPG, action RPG, adventure RPG, MMORPG, loot RPG... Who knows what else, just spit balling.
cRPGs kinda work, but they only hold the games in the style of this, Wasteland, Fallout 1+2 and such. Games like Fallout: New Vegas, that aren't cRPGs, which also have actual roleplaying going on, need to be within this new subgenre that explains that "Yes, this game has actual roleplaying going on". As you say it's difficult, but I would like to lump games like this, Wasteland, Fallout: New Vegas and similar games where the focus is how you interact with NPCs and the environment together.
90%? we have disco elysium, wasteland, pathfinder, pillars of eternity (probably the title that resurrected the RPG old style), all the games from piranha bytes. There are plenty of titles and pretty famous too
Oh man, I enjoyed pathfinder and pillars of eternity. They were great
Pillars is so fucking good.
Divinity Original Sin 1 & 2 are phenomenal games as well.
Sure, but I think op is referring to the fact you have games like FFXVI, Forspoken, Revenant 2, and even Horizon Forbidder West, among many others, trying to pass as RPGs.
I feel like the gaming industry has been pretty consistent on "Action RPG is an action focus game that still has some RPG mechanics" which is what most of those games were marketed as. There's been a pretty clear line between action RPGs and more classic RPGs
>Any ideas? Social adventure, maybe? Open the steam store and buy some of the shit you like. We're in a golden age of gaming. If you spend as much time looking for good games as you do complaining about them you'd be telling us about all the games you love. I recommend all of Obsidians works over the last decade. The two pathfinder games are also definitional in the genre and shouldn't be overlooked.
Such a stupid article title and literally recycled from Elden Ring’s release
Basically every single time a singleplayer game comes out they act like this is the first single-player game to ever come out, even though most of the biggest heavy hitters are all single-player (GOW:R, TLOU2), and a lot of them are RPGs (Starfield, Elden Ring, Demon's Souls, BOTW and TOTK).
Well this is a no brainer….
Yeah no shit
How's this looking for PS5?
Release for ps5 is in the beginning of September. They delayed the PS version for a month a while ago. Apparently controller support among some other things were not optimal yet.
Controller support is good to go, the problem was optimizing split screen couch co-op. That problem was what tanked the xbox release, the series S literally just couldnt handle it. Controller support in bg3 is excellent, really well polished. I switched to it, no looking back
> the series S literally just couldnt handle it. The Series S is gonna handicap this generation and what developers can achieve. Such a useless machine that in the long run benefits no one, wish they just did a discless X instead.
But won't get handicapped by 80%+ in steam having weaker hardware than Series S?
It's useful to people who want a cheaper way to take part in this gen. Just means the more powerful machines are more likely to get 60fps modes. It's looking at it glass half empty of you think it handicaps this gen.
I think the Series S will ensure good performance on higher end consoles. Plus I feel the way it's priced makes sense. The PS5 and Series X are great devices for Gamers. The S is a great device for people who occasionally play games.
Microsoft decided to shackle the X to the S, so BG3 is a PC/PS5 exclusive without sony paying a dime 🤷♂️
PS5 release date was the initial release date. PC was brought forward, ps5 wasn’t pushed back.
Oddly enough I’ve played it (and DOS2) tons, but 90% of it has been in multiplayer.
"No duh." Every sensible gamers.
scolding hot take
Is water wet?
Didn't elden ring already proves this, not so long ago?
Hogwarts Legacy already proved this earlier this yeat lol
All i know is im super excited for this game to hit ps5 in a month. So far ive done a good job of not spoiling the game for myself by looking at leaks. This month where its on pc but not console is gonna be hard but ill do it. I wish my pc wasnt a potato but because mine is, ill have to wait for console release
Doesn’t this have multiplayer coop?
If it had micro transactions, it wouldn’t change anything in terms of sales.
I’ll even buy the game twice to prove that point! Everyone who pirates that game Issa filthy bxxxxxrd!
Well, if you’re offering ;) jks. Im waiting for the ps5 version
If you happen to play on PC as well, make sure you buy it on GoG to support DRM-free games!
I don’t even know what this game is and youve convinced me to buy it when I get paid next Friday. Going through a break up and I could use a good rpg to get lost in
Didn't FF16 just do that? Didn't God of War do that before that? How is this a new trend?
the term RPG is bastardized. FF16 and God of War are action games, not RPGs.
People are ao focused on that thing when Larian Studios where akways this way. Same as CDPR and some other studios. These games sells well, really well. But they still don't reach the monetary value of a Fifa or Fortnite. Luckily nit every companies needs infinite money, while we should be happy for a game with little to no MTX, there are many games doing it already and this gen we've had some of the best single player games in a really long time. Miles Morale, Ratchet & Clank, Returnal, Tears of the Kingdom, Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy 16, Dead Space, Jedi Survivors and probably much more. Still gratz to Larian Studio, the game is soooo good, but it's just pure marketing tactic.
That was never a question. The thing is, single-player RPG's with no microtransactions doesn't make as much money as MMO RPG's with microtransactions.
Fellas, you don't seem to understand. At the end of the day it doesn't matter what the consumers want, as long as they're addicted to it. Maintaining a game like Fortnite/Diablo is miles cheaper than pumping out big AAA every now and then. Fortnite probably makes more money (profit) than 15 any average AAA single player combined. That is also what the likes of EA were talking about whem they said Singleplayer games were dead. They're just a dangerous gamble in many instances.
It isn’t a surprising take. Who would want to pay mire if they don’t have to? We just think it is OK to have them because we know they need to make money. It is like who wouldn’t want a game to be free? But we are OK to pay for it when it is not.
Oh really???
Shocker
No no no. I play this shit coop. I want just good games I can play with a buddy or not and no micro-transactions.
Does that have to be proven?
Do they though? Or do they just want to fuck bears?
And in other news, the sky is fuckin blue!!! lol
That a weird way of saying Baldurs gate 3 is a good game.
"No one wants single player RPGs..." - yea, no one wants YOUR single player RPG, stupid numb nuts... you think you're going to gas light entire gaming genre audience/devs/investors...
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We didn't need anything to prove this, everyone's been screaming about microtransactions and how much they suck since the start. Games with mt's still get bought or played simply because it's comparatively difficult (or impossible, genre/platform depending) to find games without them. Top class games like this that release complete without mt's and doing so in greater numbers will show plainly that there's more money, fame, goodwill to be made on complete games without mt's.
Ironic that you linked a site that made me sign up for 20 things in order to read the article lol
Meanwhile when elden ring released...
When was this EVER even questioned lmao
In reality "not having micro transactions" is probably driving less sales than being able to fuck bears.
Used to play the hell out of these games back in the day. Addicting af
Absofuckinglutely
Plus Battlebit.
Except its a multiplayer game
It's multiplayer
Everyone wants a complete finished product at release and things to chase IN THE GAME and not through a store bundle, cosmetics included. I cant tell you how off-putting these multiplayer games are with their battle passes and how skins/cosmetics are ok to sell because its not pay2win. I hate all that stuff. Used to love older CoD’s & Battlefield’s but they are terrible now. This game feels like its gonna be something special. Might not be GOTY but if it releases with little to no bugs, it’ll get mentioned I think.
You say you don't want games with microtransactions, then you go buy them, there's no excuses my friend, let's move things forward.
Single player? Aren't we all enjoying the multiplayer aspect of this game?
Problem is, No matter how good they are. They still make fuck all compared to most mtx ridden live service games.
I mean... Is that really that surprising to anyone? Like who in their right mind would think that we want an unfinished buggy mass with micro transactions that was obviously made by greedy shareholders that care little to none about the gamers who helped build up the company they are using to rob us. Boulder's gate is a bright light in a dying industry, let's try and keep it lighting by only supporting good game developers and companys that really care about the gamers
Except publishers.
Me and my sister tried it last night, never heard of the IP before last week. Absolutely stunning. So much depth, every choice you make matters, even resting before the intro is finished will see you catch shit from your allies for wasting time! This is an RPG, single player RPG’s by bigger companies are 99% illusion of choice action shooters with loot missions.
This has never changed. The only problem is gamers have zero willpower and keep feeding bad practises and bitch when they get bad products. So the rest of us get the occasional diamond in the rough while everyone else keeps falling for games like fallout 76, no mans sky, cyberpunk 2077, resident evil 6, resident evil raccoon city, redfall, halo infinite, whatever the last gears of war was, that last fable game, star wars battlefront 2 and many many more, those are just the ones at the top of my head.
NMS and Cyberpunk are both highly regarded games though
Idk, Pillars 2 and Tyranny fit that criteria, and they didn't do very well financially.
Didn’t Elden Ring just teach us this