Blackjack Shop

[J4MES OX4D 10,033]

I can't believe people are spending £8-40 on cosmetic outfits they can't even fucking see in-game! Also those sprays and emotes are a laughable inclusion that are just not appropriate for a fast paced FPS.  The content in this game is literally the most embarrassing and pathetic load of shit I think I have ever seen in any videogame. Whether it be Treyarch or some outsourced art team; it's just cringeworthy.   I honestly cannot believe people are buying COD points to purchase the shit in this game. The absolute trash available in the shop wouldn't even make the cut for some shitty Chinese mobile title let alone a Call of Duty game with a £60 price tag.

 

I really enjoyed the first couple of weeks on the game but once the shitty tier system came in and COD points were introduced; that's when it starts to go to downhill and suddenly everyone is dressed up in game in purple, lime green or orange and you have all these gimmick inclusions like fire extinguisher melee weapons and other tacky crap. Now the Blackjack shop just makes the game look even more cheap.  I would be satisfied with an in-game shop and battle pass system if it was designed more appropriately for this brand, genre and in terms of how it ties in with progression - games like Fortnite hit the nail on the head but the content in Black Ops 4 is just so lackluster and flawed that it kills the entire game for me. 

 

BO4 is basically a badly designed free to play shooter with a $60 pricetag, season pass, microtransactions and boosters. I'm surprised they haven't gone out and put a monthly subscription on top!  

[techno 3,510]

People moan about the fact this type of shit is in the game but you can't blame Activision you have to blame the fools that shell out for this type of crap.

Until they stop it never will 

[Diddums 4,346]

35 minutes ago, techno said:

People moan about the fact this type of shit is in the game but you can't blame Activision you have to blame the fools that shell out for this type of crap.

Until they stop it never will 

 

Let's be honest, we passed the point of no return over a decade ago. I still remember reading an article in PC Format about microtransactions and how it'd affect the gaming industry. If I remember rightly it was FIFA that started it, and back then it was a seriously hot topic with loads of devs saying they'd never succumb to it. 10 years later and it's in every mainstream game on the market. Granted you don't have to spunk any money on them and in the case of Fortnite when the game is free it's justified but when £60 games want another £60 for an annual pass and on top have all these shitty loot boxes for even more wedge on top I can't help but think how stupid people are. These companies are doing it 100% out of pure greed. The quality isn't improving, it's not going to the men on the ground, and none of it is going to a cause worthwhile, it's all going to fatcat publishers. It's bullshit and it needs to die but with all these dipshit gamers sucking it up like crack it'll only get worse.

[ChaosGladiator 811]

All this does is make the people you are trying to kill become more visible. If people are dumb enough to pay for that, let them.

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

On 11/14/2018 at 1:44 PM, Diddums said:

 

Let's be honest, we passed the point of no return over a decade ago. I still remember reading an article in PC Format about microtransactions and how it'd affect the gaming industry. If I remember rightly it was FIFA that started it, and back then it was a seriously hot topic with loads of devs saying they'd never succumb to it. 10 years later and it's in every mainstream game on the market. Granted you don't have to spunk any money on them and in the case of Fortnite when the game is free it's justified but when £60 games want another £60 for an annual pass and on top have all these shitty loot boxes for even more wedge on top I can't help but think how stupid people are. These companies are doing it 100% out of pure greed. The quality isn't improving, it's not going to the men on the ground, and none of it is going to a cause worthwhile, it's all going to fatcat publishers. It's bullshit and it needs to die but with all these dipshit gamers sucking it up like crack it'll only get worse.

 

 

I don't disagree however I like to add that these publishers are all publicly traded companies on the stock market.  Their responsibilities are to the share holders and not the gamers. Their fiduciary duty is to increase the value of the shares.

 

If they can do that by getting people to buy ginger bread man outfits with guns that look like rolling pins, the actually have a fiduciary duty to do so.

 

So the dumb shits buying this stuff are the ones to blame 

[MrBiron 1,453]

People always moan about publishers being greedy but I always say that games are a business and their number one purpose is to make money. If people are going to spend money on something then they're going to keep putting that sort of shit in their game.

 

I'm not saying I support this sort of shit. Cosmetic only micro-transactions don't bother me that much but they keep carving away at things that were free in previous games to sell back to us. In BO3 you could earn skins for operators just by using them. Now you have to grind for them or buy them. And you just fucking KNOW that weapons are coming. That's what REALLY fucks me off; turning a £60 game into a pay-to-win game.

[J4MES OX4D 10,033]

Activision are thankfully coming unstuck - both BO4 and Destiny 2 Forsaken have 'disappointed' financially and their quickfire solution to satisfy shareholder worries is to increase monetization will likely just piss gamers off further and drive people away to the extent they'll be left with cash-cow products that don't generate cash. They may have gotten away with this tactic in the last couple of years but now the gaming community is more awake to such practices.  Doesn't look like the remaining players getting ripped off enough as it is will be spending enough to keep them happy either. 

 

Perhaps if they produced better quality games off the bat and could grow their community rather than drive players away with scummy practices, they wouldn't need to go down this route of exploiting remaining loyal players.  With stock values plummeting, shareholders cashing out and others not willing to invest; this could be more concerning to the company than it would appear especially on how it is structured. They aren't exactly going bankrupt but it's damaging to them and their future growth and sustainability and it's not like they have any revolutionary products or schemes on the horizon - just the same old annual shit with more scandalous consumer tactics.   

 

Microtransactions are a way of gaming in the AAA market now and that has to be accepted but BO4's is done appallingly which makes it even worse. The in-game items are the worst I have ever seen in any videogame on top of what is already a £60 game and £40 season pass. Had BO4 been F2P, it may have been acceptable although the purchasable items would've still looked garbage. The absolute kick in the teeth is the whole system is a blatant scam designed to reel people into spending money worse than supply drops and get nothing in return. Once they have their band of gamers who persistently buy COD points, then they'll start injected the P2W weapons into the tiers meaning anyone can get them as long as they rank up (1000's of hours) or tens of thousands of COD points and it covers their ass legally on top unlike Lootboxes. 

 

Fornite proved that just because a game is F2P doesn't mean it can make insane money. I don't like that game but it knows how to keep players engaged, spending and providing a satisfying experience. BO4 is just one kick in the balls after another. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

People moan about the fact this type of shit is in the game but you can't blame Activision you have to blame the fools that shell out for this type of crap.
Until they stop it never will 

All this does is make the people you are trying to kill become more visible. If people are dumb enough to pay for that, let them.

These comments are so true. They are company and have to find ways to make money. Equally, less people want to she'll put upfront on games and expectations for games are bigger than ever so this market was always going to come. Little payments more often is far easier for a consumer than big lump payments. Its why Fortnite did so well.

Thing is, this is all cosmetic crap so I don't have a problem with any of it IF the proceeds help boost the game profile and therefore more development happens because of it. The more a game is supported, the more updates we should get.

The model that Rainbow 6 Siege had around microtransactions for the first few years was spot on. This is alongside their season pass as well which was an early chance to play, not exclusive gamechanging loot.

[J4MES OX4D 10,033]

14 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

IF the proceeds help boost the game profile and therefore more development happens because of it. The more a game is supported, the more updates we should get.

Unfortunately, all the money just likely goes to shareholders and to increase the stock price. If Activision truly cared about investing in the brand, we wouldn't have gotten 20hz servers (which only were upgraded when they got exposed by a technical expert) and the series would be running on a current generation engine rather than one from the 90's still. 

 

Games like this, regardless of sales always have a set calendar for features and will always be supported especially with developers being on the fixed payroll - even Infinite Warfare had strong post-launch support despite barely having any players but its nothing to do with how much the game makes or how many play it. 

 

Annual COD games are nothing more than a cash grab and BO4 is the biggest culprit of them all IMO. Fornite and Siege have been done well from the off and not being an annual game has given gamers confidence to spend money knowing their product will be viable for years to come and developers know their customer base will still remain engaged until any possible sequels or when popularity declines.  COD games tend to be dead before Christmas now so Activision simply put systems in which are designed to reel in the remaining loyal players rather than try to entice users back on board to a game that's essentially obsolete later that year with generous offerings. 

 

Perhaps if Call of Duty produced a really good game like BO2 which could prospectively last years and years, they could go down the Siege/Fortnite route and players would be more likely to invest in cosmetics and other stuff because it wouldn't be worthless when the next game arrives less than a year later.