Why are "convenience items" micro transactions ok?

It is not a unique position to find oneself in the opinion of yuck micro transactions. It has generally gotten past the point in most cases where pay to win isn't acceptable. How though, are so called "convenience items" ok? I recently had this brought back up in my mind from a recent event. I will mention some of this has mostly to do with online based games. Single player games is another issue entirely, but not one I care about today.

I had who knows how long ago purchased guild wars 2 on some sale stupid cheap but never really played it. Honestly the game doesn't grab me enough. However my friend I found out plays it so I decided to try and get into it again. I was having a bit more fun getting into it, but then I realized... the game has a micro transaction component to it. I don't immediately demonize micro transaction games, and have purchased a fair bit int he past on occasion. Some of my favorites have also had them, but I had to figure out what sort these have. Here is a quote from one of the lead developers:

Here’s our philosophy on microtransactions: We think players should have the opportunity to spend money on items that provide visual distinction and offer more ways to express themselves. They should also be able to spend money on account services and on time-saving convenience items.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/mike-obrien-on-microtransactions-in-guild-wars-2/

While I still feel there is something that is taken out of a game with cosmetic micro transactions, I can live with that. However these so called "time-saving" convenience items are the problem. What are these however? Well after doing some research they are to the extent of you can get an item that is an infinite pickaxe that makes it so you don't have to buy them anymore. Also they seem to sell character slots, and an extra inventory bag slot, ect. By buying guild wars 2 you do not even have enough character slots to play each class without deleting others unless you pay more for more character slots. These sorts of things exist in a way that the game just SHOULD have those. If they are convenient, it means they remove inconveniences. If these inconveniences are not so fundamental to the game that they can allow it to simply buy a work around, then those should simply be part of the base game. After reading part of all this it really turned me off from even playing this game again.

Beyond that game [and maybe that game has this next thing too I don't know honestly] you often find "time saving convenience items" in the realm of exp boosts and such. I also have problems with this. While for example once someone actually gets to whatever level cap or anything exists in the game it doesn't matter, they are on the same playing field of who got there without. This isn't play to win technically in the long run. However, this tarnishes all who did get there by themselves without paying to get there faster.

I think an example for this would be in a class I had back in college. It was a pretty tough x86 class that I loved, but I worked absurdly hard to get a high A. At one point I saw someone in front of me egregiously cheating on a big test. I mean it was without a doubt extreme cheating. I first thought to myself something along the lines of "well, it doesn't really effect me I guess" but I honestly was offended by it. I am someone who rarely gets offended, but this offended me. It sullied all the work I put in to a very difficult class that I earned a high A in, and people doing stuff like that diminished the value of my degree, or any degree in different situations. So when for example in a video game I wouldn't call this a huge moral problem for someone doing it like my example, there still is a diminished value on the work that one put into the game.

Not to mention the reasons where often you find these games grind are designed these days to make the grind just painful enough to encourage those boosts which is a rather trashy way to go about designing a game.

I don't know, I tried to make this quick and probably didn't go into enough detail to properly fully explore my points, but I just wanted to type this real quick and move on as my birthday is tomorrow and I have things to do to get ready for stuff.

I guess I would sum it up this simply: If these items are not so game breaking that they can be allowed into the game through micro transactions, then why does the game even have those artificial inconveniences in the first place, or is it even ok to?

I think there are a few things in your text I look at from a completely different perspective. When it comes to being max level by whatever means or getting a good grade, it's about what your aim is and what you take pride in. If someone get the same grade as you by cheating, it doesn't diminish your hard work or the meaning of your grade. It just make their grade hollow. And chances are they'll pay for it down the line when their grade doesn't match up with their skills and knowledge. When it comes to being max level in a game though, why would it tarnish other max level players by someone skipping a grind to get there? Are people so proud of some arbitrary level that it's no longer the experience of playing the game that matters?

Also, I don't get the feeling that a lot of those time saver stuff you buy generally solve some arbitrary artificial inconvenience as much as it helps people that may have less time than money to sort of rubber-band their experience a little bit. I think the measure of good micro-transaction is when it's something you can consider buying, but not buying it doesn't take anything away from the game. Your examples from Guild Wars 2 don't seem that extreme to me.

My examples from guild wars 2 are not meant to be extreme. They are still problems that exist which weaken the game as a whole, which are clearly proven fixable by them selling a convenience fix. If something is inconvenient for a player and there is a fix in the game, it shouldn't be behind a paywall. If it is inconvenient and not game breaking to fix, then simply fixing the game will make the game better!

On an individual scale it doesn't matter the degree thing. However on a grand scale it does. This has happened many times historically with many different similar situations often due to corruption or other factors.

As far as the grinding goes, my main point is often games are balanced around making it just a pain enough to grind that people will want to buy these, but not too much of a grind that they will be too easily turned off of the game. Instead simply balancing the game around those not existing MAKES THE GAME A BETTER GAME IN GENERAL!

My arguments are good game potential and logical design is tarnished by these practices. Oh sure sometimes the effects are minor, but compounded they are often not, and even on the smallest scale, the developers are making a game worse than they knowingly could because of this.

As far as the "pride" thing goes..... For one there isn't something wrong about having a sense of accomplishment in your achievements, even as little as they are. However, this part overall does weaken the grander scale of the game and these accomplishments. I remember when I first started playing FFXI for example. When you saw a level 75 it was crazy. It meant something. You saw that and were like "wow I can't wait to one day get up to that level like that guy!" it was cool. It added to the grandness of the game. Once abyssea came out and you could get up to level 75 [and further with the increased level cap] in about a day...... it didn't mean anything anymore. There was no more awe. There was no sense of accomplishment. Getting to 75 in abyssea had no satisfaction as even getting to level 40 before that. Many people didn't want to buy abyssea even at all originally but at a certain point they realized "what am I doing leveling this slow now, I could be max level by tomorrow!" and the journey was taken from the game. FFXI had a big sense of journey and accomplishment through it's leveling [it was never JUST an end game rush, even though you were always trying to progress there]. The awe is gone, the journey is lost in these. You see a level 75 and it isn't a big deal, it doesn't inspire wonder. Who cares that you got your character there the old fashion way through hard work and dedication, everyone is there cause they just farmed abyssea worms till level 100 for about a day and a half.

It diminishes the value of your character's work and progress. If anything I am arguing little about pride, but more of value after the hard work is lowered [in as much as there is value in any entertainment based video game accomplishment... obviously don't compare this to real world value that would be silly]. There is value in a high level character in games, or whatever progression your game happens to have. The whole point is as you level up your character or whatever it is gains value to you or others if the game has grouping. But this value is dramatically reduced by characters who got there with exp doublers or whatever.

EDIT ADDED:

FOR EXAMPLE! Take FFXI Bard. If you were to invest your time into the Bard class you had some of the best returns of any class in the game. You were begged and pleaded to join any party and had extreme value given back in the effort made to level that class. When abyssea came out, bards were still wanted, but so many people just maxed out bards in a day it didn't matter nearly as much. Because there were more bards who got there quickly, your effort you put into your bard now got less value because while still wanted in parties, there was a lesser demand regardless.

Or take an older WoW example. In some of the earlier WoW days many xpacs ago, Shamans were easily the most wanted class for raids. If you were a shaman you were basically free invites to high end raid groups all day long. However, they were also one of the most painful to level classes in the game at the time. Because of this despite the strong demand for shamans due to their extreme power, they were still at a low supply. Being a max level shaman at that time gave you great value compared to other classes in return. However if blizzard at the time would have implemented the max level character boosts like they exist today, there would have been massively more shamans because people would have paid to get past their painful leveling experience. In turn there would have been less raid invites to go around as that shaman that grinded the hard way, and less value from that time spent on that shaman.

Imagine that gold has never been discovered at any point in history. Then a couple people go find a couple rocks with gold in it. Assuming the inherent value is still recognized for the purposes of this example [as gold could be replaced for other things to make this work], they would have effectively priceless objects in their possession [much like in FFXI when you saw a bard looking for a group...... you know you just hit a gold mine]. However, then a few years some more people find gold, and more, and the value goes down and down a bit. But then finally, let's say in some sci-fi future where gold is still a new thing, it is found how to efficiently change other objects into gold at a measly cost. The value those two had in their original gold discovery plummets to near worthlessness [other than perhaps some historical first gold found ever value].

END EDIT

Other than the historical aspects of the cheating thing, this is similar. There is less value in a degree with enough % of people cheated to get it. Sure my degree may not be known for that or anything right now, but you never know. Stuff like this has happened historically many times. Of course that was just one guy, but one guy after another after another it CAN eventually end up making the whole degree itself a joke. Yes you will still rise or fall on your own merits, but the actual value of the degree itself still is diminished. A good bard in FFXI still would outshine one spammed up to max level, but that original bard would still have less value in the class itself regardless, because there would be enough more that it was still harder to get invited. Same with my shaman example. There is simply less value returned from the time invested in that character.

As someone who experienced games on consoles and handhelds during the 1990's and 2000's (where cheat codes, unlocks, and player skins flowed like wine) I find all microtransactions to be scummy. Convenience, pay2win, aesthetic, you name it. It's an exceptionally greedy time in an exceptionally greedy industry. Companies make cold calculations based on addictive tendencies, obsessive compulsive disorders, and loyalty to get into your pockets.

Down with the system! Bring it all down!

If we're talking about a free-to-play game in which most players are not going to play enough to need something like +10 inventory slots, or +2 character slots, then sure. Only those who are serious enough about the game to need that extra backpack space will pay for it, and provided that the price is reasonable and the game itself isn't a real-ass retail game, no problem.

If we're talking cosmetic stuff in a free-to-play game that has no purpose other than making your character look pretty, like TF2 hats or "inner armour" for PSO2 waifus, sure, no problem, as only those who really care about that stuff will have any need for it.

Again, in both of these cases, I'm talking about free-to-play online games, with the items priced accordingly. If we're talking something like an in-game weapon costing $40 of real-life currency, eff that.

And if we're talking microtransaction purchases in full-priced big-budget retail games, single-player or otherwise, nope. Very nope.

So much text for a simple answer. Video makers run companies not charities. They need to make a profit. Making games they can monitize in a way that isn't considered "evil" by he majority of gamers interested in their game makes them a bigger profit.

People seem to buy games to unlock stuff, rather than to just play them.

When I was a kid, we'd replay games over and over because it was fun and challenging. Now it's all about unlocking stuff and having bars fill up. "I get nothing out of this side quest." But do you get fun?

I dunno, it's to make more money, but to also cover up flawed game design in some cases. If the game isn't fun but the unlocking is, I don't know what that says about the game itself.

I am going to play devils advocate and say, they exist because people will pay for it and that's all the justification needed. People were doing the same thing years ago when they were dropping quarters in an arcade machine. At least with this you have the option not to pay.

They aren't ok at all, at least not in a paid-for game.

Extra character and inventory slots would probably be classified as "account services". They have server-side storage/scaling costs.