Overview
Microtransactions were made popular with the Xbox 360 on its Marketplace distribution platform. While designing the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft envisioned players paying a quarter to download a new shirt for their character, to match them to their lifestyle. Microtransactions were later scrutinized for making people pay for what should have shipped on the game disc in the first place. Perhaps the most famous example of microtransactions gone wrong is the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion add-on "Horse Armor". The game's designer Bethesda put up an optional add-on which would shield the player's horse from weapons, but charged 200 Microsoft Points for it. The response was overwhelmingly negative.
In later years microtransactions have become ubiquitous in Free to Play (F2P) games, especially on mobile platforms.
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