“The idea is that everyone wins: players with disposable income can spend a few cents here and there to enhance their gameplay in most any way they like, and publishers get a way to create a continuing revenue stream.
Microtransactions are so named because the purchases are generally a few cents or a dollar or two, often too small to be made by a credit card. That is where intermediaries, like the proposed Xbox service, come in to play. ”
The idea is that game players will be able to purchase in game items such as spells, hints etc to help them finish the game, or users can simply pay money for extra levels. Game publishers feel they can easily generate up to $5 million in extra revenue by adding these features to their games.
The question everyone will be asking is whether game publishers will release full, complete versions of their games, or will they release incomplete games and expect the user to pay more money to continue play. Microsoft is definitely giving publishers a reason to develop for the Xbox, but are they taking advantage of the consumer or simply offering more “choices”. We have heard that the average cost for the next-gen console games will be raised to around $59.99. Add an Xbox Live subscription and in-game store fronts and your overall cost per game has just risen.
Read more at Reuters
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