For sure, "predatory" to me means incessant loot boxes/gacha, or the game is buy-in AND has in game shop. Fortnite free and got the most content out of any of its competitors by a long shot

In what world is 15 dollars for a piece of useless digital media that I don't even technically own cheap?

Nigga what does their business model have to do with artificially inflating prices? If you think epic games will go broke if you could just pay for the skin directly I've gotta bridge to sell u

In the world we live in today, and have lived in for the last decade+ at least

In the world in which the entire industry figured out 60 bucks per user is less appealing than 5-99.99 dollars multiple times per user. U can thank Bethesda wit they horse armor

You can completely go f2p Fortnite and not pay a cent and get that currency/skin, not every (free) game is like that. The only "predatory" thing, and it's arguable/a symptom of the IP industry, is the concept of FOMO as it relates to IP Crossovers. But that has existed before loot boxes, and will persist past it

Most people who play Fortnite buy new skins all the time and collect excess vbucks over time. Not to mention the battle pass which gives you vbucks back. Also, a lot of these skins end up going on sale down the line.

Though I agree, it would be wonderful if you could just buy the skin alone, but let’s be real, anyone dying to have that skin is going to simply pay what it costs and that’s why the price is what it is.

Fortnite team pumps out updates and content weekly, and that s*** is not free. It cost time, money and man hours. These skins are what pay for it. If you don’t like the price, just don’t buy it they are completely optional.

I don’t play Fortnite like that but if did, I would’ve paid up to $20 for that X-men pack because it looked that cool. I think if you have dumped hundreds of hours into a free game, it’s not really a rip off for buy a skin pack for $15 bucks. A full priced game is a different story however

You're having a completely different conversation then the one I'm having. I'm saying they should either allow you to buy the skin outright or pay for the exact amount of virtual currency you would need to buy it. If they do not then it is by definition predatory, greedy and anti consumer

Once again you're having a totally different conversation. You're reply suggests I'm criticizing them selling skins. When my criticism is purely about anti consumer business practices

It's how it's worked for a decade plus, on many different services, consoles, and games alike. You buy in preordained amounts so you have excess currency burning a hole in your pocket/so you have to buy a lil extra to get the next thing. And once again, if you're left with leftover currency, you're gonna play the game to use the thing you just bought, right? So you'll earn it back + more and start the cycle again. So it goes, and has gone, for many many many years now

This goes back to Xbox live, buying map packs and s***. Did you ever do that? And s***, prolly goes back even further, to MMOs and in-browser PC s*** like neopets/maple story or what have you. No change is going to happen in this side of the market while the populace continues to be easily manipulated into buying into it. This is online game company 101

Is it predatory? No. Because it's optional. And purely cosmetic. And can be earned in game

just play the game man

Wasnt certain things like this regarding micro transactions in video games already litigated before?

Yeah Jim/Stephanie Sterling has been waging a war against gambling in games and live service microtransaction s*** in games for about a decade and some change now.

Honestly watching just about any episode of The Jimquistion will give you a solid, in-depth, and humorous look deep inside of just how insidious and morally bankrupt it is. The methods that's used by games like Fortnite, FIFA, 2K, GTA (a game that young kids really shouldn't even be playing), etc to lure in children to spending a ton of money on s*** they really don't need, or in the case of 2K, do need in order to stand any chance of playing well.

S*** is gross. And it is very much gambling for children. The fact that there aren't proper warnings for it in advertisements for games is intentional and gross. The ESRB "In-game purchases" label is not enough.

Absolutely. I think that was more geared towards loot boxes generally because that's more directly gambling, but I wouldn't discount it happening on both issues

Fortnite I give some grace because it is free, even though it does still heavily market itself towards getting kids to spend a lot of money on it. It's their target demo and that demo spends a lot on the game so I get it. Just rubs me the wrong way.

The fact that games like 2K and FIFA do this kinda s*** despite the games costing $70-80 these days is nasty. It's made worse because trying to get the in-game currency in order to improve your player is an insane grind. You legitimately need to spend real world money if you hope to have a decent time whether online or offline.

I was a manager at Gamestop and anytime FIFA or 2K would drop our sales would be through the roof with people buying the game, upgrading to a special edition, and buying additional VC. I used to think it was just for decking out your player in gear and getting some goofy lil animations. But these days it's pretty much necessary to get VC just to even start playing. Nasty ass practice.

Europe at least shuts a lot of that bullshit down

American government could careless about protecting consumers though

whole post straight facts. EA sports games are the most unreasonably predatory s*** on the planet. Literally have to spend $100 minimum for online to be enjoyable. Worst part is people still buy the s*** every single year

Son I'll never f***in understand it. People complaining that 2K and FIFA are the same broken game every year with hardly any significant changes...but still dropping close to $180 on it day one

Then they wonder why EA and 2K never bother with actually improving the games. What's the point? Dummies still gonna buy it anyway.

"Niggas when the game don't got a gun or ball in it" continues to be an evergreen post

All my homies do that exact s***. I really don’t get it man lmao… hamster in a wheel behavior. Just imagine if 70% just smartened up one year and protested 2k/fifa. Thats all it takes

That's a huge ask tho. That's a lotta ppl lol. Next best chance we got is when they finally cut off PS4, our foreign homies are gonna revolt and we gotta come together as one

If we don't buck it then, it's a lost cause