Spore: Soon With Microtransactions

[Dr.Finger]

Fans are eagerly awaiting the September release of Spore, but that swell of anticipation has publisher Electronic Arts thinking one thing: Microtransactions. While speaking on a conference call with investors, EA CEO John Riccitiello said he'd be eager to: monetize, if you will, body parts, plant parts, car parts and planets as a way to generate incremental revenue on an installed base of several million active usersIn other words, break out the credit card if you want a new vestigial tail for your little beastie. Riccitiello also said they hope to turn Spore into it's own dedicated label in much the same way they did with The Sims.

Source - Gamesindustry.biz (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/riccitiello-considers-charging-for-spore-micro-transactions)

Honestly, I'm not too upset about this. Spore has no multiplayer so they can't sell you features that will unbalance, and the game itself has no levels or story-driven campaign, so they won't be selling those either. In essence what they'll be selling is purely cosmetic, and if someone wants to spend money on that, let them.

[Telefrog]

Duh? Why would anyone have thought that EA wouldn't do this?

[Heretic Machine]

Meh, it'll just make it more difficult to find compatible creatures on the Sporepedia. Not buying it anyway because of their crazy DRM.

[NoName]

If they're just selling extra parts that's not too big a deal, I doubt I'll need them.

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

Yeah dont include any kind of mod utilities that could be amazing, or you know, anything...

[Spigot]

I don't mind this as long as the retail package isn't completely gimped out of the gate. Extra stuff is fine as long as I'm getting a full version of the game when I pay the full retail price.

[Loki_09]

Horse armor syndrome... nice

[Kryopsis]

I can't wait to see Spore: Makin' Magic and Spore: House Party expansion packs. ;0)

[Albinobees]

I can't wait to see Spore: Makin' Magic and Spore: House Party expansion packs. ;0)


lets not forget Spore: Ikea stuff! (http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=71462)

[Heretic Machine]

Ikea stuff! (http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=71462)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/2717077604_96b9c4e4ae_o.jpg

...But I thought all of the default furniture was from Ikea anyway...?

[Wraith]

Again with the Johnny Longtorso School of Game Marketing. Can't wait until the Realistic Action Batch is available.

I'd almost prefer an expansion pack every couple years that adds on a significant amount of content, rather than trickling out a few new pieces of DLC every couple months. DLC isn't a bad idea, when done right, I just probably won't end up buying much, if any, of it.

Playing the full version of the Creature Creator, I don't expect the game will be "gimped" on release, just to increase sales of DLC.

[Derella]

Maybe he's referring to stuff packs(like the Sims 2 has), rather than microtransactions. Then again, the Sims 2 now has a stuff store, where you can buy individual pieces.

Either way, I don't think it's a big deal.

[goc_sin]

Great, maybe they will add some in game advertising too.

[workerbee]

Microtransactions? Take it further: Microrentals! Get access to the body parts you want for a *minimal* monthly fee! These rentals will automatically renew every month, for your convenience.

To limit consumer confusion, the rental fee will remain at the same amount as the previously used microtransaction purchase fee.

[Jackel]

heh.....I think I'll just stick to the stuff that sticks with the original game.

[Bahamut]

Oh joy.

But at least I won't be buying or playing this game with the bullshit DRM.

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

Are news threads getting cleaned up lately?

~I dont even know what I meant by that.

[Wilkz07]

spore is the new sims. get ready to buy stuff.

[Pluvious]

SIGH. Everything is a money grab nowadays. Thanks to the ludicrous DRM I was planning on skipping SPORE and now that I know they are planing to nickel and dime me to death, I'm glad I dropped the whole game off my radar. Way to F up a game EA!

Maybe I'll rent 360 version someday..

[Rakael]

I want Spore less and less as time goes on.

Also, I guess I was way out of the loop. No multiplayer? That pretty much dulls my enthusiasm.

[Wraith]

Also, I guess I was way out of the loop. No multiplayer? That pretty much dulls my enthusiasm.It's...never been described as mutiplayer, or having a multiplayer component. From the beginning, Wright's referred to it as a "massively single player" game, in which ones single-player experience is populated with content (creatures, buildings, vehicles) from players around the world. And looking at the gameplay, over the various stages of the game, it doesn't really seem suitable for a multiplayer experience...

[Asmodan]

I want Spore less and less as time goes on.

Also, I guess I was way out of the loop. No multiplayer? That pretty much dulls my enthusiasm.

They have never even hinted that Spore would be multiplayer. It's been billed as a 'massively single player' game since Will Wright first started talking about it.

Also, I find the giant chicken little reaction to the supposed DRM and microtransactions a little silly. They've waffled back and forth on the DRM before and the game isn't out yet, I'll personally just wait and see rather than talk about how evil they are. The microtransations are honestly a good thing in my opinion. Spore, like the Sims before it, was destined to have oodles of expansion packs and add-ons. The nice thing about doing it via microtransations is if there is something I like I don't have to buy a whole box full of other things to get it. Think of it more like the iTunes store where you can buy a single track instead of a whole album.

Which actually makes me think that doing the additional content in that exact format would be good. Have a 'pack' of new stuff like body parts for one price but allow users to buy individual bits for a portion. The incentive would be that the bundle would be discounted, exactly like a 13 track album is $13 one track at a time or $8.99 if you buy it all at once.

[jeffbax]

Honestly, I'm not too upset about this. Spore has no multiplayer so they can't sell you features that will unbalance, and the game itself has no levels or story-driven campaign, so they won't be selling those either. In essence what they'll be selling is purely cosmetic, and if someone wants to spend money on that, let them.

Until your universe is auto-populated with the uber-transaction beasties from other people's accounts (being that this is the point of the game...) and it starts annihilating your societies like the Zerg across Mar Sara ;)

[Rakael]

Well, shows you just how much I have been paying attention to Spore news. I thought it had multiplayer. Oh well, still sounds like it could be fun if they don't gimp it out to push the micro's.

[Ink Asylum]

Again with the Johnny Longtorso School of Game Marketing. Can't wait until the Realistic Action Batch is available.

Wow. Obscure MST3k reference FTW. And this is probably the most accurate application of the joke, since they're literally selling us body parts.

"Johnny Longtorso! Johnny Longtorso! The man that comes in pieces!"

[aries100]

This is not the problem me. The problem is that EA already tried to thid in one of their action games, Battlefield, I think?, where EA wanted you to buy access for 5 weapons or so while you only got 5 weapons when you bought (or installed?) the game.

And the 5 weapons were the best weapons in the game, enabling people with money to beat better players without money. There's was an uprising against it, and EA hurridly decided to abandon this.

Apparently, they are trying it again - now with SPORE.

If they succeed in doing this, they WILL go onto products (or SKUs) such as, oh, say Mass Effect or Dragon Age: Origins. Now, want that cool new weapon for Wrex or a cool new spell for your mage, only 1.99 or 2.99 - or maybe some other cool things. Well, just pay for them. [Apparent 2½ million people or so have bought Bethesda's horse armor for Oblivion...].

Now, I don't mind paying money for say Premium Modules when that money helps to support the game with patches like the Premium Modules for NWN1 did. I mind it when I have to (or other have to pay) for small things like tails, planets, heads and plant parts?
(a leaf, maybe ?)

It all fits well within John R's strategic busines plan, though:
http://venturebeat.com/2008/07/21/e3-perspective-an-interview-with-john-riccitiello-ceo-of-electronic-arts/ - courtesesy of this thread http://forums.bioware.com/viewtopic.html?topic=642038&forum=22

I also think the man has delusions of grandeur when he is talking about 'several million active users'. And by that I'm not diagnozing him in any way, shape or form, just saying that he'll be mad (mad' I'll tell you) to try to take on Blizzard's leading in MMOs etc.

I can sort of understand it from the investor's point of view. They look at Bioware community and only see that if each the members each paid 1 US dollars for feature X, then they'd ne rich, rich I'd tell you. Now, what if they didn't...

The point about SPORE is that it allows to make your own creatures, then upload these to a certain server where they can run around meeting other SPORE creatures.

Personally, as of today, I don't really care...but I do care about what happens tomorrow...or next year. In the long this could, and probably is, bad news for gamers.
If they really wanted to make more money, they'd raise the PC price for a game by 10-20US dollars to reflect the costs of making it...

[Smoof]

Years ago, we would have gotten this for free...

[Ink Asylum]

I also think the man has delusions of grandeur when he is talking about 'several million active users'. And by that I'm not diagnozing him in any way, shape or form, just saying that he'll be mad (mad' I'll tell you) to try to take on Blizzard's leading in MMOs etc.

You don't think Spore will be a multi-million seller? I think it's entirely likely. Look at the tremendous popularity of just the Creature Creator. It exceeded even Will Wright's expectations.

As long as the price is right, this doesn't bother me that much. We're getting a complete game for our money on September 5th. Microtransations are essentially expansion packs (something The Sims is well-known for) spread out into smaller chunks. People don't complain that all the content in an expansion pack should have been included in the main game. Or when hundreds of new songs are released for Rock Band almost a year after launch. This is extra work the company is doing after a product has shipped in order to keep the experience fresh and interesting.

It becomes a problem when content that is ready before the game's launch is obviously held back or included on the disk and locked until paid for.

My main worry is that this will lead to a fracturing in the Sporepedia. You can see that already with the free demo/paid demo split. If they release dozens or hundreds of tiny optional purchases it will be even worse.

[Asmodan]

This is not the problem me. The problem is that EA already tried to thid in one of their action games, Battlefield, I think?, where EA wanted you to buy access for 5 weapons or so while you only got 5 weapons when you bought (or installed?) the game.

And the 5 weapons were the best weapons in the game, enabling people with money to beat better players without money. There's was an uprising against it, and EA hurridly decided to abandon this.

Apparently, they are trying it again - now with SPORE.

Except for the fact that they're not even remotely the same. Selling someone a gun in a first person shooter that is pretty much exclusively multiplayer is, indeed, stupid. It gives the player willing to spend more money an advantage in a directly competitive game.

Spore is single player only, adding 'better' parts doesn't give anyone an advantage. Add in the fact that ever part has an associated cost when building a creature and even if the part is statistically better it will have a higher cost and therefore balance out.

The two situations aren't apples to apples. Fuck, they aren't even apples to oranges... more like apples to lawn mowers.

If they succeed in doing this, they WILL go onto products (or SKUs) such as, oh, say Mass Effect or Dragon Age: Origins. Now, want that cool new weapon for Wrex or a cool new spell for your mage, only 1.99 or 2.99 - or maybe some other cool things. Well, just pay for them. [Apparent 2½ million people or so have bought Bethesda's horse armor for Oblivion...].

Newsflash... they already are.

Now, I don't mind paying money for say Premium Modules when that money helps to support the game with patches like the Premium Modules for NWN1 did. I mind it when I have to (or other have to pay) for small things like tails, planets, heads and plant parts?
(a leaf, maybe ?)

What exactly is the difference between supporting them by buying one twenty dollar expansion or twenty one dollar parts? And do you really think that having microtransactions will prevent them from releasing full blown expansions as well? If you don't want items via microtransactions don't buy them. But it seems a bit presumptuous of you to rally against every one else having the option of doing so.


I also think the man has delusions of grandeur when he is talking about 'several million active users'. And by that I'm not diagnozing him in any way, shape or form, just saying that he'll be mad (mad' I'll tell you) to try to take on Blizzard's leading in MMOs etc.

If they really wanted to make more money, they'd raise the PC price for a game by 10-20US dollars to reflect the costs of making it...

Have you seen how many copies the Sims and the Sims 2 sold? It's perfectly reasonable to expect Spore to sell millions of copies.

And let me get this straight, you would rather they bump the price of the game by 20 bucks than keep the price the same and offer you more for that 20 dollars? I'm missing the logic in that.

[Varsity]

What this is going to do is kill off the sharing of creatures for anyone who buys a microtransacted part.

Assuming it works in the same way as the creature creator demo/full version divide does now (the demo's error message suggest so), your friends won't be able to play with your creature until they buy all the parts you used.

I hope they at least offer bulk-discounted packages.

[Asmodan]

What this is going to do is kill off the sharing of creatures for anyone who buys a microtransacted part.

Assuming it works in the same way as the creature creator demo/full version divide does now (the demo's error message suggest so), your friends won't be able to play with your creature until they buy all the parts you used.

I hope they at least offer bulk-discounted packages.

I wouldn't expect to be able to edit these creatures, which is what you're trying to do with the creature creator. They can (likely) still populate you world and you can interact with them, you just can't open them in any of the editors.

If anything they would WANT to make sure you can have them end up in your game. It's free advertising. See that cool creature with that special part? You should go buy it!

[NeoSuplex]

How does this mix with custom creations? I was under the impression that you could mold things the way you wanted... I guess the creator is more like Legos than Clay? Otherwise user stuff could just emulate whatever they were peddling.
Meh, I'll try it with the same enthusiasm that I tried Sims: wait until someone I know gets the game.

[Wraith]

How does this mix with custom creations? I was under the impression that you could mold things the way you wanted... I guess the creator is more like Legos than Clay? Otherwise user stuff could just emulate whatever they were peddling.
Meh, I'll try it with the same enthusiasm that I tried Sims: wait until someone I know gets the game.Give the free demo a try. For the creature creator, you have a blob with a spine, and you attach individual parts from several palettes of parts (mouths, eyes, legs, arms, hands, feet, etc.). Each part can be resized and, in most cases, deformed in several ways, such that you can have a big variation between creatures, even using the same parts. It's like clay, in that you can pull and stretch and deform things, but like legos in that you are working from a bin of available pieces.

[Emabulator]

My feelings on Spore just morphed from "not interested" to "allowed to freely hate on moral grounds". I feel good.

[tombofsoldier]

Yo ho yo ho a... what? Whaat?

[Varsity]

I wouldn't expect to be able to edit these creatures, which is what you're trying to do with the creature creator. They can (likely) still populate you world and you can interact with them, you just can't open them in any of the editors.

Editing them? Try viewing them first. :p

[Wyrm]

Or they could have gone the cool route and included free modding tools for creating your own creature parts.

But that would have been cool, and this is EA. The two are not synonymous.

edit - I wanted to add this:

This is one of the only games I've ever thought for certain I was going to buy from the get go, and then completely changed my mind as it gets closer to release and we hear more about it.

The creature creator almost restored my faith, but the DRM, and then this... Well EA, you're not getting my money. I know it doesn't matter, and I know millions of people will buy it anyway, but there has to be a point where you can't stomach this crap anymore, and for me, this is it. I'll sacrifice playing a game I've been looking forward to for years because I can't consciously support a terrible business model. Buying the game is telling them "I want more of this bullshit please!" and I don't want more of this bullshit. This is a bad direction for the game industry to go in, and though we often joke about what they'll charge for next, it's starting to get less and less funny.

When your game is only shipping with some content so that you can hold over the rest of it and charge 10 extra bucks for it, or charge 50 cents per part, or whatever crazy plan they have to steal all the monies, that's not a game I want to support with my dollars.

Also, I did somewhat expect this, as the Sims has been doing it in a different form for a long time (expansion packs), but as some have already pointed out in this thread, there was a time when stuff like this was free. And companies like Valve still give things away for free, so don't go telling me it can't be done anymore. It's a choice. A choice to completely ass rape consumers in every possible way.

[Azriel77]

I will get spore, I might even buy expansion packs if I think they are worth it, but there is now way in hell I am doing microtransactions for individual pieces.

[Virtuoso]

Why are you people bitching about this? They are allowing people to buy items that are purely cosmetic in nature, but do not change the nature of the game. They are not "planning on nickeling and diming you to death", rather they are creating an option for you that is not a necessity.

Quit being fucking stupid. Thats like bitching because a car manufacturer offers options like leather and satellite radio for an additional fee, and you choosing not to buy because they are "nickeling and diming you to death". Gimme a break.

[Micasa]

Except for the fact that they're not even remotely the same.

Or remotely true. You never had "only" five guns when you bought the game. Nor were the pre-order bonus weapons really that much better than any of the guns you DID have access to from the start.

[Asmodan]

When your game is only shipping with some content so that you can hold over the rest of it and charge 10 extra bucks for it, or charge 50 cents per part, or whatever crazy plan they have to steal all the monies, that's not a game I want to support with my dollars.

I missed the evidence that they are holding back content from the initial release.

And which games exactly in the glorious distant past had piles of expansion packs for free? UT99 threw some map packs at you, but that's hardly an expansion. Find me a game that gave you official expansions with the amount of content the Sims 2 expansions add up to for nothing.

[Varsity]

When your game is only shipping with some content so that you can hold over the rest of it and charge 10 extra bucks for it, or charge 50 cents per part, or whatever crazy plan they have to steal all the monies, that's not a game I want to support with my dollars.

Buying it and completely refusing to get any addon content would produce a stronger impression. They KNOW you're being advertised to that way, but you still aren't biting.

If you don't buy the game in the first place you aren't even on their charts.

[drakkarim]

i still haven't seen anything about the game that even makes me want to buy it in the first place. maybe they'll put out a demo someday.

[Ink Asylum]

Or they could have gone the cool route and included free modding tools for creating your own creature parts.

But that would have been cool, and this is EA. The two are not synonymous.

This about a game that lets you make your own aliens, plants, buildings, vehicles, and spaceships with one of the most accessible editors around.

When your game is only shipping with some content so that you can hold over the rest of it and charge 10 extra bucks for it, or charge 50 cents per part, or whatever crazy plan they have to steal all the monies, that's not a game I want to support with my dollars.

Proof that this is held back content please? Expansion packs have been a part of games for over a decade. It's extra content created after the game ships. Now they're breaking them up into smaller chunks so that you can buy what you want and ignore the rest. What a crime. I would rather Harmonix release 25 downloadable songs for $2 each over a "Song Expansion Pack" for $50. This way, I can spend less and get exactly what songs I want, ignoring the rest.

Also, I did somewhat expect this, as the Sims has been doing it in a different form for a long time (expansion packs), but as some have already pointed out in this thread, there was a time when stuff like this was free. And companies like Valve still give things away for free, so don't go telling me it can't be done anymore. It's a choice. A choice to completely ass rape consumers in every possible way.

Releasing free content was never a given. Some companies did it, some didn't. Warcraft 2 had an expansion pack. Where was everyone back then bitching that those maps should have been free?

Sure, it would be great if every company could release new content for older games for free, but games are too expensive these days for that. Those employees that are designing new maps, models, weapons etc. are still on the payroll.

The paid DLC model allows game companies to offset the rising cost of games by getting a little extra money after a game's initial release from fans who want more content. This way, the initial game release can stay at $50-60, and those people that want to can buy just that game. Those that want more content pay more to get it.

Save your backlash for when companies try to release a game in a near unplayable state and force you to buy extra stuff to get up to a $50 value. As Spore stands, if they had never announced this DLC plan no one would have felt that anything was lacking from the full game.

[Phanto]

So they are going to restrict parts to create, creatures that should come with the retail box? And when you buy the game you will need to buy those "extra" parts that were suppose to ship with the game?

[Wraith]

So they are going to restrict parts to create, creatures that should come with the retail box? And when you buy the game you will need to buy those "extra" parts that were suppose to ship with the game?What now?

We don't even know if they're going to do these microtransactions, much less whether there's any content already made/in the works for them.

While I'm not overly fond of microtransaction DLC like this, I don't think we should jump to conclusions about this stuff and automatically assume the worst possible outcome/motivation.

[ascl]

I am still not buying this. The DRM is over the top... and I know my little stand will make very little difference, since millions will buy it anyway.

:(

[Druadan]

Who has two thumbs and won't be buying Spore microtransactions?

[Ink Asylum]

What now?

We don't even know if they're going to do these microtransactions, much less whether there's any content already made/in the works for them.

While I'm not overly fond of microtransaction DLC like this, I don't think we should jump to conclusions about this stuff and automatically assume the worst possible outcome/motivation.

Seriously. This is just EA musing about the game. Spore comes out in a month. I highly doubt they are going to hold back on parts they've already made just so they can sell them to us after release. The game that ships will have everything Maxis has created up to this point. Then, should the game prove immensely popular I'm sure they'll start making additional content that they can sell.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Years ago, we would have gotten this for free...

Sadly those days are almost gone, even in the PC realm. Greed has won the day.

Every announcement about this game in the last few months has made me want it even less. Congratulations go to EA for killing my enthusiasm for what was once my most anticipated game of 2008.

[Sl1pstream]

Why are you people bitching about this? They are allowing people to buy items that are purely cosmetic in nature, but do not change the nature of the game.

But body parts are not purely cosmetic in nature. They change the stats of your creature.