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South Park's new episode tonight is about freemium games
- Thread starter SteveWinwood
- Start date
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Died laughing at Randy accusing Stan of milking his song writing paychecks. It was subtle, but the continuity has been great.
Acerac
Banned
JinjoUnchained
Member
Wait, do freemium developers actually pay "pushers" to identify other kids that will get hooked on the game and become whales? Not sure if this actually happens or if this was an analogy to marketing.
Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
So...Comedy Central is totally going to release that Terrence and Phillip App irl, right?
Iorv3th
Member
Had a guy that would go into local gamestop and spend 200-300$ a day sometimes multiple times a week on Clash of Clans cards, guy is in his 60's for what its worth. Pretty nuts that he would always say to everyone "Don't play clash of clans" or to not start it as he was in there spending so much money on it.
zenosparadox
Member
They were comparing advertisement/facebook feed spam to drug dealers.
Brad: Dota 2 is not an addiction! It's an international eSport and it's competitive!
I wish I could stop playing it long enough to actually purchase something.
zenosparadox
Member
It's more than that. The implication is more sinister in that it suggests game makers are manipulating people with addictive personalities to spend much more than they ever should on a game because the game is "free". This is similar to a situation in the 1980s involving the CIA and crack cocaine in low-income neighborhoods.
Prophet Steve
Member
CambriaRising
Member
Amazing episode. Nailed the shitty f2p market.
Edit: A good read on Freemium Whales and addiction: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/IainHunter/20131011/202168/F2P__Whales_Addicts_and_Dirty_Secrets.php
Edit: A good read on Freemium Whales and addiction: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/IainHunter/20131011/202168/F2P__Whales_Addicts_and_Dirty_Secrets.php
And the way they call to you when you haven't played in a while is a sign of how malicious these games are. They aren't innocent diversions.
They turn your phone into un-regulated "addiction machines." The fact that phones are on your person at all time and are attached to your credit card is another way that it is different than arcade machines.
Developers have taken the arcade model and created applications that "follow" you wherever you are beckoning you to spend more money on un-entertaining, carefully calculated slots that prey on children and adults.
Even casinos are regulated. These applications are an unregulated mess. Publishers of these applications have the same intentions of manipulation that drug-pushers, alcohol manufacturers, and casinos have, except publishers don't have any restrictions or overseers like casinos have.
Hopefully, some governmental agency will step in and crush these "business models."
The Lamonster
Member
Funny episode.
That said, I love the Simpsons and Family Guy mobile games. You don't have to spend a dime to have fun with them and they are well written...but I won't blame Matt and Trey for exaggerating it because that's what they do
I know you guys probably feel cool being crusaders against freemium games, which is fine, but FYI these are well-made legit games that most fans of their respective tv shows can easily enjoy and honestly I'd be thrilled if there was a South Park game in production.
Nothing "needs to die." If you aren't into this genre, don't play it.
That said, I love the Simpsons and Family Guy mobile games. You don't have to spend a dime to have fun with them and they are well written...but I won't blame Matt and Trey for exaggerating it because that's what they do
I know you guys probably feel cool being crusaders against freemium games, which is fine, but FYI these are well-made legit games that most fans of their respective tv shows can easily enjoy and honestly I'd be thrilled if there was a South Park game in production.
Nothing "needs to die." If you aren't into this genre, don't play it.
As always, South Park is on point with their views of pop culture. Still amazed at how consistently well written and produced the show is. Matt and Trey show no signs of ever slowing down.
That "Drink Responsibly" ad in the show, is probably one of the greatest things of all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuGQ7eAXlfY
That "Drink Responsibly" ad in the show, is probably one of the greatest things of all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuGQ7eAXlfY
CambriaRising
Member
Funny episode.
That said, I love the Simpsons and Family Guy mobile games. You don't have to spend a dime to have fun with them and they are well written...but I won't blame Matt and Trey for exaggerating it because that's what they do
I know you guys probably feel cool being crusaders against freemium games, which is fine, but FYI these are well-made legit games that most fans of their respective tv shows can easily enjoy and honestly I'd be thrilled if there was a South Park game in production.
Nothing "needs to die." If you aren't into this genre, don't play it.
This genre is built around taking advantage of people with addictive personalities and nothing more. So yes, it needs to die. Especially when $60 boxed retail titles have been taking notes from it.
The Lamonster
Member
Guy A loves the Simpsons but after tuition or whatever doesn't have money to spend on things like video games.
Guy B loves the Simpsons but after tuition or whatever doesn't have money to spend on things like video games and also has an addictive personality.
Developers need to get paid for their work, so it's either charge up front or charge for some optional content for folks who can either afford it for folks with addictive personalities.
You're saying Guy A should have to miss out on the opportunity to play the game just because Guy B is a fuckup? Fair enough, but I very much disagree with you.
Windom Earle
Banned
Funny episode.
That said, I love the Simpsons and Family Guy mobile games. You don't have to spend a dime to have fun with them and they are well written...but I won't blame Matt and Trey for exaggerating it because that's what they do
I know you guys probably feel cool being crusaders against freemium games, which is fine, but FYI these are well-made legit games that most fans of their respective tv shows can easily enjoy and honestly I'd be thrilled if there was a South Park game in production.
Nothing "needs to die." If you aren't into this genre, don't play it.
Doesn't sound like it's "fine" to you. But once again we see there is a defense force for everything.
CambriaRising
Member
If you can't see how this is taking advantage of people's weaknesses just to make a quick buck, and why that is scumbaggery, I don't know what to tell you because you are clearly too far gone to empathize. But this is exactly how these developers think when designing these "games", take a look at this: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/IainHunter/20131011/202168/F2P__Whales_Addicts_and_Dirty_Secrets.php
That's just fucking evil and ignorant. Needless to say, I disagree with everything in your post.
The Silver
Member
Funny episode.
That said, I love the Simpsons and Family Guy mobile games. You don't have to spend a dime to have fun with them and they are well written...but I won't blame Matt and Trey for exaggerating it because that's what they do
I know you guys probably feel cool being crusaders against freemium games, which is fine, but FYI these are well-made legit games that most fans of their respective tv shows can easily enjoy and honestly I'd be thrilled if there was a South Park game in production.
Nothing "needs to die." If you aren't into this genre, don't play it.
this reads like an astroturfing post
The fake booze commercial was amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrVLB3MtUjo
Edit: Damnit, beaten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrVLB3MtUjo
Edit: Damnit, beaten.
OminoMichelin
Member
The Lamonster
Member
While I appreciate what Iain is saying here, and mostly agree with him, I don't feel like it applies to Simpsons Tapped Out. There are no "gates" besides time that block freemium players from enjoying the game to the fullest.
quite dramatic.
eh, I'm just a fan of the game and feel like it needs to be defended here. Check out the Tapped Out |OT|. It's full of passionate players. Some are premium players and some are freemium players. We all enjoy it.
Also check out this Vulture article about Tapped Out. While a lot of freemium games are certainly guilty of this casino-like gameplay, Tapped Out is a labor of love for the Simpsons writing team. http://www.vulture.com/2014/09/the-simpsons-tapped-out-interview-j-stewart-burns.html
Windom Earle
Banned
Judging from the description in the OP it sounds exactly the same as any other cashgrab abusing bullshit freemium game.
L4DANathan
Member
Not always true, buddy. Most of the time, yeah, but sometimes the devs don't fuck it up.
Intheflorsh
Banned
God forbid you miss the chance to play a video game, what a horrible world that would be. Clearly taking advantage of fuckups is the only way to make sure that doesn't happen.
jacksepticeye
Member
Really good episode. I love how they take the piss out of stuff like this, it looks even better when they did a fully fledged game themselves recently and their peers are doing shitty fremium games
Sir_Crocodile
Member
If Guy B didn't exist the game wouldn't have been made. It's made for Guy B. And "fuckup" is a horrible way to talk about vunerable people.
Ever heard of the expression "Time is money"
Is Hearthstone evil? I downloaded and enjoyed the game without spending a dime, but a friend of mine who I introduced it to has spent over $300 on virtual stuff.
GeordieMark
Member
You could also extend that logic to gambling and alcohol. Would you ban them too because some people get hooked and ruin their lives?
I get why people are against these games, and a lot of the things being said here are true, but at the same time I also don't condone going around banning things because a few people behave irresponsibly, or have addiction issues.
The free2play model is young and developing. The Zynga model isn't the only one, and there are free2play games out there that aren't exploiting anyone.
One thing I hate about most freemium games is that they never, or rarely, have a satisfying conclusion. You stop because you get tired of it or bored not because you've completed some kind of campaign or you reach some level of mastery that you feel satisfied with, it's because you can't be bothered to play the game anymore due to the crazy time needed to progress and you're too cheap to actually pay in.
I like that some games like TWD and some of those other episodic games are free for the first episode, that's a good model, but games based around microtransactions just never do it for me. They all feel like scams.
I like that some games like TWD and some of those other episodic games are free for the first episode, that's a good model, but games based around microtransactions just never do it for me. They all feel like scams.
SEGAvangelist
Member
I've decided that "Freemium" sounds like an element found on the periodic table.
It's because they are a scam. As they point out in this episode, it's not about making a fun game. It's about making a mildly fun game which could be more fun if you pay.
They do compare it to alcohol and gambling in the episode. All of these businesses feed off the weakness and addiction of their clientele. The main difference is that both alcohol and gambling have government regulations while these games get to run rampant and do whatever they please, including catering to the underage.
are you saying that we should do nothing to help people with problems, or debate measures in place? theres a spectrum here and it doesnt help to fall to the extremes (everyone can play the game freemarket style or games/IAP are banned completely).
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