Path Of Exile – Doing Microstransactions Right?
I was browsing through our press releases when something caught my eye. The Online Action RPG, Path of Exile, that is Currently In Beta sent out a notice stating that they had “ethical microtransactions”. Now what makes these microtransactions so ethical is the idea that you’ll never be forced to pay real world money for anything that is more or less necessary to win the game. Now, that isn’t to say you can’t win any free-to-play games without dipping into your wallet, but a lot of them make the game a whole lot harder for anyone not willing to pay. If you’ve ever tried to play any Facebook games that feature microtransactions, you’ll know what it is I’m referring to.
The FAQ on the website heavily implies that any and all in-game purchases will be for customizing your character. Their Shop Page has a list of the things you can purchase. From your standard MMO fare, like Pets and extra item slots, they also offer things such as animations, and alternate weapon and skill effects. One benefit that tickled my fancy in particular was the fact that you can actually create custom items for use in-game, a very unique feature that I don’t think I’ve realistically seen anywhere else. I should warn you, though, at the hefty price tag of $1000, you had better be sure you’re willing to get your money’s worth out of it. Custom content aside, I have high hopes that this game takes off, as it seems to be a step in the right direction for the crazy-go-nuts microtransactions and DLC we’ve been seeing as of late. Horse armor, anyone?
But enough about money, let’s talk about the free stuff, and by free stuff, I mean the actual game itself. Nailed the segue. The game offers a dark, deep action RPG with a huge skill tree with which to build your character. The levels are randomly generated, so you’ll never get bored with dungeon crawling, and with the ability to craft not only weapons, but end-game maps, there’s plenty of after-game content to keep you playing forever. Aside from all of this, they offer a lot of your standard MMO fare, like PvP, killing things, and leveling up. If you’re interested in helping them out by playing their Beta, you can sign up via Their Website.
What’s your take on FTP games and Microtransactions? Do you think the idea of “ethical” microtransactions will catch on and become the norm?
