Poll of the Day > What are your thoughts on limited single run event rewards for multiplayer games

(+) Yeah! (+)

Rewards that are only done once for an event and if you weren't playing then, theres no way to get them.

hypnox posted...

Rewards that are only done once for an event and if you weren't playing then, theres no way to get them.

If they are cosmetics, then it's fine. It's a way to show when, and how long you have been playing.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/2/5/AAQwHjAADoxR.png

What annoys me more is when they have limited time game modes. If they've already programmed it, why not just make it a permanent thing?

hypnox posted...

Rewards that are only done once for an event and if you weren't playing then, theres no way to get them.

My ocd hates it. Makes me feel like I can't complete the set of everything so fuck it all.

Definitely if theyre cosmetics. I love cosmetics and showing off my rare stuff

I don't like limited time events regardless of the reward. Whether you play a game now or in 10 years you should be able to access all the content that there has ever been for it.

SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

I don't like limited time events regardless of the reward.

This. There are things I can't get from some of my favorite games, just because I didn't even have that console at the time.

I don't like those. They should always rerun events.

Whats dumb is in old mmos, some of the raid bosses had drops that never dropped and respawned in contested zones after 7 days. Like.. it's a fucking video game dude. You programmed it and spent all this time on it and like 5% of users saw it. And yet it took +/- a weeks worth for wages for your entire staff to make. Please, stop.

Nothing contested should be that rare. Everything should be instanced. If you wanna make rare shit, let people earn it via account-wide achievements like swtor. Make people earn shit, not be there at a certain time and be lucky.

Straughan posted...

You programmed it and spent all this time on it and like 5% of users saw it. And yet it took +/- a weeks worth for wages for your entire staff to make.

Then they use that as an excuse for why games are expensive to make, and need to be a live service, and sell season passes to make up the cost.

hypnox posted...

Rewards that are only done once for an event and if you weren't playing then, theres no way to get them.

I fucking loathe them. They're part of the reason why I avoid playing online multiplayer games at all.



Straughan posted...

My ocd hates it. Makes me feel like I can't complete the set of everything so fuck it all.

Straughan posted...

Nothing contested should be that rare. Everything should be instanced. If you wanna make rare shit, let people earn it via account-wide achievements like swtor. Make people earn shit, not be there at a certain time and be lucky.

This, so very, very much.

It doesn't make a game more fun or fulfilling, it just makes it feel more like a burden. It feels like I'm being forced to play at certain times or for certain amounts of time to "earn" the stuff I want, to the point where the game stops being a game and starts being a job.

If I can't be a completionist, even as a later adopter, I'm far more inclined to drop a game entirely than I am to keep playing. Or avoid it entirely from the very beginning.

hypnox posted...

Rewards that are only done once for an event and if you weren't playing then, theres no way to get them.

I have a mini Aegis for 2018 and 2020

ultra_magnus13 posted...

If they are cosmetics, then it's fine. It's a way to show when, and how long you have been playing.

this.

and I hate when they end up making it available again.
then others get it, and it's not as rare.

I don't like them unless you can get them again at another point. For example, Old School Runescape allows you to get previous year holiday rewards (Easter, Christmas, etc.) each time the holiday rolls around.

Think of it this way; If you went to an Aerosmith concert and bought a bunch of swag... why would you be able to buy a '98, '99, 2000, etc T-shirt at their new event

Krazy_Kirby posted...

this.

and I hate when they end up making it available again.
then others get it, and it's not as rare.

No that's great.

Not a fan. But its also a fuckin video game so in the grand scheme of things, it doesnt matter.

ultra_magnus13 posted...

If they are cosmetics, then it's fine. It's a way to show when, and how long you have been playing.

This, but even then it's really only okay if the cosmetics aren't particularly interesting and really just amount to "I was here." Anythingm more than a cool commemorative sort of thing means you're effectively punishing people for not buying the game sooner, and that's just scummy and manipulative.

Also, this should perhaps go without saying, but limited-time purchases are awful. This only applies to stuff that's included for free.

Straughan posted...

Whats dumb is in old mmos, some of the raid bosses had drops that never dropped and respawned in contested zones after 7 days. Like.. it's a fucking video game dude. You programmed it and spent all this time on it and like 5% of users saw it. And yet it took +/- a weeks worth for wages for your entire staff to make. Please, stop.

Nothing contested should be that rare. Everything should be instanced. If you wanna make rare shit, let people earn it via account-wide achievements like swtor. Make people earn shit, not be there at a certain time and be lucky.

It's all about exploiting FOMO: If you limit the opportunities people have to access some content, people are going to be more likely to keep playing to avoid missing those opportunities. There's a delicate balance to strike between encouraging people to get on board to avoid missing any more exclusive timed content and making people feel discouraged that they've already missed out on so much, but generally speaking you can get more people playing by including missable content than you give up. For games with a subscription fee (namely the MMO's of yore), that translates directly to more revenue. For anything with microtransactions or other recurring monetization, that means people stay engaged for longer and you have more opportunities to convince them to spend money.

SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

Then they use that as an excuse for why games are expensive to make, and need to be a live service, and sell season passes to make up the cost.

Nah, they pretty much never outright blame any specific design or development decision for the alleged increasing costs. That's too easy to quantify and disprove. They're more vague about it, relying on people's broad understanding of inflation to get them to accept that games must be more expensive to make now (never mind that they haven't increased developer salaries by enough to keep up with inflation, and those make up the bulk of the unavoidable costs of game development). In truth, most of the inflated costs come from marketing, which generally does pay off just in simple sales revenue and all the monetization is just icing on the cake. By and large, game companies have seen their revenues grow significantly faster than their costs have, but of course they leave that part out when they try to get the public on board with increasing MSRP.

Im really only fine with it if its a returning event, or theres another eay to get the content. For example, most seasonal unique weapons in Destiny 2 can be purchased from a vendor after the corresponding season is over, but theyre extremely expensive.

adjl posted...

Nah, they pretty much never outright blame any specific design or development decision for the alleged increasing costs.

I meant paying employees and development time. Not that they ever clarified how much time was spent developing what.

adjl posted...

They're more vague about it, relying on people's broad understanding of inflation to get them to accept that games must be more expensive to make now

Not even that. They'll point out that games are bigger and have better graphics and they have to pay people for all the time it took to make that additional content. But that falls into the trap of thinking all development time is the same. They won't tell you that a week was spent on this optional quest that most people don't bother with because they didn't talk to that one villager. Or how much time was spent positioning collectables that only 40% of players find all of them, and despite that time spent there's still that one that spawns in the ground 5/6 of the time when the game is loaded.

adjl posted...

In truth, most of the inflated costs come from marketing,

I do hate seeing advertising. But as far as what they claim is the cause, no one asked for it. They pushed for games to be bigger and better, to out do everything else, to chase the new trend of whatever just made someone else a lot of money. It was they who decided games should be bloated and unfocused and unmanageable to develop for.

ultra_magnus13 posted...

If they are cosmetics, then it's fine. It's a way to show when, and how long you have been playing.

This. Or if they're badge rewards. I might actually support rewards like these.

But of course it'd bother me if the rewards were character stats or items that enhance gameplay.

adjl posted...

Anythingm more than a cool commemorative sort of thing means you're effectively punishing people for not buying the game sooner, and that's just scummy and manipulative.

Or you're rewarding long term players for their support. Complaining everyone should have access to everything is just a form of entitlement. If anything I'm more bothered by companies that promised something is a one time limited item and then after newer players complain they go ahead and mass re-release it.

I do frown on it if it's more than cosmetics and actually effects gameplay in a meaningful way, particularly if there's some form of pvp in the game.

sveksii posted...

Or you're rewarding long term players for their support. Complaining everyone should have access to everything is just a form of entitlement. If anything I'm more bothered by companies that promised something is a one time limited item and then after newer players complain they go ahead and mass re-release it.

I do frown on it if it's more than cosmetics and actually effects gameplay in a meaningful way, particularly if there's some form of pvp in the game.

The only entitlement I've seen are from people bitching about items being brought back.

glad paladins hasn't rereased the couple skins tied to the beta.

It depends what the event is and what the rewards are. Some of the events are so novel that they are a refreshing lighthearted break from the grind.