Are microtransactions hijacking the gaming world, siphoning the joy and mastery out of our favorite titles? Brace yourself as we unveil the dark underbelly of Resident Evil 4 Remake and its disruptive ‘upgrade tickets,’ exposing the harmful consequences that threaten to tarnish the industry’s integrity and your gaming experience.
The Resident Evil 4 Remake made an incredibly positive appearance with its launch. Its previous update added a new mode called Mercenaries, a time-attack challenge for players to kill waves of enemies as quickly as possible.
Along with the Mercenaries update were the upgrade tickets, the premium currency for weapon upgrades without using in-game currency, pesetas. While they bring some good consequences, they can also harm the whole gaming industry.
The Ticket Update
The upgrade tickets are packed for each weapon type in Resident Evil 4 Remake. Each ticket is sold in packs of 1 ($2.99), 3 ($6.99), and 5 ($9.99).
There are certain benefits to using the upgrade tickets. The upgrade tickets are only for improving weapons. Improving multiple weapons can be a grind to earn. The merchant is very greedy when selling upgrades and items, forcing players to keep grinding for pesetas. Tickets help to raise the guns’ stats without the need to grind too much.
Thankfully, the upgrade tickets are optional. They’re not forced onto the players to acquire them. It’s a more modern way for players to complete the game faster.
The Harmful Practices with Microtransactions
One huge issue with the upgrade tickets in the Resident Evil 4 Remake is diminishing the significance of earning weapon upgrades. The original RE4’s special costumes and weapons were acquired by playing the game multiple times. Owning rare items showcased the player’s mastery and knowledge of the game.
In RE4 Remake, anyone can get significant upgrades by paying for tickets. The progression to earn the expensive upgrades isn’t special to accomplish anymore, and it makes the gameplay look duller and grindy.
Some players choose not to buy the tickets while others may feel obligated to purchase it. Microtransactions can test a player’s patience to play the game, which isn’t easy for anyone to endure.
Another problem with the tickets is their addition after the game’s launch. It seems Capcom was aware of how the game’s ratings would be impacted if their anticipated product was released with microtransactions.
To avoid getting lower review scores, they included them in a later update to gain more cash with positive reviews. This type of plan makes the developers appear greedy by abusing modern technology.
Similar Tragedy with Microtransactions
Another game that included microtransactions after its launch was Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled. This was a remaster of the original Crash Team Racing. Activision stated the game will not have microtransactions at its release date. A few weeks after the game’s launch, the devs announced a major update.
This update went live on August 2nd, 2019. It included the Back N. Time Grand Prix, offering a new stage (Prehistoric Playground), a new character (Baby T Rex), cosmetics, missions, and others.
Various items were available for purchase at the game’s store, the Pit Stop. It would show a selection of cosmetic items for 24 hours before rotating the selection. Everything could be bought with wumpa coins, which are obtained by accomplishing missions and winning races.
Another new method that was added with the update is the wumpa coin packs. The packs are priced at $2.50 for 2500 wumpa coins. Other greater bundles will add bonus wumpa coins, making the final offer $29.99 for 40,000 wumpa coins.
The inclusion of wumpa coin packs updated the game’s reward system as well. Rewarded coins after the update became significantly less compared to the game’s launch. Earning fewer coins made acquiring items at the Pitstop a harder grind.
The Modern Influence
This modern practice can influence many other companies to follow suit to monopolize their products. Adding microtransactions that affect gameplay heavily harms the game’s purpose. Opinion-wise, the option to purchase upgrades and items makes playing the game more insignificant and a waste of time.
This issue gets worse with modern technology, allowing companies to include microtransactions in any game at any time. Sometimes they’re truly optional in some games while others heavily influence players to pay by enforcing heavier grinding.
These methods are somewhat reasonable for free-to-play mobile games. For AAA full-priced games, it’s unacceptable for players to deal with. No gamer should have to pay to play a game they already paid for.
