Splashy Colors & Pay Walls: How You Get Tricked Into Spending Money on Free Games

There was a time when getting a new video game meant having access to all of its content. You probably had to play through the game and unlock its many secrets, but you usually didn’t have to make any other purchases to “complete” the game. For the most part, that time has passed. There’s still plenty of content in games that are released these days, but you often need to download expansions or make microtransactions if you want to see everything or compete with others. Whether this is a good thing is up for debate. On one hand, it’s always nice to get additional content in your games. On the other hand, a lot of gamers really don’t like the idea of having to pay extra if they want a complete game. To make matters worse, developers use tricks to get you to spend extra money, even on free games. Here are some of the more common tricks you might encounter.

Monetizing Basic Features

Some games force you to pay extra if you want certain features, even basic ones that you would think would be necessary for a complete game. This is most often seen in subscriptions that you need to purchase in order to play games online, but some games require you to pay extra to have an additional character save slot, which is something that one would expect to be a regular part of any game.

Hiding the True Cost of In-Game Items

Many games allow you to purchase power-ups and other items through an in-game currency system. You can earn some of this currency simply by playing the game, but it’s hard to actually earn enough this way to get the best gear. If you really want the best equipment in your game, you usually have to purchase in-game currency with real money. That may seem transparent enough, but most in-game currencies don’t have a 1:1 conversion rate with real money. An extra skin or a new weapon for your character might not cost you that much in in-game currency, but players have been known to spend hundreds of real-world dollars on things that “aren’t that expensive.”

Social Pressure

It’s fun to play games online with your friends, but not of those friends keep leaving you in the dust because they always have better gear than you. If you want to keep up with them during this popular social activity, you need to keep your game up to date with the latest expansions, skins, and in-game equipment. Naturally, the best way to get all of this quickly is to spend money on in-game purchases. This may not be a strategy that game developers use directly, but they certainly count on it, and it still makes them money.

Whether you think the practice of microtransactions, DLC, and “pay-to-win” games is ruining gaming, there is no denying how dangerous it can be to people who don’t have hundreds of spare dollars to spend. At least some of these transactions are unavoidable if you want to keep up with the latest gaming trends, but you can still work to keep your gaming habit from breaking the bank. Always read the fine print when making a transaction, avoid purchasing new games if you think there will be patches or DLC to download within a few weeks, and keep reminding yourself that video games aren’t everything. They are supposed to be fun diversions, not something that takes over your life and your finances.

.

.

.

Originally published at UmairYasinChicago.com