Activision Blizzard adds 312 new skins to Overwatch to pay for e-Sports by milking customers using Micro-transactions

[AlTech]

Activision Blizzard, your favorite match making psychologically manipulative ex that you still can't get rid of, has added 312 new skins to Overwatch.

 

Can you guess why?

 

Oh right, Micro-transactions of course. It is suspected that this is to fund their upcoming eSports Tournaments.

 

The new Micro-transaction currency is called "League Tokens".

 

1 skin costs 100 Tokens.

 

So individual skin costs effectively between $2.60 USD per skin to $4.99 USD per skin (Depending on micro-transactions amounts.

 

To buy every skin in Overwatch using Tokens it would cost between  $129.97 (2600 Tokens + 400 Tokens + 200 Tokens) and $1556.88 (312 x 100 Tokens) USD

 

Ouch. That's definitely not pro-consumer.

 

It has been stated that 50% of the micro-transactions will go directly to the e-Sports teams

 

Every Day you login to Overwatch until February 13th you'll receive 100 Tokens.

 

Of course, as I've probably said many times. I would not give overwatch half the slack I do if it was Free To Play. If it was completely Free To Play this would be acceptable.

But Activision Blizzard are greedy snakes and want customers to pay for a game's own e-Sports league. Oh well....

 

Source:

 

[LAwLz]

Oh no, a developer adds cosmetic items to a game which you can either get from playing the game or pay for the ones you want! and not just that, if you go with the latter, 50% of the money goes towards esport teams instead of the developers!

 

What a terrible thing to do!

 

/sarcasm

 

 

Edit:

Actually, I think these are really good news. I think this is a great example of how to do lootboxes properly.

1) Release the game at full price.

2) Constantly release patches which adds new characters, tweak things, new maps etc, for free.

3) Have cosmetic things which you can either get from lootboxes (which you earn by simply playing the game), or by buying specific skins with money.

4) Give some of the money you earn from lootboxes (50% is a big chunk) to the esport teams to support them.

 

On top of that, you can get one free skin of your choice for free. 

 

I see this as a win-win-win situation.

• Players gets a great game with gets additional content for free. On top of that you never feel like you lost because someone had spent more money than you.
• Blizzard wins by having a reliable stream of revenue to fund future content with.
• eSports wins by getting funded by the developers themselves.

Good job Blizzard!

[dizmo]

Disagree 100% with this post.

 

Just because they charge money for something does not make it anti consumer. They're additions to the game, and they have no effect on gameplay. 

 

I think this is a totally fair way to do micro transactions. The fact they added 312 skins is frankly insane. 

[Guest]

The only thing I don't like about it is converting real money to "tokens" to try and obscure how much you're spending. I've never liked that about in-game currency.

[Cheezdoodlez]

Quote

Every time you login to Overwatch until February 13th you'll receive 100 Tokens.

Did you miss a every day or is it EVERY TIME? In that case, just login and out 320 or 312 times *. It's around 10times a day. I've done far more time consuming and tedious stuff in WoW the last decade...

 

 

_{*the details in the post is a bit unclear on how many tokens I need}

 

Nevermind. The OP is wrong. It's 100 token once if you login up until February 13th. 

 

 

Quote

To celebrate the launch of the league, each player who logs into Overwatch on PC, PlayStation, or Xbox One between now and February 13 will receive 100 free League Tokens—enough to get one Overwatch League team skin of your choice free. Each future team-skin purchase will require 100 League Tokens.

https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/news/21363697/team-skins-and-league-tokens-now-live

[vetali]

I like Jim Sterling, but hes really stretching here. Blizzard doesn't intend on you to buy all off the skins. The point of overwatch league is to be like an actual sports league. Most people are going to be a fan of one team, buy that teams skins, and thats all. Hardly anybody is going to buy every single one.

[ItsMitch]

It's fucking esports fuck sake, no bullshit capital S

[mynameisjuan]

Paying for skins? Really dont care, your money, if you makes you happy go for it. 

 

What I have a problem with is mostly the cost. Skins are cool but useless and usually cost a few bucks which to me is too expensive. 

[Eduard the weeb]

they said they were gonna do this a while ago also, you don't have to buy loot boxes they don't change the game in any game play aspect other then that one skins that turns hanzos ultimate white also if you have a favorite team you show your support of them and this is a cool way to do that. 

 

if people want to they can and if they don't want to they don't have to buy them I don't see an issue other then you getting a team you don't likes skins but thats it tbh

 

 

Edit

every time you get free tokens you log in that means sales will be low for a bit

actually I think blizzard has done the best way they can for this not to be scummy, If you dislike them as a brand or a company thats fine but this micro transactions method is pretty good.

[AlTech]

2 minutes ago, Legendarypoet said:

The only thing I don't like about it is converting real money to "tokens" to try and obscure how much you're spending. I've never liked that about in-game currency.

it's also so that when they implement loot boxes they can legally claim it is not gambling. Cos if you don't have a "premium currency" for your Loot box systems then it's technically gambling cos it uses real money or something like that.

 

Idek. It's crazy. But yeah you're definitely right on that.

 

6 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

snip

You can only get it in game for a limited time only.

6 minutes ago, dizmo said:

snip

Why should anybody playing Overwatch pay Activision to host an e-Sports tournament? They're a AAA publisher who can afford to pay for their own tournament. They pay for COD "e-Sports" tournaments just fine without dipping their fingers into Players wallets.

 

Also, this is probably a highly unpopular opinion but I really think e-Sports is just a stupid thing and is pointless. If theoretically I played Overwatch and wanted to buy a Skin, I'd feel unhappy that my money was going to funding something I don't even like.

 

As it is I don't play Overwatch for other reasons but this further cements it.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

They have to make money somehow. Once you buy the game, all characters and maps, current and future, are/will be available to the user. Buying these skins are completely up to the user and they are purely cosmetic. 

[RileyTheFox]

Is it possible for you to make one news post without being biased and hating on one side? This is completely fine, has no effect on gameplay. This is also for eSports, which has teams. No one will buy every skin.

 

stop finding something to complain about

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

They have to make money somehow.

I would really appreciate if Overwatch was Free To Play instead of the upfront cost.

1 minute ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Once you buy the game, all characters and maps, current and future, are available to the user. Buying these skins are completely up to the user and they are purely cosmetic. 

Again, the purely cosmetic argument falls apart because in games like Destiny or Overwatch a character's appearance is important to players and affects how the game is played to some extent.

[AlTech]

Just now, EvilCat70 said:

 This is completely fine, has no effect on gameplay.

See above. Again, invalid excuse imho.

[Teddy07]

I think it is fair. It is skins only

[RileyTheFox]

Just now, AluminiumTech said:

I would really appreciate if Overwatch was Free To Play instead of the upfront cost.

Again, the purely cosmetic argument falls apart because in games like Destiny or Overwatch a character's appearance is important to players and affects how the game is played to some extent.

Really? Please, you're having a laugh, right?

 

How the hell does cosmetic items affect how you play? I could play Overwatch with no skins, no sprays, no highlights or emotes and still be the same skill I am.

[NinJake]

This makes me happy inside.

[The Benjamins]

Wow, I thought 312 was a meme, that is WAY to many on one release.

[AlTech]

Just now, EvilCat70 said:

Really? Please, you're having a laugh, right?

 

How the hell does cosmetic items affect how you play? I could play Overwatch with no skins, no sprays, no highlights or emotes and still be the same skill I am.

Admitedly this is more aimed towards Destiny. But looking good with a good skin is highly desirable in online games.

 

And online games try to exploit this.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

2 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

I would really appreciate if Overwatch was Free To Play instead of the upfront cost.

Then it would be more like League of Legends were you have to pay/grind for the characters AND the skins.

[Energycore]

Just now, EvilCat70 said:

Really? Please, you're having a laugh, right?

 

How the hell does cosmetic items affect how you play? I could play Overwatch with no skins, no sprays, no highlights or emotes and still be the same skill I am.

Riddle me this. If cosmetic items have no effect on someone's enjoyment of the game, then why do people buy them at all? They might as well stay on the vanilla skin and not spend as much money as people do on them.

[EG!]

1 minute ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

They have to make money somehow. Once you buy the game, all characters and maps, current and future, are available to the user. Buying these skins are completely up to the user and they are purely cosmetic. 

You said it here "Once you buy the game", Overwatch isn't LoL or Dota the price of overwatch isn't even near cs:go it's still damn expensive for a game that implemented lootboxes and microtransactions. Everyone said EA was bad for implementing is yet Blizzard can do this?

15 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

Oh no, a developer adds cosmetic items to a game which you can either get from playing the game or pay for the ones you want! and not just that, if you go with the latter, 50% of the money goes towards esport teams instead of the developers!

If only this is a freemium game it wouldn't be a problem. It's still a €25 game, you can't justify that after paying €40 (full price) I'd have to pay another dime for some stupid cosmetic items.

[Eduard the weeb]

2 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Why should anybody playing Overwatch pay Activision to host an e-Sports tournament? They're a AAA publisher who can afford to pay for their own tournament. They pay for COD "e-Sports" tournaments just fine without dipping their fingers into Players wallets.

 

To be taken more seriously because there needs to be one central spot for esports for each game and by making the Over watch League the place for Overwatch because other tournaments were all over the place and know you don't need to follow all these differnet leagues with differnet rules like ESL, APEX and etc

 

also they have made it easier for new players to join the league and get noticed by bigger teams with contenders 

[RileyTheFox]

Just now, Energycore said:

Riddle me this. If cosmetic items have no effect on someone's enjoyment of the game, then why do people buy them at all? They might as well stay on the vanilla skin and not spend as much money as people do on them.

More enjoyment =/= Advantage in the game. The original post is the same as every other whine about micro transactions. "It gives them an unfair advantage" and is "milking money"

 

Its nice to get a new, fancy skin but isn't required. I barely even look at my skin during game, that's how much it affects me. I could play the game for the rest of my life with zero cosmetic items and still have as much fun as I do now.

 

 

[Cheezdoodlez]

2 minutes ago, The Benjamins said:

Wow, I thought 312 was a meme, that is WAY to many on one release.

It's not that bad when you read into it imo. It's 26skins each for 12 teams. I find it very hard to believe that anyone would ever want all the skins for all the teams. Why would I want 26 Fnatic skins when I hate that team?