I’m mainly talking about these new “but they’re different” games, that have gotten so fucking popular, lately.

“Honky Stair Rail” and “Genshin Implants” or whatever the fuck they’re called.

I don’t care if you can play them without spending any money. I don’t care if they’re any good. None of that matters. The whole model of the game being funded by whales, spending money on in-game items and currency IS LITERALLY EVIL.

There is no way to do it ethically. That is an impossibility, on a fundamental level. There is no excuse for anyone to give these so-called developers and publishers ANY amount of money, attention, or engagement.

The only acceptable way to pay for a game as a service is a traditional MMO subscription, where you pay a flat rate per month/year to access 100 percent of a game’s available gameplay.

I don’t care what your excuse is. I don’t care that you like anime tits and ass. I don’t care if you think your chosen free-to-pay game is different. It’s not.

Stop supporting this shit. Support real games.

A couple of years ago, I would have considered this to be a popular opinion, but about 35-40 percent of the internet posts I see in 2024 are related to either “Honky Stair Rail” or “Genshin Implants,” and it’s starting to freak me the fuck out.

  • andrewta@lemmy.world
    8·
    8 months ago

    I agree. It is creating a real problem.

    Out of curiosity would you include Guild Wars 2 into a good or bad system?

    You pay for the game. You get the full game. When they bring out a expansion you pay for the expansion.

    You can buy in game stuff but it’s cosmetic only (different skins for armor or weapons but no improved stats). You don’t need to buy anything. You can pay the full game. Just curious what your thoughts are on that type of game.

    • Chill Dude 69@lemmynsfw.comOP
      94·
      8 months ago

      I have to admit that some of the pseudo-traditional MMO games actually do fall into a gray area. Especially if they’re part of a series that used to run on a fully traditional MMO model, but couldn’t be sustained any longer. It’s better for those specific games to be supported in a different way, rather than just die off.

      It’s these “hey sailor, buy some currency…and/or a .png of an anime titty girl that you can use to fight other .png files of anime titty girls UNLESS YOU WANT TO GRIND FOREVER” abominations that are becoming normalized. And that’s just not cool.

      EDIT: it’s especially not cool, because I see more and more traditional gamers who DEFINITELY KNOW BETTER deciding that “Honky Stair Rail” or “Genshin Implants” are somehow different and okay. Even though they really do know better than that.

    • fsxylo@sh.itjust.works
      3·
      8 months ago

      As someone with an addictive personality, gw2 is just as bad as any other.

      The existence of FOMO, the “gems” that are never sold in quantities to get the full value of your transaction, and the random loot boxes for mounts and fucking dyes of all things… Makes no difference if it’s “just cosmetic”. It’s an exploitative business model for people vulnerable to those techniques. It’s scummy as all hell. OP is right, there’s no ethical GAAS.

      And the game definitely suffers for the simple fact that the gemstore takes priority over it.