Fed Up With Microtransactions? Apple Launches New Solution

[Administrator]

Apple has launched a new "Pay Once & Play" category on iTunes that highlights games that do not feature microtransactions.
Games listed in this new category include Goat Simulator, Threes!, Gunbrick, and Minecraft, as well as Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and Bastion, among many others.
It is unclear what spurred Apple to create the new classification, but it's likely tied to a growing concern among some regarding the way in which games dubbed as "free" are often loaded with--and designed around--additional payments.
The free-to-play and microtransaction-based model is proving popular. Did you watch the Super Bowl? If you did, you probably saw an ad for a free-to-play game.


This business model is also a big hit with major publishers. Juggernauts such as Electronic Arts, Activision, and Take-Two all are in that business to a certain extent.
For example, Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto V features microtransactions in its multiplayer mode. These in-game payments have been a boon for Take-Two, leading to year-over-year increases in digital sales. CEO Strauss Zelnick has even referred to GTA V's online mode, GTA Online, as "the gift that keeps on giving" as it relates to money from microtransactions.
The introduction of the Pay One & Play category also follows a move last year that saw Apple replace the "free" moniker with "get" for free-to-play games.
iTunes rival Google Play does not currently feature a category specifically for games that don't have microtransactions.
What do you think about the new Pay Once & Play classification? Let us know in the comments below!




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