Microtransactions posts

In what is likely to be a controversial (but not unpredictable) move, Valve has added microtransactions to their hat-simulator Team Fortress 2. The new Mann Co. Store functions much like the PSN store, only for items: put cash into your wallet, buy some items, use them. No gameplay-altering item is store exclusive, and most of the cosmetic items aren't either. A few, however, can't be acquired through drops and are solely available through the store now, like the Gentlemanne's Medal. We're really skeptical about the addition of microtransactions, especially given that there's no way to use the store using earnable currency like scrap metal. It's solely for paying customers.

Besides the microtransactions, this newest update adds the long-awaited trading feature, the ability to gift items, the Polycount pack, minigames (although we don't know what kind), and in-game customizable items. The item system is currently down in-game, presumably because it is being hammered by players. There's also a humorous comic which offers an in-universe explanation for the system.

Update: In addition to the new in-game trading and buying system, Team Fortress 2 is currently on sale via Steam for just $9.99, a 50 percent price cut from its normal price

Full patch notes after the cut.

Welcome to Freeware Friday, a weekly column showcasing excellent games that you can play free of charge!

We don't cover free-to-play games often on Freeware Friday, generally because they are bad. This column is, after all, for good freeware games. However, every once in a while, a game comes out of the blue and clocks us across the face with its quality, regardless of transaction status. League of Legends is such a game, and while it is not completely free (it sports microtransactions), it's excellent and offers free players enough variety to sidestep the problem of most free-to-play games. It is also, arugably, the best of the Defense of the Ancients (DotA) clones.

While GDC 2010 is over with, some things that were introduced in the conference are coming to light. One of them is a new online PDF brocheru for Valve's Steamworks game development tools that reveals a couple of new features that were not previously announced. One big one is new support for in-game microtransactions. Steamworks has now been upgraded to allow developers to use the tools to support such transactions. Players can now purchase in-game items within their Steam account.

Valve has also upgrades their Steam Cloud feature to allow for 100MB of data to be stored in the server per game (previously the storage capacity was a mere 1MB). There also also some interesting Steam stats in the PDF including the fact that there are 20 petabytes of data delivered via Steam each month (which, if you are unfamiliar with "petabytes" , is a lot. Look it up).

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

The week's column is a new thing for Playing for Free. Granted, the column is only a month old, so it's perfectly acceptable to introduce new things! In this case, it's not a stand-alone game, but one of those free browser MMOs that lots of bored office workers play on their idle time. It's called Ikariam, and it surprisingly good given the rather crowded and poorly-realized genre that is the browser MMO. So for those interested in a little game that keeps on chugging while you work or play, here's one of the better browser MMOs to peruse.

Each week we find more and more free games that do not quite fit into the freeware mold. Games that do not require a subscription fee to play, but encourage player usage of money through microtransactions or special subscription services. This is Playing For Free, a column that showcases these games.

There are a lot of free-to-play action games out there. Some of them are great, and some of them are terrible. Then there are those that are great games but suffer from a poor community. Combat Arms falls into this category. It's a good shooter, if relatively rote, but it suffers from stats padding and hacking accusations. If you can find a good group to play with, you'll have an absolute blast. Just don't expect public games with strangers to be all that entertaining, thanks to getting booted all the time.

A German game developer called Splitscreen Studios has just announced Pirate Galaxy, a 3D, browser-based MMO. The press release (warning: PDF) describes Pirate Galaxy as a "space combat game set in the distant future," in which you may "join thousands of other players as you fight to break free from the tyranny of ruthless alien oppressors."

Gameplay seems to be focused on fighting enemies to acquire ship upgrades. Big surprise there! The game will use a microtransaction-based business model. That is to say, it will be free to play, but some ship upgrades and other bonuses will be sold in an online shop. Splitscreen, which is made up of former Bigpoint employees, hopes to launch Pirate Galaxy by year's end.

This is probably the hundred trillionth browser-based MMO to be announced in the past two years. But hey, there's probably room for quite a few of them.

As you sit their reading this, sipping your caffeinated beverage of choice... an online battle rages. Subscription-based MMOs versus the microtransaction business model. Cage match. Fight to the death. Gamasutra conducted a round table about this battle royal with SOE's John Smedley, Three Ring's Daniel James and EA Mythic's Mark Jacobs. What unfolds makes it clear that the payment scheme for MMOs is evolving. Into what exactly is anyone's guess.

Most of the MMOs in the United States are subscription based. Almost everywhere else they are microtransaction based. The mentality here in the States however is starting to change. So much so that many developer are waiting until the last possible second to decide which route to take. For instance SOE has taken a "wait-and-see attitude" for their spy game, The Agency. They're waiting to see how another of their soon to be released MMOs -- Free Realms -- fairs, which uses something they call "freemiums." You can play for free, but you can also sign up for a club in game that gives you extras (for a fee, which is not unlike some other MMOs). They have built the flexibility into The Agency so they can go in either direction.

There's been a lot of buzz in the past few months about Battlefield Heroes, the upcoming free-to-play multiplayer shooter from developer Digital Illusions and publisher Electronic Arts. The idea of playing a free shooter from the Battlefield dev team (supported by microtransactions and web based ads) is certainly appealing However it looks like the first release of the game (due this summer) will just have two levels.

According to a recent Gamasutra Q&A on the game, Battlefield Heroes will be released at first with just one infantry based map and an additional vehicle-based map. Of course it's likely that DICE will release additional maps for the game (and we are guessing that will be part of the title's "microtransactions" features) but remember; you get what you paid for.