The gaming industry uses psychological tactics to trigger addiction and more spending, but gamers can stay safe and sane with these tips.
Video gaming is now the world’s largest entertainment industry – bigger than music, even bigger than Hollywood. That means, for game developers and publishers, it’s also the most profitable place to be.
Uniquely among the entertainment industries, gaming is also a tech field – it’s part of the Silicon Valley revolution, and innovation has been a core part of it since the beginning. This means we don’t always pay for the products we’re getting in the same way we pay for movies, books, or music. It also means that some of the innovations game companies use to make money have unexpected side effects.
Other than direct sales, how is the industry making its money right now, and how can it affect us?
Subscription
Subscription-based monthly or annual fee models of monetization have long been the favorite of online multiplayer games, where players make regular payments for continued access to the product. In return, the game often gets continuous support, and may be updated, improved or refined over time.
Free-to-play
The term “free-to-play” has, to a degree, become orphaned from its original meaning. Originally, this was how games could be offered for free – no initial price, no subscription – and still find a way to make money. While the game itself was free, optional in-game enhancements would be offered for extra fees. These usually took the form of performing in-game actions more quickly, or a guarantee of rare in-game items. Loot boxes are currently a very popular form of ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
