I don’t think it’s actually gotten much worse (things even got slightly better after a few countries threatened legislation for going after children), it’s just that those tactics have slowly made their way out of the mobile space (where post-installation monetization strategies are a result of users expecting mobile games to be free, or at most a couple of dollars) and into regular gaming.
A free-to-play gacha game on Android having a scummy monetization model is nothing new, but an $80 (soon to be $90) AAA game double- and triple-dipping into your wallet with paid season passes and FOMO banners and all that other junk, plus plastering ads on its menus? That’s still relatively new to consoles/PC, and putting that crap in games you paid for represents a new level of greed.
Wow and that was 15 years ago. Think of how much worse it has become now
I don’t think it’s actually gotten much worse (things even got slightly better after a few countries threatened legislation for going after children), it’s just that those tactics have slowly made their way out of the mobile space (where post-installation monetization strategies are a result of users expecting mobile games to be free, or at most a couple of dollars) and into regular gaming.
A free-to-play gacha game on Android having a scummy monetization model is nothing new, but an $80 (soon to be $90) AAA game double- and triple-dipping into your wallet with paid season passes and FOMO banners and all that other junk, plus plastering ads on its menus? That’s still relatively new to consoles/PC, and putting that crap in games you paid for represents a new level of greed.