I'm not exactly sure how to start something like this, so I'll just give it to the all of you straight.

I was recently reminded about Mental Manipulation done solely to sell microtransactions. If you haven't heard, giant corporations (One might come to mind) are currently figuring out ways to psychologically manipulate people and rig key functions of games, just to get deeper into peoples' wallets. Already, I know that in the future, the CoD (Childrens' Online Daycare) series will pit players against paying players with much stronger weapons, forcing the other to die and then be served a pop-up to buy the weapon the other person used, only to then test it out on someone who doesn't have the weapon you do, repeating the cycle.

Not only that, but I've also heard that PvP-dependent games will rig match making in another way, forcing players into guaranteed loss or win situations, depending on how they play. This can make keeping up a great winning streak very close to impossible, since you could be forced to deal with someone you just can't fight against just because you've won many times.

Even worse, some sort of AI is being built to stalk people to sell them stuff, and it's worse than the normal internet advertising on social media. Entire rooms could be mapped from just a few seconds of sound, apps and games can tell what car people drive, when they tend to be on or off the game, their likes and dislikes, everything. Even if you don't play the game, the AI will collect your information and exploit it to get more cash out of you.

I feel very bad about the future of games. It used to be about the adventure, the experience, being able to give yourself a challenge. Now, it has devolved into a scam business carefully designed to exploit and drain people, thanks to the introduction of microtransactions, lootboxes, and the next one on the list: The Monetization AI.

This news I keep hearing makes me want to quit modern gaming altogether. I feel like video games are becoming weapons of surveillance. Combine that with 5G which will come in 2 years from now, and privacy shall become extinct in normal households.

I'm a little skeptical of that last little bit about the AI... But I wouldn't rule it out entirely.

It's sad and stupid that this is even a problem. All that needs to happen to reign in the greed is the average consumer to express their discontent with a company's product quality or business ethics by simply choosing not to consume and they'll get the picture crystal clear. It's that simple. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's ever going to happen... They have their core crowds that'll stay loyal regardless of the amount of abuse.

Most of what I play is out of date already. There are a lot of games on Gamecube and Playstation 2 alone that I haven't played yet and buying and collecting them now won't support the companies now. Once I run out, I guess I'll just find another hobby.

"I feel very bad about the future of games. It used to be about the adventure, the experience, being able to give yourself a challenge"

It still is. You've just gotta know where to look. I don't believe the industry will ever completely devolve. Hope still exists.

Check out Nintendo. Although they have pushed their Amiibos in many ways, they remain an optional part of gameplay. Their games, while they can technically be argued to be impacted by the lack of Amiibos, are complete, in a sense, without them. Not true of their every game, but if you look closely, I believe it will not be hard to see.

It is also true of the Indie game industry. Many if not most indie games have no IAPs. They largely succeed on the quality of their gameplay or broad appeal. Games such as Hollow Knight and Shovel Knight continue to push out free updates (although Shovel Knight did see a price increase), which, at least in Shovel Knight's case, are like completely new games. One campaign became three, with one more to go and another mode on top of it.

I also point to Guacamelee. Drinkbox pushed out a new version of the game for $14.99. But this new version added an additional boss, a new level, added enemies and versions of enemies, and a new mechanic. While one may say it's not as generous as Shovel Knight, it arguably adds something significant enough to be worth a second purchase, unless it's your first one. The two games are sold separately, and you can purchase the updated version without having to buy the original.

Yes, things are going downhill. But not all things. Some things are actually on an upward trend. Just look for them, and you'll find them.

Games are meant to make money.  That's the whole point.  We're given entertainment and the people who designed and execute the games make cash off us.

I play a game, World of Warships, and there are technologies and advancements available through cash purchases.  Some players have an advantage because they get camouflages, better guns, etc, and that makes their game easier to play.

I still have fun because I like sailing around and shooting things.  But there's this big capitalist machine in video games out there.  If I get too frustrated and upset about playing because the deck is stacked against me, I can leave and play something else.  And if all games go this direction, another platform of entertainment will pop up.  It'll be that easy.

So, video games are meant to make money.  If you're not paying money, they probably don't want you to be playing their game anyway.  It's a business and when you don't get the upgrades or spend the cash, the games don't want you to have any incentive to keep playing.

Maybe now is a great time to learn a new skill or game or hobby.  Or you can check out the library.  They don't have microtransactions unless you're late with returning your books.  And those are called 'fines.'

 in my opinion I believe that the only purpose of these kind of games is for the companies to make money off the people who play them and while it may be possible to win the game who knows how much money you will have to pay for the extra upgrades,weapons and other things they make available back in my days I had 3 paper routes and used to use the money I made towards buying games for my nintendo and while the games back then were $70.00 each there was never a time when any extra money had to be put out and while these games are considered old compared to the one,s that are available now I still find them to be as entertaining as any of the other video games but if I ever was to get any of the new one,s I would buy a game system and the games separate rather than go find a game like the one you described on the internet where you can play the game so far but have to pay more and more money for the extras in order to win the game

This is exactly why I play retro games. So I don't have to deal with it.

Ghostbear1111 : I'm making a couple of assumption here so I might be a little off, but if World of Warships is anything like World of Tanks Blitz, the stuff you buy only grants you so much of an advantage. The premium vehicles in WoTB for example really aren't all that superior to the regular vehicles in the game, and even the ones that are a fair bit better don't make a huge difference in the battles if your team's coordinated well enough. There's also the fact that they're free games. You can expect free games to have some microtransactions or ads or the like because they're otherwise not making any money off the game. Even for games you have to buy first, some small payed DLC like cosmetics or minor upgrades are acceptable.

From what I gather, what he's talking about is paying $40-60 for a game that's presumed to be complete to find out that a third of the core content is locked behind a pay wall. He's talking about major-league, game breaking performance upgrades that put out players that don't feel like they should have to shovel out five or ten bucks extra on top of paying for a full price game just to keep up with the competition. He's talking about manipulating the match making by intentionally pitting more skilled players who have thrown tons of money into completely overpowered buffs and equipment with total newcomers and using that as a sales pitch. At what point is it really different from walking into a casino and blowing a few hundred dollars on slot machines?

On the other hand, supernerd makes a decent point that these arguably unethical practices are largely restricted to AAA gaming. With more and more indie support on consoles in addition to PC gaming, there are tons of great games to be played without being ripped off by the big devs and publishers if people are willing to look for them.