Freemium...

Freemium

The concatenation of the words "Free" and "Premium."  A contradiction of terms to be sure.  The best things in life may be free but rarely do they rate the label of premium.

You may have heard the big announcement from Blizzard last week about the imminent departure of Diablo 3's auction houses on March 18th (2014.)  For the uninitiated, there are currently both cash and in-game currency options for acquiring loot via the auction marketplace.  For many players it became a viable alternative to actually playing the game to acquire your goodies.

Problem was, it seems the best stuff ended up being bought not found.  Like many recent triple-A titles (Like Borderlands 2) it's often more productive to buy your way to the top than rely on the often disappointing loot drops.  That set the stage for Blizzard's auction house problem.  A whole community sprang up alongside Diablo 3 whose sole purpose was to capitalize on Blizzard's naiveté.   

"When we initially designed and implemented the auction houses, the driving goal was to provide a convenient and secure system for trades. But as we've mentioned on different occasions, it became increasingly clear that despite the benefits of the AH system and the fact that many players around the world use it, it ultimately undermines Diablo's core game play" Blizzard

Blizzard's grand idea to short circuit the practice of players buying and selling upgraded characters on EBay (and Blizzard not getting their cut) ended up being a "short-circuited core reward loop." 

Ever since its inception, Diablo 3's auction house has been accused of being just another example of "pay to win."  

It created a market that's become a cornerstone of the free to play revenue model with returns that would make a stock broker jealous.

But Diablo 3 wasn't free, in fact it was one of those "Triple-A" titles that was going to set you back at least $60.  Depending on your level of fandom that could go as high as $150 for the Collector's Edition.

That's a pretty high price of admission just to be treated like a Team Fortress 2 player. 

If a game is decent and comes without a price tag then chances are you're going to be asked to buy something along the way if you want more than just the basics.  There's nothing wrong with that but what if you've already paid upfront for the privilege? 

It's the classic argument against DLC.  Games like Battlefield 3, Borderlands and Crysis offer upgraded equipment, a raise in level caps and other advantages only paid DLC or upgrades can provide.  In some cases unbalancing the experience for those who choose to spend their money more wisely.

But what happened with Diablo 3 is something far worse. 

Intentional or not it's taken greed to the next level in the industry with the careless structuring of Diablo's auction system.   Even amongst the claims of it only being intended as a place for players to trade items, the reality was quite different. 

When you introduce a profit motive unrelated to the game itself, opportunists will be ready to fleece the faithful.  That's why Blizzard shut down the EBay sales and moved them into its own ecosystem.  What Blizzard didn't count on was rampant capitalism to turn on them.  When it became apparent that the game was rapidly becoming an arms race based on how much you could pay the faithful began to lose faith.

After all, why buy a DLC pack promising better items if they can be undercut by the unruly mobs of the auction house.  Gamers got wise and now Blizzard looks stupid.

The core problem is the mistaken belief that a publisher can treat a triple-A title as though it were a freemium offering like Plants Vs Zombies 2 or Simpson's Tap Out.  More to the point, that anyone would put up with it for long is an insult to everyone's intelligence.

But it's just a game right?  Of course it is but it seems like we never get what we're promised unless we keep paying.  Extras are fine but don't screw up the basics in the process guys.

It's like going to a movie and 10 minutes before it ends the lights go up and the ushers came around demanding another $10 to see the finale.   

Personally, I'm getting a little tired of games trying to have their own ecosystems.  If the extra content is that great then it either should have already been in the game or been put into a sequel. 

If a game needs all this periphery crap to be successful then maybe it isn't that good to start with.