Did FDEV Pioneer The Modern "Microtransaction HeII" Phenomenon?

I was thinking about it the other day, and Elite Dangerous was the first game in which I ever noticed the "microtransaction heII" phenomenon. Admittedly, I don't play a whole wide variety of different games or a lot of multiplayer games.

But I distinctly remember when FDEV rolled out their (hilariously named) digital ARX currency. And yeah, I've bought some stuff with real money...

I do like the ability to earn ARX while playing the game. But we need to talk about some things...

  • ARX store is a great way for FDEV to passively make money but it's underutilized. With some balancing, it could be a great thing for players and for FDEV to make more money.
  • Having time limited stuff just makes no sense, as there are things players would like to buy but forget about or miss while they are taking a hiatus. ARX store items should be always available, but maybe with seasonal/holiday special pricing. But players should always be able to buy what they want, unless it's a limited edition for some very, very special reason.
  • The pricing of ARX store items is ridiculous. FDEV simply hasn't optimized the equations on this. There are two philosophies (probably more) when selling a product; sell it very expensively to the very few who will buy it (FDEV's current model) or sell it reasonably to many more people who will buy it at that price. You've got to find the sweet spot to optimize earnings. FDEV's pricing is currently outrageous. Has anyone calculated how much it would cost to buy all ARX store items? I bet it's (heh heh) astronomical. I'm sure some will say that's okay because Star Scamizen does it. Well.... whatever
  • FDEV should consider offering more ARX store items. I think many ED players would like to see camouflage paints and dazzle paints that are inspired by modern military craft. I think just that arena alone opens up probably hundreds of styles of digicam, etc. Another vein of paint styles would be styles inspired by muscle/performance cars. I'd love to see more mirrored/metallic/candy finishes for some of the luxury/performance ships. And of course, I think there could be more ship kit items as well. Players love this stuff... if it's quality and if it's priced affordably.
  • I'd love to see more paints that you just get as a reasonably priced pack for all your ships or bundled for a lot of ships that it fits. That makes a lot more sense to me than buying paints one by one per ship. Maybe that's just me.

o7
Fly economically
The ARX system has potential, but the time-limited aspect and pricing could use some tweaking. I'm all for more variety in the ARX store, especially themed paints for modern military and car-inspired styles. Bundle deals for paints across multiple ships would be a game-changer. FDEV, take notes!
 
I wasn’t especially happy about the transition but then again it made perfect sense to have one system for the game (all their games?) rather than different currencies for the PC and each console.
I don't play any other Frontier games but are ARX useable in like Jurassic World or whatever?
 
I have thought of them as a fitted wrap rather than some bloke with a bucket and brush.

I mean, that's great for a head canon, but as far as purchasing game content, it's stupid that I should have to buy the red squadron paint or whatever, and then when I change my ship I have to buy the red squadron paint again?? I mean I get it, they have to make it for each ship, but I counter that by saying that they dont have to make it for every download. They make it once and the rest is pure profit. The development time on creating the paint split between purchasers is practically nothing. So not allowing paint jobs to be across all ships is some of the slimiest, greediest microtransaction rubbish there is.
 
To me Arx is not a problem. I bought all kinds of stuff before Arx was introduced. To me it is just another way of handling this, adjustment to what everyone else has been doing for years. An in-game currency (Arx) for purchasing in-game products, not part of the in-game economy (CR). The great part with ED is that it is all cosmetic. It gives me the chance to change what I want to how I want it. That is the true nature of Role Playing Game. There is no "pay to win" when you buy and spend Arx. I avoid all multiplayer games that support "pay to win".
 
as far as purchasing game content, it's stupid that I should have to buy the red squadron paint or whatever, and then when I change my ship I have to buy the red squadron paint again??

Meanwhile, as far as I’m concerned, I’d never buy a blue squadron paint pack that includes every ship in the game, because I’d not use 90% of those paint jobs. I may favor blue for my ship collection in general, but there’s sufficient styles to choose from that I prefer to have a variety blue paint jobs. Plus there’s ships where I favored ”go faster” red, schoolbus yellow, emerald green, smuggler black, and so on…

Variety is the spice of life, as far as I’m concerned. Forcing me to buy a dozen cosmetics when I only want one, on the other hand, is the loss of a sale.
 
Meanwhile, as far as I’m concerned, I’d never buy a blue squadron paint pack that includes every ship in the game, because I’d not use 90% of those paint jobs
Agreed. Everybody is different, but I don't put the same paint job on two ships. I might have a couple cheepo basic colors for multiple ships until I made my big decision. Certainly no fancy paint job on two ships.
 
Everybody is different, but I don't put the same paint job on two ships.
For the ships I use most, I have several PJs - most of them corroded...
Still holding out for the Courier Raider Kit...

I do have to confess that Irridescent Scorch on my Phantom was probably my best decision, love it!
 
Fdev have pioneered loads of things but I think Steam and EA beat them to micro transactions as loads of their titles had them first (The Sims and Dead Space 3 being the most memorable)
 
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