The existence of in-game micro-transactions or the idea of games being Pay to Win is a big topic of discussion amongst those who spend a lot of their time playing games. For the most part—and understandably so—they are looked down on. I think it’s important to note that, as a hobby, gaming can be pretty expensive depending on how invested you are/the amount of games or devices you own. Throwing additional costs onto the base cost just adds onto this to sometimes insane degrees. This might not be such a big deal in games that are either free or fairly inexpensive, but these are not the only games being impacted. It is something which taints games whose prices are much higher, as well. The default price tag of individual AAA games tends to be about 60$, which is already pretty expensive for a lot of people. When these games then incorporate Pay to Win aspects or lock important game-play mechanics/weapons behind the intimidating wall of micro-transactions, an issue is born. Unfortunately, many people are drawn into the trap of micro-transactions to the point where they are spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on upgrades that should arguably be unlockable without a price tag associated—especially since the initial price tag for these games is already pretty high for a lot of people. Without even taking micro-transactions into account, people, including myself, have had to decide which games they are more drawn toward and which games they will either pass on or wait for discounts on due mostly to the dip these purchases inevitably make in bank accounts. These days, I haven’t noticed this practice too much in single-player games. It’s usually online games which are faced with this issue the most.

 While an argument could be made that these micro-transactions are optional (which is true), it must also be understood that buying them typically gives the player a sizeable advantage in terms of winning matches due to the points, weapons or skills they’ve purchased. Because of this, there are people who possess the belief that they must have these upgrades and therefore must increasingly spend money on them. It’s one thing if the items are purely cosmetic and/or don’t impact gameplay, but this typically isn’t the case. The items accessible only through additional purchases are usually painted as a Big Deal. The allure of digital items which would otherwise be unavailable is a drawing factor for those who buy them. Then there are those who claim they don’t make a difference—these are usually the people who don’t win a ton. While this can be disheartening to know, a lot of developers are decreasing their habit of including micro-transactions or designing their games as Pay to Win. That being said, there’s still a long way to go due to the fact that there’s still innumerable developers who’ve done the opposite of decreasing additional prices on top of their base games. I think it would definitely be beneficial to a lot of people if this practice were to die down in time.