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Pokémon Unite
- Thread starter Codraroll
- Start date
Anyone have a quick explanation of what's wrong with Tencent? Not familiar with them.
Because China bad.
Well rather than the hold of kids data (which is a concern, but it isn't exactly avoidable anyway), I am worried of it also managing to induce them in clicking a lot of "buy" on daddy's CC, on a franchise that so far has been "mostly" clean of whaling systems.
Tencent is a very famous Chinese company, owning a lot (fully like Riot or in high% like Blizzard and Epic) of western gaming companies amongst other things.
Outside of the various "free hong kong" stuff which should have nothing to do with this anyway, Tencent is a company famous for ... a lot of censorship, privacy breaching and monetization issues.
Wikipedia has some mentions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tencent
That's quite reductive :P I don't want to turn the topic in a "slam Tencent or nah" derail.
Let's say that bashing on Tencent for "FHK" reasons is definitely stupid and I'd agree on calling it "justanotherBBND" scenario, but the company involvement does strike concern for predatory microtransaction and data management as they are not new to it.
I get some of the concerns and to a lesser extent, "bad timing" on the announcement, but I don't see the reason for all the slander right after they announced it. Why is it such a "bad" announcement in terms of expectations that people are jokingly (or maybe not) saying they had zero expectations and they were still disappointed? Though let's be honest, it's because they expected gen 4 remakes or Let's Go Johto (which would be a terrible idea and they should never make another Let's Go game). Hell, there are tons of replies they should've revealed this in last week's Presents and saved Snap for this week's, which is like, really?
Also, what I don't understand is why I'm supposed to care about some kid in another country (hell, even where I live) spending his/her parents' money on microtransactions when that's more a parenting issue for the kid's parents.
Also, what I don't understand is why I'm supposed to care about some kid in another country (hell, even where I live) spending his/her parents' money on microtransactions when that's more a parenting issue for the kid's parents.
It's called being worried about people in power abusing weak people that cannot fight back, I think they call it "empathy" or "social morale".
You know, something that doesn't exist on the internets usually.
I've played for almost 8 years DotA / DotA2 / HoN (Heroes of Newerth), and I really loved MOBA ! So I'm happy but I think the game played we've seen is childish compared to the others MOBA games !
But honestly, there was too much hyped about two Pokemon Direct, I expected something more important !
But honestly, there was too much hyped about two Pokemon Direct, I expected something more important !
Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
Except these people can be protected, it's called "Being a parent who actually gives a shit about what their children see/do online."
I feel sympathy for kids who end up in stuff like this not because "oh man the corporation's abusing them" but because "oh man I'm so sad they have such useless neglectful parents"
You're not wrong, but that's still not an excuse.
Just because some (too many, sadly) parents arent able to control their kids, doesn't mean it's right to have systems in place that create addiction on them and get them spend money. And what should be in place to protect them (laws), definitely do not affect Chinese products, and in general on the internets the control over predatory mts is very lacking.
As I said, it's a case of "should we really allow kids in a place that sells alchol to anyone?".
Are you really willing to watch them hurt themselves and their parents money, just because their parents weren't able to control them?
Then again, it's clear I'm the only one with this apparently-too-emphatic thought, so I'll drop this point.
Shitty parents will always exist. It's the responsibility of everyone else to make sure their shittiness doesn't screw over their children.
I think it leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth because there's no way this game wasn't conceived in a boardroom. It can't possibly have started with a designer having a vision, or an enthusiast pitching an idea to somebody, or a creative team gathering to figure out what project to do next. The question that spurred off the development of this game certainly wasn't "how can we make a new spin on the Pokémon franchise?", it was "How can we milk the franchise to make more money?" Because "microtransaction-riddled reskin of popular game genre" certainly isn't the result of any creative process unless you have a highly disagreeable sense of imagination.
Sure, I get that Pokémon needs to make money. They can't make games for free, and they have to pick a monetization scheme that leaves them with enough to keep the employees fed and the lights on. But they have a successful brand and a proven history of success, which gives them a lot of wiggle room. They can afford to take creative chances now and then, and still make money.
However, I don't see creativity anywhere in this. Monetary concerns seems to have triumphed creative concerns in every decision. Making money isn't enough; making all the money seems to have been the primary goal. From what I can see, the game format and mechanics are staples of the genre and without innovation on Pokémon's part (the core mechanic of type advantages seems to have been summarily discarded, even), the Pokémon available seem to have been selected because they are the biggest plushie pushers, and the number of times a free-to-start model has actually improved a game experience can surely be counted on one hand. And, of course, they got Tencent involved. Who ever went into business with them because they actually liked the company or its reputation?
So yeah, this game isn't made to break new ground, experiment with a new format, or take Pokémon in a new direction. If it is, they sure communicated it badly. It is, first and foremost, a scheme to make as much money as possible, and it seems that everything else has been a secondary concern.
Or TL;DR: This is so blatantly fuelled by greed and nothing else it makes me disgusted.
Sure, I get that Pokémon needs to make money. They can't make games for free, and they have to pick a monetization scheme that leaves them with enough to keep the employees fed and the lights on. But they have a successful brand and a proven history of success, which gives them a lot of wiggle room. They can afford to take creative chances now and then, and still make money.
However, I don't see creativity anywhere in this. Monetary concerns seems to have triumphed creative concerns in every decision. Making money isn't enough; making all the money seems to have been the primary goal. From what I can see, the game format and mechanics are staples of the genre and without innovation on Pokémon's part (the core mechanic of type advantages seems to have been summarily discarded, even), the Pokémon available seem to have been selected because they are the biggest plushie pushers, and the number of times a free-to-start model has actually improved a game experience can surely be counted on one hand. And, of course, they got Tencent involved. Who ever went into business with them because they actually liked the company or its reputation?
So yeah, this game isn't made to break new ground, experiment with a new format, or take Pokémon in a new direction. If it is, they sure communicated it badly. It is, first and foremost, a scheme to make as much money as possible, and it seems that everything else has been a secondary concern.
Or TL;DR: This is so blatantly fuelled by greed and nothing else it makes me disgusted.
A quick reminder: remember how people made a big deal about Pokemon Quest and Chinese being added to the languages in SM? Thats because Pokemon didnt have jack all in China til that point. So Japan collabing with grand a huge tech giant is a pretty gargantuan deal. Especially when you remember China has the biggest population on earth.
Hold on, why is this a bigger problem for Tencent when we literally do not know what the microtransactions will be for? Why did (do?) we not have the same concern for DeNA and Masters, where microtransactions are spent exclusively on gacha for new pairs? Or for Niantic and Go, where microtransactions can be used in a variety of ways, including character customization, extra raid passes, exclusive events, etc.? Or even Genius Sorority and Shuffle, where microtransactions are used for extra stamina, coins (which are then used for items to S-rank stages), etc.?
I'm just going to leave this issue where it is now, since it's gone way off-topic.
Back on-topic for a minute, Talonflame does seem to be an odd choice given its typing clashes with Charizard's and it's not that popular, at least according to the recent ranking that had Talonflame 6th among Kalos Pokemon. Machamp's typing half overlaps with Lucario's, so I'd have liked to see a different Pokemon in its place as well, assuming type advantages are going to be a thing.
Going through the rankings, and eliminating all the legendaries and existing typings, it would leave Umbreon and Garchomp in to replace Talonflame and Machamp, which I feel would have been better choices. That said, since all Pokemon start at level 1 in their base forms, it would be a bit odd having Eevee for it to evolve into Umbreon only. Oh, and I guess Pikachu doesn't evolve, then?
Listen I hate MOBAs and I think this looks like shit, but because I hate MOBAs and have always held the belief of "Pokemon would work awkwardly as MOBA so it shouldn't exist" I'm biased. To me FTP/FTS games are generally scummy and scammy especially if they incorporate Loot Boxes(the same goes for paid games btw). Given the massive fan backlash so far, this is reminding me of the Diablo mobile game fiasco that happened a few years ago at E3 which you know is sort of fitting given that it's being developed by a company that owns 5% of Activision Blizzard. Needless to say I have no faith in this game at all, and it just strikes me as a quick cash grab for the franchise that most people didn't want and the people who did want it probably want something a lot better.
They aren't.
When I hear people (like the guy two posts above mine), say this pokemon game is a MOBA, I'm really kind of curious as to what a "MOBA" is. This pokemon game kind of does make a good first impression even if it's being made by a Chinese tech giant.
Just as long as I know I'm not being spied on, that's gonna be fine.
The other thing about microtransactions is that it's something outside of the wheelhouse of most parents. Most parents would assume that a kid playing on their phone or Switch isn't going to get into any trouble, especially a POKEMON game. There are horror stories of not just kids, but people with spending addictions throwing thousands of dollars into stuff like this and bankrupting their families off of games that look completely innocent and not at all filled with monetization, only to reveal their hand later on. To think that your six year old on the Switch is going to grab your credit card and buy all the available mons they can is so utterly ALIEN to the average parent, it's no wonder it just doesn't exist as something for them to worry about until it happens.
Just watch Jim's video on such monetization and why it's unacceptable even if it's "JUST COSMETIC". TPC opened up the floodgates when they began going mobile for their games, and it's only going to get worse with a MOBA on console+mobile...
Just watch Jim's video on such monetization and why it's unacceptable even if it's "JUST COSMETIC". TPC opened up the floodgates when they began going mobile for their games, and it's only going to get worse with a MOBA on console+mobile...
Well, the thing is, a child wouldn't know how to use a credit card of all things so how does this schtick that "TPC going mobile for their games and then making a MOBA for console AND mobile" will lead to kids causing their families to go bankrupt? This kind of thing makes literally no sense and it's extremely rare for someone to go ahead and do this.
The only exception I can think of this is if a guy with a spending addiction gets his/her own credit card somehow. I know this kind of monetization is unacceptable, but why complain about it when most kids don't even know how to use a credit card of all things? Furthermore, it's not like the parent will not blatantly know when their child is using their credit card for a F***ING GAME. They have bank accounts, and as such will usually monitor them as closely as possible.
The only exception I can think of this is if a guy with a spending addiction gets his/her own credit card somehow. I know this kind of monetization is unacceptable, but why complain about it when most kids don't even know how to use a credit card of all things? Furthermore, it's not like the parent will not blatantly know when their child is using their credit card for a F***ING GAME. They have bank accounts, and as such will usually monitor them as closely as possible.
You underestimate how resourceful and determined children can be when they want something, and how little parents tend to keep track of their own bank accounts when they have no reason to suspect anything is wrong. It's a more common nightmare than you might assume.
some people have one tap payment / only need to make sure they verify once, meaning that sometimes all kids have to do is click on the $99.99 bundle and bam
Not really that impressed with the game as a whole. I’m not interested in MOBAs as a whole, so I’m going to pass.
That being said, the fact that this game is a Freemium game does concern me. Specifically that there will be advantages for people who pay vs people who don’t. Pokémon Masters has already shown to be unreliable when it comes to micro transactions, so I’m concerned how it will be handled here.
That being said, the fact that this game is a Freemium game does concern me. Specifically that there will be advantages for people who pay vs people who don’t. Pokémon Masters has already shown to be unreliable when it comes to micro transactions, so I’m concerned how it will be handled here.
