Fans get around Dead Space 3 microtransactions. EA says the exploit is intentional
2/9/13 1:01pm
If there’s one thing about Dead Space 3 that has drawn a lot of negative attention, it was EA’s decision to insert microtransactions into the game. I mean why spend so much time looking for in-game resources to upgrade your weapons when you could spend some extra cash (on a game you’ve already paid $60+ for) to get them instantaneously right? If this method is good enough for mobile gamers it’s good enough for the console audience too right? The Free to Play business model is perfect for fully priced retail games right? Right?
As it turns out, there were plenty of people who didn’t take too kindly to this marketing strategy and as a result, some dedicated fans put in the effort to find a way around it and needless to say, they not only succeeded but they also shared the exploit with the world.
You’d think in a situation like this, EA would be furious but this isn’t the case (at least officially) as the publisher told Forbe’s Erik Kain, the work around is not actually an exploit but rather an intentional design choice, so don’t expect it to get patched up.
“We encourage players to explore the game and discover the areas where resources respawn for free. We’ve deliberately designed Dead Space 3 to allow players to harvest resources by playing through the game. For those that wish to accumulate upgrades instantly, we have enabled an optional system for them to buy the resources at a minimal cost ($1-$3).”
Call me a jaded pessimist if you will but I don’t buy EA’s story. Why would Visceral insert microtransactions only to (purposefully) add respawning resources to render the transactions pointless?
It was likely a glitch but one EA ultimately (and likely begrudgingly) decided not to patch in order to save face with its customers. Although this is just my personal theory.
Regardless of the reason, good on EA for not patching this up and hopefully this whole situation prevents the publisher from trying anything like this again.
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g1 DISCUSSIONS
darkhyrulelord
They say that the exploit was INTENTIONAL??? Then what's the point of microtransactions!?
They Call Me The Fizz
Oh, you know SOMEBODY got fired over this...
chrisat928
Oh Jesus fuck. ALL OF THE "DLC" IS AVAILABLE IN GAME! YOU CAN BUY IT TO SPEED THINGS ALONG, BUT IT IS NOT REQUIRED. Now kindly shut the fuck up about this bullshit.
VettoRyo
I also think it not a big deal as you can't get the MK-V parts without shelling out Rations/Cash there banking on that not the Rescores, frankly toward the end I had so much rescore, that I don’t even know what to do with it all.
Board_games_r_evil
it's not intentional it's more like EA doesnt want to fish out say 50k per console to patch it, those dont come free you know, but i wonder if the PC one will get patched
I'm pretty sure that will piss them off quite a bit, all 9 of them
southsing
If this exploit, part of one of the central features of the game, is "intentional", you know that something is seriously wrong over at EA.
NemesisTrestkon
If I were EA, I'd try to remedy the situation by patching up that workaround.
samuraisnake
This is just stupid on EA's part.
SanjiSasuke
To me this sounds like: EA: You don't have to buy these scraps, you can get them free by farming, like any other game. The DLC is the lazy man's way.
Gamers: HAHA! We don't have to buy them, we can get them free! Boom, gotcha EA!
EA: Okay then.
Seriously, the scraps are not exclusively DLC. They are not necessary to buy, it is like a Time Savers Pack.
Clayvman
For those who haven't played it either, materials in Game that you collect using the little robots can be used to perches the DLC Item Packs instead of using Microsoft points you use Ration Points...or something, think of it as the Credits in Mass Effect 3.
So every time your robot goes out to pick up items you get a couple points. It costs 60 to get the biggest pack.