In-game cosmetics: 4 reasons not to buy them 🚫😱
Key findings
- Paid cosmetics don't add anything to the gameplay, making them a tough sell for many players. 🎮💸
- Other players generally aren't interested in your premium cosmetics, which are often used as a sign of social status. 😎🏆
- Paid cosmetics may be subject to dubious business practices such as artificial scarcity. ⚠️
Game developers need to earn a living for the work they do, and I'm usually happy to reward them! However, when it comes to paid cosmetics in games, there's a line I won't cross. 🚫💳
No gameplay benefits
I understand that video games are something we don't just play, but also spend time watching. I want my character to look great, and I definitely want a game to have awesome cosmetic costumes. But if I'm asked to pay extra just for a cosmetic change, that's a tough pill to swallow. 🤷♂️
In fact, one could say that the single-player games with cosmetic DLC makes more sense, as it's really done for one's own enjoyment. However, in multiplayer games Like Diablo IV, there is a clear attempt to exploit players financially through cosmetics that provide no benefit to the game. The approach that has Helldivers 2 It's a thousand times better: any cosmetic item in the game can be obtained by playing normally, and in a reasonable amount! 🎉
Other players don't really care.
Premium cosmetics are often a social signal. Just like wearing an expensive watch or driving a fancy car. These social class signals also carry over into the virtual world, and game developers rely on this human social instinct to motivate people to buy cosmetics. Especially those that are time-bound and therefore rare. ⏳✨
The thing is, while you might feel great showing off your shiny outfits (and that's nothing to sneeze at, to be fair), other players don't really care. In fact, you're more likely to receive negative backlash than any kind of positive treatment. Whether it's out of envy or pure disdain, you might experience a bit more trolling due to wearing or displaying items you've earned through gameplay exploits. 😔⚔️
Skins often have deceptive business practices
I've already mentioned that in-game cosmetics are often sold using artificial scarcity, but this is just one of the potentially deceptive psychological tricks developers and publishers use. I particularly dislike it when a game has paid cosmetics from launch, as this suggests they've intentionally separated the most attractive cosmetics from the game to make more money on top of the price they're already asking for them. 💰❌
In fact, it's the same principle: that publishers are deliberately creating skins and other cosmetics that are less attractive to give away, in order to make their paid skins look better, can sometimes be annoying to me. 🙄
They are no better than NFTs
In a sense, paid cosmetics are like NFTs, except that in most cases, you can't sell them for a profit. Of course, many popular games that use a loot box system to award cosmetics have also spawned underground skin markets, so someone lucky enough to get a rare skin may end up selling it for thousands of dollars. 🎲💵 Thus, paid skins in games are elevated to the category of gambling, where players can spend hundreds of dollars on loot boxes in the vain hope of winning big. 🎰
You can look great without spending anything
The truth is that paid cosmetics tend to be flashy, and you'll probably get tired of them pretty quickly. While this varies from one game to another, it is generally better to use equipment standard and free cosmetic items to create an overall look that isn't a gold and silver nightmare with RGB lighting included. 🎨✨ Some games offer more custom cosmetic options that you play, unlocking virtual dyes or allowing you to mix and match different pieces of gear to create something unique.
Being unique and tasteful is always the way to go, in my opinion. But if you want to look like the digital version of a smartphone adorned with glittering jewels, then by all means, enjoy your gaming experience however you like. 🤩🎮
