By John Walker on April 19th, 2011 at 2:00 pm.
As Jim and I played through the first couple of chapters of Portal 2‘s co-op, we spied a strange sight. The “Robot Enrichment” option on the main menu transformed from doing nothing to opening up a page featuring the two little robots, P-Body and Atlas, and a collection of itemisable slots. Oh heavens.
Both of us, for whatever reason, had been awarded a pink flag with a heart on it, which we were able to attach to our robot backs. “Can you see me wearing it?” we asked the other. Oh my goodness, what has happened to everything?
There’s obviously lots more to come. Currently you can assign objects to various parts of either robot’s bits and bobs (items are duplicated so can be used on either), and there’s a tab for trading them, which has yet to activate.
And there is a store, where for actual money you can buy imaginary items that make no tangible difference to how the game plays. Hello, world? For instance, you can get yourself a pink woolly hat with a weighted companion cube as a bobble. For £2. That’s how much a real bobble hat would cost you at a market.
Also for £2 you can get a comedy moustache. Or for a bargain price of £5 you can get a one-lens “pair” of glasses for your cyclops robot. FIVE POUNDS. HELLO? There’s more gestures to purchase, which you can show to the one other person playing the game with you, other flags to sport, and for £3.50, you can get yourself a completely new skin. Or, if you’re clinically insane, you can buy everything currently available at 56% off for “only” £28, instead of £63.
Items you’ve bought will become tradeable in a few days, the store says. I don’t know if that means they’re tradable when the trading is up and running, or if it’s the norm for each item to need to stay in your inventory awhile after you’ve bought it. I’m also not quite sure why you’d trade with someone for something when you can just buy it for yourself. So presumably more stuff will be appearing. If items are supposed to unlock with completed achievements, then it’s pretty stingy so far. I’ve unlocked 36% of the game’s achievements this morning, and got a flag.
So, there you go. There’s no crafting at this point, so there’s no opportunity for the entrepreneurial big bucks some have made through TF2. There is, however, a chance to pay money for imaginary things that don’t do anything that games used to give you for free. Good-o.
19/04/2011 at 14:03 Ginger Yellow says:
Those glasses are actually pretty cool. But there’s no way I’m paying money for them.
19/04/2011 at 14:22 baby snot says:
So glasses are glasses whether they be one lens or two (or more)?
19/04/2011 at 14:34 Harlander says:
What would you say otherwise?
“The robot wore glass.” which sounds like the title of a sci-fi film noir, or possibly “The cyclops was wearing a glass” which sounds like some kind of post-bacchanalian sartorial mishap
19/04/2011 at 14:38 Vague-rant says:
Surely its just a monocle? Aren’t glasses a specific term with little relevance to glass anyway?
19/04/2011 at 14:40 Harlander says:
A monocle! Of course!
19/04/2011 at 14:46 Spork says:
What is this nonsense? Have you never heard of the safety monocle?! Keeps a chap looking dapper without compromising on safety.
19/04/2011 at 15:26 McDan says:
When I first read this I was against it, but monocles? I can get behind that.
19/04/2011 at 16:01 otzenGulasch says:
Serves you Englishmen right for having single items pluralized!
Glasses! Trousers! Pah!
20/04/2011 at 04:59 sidhellfire says:
Monocle is decent, but notice how square, thick frame makes it “less vintage”.
http://b62.grono.net/251/114/gallery-87664801-500×500.jpg
19/04/2011 at 14:04 frozenbyte says:
This just seems like a bad idea, no matter how you look at it.
19/04/2011 at 14:29 Kdansky says:
I have to completely disagree. This allows Valve to milk idiots for their money. Which I do not really care about as idiots will find a way to waster their money anyway. But on the other hand, this money goes to Valve, which can then create more high-quality games and sell them at standard or even reduced price points (Orange Box contained Portal 1, TF2, HL2, Ep1 and Ep2, yet still was less than standard price).
So in fact: Idiots are financing my hobby. Thank you, idiots!
19/04/2011 at 14:37 TechRogue says:
My problem with this is that I’ll be forced to update the game whenever new “hats” are added. The reason I no longer have TF2 installed is that my internet (I have DSL, which is fast enough to game on, but it takes ~3 hours to download 1gb) just couldn’t cope with the constant updates.
19/04/2011 at 14:42 Marshall Stele says:
First they gave me a hat, and I didn’t speak up because I don’t wear hats…
19/04/2011 at 14:43 Rinox says:
@ Kdansky
Absolutely agree. Too bad a lot of them actually feel that they can blame Valve for making them want things they don’t want to pay for, making a lot of noise about it.
It’s so ridiculous. The self-entitlement is bizarre, this doesn’t seem to happen in any other sector.
19/04/2011 at 17:07 Milky1985 says:
“So in fact: Idiots are financing my hobby. Thank you, idiots!”
The problem comes when they realise that they can make more money from said idiots and instead of supporting your hobby support the idiots….
But of course you are fine with that right?
19/04/2011 at 19:52 Barnaby says:
Have to agree with Milky on this one. I had the same first impression as Kdansky when the TF2 hat store opened until I realized how many “idiots” were actually paying for hats. HL2, L4D2, CSS; these are the things I care about. Not TF2, not Portal 2, not hats… but maybe that DOTA game.
I see Valve on a very slow decline, paying less attention to what the people who have supported them all along actually want.
19/04/2011 at 20:13 Pathetic Phallacy says:
Valve is on a slow decline? Valve is ignoring its fans by incorporating micro-transaction? Portal 2 will somehow be a bad game because it features micro-transactions? These are some of the most wonderfully ridiculous arguments I’ve heard in a while and I just finished researching the ideologies of the Tea Party.
Where exactly is the proof that Valve is ignoring its fans? They release quality products to us PC gamers on a quasi-regular basis. Portal 2 is absolute genius and fun as hell. How is the option to buy a two dollar paint job for my character going to ruin the game? This is just a way for the company to make more money so that they can fund more projects.
How can anyone be mad at a company for trying to make money on items that don’t really affect them in any way shape or form? Also, how are people that buy hats idiots? If aesthetics is important to the player, than why is it so wrong for him to better his game?
Do people honestly believe that the folks at Valve are devoting so much time to making hats and not enough time developing new games? I hope not, because whoever would think that is the real idiot. Hell, even if that was the case, who the fuck are these people that think a company somehow owes them a new product? I love the internet!
19/04/2011 at 22:22 Mad Hamish says:
@Pathetic Phallacy You’re arguing with yourself. No one is claiming that portal 2 is bad because it’s got mirco transactions.
Not a fan of em myself and when done like valve have used them in Portal 2, they’re harmless. I hate to use the term but it could be a slippery slope as it becomes common place for AAA games. We’ve already been witness to the ridiculous DLC situation that is present now. If the “idiots” who buy these things become the main money makers of the games industry, where would that lead. Us PC gamers already bitch and moan about console gamers being the main market, I believe they are refered to as “idiots” often enough too.
There’s also this quote
“We make more money because more people buy it, not because we try and nickel-and-dime the same customers.” – Robin Walker, Valve Software, 2007
edit: actually it will probably become normal that people will value the things they buy in virtual worlds as much as real ones. In the grim dark future, people won’t care.
19/04/2011 at 23:01 Barnaby says:
@Pathetic Phallacy
Portal hats, TF2 hats, Mac ports, PS3 steamworks…
Is HL2 Episode 3 not mentioned almost every single time there is a post about Valve? The whole point of doing episodes was so they could develop them faster and yet that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. Why not just finish Episode 3 so we can anticipate HL3 and maybe a new engine?
I for one would love new L4D2 campaigns. I would also love a new CounterStrike or Day of Defeat or something else to freshen the game up a bit. Portal is not a game that I’m in love with so no, to people who don’t care about Portal or TF2 hats, I don’t think they are being mindful of their fans. TF2 and Portal are their newer franchises and not the things that I think their long time fan base clamor for most.
And yes I think a focus on aesthetic DLC is pretty much a waste of time. Based on the frustration in your response to my remarks you’d think I’d said they were the new Activision and Gabe is = Bobby Kotick.
19/04/2011 at 23:04 Psychochild says:
“The problem comes when they realise that they can make more money from said idiots and instead of supporting your hobby support the idiots….”
Some of you kids might be too young to remember it, but “MTV” used to stand for “Music TV” instead of “More gods-damned reality TV”. It turned out that reality shows had better profit margins, so eventually every MTV channel eventually became filled with reality TV instead of music videos. (Note: this was before YouTube made music videos on the television box obsolete, you whipper-snappers. Yes, you may get off my lawn now.)
One hopes that Value realizes they still need to make a good game to sell all those hats in, but I can definitely see how some gamers might be a little concerned.
20/04/2011 at 10:00 Sardaukar says:
Spoiler: The people buying hats and trinkets are supporting them more than you who refuse to. You can call it overpriced DLC if you want; Everyone I know calls it donations with incentive. You like what Valve does for PC gaming? Give a little extra if you feel the game was worth more than $50 (it was!). I’ll be tipping them and getting a little mustache for my trouble. Fine if you don’t want to, but don’t call people idiots when they go a little further to support their hero than you do.
19/04/2011 at 14:06 DrugCrazed says:
Nice one Valve!
19/04/2011 at 14:06 NikRichards says:
I think… I think I just stopped being a valve fanboy.
I feel a little sad.
19/04/2011 at 14:06 daphne says:
Damn horse armor.
19/04/2011 at 14:29 Shark says:
Well, Horse Armor atleast stopped the bad guys from killing your horse
and making armor for real horses would be more than 5€
still what a shame
19/04/2011 at 14:37 TechRogue says:
What a shame!
19/04/2011 at 14:45 Sarlix says:
Horse armor was sweet. Especially if you got the elven set to match the full elven set of body armor + shield & sword. Oh yeah, you’d better run now trolls.
p.s What a shame.
19/04/2011 at 14:53 Heliocentric says:
My immortal horse was my personal guard. I even had a handful of spells to make it even better at fighting.
19/04/2011 at 17:51 Sarlix says:
The problem with having an immortal horse is if you accidentally biff it during combat. It will chase you down and kill you. My horse chased me all the way from Cheydinhal to Bruma, I had to use speed potions just to keep the distance. Yeah I know no ones going to read this now, but you know what, I just want to talk about Oblivion. So this one doesn’t care!
19/04/2011 at 19:37 godkingemperor says:
How up in arms evryone was over horse armor! now we accept it as norm. sad times
19/04/2011 at 19:40 Dominic White says:
The only people who were up in arms about the Horse Armor were the same people crazy enough to be up in arms about TF2 hats. Most people just don’t give a damn.
They’re skins/character accessories. They’re entirely optional. If you don’t like them, you don’t have to pay a penny for them, and you’ll be no worse off than the guy that spent £50 on virtual dress-up items. In fact, you’ll probably be £50 better off.
19/04/2011 at 14:06 Jonathan says:
grmblgrmbl microtransactions grmblerubmle
19/04/2011 at 14:10 Lambchops says:
FOOOOOOOOOM!
Oh wait wrong comment thread.
Err, i think the sarcasm thatJohn has liberally laden this post with pretty much sums it up really. But hey, if people will buy this stuff then more full them and may I invite them to my store where I sell “see you jimmy” hats, walker’s shortbread and cuddly haggis toys
19/04/2011 at 14:13 Cynic says:
“more full them”
More fool, you.
You guys are a diamond dozen.
19/04/2011 at 14:35 Harlander says:
This conversation turned out to be a real damp squid.
19/04/2011 at 14:51 Sarlix says:
Harlander!?!?
THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE
19/04/2011 at 15:24 Lambchops says:
Truly I am fool of fullhardiness today.
19/04/2011 at 22:08 Jeremy says:
If only more of us could be full hardy.
10/05/2011 at 05:09 Fitzmogwai says:
That’s what Nelson said.
19/04/2011 at 14:10 MrMud says:
This would have been cool in a game that is otherwise free (like LoL) but for full price retail games to have these kind of micro transactions kind of piss me off. That said valve are far from the first to do it.
19/04/2011 at 14:30 skittles says:
Why? Sure if it was actual content I would be pissed… but what full-priced game includes multitudes of different varieties of hats etc… Valve is simply giving the option for those that like to change their hat to change their hat… there is nothing worse than not liking your bald metal head and not being able to fix it. Now you can, for a fee charged because of the time Valve has to waste catering to this crowd.
I have no issue whatsoever with it… apart from of course having my mind boggled wondering who would pay that much to fit a cap on their metal noggin.
19/04/2011 at 14:11 Cynic says:
There was a time when entire communities were founded on being able to make skins for your videogame pretend people. Oh well.
19/04/2011 at 14:12 aldo_14 says:
It’s not so much the idea of a shop that is shocking me, it’s that they will sell these minuscule… things at more than the price of an entire game in their demi-annual sales. You’d think it’d give them some perspective.
19/04/2011 at 14:13 godgoo says:
you’d think.
30/04/2011 at 10:38 danoot says:
as soon as the steam crafting section becomes available, this will make perfect sense (1 copy of tf2 + 1 copy of portal 1 = random SPECIAL HAT for your robot).
19/04/2011 at 14:13 guitarmy says:
oh come on guys… look at the bright side already: asthetic robo-maniacs will finance your real content-DLC eventually.
and not much of a big deal anyway, I think.
19/04/2011 at 14:16 Rhodri2311 says:
I have no problem with it – as long as it doesn’t affect the gameplay in anyway then more power to them. People will buy them no doubt, and it’ll help fund ongoing support for the game. Everyone wins.
19/04/2011 at 14:16 TheSquarePear says:
WTB Singularity
19/04/2011 at 15:23 Felixader says:
@TheSquarePear:
In the Wikipedia Article where they explain the Singularity thing there is a part where the inventors of it Predict a Timeframe for the eventuell, unpredictable event.
What? X-P
19/04/2011 at 15:27 DarkeSword says:
Decent game, that.
19/04/2011 at 14:17 skinlo says:
Hmm, at least it doesn’t effect game play. I don’t care about things like this, so I won’t buy anything. No point getting worked up about it though.
19/04/2011 at 14:17 Gnoupi says:
I agree that such store is giving a bad image.
But in a way, no one is forced to buy these, and they have no influence on gameplay. So it’s fine by me. It’s only a customizing option.
But fact is, there are people who will gladly pay for these items. So you can’t really blame Valve for just using the opportunity. It works in TF2, they put one store here too.
Not a reason to justify all the fuss around the “day one DLC”, like for example the recent bombing of Metacritic’s user reviews: http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/portal-2/user-reviews
19/04/2011 at 14:17 Olivaw says:
This is extremely silly!
But who cares. Despite the implication in this post, if micro-transactions had never been invented, these items would not be free for everyone. They would simply not exist.
So I guess I’d rather they made them and then offered them for money or cheevos rather than never made them at all!
I will continue my personal policy of “I Ain’t Payin’ For Shit” and life will go on!
19/04/2011 at 14:29 NikRichards says:
I’m pretty sure character customisation existed in multiplayer games before the invention of DLC.
19/04/2011 at 23:39 ResonanceCascade says:
Nice straw man, Nik.
20/04/2011 at 07:44 Angry Engy says:
He’s adorable! I especially like his hat… How much was it?
19/04/2011 at 14:18 StingingVelvet says:
I don’t have an actual issue with it since gameplay is not effected, but like TF2′s in-game shop I think it’s just kind of tacky and maybe crass. I’ve been defending DLC for years because some of it is quite good, the concept itself is not a bad one. Stuff like this I can’t defend though, it’s just kind of off-putting.
19/04/2011 at 14:18 Chalky says:
Rumour has it that a number of things that can be bought from the store are also unlockable through normal gameplay. Possibly all of them.
19/04/2011 at 14:18 The Pink Ninja says:
Dumb but I don’t need to buy it and Valve’s coolness and Steam convenience still outweighs this.
19/04/2011 at 14:18 vanarbulax says:
I hope GLaDOS talks disparagingly at you whenever you actually pay money for skins &c.
19/04/2011 at 14:34 Urthman says:
Check out Old Man Murray and then ask yourself how desperately does Eric Wolpaw want to do that.
If GLaDOS mocked you while you were playing the game for having wasted your money on a poncy paint job, that would make this store the greatest thing ever.
19/04/2011 at 14:52 Ovno says:
/signed
The only way this should be allowed is if it comes with withering critism from glados.
19/04/2011 at 16:04 Fede says:
Indeed, it would really be fun and appropriate!
19/04/2011 at 20:37 Joof says:
“Check out Old Man Murray and then ask yourself how desperately does Eric Wolpaw want to do that.”
Ehh, I don’t know if that’s notable enough for my time.
19/04/2011 at 14:18 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. says:
Well, no one is forcing you to buy them…
20/04/2011 at 07:46 Angry Engy says:
GET OUT OF HERE…. Ehh, I’ll get my coat.
19/04/2011 at 14:19 Foosnark says:
I guess virtual knicknacks are more ecologically sustainable than physical ones.
But is it still materialism if you want these?
19/04/2011 at 16:06 Fede says:
Immaterialism?
19/04/2011 at 14:19 PatrickSwayze says:
I think optional things like this are fine for DLC.
At least there wasn’t any green portal pre-order dlc.
19/04/2011 at 14:20 pkt-zer0 says:
Uhh… what’s the point of this, exactly? Do people really spend that much money on completely pointless, overpriced virtual items?
19/04/2011 at 14:22 Gnoupi says:
Apparently, they do, if Valve paid artists and animators to make all these items, it’s because they know people will buy them (and they probably base on TF2).
20/04/2011 at 00:19 Memph says:
I’m in this boat tbh. Honestly can’t wrap my head around why anyone would want to part with cash for a virtual hat in a 2 player game. Or even TF2 (stats effects aside at least).
I can understand it in WoW, buying pets, mounts and whatnot to kit a character out to look a bit flash, and these items would serve that purpose for a good long while and be seen by a great many people, but in a game with only 1 other player, that’s merley hours long. What….eh? Why?!
19/04/2011 at 14:20 Bats says:
Oh no! I’m super pissed off that a game I like has stuff for purchase that’s completely optional and doesn’t affect gameplay in any way!
…..yeah.
19/04/2011 at 14:22 WASD says:
Valve sure do like (to try) milking their fanbase!
19/04/2011 at 14:27 Leelad says:
No thanks.
19/04/2011 at 14:28 BrendanJB says:
How dare they try to make money by selling things they have made! THEY ARE A BIG COMPANY! I DEMAND THEM FOR FREE!
Seriously. They give you a near flawless game with 2 fully fledged campaigns that could have been sold as separate games, one containing some of the most amazing dialog, gameplay and animation ever seen in a game, the other being amongst the best coop experiences gaming has to offer, filled to the brim with content and crafted to perfection.
Not to mention their other games that they support for years and years and years, with free updates, bug fixes, community addons/input, new content, etc.
And you are complaining about an optional store where people can buy little extra visual add-ons if they choose. Like you really give a shit about having a mustache on your robot that much?
Ridiculous.
19/04/2011 at 14:35 pkt-zer0 says:
Portal 2 is cool.
Portal 2′s item shop is not cool.
Not sure why you find that ridiculous.
19/04/2011 at 14:36 Bhazor says:
The key phrase “A full price game.”. You’ve just paid £30 and now they’re going to try and nickle and dime you just like the big cheerful pop up when you open TF2. The difference being that TF2 was a freebie for a lot of people or is currently selling for £5.99.
Also exactly how extensive are the campaigns? I mean is the co-op something you can play more than once? Unless theres some randomisation then a puzzle game co-op seem pretty much a one time thing.
Portal 2? Neat
Portal 2 store? Is Valve just spamming me in game.
“Not to mention their other games that they support for years and years and years, with free updates, bug fixes, community addons/input, new content, etc.” Anyone else notice the TF2 and L4D freebies are getting less frequent? Or that most TF2 updates are of the “New Hats available in store” variety?
19/04/2011 at 14:59 Stupoider says:
Aaah, sorry Brendan. I’ll keep my opinions to myself next time.
19/04/2011 at 20:43 Joof says:
Your rant reminded me of this Onion article:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/nytimescoms-plan-to-charge-people-money-for-consum,19847/
19/04/2011 at 21:49 finnith says:
@Bhazor
While there’s no existing extra content at the time I’m pretty sure that Valve will release some free content for the game once they finish developing it. Even if they don’t there’s the community levels, of which there are many.
19/04/2011 at 14:28 FaceBash says:
Blame the people buying this. If no one paid money for this, it would not exist.
19/04/2011 at 14:31 WASD says:
Blame BrendanJB. He’s one of them I think?
19/04/2011 at 14:30 brog says:
Hey hey.
Tiered pricing is a good thing. Lets the people who have more money pay more, thus keeping business nice and profitable, while still providing everyone else with the good stuff.
Supermarkets do this by having separate “basics”, “organic”, “gourmet” products.
With digital products it’s harder, because the option of piracy always allows people to choose to pay nothing and still get the product. “Pay what you want” is one solution, but with AAA development costs isn’t an option here (though they will give people the opportunity to pay less later by having sales). So they’re trying this damned ethical solution of letting people pay more for stuff that doesn’t do anything, rather than for extra content that the common people don’t have access to.
If you don’t want to pay for them, just don’t. It’s not for you. It’s for people whose available budget for leisure activities so exceeds the cost of the game that they can afford to spend a bit more on it to encourage the developers to do more of what they’re doing.
19/04/2011 at 14:53 Outright Villainy says:
Actually, Robin Walker was interviewed about this very thing quite recently, small transcription here:
“One of the other things we kept finding was that we had some customers who had already bought the product from us who were starting to send us kind of strange emails, like, do you guys have a tip jar or something like that, where I can – you know, I sort of feel guilty about the amount of free content I’ve got from you in the last couple of years, I’d like to give you some more money.
So we created a system which allows you to purchase additional stuff that you can use to customize your character and sort of show that you’re a fan.”
Sauce: http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2011/04/08/06
Anyway, I’m not fundamentally against the idea, but it is hard to get around the fact that the whole customisation business is a little, well, tacky. I can sort of see how it makes sense in tf2 (even though that was nothing like the original art style, but I digress), tf2 has always been getting a little sillier, and it sort of makes sense. But why would robots have all these funny hats? It looks weird and out of place, seeing as it’s supposed to be a narrative driven multi player game.
It’s by no means a deal breaker, but I do think this time ’round it’s going to do Valve more harm than good.
19/04/2011 at 14:31 TheApologist says:
Daft, but if it doesn’t effect my playing the game, I am utterly uncaring.
In fact, other people can spend all the money they like if it means a Portal 3 down the line :)
19/04/2011 at 14:32 Burning Man says:
I love RPS’ writing. IT’S SO SILLY and FANTABULOUS!!
19/04/2011 at 14:40 WASD says:
I do too. I just wish the article title represented the text. For instance, John could’ve titled this article “Valve, FUCK-OFF!”. Because that’s the impression I get from reading it.
19/04/2011 at 14:32 Bhazor says:
Because when I play a full price game I like to be constantly reminded of all the content I can’t access and that when it all comes down to it the makers of the game just see me as something that sits between them and a wallet.
19/04/2011 at 19:31 BunnyMaz says:
What content? We’re not missing out on extra test chambers you can only get as DLC, or extra portal guns (dual wielding!), or even extra splatterpaint DLC options (green paint that makes you invisible to turrets!
It’s hats. And flags.
And as an aside, just playing the coop game I’ve unlocked a beanie hat and a flag for free, so even if I did care about dressing up the bots I wouldn’t need to pay for it.
19/04/2011 at 14:34 Giaddon says:
Should we be surprised that a company famous for their ubiquitous online marketplace includes a marketplace in their games?
19/04/2011 at 14:37 Harlander says:
Wait.. you can launch this game from Steam so…
an online marketplace in their game in their online marketplace?
Presumably the next step is a little web browser in the P2 shop where you can play flash games.
And in those flash games, a microtransaction shop. And in the menu for that mi-
#-1 STACK OVERFLOW
19/04/2011 at 15:50 nuh uh no way says:
dawg?
19/04/2011 at 14:35 Scythe says:
Pretty certain this is some kind of elaborate joke. They’re just seeing how far they can push it before they start laughing so hard money comes out their nose.
Pretty certain.
20/04/2011 at 01:34 patricij says:
Yeah, it’s been an elaborate running joke ever since TF2 item store…can’t wait for them to come 10 years later and say: It’s been just a joke an you ate it! Oh…and BTW: it’s been not funding HL3, but our very own space station….We’ll send you a postcard!
19/04/2011 at 14:41 Vagrant says:
Just as long as they keep the game $50 on PC and don’t start selling useful items & abilities, more power to them.
19/04/2011 at 14:41 Coins says:
I’m not suprised. This is almost standard practice, isn’t it? EA does it with Mass Effect 2 Appearance Packs, Blizzard does it with mounts, and, well, that’s the only two examples I can bring up, but still. I’m not suprised that Valve goes for the easy money.
19/04/2011 at 14:43 utharda says:
Comming soon, the valve penis enhancement store.
hey, it made money for all those russian pharmacies.. Also, who doesn’t want a potato hat for their…
err.. yeah.
19/04/2011 at 14:45 Pijama says:
Now would be a great time for an Old Man Murray post eh?
19/04/2011 at 14:49 cmi says:
I wonder how many items you will be able to buy in upcoming brink :D
19/04/2011 at 14:50 SprintJack says:
And by the way, You can use your TF2 hats on your robot as well.
19/04/2011 at 14:53 Sarlix says:
Interchangeable hats?
19/04/2011 at 14:51 shoptroll says:
Not surprised at all by this. That said, hopefully the items in the store are obtainable in the game like in TF2.
19/04/2011 at 14:52 arghstupid says:
awesome maybe ill be able to sell my pre order bonus skin to some idiot down the line.
19/04/2011 at 14:55 Ovno says:
Can we petition for the option to not see anyone else’s stupid hats please, I don’t want to spend my gaming time being reminded how stupid the general public are, I get enough of that in the real world.
19/04/2011 at 15:02 Gnoupi says:
Since the only time to see that is the coop mode, with only one other person than you, the easy solution is to play only with loved ones or friends.
I don’t think that playing with a random person in this coop mode would be very funny anyway.
19/04/2011 at 15:07 Ovno says:
Good point and at least you’ll be able to tell how likely they are to be the sort of person I will want to play with by the absence of a hat, after all hats constrict robot brains and therefore robots wearing hats must be a few nand gates short of a bi-stable circuit…
19/04/2011 at 15:02 Teddy Leach says:
Here we go again.
19/04/2011 at 15:06 Luk 333 says:
Ugh, there are already people on the Steam forums saying that they’ll boycott future Valve releases, while others started bashing the ratings on Metacritic. I do agree with the general impression that the items are overpriced and superfluous (actually I’m quite glad they’re merely decorative), but these kinds of petulant reactions are quite embarrassing.
19/04/2011 at 16:06 groovychainsaw says:
True fact – none of these people are going to boycott anything valve makes. I mean, they’re posting on the steam forums, for starters! :-D
19/04/2011 at 17:13 Milky1985 says:
God forbid people voice an opinion on somethign they don’t like, they should just sit quitly and never buy the game again (and the drop in sales will be piracy’s fault of course)
Yes i know that 80% of the people saying boycott will not boycott, but theres still 20% that will, and that can affect companies, specially ones that generally have a large ammount of goodwill.
Myself, i think the prices are god damn stupid, but as long as they do what TF2 does (have a free way to get the iteams along with the paid way) i’m ok with it. Currently theres no mention of a free way :(
19/04/2011 at 15:06 itsallcrap says:
This isn’t really in any way objectionable. I’m sure Valve deserve idiots’ money more than idiots do.
Provided, that is, that they don’t cross the line of letting players buy things that actually give them a gameplay advantage. That’s what killed my (previously limitless) enthusiasm for TF2.
But hats are not a problem.
19/04/2011 at 15:06 jon_hill987 says:
Yay! Valve add the worst feature (and the one that stopped me playing) of TF2 to their new game.
19/04/2011 at 15:14 Kdansky says:
I have also stopped going to the grocery store nearby when they started selling Pickles. Because I hate pickles, and now I will go to the store farther away instead. Because I hate pickles so much, that I cannot stand other people buying them.
Silly much?
19/04/2011 at 17:16 Mattressi says:
As a fellow hatophobe I find that I cannot visit shopping centres which contain clothing outlets which sell hats. In fact, I cannot even bare to live on a planet which holds the dark, hatted underbelly of society.
19/04/2011 at 17:16 Stijn says:
That analogy only works if, in the place you live in, people walk around wearing pickles on their head and ride in picklecars, wearing pickleclothes and drink picklejuice from hollowed-out pickles. The whole local economy is about pickles and instead of people just living their lives a lot of them are obsessed by everything picklish.
And if that was the case and I didn’t like pickles, I’d probably go somewhere else indeed.
20/04/2011 at 14:36 Dozer says:
It’s when you can’t physically move through the supermarket because of the pickle-worshippers standing in the aisle discussing how they can trade their rare pickles with one another, or building pickle statues at the checkouts with cocktail sticks. Seriously, server admins, there must be mods that autokick people who don’t leave spawn. For a while it seemed that the winning team was determined by which side had the fewer crafter/traders standing around like a bloody idiot in spawn.
I’d rather like to have a client-side option to disable all the custom hats.
19/04/2011 at 15:14 tailzdru says:
Staring eye?
you guys are really not on the recently.
19/04/2011 at 15:14 Malawi Frontier Guard says:
Not sure this will take off like TF2′s shop did, due to the very nature of co-op. After all, there is a difference between showing your hats to an entire server of up to 32 people and showing it to the friend you are playing with.
People buy those items as visual status symbols, whether they are aware of it or not, and I believe the lack of exposure could be seen as a deterrent to potential customers.
That said, I don’t know what dimension this mode will take on after release. Maybe Valve has much greater plans that have yet to manifest.
19/04/2011 at 15:14 squareking says:
Related:
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=300
19/04/2011 at 15:18 Legionary says:
After having jumped the shark with the Mannconomy update, Valve are now waterskiing over as many other marine animals as they can manage.
19/04/2011 at 15:23 Wilson says:
Flipped the dolphin? Vaulted the octopus? Somersaulted the whale?
What magnitude of marine animal leaping are we talking here?
19/04/2011 at 15:47 PoLLeNSKi says:
Cartwheeled over the kraken
19/04/2011 at 15:20 Wilson says:
I was a bit shocked when I saw the store, but as many people have said above, it doesn’t really matter. No gameplay impact, so it’s up to other people if they want to buy stuff (I can’t imagine paying for visual customization in a puzzle game, but as always different people will like different things). It’s a bit of a shame they couldn’t have included robot-customization as a free feature, but it’s not the end of the world.
I’d love to see an in-depth analysis of what groups of people buy this kind of thing. It would be fascinating (and not in a ha-ha mocking kind of way, but just an interesting kind of way).
19/04/2011 at 15:21 cliffski says:
The reason micro-trans and DLC exist is the vast majority of (silent) non trolling gamers want it. I’m sorry but it’s true. I sell DLC for GSB and I know the facts.
People want this stuff.
The easiest possible way for me to make another $5,000 is to release another expansion pack
Maybe all the people buying DLC are hypnotised, but thats stretching reality quite a bit. I know I’d hand over money this second for some new official Company of Heroes maps or units.
19/04/2011 at 15:25 CMaster says:
Units I’d hesitate over.
Some good, automatchable maps? Sure.
(Especially if they made it work so you automatch, the maps that you both own are in the lucky dip, so it doesn’t divide the community at all).
Mind you, I think DLC is a brilliant idea, just sadly often badly implemented. (I’ve never played GSB, but the DLC there sounds like exactly what I think it should be)
19/04/2011 at 15:39 Ovno says:
Yeah but your DLC are extra races or expansions which theres nothing wrong with, whereas pointless hats just make me want to hold my head in shame at the people who buy them and items which affect gameplay are just wrong.
19/04/2011 at 16:21 brog says:
Ovno: Whoa whoa whoa. Items which don’t affect gameplay are pointless and items which do affect gameplay are wrong? Lose/lose.
(“new races” are items that affect gameplay)
19/04/2011 at 19:06 Deano2099 says:
Dare you to release a DLC pack that just re-textures some of the ships, with no new gameplay content. See how it sells :)
19/04/2011 at 15:25 Colthor says:
What.
19/04/2011 at 15:25 trooperdx3117 says:
Seriously? I thought nay hoped that this was one of johns classic satire articles but no! Valve actually expect us to pay money for these useless trinkets? It annoyed me but I at least understood it for TF2 because you could buy weapons and hats to show off to complete strangers but why would you want this for portal 2, is it to show off to the friend your playing it with in co-op what a complete and utter twat you are?!
19/04/2011 at 15:30 Xiyng says:
I’m glad Valve isn’t overdoing DLC but it seems they’re really overpricing what little they have. That said, I think I don’t really mind because I’m not interested and I supposed those interested don’t mind too much.
19/04/2011 at 15:43 Robin_G says:
I wanted to be excited about Portal 2, I liked the first one. But I just didn’t feel any urge to play the second one for some reason. This whole thing makes me even less interested.
I played TF2 and enjoyed it, and I continue to do so. But I really don’t feel the store added anything beneficial to the game. I feel like I was more accepting of it because I was already invested in my backpack when it was introduced. It seems quite insidious, looking back at it now.
I was ok with it being a once off “experiment” but Portal 2 seems like an even less fitting game to have a shop. This really feels tacky and money grubbing in a way I don’t want to be associated with in any minor way. At least the prices seem a bit lower than the Mann co shop, thats something, I guess.
19/04/2011 at 18:21 edit says:
If you liked the first game you’re really missing out if you skip this one. I couldn’t be less interested in these ridiculous accessories but so far the store has been approximately %0.000 of my Portal 2 experience, the other %100 of which has been outstanding.
19/04/2011 at 15:47 vash47 says:
Valve; now as bad as Activision.
19/04/2011 at 20:32 Pathetic Phallacy says:
Well now there is a perfectly rational statement with an abundance of evidence as proof. Well done! . . .
19/04/2011 at 15:47 jack4cc says:
Wow. That’s…. bullshit. No, there is no other word for it.
19/04/2011 at 15:49 The Sombrero Kid says:
If you buy anything like this you have a criminal excess of wealth.
19/04/2011 at 16:06 Kandon Arc says:
Many would say the same about video games in general.
19/04/2011 at 15:55 Kilrathi says:
I’m just waiting for Minecraft 1.5 at this point :-) Will get Portal 2 eventually too seeing as I own everything Valve has released (except all those hats of course).
19/04/2011 at 16:18 Wulf says:
I don’t see much of a problem. Some people will buy them just to show off that they have money.
The bizarre thing though is that the robots look so much better without any of this, so the additions actually don’t do any favours for their aesthetic, to my eye they actually look better without them. I just find that odd. What I’d expected was chasis changes, perhaps differently shaped torsos/arms and so on.
But the blank aesthetics are better than with any of those items. So you’re not actually missing out on buying them, and the people who do decide to buy them will just continue to help fund Valve in regards to producing future things which we can all enjoy.
So I agree with those who’ve said that this is a true win/win scenario.
19/04/2011 at 20:57 Lilliput King says:
Yup. I can’t even empathise with the people who are getting upset about this. It’s totally alien. I’ve read all the posts on this page and I still don’t understand where they’re coming from.
19/04/2011 at 16:30 General Frags says:
Wonder what the Half life 2 Episode 3 store will look like, perhaps a nice pink HEV suit for Gordon and green bobbly hat to match him, seriously this WILL happen guys :(
19/04/2011 at 18:18 Acorino says:
Hehe, pink HEV suit.
Would be even more pointless, since you couldn’t even see it.
19/04/2011 at 18:40 Temple to Tei says:
A voice?
19/04/2011 at 16:32 JohnnyMaverik says:
Does anybody know why I seem to have got them all for free?
19/04/2011 at 16:42 PanzerVaughn says:
Gwuh? Preorder, or Potato-collection bonus?
19/04/2011 at 17:18 JohnnyMaverik says:
I pre-ordered, did buy a couple of the potato pack games but didn’t buy the whole pack, got 12 potatoes. At first I thought it must be a pre-order bonus but some pre-orders have them all, other say they only got a few.
19/04/2011 at 16:41 PanzerVaughn says:
I say, this seems quite the small surcharge to guise my automoton as a dapper chap, and make all my friends look like philistines.
I shall be taking advantage of this, posthaste.
Trousers. Sticky wicket. Bugaboo.
19/04/2011 at 16:55 Lambchops says:
What right to we have to say that Valve deserve the money of idiots? Wont someone please think of the idiots?
I say we take their money for their own good. Just for safekeeping. Not to spend on booze, of course. Not at *hic* all.
19/04/2011 at 17:05 Nick says:
This annoys me, it may not add to anything gameplay wise but why is something fluffy and fun now being charged for? Fuck TF2 and its store for this kind of thing.
19/04/2011 at 17:12 clownst0pper says:
I’m sorry but everyone getting themselves in a tiz over this need to calm down. You don’t have to buy it, it’s all optional and is for those who have disposable funds or want an impulse purchase.
So what’s your problem?
19/04/2011 at 17:54 geokes says:
Does anyone remember when shit like this was free? When we got everything in the game… when we bought the game.
19/04/2011 at 18:27 Ridnarhtim says:
Yeah, earning credits in-game instead of achievements, and then spending that in-game money on in-game stuff instead of real money.
Those were the days…
Just as I would never pay for an avatar or theme for the PS3, this just isn’t gonna happen for me. I’d happily take and equip some free items though.
19/04/2011 at 17:56 Conor says:
As much as I love Valve, this is just a bloody stupid idea.
19/04/2011 at 18:24 Ridnarhtim says:
It shocks me that anyone would buy any of this. Except, maybe, the gestures, which I believe you need for some achievements. There, it doesn’t shock me, even though it’s still sad.
19/04/2011 at 18:27 terry says:
Or you could buy nothing at all and have your game experience impacted not at all? Sorry JW I don’t really see the upset here. Sure it’s pointless nonsense, but so are hats in TF2, or World of Warcraft.
19/04/2011 at 18:57 ancienttoaster says:
Our hearts go out to all those affected.
19/04/2011 at 19:08 Deano2099 says:
Speculation:
“Hey guys, why not have a store where people who want to give us money can buy utterly pointless stuff for their characters, that only makes a cosmetic difference”
“Good plan, it’ll bring in a few quid, and with the extra money we make we can give pre-orders 10-20% off the price of the game”
19/04/2011 at 19:34 geldonyetich says:
I don’t pay $50 for 8 hours. But then, I don’t pay $50 for a game whenever I can help it. See you when you hit the $20 mark, Portal 2.
19/04/2011 at 19:41 shoptroll says:
http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=5325
My brain just exploded
19/04/2011 at 20:13 Cunzy1 1 says:
People like to customise their shit. Okay, not the people here but other people. With the added bonus in that it is optional. I’m glad that they’ll make a bunch of money off of this rather than making you pay for gameplay stuff as many recent games have. Another way to look at it is that it’s this or in game advertising.
Get a hold of yourselves. I haven’t seen this much squinnying since something trivial happened in a minecraft update.
19/04/2011 at 20:28 Pathetic Phallacy says:
I hate these cosmetic downloads. They ruin the game in some sort of way that I’m unable to articulate or prove. I’m so upset!
I also hate when developers try and make money by selling products that have no affect on the game, so that they can turn around and use that money to invest in the development of new games. I guess it just angers me that Valve has found a way to make quality PC games and still turn a healthy profit. I really wish they would let this gaming platform die.
But you know what really grinds my gears? All this time making hats for Team Fortress 2 could have been better spent making Episode 3. I mean, come on, we all know it takes a full team of developers working tirelessly around the clock for weeks to make a hat for a game!
That brings me to my next point; I have no interest in these downloads, thus I’m sure by extension nobody else in the world does. Doesn’t Valve understand that because I bought Half Life 2 they owe me for the rest of my life?
29/04/2011 at 08:13 James T says:
Well, your name fits…
19/04/2011 at 21:59 Navagon says:
£5 for… what? I take it this is some kind of attempt to cover their insane advertising costs? Well as long as it’s not pimped in game at all. Ever. As in not even mentioned. Then that’s fine by me. Who cares, right?
19/04/2011 at 22:18 jonfitt says:
Only a fool would pay money for these items.
It’s a test. For science!
19/04/2011 at 23:01 Catalept says:
Remember that the only possible way companies can make money off this kind of thing is by removing the ability for users to make their own content. I don’t care if they want to sell virtual portaltastic tchotchkes for actual cash. I do care that I can’t make my own :(
19/04/2011 at 23:18 UW says:
I wouldn’t say I’m massively upset about this, but in a small sense it does devalue the games. In the pre-DLC era, things like additional characters, outfits or whatever were generally rewards for doing certain things while playing the game.
Instead, the reward for completing such tasks now is a completely intangible “Achievement” on your profile and the previous unlockable items have been replaced with chargeable DLC. So, in a sense, games in general do suffer from reduced content as a result of DLC like this but it’s hard to argue it has any significant impact on the overall quality of the game.
20/04/2011 at 02:20 3lbFlax says:
This sounds great to me, and I have no interest in buying hats or gestures. But someone who does want a hat can buy one, and they’ll be happy. Valve will make money, and they’ll be happy. And they’ll make more games, and I’ll be happy. And as far as I can tell, the only people who won’t be happy are people who are determined not to be happy for one reason or another, so everyone’s right where they want to be.
Given Valve’s track record in expanding and supporting TF2, and supporting its community and community content, and given the sheer and rare quality of Portal 2, and bearing in mind it hasn’t even been on release for one single day at the time of typing this and reading all these reactions, I don’t see any reason to be anything other than cheerful and optimistic. It’s healthier and more fun.
20/04/2011 at 08:55 Hmm-Hmm. says:
Okay, so this is a joke, right?
Right?
20/04/2011 at 16:45 celewign says:
Yeah I understand that these don’t effect gameplay. But a part of me remembers how fun it was to play CS:S with weird skins and stupid maps, and now that Valve is selling this stuff I basically have to realize that the days of modifying your game to suit your own purposes is gone. Games that support good modding always last longer.
28/04/2011 at 17:49 SuperNashwanPower says:
If I can put a Groucho Marx mask on Glados, then I am all for this.
Also I hope that in half life 3 it will be possible to buy a pink fluffy HEV suit with angel wings for Gordon.
29/04/2011 at 08:35 Azazel says:
First rule of making loads of filthy money: never assume that there exists a basic level of human intelligence.
30/04/2011 at 16:15 Rive says:
If its MMO/FPS Item monetization, people bitch about balance. If its cosmetic, people bitch about the ridiculousness No one forces anyone to buy anything, so is it just being pissed that the carrot on that wire costs munney?.