Twitch streamer and League of Legends veteran player BoxBox recently detailed how microtransactions have the potential to lock players into an endless cycle of purchasing more in-game currency.
Microtransactions are among the most prevalent and widely disputed trends in the modern gaming ecosystem since countless popular titles have integrated in-game currencies. Titles such as League of Legends have seemingly perfected their microtransaction economy, charging players real-life money to purchase in-game currency that can only be spent on in-game items.
BoxBox, a Twitch streamer and avid League content creator for over a decade, knows all too well the cycle this system can trap players in. The livestreamer recently explained how having an awkward amount of “leftover” in-game currency can lead players into the trap of constantly re-upping on Riot Points.
“You get $20 of bonus [Riot Points] if you just spend $100 at once. Now I have to,” BoxBox mocked, pulling up League’s store page. “And then, I’m going to have extra RP leftover, and then with that extra RP, I’m going to be like ‘oh, I may as well get a little bit more RP.’ Oh god, it’s their infinite cycle.”
Helping his viewers realize that microtransactions can lead to this endless cycle of re-purchasing, BoxBox’s chat quickly applied this thinking to other titles. One chatter called out BoxBox’s own game, Chroma Chronicles, on employing the exact same tactic with a microtransaction currency of its own.
The Twitch streamer owned up to the fact that Chroma Chronicles is doing the “exact same thing.” Jokingly, the streamer said that whenever indie companies use in-game currencies, it is simply good marketing, but for companies such as Riot, it is “evil corporations trying to squeeze every single cent out of you.”
While microtransactions may not be going anywhere anytime soon, BoxBox at least warned his viewers about the marketing scheme behind many in-game currency conventions.
