What happened to the good old games?

So this week I decided to get a mobile game that would entertain me on my lunch break. After a quick look on Google’s Play Store, I noticed something surprising: almost all the games were free! Brilliant! Or was it? As soon as I started to enjoy the game-play, I was bombarded by unsubtle marketing offers to buy extra ammunition, fashionable outfits for my game character or simply virtual currency.

So called “free-to-play” games dominate the mobile gaming market and it doesn’t end there. More and more PC and console games offer you the option of buying extras to ‘enhance’ your experience.

Some call it a scam – like a group of frustrated parents who are taking Google to court over in-app purchases. But I think the problem with in-game purchasing is more fundamental. It takes away the sense of achievement. Back when I started gaming (think Commodore 64 era) and until a few years ago, completing a game one hundred per cent took hours and hours of searching for hidden objects (Tomb Raider) and laborious drugs-selling from an ice-cream van (GTA). Now you can just buy it – where’s the fun in that?

Online gaming is a great thing; you can drag-race teenagers from Japan or have a shoot-out with a mate from Australia. It used to be that when you saw a player with a golden gun, you knew he meant business. Now it means he spent 80 pence in the in-game shop.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m aware that the development of modern games is extremely time consuming and requires multiple programmers, graphic artists and beta testers. I’m more than willing to pay for my games. Developers make enough money on games sales and related merchandise to spare us from wallet squeezing tactics.

It’s going to be a tough habit it kick No company in the world is going to want to voluntarily pass on additional profit. But if they are not careful, they will start losing some of their mature customers –the ones that still remember the good old games.

In the meantime, I’m heading to eBay in search of a PlayStation One and some of the all-time classics.