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NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
EA Patent Encourages Microtransactions By Devaluing Items Unless Bought Quickly
Electronic Arts (EA) has a dear love for microtransactions, for which the publishing giant has been filing patents for several years now. You probably
segmentnext.com
You probably remember the noise from when EA patented a technology that fiddles with matchmaking. Such a system can observe player-behavior (skill, experience, sportsmanship, and other preferences) before pitting them against each other. While seemingly calm on the surface, the patent raised concerns because how the same system can also tailor itself to push player-spending.
By matching a novice against an experienced player, the system would basically be encouraging the novice to emulate the decked-out player by purchasing items being used by them. Hence, driving microtransactions home through enticement and a false perception of superiority.
EA, though, didn’t just stop there. It picked up another patent (US9666026B1) last year that can push microtransactions even further in predatory fashion.
This particular system is designed to create a sense of urgency in players to make in-game purchases as soon as possible. The reason being that the virtual items will decrease in value over time based on the number of purchases made. Hence, if players want to reap maximum benefits, they will want to be the first ones to make the purchase — a kind of day-one microtransactions.
Interestingly, EA wasn’t the original filer of the patent. That was actually Kabam, a mobile publisher which later split into Aftershock Services before being acquired by FoxNext Games in 2017. EA apparently swooped in a year later to purchase rights to the patent and remains as its current assignee.
EA in a statement to SegmentNext confirmed that they are not using this particular technology in any of its current games;
"The patent is not part of any current EA games or technology, and we are not planning to include in any our games. The patent was originally filed years ago without any of our involvement, and came to EA through a previous asset acquisition."
