So Steamworks is going to offer developers the option to use microtransactions. You as the player will be able to buy digital equipment much akin to the extra content for Dragon Age, albeit at a rate perceived as more palatable. Instead of buying that cup of coffee, save your money and buy something electric.
Though this is certainly a model for the future, what kind of future are we looking at as gamers? Further, not only gamers, but a digital population? This concept is nothing new to the internet veterans. I recall being tempted to buy items on Everquest, though the cobalt armor sales via Ebay were eventually prohibited by the Terms of Service. Even then, however, the thought struck me: what if someone pulled the cord on Everquest and my Cobalt armor that I paid a Jackson for was erased? The question becomes, then, when do we equate digital property with real property?
The trend of microtransactions is, at least, the beginning. We as consumers slowly break away from the concept of a 50$ game and begin to see the purchases of digital content more like the small purchases of everyday life. Beyond the implications in the sales realm (where consumers spend more on small items as a whole than a 50$ purchase), we become more comfortable buying digital knickknacks. When we begin to jack into a real world simulation, we won’t feel as wary when buying those digital shoes, especially if we can feel them through a virtual reality simulation.
The trend is that slowly we can see the breakdown of digital packages (computer games) into digital items, which sometime down the road may share their real life counterpart’s cost. A visual metaphor is that real life, in terms of monetary value (which, shoot, can be said is all value), is slowly balancing out the scales with virtual value. I’m not saying that we should save some money for kung-fu lessons, but will we even flinch when a virtual suit of armor costs in excess of 100$? Here’s to hoping robots don’t figure all this out.