Dcubed Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 (edited) Bunny for Smash! His final smash could be him draining all of the opponent's eShop balances and then dropping them off stage with the crane I'm surprised to see you so tolerant of this @Dcubed. In the past members I have seen you voice strong opinions in regards to free to play style games and things like achievements/trophies exploiting the addictive nature of people. This game does exactly that. Giving you a free hit and then asking for money to continue. The difference with something like this and say, Pokemon Shuffle is that you know exactly what you're getting into with this. NBA works pretty much just like the real thing (only not as sleazy). You're told how much you pay up front, how many chances you get and you have a chance of winning something that actually has a use outside the game (that they could otherwise easily sell in the 3DS Theme Shop). At no point does the game claim to be free; it actually goes out of its way to explain that it costs real money to play. Very unusual for a F2P game! Pokemon Shuffle however is deceptive and the odds are clearly rigged against you. You're given a chance to progress and then are threatened with having that progress effectively taken away from you with stupid low chances of befriending Pokemon unless you pay to even the odds. NBA is also very clear about why they charge real money. The Bunny quite rightfully points out that the money you pay goes towards the upkeep of the game and the development of more badges and themes. Pokemon Shuffle (and most other F2P games) trick you into thinking that the game is just free, while the game is clearly designed to encourage you to spend. There's a push and tug there that infects the whole game design; where the game is purposely designed with aspects that make the game unfun unless you pay to skip them (be it through stamina bars or timers or whatnot). NBA is a crane grabber where you are given free goes every day. That's it. It's pretty generous really and it doesn't pretend to be something it is not Edited November 14, 2015 by Dcubed
Hero-of-Time Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 @Dcubed I agree that it's quite up front with things but it doesn't change the fact that it has things within the game that tug at people with an addictive nature. Having competition rates for sets is very sly. You could argue the free goes also don't help as you could be very close to finishing a set or one move away to nab the badge you want. This encourages the player to spend the money for just that one badge and then BAM they have you. Maybe we'll have to just agree to disagree on this one.
S.C.G Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 The most important part to note though is that nobody has to spend money on plays yo get the badges. I haven't paid a penny yet and don't intend to unless I see a theme that I genuinely want. Even I'll admit that there is an addicitve nature to it but if I ended up spending say £20 in order to get all of the badges available so far I just know that I'd regret it and would be thinking about how many REAL Nintendo badges that could have bought me. But if anyone wants to spend money on these then that's up to them, they are pretty cool. : peace: I'm wondering if I'll change my tune when a Metroid set becomes available...
Hero-of-Time Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 The most important part to note though is that nobody has to spend money on plays yo get the badges. But if anyone wants to spend money on these then that's up to them, they are pretty cool. : peace: : Indeed but its the same as gambling or using slot machines. Nobody is forced to spend their money on such things but they get sucked in and are compelled to do so. I totally agree. People can do whatever they want with their own money. It's theirs to spend. I'm just curious why a free game, that has addictive motives and encourages spending, is being seen as a good thing.
Ronnie Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 Anything more generous and no one would bother spending money and they may as well give away free development time. I think they've struck the right balance. And showing you incomplete sets is hardly devious, every Nintendo game does that.
Grazza Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 Good points from both sides. On the one hand I agree the game is reasonably upfront, plus I'm all in favour of choice. The prizes do actually have some monetary value (ie. you usually have to pay real money for digital "themes"). Instinctively though I agree with H-o-T. This sort of thing aims to exploit completionists and is (in my opinion) quite grubby for doing that.
dazzybee Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 Even one free go every day would be better. Would really make it free to play. But also if the badges are that cool it wouldn't feel so cynical and buying more would feel better.
Guy Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 Seeing them spin around with the actual pins on the back just makes me wish I could get some of these badges for real...
Serebii Posted November 14, 2015 Author Posted November 14, 2015 If you go in wanting to have every badge, you're insane. There's over 3000 badges in Japan. Even if you get lucky with every single practice crane, you're still looking at ~£250 of plays. This is not a game designed for completionists.
Dcubed Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 (edited) @Dcubed I agree that it's quite up front with things but it doesn't change the fact that it has things within the game that tug at people with an addictive nature. Having competition rates for sets is very sly. You could argue the free goes also don't help as you could be very close to finishing a set or one move away to nab the badge you want. This encourages the player to spend the money for just that one badge and then BAM they have you. Maybe we'll have to just agree to disagree on this one. Agreed on this one though. Very sneaky. Theatrhythm does the same thing with its DLC songs on its ingame store (where it lists how many songs you've bought out of the total amount). It does tap into the OCD tendencies of some people. But yeah, as far as F2P goes I really find little to fault it for. It's a crane grabber and it works just like a real one, only that it's not rigged against you as far as I can tell There's a point to be made about badges being swapped out on a regular basis that encourage people to give it that One-More-Go, but that's also a touch of realism as well I suppose at that happens with real machines too; so that's a fair point to be made as well. I guess the thing I like the most about it is that it doesn't try to lie about what it is. There's no deception involved and everything seems very fair. Edited November 14, 2015 by Dcubed
Serebii Posted November 14, 2015 Author Posted November 14, 2015 Seeing them spin around with the actual pins on the back just makes me wish I could get some of these badges for real... Fun fact, back in the early 90s, Nintendo did do badges like this. I must have about 200 or so from Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World etc. under my bed.
Guy Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 Fun fact, back in the early 90s, Nintendo did do badges like this. I must have about 200 or so from Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World etc. under my bed. That reminds me of the Sonic 2 pin badge set I found in the attic a few weeks back. I think it came from Woolworths for pre-ordering Sonic 2 way back in the day. I always see Nintendo badges on eBay from a long time back, super nostalgic.
Dufniall Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 I don't have much to weigh in to the discussion, but it reminds me of when Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen came out. Suddenly, all the gamblers were renamed gamers and the slot machine minigames disappeared. And now Nintendo brings out its own carnival game which costs actual money. I am not too supportive about this one. It should use the same format as the home themes, where you can buy full sets instead of hoping to grab every piece, which still brings a factor luck (although not a too big one) to the table.
Glen-i Posted November 14, 2015 Posted November 14, 2015 It is strangely honest, isn't it? I just hate that the machine resets each day. Oh, you want a Rosalina badge, well better hope you can get it in two turns then! I don't think I could resist the Boo badges... And god help me if a Kecleon/Groudon badge shows up...
Hero-of-Time Posted November 15, 2015 Posted November 15, 2015 Just got 11 dummy badges on the practice machine and not one of them gave me a free go. Wow. I did get a free go for reaching so many dummy badges caught though.
S.C.G Posted November 15, 2015 Posted November 15, 2015 Just got 11 dummy badges on the practice machine and not one of them gave me a free go. Wow. I did get a free go for reaching so many dummy badges caught though. That happened to me yesterday - or was that the day before? Damn 2am reset - as I cleared a whole practice machine yet got nothing... today I cleared another one bar one badge and got two turns plus one for having more than 1o dummy badges; I went for both Super Mario Bros. Underground machines and managed to get a whole set bar ONE SHELL with Luigi's and managed to snag just over half with Mario's. I'm hoping to mop up those sets tonight - well tomorrow morning - if I manage to score some more goes as they both vanish in 2 days time, though the software does mention that sets which are taken out might repeat over time, but still... it gets it into your mind that you "need" those badges first to complete the set, slightly evil. I'd love to see some StarFox badges!
Serebii Posted November 15, 2015 Author Posted November 15, 2015 That happened to me yesterday - or was that the day before? Damn 2am reset - as I cleared a whole practice machine yet got nothing... today I cleared another one bar one badge and got two turns plus one for having more than 1o dummy badges; I went for both Super Mario Bros. Underground machines and managed to get a whole set bar ONE SHELL with Luigi's and managed to snag just over half with Mario's. I'm hoping to mop up those sets tonight - well tomorrow morning - if I manage to score some more goes as they both vanish in 2 days time, though the software does mention that sets which are taken out might repeat over time, but still... it gets it into your mind that you "need" those badges first to complete the set, slightly evil. I'd love to see some StarFox badges! I imagine we'll get some in April. In Japan, at least, the new badges are often used to promote new releases. For example, Japan just got some Animal Crossing amiibo Festival badges
Dufniall Posted November 15, 2015 Posted November 15, 2015 Does anyone know if you can stock up your tries which you win in practice play? After getting bonus plays through the practice machine you immediately get send over to the real deal. But can you leave there and for example stock up 10 plays or so? That way you could stockpile a bunch of free tries to use when a set comes around which you really want.
Serebii Posted November 15, 2015 Author Posted November 15, 2015 Does anyone know if you can stock up your tries which you win in practice play? After getting bonus plays through the practice machine you immediately get send over to the real deal. But can you leave there and for example stock up 10 plays or so? That way you could stockpile a bunch of free tries to use when a set comes around which you really want. You cannot, no
Hero-of-Time Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 (edited) Splatoon badges have been added this morning. You get a free turn as well. Nabbed 12 dummy badges and once again didn't get a single free turn off them. Edited November 16, 2015 by Hero-of-Time
Serebii Posted November 16, 2015 Author Posted November 16, 2015 Splatoon badges have been added this morning. You get a free turn as well. Nabbed 12 dummy badges and once again didn't get a single free turn off them. If you got more than 10, you should get a free play
RedShell Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 The worst thing about this for me is definitely how long it takes to start up. Well over a minute every time, even if there are no new badges available! Really don't understand why this has such a long initial load time in that case, what the hell is it doing?!
Hero-of-Time Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 The worst thing about this for me is definitely how long it takes to start up. Well over a minute every time, even if there are no new badges available! Really don't understand why this has such a long initial load time in that case, what the hell is it doing?! Is it not contacting some server or something? You manage to get any free goes today? Getting seriously annoyed that i'm getting screwed over on a daily basis. I'm gonna kill that rabbit.
RedShell Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 Is it not contacting some server or something? You manage to get any free goes today? Getting seriously annoyed that i'm getting screwed over on a daily basis. I'm gonna kill that rabbit. Dunno, just seems ridiculous when there's no new content anyway. As for free plays, I got 2 today. The one for the Splatoon badges and another for reaching 10 dummy badges. It's already pretty clear that the practice machine isn't going to be super generous with free plays though.
Hero-of-Time Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 Dunno, just seems ridiculous when there's no new content anyway. As for free plays, I got 2 today. The one for the Splatoon badges and another for reaching 10 dummy badges. It's already pretty clear that the practice machine isn't going to be super generous with free plays though. So same as me then. I look forward to seeing how much cash you drop when trying to nab the Mario Kart set. No doubt there will be a set that breaks me as well. Then again, i've never been fussed with the home themes that are available already. I'm not on the home screen long enough to appreciate them.
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