In an industry dominated by publishers chasing trends and pushing live-service games that demand constant attention and dollars, Nintendo has stuck to a more consumer-friendly, microtransaction-free formula. Recent news of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in-game purchases triggered fears that the company is planning to change this strategy. While the in-game purchases in Animal Crossing might not be microtransactions, there’s still a decent chance Nintendo could eventually embrace the monetization model. This would kill the thing about Nintendo’s games that keeps players coming back to it in a crowded gaming market.
Nintendo’s mobile games have already gone head-first into microtransactions - to an even greater extent than some of the more infamous other publishers. All of Nintendo’s mobile titles include some form of in-game purchases. There are two separate Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp subscriptions in addition to loot boxes (which is partially what makes New Horizons microtransactions seem plausible). Mario Kart Tour’s microtransactions at launch were all kinds of predatory, piling premium currency on top of loot boxes, a subscription that allowed access to the locked 200cc mode, and computer-controlled racers meant to look like other players.
Nintendo has yet to follow this same strategy on the Nintendo Switch or any of its previous systems. Its mobile titles are less high-profile than its console releases, and many mobile gamers have embraced the fact that microtransactions are a necessary evil of gaming on that platform, so perhaps Nintendo feels safe from too much backlash if it sticks to mobile microtransactions. But the main reason Nintendo has so far avoided microtransactions in its mainline games - aside from the implication that its games would no longer be kid-friendly - is likely because the practice is an inherently intrusive one.
Nothing is more immersion-breaking than an in-game message, breaking the fourth wall to ask the player for money or to notify them of a new season of content. Most modern games want players to know they’re engaging with a product made by people and corporations, not a virtual world that exists on its own. This, of course, has its benefits, providing transparency between player and developer and allowing for more understanding of the employees putting hours of work into creating fun experiences for players. But it also removes the magic of stepping into an immersive game world like Breath of the Wild’s or Mario Odyssey’s for the first time.
Nintendo has been able to remain far behind other console manufacturers’ grasp of processing power because of the sheer polish of its platform-exclusive games. Few titles are more creative, immersive, and well-rounded than Nintendo’s marquee games at launch. Its games capture not only nostalgia but a sense of childlike wonder at brand new discoveries. Few other companies can do this as well as Nintendo, and microtransactions would ruin all of it.
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