Figures in Video Games

[Oblivion]

Lately, it's been rumored that the new Smash Bros game will be implementing a system involving the NPF figurines, although the truth and manner of this implementation is unknown.

I am sick and tired of game companies hopping onto this figurine bandwagon. It's a blatant ploy to leech off of consumers and make them pay way more than they should just to experience the game to the fullest. I bought Skylanders for the fun of it, and as a diehard completionist, nothing aggravated me more than having to reach into my wallet just to be able to play through a particular stage or get a particular item.

If the figurine use in Smash Bros is limited to the moveset customization stuff, I'll be marginally more okay with it. But if I'm going to have to reach into my wallet just to be able to play as my favorite characters, I'm going to have a problem. Not only will I lose the joy in finally unlocking that one hidden character, but I'll be forced to pay loads of money in addition to the price tag on the game proper just to get the full roster. I find that to be ridiculous, and it detracts from the enjoyment of the game.

What about you guys? What's your stance on figurine use in video games?

 

[Dr. Buni]

My stance on figurine use in video games? I loathe it. It is even worse than DLC, since you can't buy a figurine in an virtual store (like Steam, PSN, e-Shop, etc) and have the content instantly. They would have to ship it to you and depending of where you live, it would take a lot of time to be finally able to enjoy the additional content. Plus, having to buy an useless piece of plastic to get your hands on whatever additional content comes with it isn't an interesting idea to me. I already buy most of my games digitally because I don't want to deal with useless plastic boxes.

So yeah, I am with you. I was going to buy the new Smash Bros. title in release date, but now I think I will wait a while and see how this NFC/NPF thing will play out. Hopefully they will be used to store the moveset customization hinted by Sakurai in the last Nintendo Direct. By the way, since they will be using this technology in the new Smash Bros. title, what if Game Freak jump the bandwagon and decide to use it in the Pokémon series? Can you imagine the scenario of having to buy a figurine to have a new Pokémon in your game?

 

[Oblivion]

The whole practice seems very Zyngaesque. To me, buying a game means giving the company your money in exchange for experiencing a game. But the figurine system denies that long-held contract between customers and companies. It's like if you had to buy shoelaces separately from the shoes, or if you had to buy each piece of your cheeseburger separately; the customer feels cheated, and they feel like the game promised them a wide variety of characters, or a huge amount of items, only to say "oh yeah by the way you have to give us more money for that."

 

[ocelotlrama jaguar]

I am of two minds of this: On one hand, I like the thought of figurines being made, especially related to Smash Bros. That is something I have always wanted. On the other hand, I don't want them to be a necessity to complete the game and I really don't want them to be what allows anyone to take full advantage of having fun. That would blow, so yeah, I can see your point.

If they do decide something like this, I just hope they are nice little extras and not something you need to enjoy the game's features.

 

[Hector]

You hit the nail on the head Eggie, especially on the point regarding Smash. If the figurines just represent costumes or something superficial (example if you buy the Mr. L Luigi, you unlock an alternate Mr. L skin for Luigi in game, or if you buy the Metroid Fusion Samus figurine you get an alternate Zero Suit design) as compared to you have to buy the Samus figurine to unlock Zero Suit. If it's the former, I have no problem. And in fact I'd probably buy both of the figurines I just mentioned (if they looked cool they'd be nice additions to my desk in my apartment and the game bonus would be a nice perk). If it's the latter and it actually affects gameplay in a concrete way not only will I not buy the figurines I won't buy the game.

Ultimately the consumer's wallet speaks and if the sales for the figurines and the game are poor due to the nonsense of making people pay extra then they won't try it a second time for Smash Five.

 

[Dolce]

Personally I hate it, it puts a strain on my wallet if I want to enjoy my game and well frankly forget that. I definitely do agree that the option of figurines in any game should be purely optional. :/

 

[AKluthe]

Plus, having to buy an useless piece of plastic to get your hands on whatever additional content comes with it isn't an interesting idea to me. I already buy most of my games digitally because I don't want to deal with useless plastic boxes.

I'm the opposite, I buy physical copies of almost all my games because I want a physical product when I purchase something.

Games like Skylanders and Disney Infinity don't appeal to me, though, because I dislike DLC-focused games and don't actually care about the figures involved with them.