Fallout over Fallout: Bethesda's Deceptive Marketing
Video games are a very important part of society today. 65% of American adults play video games daily while 75% of American households have at least one gamer in the household (per theesa). I know most of, if not all all of, my friends play video games in some form or fashion. In fact, we usually play together, almost every night.
However, the video game market is often heavily scrutinized, and not from outside consumers like you would think. The biggest critic of the video game industry is gamers and the people who regularly digest video game products and culture. With the introduction of the internet to the video game scene and video game companies being more connected to their consumers than ever, it was only going to be so long before they started taking advantage of it.
Microtransactions are a very hot-topic among the video game community. If you're unaware, microtransactions are purchases that a consumer can make in a video game after purchasing the video game. For example, Fortnite, a very popular multiplayer shooter game, has microtransactions in which players can spend real money on 'V-bucks,' which they can use to purchase costumes, weapons, and 'battle passes', which allow for the player to earn additional in-game rewards for playing the game (per Epic Games).
The big-debate about microtransactions has multiple fronts. First, many believe that when you purchase a game for $60, you should receive all of the content made for the game for the base price tag. This is a big issue, as many consumers believe that video game companies create content specifically for an additional cost after the base-game price. Second, many microtransactions are reliant on luck, specifically with lootboxes. Lootboxes in video games are a physical appearence for a random number generator that determines what sort of loot the player receives for purchasing the lootbox. This has been a hot-topic issue for many years, as many consider this to be gambling (purchasing a loot box for a set price, then receiving a reward that may or may not be worth the money spent).
Nonetheless, microtransactions are a big issue, which leads directly into the topic for my paper: Bethesda Softworks and their deception leading into and following the release of their newest video game, Fallout 76.
Some Quick Background
Fallout 76 is the latest installment in Bethesda's award-winning Fallout series. The game was announced at E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, at Bethesda's press conference. The game received immediate flak as Fallout, a primarily single-player series, was moving online.
The Breach of Trust
The trust began to falter almost immediately after the announcement of Fallout 76 as Todd Howard and Bethesda promised to keep microtransactions out of Fallout 76. This fell through after cosmetic microtransactions were added (microtransactions that do not affect gameplay except for looks, which is vital in an online game to maintain fairness). The company vowed to keep all microtransactions cosmetic and not game-altering. Just recently, last month, they broke this promise and introduced repair kits, a purchasable item in the game that allows players to fix their gear without using in-game items.
With the introduction of repair kits, Bethesda has thrust 'pay-to-win' into the game (allowing players to spend real money to advance in the game, sometimes even further beyond players who play the game without making purchases). This came contrary to VP Pete Hines' statement that pay-to-win would never be introduced to Fallout 76. This is hardly the first time that Bethesda has lied while marketing their game.
When the game was first announced, a canvas bag was promised with the "Power Armor Edition" version of the game, which cost $200. When the game was released, those who purchased the 'Power Armor Edition' did not receive their canvas bags, rather nylon bags. The bag was advertised as canvas, similar to the canvas bag released in 2010's Fallout: New Vegas. The correct bags finally arrived in July 2019, over seven months after the release of the game.
Hardcore fans can pay $80 for a bottle of 'Nuka Rum', an alcoholic version of the popular drink from the Fallout series, Nuka Cola. For $80, one would expect a nice product that tastes good, and is presentable. However, there was a delay following the games release and Nuka Rum was released a month after the initial release of the game. Consumers were outraged when the Nuka Rum finally arrived in a plastic bottle, not glass. Not once did any promotional material ever say that the bottle was made of plastic and not glass, and fans were outraged.
Since the outrage of Fallout 76, Todd Howard, director of Bethesda, has become a meme in advertising products in a mockingly blunt way and using sneaky practices to swindle the consumer.
