Despite some of the players complaining, a lot of the audience likes the pay-to-win mechanic. It’s not a game funded purely by whales; a lot of average players will spend money on the loot boxes. “I like that it means I don’t have to grind for ages, I don’t have time for that” and “it feels like the sports trading cards I had when I was a kid” are a couple of the reasons I hear somewhat regularly. The idea that it could be designed to not be grindy in the first place doesn’t even occur to them.
Despite some of the players complaining, a lot of the audience likes the pay-to-win mechanic. It’s not a game funded purely by whales; a lot of average players will spend money on the loot boxes. “I like that it means I don’t have to grind for ages, I don’t have time for that” and “it feels like the sports trading cards I had when I was a kid” are a couple of the reasons I hear somewhat regularly. The idea that it could be designed to not be grindy in the first place doesn’t even occur to them.
Very true.
It’s also kinda sad.
Orphan crushing machine vibes.
There’s also still a sizable chunk of the audience who doesn’t even engage with Ultimate Team, and just wants to play all of the other game modes.