In case you've missed the latest Pokémon release, Pokémon Unite is the pocket monsters interpretation of an old fashioned MOBA. Rather than playing League of Legends or Dota 2 mobile players have flocked to the much friendlier looking title, allowing them to use the skills of Pokémon to team up and battle another team of five players. Though it's undeniably pretty and gamers are having a lot of fun with it, some players have raised their eyebrows at the monetisation system.
On Reddit, there has been a swell of support for user Not_Nathan_Drake who posted a lengthy discussion about why the monetisation of Pokémon Unite could be considered predatory. The user says that they're a mobile game developer which means they have a deep understanding of monetisation and it's their job to "find the right balance" for games. They, however, consider Pokémon Unite's strategy "way off" balance and thinks that it's so skewed that they think it's "highly predatory".
Here is the trailer for Pokémon Unite...
The post explains that there are five monetisation strategies in Pokémon Unite when you'd only ever normally find two in a game. There are cosmetics, battle pass levels, gacha mechanics, character purchases, and gameplay boosting items, all of which are substantial amounts when you consider how little in-game currency you earn as you play.
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The gameplay boosting items especially are an issue. You can upgrade boosts and gameplay changing items before taking them into matches, essentially pricing some players out of the game as they won't have as many advantages in a match.
Not_Nathan_Drake ultimately says: "Be very cautious here, this game is not for children and should not be played without an adult conscious of finances and how monetisation works on a baseline. I would HIGHLY suggest you do not support this game until they resolve their deeply predatory monetisation schemes. This is a very heavy step for Nintendo to take, as even their other Switch based MOBA (Arena of Valor) is not this heavily monetised, but ill admit it's not far off. It's quite sad they are putting the Pokemon brand on the front of such a terrifyingly brutal "game" such as this."
There have been thousands of upvotes on the post and a lot of awards given to Not_Nathan_Drake as a result of their explanation. It seems there are a lot of fans who agree that something needs to be done about Pokémon Unite's monetisation, and hopefully, that can happen sooner rather than later.
Featured Image Credit: Nintendo