Only 1% of players in favour of microtransactions model, Qutee report says

A new report by data firm Qutee gives insight into what players think of the games market, having analysed answers during an online debate that got over 10,000 poll votes (including almost 2,000 in-depth comments across over 450 discussion topics).

The Gaming Today report highlighted the popularity of streaming, with one fifth of respondents claiming they watch gaming streams every single day. 61.8 per cent of them watch streams every week.

Meanwhile, microtransactions were also among the discussed topics, with 22 per cent of respondents saying they dislike the model, with some comments pointing out at how “sickening” and “toxic” it is. However, 68.6 per cent of respondents said that “cosmetic only” microtransactions are “okay”, while 5.8 per cent of them said they just don’t purchase them. Only 1.3 per cent of respondents said they’re a fan of the model and two per cent said they’d rather pay for everything upfront.

Respondents were also divided about innovation in the games industry. When asked “Are games becoming less innovative?”, they were 31.3 per cent to say ‘No’ and 37.3 per cent to say ‘Yes’. However, 70.6 per cent of respondents said gaming still represents value for money.

Meanwhile, only five per cent of respondents said they intend to buy a VR headset in 2018, with the lack of a killer app and prices still being too expensive mentioned among the reasons.

Flint Barrow, co-founder and CTO of Qutee, commented: “The Gaming Today debate shows that the industry is in the midst of a cultural shift while simultaneously experiencing growing pains. The pursuit of profit in some quarters has led to stagnation at best, and predatory tactics at worst. Gamers are watching and are at the centre of the interplay between passion and innovation meeting the bottom line. Fortunately, the market is so large it leaves room for fragmentation, where companies on both sides can successfully carve out a niche.”

Co-founder and CEO Tim Wilson added: “The gaming data we’ve gathered is a veritable goldmine for developers, publishers and influencers looking to understand what really makes gamer tick and equally what turns them off. This discussion proves that there is a huge appetite for communities of all kinds to come together online to conduct data discussions, and share positive stories and opinions. This is pure data democracy at work and what Qutee is all about.”

To read the full report, click here.