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Comment by trobertson | Hacker News Reader

> Is this typical of games these days? Do a crappy "main" game but "fix it" with DLCs?

A lot of AAA devs have started using games as a platform for DLC. Valve, for example, just launched glove skins [0] - 300 USD for a texture. DLC is far more profitable than games, nowadays.

As for Bethesda, long-time fans have a general understanding that Bethesda games get worse with each iteration. Their DLCs are usually better than the main games, but not by much.

[0]: https://steamcommunity.com/market/search?q=&category_730_Ite...

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Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but I clicked on that link. What exactly is going on there? It looks like people are paying hundreds of dollars for a different skins for the gloves for their characters? Is that USD or some sort of in-universe currency?

As far as I understand this is about gambling/moneylaundering. The stakes are high enough that there has been match fixing and everything.

http://www.polygon.com/2016/10/5/13176244/washington-gamblin...

That's insane - why not just gamble with Bitcoin or something that has tangible value? I guess the gambling/money laundering crowd will just move to any digital goods that aren't being regulated by anti-money laundering laws.

It's a free market for special item "drops" that you get in game, that have specific drop rates (rare items end up being worth something to collectors). It's no different than people paying for Diablo inventory back in the day, except that a) Valve controls it all so they get a cut of the market, and b) they are purely cosmetic, so people can't pay to be better, breaking the game mechanics.

It actually has very little to do with the question at hand because the wow factor in this case, the price, is user defined, and also doesn't really affect gameplay at all (AFAIK).

You have fully understood the absurdity. People are paying hundreds of real life USD for a new texture for their gloves.

How is that really any more absurd than say... buying a boat? Or cigarettes? Or the game itself?

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