Cliff Bleszinski has not gone gently into that good night.The former design director at Epic Game, maker of the "Gears of War" franchise, stepped down last year after 20 years at the company. Since then he's spent time dropping knowledge on Twitter and blogging as "Cliffy Unchained" on Tumblr.
Following the news of EA planning to put microtransactions into every game going forward the company dealt with some criticism from people on the internet. Apparently Bleszinski felt EA needed to be white-knighted so he took to his blog and let loose:
"I’ve seen a lot of comments online about microtransactions. They’re a dirty word lately, it seems. Gamers are upset that publishers/developers are “nickel and diming them.” They’re raging at “big and evil corporations who are clueless and trying to steal their money.”
I’m going to come right out and say it. I’m tired of EA being seen as “the bad guy.” I think it’s bullshit that EA has the “scumbag EA” memes on Reddit and that Good Guy Valve can Do No Wrong."
While noting that games are cheaper than they've ever been (and if you ever bought a Nintendo cartridge in the 80's you know what he's talking about) he went to on to say that microtransactions, epspecially for cosmetic item, bring in plenty of money for companies are completely optional for consumers. (To which I say, the sun is hot and water is wet.)
"I remember when the rage was pointed at Epic when we allowed users to purchase weapon skins in Gears 3. I replied to an enraged fan on Twitter that “You’re more than welcome to not buy the optional cosmetic weapon skins that will make you more visible to the enemy.” And you know what? In spite of the uproar, people still bought plenty of them. (I’ve seen the numbers.)"
Really, the whole thing is a delight as are the comments. Go enjoy it.