Among all of the controversy surrounding the evolving state of in-game micro-transactions, the latest iteration of which is the loot box phenomenon, some developers have taken the opportunity to score some brownie points with fans by announcing pre-emptively that they won't use such tactics. That's exactly what Capcom's done with its upcoming Monster Hunter: World, by claiming that the game will have no micro-transactions and certainly no loot boxes.
This is a smart move for Capcom, as with the way Monster Hunter: World has been developed, iterating upon previous entries in the series to make it more beginner friendly than previous Monster Hunter games and more available on various platforms, it should have the largest Monster Hunter audience to date. To include a distasteful practice like loot boxes on top of that would be an obvious cash grab.
Instead, Capcom has turned it on its head by netting some positive press from simply not using that mechanic. It also shines a light on exactly why gamers hate that sort of inclusion in games, which is nice to see from a major developer.
"I think that Monster Hunter has already built that kind of randomized, item reward into the gameplay", series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto told Gamespot. "You’ve already kind of got loot as a core gameplay aspect without having to shove a microtransaction version of it in".
Tsujimoto also made his distaste for other microtransaction commonalities too, specifically paying to make certain parts of the game quicker or easier. "We want people to have the experience that we’ve made for them rather than the option to skip the experience".
Game director Yuuya Tokuda had similar sentiments when it came to loot boxes and other derided microtransaction systems:
"I wouldn't see a paid loot box or paid system for getting random items as fitting Monster Hunter because it isn't a game where the strength of the items is the key aspect of how you proceed," he said. "The idea is that the time you spend hunting and the action part of the game is how you brush up on your skills. And then of course you get rewards of better items; but by skipping out on the part where you get better and hunt--if you're simply getting more items--I don't think that'll be a very satisfying experience for players because it wouldn't even necessarily make it that much more of a time saver if you haven't got the skill to use the items you've gotten."
