Dead Space cheat undermines in-game micro-transactions

[Jazzy]

Exploits in the bestselling video game Dead Space 3 are allowing users to obtain in-game items for free.



The cheats could prove costly to the title's publisher, Electronic Arts (EA), which has introduced a system that charges users cash for extra equipment in the sequel.



The move has proved controversial with some, since the title already costs about £40.



EA has the ability to issue an update to remove the workarounds.



However, a spokesman said the firm had no comment on the issue.



Dead Space 3 is an action-horror third-person shooter set on a frozen planet.



Part of its challenge is locating scarce in-game resources needed to create ammunition and medical packs in order to tackle the title's monsters.



In previous games in the franchise, the user needed to find credits in order to buy upgrades. However, the new game introduces real-money micro-transactions as a way of allowing players to add equipment faster than would otherwise be possible.



Ethical dilemma

The bugs were first reported by the news site Game Front, which subsequently posted a video online showing how they worked.



One involves the player's character walking into a specific building, picking up an item, walking out - and then returning to find a new item has appeared. This can be repeated an unlimited number of times.



The other requires the user to go to a different destination, to pick up an item and then to select save and quit before returning to the game.



Within hours of the discoveries, news of the exploits spread to other gaming sites and social media networks.

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Statement: I[font=Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif]f you go into this game knowing you are supposed to be paying for these weapons and you notice a glitch allows you to accumulate them without paying, that's theft.



Question: Do you agree or disagree with the statement and why?

 

[Sinon]

I disagree. You do not have to pay for the content, it is merely faster to pay for it than to farm it (which is what these glitches are, in effect.) If I had any desire to purchase Dead Space 3, I would not think twice about performing this glitch. EA are money-grubbers who enjoy releasing half-games, along with a host of downloadable content. Dead Space 3 has 11 pieces of paid DLC already, and it has been out what, 3 days? As a completionist, it bugs me that they include microtransactions at all. I am fine with them in F2P games such as MMOs or MOBAs. I have no qualm with spending $5 every so often on a free game. But if I've paid $60 already for a game, and am then expected to pay god knows how much extra for items that already exist within the game? Fuck nah. It's a shitty move by a shitty developer.

 

[Evil Eye]

Micro transactions for actual benefits are such a cheap system.

Statement: I[font=Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif]f you go into this game knowing you are supposed to be paying for these weapons and you notice a glitch allows you to accumulate them without paying, that's theft.

True. However, like Shiro said, you don't have to pay for them in the first place.