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South Park Takes Aim At Free-To-Play Games
Never one to let a controversial issue go unscathed, South Park turns its gaze to free-to-play games and the impact they have on the industry. As you might expect, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have some choice words for the freemium format.
In the aptly titled “Freemium Isn’t Free,” the Canadian comedy duo Terrance and Philip release a new free-to-play game that bears more than a passing resemblance to EA’s The Simpsons: Tapped Out. This clip shows business executives explaining to the pair that their game isn’t supposed to be fun, it just needs to make money.
As the executives explain, free-to-play games tarnish traditional RPG gameplay loops by monetizing every step of the equation and minimizing the fun factor. Since players have to effectively pay to make their games fun, the show sees free-to-play titles as fundamentally exploitative and unethical.
In typical South Park fashion, nothing on the surface is what it seems – not even what lies directly underneath it. The episode later reveals freemium games have even more sinister intent, but it’s no fun to spoil that here.
Head on over to South Park Studios to watch the episode for free – no microtransactions, we promise.
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