Summary
ASegapatent could spell bad news for gamers, as the patent hints at plans to introduce a prioritization system in games where paying more money gives them better treatment. More specifically,Sega’s patent describes a system that encourages a player that has spent a significant amount of money in one game to play another game by giving them preferential treatment. Examples of preferential treatment include quicker HP recovery, higher drop rates for rare items, and even access to additional content.
The expansion of monetization in video games has rapidly grown over the past two decades. What started with horse armor DLC inThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivionhas grown into a massive industry for microtransactions. Even subscription-based video games have fallen out of popularity, replaced by premium battle passes, gacha systems like loot boxes, and increasingly expensive premium stores. Mobile gaming has particularly egregious examples of monetization, with gameplay systems that push players to spend money for broader access to gameplay.
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Sega’s recently published patent takes monetization a step further, however. Titled “Recording Medium and Information Processing That Guide User to Utilize Plural Functions,” the patent aims to encourage players to spend money by rewarding them with preferential treatment in other games. Basically, as a player spends money in one “function,” what the patent labels a game," they gain ranks that give them preferential treatment in a second function/game.
An example of what Sega is saying is provided within the patent. A player spends a certain amount of money, such as 5,000 yen or 10,000 yen. They are then assigned a rank after exceeding this threshold of money spent, and are given the title private or private first class. These thresholds also unlock a license, which can apply to another game. In this second game, the player may be given bonuses like shortened recovery time for stamina/HP, free recovery of stamina/HP,character evolution without resources, additional lotteries or quests rewarding high-rarity content, and so on.
While not explicitly stated, the patent appears to be referencing a style offree-to-play mobile gameswith heavily monetized gameplay systems. These types of games can be difficult to start, especially if players are already “invested” in another free-to-play game offering a similar experience. Sega’s patent aims to make the transition to a new game more rewarding for those who feel like they can’t leave an old game due to how much they’ve spent.
Encouraging players to try new games by offering them benefits may seem like a consumer-friendly proposition, but the end result is still seemingly more monetization. Players would have to spend more money in one game to get preferential treatment in another. They’d receive benefits other players wouldn’t have access to. There’s no challenge or gameplay involved, it’s simply a matter of spending a certain amount of money to unlock the benefits. It’s unclear if work on implementing this patent in anySega games is actively in development. It may just be a matter of time beforeSegadoes so.
