The newest Pokémon Unite holowear - the game's equivalent to character skins - for Lucario has yet another $40 USD price tag, and players are voicing their concerns over its cost. Only a few weeks ago, Pokémon Unite's Alolan Ninetails new holowear was priced at $40 USD worth of in-game currency - that is to say, 2,499 holowear tickets. These tickets can be accumulated by playing the online battle arena game, but it takes a massive amount of time and luck to get that many.
Pokémon Unite launched on the Nintendo Switch this past July, and later as a mobile title in September. The game centers around a MOBA style, a departure from previous Pokémon installments in lieu of games like League of Legends and DOTA 2. Players pick their favorite Pokémon and try to outscore their opponents while working on a team with four other teammates. The latest Halloween-themed Pokémon Unite event introduced a new playable character in the squirrel Pokémon Greedent, as well as a few new cosmetic holowear items.
Thanks to a Reddit post by user Aniqiee, viewers were made aware that the new Lucario Bandit holowear costs the same as the previous Alolan Ninetales skin - equivalent to $40 of real-world U.S. currency. Many of the top comments expressed their dismay at the news, but few seemed surprised. Seeing as the bandit-themed Lucario holowear is the second $40 skin for Pokémon Unite, many players appear to believe this could become a pattern. One user even suggested boycotting costly skins entirely, saying, "Let's boycott those skins and see if [Pokémon Unite developers] learn a lesson and either improve those skins or make them a reasonable price."
Pokémon Unite might be free-to-play, but profits are made elsewhere. Microtransactions have become a heated topic in gaming lately, with many popular games such as Fortnite and Apex Legends maintaining their free-to-play status while charging players for extra perks. Occasionally, some games offer in-game advantages in exchange for real money, subsequently giving players willing to pay for such perks an edge. Pokémon Unite was deemed a pay-to-win title following its launch, in part due to incorporating five monetization strategies in place of giving the game itself a price tag.
Since Pokémon Unite is technically free-to-play - and all cosmetic additions are completely optional - the clear argument is that players should just be patient and work hard at earning in-game currency for desired items. However, the amount of time and pure luck it takes to build up to these costs are so high, skins' (like Lucario's bandit holowear) pricing appear designed to encourage players to just go ahead and buy them. Hopefully going forward, if enough players continue to express their dissatisfaction, the prices will start to change.
Pokémon Unite is available on iOS, Android and the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Reddit/Aniqiee