J Allard keeps on talking microtransactions
J Allard has been all over the place since his GDC keynote. If I read between the lines (a hobby of mine) I could conclude that he's very aware of the jitters he's caused in the development community. After all, one unmistakeable message from his speech was that the next-gen will be more expensive as the business reaches out to the "mainstream."
His sales-focused pitch was striking for its urgency ("The HD Era is happening, whether we're ready for it, or not") and naked embrace of all things commerce. Hey, nothing wrong with that, as far as I'm concerned. If MS can provide a platform to help develop a 20 million-seller, more power to them.
Tom's Hardware has a sit-down with the man-with-no-hair and the single letter first name. They dare to take him on in a couple of cases, which is admirable. Allard doesn't budge, but it was worth a shot. One subject they touch on is microtransactions. Allard once again indicates that the feature will actually allow players to sell their stuff online. This time, though, he talks about people selling their own creations, not just in-game elements. That could be interesting.
