It’s an observable fact that gamers do not always get along. Whether it’s polarizing games, dueling fandoms, or the age-old debates between consoles or PCs, gamers will vocally disagree about plenty of things. However, one thing that seems to unite gamers of all stripes is a distaste for microtransactions.Unfortunately, the controversial practice of selling microtransactions seems to be bursting out of the digital realm and into reality. According to a recent report, one high-end car manufacturer has started charging a monthly subscription to access certain optional features. And while this is currently only the case in select countries, the number of subscription-based features seems to be growing.As The Verge reports, car manufacturer BMW has begun selling a monthly subscription to let customers access their car’s heated seats. The subscription costs the equivalent of about $18 a month. Customers can also choose to pay $180 for one year, $300 for three, or $415 for “unlimited” access to their vehicle’s seat warmer. Other premium subscription features include adaptive cruise control and smart high beams.
It’s unclear exactly when BMW launched this service. The company has been unsurprisingly hesitant to advertise its real-world microtransactions. A BMW representative also could not answer The Verge’s questions on the rollout. Additionally, there is no publicly available list of countries where BMW offers this subscription. However, BMW currently offers these subscriptions in places like South Korea, the UK, Germany, South Africa, and New Zealand. It doesn’t appear to be available in the United States, but there’s no reason to believe BMW would not roll it out in more countries should this apparent soft launch prove successful.
Heated seats are not the first optional feature the automotive manufacturer has locked behind a monthly subscription. It also shouldn’t be entirely surprising. BMW announced in 2020 that it would offer microtransactions for optional features like adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, and automatic traffic camera warnings. Automakers also typically charge an extra fee for optional features like heated seats and steering wheels. However, in this case, BMW charges monthly to let customers access functions already installed in their vehicle.
In fairness, there are cases where a subscription service might make sense. The above-mentioned traffic camera warnings are an ongoing cost for the company, so it’s understandable for BMW to require a monthly fee. It’s also debatable whether charging a monthly fee for optional functions is that different from simply charging upfront.
Still, it sets a potentially worrying precedent and is distressingly reminiscent of the old tactic of game developers selling on-disk day-one DLC. It also faced similar pushback from customers, who criticized it as anti-consumer. However, it seems that only time will tell if microtransactions establish themselves outside the game industry.
Source: The Verge