Micro-Transactions have become a trend in gaming that is slowly shifting the balance between skill and spending. Micro-Transactions can be range from $0.99 all the way up to $100.00 depending on how much of the in-game money you want to buy. If you take "Call Of Duty" for example, you can pay for in-game currency with real world money so that you can get all these fancy things such as a new camouflage for your gun, or even a gun that cannot be acquired unless you get it from the in-game marketplace. You can spend the time grinding away playing the game to get the in-game currency, or you can spend money to acquire it as well.

For me, this takes away all the fun within the game. I remember I would spend hours just playing a game so I could get the next upgrade, power-up, etc. It no longer is about who is the most skilled or dedicated, but who has the most money to throw into the game. We all get sucked into the idea that taking the easy way out is the best way, but it really isn't. Why should you have to continually spend money to "enjoy" the game after you spent money on the game in the first place?

I will admit I have been guilty of purchasing a few things in-game with real world money to try and speed up my progress. It may have allowed me to progress faster, but after awhile, the game loses it's fun. Which is depressing if you were to spend as much money as some people do. What can add to the depression is when you originally got the game for "free." Eventually everyone gets tired of a game, it will lose it's replay value, but you can always sell it and get something back on your investment. With Micro-Transactions, you get nothing back, your money just disappears into thin air.

There are a few examples of these games that seem to flourish off of Micro-Transactions such as "Clash Of Clans", "Star Wars: Heroes of the Galaxy", "Mobile Strike", and many more. These games all have some form of Micro-Transactions, and they all can have you pour hundred of dollars into them just so you don't have to wait around and spend time like many other gamers do.

Yes, I have been guilty of doing such things in order to further my progress, but after doing so, I realized it was such a waste of money. If you spend money on something that you could just get over time with a little bit of determination and dedication, what do you really get out of the game? Games are meant to be fun, and if you paid for the game to begin with, why should you have to continue to pay to have fun? Gamers play to play, not play to pay.