The Harry Potter game: Wizards Unite goes wrong forever

I like almost everything in the game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. In terms of animation, scenario and gameplay, it's beats the sensation that was Pokemon Go all the senses but a. The game, developed jointly by Niantic and WB Games, feels much richer, with more objects to interact with and collect – wizards, magic potions and the old inn. But after Wizards Unite game daysa fatal defect has become apparent.

It's all too easy to limit all your free storage space when you interact with everything that comes from this wild and wonderful world, not without paying more in multiple stages. I can not free space by using ingredients to prepare potions because I lack the required ingredients. And I can not gather the necessary ingredients because I do not have free space to store them.

I can of course delete items to free up space and buy safe extensions to extend my $ 5 capacity (you get 10 extra slots for "spell energy"), but whatever thing is wrong with the balance of the sorcerer's game, if playing for a few hours pushes me to shop to keep playing.

I am not against the purchase of articles. I upgraded my bag and bought Pokeballs in Pokemon Go. I also bought key lockers in Ingress. And I do not mind managing my inventory by pruning unscrupulously to stay below a ceiling. But the Harry Potter: Wizard Unite range lets you play before you pay. This seems much smaller than in Pokemon Go and Ingress, the first two games of Niantic.

This other Harry Potter game

To be fair, microtransactions are often a problem with free games, developers looking to find the right balance between letting players play and make money with their game. For example, the first Harry Potter mobile game – Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery – angered many players when it was launched with a "cash-hungry model" that discouraged many players.

The Wizards Unite store, named Diagon Alley, offers everything from the $ 4.99 anti-calamity kit to the Vault extensions, starting at $ 2.

Yet witches are willing to pay. According to market research firm SensorTower, nearly 3 million players have installed Harry Potter: Wizards Unite on iOS and Android devices during its first weekend and paid $ 1.1 million. In comparison, SensorTower noted that 24 million players have installed Pokemon Go in its first four days, generating $ 28 million in player spend.

The company predicts that the wizarding game will bring in $ 10 million over the first 30 days. Pokemon Go has raised $ 206 million in its first 30 days.

Time to pay?

Is the game interesting enough for me to pay to play? I'm not sure yet.

For me, the richness of the game can play against. I do not really want to spend my time managing objects, Foundables and Portkeys, while I prefer to do what the game does best: play.

Originally published on June 28, 2019.
Update of June 29, July 3 and July 4, 2019.