Halo Infinite is a fantastic multiplayer shooter, but it’s been panned by critics for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the profusion of microtransactions. But it appears that 343 Industries has figured out how to persuade consumers to change their minds: not by lowering the amount or price of in-game objects, but by including feline Auris externa—cat ears.
The new helmet attachment, dubbed Purrfect Audio, is part of a four-item “Cat Lovers” bundle that also includes the Faded Blush armour coating and Tabby and Kat pistol charms. The bundle costs 1,000 Halo credits, or $10 in real money, which I think is a bit much for a set of ridiculous ears to slap on your Very Serious Super-Soldier helmet.
“They’re the perfect accessory. Even if they’re Mark 7 locked, they still work on every helmet,” Redditor Riceatron wrote at the start of a now-lengthy Reddit thread. “They’re gimmicky enough to not belong in a themed battle pass or reward. They’re the exact thing a cash shop is meant for, not selling me regular shoulder pads and helmets for 10-20 bucks.”
StormR7, a Redditor, concurred, adding the cat ears are “quite reasonably priced” in comparison to League of Legends skin prices. “The League system doesn’t seem unjust,” they said, “and this (at least the cat ears) doesn’t seem unfair either.” “As opposed to typical Halo cosmetics like armour and tactical attachments, you get cosmetics that can be used on some helmets (just MK7, but that isn’t that awful IMO) and that offer different twists to armour.”
“First cosmetic item I’ve seen in the Halo shop that made me go, okay, I need to buy that and compared to games like Warzone and Destiny, the price of the cat ears bundle didn’t bother me too much; it’s fairly on point to offerings there,” Coffemugofdoom admitted. “I mean, in Destiny, one emote can be $10, and same for a weapon skin or even a finisher. And while I’m not saying I love that everything is priced like that, it’s certainly not unreasonable, given the other games on the market, for Halo to be charging as much as they do.”
Of course, the embrace of the ears isn’t universal, and some people object to the cost. However, as several posters in the discussion pointed out, the fact that so many people are wearing them in the game is a very strong indication that, despite their high price, the Halo cat ears are not overpriced.
Microtransaction opponents don’t appear to mind the cat ears quite as much as the proverbial dike break they represent. KenaiChoppa wrote, “I guess we lost the war.” “Twitter and other posts like ‘Ups!’ can be found. I’m taken in by the cat ears!’ They issued a phoney apology and went back to their pricing/MTX politics.”
