The release of Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery for mobile phones and smart-devices has been soured by a microtransaction system that asks the player for money while their avatar is being choked by a magical plant. This has cast a shadow over the release of what was an otherwise entertaining and high-quality title for a mobile game.

It seems that Warner Bros. has decided to try and rectify the situation and alleviate some of the bad press that the game has earned. They have accomplished this by slashing the prices of the game's microtransactions, to the point where they seem a lot more reasonable than before.

It should be pointed out that these low prices are only temporary and will be restored to their original amounts in two days time.

The problem with these discounts is that not everyone is getting the same numbers. There have been several different reports from various news sites that have confirmed that the exact price of the discount has varied depending on the individual.

There have also been instances where owners of the game have seen no discount at all and the original price hasn't budged.

It remains to be seen whether these issues will be resolved or whether Portkey Games will bother to fix the sale prices, considering that it will only be running for the next forty-eight hours.

This random distribution of discounts is just one of many complaints that have been levied against the game since its launch. The fact that a Harry Potter game would rely so heavily on microtransactions when it comes from a series that is primarily aimed at children has been seen as the height of sleaze by some.

There have been plenty of bad Harry Potter games in the past, but you at least only pay once for a physical product that you can resell, unless you were unlucky enough to buy a digital game. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is a game that preys on your patience and asks for money for no other benefit than to continue playing the game. You are offered no other value for your real life money than simply being allowed to see the next sequence of events play out.

It remains to be seen if these initial controversies will affect the success of Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, considering the love for the franchise that spawned it.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is available to download now.