I originally started playing Elvenar before moving to Forge of Empires, and one thing that struck me on the transition was how much more expensive diamonds were between games--that in FoE you get far fewer diamonds for higher costs than you do in Elvenar, and they don't stretch nearly as far. Yet I've still been one of those microtransaction impulse buyers who will say "oh I only need $5 worth of diamonds" only to come up 10 short on something I want to do before I go back to work, and just grab another $5...and another $5...and another...then $20 when I really want to blitz.
I'm aware I'm basically a cookie cutter example of the microtransaction psychological profile that makes games like this profitable and suckers you into spending more money than you intend to, but well...I'm having fun and I know what compulsion I'm giving in to each time, making it a weak yet conscious choice. Yet that choice was only easy to make as long as I felt like I was getting value out of the purchase that could ease a few roadblocks in what I wanted to accomplish in my limited playtime around work. (Most of the time I just leave timers to percolate while working, but on breaks I like to splurge a little to hit milestones.) I was able to adjust to the price discrepancy and value discrepancy between Elvenar and Forge of Empires, but with this change any perception of value is entirely lost.
Buying larger diamond packages will, in practicality, save me money if I have the restraint to dole them out over time...but it's the impulse of the smaller, lower-value packages that actually encourages me to spend more without being aware of it. It's the fact that for those microtransactions I don't have to stop and ask myself if I'm getting what I want for what I'm paying; habit and impulse have already cemented the answer as "yes," making the click of that button and that microtransaction a seamless no-question decision.
Now, however, that question is there. Now I'll look at the packages and doubt whether or not it's worth it, and will more than likely skirt away from buying lower-cost diamond packages at all--leaving me to occasionally consider larger, more cost-effective diamond packages, but to more often than not make the choice not to spend that much in a single go because of the price tag deterrent as a single lump sum instead of easily ignored microtransaction accumulations.
Short version: not only will this deter me from making microtransaction purchases, but it will fail to funnel me into purchases of larger packages, overall dramatically curbing my diamond spending and eventually, if the game becomes too much of a grind with no short-term gratification without excessively high costs, driving me away.
And I'm probably not the only one.