Incline The Death of Freemium? Microtransactions Under Global Scrutiny

[DalekFlay]

Odds disclosure... any kind of disclosure... is a good thing. Happy to see a positive move like that from "the big 3."

 

[Melcar]

Only because they saw the writing on the wall.

 

[Grimlorn]

Yeah I'm surprised people are praising this move. It will do nothing. They'll include some odds disclosure in fine print somewhere that's barely readable and it won't stop people with low impulse control from being taken advantage of. You think kids are going to pay attention to the odds before gambling? How about real gamblers who already know the odds. Does that stop them from gambling?

 

[Drakron]

Well it doesnt but seeing stuff like 0.03% is going to scare off a lot of more casual people that think its much higher, it will have a impact.
But more is needed to be done, such as preventing then from manipulating the results because you can be sure there are asshole CMs that will have no qualms of turning a switch so people they dont like can never win anything of value and you be damn sure a lot of those people on Community Managers jobs are the kind of passive-aggressive assholes to do it given the chance.

 

[Swigen]

 

[Mexi]

More of a neutral move. As they said, they're not targeting regular people. They're targeting whales. Dumb people with very little impulse control. Someone already posted that story about that idiot spending ~20K on FIFA, IIRC.

 

[Swigen]

Kid: Can I have $2 for baseball cards?

Parent: Sure. Oh, know what? I actually don’t have any cash on me, why don’t you just hold on to my credit card for a few weeks.

Kid: ‘K

Parent: <Looks at $800 credit card bill a few weeks later> Holy FUCK!! We need some government legislation up in this bitch!! GOVERNMENT!!! PLEEEEAAAASE HAAAAALP!!!

 

[Jigawatt]

You're right, these companies should only be allowed to provide DLC for cold hard cash, no CC allowed

 

[taxalot]

You're right, these companies should only be allowed to provide DLC for cold hard cash, no CC allowed

Said companies are now vicious to the point to sell "cards" in store that can be redeemed for credit. The only reason of existence for these cards is to sell kids without bank cards loot boxes for pocket money. They're litterally made to allow teens and pre-teen gambling, or for people who have been forbidden from having bank accounts. This is how fucked up this industry is.

 

[Swigen]

 

[mondblut]

that you can have a social system fit for very smart people, the not so very smart people will quickly go extinct in blazes of exciting fireworks, and everything will be ok.

I filled the part you have omitted. And, dare I say, that was the most important part. Or, at least, the most entertaining.

 

[Wyatt_Derp]

Kid: Can I have $2 for baseball cards?

Parent: Sure. Oh, know what? I actually don’t have any cash on me, why don’t you just hold on to my credit card for a few weeks.

Kid: ‘K

Parent: <Looks at $800 credit card bill a few weeks later> Holy FUCK!! We need some government legislation up in this bitch!! GOVERNMENT!!! PLEEEEAAAASE HAAAAALP!!!

In the old days, kids worked for money. Everyone's heard stories of kids a long time ago working all summer for the cash to buy a skateboard or a baseball glove. We need to go back to that. Parents get help with chores, and kids learn the value of money. The whole relationship is healthy and fair.

And speaking of value of money, we went from just being a credit system to a credit culture. Children never learn to understand the basic nature of money, because it's all tied up in ones and zeroes in some bank somewhere. Physically handling money, understanding inflation, even buying gold or getting a piggy bank. These are all becoming outdated models - to our own peril. Sure a kid will splurge and empty out a credit card on video games or junk food. Their relationship to it is more along the lines of a crack junkie who has a dealer living next door with endless supply.

Restrictions, government intervention, and ratings boards, these are always typical tactics that end up addressing symptoms, not diseases. Our disease in the west is addiction - not even to money even more, but addiction to credit and the rotten culture that it affords. If children cannot learn the value of money or the energy that's used in exchanging labor for money, then none of these gaming industry problems will ever be fixed. And with government getting involved, it will most likely only get worse and spin off even new unforeseen problems.

 

[Swigen]

Gaymerz: “Violence in video games does NOT cause violence in real life. What, you think we’re that weak and simple minded? Fuck off government!”

Also Gaymerz: “Loot bawkses and micwo twansactshuns are maeking us gambol IRL!! We’re weak! GOVERNMENT PWEASE HAAAAALLP!! FINK OF DA CHILREN!!”

 

[Dexter]

Also Gaymerz: “Loot bawkses and micwo twansactshuns are maeking us gambol IRL!! We’re weak! GOVERNMENT PWEASE HAAAAALLP!! FINK OF DA CHILREN!!”

Pro-tip: One of these things is not like the other.

One is fictional violence, the other is real gambling with real money marketed at kids dressed up to look "cool and cute" with real-world consequences: https://www.techspot.com/news/81968-runescape-player-spends-62000-game-microtransactions.html

The situation was highlighted in the UK Parliament’s recent report on immersive and addictive technologies, which includes a subsection on RuneScape. It mentions “a member of the public whose adult son built up considerable debts” of around $62,000.

Last year, a man discovered he had spent over $10,000 on FIFA, while in 2017, an 11-year-old accidentally spent almost $7,500 on microtransactions using his father’s credit card.

Not fictional gambling like a game of Poker Night at the Inventory. The violence equivalent would be locking Achievements or progress behind having players torturing or gutting cats and birds irl and posting it to their social media to get it verified.

 

[Swigen]

Also Gaymerz: “Loot bawkses and micwo twansactshuns are maeking us gambol IRL!! We’re weak! GOVERNMENT PWEASE HAAAAALLP!! FINK OF DA CHILREN!!”

Pro-tip: One of these things is not like the other.

One is fictional violence, the other is real gambling with real money marketed at kids dressed up to look "cool and cute" with real-world consequences: https://www.techspot.com/news/81968-runescape-player-spends-62000-game-microtransactions.html
Not fictional gambling like a game of Poker Night at the Inventory. The violence equivalent would be locking Achievements or progress behind having players torturing or gutting cats and birds irl and posting it to their social media.

O RLY? Overwatch lootbox contents can be redeemed for wheeley wheel monay? Weeeelll color me embarrassed then. Jeez, hope the government is able to distinguish between these totally different instances of exploitation between two different constituencies. Hopefully they don’t run on any kind of “moral platform” and fuck things up for the rest of us.

 

[anvi]

Wait Swigen, are you trying to argue that gambling for children is perfectly fine? What is it you are worried about, not being able to gamble yourself or something?

 

[Swigen]

Wait Swigen, are you trying to argue that gambling for children is perfectly fine? What is it you are worried about, not being able to gamble yourself or something?

I’m worried about the “slippery slope”. It’s already been established that the same politicians that argue that there is a correlation between violence in vidya games and movies and real life violence are the very same ones pushing for regulation of loot boxes. Look, I agree pay to win, loot whatever and micro transactions are annoying as fuck but inviting government control into our hobby is absolutely the wrong way to go about stopping it.

Right way: STOP BUYING THIS SHIT. Like how sales plummeted for Middle Earth: Shaddow of War prompting EA to remove lootboxes and overhaul the balance of the game.

Wrong way: Bend over for the government and act like we NEED regulation for our own good ‘cause “we jus can’t help it”.

 

[Zombra]

Good old "reasonable regulation leads to unreasonable regulation, therefore nothing should ever be regulated". Seriously man, grow up.

 

[anvi]

You are talking about different things though, pay to win and DLC or whatever, yes, just don't buy it. But this is about actual gambling, in games for little kids. Even adults struggle with gambling addictions, but they are doing this in games for babies and nobody other than neckbeards even know what it is. The average parent has no idea what a lootbox is, what gold in a game is, etc. Their kid asks to buy a loot crate or some shit and the parent is like hmm how much? Kid says its only a dollar, so parent says ok. The kid puts the parents card details into the game and starts buying endless loot crates. Parents are getting life changing bills. It is shady shit, government should regulate it. If some high street business set up fruit machines and roulette wheels for 5 year olds, the police would shut them down in seconds. But companies are getting away with doing exactly the same thing in gaming because normies don't understand it and shitty evil corporations are exploiting the situation.

And I don't see how government getting involved is a problem. They have been involved for years, they forced an age rating on everything, banned some games, and they get some things in some games removed like Fallout's reference to morphine, it had to become med-x instead. Government is already involved, they may as well do a decent job of it.

 

[Cromwell]

Also, as someone already mentioned here, in most countries children arent allowed to gamble. Why then would they be allowed to play games that have either gambling elements or are downright gambling? We dont allow children to do stuff like that because tehy are children teens or young adults and they are by default retarded so they can be expected to be manipulated. Its not even "by box get thing" anymore its register here, please give us all your data then proceed to give us 100 Dollar for 2000 gems, 100 seeds for 2100 gems, grow 4 plants and if youre lucky the fruit will give you nwhat you want.

That is so far removed from normal money I wouldnt expect most adults to keep track of spending let alone a 10 year old that "borrowed" daddys card and now only knows "I have to click 5 times to get thing".

 

[anvi]

jk lol

 

[Garbage]

Good old "reasonable regulation leads to unreasonable regulation, therefore nothing should ever be regulated". Seriously man, grow up.

I love it when people act like videogames aren't already regulated. Plenty of places in the world (such as Germany and Australia) already force standards on games and outright prevent sale of games they disagree with.
If governments want to regulate games they wouldn't need an excuse such as gachashit to do it. Like it's already been proven, they'll just do it.

 

[Swigen]

Good old "reasonable regulation leads to unreasonable regulation, therefore nothing should ever be regulated". Seriously man, grow up.

Government cucks! I’m glad avatars are back so I can say “suck my baaaaaaawllls” to all y’all’s faces!

Spoiler

 

[Dexter]

https://www.sportbible.com/news/gam...imate-team-being-classed-as-gambling-20200202

FIFA 20 Publisher EA Hit With Lawsuit Over Ultimate Team Being 'Classed As Gambling'

Adnan Riaz in News
Last updated 6:08 AM, Monday February 03 2020 GMT

A lawsuit in France has been launched against Electronic Arts arguing that the fan-favourite FIFA Ultimate Team should be classified as gambling.

Ultimate Team allows players to use real money on packs in the hopes of unlocking rare players to build their dream XIs.

According to French newspaper L'Equipe, Parisian lawyers Karim Morand-Lahouazi and Victor Zagury are taking on the FIFA 20 publisher over the potential risks posed with Ultimate Team.

The two lawyers have argued that it is essentially a play-to-win mode, which requires players to gamble their money on packs and not guaranteeing returns on a particular card.

"In this game, everyone wants to have a dream team to go as far as possible," Zagury said.

"My client spent €600 in five months without ever getting a big player. The developers of this game mode have created an illusionary and particularly addictive system.

"The more you pay, the more you have the possibility of getting big players.

"We believe that a gambling game has been integrated into this video game because buying packs is nothing more than a bet. It is the logic of a casino that has entered their homes.

Credit: EA Sports

"Today, an 11- or 12-year-old teenager can, without any restriction, play FUT and commit money because there is no parental control system in this mode.

"Belgium and the Netherlands have already taken up this issue."

The French newspaper reports that the two lawyers are hoping to receive insight into "the algorithm which generates the distribution of player cards in packs."

Mamadou, who is a 32-year-old chauffeur, told L'Equipe that he splashed out €600 on FUT packs since the release of FIFA 20 last September.

And he revealed that the best card he pulled from any pack was Napoli defender Kostas Manolas, who is rated 85 in Ultimate Team.

Credit: PA

"You quickly become addicted to this game... whenever I buy a pack, I tell myself that this is the last time, but I always do it again," Mamadou said.

"You get so frustrated when you don't get good enough players that you buy again and again.

"I didn't even know him! Put so much money in just to get Manolas... People I know have put in €2,000 or €3,000 -- it's crazy...

"The amount I have spent has made me fall behind on my rent payments."

Belgium clamped down on loot boxes in 2018 and EA stopped selling FIFA points, its in-game currently for the franchise, last year.

Credit: EA Sports

The Netherlands took similar action on gambling in video games and imposed a ban on some loot boxes.

NHS mental health director Claire Murdoch last month called on the gaming industry to ban loot boxes in games and protect children from becoming addicted to gambling.

"Frankly, no company should be setting up kids for addiction by teaching them to gamble on the content of these loot boxes," she said.

"No firm should sell to children loot box games with this element of chance, so yes those sales should end.

"Young people's health is at stake, and although the NHS is stepping up with these new innovative services available to families through our Long Term Plan, we cannot do this alone, so other parts of society must do what they can to limit risks and safeguard children's wellbeing."

 

[Lambach]

"You quickly become addicted to this game... whenever I buy a pack, I tell myself that this is the last time, but I always do it again," Mamadou said.

"You get so frustrated when you don't get good enough players that you buy again and again.

"I didn't even know him! Put so much money in just to get Manolas... People I know have put in €2,000 or €3,000 -- it's crazy...

"The amount I have spent has made me fall behind on my rent payments."

"Mommy government pls protect me because I'm an irresponsible piece of literal dog shit with less than 0 impulse control when pixels depicting my favorite guy who kicks balls good show up "

Can we please bring back indentured servitude already?