Depending on your bank your card will also be put on hold if a ton of transactions flood in. You will get a text saying if you made these transactions. Also if a card is saved on a device sometimes you still have to put in the code in the back of the card randomly sometimes unless you memorize it or something.
The difference is in card games you can buy, trade and sell singles, packs and boxes. There's tons of markets to allow you to do that.
That's a fair point. I did wonder if the sample was representative.
I'm in a well-paid job with no debt other than a mortgage, and I'm the same. I'll be there calculating the $/L to see which soft drink deal offers the best value.
Oh geez. Off the top of my head:
I don't play sports games so that makes sense. COD console games don't have loot boxes anymore they shifted to Battle Pass and direct buys.
Nah, see with a physical credit card you'd have to go through the physical act of invading your mother's purse or father's wallet.
Microtransactions aren't loot boxes. Assassin's Creed for example does not have Loot boxes as far as I can think of. I don't think current Gears does either.
I wonder how quickly a kid could rack up thousands in purchases? To remortage a home seems like it would require at least a few thousand dollars worth of purchases, and I'd assume a parent would catch it inside of a month (when that first statement comes) if they don't check their spend online regularly.
Yes. That's why some of those have question marks on them. I couldn't remember what system they all had. But most of the listed definitely have loot boxes.
I think the exploitation of FOMO, marketing and creating skins that directly appeal to kids, and having them at high price points is absolutely worth discussing. Maybe not this exact topic, but I think these studies should cover how much is being spent on those types of transactions as well. They may not be exploitative from a gambling perspective, but they're still tactically designed to extract as much cash from kids as possible.
+1
The same way people get into any form of gambling. Try it, get a hit of dopamine from the excitement/risk, and look up one day to find your pockets empty.
It's psychologically manipulative, companies even hire experts to figure out what compels people to spend money. This isn't a problem of "people getting into lootboxes", this is literally psychological exploitation.
I can online gamble legally though - so really the argument is these games should automatically be rated 18+ (or whatever the legal gambling age is per country).
True. I think 18+ would be the bare minimum. There should be a ton of regulation and visibility - including probably a % of profit going toward anti-gambling ads and support.
And honestly, I dont even think thats the worst part. The worst part about these mechanics in my opinion is the things that happen in the backround like variable odds etc. The amount of data these systems can use against your wallet is probably astronomical.
The last couple of weeks have seen a wave (rash) of Pokemon card box openings on YouTube and Twitch. $25,000 card boxes. You want to know what "part of the problem" looks like? It looks like those streams and streamers, functionally promoting gambling to audiences of kids for views.
