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Deleted member 63122

User requested account closure
Banned
Jan 16, 2020
9,071
User banned (2 weeks): rationalising child abuse over multiple posts.
Yeah, the concept of stealing my parents' CC would literally be unthinkable to young me, because the consequences would be dire. I got my $10/week allowance (later increased to $20), occasionally got some money for birthdays or whatever, and that was it.

Consoles have the means to control these kinds of purchases, which is on the parents. That isn't to absolve the game makers of their role in creating mechanics to "hook" kids into obsessive, addictive loops like this - or suggest there shouldn't be a conversation around their regulation - but seriously, take responsibility for your kids. If it's gotten to the point where they are stealing your CC, there's a problem that needs your attention.

And yes, loot boxes should be controlled. I'm actually not in favour of outlawing them or whatever, but I do think they should result in a game being potentially rated M for Mature.
Ohh, man! Just thinking about it bring me chills. I'm not condoning abuse, but a good beating can prevent a lot of things. And like I said, cultural things, before anyone gets mad.
 

JigglesBunny

Prophet of Truth
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
31,101
Chicago
It's crazy how that thing that MOST DEFINITELY IS NOT GAMBLING, SHUT UP, STOP ASKING QUESTIONS poses a lot of the same risks and produces behaviors so similar to gambling.

It's almost like... well, no, that just couldn't be...
 

Siyou

Member
Oct 27, 2017
864
Apologies in advance for what it's certainly going to seem like an unwarranted picking apart of your post; I'm not aiming the following specifically at you, but at the sentiment you express, one perpetually echoed over and over in lootbox threads, and in my opinion, one of the biggest hurdles in the discussion.

You see, "I don't understand people that fall for this" is really shorthand for a variety of different but related sentiments:
- "I can't empathize with (put myself in the place of) these people."
- "I don't much care to empathize with these people."
- "These people have mental issues that make them different from myself."
- "These people behave irrationally, and therefore deserve what happens to them."
- "I don't care for learning about the multiple psychological traps that these games exploit (because I will never be in a position where that matters specifically to me)."

This separation of "us" from "them", and the implication that they are fundamentally alien, irrational agents (as opposed to perfectly normal people that have fallen into an addiction), leads to a very convenient compartimentalization that allows us not to care about what happens to them in the least.

In a fundamentally visceral way, I can't understand why people get into smoking, knowing as they do what it does to you. But on a rational level I can understand that people fall into addictions for all sorts of environment factors like social pressure or emotional vulnerability; and having understood that, I can at least empathize with them and wish to help them instead of blaming them.
I just want to say this is a very well put and concise post that I feel really paints the phrase in a digestible manner and covers many much needed bases. Thank you for this.
 
Oct 25, 2017
3,689
Lootbox design is horribly manipulative, and I'm still mad at gaming media doing the rounds praising Genshin Impact's monetization despite relying on the same lootbox gacha system
 

Mr Spasiba

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
1,779
I feel like a kid stealing money from their parents is going to be doing it for more than just game loot boxes, like they're probably doing it for anything they feel like buying. Also the wording on kids borrowing money they can't pay back is weird to cause like, they're kids, of course they aren't paying money back lol.
 

Truant

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,758
A young (12-13 ish) family member stole credit cards from adults in our extended family to buy vbucks and other dumb shit for over 4 grand. The idiot didn't really think it through, because it took under five minutes to prove it was him.

I was genuinely shocked when it happened, because he didn't seem the "type", if that is even a thing anymore.
 

Weltall Zero

Game Developer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
19,343
Madrid
I just want to say this is a very well put and concise post that I feel really paints the phrase in a digestible manner and covers many much needed bases. Thank you for this.

Thank you for the kind words. But yeah, this lack of empathy is a pretty ugly common thread I've been picking up through all the multiple discussions about lootboxes on Era, and I wanted to at least get that off my chest. To be frank, I don't think it ended up being all that concise (anything over five lines is usually skipped), but at least I said my piece.

I mentioned this before (on the subject of capital punishment, no less), but Era in general is somewhat weird in that it prides itself in adhering pretty strictly to progressive tenets as a fundamental part of its identity, but then, individual users rarely show or practice the empathy which should be the very core of leftist ideology. The very second a specific topic falls slightly outside the left-right political axis (and, hell, even when it doesn't; lootboxes are still very much a "capitalism vs consumer protection" topic), empathy seems to become completely optional.
 

Rodelero

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,511
A young (12-13 ish) family member stole credit cards from adults in our extended family to buy vbucks and other dumb shit for over 4 grand. The idiot didn't really think it through, because it took under five minutes to prove it was him.

I was genuinely shocked when it happened, because he didn't seem the "type", if that is even a thing anymore.

Are you sure they were buying loot boxes? Fortnite Battle Royale has never featured loot boxes, and Save the World's loot boxes had the blind element removed years ago. Unfortunately while loot boxes are the most problematic style of monetisation, it's more than possible to get addicted to buying items without the random element.
 

Feign

Member
Aug 11, 2020
2,501
<-- Coast
Good for you. Keep it that way for as long as you can.


It is known to and has been reported in the past, yes. But more people just like cool stuff and like their avatars to look cool. That's why the skin/cosmetic market exists.

Yep. I remember as a kid going to a grocery store and spending allowance on money orders to send to Gaia Online because I wanted some limited event thing for a site I don't even remember the purpose of.
 

Truant

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,758
Are you sure they were buying loot boxes? Fortnite Battle Royale has never featured loot boxes, and Save the World's loot boxes had the blind element removed years ago. Unfortunately while loot boxes are the most problematic style of monetisation, it's more than possible to get addicted to buying items without the random element.

I believe it was vbucks like I stated in the original post, but also a bunch of other stuff from other games with monetization. A mix between currency, lootboxes, subscriptions and some one-time purchases. Like you said, it's more the buying itself that was addicting.
 

Deleted member 8752

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
10,122
I bought a few season passes to Rocket League, then realized "this is stupid" and just stuck with one car/configuration going forward.

The free drops are fine, but I enjoy the game way more without thinking about the cosmetics.
 

hydruxo

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,409
I love Genshin Impact, but if I had kids who were gamers I'd legitimately not let them play it. The potential for getting hooked on the gacha is very high compared to your average game with lootboxes like Overwatch / Apex Legends / etc. when there are whole characters and weapons that you can get from it rather than cosmetics. They dangle a new carrot in your face every few weeks by releasing characters frequently.

I've spent about the price of a normal retail game on Genshin because I enjoy it, but I'm sure there are countless teenagers out there who've gotten sucked into the gacha hole and spent hundreds of dollars already. I do worry about Genshin's absurd pricing for pulls (it's $30 for 10 pulls) potentially seeping into other games because of how popular it is. I also think Apex's lootboxes / skins are ridiculously priced and despite buying a few battle passes for that game, I refuse to ever buy lootboxes because of the cost.
 
Oct 27, 2017
12,238
A young (12-13 ish) family member stole credit cards from adults in our extended family to buy vbucks and other dumb shit for over 4 grand. The idiot didn't really think it through, because it took under five minutes to prove it was him.

I was genuinely shocked when it happened, because he didn't seem the "type", if that is even a thing anymore.


He got suckered in by a system designed to press certain buttons on one's brain. He's the victim here (I mean apart of the people who got charged 4k)
 
Oct 26, 2017
1,029
Ohh, man! Just thinking about it bring me chills. I'm not condoning abuse, but a good beating can prevent a lot of things. And like I said, cultural things, before anyone gets mad.

I'm sorry, but this is a disgusting thing to say. Not only is it horrific on its face, but years of studies have continually disproven it.

And using culture as a defence doesn't work either. You can say it happened, but I draw the line at advocating its efficacy.

"Say what you will about the Mussolini, but the trains ran on time!"

(They didn't: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/loco-motive/ )
 

Deleted member 63122

User requested account closure
Banned
Jan 16, 2020
9,071
I'm sorry, but this is a disgusting thing to say. Not only is it horrific on its face, but years of studies have continually disproven it.

And using culture as a defence doesn't work either. You can say it happened, but I draw the line at advocating its efficacy.

"Say what you will about the Mussolini, but the trains ran on time!"

(They didn't: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/loco-motive/ )
Yeah, comparing a megalomaniac to a parent disciplining their child... Again, cultural.
 

Deleted member 2834

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,620
I clicked on the link in the OP and then I downloaded the "study". No information on whether the sample was representative, no info on the sample size, no info on the limitations of the study. Worthless. 🤷

I don't believe these numbers until I can see how the study was conducted. Does anyone have a link?
 

Matty H

Member
Oct 31, 2017
1,107
Any game that allows someone to spend so much that they have to remortgage their house should be illegal and the executives of those companies should be locked in prison.
 
Oct 26, 2017
1,029
Yeah, comparing a megalomaniac to a parent disciplining their child... Again, cultural.

I wasn't comparing the two. I was using a technique called reductio ad absurdum --showing the absurdity of the thought process of "There's this horrible act, but at least there's a benefit!" by taking it to a logical extreme. It's a known sardonic tool (which is referenced in the article I linked). Here's another article: https://www.softschools.com/examples/literary_terms/reductio_ad_absurdum_examples/337/

But you know that already, considering I never said child abuse -- oh, sorry, "disciplining a child," can't forget that minimization! -- is exactly like Mussolini.
 

Chopchop

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,171
They press the same psychological buttons as any casino machine. That's why there's always so much animated fanfare around opening a lootbox.

They definitely need to be regulated more.
 

Sabretooth

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,052
India
Apologies in advance for what it's certainly going to seem like an unwarranted picking apart of your post; I'm not aiming the following specifically at you, but at the sentiment you express, one perpetually echoed over and over in lootbox threads, and in my opinion, one of the biggest hurdles in the discussion.

You see, "I don't understand people that fall for this" is really shorthand for a variety of different but related sentiments:
- "I can't empathize with (put myself in the place of) these people."
- "I don't much care to empathize with these people."
- "These people have mental issues that make them different from myself."
- "These people behave irrationally, and therefore deserve what happens to them."
- "I don't care for learning about the multiple psychological traps that these games exploit (because I will never be in a position where that matters specifically to me)."

This separation of "us" from "them", and the implication that they are fundamentally alien, irrational agents (as opposed to perfectly normal people that have fallen into an addiction), leads to a very convenient compartimentalization that allows us not to care about what happens to them in the least.

In a fundamentally visceral way, I can't understand why people get into smoking, knowing as they do what it does to you. But on a rational level I can understand that people fall into addictions for all sorts of environment factors like social pressure or emotional vulnerability; and having understood that, I can at least empathize with them and wish to help them instead of blaming them.

Thank you so much for this post. I was going to make a much shorter, more acerbic, less helpful response to some of these posts, but you handled it in a much better way, and I'm thankful for that.
 

Majora's Mask

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,559
Even though it's "only 10%" it feels like way too much. I remember feeling super stupid when I bought 2 10 USD Overwatch lootboxes. Never fucking again.
 

Deleted member 63122

User requested account closure
Banned
Jan 16, 2020
9,071
Saying, and I quote, "a good beating can prevent a lot of things" is one hundred percent "condoning child abuse". And "cultural" is not the free get out of jail card that you seem to think it is.
A few slaps to the butt, never killed anyone, again you may see it wrong, but where I'm from, it works. Clearly better than what those parents are doing that those kids are stealing from them repeatedly.
 

Solid SOAP

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 27, 2017
8,225
I used to tutor a kid who spent over $600 of his parent's money on Fornite. They gave him a slap on the wrist punishment, lol. They were quite well to do so I'm not too surprised.
 

Tokyo_Funk

Banned
Dec 10, 2018
10,053
Crowbcat is a piece of crap, but there is one video they made which hit the nail on the head when it comes to lootboxes/skins

Edit - Sound/volume warning, screeching/yelling people.

 

Croc Man

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,546
It's the various job descriptions we've seen that get me, basically exploitation managers.
Imagine meeting somebody and they ask what you do, "I'm in charge of finding the most effective way to get kids hooked on gambling".
 

oni-link

tag reference no one gets
Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,015
UK
This kind of thing is awful. I spend a few hundred a year on games and still manage to beat 25-45 games a year. The idea of blowing several hundred on a single game trying to win some skins or cosmetics is just abhorrent to me, and 100% something that needs to be looked into. It's gambling in all but name and I'm not surprised it's negatively impacting younger gamers on this scale
 

Death Penalty

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
3,296
Pretty dubious study, but I don't need a study to tell me that something that is in every relevant way gambling should not be inflicted on young minds without fully developed impulse control. Scumfucks on YouTube doing paid content opening lootboxes ought be taken to task, too.
 

Karateka

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,940
loot boxes need to be killed.
This doesn't go into paid skins at all, does it? I've seen people argue that outright purchasing of skins is more reasonable, but every single time a new skin pops up in Fortnite, even people on Era are opening their wallets to look like Batman for $20. In Warzone, the skins are now approaching $30, and if I recall, Apex also had some gaudy price points when I paid.

I agree that the gambling mechanics of loot boxes need to go, but I also wonder if people are more likely to spend more money on boxes than they are on direct, overpriced skins.
the answer is yes, people buy the skin they want, but they will buy dozens of loot boxes to get the specific skin they want.
 

Lobster Roll

signature-less, now and forever
Member
Sep 24, 2019
34,325
loot boxes need to be killed.

the answer is yes, people buy the skin they want, but they will buy dozens of loot boxes to get the specific skin they want.
I'd still like to see data on it rather than conjecture, though. I think the outlier / high volume consumers are going to be spending WAY more on loot boxes (the ones that literally ruin themselves financially). But I do wonder if the mean experience has a consumer spending more money on direct skins than loot boxes. For the record, I think both need to be redesigned. For loot boxes, that would mean a completely elimination.