A great article on video games gambling addictions.
This stuff is why “it’s optional” and “it’s just cosmetic” are bullshit arguments.
If you can resist the urge, you’re not the intended target. They don’t make record profits from people who can spend somewhat rationally, even though those are the vast majority of users their contribution to profits is a drop in an ocean.
No, the only reason this model works so well is because it’s exploiting the vulnerabilities of a small percent of big spenders.
I remember getting getting sucked into opening packs years ago in Madden Ultimate team. I stopped when I realized I had spent twice over what the game itself cost. I stopped then, and never played ultimate team again. I am not an addictive person, but even the most strong minded individual can get sucked into their vortex. The fact that lawmakers let this industry be self regulated means these companies can keep abusing players.
i did that once with microsoft points i got for my birthday. never did it again when i found out that after X number of games all those great players i have cannot be used unless i buy some fucking dumb shit thing to refill their playing meter? or something dumb like that
Haven’t played fifa but understand that loot boxes are basically gambling. Arguably worse than gambling because with gambling at least you might win something “real”.
Curious though - there was a screenshot in the article where you could preview a loot box before buying - does that not make it more like “buying” the players instead of “gambling” for them?
The cunning thing is that the preview doesn’t really change the random boxes. You still don’t know what’s in the next one.
How does a FIFA Ultimate Team Preview Pack work?
All packs for sale in the FUT Shop have an eye icon and a button to trigger the preview. Doing that exposes its contents as if the player actually had bought the pack and opened it.
Once the player has seen the revealed cards, they may then buy the pack with either FUT Coins (the free in-game currency) or FUT Points (the premium). If they don’t like what they see, they don’t have to buy the pack. But there will now be a 24-hour wait period before they can preview another pack or buy a different one in its class. If they buy the pack, that timer immediately expires.
Horrible, but also really impressive how they manipulate people. Forced engagement in the weekend leagues, resetting the game periodically…the addicts don’t stand a chance.
