Part 2: Addiction, Gambling, and Grade-school
In a recent release by the UK gambling commission, special attention was given to a new element in games: skin gambling. In the past few years, different skins (i.e. cosmetic changes on a player's weapons or avatar) have become an almost inexplicably overvalued element of the gaming market, with some individual skins being valued at over $1,000, even $4-$5,000 in some cases. The drive to collect is a powerful instinct in many, especially children, and it can be very easy to imagine Little Billy getting his hands on Mom's credit card to get the shiny Glock. However, the means of acquiring these skins is the much more manipulative part.
Popularly called "lootboxes", many AAA games are released with blind bags that guarantee a chance at an 'exceptionally rare' skin, but will almost invariably give you the equivalent of a soggy mcnugget. Complete with flashy, eye grabbing animations that guarantee strange mysteries and valuables contained therein, and offering all that at the low, low price of 1-5 dollars. They follow many of the design principles of slot machines as well as the predatory money-sucking, all in the comfort of your own home. Industry terminology describes the buyers of these boxes using marine terms, with repeated, addicted spenders that put thousands into the blind boxes being known as "whales".
In the upcoming release Star Wars Battlefront II, a full price AAA release, lootboxes offer a point reward system that allows you to unlock 'heros' to play as- Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, the rest. The standard excuse that game companies use to justify boxes as "not technically gambling" is having the rewards available in normal gameplay- typically requiring dozens or more hours of grinding to get them. Battlefront II tops this- it would take more than 40 hours to unlock just one of its heroes. In this game designed and marketed for children (man- and otherwise) what is little Jimmy to do if he wants to play as Darth Vader? Why, gamble, of course! And those flashy animations and shiny lights will keep him coming back for more!
Take-Two Interactive released a quarterly report some weeks ago, and lootboxes and other comparable services accounted for 68% of their 443.6 million dollar revenue. Clearly, encouraging childhood gambling works!
The issue of 'loot-box' gambling is a much more nakedly predatory influence on game players than simple increases in suggestibility. Designed to take advantage of childhood naiveté and adulthood addiction, this new issue has not quite had the gestation time to garner studies and laws to officiate its misintent. Make no mistake- in the coming years we will be hearing all sorts of stories about how crippling gambling addictions began with the desire for more skins in Overwatch.
Popularly called "lootboxes", many AAA games are released with blind bags that guarantee a chance at an 'exceptionally rare' skin, but will almost invariably give you the equivalent of a soggy mcnugget. Complete with flashy, eye grabbing animations that guarantee strange mysteries and valuables contained therein, and offering all that at the low, low price of 1-5 dollars. They follow many of the design principles of slot machines as well as the predatory money-sucking, all in the comfort of your own home. Industry terminology describes the buyers of these boxes using marine terms, with repeated, addicted spenders that put thousands into the blind boxes being known as "whales".
In the upcoming release Star Wars Battlefront II, a full price AAA release, lootboxes offer a point reward system that allows you to unlock 'heros' to play as- Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, the rest. The standard excuse that game companies use to justify boxes as "not technically gambling" is having the rewards available in normal gameplay- typically requiring dozens or more hours of grinding to get them. Battlefront II tops this- it would take more than 40 hours to unlock just one of its heroes. In this game designed and marketed for children (man- and otherwise) what is little Jimmy to do if he wants to play as Darth Vader? Why, gamble, of course! And those flashy animations and shiny lights will keep him coming back for more!
Take-Two Interactive released a quarterly report some weeks ago, and lootboxes and other comparable services accounted for 68% of their 443.6 million dollar revenue. Clearly, encouraging childhood gambling works!
The issue of 'loot-box' gambling is a much more nakedly predatory influence on game players than simple increases in suggestibility. Designed to take advantage of childhood naiveté and adulthood addiction, this new issue has not quite had the gestation time to garner studies and laws to officiate its misintent. Make no mistake- in the coming years we will be hearing all sorts of stories about how crippling gambling addictions began with the desire for more skins in Overwatch.
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