EA: They’re not loot boxes, they’re “surprise mechanics,” and they’re “quite ethical”

[D4NUK1]

On 6/22/2019 at 8:41 PM, Novaseer said:

It's "quite ethical" the same way that the atomic bomb was. Hell, loot boxes have probably ruined more peoples' lives than the bomb (if we're just talking direct casualties).

 

Some of the aswers of this post are like Jikes!

[zen4040]

The funny thing is that they will just get away with this, people will keep buying their games and loot boxes.

[Manuel-K]

“EA – Getting away with it since 1982”

 

I remember reading that Tom Watson wanted to ban them in the UK. There was an article in the Guardian titled “Tom Watson calls for crackdown on in-game gambling”. Something like that will never happen in Germany, because our politician don't know what the internet is.

[Eurisko]

I hate EA , all of their games now have Loot Boxes at their core nicely wrapped in a cover that appeals to a specific audience.

Sci-fi fans - Star wars

Sports Fans  - FIFA , NBA , Madden etc....

FPS - Battlefield , Apex etc....

 

They can fuck off. "Surprise Mechanics"? really? Give me a break.

 

 

[seed]

On 6/24/2019 at 1:53 PM, tempdecal.wad said:

Piracy is also a surprise discount.

 

And an effective way to protest.

[Doomkid]

Quote

“compares the mechanics to surprise toys, which have been around “for years, whether it’s Kinder Eggs, or Hatchimals, or LOL Surprise.”

 

Oh yeah man, people blow hundreds on kinder eggs in one sitting, didn’t you know? I spent over 200 bucks on kinder eggs earlier this week just to get the toy I wanted.

 

..Actually, I failed to mention, that toy was the only way I could get further in that game I’m helplessly addicted to. You know, the one that isn’t actually fun but is just taking advantage of human psychology to keep me playing even if I don’t necessarily want to.. but I figured that was all just details, totally immaterial to the discussion!...

 

*sigh* I’m not some anti-capitalist or something but the absolute horse shit people will come up with to justify exploiting others baffles me.  Like do they have that internal moral battle? “If I convince myself that those loot boxes in the game I peddle are just the same as kinder eggs, I’ll actually be able to get to sleep tonight!”

 

Maybe they don’t even get that far though. Maybe they’re bonafide sociopaths. Even if it made me rich, knowing that my money was made primarily off of child gambling and exploitation in general, it would get under my skin and disturb me. I’ve seen the path people can go down when it comes to gambling addiction, their lives end up in shambles sometimes. People kill themselves to escape it when it gets out of control. How could I know that then proceed to build it into a game ffs? I know it’s probably easier to sleep on a pillow made of money, out of sight out of mind and all that good stuff, but man.. Having a functional conscience makes the thought repulsive.

 

rofl something tells me if this practice was “quite ethical” that sitting and thinking about it for a minute wouldn’t conjure up images of people turning to suicide to escape their lives which were ruined by gambling addiction, but there you go. Fuck anyone who uses some weak-ass false equivalency to justify peddling gambling to kids. Fuck ‘em good and hard.

[DooM_RO]

Good thing I don't have to feel guilty when I pirate their games or buy them at deep discounts.

 

To think they almost bought Id...

[ReaperAA]

On 7/8/2019 at 12:18 AM, DooM_RO said:

To think they almost bought Id...

 

Shit!!! I didn't knew about this.

 

Thank God it didn't happen though. As much as I don't like what Bethesda has done lately, I still prefer them over EA any day of the week. (just forget what I said because Beth fucked up the new doom ports)

Edited July 28, 2019 by ReaperAA

[Fonze]

15 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

 Like do they have that internal moral battle? “If I convince myself that those loot boxes in the game I peddle are just the same as kinder eggs, I’ll actually be able to get to sleep tonight!”

 

rofl something tells me if this practice was “quite ethical” that sitting and thinking about it for a minute wouldn’t conjure up images of people turning to suicide to escape their lives which were ruined by gambling addiction, but there you go. Fuck anyone who uses some weak-ass false equivalency to justify peddling gambling to kids. Fuck ‘em good and hard.

 

I agree with you but it's not necessarily a false equivalency. Look at Pokemon cards: kids did blow hundreds of dollars on that shit in one sitting; the difference between them and somebody who kills themselves over it is that kids just aren't spending their own money so it has no real value to them as it would somebody who's survival and way of life depends on having that money. I'm sure you remember how rare and coveted some of them were, to the point that even in the years after nobody cared about Pokemon anymore (and the fad would normally die and become valueless) charizard cards maintained at least a couple hundred dollar value. Gotta catch all them hologram cards.

 

Kinder eggs and etc don't have the same collectability as Pokemon cards and unlike the contents of loot boxes can be traded and sold between consumers/collectors, but there is a definite similarity in spending real money on "surprise mechanics" and gambling. I think for me it comes down to when the prizes achieve some level of real worth for being the particular thing that they are that the problem arises, though unfortunately that would also mean that if, say, kinder eggs went out of business and the toys became hugely collectable, I would be a little morally confused on whether or not it would be gambling to buy unopened eggs of the leftover stock. I suppose in a way I would say kinder eggs are a very minor, tiny, iddy-biddy form of gambling or one of its close relatives.

[Doomkid]

I suppose you’re right. To me the big difference is not only cost on average but also the functionality of what you receive. The loot boxes are so often used to give out stuff that makes playing much easier in one way or another, to give you a leg-up and either make you more powerful in multiplayer or have to grind less in SP. I guess that element is there with Pokémon cards as well though, you could spend the same amount on those booster packs and either get kickass cards or junk.

 

I just feel like there’s something more to it within to context of a video game.. I could just be a conspiracist whackjob but it seems like more and more effort is put into exploiting the various weaknesses of the average human psyche - the games aren’t so much about being a fun, contained experience, but rather about addicting the player in any cheap way possible, through use of certain colours, sounds or whatever else. Then they go a step further by placing gambling in the middle of the unfun yet addictive product.. This shit is far too lucrative and addictive for that to be accidental and it just strikes me as more slimey than the Pokémon card thing. Who knows though, I could be way off base here.

[Fonze]

Agreed; honestly idk how to feel about it ultimately, but it is important to look for analogies/similarities to other things that we are familiar with which help us question our own logic and strengthen our arguments or evolve our views. It's really an interesting topic, but something does need to be done about how rampant, exploitative, and insulting it has become.

[Chezza]

In regards to pokemon and kinder surprise references there are a couple psychlogical factors that separates them from gaming loot boxes and microtransactions.

 

1. Minimal perceived investment (time). Once a player breaks the ice and becomes familiar with purchasing and has their credit card details saved for convenience, the next purchase is only a click or 2 away from acquiring the benefits / rush. It breaks barriers for the next purchase and does not require travelling to the store or spare much time to reconsider.

 

2. Constant advertising / pressure. Indeed trading cards and collectibles have their own (arguably devious) pressure tactics to encourage further purchases however internal game markets has those and more.

 

1. The constant shops appearing where you need to sell your loot or upgrade your characters (different games vary on consistently).

2. The significantly increased exposure to other players having goods or advantages you don't have (multiplayer).

3. The road block grind just to progress in some games is an obvious one.

And there should be more

 

Overall loot boxes and microtransactions have significantly less barriers for a player to buy and be way more exposed to its encouragement.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Chezza

[DooM_RO]

Oddball theory:

 

People who are susceptible to lootboxes are also the kinds of people who have had their brains destroyed by fast food. 

[HavoX]

On 7/6/2019 at 11:15 AM, Manuel-K said:

“EA – Getting away with it since 1982”

The cheek of those guys! How do they even do it? Hell if I know.

 

At least they're not as bad as - ugh... KONAMI...

[crazyflyingdonut]

Unfortunately, part of the reason that EA still makes a profit everyday is because...

 

THEIR SPORTS GAMES ARE A HIT AMONG CASUAL GAMERS! These people just play them because they're into sports! They have no idea what goes on behind the scenes with the developers who made the game, they don't think like that!

 

They don't think to themselves when they see something they think they might like, "Oh, I should probably Google the company's name to check if they're pieces of shit or not!", no! They just buy the game, and EA earns more money that they don't deserve!

 

THAT is why EA still exists. Because people still buy their garbage.

[Gez]

On jeudi 11 juillet 2019 at 5:19 PM, crazyflyingdonut said:

They don't think to themselves when they see something they think they might like, "Oh, I should probably Google the company's name to check if they're pieces of shit or not!", no!

Well, yeah, that's basic consumerism.

 

Who does that before they buy food, clothing, cars, fuel for their cars, office furniture, and so on? Nearly no one. And those who do are poked fun at because they're weirdos who live off the grid.

 

 

By the way, you should Google Google's name to check if they're piece of shit (they are).

[crazyflyingdonut]

2 minutes ago, Gez said:

Google's piece of shit (they are).

I know, but I really have no other option to use at this point. I've tried search engines like DuckDuckGo before but they don't display all search results.