Asmongold Reacts to "The Addictive Cost Of Predatory Videogame Monetization" by Jim Sterling
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
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Original Video: • The Addictive Cost Of ...
Asmongold's Twitch: / asmongold
Asmongold's Twitter: / asmongold
You call it 37 stab wounds to the chest... I call it surprise acupuncture.
wow these sure are real people in the replies
wowie
insane
co- *COUGH* scam *COUGH* -ol.
really ni- *COUGH* bots *COUGH* -ce.
@@Eryna_ I don't control what crazy or idiotic twits reply to my comments not you the other guys btw...
This vid by Stering is going to be the one I send to my mom for my little brother whos stupidly following the trends. He'll defenitely be one of the kids who fall into "you only have default??" Peer pressure if it ever happened. It's not a joke. Next generation of kids mock us while we say its bs and unnecessary as "older games came out complete without locked content". The AAA will rock their fucking gaming world and I'll be here buying from Indies.
Yup I hear you dude, my parents ignore how my brother does the same there is a 10-year gap between me and him, he ignores everything around him,sleeps plays jumps from game to game every few days or weeks and repeats his grades are already below a C avg
Did it work?
"Can't they put warnings on the games?"
In another video, Jim shows how companies like Activision dodge the "In-Game Purchases" label by patching in the microtransactions a couple months after the game hit stores. That way, reviews can't report them.
As another comment pointed out, the difference with trigger warnings is that in this case people profit off of causing harm.
The money angle is only important because it creates an incentive to cause harm, not because it harms the individual more.
That's exactly it. If the game makers were (for example) adding triggers being shouted and flashed on the screen every 60 seconds 20 decibels louder than the rest of the game unless you pay 5 bucks to make them go away, then it's not the same thing. Dungeon Keeper is an example of what these 'optional' time saving things lead to. Redevelop a previously functional game to the point of unplayability unless you keep paying extra to make it usable again.
The only trigger warning should be for things like photosensitive epilepsy. How tf this subject turned into politics on twitch anyway? Holy crap I thought asmon was a leftist (I know he voted for Trump but he says dumb things) but look at his chat. He can't even excplain basic economic to his chat
that's interesting, the guy in the video says how these other addictions albeit none substance related are just as bad (including gambling) and asmon agrees protecting how you can be psychologically addicted to anything (related to someone being addicted to food). Then here comes a real world example of it (being the guy addicted to gambling and his parents controlling his accounts) and asmon calls the guy a dumbfuck. then proceeds to roll his eyes talking about how much he gets that the brother is addicted, but then obviously doesn't because he hits that "but" and continues to ignore his own previous statements. just pointing something out, I'm not attacking asmon, but it's easy to see how you can be convinced that something like addiction is serious and when, in the same conversation mind you, see a real world example and still ignore the fact that addiction is addiction is addiction and attacks the addict for being a "dumbfuck". There's no logic, you're addicted. The point I'm trying to get is, unless you're in the exact same situation; if you can be put in a situation where you see it directly? you will believe it stupid, drug addiction is tangible, easy right? still has the same pitfalls, once you see a real world example, it's hard to open your mind to the fact that an addict has different drives. Your drive is to go to work, make money, live comfortably, maybe start a family, and you'll do almost everything within reason to achieve that. an addict's drive is to get their next fix, but there is no "within reason" it's more "at all cost" and they can't control the drive.
Dudes admitted that hes used the practices Sterling speaks of around 33:00 and he defends them. My hot take on it is that he is a former scammer who has rationalized the predatory practices hes used as simply good business. Its why he sounds so contradictory in acknowledging corporate monetization as a problem and then promptly dismissing the results of their actions as the victims problem. Because surely, the gamblers just need to not gamble, and all is good again. It cant be that hard, right?
I guess in the end, noone wants to acknowledge that what they used to do before is actually repugnant and morally destitute. And humans are very good at telling themselves that what they are doing is right.
Everyone has an addiction and it seems that if your addiction is non harmful and you get pleasure from it...then why not? If you make friends,formulate ideas, discover problem solving skills, hand eye coordination and even money handling & saving skills, discover the real world through seeing the human condition by how they interact with others. Kids see just how cruel the way people can be such as asmon totally not giving a single fuck about his followers...and they think its just asmon's online character. But its his actual personality ...if he can make money or gain status but it ruins the person....(Fuck it) his way thinking wich is why he has what he does. He thinks that if your dumb enough to waste your money or give away your special items to him....then your going to get got until you finally learn. "THE ASMON HARSH DEVELOPMENT FACTORING".....💸📜💔👍🙊🙉🙈👀......💀🤑
Right. Its simple..its people who are weak willed and lack drive. It most certainly stems from the programming from parents that the child receives. Also a lot of help from assholes in social media who slam bad stuff into kids heads!
@@thunderballz74 You don't understand a thing. Better for you but you may want to shut up if you haven't actually experienced addiction.
It's easy to say they are dumb when it's not you. Compassion involves sympathy for things that you may not understand.
You’re the only reasonable Asmon leach when it comes to ads. I appreciate that.
Honestly still too many for that lazy ass content.
“I’ve never dealt with addiction” haven’t practiced leaving the house regularly in years.
Just because someone is addicted, doesn't mean they know they are lol.
LMFAO calling someone addicted when their job is as enjoyable as Asmongold's seems. I can't speak for the man himself, but to me he genuinely enjoys a majority of the time he spends playing/streaming. I would say that his streaming has drastically improved the quality of his life, at least in some areas. Saying anything different makes you look like a jealous headass.
@@akaku9 Dude, chill, don't close your eyes. It doesn't matter if gaming made his life better. Sure it's cool that he made it, but how many people does what he did without ever seeing success, it's not only a personal problem, it's a problem for the whole society and families with young adults just wasting away in front of the computer or whatever it is, leeching of their parents or welfare from some kind of party.
@@akaku9 assuming people are jealous headass' because they genuinely wonder, concern, and/or care about Asmon makes you look like an ignorant fucking asshole that doesn't care anything except fanboying over someone that most people generally like, or at the least tolerate. Grow the fuck up man
@@akaku9 his doing same thing for 30 years now, which is playing games all day like 9 year old in his moma house, not addicted at all
It's weird how asmongold can be quite smart at figuring some things, while also being so stupid he doesn't know what unions and PTSD are
JUST dont have PTSD 4Heed
Yeah him comparing how we interact with two completely different mental illnesses with treatments involving almost entirely opposite actions and expecting to get a clear and concise rebuttal out of a twitch chat was a tad frustrating (addiction treatment usually requires avoidance, and PTSD tends to have to deal with some form of safe exposure)
haha. ya i was thinking the same thing. one of the only times ive heard him speak and facepalm
he wasnt comparing 2 completely different mental illnesses... he even said that when chat misunderstood him... he was comparing how people want to deal with addiction and PTSD and the obvious hypocrisy... and a side note I think its a great idea to put "micro-transaction" and "loot box" warnings on games
@@Justin-vr5zn What's the point you're trying to make again?
you: "he was comparing how people want to deal with addiction and PTSD"
Me: "comparing how we interact with two completely different mental illnesses"
It's not hypocrisy to treat two different illnesses differently.
I swear his chat section is the most bipolar thing on the planet.
because it's hundreds (or thousands) of different people?
just like this comment section lol
@@thesoopersooper only makes sense, really. When we reach the point where chats are singular we basically won the game as humans overall, because that would probably mean that we achieved unity in all aspects of life lol
@@thesoopersooper if thats what you took from my comment, then youre somewhat dense from my point of view.
@@thesoopersooper sure
@@thesoopersooper most people get like 3-5k, him and other massive streamers like DOC and Summit1g gets 50 k same with Asmongold
The "non existent chemical" Jim was trying to point as with his excessive/sex analogy was Endorphins. Which BTW also trigger in video games.
Exactly. All addictions are chemical.
Dopamine specifically, it's present in all forms of addiction, from heroin addiction, in which opiates cause a HUGE release of dopamine, to sex addiction to gambling addiction, the common denominator is dopamine.
@@ExarchGaming Let's not make the thing brainless than it actually is. It's not just dopamine, there are a whole bunch of chemicals. But the psychological search for them is the big thing that allows them to work.
It wasn't that long ago that saying "the devil made me do it" was just an excuse that stupid people used to avoid getting in trouble.
Now game developers are literally putting cartoonishly designed images of old scratch himself in to thier games in order to con people into spending money on thier games.
I had to stop around the 17 minute mark because I really don't care for how heartless and unemphatic Asmongold is to the story. You can very much tell he's never dealt with an addiction himself, or had a friend or family member with one. And I mean an ACTUAL 'I can't stop this on my own, I need help' addiction; not 'Oh, I play too much WoW' addiction (although there are people that are that badly addicted to it, there's plenty of stories about people having their kids die because they forgot about them while playing). Speaking as someone who has (I was forced to take physically addictive pills as a kid because of a misdiagnosis, and my family has a history of drug and alcohol abuse) calling someone a 'complete moron' over the whole thing just shows how much he doesn't get it; and that kind of attitude is part of the very problem Jim was talking about, how people dismiss that kind of addiction, and blame the victim.
Axiluvia I agree with absolutely everything you just said. I have tried to see other videos by this guy and he is so heartless and cruel when talking about sensitive topics and so many other things. I can’t never finish watching any of his videos. I sincerely hope he, or any close friend or family member, has to deal with addiction. My father was an alcoholic and is honestly devastating to not only the addict but everyone around them.
@@sabrinarosario6499 your messed up and immoral, you think he or someone he loves should get an addiction (probably a harmful one) just because he can't sympathize with people who have addiction, boo hoo
I think he was trying to compare it to PTSD in the context of responsibility, and how much other people should change society to make things easier for those with mental illness.
@@SilverShadow02 Hi contradicts himself in this video so much
@@sabrinarosario6499 Wait, you say that you understand how horrible addiction is, and then you say that you sincerely hope he has to deal with something that you self admittedly think is horrible? and you call him cold hearted? lol please
If you haven't ever suffered from addiction then you really can't understand it. I've given up trying to explain my depression, hallucinations, multiple personalities, and other mental illnesses because people so often want to explain to me my issues but have no actual experience with them.
bitch how many problems do you have? xd
@@ThatGuy-eu2vt LMFAO, YEA IKR
the two guys above me are idiots. mental illness doesn't always exist one at a time. i've suffered from depression and anxiety issues all my life, later in life came the insomnia, and then finally the post traumatic stress disorder, from being in a severely abusive situation, when you have a chemical issue in your brain, it doesn't always just cause one thing.
@@ExarchGaming what issue dont u have?
@@audioaima2k893 everything that I didn't mention?
Asmond: Directly compares Addiction to PTSD, asking why a taking a developer actively trying to take advantage of people with poor impulse control to task is okay, but trigger warnings aren't.
His chat: "They're 2 completely different mental issues why are you comparing them?"
"I'm not comparing them I just want to know how they're different"
The problem with trigger warnings is that PTSD as a diagnosis has been hijacked by people who try to use it to censor opinions that they don't agree with (at least that's what it looks like)
The thing with microtransactions and loot box gambling is that it literally adds nothing of value to anything and is actively exploitative.
"The problem with trigger warnings is that PTSD as a diagnosis has been hijacked by people who try to use it to censor opinions that they don't agree with (at least that's what it looks like)"
Exactly. As someone with PTSD, the trigger warning bullshit drives me nuts. I mentioned in another comment around here that things people don't think of can trigger issues with someone with PTSD. But, the trigger warning crowd from what I've seen is just mainly about censorship and furthering personal agendas.
Loot boxes do actually exploit people's addictions. The misuse of trigger warnings marginalizes a group of people. They are two different issues, one about making money from the vulnerable while the other standing on the backs of the vulnerable to further a personal agenda, though both behaviors are downright disgusting.
This, in addition to the way he reacts to pain and misery because it's "black comedy" and says these people "deserve it" (not this video) for "being stupid" really makes me reconsider watching more of his videos.
I just finished the video, now i gotta watch it for asmon commentary
Ditto
Uq Yunus ly a
Z. Ä ätten åker
Harm becomes more dangerous the moment someone begins to profit off of causing it. It's different if someone is just rude, but if they're rude only when you don't spend money on them, they're a scumbag. The companies call people whales, but they're not. They're cows. They're milking them, not fishing them out. It's a continuous drain that will eventually begin to cost the well being of the cow.
PTSD can often lead to addiction and addicts can have their triggers too....
Talks about addiction and compares it to PTSD but doesn’t address the 14 hours + a day played.
That wasn't his point. He's referring to how chat responds to one, but has an opposite opinion of the other.
He was pointing out their (and rightfully so) hypocrisy. Infact, when challenged by him to justify it, they went to politics.
@@ExarchGaming Comparing two different mental illnesses and how people respond to them is comparing apples with oranges.
You are either being intentionally dishonest or lack basic comprehension skills.
I been addicted to "chemical substances"and hearing what addicted to lootboxes ppl stories and it feels kinda the same when i compared it, and the video game companies have the same atitude as drug dealers ,they dnt care only the money they get from u
The difference between "I'm offended" and "I'm addicted" is that being offended at most results in hurt feelings. "I'm addicted" results in tangible losses like money, life, health, etc, etc
ok. i'm not the crazy one
The idea behind trigger warnings is to prevent actual harm to people who suffer from severe conditions such as PTSD. Being exposed to graphic/intense situations can trigger some pretty nasty symptom consolations and even regression of the patient's condition.
That being said, as someone with PTSD, the way trigger warnings are now is just complete BS. It's become about being offended under the guise of 'triggering' an unpleasant emotion. Instead of simply guarding people that have suffered intense trauma against extremes, especially when they are really vulnerable [i.e. towards the start of the condition and/or before therapy] it's become a scapegoat, a way for people to shuffle responsibility off on something else while being able to claim victimhood. I will forever pull my hair out over tumblrinas bitching about just how triggered s/he was to the point of wailing about whatever offended them on twitter to the echo chamber liking their post and saying they too suffered greatly for the five seconds it was important to them before the next triggering offense came along.
you ain't making $40,000 a year at a call center maybe.$20,000.
huh tf pg&e my mom made 80k a year then again its california
I thought my chat was an AIDSfest of memery, but my God...
>compares their chat to asmongold
A bold advertising strategy, Cotton. Lets see how it played out.
>66 subs, 1 year later
lol
@@akaku9 Then please, show me how to do it, critic. I said his chat is shit, am I wrong? You don't even speak my language and treat me like I am trying to self-promote. If I wanted to self-promote I'd be asking for people to sub, but I have a dignity. You, criticizing me for a post I made a year ago, have none.
@@NothingKingKN shuttur mouf
This is one of the worst community's on twitch.
Became very evident Asmongold doesn’t understand addiction at all (ironic since if he wasn’t a streamer he would be considered a degenerate with the amount of time he’s spent his life on WoW).
"just give up" might be the worst thing i heard this video, worse than EA and whoever actually doing it. people with attitudes like that are exactly why it will never go away. imma vomit now.
The guy didnt even watch the video, according to himself. He's the exact target of 'needs to watch the video' too.
He is the poster person for not understanding how addiction works and affects the people who have it.
Yea, I don't buy Asmon argument that "we shouldn't protect people from their own stupidity, that stupid people do stupid shit, just give up."
We all are stupid. We all are simple dopamine-driven machines vurnerable to all scams in the world. But we live in a civilization that is able to feed and house everyone in the world, without much effort. What about we stop using our wealth to keep brutal natural selection alive?
Asmond said: "you're either a wolf or a sheep"..
I stand for Joshua's Fluke answer: "Why about sheep dog? He keeps wolves away, but is not a sheep"
I hadnt run into this issue until I worked a graveyard shift job. On break, playing Raid shadow legends with my debit connected to my account. The option came up to buy a 30usd bundle and my brain clicked. All it takes in LITERALLY the tap of a finger. It felt dangerous to me and i backed off, took the card off my account, and stopped playing >>;
for those wondering, i installed Tetris old school for mid-work entertainment ...i got kinda good at it too
Unfortunately i doubt you'll get much support from his fans but Asmon did have some good takes on this. Its kinda suprising that chat calls others sheep for falling into traps that these devs have perfected over the years. If you're looking for a good tetris experience, i'd suggest tetris 99. Just steer clear of any dlc
@@universe_cat3149 I'll give it a look thanks :)
Fun fact. Digital Extremes the creators of Warframe had a player who was spending hundreds of dollars on Platinum because he liked the game so much they had to disable purchasing Platinum to stop him from buying any more lolz
“There is only a perspective seeing, only a perspective "knowing"; and the more affects we allow to speak about one thing, the more eyes, different eyes, we can use to observe one thing, the more complete will our "concept" of this thing, our "objectivity," be.” asmonbald and his chat in a nutshell
Trigger Warnings deal with things that caused trauma such as sexual assault or an assault. Addiction is a self repeating cycle that causes more and more harm which, in turn, has the potential to creatr trauma, in addition to a loss of money, livelihood or a deterioration of health.
It gets very much sickening
Games having microtransactions are actually saving me money. Because now I don't fall for it and my money goes to buying books that've been on my wishlist for years!
Vegas doesn't have slot machines. They're surprise ATMs, and quite fun!
20:00 Addiction is actually harmful. Trigger warnings are for things that only hurt your feelings.
Trigger warnings are for people who can't reconcile with different opinions.
Unfortunately the original meaning for trigger warning has been forgotten by a lot of people
The diffrence between PTSD and the gambling thing is that no AAA studio is profiting from someones PTSD, while they are profiting from their gambeling addiction, comparing the two as the same is not true, when people want to have trigger warnings that is to prevent triggering someones ptsd, people with ptsd can avoid triggers when warned, gambler can't control themselves and will fall to their addiction even if they are warned, they need an actual restraint to stop them doing something.
I also can't understand why someone would buy loot-boxes, yet i am obese.
34:00 This happens a lot around the big sales holidays like black Friday. For example, in the store you might see that a tv was originally listed for $399 but it’s on sale for $199. However, if you had looked at that same item 2 months ago it was being sold for $250, so it’s not exactly the same discount that you think you’re getting. And some things are even worse. It’ll be an item originally listed at $99 but it’s marked down to $60, however a month ago it was actually being sold for $55 and they just raised the “original” price to make it seem like you’re getting a good deal. Tons of companies and stores do that shit.
Asmongold is cool, and I get that alot of his online persona is shtick, which is fine. But addiction is not stupidity. I have struggled with alcohol throughout my life. I'm not a stupid person. I've had addictive traits that are at least somewhat hereditary. My dad was an alcoholic and a smoker, but also a good man who overcame both addictions. He is also not a stupid person.
Remember when politicians and "mom groups" went after heavy metal bands like Twisted Sister in the 80's saying it was "dangerous", then after that they went after Doom and other games saying it was also "dangerous" and "violent" to small kids. But none of these groups said a word about this monetization thing. Pretty interesting huh? We live in a sick society, it's the wolf watching over the sheep.
55:25
That's an interesting thought. I'd very much believe that random loot boxes encourages, and indeed makes, video game companies inflate the item pool. It's far easier to get someone to spend, spend, spend, on a random chance to get something that they want, if there is only 5 items they want out of 1000 total items. If random loot boxes were banned, I feel that they would decrease the item pool, and increase the price to individual items, significantly. No company wants to lose revenue, and I have no doubt that they would lost a ton if it was banned.
To prove how pointless mct’s are to buy, my mum has gotten to over level 1000 on Best Fiends without spending a cent. You don’t need to spend, despite how much the game is convincing you that you do. It’s just such a shame that the manipulative tactics are so shameless, and rope people in. The instant gratification is so not worth it.
"If you can't make money in an industry without addicting people to your product, maybe you don't deserve to be in that industry."
---
The reason why devs like these manipulate is that they can't make quality products, that's why they find shortcuts, holes, etc. Same thing with people finding glitches on games, cheats, hacks. It's just funny how some people actually praise and perceive those acts as impressive when it's just lazy. You don't need to abuse people's addiction for your product to be appreciated if they really are up to par.
This man's logic watermelon seeds and banana seeds are the same exact thing, they're both seeds right they should be handled in the same manner. smh
All the nobs saying "Oh where that job at? " Lmao come to California and you will get paid 40k for a call center job, and wont be able to afford to support yourself still.
^ Facts.
The difference between people wanting trigger warnings and people wanting online gambling regulations is in intent.
The people that make a slasher movie or war documentary are making content for everyone to consume that is not INTENDED to cause a PTSD episode in people that are susceptible to such things. They simply made a product that unfortunately causes a small subset of people with a vulnerability to experience adverse results.
In-game gambling, however, is in no way an accident. Game developers didn't put these lootboxes into the game as a fun little diversion and were later shocked to discover that they actually cause much the same effect as actual gambling. They set out with the clear goal to exploit this very same similarity. They designed, coded and fine-tuned their product with the end goal of addicting people to spend money compulsively in the same way the gambling industry does, but without the same regulatory framework.
It's the difference between manslaughter and murder, really. For the two things to be the same you'd have to be a company that makes seizure-inducing clips and seeks out people that are prone to seizures to expose them to it without warning, or people sneaking into veteran meetings to play sound clips of genuine artillery strikes or sniper fire over the PA system with the intent to cause harm.
twitch chat is such cancer..
They look at a real problem like its a joke its sickening
I've found that the twitch streamers themselves attract and cultivate their chat/viewers/fans. Something about asmongold attracts these people.
I've been in plenty of chats where it's the opposite, and entire others where it's an echochamber of ideas.
All these people crying about AAA games missing out on some GREAT indies and double A games with no extra monetization at all. Games like X-com 2 gave one of it major DLCs away for FREE to pc players for a limited time just to show their appreciation to the fans, and literally no one talked about it.
I was just going to say that here I am still playing the first two classic DOS games (the updated patched versions of course) specially Terror From The Deep, is that game fucking good, my god... If you build a SOLID game, it will last forever... And as shown by the example of Doom, Duke Nukem 3D and others, people will buy these games multiple times across the years, simply because they accidentally lose the files or something else, people don't just buy them a single time. We need to have a comeback of carefully designed products that are built to last, not simply to be played in that particular season.
The store department store Khols has almost 100% of everything in the store on sale at all times. The on sale price is still normally higher then most retailers normal price.
I like how the video his is watching is 30 mins but he watches it for a hour
It's far from illegal to have high list prices that you can reduce by a lot later on.
Every single Business does it. Amazon even raises it's list prices while having a discount so it appears bigger. It's shady but i don't think it's illegal.
It's not illegal in US. It is illegal in several other countries though.
@Stefan The latter one with Amazon as an example probably is illegal in several places with stricter consumer rights.
I don't think having high list prices so you can give higher discounts when the time is right is illegal in any place. And that's the question from the Video i focussed on answering.
The Amazon example only served to show that business stategies that are way more predatory and shady are also not illegal.
I'm pretty sure for every country there is an example that achives the same point but i'm not even close to being qualified to talk about the law of most countries.
@@kliffi96 As far as I understood it (I never looked at the EU, Australian or Canadian specific law itself), it's illegal to put a product for sale instantly discounted. Like, you can't start selling a new product and fake its initial price and sell it discounted at the actual price, since it's deceiving customers, by making them think it's worth more. Aside from that, I don't know if faking the original price a little bit later is illegal too. It sounded like it is, from some videos I watched, but I never looked into it seriously since I don't care enough. It's not like I'll get something from it. If some business is really doing something illegal, I'm pretty sure its competitors will take care of suing it.
So I'm also not qualified to talk deep on this subject.
just take gambling out of anything you give to a child?!?!?!!??!?!?!?!
damn chat is insensitive as fuck, Just because that one story was fake doesn't mean this doesn't happen to hundreds- maybe thousands of people. Late comment I know.
Asmongold: This guy's an idiot, at some point you have to know you're being stupid
Jim: Addiction doesn't work like that, you can't just stop even if you know you're doing something bad
Amongold: YUP *nods*
I swear this guy is so fucking stuck in his ways of thinking he refuses to see the logic in anything if it doesn't fit his world view, and he just contradicts himself constantly
I think the idea that loot boxes and predatory monetization in video games WON'T ever change is pretty silly. The only reason why it is currently legal is because the people in charge are too old to understand that gambling online is a growing problem. It WILL get regulated one day the same way that any other form of gambling is so its only a matter of time before these types of business models fizzle out.
*lights head on fire trying to ignite a cigarette*
trigger warnings are supposed to be a stop gap measure to helping people with PTSD however they were co-opted by political ideologies to censor opposing beliefs. while the suggestion to ban these practices are to guard against people who already have these problems and this is the kicker for the argument: it is to stop people from developing these problems in the first place where as trigger warnings don't do this. there is also the fact that PTSD has massive negative consequences on the psychological level and may result in some socioeconomic problems whereas addiction usually has negative consequences on the psychological level and usually has massive negative consequences on the socioeconomic level as well. so one causes massive problems mentally while the other causes massive problems socioeconomically
The overwatch example didn't make a lot of sense to me. If you play the game enough, you just naturally end up with everything you could get. There's nothing in ow you could get through loot boxes that you couldn't get just from playing the game. Although I still absolutely understand the feeling of wanting that certain skin because you may not get it before it's locked for a year.
Haha, of course a guy playing WOW is gonna say nobody cares about graphics and realism. I care...
17:30 gotta disagree here, the difference between being dumb (as in "not able to take care of their money", or wanting trigger warnings when they would've been obvious, though i personally don't think trigger warnings are a bad thing if there's no way for someone to realize beforehand, but the outrage over not having them everywhere is weird, hell i have PTSD and don't understand the outrage, people should just decide themselves whether they think their stuff needs them) and this is: here the companies actively design it to lure you into it.
as in, making the game so grindy it's not actually fun to play unless you buy their "time savers" (in a 60$ game wtf), making it so you get matchmade only with people who have premium stuff on purpose to make you think "better buy that to stand a chance", and all the flashy casino lights and animations when you open a lootbox for that sweet sweet skinner box effect.
and even with things like fifa or nba which has a chance to sell you a new 60$ game each year, is rated 3+ but has literal slot machines for real money.
they're actively trying to push every single subconscious button to make you "dumb" enough to buy their stuff and most of the time it hits those the hardest who can't afford it because they already have other issues such as gambling with not enough money and were trying to get away from that.
to return to the trigger warning comparison: i'm pretty sure a book author who wouldn't just go "oh i don't think i need trigger warnings" but actively market his book as a nice 3+ kids story and then halfway through turn it into a psychohorror torture porn would be considered a pretty giant dick.
plus since when do they think it's ok to have mobile freebie like pay to win shit in a fullprice "AAA" game?!
oh and btw your idea of "just put a PEGI/ESRB/whatever label on it like a dog turd or something" is literally a trigger warning.
because in this case one *is* required, because the games obviously don't outright want to admit that they wanna trigger your reptile brain to get rid of all your money, so a warning is in fact necessary.
same as i think you'd agree the example of a kids story about the teddy bear going on a serial murder spree in minute detail would need some kind of warning :P
I have to disagree with many things youve said, and how badly youve assumed the companies and games.
1. I highly doubt you have PTSD, people down play it alot and it comes from paying a high price, i highly doubt youve gone through enough actual stress to be effected by this.
2. trigger warnings are for babies who need to be told they are amazing 100% of the time and never exposed to a different opinion, and or real life issues/facts. Being triggered nowadays is literally mis gendering people, its pathetic and shouldnt be catered, doesnt matter how it effects me, it will effect us all in the long run.
3. assuming games are actively grindy JUST to sell boosters is a massive assumption, based on what game, and what the exp lets you gain. For WoW, an xp booster allows you to not spend hundreds of hours leveling up a new character, this isnt predatory at all, WoW is designed to be a long, grindy game, and less grind then it wouldnt fit or be as good. xp boosters in BF doesnt do anything other than allow you to unlock stuff to use, people dont like to use shit they dont like to unlock the shit they do, but some people also like to progress and unlock that shit, again, not predatory and not grindy for the sake of grinding, Assassins creed has one because again its an RPG and some people dont like to lvl, me included.
4. getting matchmade to be with premium players...wtf is this point? like really, thats not how anygame works and you really cant prove it either way.
5. no one pays for loot boxes because ooo shiny lights and sounds, they do it to look cool, anything other than that opinion is you putting on your tin foil hat, youre being dishonest and only throwing shade at games for literally no reason.
6. of course they try to advitise their shit in their game, its called marketing, you dont cry at trailers, you dont cry at a store where they have new offers, ect, this isnt a game thing, this is just marketing.
7. no game has pay to win shit for money, to think that is bs and hasnt been proven, cosmetics are the only things that give you the edge.
The way i see it is, you pay money at the change of a loot pool, you gain shit, therefore its not gambling, gambling implies loss. Fifa is a hot topic, but anyone that hates those packs must hate trading card games, they are literally the same thing, its like £5 for a pack of cards, that are basically pay to win, decks formed around gaining cards you get or want to get, marketed for kids, i grew up on them i love them, and now im a collector, am i adicted to buying loot boxes? no, but thats mostly because any game now gives you access to the premium shit.
The point is, you spend money on a good game because you like it, you want to look cool in a game you enjoy playing, or you want to buy some packs for a cool team, i dont like the fact that a lot of people are taking 1 extreme example from adiction, and saying that people who like these systems think rich people only buy them.
If youre adicited to buying loot boxes, YOU are the problem, its not gambling, its not chemical, its your feelings that you dont have the manpower to walk away from. YOU want to look cool, and i generally think gambling acticion comes from desperation to gain money, where as the only thing you gain from loot boxes is a skin.
Also i found it wierd that a guy who was adicted to drugs (chemical) was blaming games for his need to collect shit (no chemical).
I straight up spent like 100+ in two months on Warzone's skin packs because they're all so cheap, when I could've gotten actual games or saved up for something cool and meaningful, or saved it aside for something important. Microtransactions, lootboxes and battle passes are in basically every single multiplayer game I've seen now to the point where I can only play singleplayer games lmao. I don't mind, 'cause singleplayer games are great, but jesus christ.
I love Asmongold's content but his lifestyle is obviously centered around this. He's been addicted to Wow- In other words, the candle is darkest at the base
Yeah, but he doesn't have an unhealthy addiction.
The diffifernce is that the loot boxes are targeting them. while trigger warnings are just there to protect from things that may trigger an episode. I actually do have PTSD. the loot boxes are more of a problem in my opinion.
On one side, you have companies that literally saying, "we need to find better ways to exploit people that have an addictive personally, because we can make lots of money off of them (whether they can afford to spend it or not), by exploiting a well known and illegal psychology method".
The exploration of Human Psychology in order to get money from people is, and always was illegal, as it targets weaker individuals, that have specific issues over their mental control (or just a lower IQ).
Next, about actual PTSD, while it also uses the term "trigger warning", is generally NEVER people going around asking for "trigger warnings" to be put places.
The people that love "trigger warnings", and demand them to be used/followed, are emotionally immature adults that claim they have PTSD, because when they do not get what they want (or if anyone dares to even think differently than them), they throw a temper tantrum which would embarrass a 5-year-old. And that is what they use to self diagnose themselves as having PTSD (that is until psychologists and the pharmaceutical industry realized they could get more money if they agreed to classify that as PTSD).
They basically say: "I don't like [insert "trigger" here], so no one is allowed to have a different opinion about it than me, otherwise you are attacking my mental issue".
&
"If you think differently about [insert "trigger" here] then I do, and DARE to talk about it, than you are attacking my mental health.
So the fundamental problem with "trigger warnings", is the use of those "Labels" to control what people are allowed to do and say. They claim that because they are "triggered by something", therefore no one should be allowed to do it. It creates a rule of what is ALLOWED and NOT-ALLOWED.
I spent over £200 in warframe and I didn't realise it, I'm not even a hardcore player I'm juts a casual!
And how I realized they literally prey on me is that I'm playing the game both on PC and PS4 and on PC, where I spent money for in-game currency, I get as the daily log in bonus either the 50% or the 75% discount for Platinum where on PS4 I literally never get it because I don't buy Platinum.
trying heroin would also make you a fool but it doesn't make the addiction any less devastating. just because it's moronic to not have self control enough to not try it in the first place doesn't mean it's their fault it exists or got them, it's literally designed to weed out the people it can't "get" and to directly target the people that are susceptible to this form of monitization.
41:50 Well, what do you know... we have "EA Sports FC" now instead of FIFA... and yes, it was because of a disagreement of licensing fees between the FIFA association and EA.
I don't get why ppl love this streamer so much. Guy is a sociopath and full of himself.
It's a character, he is actually pretty smart and cares for people, he just won't say it like that haha
Some of Asmongold's life lessons or stories are really cringy.
It's almost like idolizing a twitch reactor is a dead end.
Who's life doesn't have cringe in it
I'm pretty sure the majority of those donating to Asmongold are just trolling around
Yes, I do think games with predatory loot boxes and microtransactions should be labeled as such. But that's not what the games industry wants, they have allowed for "in-app purchases" to be used, but that isn't enough, that same label is applied to games with non-predatory DLC, so they can continue to get away with their shenanigans.
This is why you play Dark Souls. YOU JUST GOTTA GET GOOD, NO MONEY TO GET YOU PAST.
All jokes aside a complete experience, one price, all worth.
If you wanted to find a compromise to this issue. How about making a law that requires companies to limit micro transactions to a point equal to the sell price of the product at launch.
So for example if the game sells at launch for 60$, the company isn't allowed to charge more than 60$ through micro transactions from that player.
Not saying its a perfect solution, I'm sure there are flaws with it that I haven't thought of.
And just to be clear, I do despise micro transactions with a passion and do not support them in any way. This is just a suggestion for a compromise.
Buyer's remorse is one of examples of actions/feelings linked to cognitive dissonances (stress between two best choices, multiple of choices etc.)
I just wanna point out that the recommended video on Up Next is a Quartering one and that just sends chills down my spine, ew.
imagine you have made a game that is addictive with a fixed amount of cash by monthly subscription^^
if microtransactions are in the game they should be only from 25+ years and have to have a huge round symbol for attention this game has severe gambling mecahnics
What baffles me is that we criticize lootboxes and MTX on videogames, which is an actual product, but i dont really support. But people are just giving money to people for doing stupid shit on youtube or twitch. Or making videos of things they are really not qualified to talk about on an expert level and some take their word for it. For me that's what is really stupid.
1:14:21 if your only speaking about the predotary ones, if not this is gonna remove alot of areas where luck is used to actually benefit the player, Rouglikes, Vampire survivors games that encourge luck But don't force you to spend to enjoy gambling.
that way they really cannot be predetory or atleast allows you to pay your bills even if your time is used.
The opinions of someone with a 2.4 gpa in highschool who dedicated his whole life to a game that he is trash at.
I'm sick of people thinking Overwatch is a scummy game because of its loot boxes. Let me make something very clear:
*If you buy loot boxes in Overwatch, for any other reason than making an unboxing video, you are brain damaged.*
Just play the fucking game. You can get four of those things from playing 10 matches, 9 of which being wins in Arcade. The other just playing a certain role in either qp, Comp, or EM. And if you do all that, you may get 1-3 more from leveling up.
The difference is these games cause addiction in people who didnt have one, nothing that needs a trigger warning will cause PTSD unless you are already traumatized. This should have been obvious.... but i think he thought he had a gotcha.
40k at a call center hahahahahHAHAHA!
Now this is how you do a reaction video
Them being happy is just a convenient consequence of them having enough money to give away, so
I know this video is old, but something I have noticed with Asmon, is that he tries to use "Big" words or the actual terminology and he constantly gets it wrong, or just flat out does not know what the word means.
Ehhh, porn companies target their profits toward porn addicts... yet I wouldn’t expect them to change their model based off people’s irl problems. If they put in a little gambling addiction warning and a 21+ rating, then I think they should be allowed to monetize the bs. I personally HATE what mt’s have done to modern video games.
A label with Microtransactions/in-game purchases should be mandatory.
Loot Boxes are banned in Belgium since 2018 and as we speak they are debating the same matter in the UK and Sweden, i am happy politicians step up and i hope this will create a domino effect in the world.
I find it silly to make laws like this because of a couple nutcases who will buy so much they will ruin their lives over pixels OMEGALUL.
Gambling is like alcohol, a reasonable person will drink from time to time, ill throw in a few bucks on crates in CS a couple times per year. I am heavily opposed to the marketing of gambling to children. But at the same time, i don't think functions and designs such as this should go just because a select few people feel the need to spend every bit of their cash on optional shit like a fool (i do draw the line when a gameplay advantage is gained by means such as this), in the same way we dont re-ban alcohol because some people get drunk and beat their spouses; And i get addiction can be blind and compelling but i don't think addictions to something like this are comparable to more serious addictions that involve external chemical dependency (opiates/amphetamines/drinking/unhealthy eating), and if anyone is blowing that degree of money on something like this the issue doesnt lie with the developers but with their psychologist and psychiatrist because clearly they are experiencing something much much deeper than just addiction.
@@audioaima2k893 Its not silly it also affects every persons experience with games. I'm not even old dude 25 and I can remember when you'd get a game and it just had all the skins and shit just built into the game as unlocks that didn't take insane amounts of grind. There is no fucking reason that 60 dollar games like overwatch should have loot boxes to unlock cosmetics that you already paid 60 dollars for in the first place.
I'm playing this mobile game right now and you can buy an extra builder to help speed along progress and according to the game it was marked down from $800 to $4.99. So obviously I'd be crazy to turn that deal down right?
I actually disagree with the /spit bullying to try to stop people from buying store mounts, not because I think store mounts are okay, they're not, they're an actively leeching behavior from Blizzard as a cheap cash grab for basically no effort or added content to the game; but because it's something that will actually end up doing the exact opposite of what you're trying to do, which is to get them to not buy any more mounts.
What you want is people to agree with you that buying mounts is a bad thing. You want to convince someone that them buying their store mount contributes and encourages Blizzard to continue their predatory practices of micro-transactions in a PAID SUBSCRIPTION GAME. What you *_DO NOT_* want to do is ostracize them from the general community by treated them like a social pariah. This will do the *_EXACT OPPOSITE_* of what you want and here's why:
When you /spit on someone on a store mount, they're not going to think, "Oh, this person don't like that I contributed to a bad monetization practice and encouraged Blizzard to reserve additional content for extra spenders," they're going to think, "this person is shaming me for thinking this mount is cool, fuck this asshole, this guy is an idiot and I love my mount." By improperly communicating your goal of dissuading people from buying store mounts to curb negative monetization practices from Blizz, you forcefully try to remove them from the common social circle.
When you create a pariah of someone in a way they feel is unjust because you failed to communicate what you were actually trying to say and instead just /spit on them, they will gladly leave your social group and join another one where they are more welcome. One that will, more than likely, be perfectly fine with micro-transactions and even praise them. You didn't create an ally, you created another person who is *_ACTIVELY AGAINST_* what you're trying to do.
And why not? From their perspective, you just shamed someone for thinking a mount is cool. You just shoved them out of a community for them liking something that you don't. You just created an outsider of them out of nothing but their opinion that a certain thing looked cool and was worth buying to them. They didn't have any concept of micro-transactions being bad, they weren't educated why you had a negative opinion of their mount. You just out of nowhere acted like a douche and caused that person to dislike your stance and be more likely to be against you and more accepting of store mounts.
*_This is not what we want to do._* We want to engage people and provoke their thoughts. Get them to understand the long-term damage their purchasing habits do to the game. Get them to change their behavior and be more on-board with actively denying Blizzard the rewards of their low-budget cash grabs.
But I guess that's more difficult and requires too much effort over just /spitting on passersby with no context. Please, bullying people does not get your way. People are more likely to advocate against any stance you have, if you pressure that stance in a way that can be seen as bullying. This is not a good method to do this. There are so many better ways.
I mean, we can all be outraged and angry that a company would do this, but if its not illegal and can make them a ton of money, then they are gonna do it. You cant really fault the company for that, especially in a capitalist system where companies have an enormous pressure to make more money than their competitor. Even if the leaders of a company didnt want to engage in that sort of predatory behavior, they HAVE to, because if not they will cease to be competitive. Not really that hard to understand. Dont be angry at the companies. Their entire goal is to make money for their shareholders. Be mad at the institutions whos job it is to make sure this dosent happen, AKA world governments.
The ONLY way companies will stop doing this is if it becomes illegal OR if they stand to make more money from not engaging in predatory behavior.
This chat is one of the worst on all of Twitch.
1:03:37 Ofcourse "improve"(Complete what should've been) as well basically they give you shit and waste your time to "convince"(Strongarm you) into Paying for the thing you were promised.
Saying that brother is a fool misses the entire point. The entire point of this monetisation IS to MAKE PEOPLE FOOLS. Its to exploit the natural psychology EVERYONE has and try to manipulate it and turn them into fools. Thats the point, its counter productive to pretend this dude was especially stupid and id never do this *snort.
I think your idea of putting a big label of 'has microtransactions' is a good idea. I dont think its sufficient to deal with the problem entirely but that seems like a great start for people who are trying to recover.
Also, asmongold says later that if a company needs to exploit people to run a business it shouldnt exist, thats directly contrary to the claim that people are just dumb who fall for it.
But it's not just video games, virtually ALL industries openly take advantage of people's compulsive behavior and use devious psychologically manipulative practices, even to the point where they make their products WORSE and inconvenience EVERY SINGLE CUSTOMER just to squeeze some extra profit out of easily manipulative morons. Think of grocery stores, or virtually any other retail store, where they PURPOSEFULLY put every single of the most common items people come in to buy in separate corners at the very back of the store so you have to pass all their "SALE!" signs for every other piece of crap they sell there
Asmon assuming a call center worker makes 40k a year show how little he understands about the value of money. To him that's what someone in a low paying job makes...
This is what happens when you're only real job all your live has been streaming.
He has a fridge by his streamstation
Nice
I think Devs should implement an option to turn off the store for micro-transactions
Someone in the chat said it.
Blame the Spoon.
Meanwhile 10 year olds pulling 20 hour shifts in the Nike factory in China, good night everybody.
so you are saying that because there are other problems in the world we should just ignore the ones on our doorstep? that we ruin the lifes of quite a lot of young people? since once u had an addiction in can come back anytime in their life. Great so why fo something about people working 60-70 hour weeks and worrying about being able to afford a place to live when there are people dying in other places of the world. what a striking argument!
I find the notion that he thinks people don't care about graphical fidelity kinda funny, because I've talked to enough people in my life that tells me otherwise.
Meanwhile I still have over a hundred lootboxes in my inventory on overwatch... (can't even be bothered with opening them anymore that's how much I care about skins..
thats just you - you are not everybody - you clearly do not have an addiction to gambling. so thats fine? I have something so i do not care about anyone else in the world? congrats Mr Nihilist.