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Man you're really clinging to beat this dead horse as hard as you can aren't you. You know you can have an identity outside of bashing ea and lootboxes. Personally I'd enjoy to see you talk about tired mechanics in games rather then this same old lootbox ea shit.
He's a genuinely good kid. He had a problem, he kicked it, and now he's educating people about it, and owning up to it being his fault. Its sad that EA basically targets people like him.
Yeah they just want to feel good about themselves and call other people idiots. Though we can be assure that they also have an addiction but are afraid to come out with it so they compromise by calling other people idiots and what not.
a young 13 year old gets hooked and develops a gambling addiction by mobile games and spends A few thousand on them,And then his addiction gets worse and moves up to other games with micro transactions and spends several thousands on them and in just a few years his addiction that he got when he was young from mobile games nearly destroys his life,And people still defend loot boxes,developers who prey on gambling addictions (like EA and mobile devs)and say they aren’t gambling.
Anyone can be addicted to anything. People like to eat fast food, and when they get obese, that isn't the restaurant's fault when that happens. And like any sort of addiction, people should have enough sense to stop. Just because it's a company you hate doesn't mean they're to blame for another person's problems.
No, it is the person who decides the gratification they get from that fast food is better than the repercussions from eating it who is to blame. No amount of advertising changes the fact that the individual is responsible for their behavior.
_"If the company is explicitly trying to get people addicted to their food, be it with certain additives or marketing tricks, it is very much their problem and should be called out on it. Quit being a mindless drone."_ Yes, because that is how they stay in business, with customers who keep coming back for more. That is the goal of any company. If EA sold fast food, they would be crazy not to include MSG. This is nothing new. People have to learn to not cave in to consumer goods.
LOL at all the people saying "hes more of an idiot than an addict". Like wow .. seriously, what do you think being addicted means? Nothing about gambling is "smart" .. in pretty much every single gambling practice you have a higher chance of losing than winning. Being a "gambler" *is* stupid .. (unless you're good at poker or counting cards at black jack - where you can actually get a superior chance of winning). The only reason anybody gambles is the same reason that someone smokes/drinks or does drugs .. they are chasing a chemical reaction in their brains that is pleasurable..
Its what everyone does, our bad habit come from the same place our good habits emerge. People underestimate how susceptible they are to conditioning and stimuli because they labor under the delusion they are always in-charge of their decisions and are particularly rational actors.
Addiction is not his fault The people we can call out are the ones who defend these lootboxes The addicted guys are preyed upon by the publishers and can't help themselves Can you help yourself when you take cocaine? Furthermore he was exposed while just a kid and hence less cognitive development
Bc no one forced them to. He made the choice. Only him. No one grabbed his hand and made him make the transaction. No one put a gun to his head and told him if he didn't, he'd die. You can't blame EA for this one. Their practices are fucking shit, but this guy problem is one of his creation, and atleast he also made the choice to get help.
W H E R E I S Y O P A R E N T S it's reaaaaalllllllyyyy hard to not get back into the gambling game once u just got clean and it's sitting right in front of you , feel bad he can't play BF2 but at the same time im not. BF2 was still a let down for me no matter how flashy the graphics get
W H E R E I S Y O P A R E N T S you know who else has that kind of attitude? *EVERY SCUMBAG DRUG DEALER EVER* I will not listen to the big business apologists anymore.
Yes it's not forcing, but it's intentional psychological manipulation, if you manipulate a child to consent to have sex with you is it not immoral, is the child at fault? To the funny guys: yes lootboxes are pedophilia.
"Dont mind the fact that it costs $20 to get these EA chips, just open a loot box or two!" "No this isnt gambling at all! You at least get $1 back of what you spent!" -EA
EA's basically dressing it up the way Japan dresses up pachinko: it's "not gambling" because you win metal balls instead of yen. just ignore the conveniently-placed, totally-not-affiliated "stores" across the street where you can trade those metal balls for prizes to sell for yen, again at a conveniently-placed totally-not-affiliated pawn shop right next door.
My dad was an alcoholic and heavy smoker, he always had the choice to stop either of those things but addiction nullify that option as the same euphoric release each time is stimulated each time. When intoxicated with serotonin, what reason do you have stopping? He's now dead.
my father drank a lot and his addiction to drinking drove him into debt and really affected his health burning his liver and also caused a lot of harm to the family , my point is these addiction whether digital or substance abuse really are brain ticks which the person cant help but feed into it at time the only thing you can do is to be their for them when they realise they need help
"He would see a friend playing a character i a costume that he didnt have and immediately feel the urge to spend the $10, $20, or $50 it cost to get it. It was all too familiar by that point to give him pause." This is exactly the kind of mentality described on that patent of a matchmaking system to advertize cosmetics. Trying to abuse the mentality of an addict.
YongYea, your channel is one of the most important and most impactful in the fight against micro transactions. Keep up the great work of informing everyone and making people aware of the dangers that come with todays gaming industry. Thank you YongYea
I thought the title was "Yong, Gambling Addict spends 13000..." and i thought to myself, "well, at least his patreon is doing well enough to support him"
But it is a good start, this is our work to call out their bullshit. 6 Billion is still not enough but it still scares EA, makes Disney have to take action and take wall street by storm, making them worry. This is gamer power, and its shown stronger than ever: 6 billion dollars and make wall street worry
Micro Transactions are worse than casinos. Where as casinos and bookies you have a chance to win money, in games you essentially win nothing, you will always lose.
Love that Kensgold wrote his story, and in such detail. One can easily see how sincere he is, and rationally explains how his addiction worked. And noble and mature on top of that as well, by taking responsibility for his own actions. If game companies are not moved by his story, then I don't know what will.
Let's be honest, to me, not many developers will give a flying fuck, and will more than likely just say something like "our game doesn't have gambling" or pull an emp. Palpatine.
Ricky M no he just didnt know what else to spend it on because he was addicted to the game not the mocrotransaction in the game, like for example, i had an allowance when i was seven and i was IN LOVE with yugioh, which had booster packs upon booster packs of its time atm, and i bought booster pacjs with my allowance since the age of 4 which to me isnt that far to his age but i knew that there was plenty of other things to spend that sweet sweet 10 dollars on besides yugioh cards, so really in my mind if this is considered gambling then gambling for kids have been around for ages
@@beybladeboy3000 No, you know why it is not an addiction? Because you spent your allowance on it. The boy spent tens of thousands of dollars on the thing. He actively looked for ways to find new cards and new things.
ChrisP Bacon realize that certain people are more predisposed to addiction than others. There are people who can take prescription morphine after a surgery, use cocaine or even marijuana recreationally and not get addicted. Other people have genetic or psychological differences that could use any of those substances 2-3 times and get addicted to them. Even people who are not predisposed to addictive behaviors can end up getting addicted to them because it your brain chemistry starts to change. The human brain is very “lazy” in a sense and it will start to realize the easiest and fastest way to feel good again is to take a substance, open loot boxes, or play the slot machine
"What else am I going to spend it on?" I can relate. I have spent about 100$ in total on Overwatch lootboxes in the past because of that one thought, just so I could some dumb skins I wanted during the events. I am ashamed of these actions. But since the start of this year, I am completely against spending a single dime on microtransactions even if I have money to burn.
I knew this was going to be a problem a long time ago when I first saw microtransactions creep up back in the early 2000’s. I like to game and I like to game with my son. I saw him spend all this money from Microsoft gift cards he received one year for Christmas. I bought a game he wanted and he tried to get it from me but he realized how he could of had the money if he didn’t buy worthless in game crap. I’m lucky because he realized early on the bad of microtransactions are. I’m lucky cause I knew what he was doing and monitored it then let him deal with the consequences. I’m lucky because I knew the dark side of this crap that these companies are doing. The thing is, how many kids aren’t lucky enough to have parents who are informed?
POTTERANDMATRIXFAN I had the exact same thought, "it's only 30 or 100". Glad I somehow stopped my self because I was going on a couple of hundred on one of many games I play.
POTTERANDMATRIXFAN Same. I spent $400 on Injustice Mobile. Not gonna lie though, i don't regret it since it was free. Any other time i do buy microtransactions is mainly with MKX to donate to the Evo Tournament Prize Pot, but other those 2 I see no point in it.
I've worked in a rehab facility and I've seen a few people institutionalized by their family over addiction and overspending on games. These types are common where I'm from.
A2 Mmos can be the worst that's why I quit and stick to the occasional multiplayer game and mostly play sp. Hopefully we will see mmos where you can earn stuff again without huge grinds of spending.
To tell you the truth, as of now I'm trying to stop my gambling addiction, but looking back on all those Facebook groups of the games I played It was all about Braging rights and how "popular" you will be that everyone wants to add you to be able to use the unit they couldn't get
Accelerator sorry but could you word that a little better plz? Was having a hard time trying to understand what you said, not trying to be rude or nothing.
Has everyone forgot how games used to be? Everyone is like calling him stupid and his parents are bad and so on but I'm sitting here and remembering how games used to be that's right you used to buy a game and that was it. We are gamers but now corporations take advantage of us gamers to earn as much money they can. I want gaming to be like before when you bought a game and got everything from the start. No dlc to complete the game dlc are meant to add extra not fulfill. I rather have less items and challenges to earn items than dealing with these loot boxes. Before it was for the player now it's pay up for the player for having a hobby and passion. (Thanks for over 100 likes ❤️)
I think it was brave of that young man to share his experience. Glad he has recognized that he has addictive behavior and is dealing with it at age of 19. There are people in their 40s and 50s who still don't know it. Either deep in debt, hospitalized or in jail because of their addictions and wondering why it all happened. Addiction, even spending or gaming, is not a joke and is extremely destructive. And the publishers/devs know this but don't care because they make money off of people susceptible to addictive and skinner box approaches.
This reminds me of that one dude, when back when; I was playing Jade Dynasty when it first came out. Decided to make a guild, then there's this one guy who joined my guild. Whenever a new crate comes out, he would spend money on it. And by the end of a couple of months, we found out that he spent about 5000$ in about less than a month. He quit a couple of days later. He was in college. He must've realized how fucked he was during that time.
Boosted Lúcio I have played that game. You can bot till certain Level right? Moonlight energy is needed for ingame bot system. I quitted after I found out the MTX system. It was like 2007 or 2008 that I stop playing.
This kind of story is why we should NEVER accept or even allow micro-transactions. Even if they are cosmetic. They just do more harm than good, video-games USED to be about buying something and getting a great relaxing experience and having fun. Now it feels like another job because you can't say you're working to get something specific because they are now locked behind random chance. So you have to strain yourself and keep going on and on or just give it and spend even more money. It's an atrocious system that needs to die.
Patient Zero of this disgusting nightmare. That game popularized this abhorrent wretched system, and for that I will forever hate Overwatch. When I still played it, I tried and tried to get stuff for Roadhog, Rein, Grandma, Zenny, and Winston. Pretty much the only characters I COULD play. Box after Box. Nothing but sprays, 50 currency, voice-lines, and even worse? I got every single legendary for Hanjoke and Genjoke. Man, I'm never gonna play these stupid characters can I at least trade em in? No? So I HAVE to either buy them or keep slogging through at this horribly slow pace because Blizzard noticed we got lootboxes too fast? Well fuck you too Blizzard, you started cancer, your fan-base is cancer, and your game is fucking cancer. Thanks, for showing me the true colors of the gaming industry I guess.
Juju The Salty Lodestar There shouldn't even be lootboxes in OW to begin with. Like ffs, I paid 70 bucks for basically an F2P game. No storymode, just online repetitiveness. Yes, the loot system is shit. I literally spent two months trying to get Reinhardt's Bloodhardt skin. I ended up being forced to just buy it. Blizzard, what a joke.
+CJG G if you want something to blame, blame the games industry in China. it's basically bizarro land where games that aren't pay-to-win are actually unpopular (Google Daniweb's article on ZT Online if you don't believe me), and Chinese devs have to account for this if they plan to bring their games over to Western countries. same deal for Korean games. American companies have been trying to crack the formula to absurdly successful Chinese games for the better part of 20 years, not realizing Americans in general at least have some semblance of decency and pretend to hate cheating.
Even if they're cosmetic? What is your opinion on games like Path of Exile, or Warframe? Those companies use those cosmetic microtransactions to keep their games free and fund future content. You people hate EA so much that you'd be willing to destroy other, smaller companies business models just for a minuscule chance of taking a shot at the big companies. It's short-sighted, and childish.
To everyone saying that it's this kid's fault for his financial loss due to his addiction: Congratulation on being a part of the f*cking problem. EA, Activision, Take Two...they love people like you.
Resit Pasa Wow, logical fallacies, very nice. Gambling messes with your reward system in your brain. The way that does this is by pleasure and positive reinforcement of actions. For example when you "win" something the reward system releases dopamine and oxytocin giving you pleasure. So you're always looking for that rush of pleasure when gambling. In most instances when you don't win, it only builds up frustration, which, to some addicitve people, can make them gamble again and again just to feel that rush once again. Just like shooting heroin or having sex (or masturbate) or, drink alcohol.
What sucks is that game developers want this. That's how they make money. They want all of us to spend like this. I've never spent a dollar in microtransactions ever.
Minecraft player56 people growing up wanting to build games have never thought about this. In the early days of mobile gaming there was none of this shit. You can get games like jetpack joyride, stick wars, or temple run which were reflective of skill and can waste hours on and genuinely brag about your skill. Nowadays its a shameful topic to even bring up what you are playing half the time. You are in the top 100 how much money did you waste. You have the top clan show me you statement. Its like showing off a hot hooker instead of a hot girlfriend to your friends. It shows that you barely think that wasting time is worth less then emptying ypur retirement
not even in free to play game? just wondering, i spent like $20 on warframe and maybe around $300 DC Universe Online. but with that being said i was playing these games for years.
+Flare Gamer 64 I assume Dongle Dude's talking about how the EU considers the Game Corner from Pokémon generations 1, 2, 3, and 4 (in the uncensored Japanese version) to be "simulated gambling", which is why Pokémon games stopped including them. Game Freak really needs to introduce a place in Pokémon games called the "Itembox Corner" to take the piss (it wouldn't involve spending any real money, just Pokédollars for boxes containing a few items) Maybe someone there could say "A few months ago, some angry customers accused us of being... something we're not. Our Itemboxes are not that, because you always win something."
Telling people not to buy microtransactions and saying it's their fault is stupid. It's like telling people not to gamble. Video games never had this predatory type of gambling, just many poor excuses from developers and publishers to make more easy money from addicts that are willing to spend more money.
This kid is *not* stupid. There is a thing called "Addiction," which is talked about in this video (if you even bothered watching). There is such a thing as microtransaction addiction, just because you never heard of it doesn't make it fake. When a kid plays a P2W game, what would they do naturally? Ask their parents if he could spend money into it. Then once he feels the satisfaction of that purchase... He's compelled to do it some more. This is how an addiction start. Its also why minors can't smoke cigarettes, and almost all harmful yet addictive substances are outlawed. Its also why minors *can't gamble until the age of 21* where they do *not* have the voice and willpower in their brain to tell themselves "enough is enough, time to stop," that is not functional until the age of 21. Its also why the drinking is at 21. This is *not* liberals bitching. This is actually a serious issue it you pull that head out of your ass, and look at the facts before you. Children are exposed to addictive microtransactions business model, or in the case of EA the Scummy, gambling practices. This is similar to the point in time where the common mindset of cigarettes is that they're cool, not addictive, and safe, when in reality cigarette companies knew they actually are and are lying to protect their interests. Hell back to the cigarette analogy for a second time. Back when they were very prevalent, even kids could smoke them. Want to know how these companies get these kids to become future customers? By giving them some free products so they'd grow an addiction to them. Sound familiar? Look at EA... Look at how frontloaded BF2 Is. Its done like that so the players will *develop an addiction to their business model*, thus securing future customers to sink thousands of dollars into a game, and we all know who their true audiences are. Research what addiction does to people. Addiction is the reason why many addictive substances are outlawed, and why the age to gamble is 21 in the US. Children are even more vulnerable to addictive stuff because *the voice that will tell them to stop doesn't mature at 21*, hence the drinking age. Its also why gambling laws state that you need to be 21 to gamble, and for good reason: ADDICTION. This is what we'd refer to as a loophole.
Another thing to note: kids would DEFINITELY jump at the chance to do something that is pleasurable to themselves... Why do you think that kids at school were constantly told that drugs are bag, never do them?
@@kyotanaka920 If the negative side effects of all the drugs they warn you off were actually as bad as they told me, I wouldn't have done any. All drug ed told me was that people will lie and twist the truth to push an agenda.
EA holds a U.S. patent for "System and method for driving microtransactions in multiplayer video games". U.S. Patent 9,789,406 This patent went into effect Oct 17th 2017. Battlefront 2 releases Nov. 17th 2017. This is just the beginning of aggressive microtransaction games.
Stryker A. Wolfe I own the ea battlefront 2 and I'm not a mtx person I love the original battlefronts but because of ea I wish they could look back at the original battlefront 2 but they will screw everything up even more.
I used to work with a guy who went $50,000 in debt due to gambling. As you stated, these lootboxes are so similar regardless if the powers that be call them “gambling.”
I bet some of the people that say "He's just idiot, not the addicted" are gambling for skins in Counter Strike too. After all, denial of addiction is a part of the addiction.
not all mmorpg have loot boxes. I play eso, and ff14 only extra money i spend on either is the once in a while item. Eso requires no real extra funds when you pay a sub, you get an equal amount of crowns to spend on their cash shop.
Microtransactions gives people with more disposable income an unfair advantage to people who doesn’t have much money. Winning isn’t entirely about skill anymore. It’s also about how much you’re willing to spend.
I was listening to the EZA podcast. there is a lawyer who wrote something that I never would think of. Companies like EA are contractually obligated to implemented business models to make more money. (Because that is their obligation to their share holders). MXT are here to stay, so they need regulation.
Very true. Company execs run the company solely to make sure shareholders continue to get a return on their investment. If they consistently perform consistently then they get the boot and a bad reputation. Anything that gets them ahead *will* be exploited until the government catches up (if ever). The only other potential control is if competition keeps them in check. But how can competition restrain game publishers/developers enough when you're dealing with unique products?
EXCELLENT VIDEO!! The problem with the average person is they don't have nearly enough understanding of the psychology of how people are created. About how their body chemistry and minds function. So instead of understanding a story like this, some attack the person. That right there is proof of the ignorance of their understanding. A story like this needs a certain level of maturity and understanding in order to fully understand what is being shared. Many game Devs just want to minimize or completely dodge all liability because their focus is not on the "whats best for the consumer" rather their focus is on whats best for them and their pockets. This is precisely why all game devs regardless of platform need to be regulated. It takes a great deal of maturity and understanding to properly self-regulate and the current gaming industry is proving year after year that they are not wise enough, nor care enough about their consumers to self-regulate in a healthy manner. (I'm a counselor, life-coach, and gamer so I understand the elements being presented here). This is a single story, and there are thousands more like it out there, but often unless you work in an industry like the one I am in, you'll never know it. A single story can be powerful but many similar stories show the general public that this is a serious issue. A single person can be blamed but once it is seen that it's not a single person but many people all struggling with the same thing then it's not that single person. It's human psychology/chemistry/creation. GL HF be safe!
shane holman and you are right; hence, my comment not addressing that fact. Not for nothing certain help groups exist for those going through addictions, whether be sex, drugs or gambling. Anyways, your argument does not take away that children are more susceptible, and as such, laws should be made, or these practices should be regulated or ceased, or else we'll be raising gambling addicts.
Why do I get the feeling that EA's financial officers looked at his story and were like "Aww, why'd he have to go get help? It would have been so great to get his money!"
I an attest to an extent. Even though I have not purchased any microtransactions from mobile games, I have been tempted in the past and did spend about ~$60 in total on TF2 items... ugh, I feel like a damn fool looking back on those purchases
I met a Irishman that had a building business worth just over 4 million and lost it all through gambling addiction. When I met him he was homeless, lost everything through gambling. It's a destructive addiction for sure!
This is why I've always said that it doesn't matter if it is cosmetic or pay to win. The problem is not what you get out of it in your game, the problem is what you lose in real life if you in fact get addicted to this gambling problem. And that is also why the argument that gambling in casino is classified as such because of the rewards just puts the focus on the wrong end. A thing is not addictive because of the rewards but because you cannot stop spending money and thus potentially seriously mess up your real life.
I don't understand why people dislike the idea of government regulation. In-business regulation will not be the most customer friendly way of regulation, but the one that still makes the most money while still being at the edge of acceptable. Businesses are not our friends and never will be. In case of gambling in video games there not only should, but has to be harsh government regulation ultimately close to real life gambling regulations.
Fuck EA but fuck more gov intervention. The internet, when more people are connected in the following years will put a stop to this by word of mouth. The digital free market at work.
I remember Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle Earth, my father actually played that game for years, and it was the only game I've seen him play as much as he did. He was one of the few people who managed to get to the top without without spending a single dime in the game, the only downfall was that it took him like 3 years to actually even get somewhere notable in the game.
Sammy Call me what you like. You're one of the idiots promoting loot boxes. As you clearly think addiction is just for ''dumb fucks'' So it isn't EA's fault if they create 1000's of gambling addicts, it's the addicts fault. Addiction is a massive problem in society. It's usually caused when peoples lives are so bad they turn to an addiction to get some kind of enjoyment out of life even though the addiction makes their lives actually worse overall. It's all about that small dopamine rush. Same with heroine, that's literally all heroine does, it releases dopamine in your brain, a drug your body already produces. Gambling gives that same feeling. To get over addictions you have to tackle the issues causing you stress in life. For me it was 2 of my uncles dying within 2 weeks of each other, my partner cheating on me, suffering a spine injury where I had to sleep in my living-room for 4 months and then me losing my job all within 1-2 years. But I guess I'm a dumb fuck for those things happening to me. For most people addiction is just your brain trying to cope with horrible things. And loot boxes are a gateway to this kind of behavior. children shouldn't be subjected to gambling.
Very informative Yongyea, thank you. I hope a law is passed that prevents game companies from selling loot boxes/microtransaction games to minors. In the meantime, IMO, we all should just outright boycott these games; if we pay for this we are only encouraging publishers to continue these practices and it will only get worse. Stand with me and together we can stop it!
I really feel for this kid and others like him but have to disagree strongly that the companies offering the loot boxes are not to blame. That's just his guilt and low self esteem talking. The companies doing this are not blindly adding bits to these games. They are engineering the most addictive elements possible through the application of known triggers and previous work done in psychology. The are manipulating people and getting the most vulnerable ones to spend big.
well drugs are a whole other issue. I don't agree with criminalizing any drugs or the selling of them. It doesn't help anymore. It doesn't stop the problem, in fact it drives it underground where its harder to reach addicts who need help. Now if drug dealers hid drugs in candy and sold it as candy now I'd have a BIG problem with that. And that's what I think is happening with loot boxes. Its gambling hidden inside a product that is sold with no warnings. Parents can't know its bad just from looking at the game box in a store. It might have a tiny sentence somewhere "contains in app purchases" but its really abstract. It needs to have a big fucking label that says. Warning, this product can cause addiction. Only to be sold to over X years old or whatever is decided is a good age. I'm not one to say, research has to be done on this and it needs regulating in my opinion.
Addiction is a very serious issue and the "nicer" a game seems about their microtransactions, the less you feel like you have to pay probably the more evil they a really are. Every time you get a free loot box they are putting you in front of a slot machine letting you feel the rush. Hell if you get something great your more likely to spend cuz "Oh gee I am really lucky today". Unlike a Casino these gambling mechanics can be in your pocket, with you everywhere. The temptation only growing larger. Hell even if it's just a console game it's at your home where you should be safe from gambling money now your hobby becomes a mental battle against your addiction.
The fucked up thing about this is that guys like these are who publishers are actually after. They don't really give a shit about the average gamer who might spend 20-50 bucks on micros on a game they like. Exploiting addictive behavior is how publishers like EA are able to increase revenue even while sales decline
If people had any idea how easy it is to 3d produce the games the models and skins these days they would truly know how horrible they are being screwed.
EA, and every other game publisher that uses these random loot boxes has at least half the board room smiling, thinking “If we could just get more 13 year olds with access to that much money”. Kinda makes me sad. I hate seeing people exploited in general. Children just amplify that feeling.
The psychology behind micro-transactions and loot boxes are the same regardless of the "intelligence" or "will" of an individual. He's not an "idiot" or a "loser", he's a person like you or me who got psychologically strong-armed to spend more than what is healthy, if any sort of spending on such things is healthy at all. Poor guy :( I think regulation would go a long way to making this less of a problem especially since video games are so particularly targeted towards younger people :/
First way of dealing with such mechanism is: know how they work. Also, regulating such mechanism would affect games such as Diablo/PoE which use similar psychological mechanism to keep people to farm loot. If such mechanis were to be regulated, then what? No more loot-based hack and slash games?
More like 'lured' than strong-armed, but otherwise absolutely agree. There is and was a staggering number of highly talented people fighting various addictions.
Thank you for sharing this Yong, hopefully this story and others like it spread to the right ears and can help toward making a difference in the fight against gambling in video games.
Good thing I saved my little brother from falling to the trap of microtransactions. He once spent lots of money on a mobile game, which surprised both me and our mother. I was worried that he might get addicted (he was 14 at the time) so I finally got him to play more quality games like Bloodborne and Persona 5 (he did eventually platinumed Bloodborne...), he does realized that it was dumb of him to do such a thing in the first place. Now he somewhat avoids games with incentives for the players to buy their microtransactions like a game that I personally recommended to him GTA Online (because I did enjoy that game, knowing full well how broken the pricing economy in that game is. I just never thought that those shits worth a damn, not realizing how predatory it can potentially be). But he really got into Rocket League, which implemented a lootbox system (you buy keys to unlock them)... I just hope he won't repeat the same mistake again.
Shalashaska Burn Dat Mustache ah yes of course. Sadly we live separately now, so I'll just recommend it to him or give him a copy of the OG Dank Souls the next time I meet him. Maybe he's up for some jolly cooperation!
I once spent $30 on loot boxes. I felt terrible after I opened them. Almost sick. Not what I would call a “good feeling”, and it ensured I’d never buy more.
Is it just me, or does 'The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-Earth" sound remarkably similar to Shadow of War, even down to the PvP mechanic were your resources (orcs in SoW) are vulnerable to enemy players.
Gambling in a casino is only legal from a certain age for a reason. Why not add nicotine to candy? "-Hey, it's the parents fault because they didn't educate their kids" How do people blame the guys getting caught up in this shit and not the companies implementing it out of pure greed? Makes no sense..
They are full of shit simply for the randomness of the system. If they wanna use the "accerlated" arguement. Simply sell jump poitions and exact item purchases. They known what the lottery and casinos know. For ex.You can charge $15 for darth vader Or you can use random generator and get anywhere from $2 - $2000. And guess what the company also establish the exact ratio a "payout" occurs. For example 5 tier system. Low to higb. Rationa could be 1:1, 1:10, 1:100, 1:1000. Etc. Plug in actual money $1 for 1 item, $10 for 1 item, $100 for 1 item.
Awesome explanation completely agree more. I was thinking the same as to they could just charge a flat fee for heroes, but why do that when I could put they in a random assortment with the odds against the buyer.
They always say "it's to allow people that have more money than time to progress faster!" But wouldn't it be easier for the player if they were able to buy the items directly? Why put it in a loot box? The person just wastes more money trying to get what they want? Though EA will never admit that's why they put items in loot boxes. If they didn't, people would spend less money trying to get items they want.
If it's considered gambling in some countries if the items given give monetary value, how come TF2 and CS:GO get a pass? You can literally spend $2.49, get lucky and sell a rare item for over $100, or in some cases over $600. I'm pretty sure that it's legally gambling.
Nexo i think its because its locked into steams market so its "digital currency", and that you can only really sell it through trading, which steam warns against and doesn't actually allow technically. I could be wrong just my guess
Nexo this is the worse type of microtransaction. It is gambling 100%. Actual casino's sprang up to take advantage of it. Value looked the other way because of no legal requirement and they received a cut.
I hate to say this but the way that all the AAA developers are heading towards micro transactions will HAVE to be regulated and placed under gambling laws. Pay2Win is not sustainable. It never was. This is NOT the first time that EA has gone down this road. Take a look at the Android/iOS game "Dungeon Keeper" www.kotaku.com.au/2014/02/a-cancer-thats-eroding-the-market-reactions-to-eas-dungeon-keeper/
DIdn't ea also pull a trick like that for their online game of planets vs zombies? Where they make it take a while to grind and then add in mricotransactions to make the grind less of a pain. Petty much selling you the fix for a problem they created in the first place.
Not to mention you don't even OWN it, because the company owns the 3D mesh. When the game goes offline and you're unable to play it again you'll have nothing, it's not like they'll send you the OBJ file or something.
There’s a sucker born every minute. Parents of children bare just as much responsibility as the government or gaming companies. That being said I think YongYea is doing a great thing bringing this issue to light so that hopefully more parents and users are better informed to avoid these pitfalls. It takes a community working together. Financial literacy is one of the biggest missing links in education today. Understanding basics like opportunity cost for instance can go a long way to helping thwart issues like predatory monetizing in gaming.
You really think that giving an "adult" rating by the ESRB will do anything to help? A lot of games are rated for adults, and yet you see hordes of children playing them. Just *ban loot boxes alltogether*
elvampir0 no, Very very few games are given the adult(AO) rating, it's not the same thing as mature(M), most stores will not sell AO games on their shelves.
People can technically boycott esrb for the useless money making scheme of a rating that fails to protect children and only makes indie developers having a hard time developing games.
The only situation in which the ESRB would give those games the AO rating is one where they're sold in major stores and the AO rating has less of a stigma attached to it. And in that situation, elvampir0 is right, parents would buy AO games for their kids. In Europe, many violent games are rated 18, but that rating doesn't have the same stigma attached to it as the AO rating in the US, and parents buy them for their kids. Lootboxes need to be completely banned.
I'm so glad that Pokémon Silver made me aware of my gambling addiction and the consequences it can have, in a relatively safe environment. Constantly paying Pokedollars for slot tokens was the only way to get a Porygon, but when I kept losing at the slots and couldn't afford potions or Pokeballs, I realized I had messed up. That lesson has carried over into my adult life.
Hey, YongYea, here's another lootbox-heavy game to look into: Paladins, produced by HiRez Studios. They recently tied the progression system to lootboxes that are based on an RNG and cost real-world money.
This conversation is old and over. A hatchimal is a $50 loot boxes that preys specifically on young children. Pokemon cards are loot boxes. Go to any toy store and you will see many rng toy lootboxes, from my little pony to lego. So basically the industry is cashing in on this system. People need to take responsibility for their addiction. So if you deem lootboxes as gambling every fucking thing from baseball cards to hatchimals need to be labeled as such.
Reminds me of MGSV when they introduced 'insurance'. Don't get me wrong, I loved what Kojima did for that game, but I believe he was right to leave based on how Konami twisted the game after release.
Chris Lee and many politicians need to read and understand this guy's story. He may be one of many with such unfortunate experiences, and certainly not the last. Fuck microtransactions, and fuck games that have loot box gambling.
I have friends that play Fortnite, and they always have to get new skins. They use it for like 2 days and never use it again. Then when there is a game they actually want they complain about not having enough money. I wonder why.
You know Young. Mobile gaming has games that are slot machines (just like in vegas). And they themselves have in game purchases. What's even scarier is that mobile gaming is available to young kids who's parents have given them a smart phone. Also another thing I've noticed about these mobile slot games is there advertising. They always show the game were your always winning big jackpots when in reality you don't. So on the end you spend real money on a games microtransactions to possibly win in the game. But the reality of it all. You don't win anything.
EDIT: Please watch the entire video before you start commenting with pre-conceived notions...
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YongYea EA stock down 6bilions
YongYea you cant tell me how to live!
Standby for Debunkers counter argument of: "Well, that's him. because he is stupid" or some shit along the line
blaming the players weak willed.
Man you're really clinging to beat this dead horse as hard as you can aren't you. You know you can have an identity outside of bashing ea and lootboxes. Personally I'd enjoy to see you talk about tired mechanics in games rather then this same old lootbox ea shit.
YongYea Chris Lee the politician from Hawaii has released another statement you might want to check out. th-cam.com/video/XTURChcYM9A/w-d-xo.html
He's a genuinely good kid. He had a problem, he kicked it, and now he's educating people about it, and owning up to it being his fault.
Its sad that EA basically targets people like him.
Siddhant Banerjee and it's even sadder that other people call him stupid.
Junk food, porn, drugs, TV, even gaming itself (like me probably), everyone has their weakness. People calling him stupid are idiots themselves.
Yeah they just want to feel good about themselves and call other people idiots. Though we can be assure that they also have an addiction but are afraid to come out with it so they compromise by calling other people idiots and what not.
Reality Productions being edgy and cool lol
a young 13 year old gets hooked and develops a gambling addiction by mobile games and spends A few thousand on them,And then his addiction gets worse and moves up to other games with micro transactions and spends several thousands on them and in just a few years his addiction that he got when he was young from mobile games nearly destroys his life,And people still defend loot boxes,developers who prey on gambling addictions (like EA and mobile devs)and say they aren’t gambling.
Anyone can be addicted to anything. People like to eat fast food, and when they get obese, that isn't the restaurant's fault when that happens. And like any sort of addiction, people should have enough sense to stop. Just because it's a company you hate doesn't mean they're to blame for another person's problems.
Me before meeting steam.
Yeah i despise microtransactions.
Addiction for underaged people is bad idea
No, it is the person who decides the gratification they get from that fast food is better than the repercussions from eating it who is to blame. No amount of advertising changes the fact that the individual is responsible for their behavior.
This is exactly what the game companies want.
_"If the company is explicitly trying to get people addicted to their food, be it with certain additives or marketing tricks, it is very much their problem and should be called out on it. Quit being a mindless drone."_
Yes, because that is how they stay in business, with customers who keep coming back for more. That is the goal of any company. If EA sold fast food, they would be crazy not to include MSG. This is nothing new. People have to learn to not cave in to consumer goods.
LOL at all the people saying "hes more of an idiot than an addict". Like wow .. seriously, what do you think being addicted means? Nothing about gambling is "smart" .. in pretty much every single gambling practice you have a higher chance of losing than winning. Being a "gambler" *is* stupid .. (unless you're good at poker or counting cards at black jack - where you can actually get a superior chance of winning). The only reason anybody gambles is the same reason that someone smokes/drinks or does drugs .. they are chasing a chemical reaction in their brains that is pleasurable..
Dark Tenka he is weak. Pathetic.
Yes and they'll argue with you in trying to justify their own definition of what addiction is. Obstinate fools.
Its what everyone does, our bad habit come from the same place our good habits emerge. People underestimate how susceptible they are to conditioning and stimuli because they labor under the delusion they are always in-charge of their decisions and are particularly rational actors.
Addiction is not his fault
The people we can call out are the ones who defend these lootboxes
The addicted guys are preyed upon by the publishers and can't help themselves
Can you help yourself when you take cocaine?
Furthermore he was exposed while just a kid and hence less cognitive development
so basically being addicted to the dopamine being released when they do an addicting action like gambling and drugs
"No one "forced" him to spend thousands of dollars." Said every developer ever.
Bc no one forced them to. He made the choice. Only him. No one grabbed his hand and made him make the transaction. No one put a gun to his head and told him if he didn't, he'd die.
You can't blame EA for this one. Their practices are fucking shit, but this guy problem is one of his creation, and atleast he also made the choice to get help.
W H E R E I S Y O P A R E N T S it's reaaaaalllllllyyyy hard to not get back into the gambling game once u just got clean and it's sitting right in front of you , feel bad he can't play BF2 but at the same time im not. BF2 was still a let down for me no matter how flashy the graphics get
W H E R E I S Y O P A R E N T S you know who else has that kind of attitude? *EVERY SCUMBAG DRUG DEALER EVER* I will not listen to the big business apologists anymore.
W H E R E I S Y O P A R E N T S DOPAMINE
Yes it's not forcing, but it's intentional psychological manipulation, if you manipulate a child to consent to have sex with you is it not immoral, is the child at fault?
To the funny guys: yes lootboxes are pedophilia.
if EA would open a casino: "no, our slot machines are not gambling, see... we make the player use EA chips, thats not real money!"
Don't forget the EA pass, so that you get 10% off on every gamble you make.
Miles Moore so a little gambling is good but a lot of gambling is bad? If something is predatory, then it’s bad in every form and amount.
"Dont mind the fact that it costs $20 to get these EA chips, just open a loot box or two!" "No this isnt gambling at all! You at least get $1 back of what you spent!" -EA
Technically under the law that is just a normal casino. (Chips legally hold monetary value.)
EA's basically dressing it up the way Japan dresses up pachinko: it's "not gambling" because you win metal balls instead of yen. just ignore the conveniently-placed, totally-not-affiliated "stores" across the street where you can trade those metal balls for prizes to sell for yen, again at a conveniently-placed totally-not-affiliated pawn shop right next door.
My dad was an alcoholic and heavy smoker, he always had the choice to stop either of those things but addiction nullify that option as the same euphoric release each time is stimulated each time. When intoxicated with serotonin, what reason do you have stopping?
He's now dead.
Ohem1 my condolences
Ohem1 That is a sad but accurate analogy. Sorry for your loss.
my father drank a lot and his addiction to drinking drove him into debt and really affected his health burning his liver and also caused a lot of harm to the family , my point is these addiction whether digital or substance abuse really are brain ticks which the person cant help but feed into it at time the only thing you can do is to be their for them when they realise they need help
Sorry for your loss. :(
he is doing fine now after so many years better late than never
"He would see a friend playing a character i a costume that he didnt have and immediately feel the urge to spend the $10, $20, or $50 it cost to get it. It was all too familiar by that point to give him pause."
This is exactly the kind of mentality described on that patent of a matchmaking system to advertize cosmetics. Trying to abuse the mentality of an addict.
I bet EA has a huge poster now with the kid's face, under it, a label: "TARGET CUSTOMER"
Erik Bergström It says Sucker underneath it.
After reading the letter EA immediately sends the kid a free copy of Star Wars
The-Irish-Man EA: Did you say FREEEEEEEEEEE? Sorry my friend we don't do this so called "FREE."
THAT WILL BE FRETHREEEEEEEE DOLLARS $$$$$$$
YongYea, your channel is one of the most important and most impactful in the fight against micro transactions. Keep up the great work of informing everyone and making people aware of the dangers that come with todays gaming industry. Thank you YongYea
I thought the title was "Yong, Gambling Addict spends 13000..." and i thought to myself, "well, at least his patreon is doing well enough to support him"
Ivon Lee You made my day.
Ivon Lee I wonder would it actually happens.
Not a related comment but you need to check EA YongYea, they just lost another 3 billion dollars in stock, to the total of 6 billion dollars now.
Onrain Jento Yong Yea pin this!!! And make vidya on this
Is not enought yet
But it is a good start, this is our work to call out their bullshit. 6 Billion is still not enough but it still scares EA, makes Disney have to take action and take wall street by storm, making them worry. This is gamer power, and its shown stronger than ever: 6 billion dollars and make wall street worry
Onrain Jento honestly, even with this loss they are still in positive curve.
KARMA
I think he's wasting his time writing to EA. They're probably reading it while rubbing their hands together saying "Good, good"
They're jerkin' off to it.
Or rubbin' the nipples like in South Park.
Adam B "You want loot boxes removed? Oooooohhhhhh that's too baaaaaddd"
Micro Transactions are worse than casinos. Where as casinos and bookies you have a chance to win money, in games you essentially win nothing, you will always lose.
Love that Kensgold wrote his story, and in such detail. One can easily see how sincere he is, and rationally explains how his addiction worked. And noble and mature on top of that as well, by taking responsibility for his own actions. If game companies are not moved by his story, then I don't know what will.
Let's be honest, to me, not many developers will give a flying fuck, and will more than likely just say something like "our game doesn't have gambling" or pull an emp. Palpatine.
Mhm, like this VSC said, DICE and especially EA are COUNTING on this to happen. They're heartless fucks who deserve bankruptcy.
"what else am i gonna spend it on" this shows how your mind tries to justify your addiction, actually quite sad
Ricky M no he just didnt know what else to spend it on because he was addicted to the game not the mocrotransaction in the game, like for example, i had an allowance when i was seven and i was IN LOVE with yugioh, which had booster packs upon booster packs of its time atm, and i bought booster pacjs with my allowance since the age of 4 which to me isnt that far to his age but i knew that there was plenty of other things to spend that sweet sweet 10 dollars on besides yugioh cards, so really in my mind if this is considered gambling then gambling for kids have been around for ages
@@beybladeboy3000 No, you know why it is not an addiction? Because you spent your allowance on it. The boy spent tens of thousands of dollars on the thing. He actively looked for ways to find new cards and new things.
ChrisP Bacon realize that certain people are more predisposed to addiction than others. There are people who can take prescription morphine after a surgery, use cocaine or even marijuana recreationally and not get addicted. Other people have genetic or psychological differences that could use any of those substances 2-3 times and get addicted to them. Even people who are not predisposed to addictive behaviors can end up getting addicted to them because it your brain chemistry starts to change. The human brain is very “lazy” in a sense and it will start to realize the easiest and fastest way to feel good again is to take a substance, open loot boxes, or play the slot machine
"What else am I going to spend it on?" I can relate. I have spent about 100$ in total on Overwatch lootboxes in the past because of that one thought, just so I could some dumb skins I wanted during the events. I am ashamed of these actions.
But since the start of this year, I am completely against spending a single dime on microtransactions even if I have money to burn.
Spend it on a good drink; reward yourself with some good food. There's better things to spend your money on rather than a virtual skin, or gun. ^^
I knew this was going to be a problem a long time ago when I first saw microtransactions creep up back in the early 2000’s. I like to game and I like to game with my son. I saw him spend all this money from Microsoft gift cards he received one year for Christmas. I bought a game he wanted and he tried to get it from me but he realized how he could of had the money if he didn’t buy worthless in game crap. I’m lucky because he realized early on the bad of microtransactions are. I’m lucky cause I knew what he was doing and monitored it then let him deal with the consequences. I’m lucky because I knew the dark side of this crap that these companies are doing.
The thing is, how many kids aren’t lucky enough to have parents who are informed?
good for u mate .... buy a guitar it really helpz :3
POTTERANDMATRIXFAN I had the exact same thought, "it's only 30 or 100". Glad I somehow stopped my self because I was going on a couple of hundred on one of many games I play.
POTTERANDMATRIXFAN
Same. I spent $400 on Injustice Mobile. Not gonna lie though, i don't regret it since it was free. Any other time i do buy microtransactions is mainly with MKX to donate to the Evo Tournament Prize Pot, but other those 2 I see no point in it.
I've worked in a rehab facility and I've seen a few people institutionalized by their family over addiction and overspending on games. These types are common where I'm from.
A2 in guessing somewhere in Asia?
TheDragonfriday yes how did you know? The biggest culprits are f2p games, but we've been dealing with this type of addiction for years.
A2
Mmos can be the worst that's why I quit and stick to the occasional multiplayer game and mostly play sp. Hopefully we will see mmos where you can earn stuff again without huge grinds of spending.
I bet he feels proud and has a huge sense of accomplishment.
But was he filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking everything?
Top tier, my good sir
I'd buy you some drink and give you "Boi that's good meme" medal.
To tell you the truth, as of now I'm trying to stop my gambling addiction, but looking back on all those Facebook groups of the games I played
It was all about Braging rights and how "popular" you will be that everyone wants to add you to be able to use the unit they couldn't get
It is like collecting cards in a card game. You do feel good when you have a complete deck, with all the cards you want.
That was indeed the intent.
Micro transactions will be the death gaming... game developers used to love delivering amazing games, now too much is half assed
My nephew is 10 and wants loot boxes all the time I always say no you don't need them its a waste of money. He plays Overwatch.
Good job.
Lol tell him to level up you don’t have to buy loot boxes
This is why loot box have to dissapear
Accelerator agreed
and the people who mae games whit loot boxes
I see your comments everywhere my man! Also, awesome name/pic!
i am just sick or loot boxes is much to ask a god game whit not loot boxes?
Accelerator sorry but could you word that a little better plz? Was having a hard time trying to understand what you said, not trying to be rude or nothing.
Has everyone forgot how games used to be? Everyone is like calling him stupid and his parents are bad and so on but I'm sitting here and remembering how games used to be that's right you used to buy a game and that was it. We are gamers but now corporations take advantage of us gamers to earn as much money they can. I want gaming to be like before when you bought a game and got everything from the start. No dlc to complete the game dlc are meant to add extra not fulfill. I rather have less items and challenges to earn items than dealing with these loot boxes.
Before it was for the player now it's pay up for the player for having a hobby and passion.
(Thanks for over 100 likes ❤️)
VichyGlitterGun most of these people haven't played old games to understand it I still own a PS2 and a Nintendo 64 so I know full games most don't now
He's still a moron tho
Mega Guy43 yea I haven't spent $100 on a game fuck that i love my money lol
Mega Guy43
Yes, children and teens ARE morons which is why they were easily taken advantage of just like this kid.
#BringBackTheBelt
I think it was brave of that young man to share his experience. Glad he has recognized that he has addictive behavior and is dealing with it at age of 19. There are people in their 40s and 50s who still don't know it. Either deep in debt, hospitalized or in jail because of their addictions and wondering why it all happened. Addiction, even spending or gaming, is not a joke and is extremely destructive. And the publishers/devs know this but don't care because they make money off of people susceptible to addictive and skinner box approaches.
this is the exact kind of story EA wants to hear. They want to prey on every child and they want hundreds of thousands of stories just like this
This reminds me of that one dude, when back when; I was playing Jade Dynasty when it first came out. Decided to make a guild, then there's this one guy who joined my guild. Whenever a new crate comes out, he would spend money on it. And by the end of a couple of months, we found out that he spent about 5000$ in about less than a month. He quit a couple of days later. He was in college. He must've realized how fucked he was during that time.
Boosted Lúcio I have played that game. You can bot till certain Level right? Moonlight energy is needed for ingame bot system. I quitted after I found out the MTX system. It was like 2007 or 2008 that I stop playing.
Yep. There's an in-game bot in that game. Which the developers promotes.
This kind of story is why we should NEVER accept or even allow micro-transactions. Even if they are cosmetic. They just do more harm than good, video-games USED to be about buying something and getting a great relaxing experience and having fun. Now it feels like another job because you can't say you're working to get something specific because they are now locked behind random chance. So you have to strain yourself and keep going on and on or just give it and spend even more money.
It's an atrocious system that needs to die.
Patient Zero of this disgusting nightmare.
That game popularized this abhorrent wretched system, and for that I will forever hate Overwatch. When I still played it, I tried and tried to get stuff for Roadhog, Rein, Grandma, Zenny, and Winston. Pretty much the only characters I COULD play. Box after Box. Nothing but sprays, 50 currency, voice-lines, and even worse?
I got every single legendary for Hanjoke and Genjoke. Man, I'm never gonna play these stupid characters can I at least trade em in?
No? So I HAVE to either buy them or keep slogging through at this horribly slow pace because Blizzard noticed we got lootboxes too fast?
Well fuck you too Blizzard, you started cancer, your fan-base is cancer, and your game is fucking cancer. Thanks, for showing me the true colors of the gaming industry I guess.
Juju The Salty Lodestar There shouldn't even be lootboxes in OW to begin with. Like ffs, I paid 70 bucks for basically an F2P game. No storymode, just online repetitiveness.
Yes, the loot system is shit. I literally spent two months trying to get Reinhardt's Bloodhardt skin. I ended up being forced to just buy it. Blizzard, what a joke.
Juju The Salty Lodestar I would say TF2 started all of this.
+CJG G if you want something to blame, blame the games industry in China. it's basically bizarro land where games that aren't pay-to-win are actually unpopular (Google Daniweb's article on ZT Online if you don't believe me), and Chinese devs have to account for this if they plan to bring their games over to Western countries. same deal for Korean games. American companies have been trying to crack the formula to absurdly successful Chinese games for the better part of 20 years, not realizing Americans in general at least have some semblance of decency and pretend to hate cheating.
Even if they're cosmetic?
What is your opinion on games like Path of Exile, or Warframe? Those companies use those cosmetic microtransactions to keep their games free and fund future content.
You people hate EA so much that you'd be willing to destroy other, smaller companies business models just for a minuscule chance of taking a shot at the big companies. It's short-sighted, and childish.
To everyone saying that it's this kid's fault for his financial loss due to his addiction:
Congratulation on being a part of the f*cking problem. EA, Activision, Take Two...they love people like you.
there is no such thing as a `gambling addiction`
Resit Pasa No such thing as a drinking or smoking addiction either... (sarcasm)
So enlighten me, what kind of chemicals are there in loot boxes that will cause you to need more and more?
Resit Pasa Wow, logical fallacies, very nice.
Gambling messes with your reward system in your brain. The way that does this is by pleasure and positive reinforcement of actions. For example when you "win" something the reward system releases dopamine and oxytocin giving you pleasure. So you're always looking for that rush of pleasure when gambling. In most instances when you don't win, it only builds up frustration, which, to some addicitve people, can make them gamble again and again just to feel that rush once again. Just like shooting heroin or having sex (or masturbate) or, drink alcohol.
jose couldnt have said it better myself
No one cares about addiction til it hits someone you're close to. Doubt EA will give a shit.
What sucks is that game developers want this. That's how they make money. They want all of us to spend like this. I've never spent a dollar in microtransactions ever.
Minecraft player56 people growing up wanting to build games have never thought about this. In the early days of mobile gaming there was none of this shit. You can get games like jetpack joyride, stick wars, or temple run which were reflective of skill and can waste hours on and genuinely brag about your skill. Nowadays its a shameful topic to even bring up what you are playing half the time. You are in the top 100 how much money did you waste. You have the top clan show me you statement. Its like showing off a hot hooker instead of a hot girlfriend to your friends. It shows that you barely think that wasting time is worth less then emptying ypur retirement
not even in free to play game? just wondering, i spent like $20 on warframe and maybe around $300 DC Universe Online. but with that being said i was playing these games for years.
Minecraft player56 what about items from ps4 store?
UK
Pokémon: Gambling
Loot Boxes: Not gambling
How is Pokémon seen as gambling in the U.K.? I haven't seen anyone talking about that and I live in the U.K.
+Flare Gamer 64 I assume Dongle Dude's talking about how the EU considers the Game Corner from Pokémon generations 1, 2, 3, and 4 (in the uncensored Japanese version) to be "simulated gambling", which is why Pokémon games stopped including them.
Game Freak really needs to introduce a place in Pokémon games called the "Itembox Corner" to take the piss (it wouldn't involve spending any real money, just Pokédollars for boxes containing a few items)
Maybe someone there could say "A few months ago, some angry customers accused us of being... something we're not. Our Itemboxes are not that, because you always win something."
Unfortunately, such stories don't garner sympathy from these people. All they do is make the CEO's drool over seeing how easy it is to exploit people.
Telling people not to buy microtransactions and saying it's their fault is stupid. It's like telling people not to gamble. Video games never had this predatory type of gambling, just many poor excuses from developers and publishers to make more easy money from addicts that are willing to spend more money.
This kid is *not* stupid. There is a thing called "Addiction," which is talked about in this video (if you even bothered watching). There is such a thing as microtransaction addiction, just because you never heard of it doesn't make it fake.
When a kid plays a P2W game, what would they do naturally? Ask their parents if he could spend money into it. Then once he feels the satisfaction of that purchase... He's compelled to do it some more. This is how an addiction start. Its also why minors can't smoke cigarettes, and almost all harmful yet addictive substances are outlawed. Its also why minors *can't gamble until the age of 21* where they do *not* have the voice and willpower in their brain to tell themselves "enough is enough, time to stop," that is not functional until the age of 21. Its also why the drinking is at 21.
This is *not* liberals bitching. This is actually a serious issue it you pull that head out of your ass, and look at the facts before you. Children are exposed to addictive microtransactions business model, or in the case of EA the Scummy, gambling practices. This is similar to the point in time where the common mindset of cigarettes is that they're cool, not addictive, and safe, when in reality cigarette companies knew they actually are and are lying to protect their interests.
Hell back to the cigarette analogy for a second time. Back when they were very prevalent, even kids could smoke them. Want to know how these companies get these kids to become future customers? By giving them some free products so they'd grow an addiction to them. Sound familiar? Look at EA... Look at how frontloaded BF2 Is. Its done like that so the players will *develop an addiction to their business model*, thus securing future customers to sink thousands of dollars into a game, and we all know who their true audiences are.
Research what addiction does to people. Addiction is the reason why many addictive substances are outlawed, and why the age to gamble is 21 in the US. Children are even more vulnerable to addictive stuff because *the voice that will tell them to stop doesn't mature at 21*, hence the drinking age. Its also why gambling laws state that you need to be 21 to gamble, and for good reason: ADDICTION. This is what we'd refer to as a loophole.
Another thing to note: kids would DEFINITELY jump at the chance to do something that is pleasurable to themselves... Why do you think that kids at school were constantly told that drugs are bag, never do them?
@@kyotanaka920 If the negative side effects of all the drugs they warn you off were actually as bad as they told me, I wouldn't have done any. All drug ed told me was that people will lie and twist the truth to push an agenda.
EA holds a U.S. patent for "System and method for driving microtransactions in multiplayer video games".
U.S. Patent 9,789,406
This patent went into effect Oct 17th 2017.
Battlefront 2 releases Nov. 17th 2017.
This is just the beginning of aggressive microtransaction games.
@YesteryearsGamer You are right. My bad, but still.
Stryker A. Wolfe I own the ea battlefront 2 and I'm not a mtx person I love the original battlefronts but because of ea I wish they could look back at the original battlefront 2 but they will screw everything up even more.
Yeah I had a bad time with microtransactions when they first came out. Never again.
I used to work with a guy who went $50,000 in debt due to gambling. As you stated, these lootboxes are so similar regardless if the powers that be call them “gambling.”
I bet some of the people that say "He's just idiot, not the addicted" are gambling for skins in Counter Strike too. After all, denial of addiction is a part of the addiction.
No, he's just an idiot
+Shiffley that's literally every addicted.
@@nick-r8o8w no you are an idiot for not understanding addiction....learn about what your brain does before you comment please
Am glad he is doing better today but am sure there are very similar story like his.
This is why I don't touch mobile or mmorpgs
not all mmorpg have loot boxes. I play eso, and ff14 only extra money i spend on either is the once in a while item.
Eso requires no real extra funds when you pay a sub, you get an equal amount of crowns to spend on their cash shop.
Azura Moonstar I think he's referring to the subscription-based business model.
Microtransactions gives people with more disposable income an unfair advantage to people who doesn’t have much money. Winning isn’t entirely about skill anymore. It’s also about how much you’re willing to spend.
I was listening to the EZA podcast. there is a lawyer who wrote something that I never would think of.
Companies like EA are contractually obligated to implemented business models to make more money. (Because that is their obligation to their share holders).
MXT are here to stay, so they need regulation.
Absolutely agree.
Very true. Company execs run the company solely to make sure shareholders continue to get a return on their investment. If they consistently perform consistently then they get the boot and a bad reputation.
Anything that gets them ahead *will* be exploited until the government catches up (if ever). The only other potential control is if competition keeps them in check. But how can competition restrain game publishers/developers enough when you're dealing with unique products?
Man i am addicted to your channel, pls keep it coming.
Do you need the help of the government?
EXCELLENT VIDEO!! The problem with the average person is they don't have nearly enough understanding of the psychology of how people are created. About how their body chemistry and minds function. So instead of understanding a story like this, some attack the person. That right there is proof of the ignorance of their understanding. A story like this needs a certain level of maturity and understanding in order to fully understand what is being shared. Many game Devs just want to minimize or completely dodge all liability because their focus is not on the "whats best for the consumer" rather their focus is on whats best for them and their pockets. This is precisely why all game devs regardless of platform need to be regulated. It takes a great deal of maturity and understanding to properly self-regulate and the current gaming industry is proving year after year that they are not wise enough, nor care enough about their consumers to self-regulate in a healthy manner. (I'm a counselor, life-coach, and gamer so I understand the elements being presented here). This is a single story, and there are thousands more like it out there, but often unless you work in an industry like the one I am in, you'll never know it. A single story can be powerful but many similar stories show the general public that this is a serious issue. A single person can be blamed but once it is seen that it's not a single person but many people all struggling with the same thing then it's not that single person. It's human psychology/chemistry/creation. GL HF be safe!
meanwhile EA has lost around $6bn
It's not just youth that can be victims. Addiction can happen with all ages.
shane holman youth is more susceptible
Player7 they are...but what I said is still true
shane holman and you are right; hence, my comment not addressing that fact. Not for nothing certain help groups exist for those going through addictions, whether be sex, drugs or gambling.
Anyways, your argument does not take away that children are more susceptible, and as such, laws should be made, or these practices should be regulated or ceased, or else we'll be raising gambling addicts.
We need more of these real life stories
ChriZ Hawk "real life" sure... this guy had his 5 min of fame, congrats.
That he just wanted to play battlefront II broke my heart
Why do I get the feeling that EA's financial officers looked at his story and were like "Aww, why'd he have to go get help? It would have been so great to get his money!"
3 people can't admit their addiction...
I feel so sorry for him. Taken advantage of by greedy corporations.
I an attest to an extent. Even though I have not purchased any microtransactions from mobile games, I have been tempted in the past and did spend about ~$60 in total on TF2 items... ugh, I feel like a damn fool looking back on those purchases
Thanks for the solid content Yong. I've been watching every video for a few weeks now. Your good at what you do. Love the videos keep it up my man.
I met a Irishman that had a building business worth just over 4 million and lost it all through gambling addiction. When I met him he was homeless, lost everything through gambling. It's a destructive addiction for sure!
This is why I've always said that it doesn't matter if it is cosmetic or pay to win. The problem is not what you get out of it in your game, the problem is what you lose in real life if you in fact get addicted to this gambling problem. And that is also why the argument that gambling in casino is classified as such because of the rewards just puts the focus on the wrong end. A thing is not addictive because of the rewards but because you cannot stop spending money and thus potentially seriously mess up your real life.
Do you even sleep yong? It's like 4 am in the morning. Wait..
I don't understand why people dislike the idea of government regulation.
In-business regulation will not be the most customer friendly way of regulation, but the one that still makes the most money while still being at the edge of acceptable. Businesses are not our friends and never will be.
In case of gambling in video games there not only should, but has to be harsh government regulation ultimately close to real life gambling regulations.
Fuck EA but fuck more gov intervention. The internet, when more people are connected in the following years will put a stop to this by word of mouth. The digital free market at work.
Gorden121 usa is wierd even 3 world countries has regulations on big companies anti monopoly laws etc
That is a consequence of why capitalism is just as bad as communism.
I remember Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle Earth, my father actually played that game for years, and it was the only game I've seen him play as much as he did. He was one of the few people who managed to get to the top without without spending a single dime in the game, the only downfall was that it took him like 3 years to actually even get somewhere notable in the game.
Addiction is difficult. It's a harmful thing and I struggle with my own
War against greedy corporation... It never changes, nor will it ever be over.
I spent around $8000 on eve online gambling sites before they removed them. the addiction is real.
I'd be happy to prove it and talk about if needed to help the cause.
They will only change if forced too. But we can change by simply not buying their games.
LOL what a dumb fuck.
Mister Ree Contact Kotaku and provide bank statements. Also contact the two Hawaiian representatives who are investigating loot boxes as gambling.
Sammy Call me what you like. You're one of the idiots promoting loot boxes. As you clearly think addiction is just for ''dumb fucks'' So it isn't EA's fault if they create 1000's of gambling addicts, it's the addicts fault. Addiction is a massive problem in society. It's usually caused when peoples lives are so bad they turn to an addiction to get some kind of enjoyment out of life even though the addiction makes their lives actually worse overall. It's all about that small dopamine rush. Same with heroine, that's literally all heroine does, it releases dopamine in your brain, a drug your body already produces. Gambling gives that same feeling. To get over addictions you have to tackle the issues causing you stress in life. For me it was 2 of my uncles dying within 2 weeks of each other, my partner cheating on me, suffering a spine injury where I had to sleep in my living-room for 4 months and then me losing my job all within 1-2 years. But I guess I'm a dumb fuck for those things happening to me. For most people addiction is just your brain trying to cope with horrible things. And loot boxes are a gateway to this kind of behavior. children shouldn't be subjected to gambling.
Very informative Yongyea, thank you. I hope a law is passed that prevents game companies from selling loot boxes/microtransaction games to minors. In the meantime, IMO, we all should just outright boycott these games; if we pay for this we are only encouraging publishers to continue these practices and it will only get worse. Stand with me and together we can stop it!
I really feel for this kid and others like him but have to disagree strongly that the companies offering the loot boxes are not to blame. That's just his guilt and low self esteem talking. The companies doing this are not blindly adding bits to these games. They are engineering the most addictive elements possible through the application of known triggers and previous work done in psychology. The are manipulating people and getting the most vulnerable ones to spend big.
well drugs are a whole other issue. I don't agree with criminalizing any drugs or the selling of them. It doesn't help anymore. It doesn't stop the problem, in fact it drives it underground where its harder to reach addicts who need help. Now if drug dealers hid drugs in candy and sold it as candy now I'd have a BIG problem with that. And that's what I think is happening with loot boxes. Its gambling hidden inside a product that is sold with no warnings. Parents can't know its bad just from looking at the game box in a store. It might have a tiny sentence somewhere "contains in app purchases" but its really abstract. It needs to have a big fucking label that says. Warning, this product can cause addiction. Only to be sold to over X years old or whatever is decided is a good age. I'm not one to say, research has to be done on this and it needs regulating in my opinion.
Addiction is a very serious issue and the "nicer" a game seems about their microtransactions, the less you feel like you have to pay probably the more evil they a really are. Every time you get a free loot box they are putting you in front of a slot machine letting you feel the rush. Hell if you get something great your more likely to spend cuz "Oh gee I am really lucky today". Unlike a Casino these gambling mechanics can be in your pocket, with you everywhere. The temptation only growing larger. Hell even if it's just a console game it's at your home where you should be safe from gambling money now your hobby becomes a mental battle against your addiction.
Addiction turns your brain off. Glad I wasn't that stupid when I was young.
Addiction re-wires your brain, and it can affect people at any age.
The fucked up thing about this is that guys like these are who publishers are actually after. They don't really give a shit about the average gamer who might spend 20-50 bucks on micros on a game they like. Exploiting addictive behavior is how publishers like EA are able to increase revenue even while sales decline
now this makes me hope that the government cracks down on the lootboxes in video games.
If people had any idea how easy it is to 3d produce the games the models and skins these days they would truly know how horrible they are being screwed.
how come the Game Corner was censored from Pokemon Platinum onwards, yet we cant get this shit to be banned
EA, and every other game publisher that uses these random loot boxes has at least half the board room smiling, thinking “If we could just get more 13 year olds with access to that much money”. Kinda makes me sad. I hate seeing people exploited in general. Children just amplify that feeling.
The psychology behind micro-transactions and loot boxes are the same regardless of the "intelligence" or "will" of an individual. He's not an "idiot" or a "loser", he's a person like you or me who got psychologically strong-armed to spend more than what is healthy, if any sort of spending on such things is healthy at all.
Poor guy :( I think regulation would go a long way to making this less of a problem especially since video games are so particularly targeted towards younger people :/
First way of dealing with such mechanism is: know how they work. Also, regulating such mechanism would affect games such as Diablo/PoE which use similar psychological mechanism to keep people to farm loot. If such mechanis were to be regulated, then what? No more loot-based hack and slash games?
More like 'lured' than strong-armed, but otherwise absolutely agree.
There is and was a staggering number of highly talented people fighting various addictions.
Excellent video as always Yong!
How many of these stories we need until something is done? Regulation needs to come to play, NOW!
Suika Ibuki The government getting involved will ruin everything.
If gaming will NOT regulate itself, it is quite literally what will unavoidably happen.
@@Suika_Ibuki_The_Drunk_Oni Doesn't matter. I don't want a body of fucking idiots who take years to get a permit for a fucking road policing a hobby.
Thank you for sharing this Yong, hopefully this story and others like it spread to the right ears and can help toward making a difference in the fight against gambling in video games.
Good thing I saved my little brother from falling to the trap of microtransactions. He once spent lots of money on a mobile game, which surprised both me and our mother. I was worried that he might get addicted (he was 14 at the time) so I finally got him to play more quality games like Bloodborne and Persona 5 (he did eventually platinumed Bloodborne...), he does realized that it was dumb of him to do such a thing in the first place.
Now he somewhat avoids games with incentives for the players to buy their microtransactions like a game that I personally recommended to him GTA Online (because I did enjoy that game, knowing full well how broken the pricing economy in that game is. I just never thought that those shits worth a damn, not realizing how predatory it can potentially be). But he really got into Rocket League, which implemented a lootbox system (you buy keys to unlock them)... I just hope he won't repeat the same mistake again.
Shirayone
If he platimumed bloodborne, then dark souls is the way to go
Shalashaska Burn Dat Mustache ah yes of course. Sadly we live separately now, so I'll just recommend it to him or give him a copy of the OG Dank Souls the next time I meet him. Maybe he's up for some jolly cooperation!
Keep it up :) Great news you got him to play hard games like these and he even finished it. That's the way to go :D
I once spent $30 on loot boxes. I felt terrible after I opened them. Almost sick. Not what I would call a “good feeling”, and it ensured I’d never buy more.
Is it just me, or does 'The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-Earth" sound remarkably similar to Shadow of War, even down to the PvP mechanic were your resources (orcs in SoW) are vulnerable to enemy players.
Gambling in a casino is only legal from a certain age for a reason. Why not add nicotine to candy? "-Hey, it's the parents fault because they didn't educate their kids" How do people blame the guys getting caught up in this shit and not the companies implementing it out of pure greed? Makes no sense..
They are full of shit simply for the randomness of the system. If they wanna use the "accerlated" arguement. Simply sell jump poitions and exact item purchases. They known what the lottery and casinos know. For ex.You can charge $15 for darth vader Or you can use random generator and get anywhere from $2 - $2000. And guess what the company also establish the exact ratio a "payout" occurs. For example 5 tier system. Low to higb. Rationa could be 1:1, 1:10, 1:100, 1:1000. Etc. Plug in actual money $1 for 1 item, $10 for 1 item, $100 for 1 item.
Awesome explanation completely agree more. I was thinking the same as to they could just charge a flat fee for heroes, but why do that when I could put they in a random assortment with the odds against the buyer.
They always say "it's to allow people that have more money than time to progress faster!" But wouldn't it be easier for the player if they were able to buy the items directly? Why put it in a loot box? The person just wastes more money trying to get what they want? Though EA will never admit that's why they put items in loot boxes. If they didn't, people would spend less money trying to get items they want.
I am Saluting for this brave young man that make a stand for himself and others! You are the Man!
If it's considered gambling in some countries if the items given give monetary value, how come TF2 and CS:GO get a pass?
You can literally spend $2.49, get lucky and sell a rare item for over $100, or in some cases over $600.
I'm pretty sure that it's legally gambling.
Nexo i think its because its locked into steams market so its "digital currency", and that you can only really sell it through trading, which steam warns against and doesn't actually allow technically. I could be wrong just my guess
Nexo this is the worse type of microtransaction. It is gambling 100%. Actual casino's sprang up to take advantage of it. Value looked the other way because of no legal requirement and they received a cut.
Sharing this video with a friend who needs help - though its more with microtransactions instead of loot boxes. Tank you for making it.
I hate to say this but the way that all the AAA developers are heading towards micro transactions will HAVE to be regulated and placed under gambling laws.
Pay2Win is not sustainable. It never was.
This is NOT the first time that EA has gone down this road. Take a look at the Android/iOS game "Dungeon Keeper" www.kotaku.com.au/2014/02/a-cancer-thats-eroding-the-market-reactions-to-eas-dungeon-keeper/
DIdn't ea also pull a trick like that for their online game of planets vs zombies? Where they make it take a while to grind and then add in mricotransactions to make the grind less of a pain. Petty much selling you the fix for a problem they created in the first place.
Lootboxes use the same psychological manipulation that slot machines use and also do the same damage that slot machines do.
Actually they are worse than gambling. At least in a casino you might win something of any worth. The objects in video games are worthless.
Christian Y
Yes.
Yep you get 0 and 1 somewhere on your hard drive.
Not to mention you don't even OWN it, because the company owns the 3D mesh. When the game goes offline and you're unable to play it again you'll have nothing, it's not like they'll send you the OBJ file or something.
EHHHH This guy got it!
I've also noticed they kind of use the video game setting to make it seem like it's not as bad
There’s a sucker born every minute. Parents of children bare just as much responsibility as the government or gaming companies.
That being said I think YongYea is doing a great thing bringing this issue to light so that hopefully more parents and users are better informed to avoid these pitfalls. It takes a community working together.
Financial literacy is one of the biggest missing links in education today. Understanding basics like opportunity cost for instance can go a long way to helping thwart issues like predatory monetizing in gaming.
You really think that giving an "adult" rating by the ESRB will do anything to help? A lot of games are rated for adults, and yet you see hordes of children playing them.
Just *ban loot boxes alltogether*
elvampir0 no, Very very few games are given the adult(AO) rating, it's not the same thing as mature(M), most stores will not sell AO games on their shelves.
People can technically boycott esrb for the useless money making scheme of a rating that fails to protect children and only makes indie developers having a hard time developing games.
elvampir0 while we are doing that let’s also tell parents to be a little bit more aware at what games they are getting for their kids
The M rating is 17+, not 18+.
The only situation in which the ESRB would give those games the AO rating is one where they're sold in major stores and the AO rating has less of a stigma attached to it.
And in that situation, elvampir0 is right, parents would buy AO games for their kids. In Europe, many violent games are rated 18, but that rating doesn't have the same stigma attached to it as the AO rating in the US, and parents buy them for their kids.
Lootboxes need to be completely banned.
I personally think, that games with so-called Lootboxes should be rated Adults Only, solely for the implementation of these Lootboxes.
I'm addicted to spend money on your patreon.
I'm so glad that Pokémon Silver made me aware of my gambling addiction and the consequences it can have, in a relatively safe environment. Constantly paying Pokedollars for slot tokens was the only way to get a Porygon, but when I kept losing at the slots and couldn't afford potions or Pokeballs, I realized I had messed up. That lesson has carried over into my adult life.
Hey, YongYea, here's another lootbox-heavy game to look into: Paladins, produced by HiRez Studios. They recently tied the progression system to lootboxes that are based on an RNG and cost real-world money.
HerpyDerpyDoo11 The game was actually looking promising, but then they added this in and fucked it all up.
This conversation is old and over. A hatchimal is a $50 loot boxes that preys specifically on young children. Pokemon cards are loot boxes. Go to any toy store and you will see many rng toy lootboxes, from my little pony to lego. So basically the industry is cashing in on this system. People need to take responsibility for their addiction. So if you deem lootboxes as gambling every fucking thing from baseball cards to hatchimals need to be labeled as such.
Reminds me of MGSV when they introduced 'insurance'. Don't get me wrong, I loved what Kojima did for that game, but I believe he was right to leave based on how Konami twisted the game after release.
Bluebottle And Konami is also a part of that ESA.... hmmmm.
Chris Lee and many politicians need to read and understand this guy's story. He may be one of many with such unfortunate experiences, and certainly not the last.
Fuck microtransactions, and fuck games that have loot box gambling.
When ea saw his letter they said fuck that nigga we still going make everyone pay for the 3 billion dollar lost
I have friends that play Fortnite, and they always have to get new skins. They use it for like 2 days and never use it again. Then when there is a game they actually want they complain about not having enough money. I wonder why.
You know Young. Mobile gaming has games that are slot machines (just like in vegas). And they themselves have in game purchases. What's even scarier is that mobile gaming is available to young kids who's parents have given them a smart phone.
Also another thing I've noticed about these mobile slot games is there advertising. They always show the game were your always winning big jackpots when in reality you don't. So on the end you spend real money on a games microtransactions to possibly win in the game. But the reality of it all. You don't win anything.