New Studies Link Loot Boxes To Gambling Addiction. This Could Cause Some Issues For Greedy Publishers Going Forward

[killamch89]

In today's rendition of "why am I not surprised?" 12 new studies show a link between loot boxes and gambling addiction. The only thing I'm going to say is why did it take so long for someone to discover this. Even without scientific evidence, most people can tell that loot boxes and gambling have a very strong connection. What are your thoughts?

 

[Reality vs Adventure]

I'm not sure which side to take on this because some games I play have those loot boxes, which is awesome to get free new gear, at the same time it becomes tedious when I feel I have to get every loot box. It is a strategy to keep people playing the game, and hope for purchases. I play different games here and there as does everybody else, but to put in a game just to check and see what is available in the loot box for the day is annoying. Sometimes there are quests that pushes me way out into the map just so I can get some gear. And that breaks my immersion. At least I'm not addicted to that sort of thing, but can easily sympathize with. I used to think that it was generous of them to offer stuff, and still think that, but I can see how it would be an addiction. Not necessarily for gamblers, but for OCD. To offer something a couple times a week is good, but not every single day. I think that creates addiction. And the whole enjoying the gaming experience is thrown out the window. 

[killamch89]

On 4/3/2021 at 12:46 PM, Reality vs Adventure said:

I'm not sure which side to take on this because some games I play have those loot boxes, which is awesome to get free new gear, at the same time it becomes tedious when I feel I have to get every loot box. It is a strategy to keep people playing the game, and hope for purchases. I play different games here and there as does everybody else, but to put in a game just to check and see what is available in the loot box for the day is annoying. Sometimes there are quests that pushes me way out into the map just so I can get some gear. And that breaks my immersion. At least I'm not addicted to that sort of thing, but can easily sympathize with. I used to think that it was generous of them to offer stuff, and still think that, but I can see how it would be an addiction. Not necessarily for gamblers, but for OCD. To offer something a couple times a week is good, but not every single day. I think that creates addiction. And the whole enjoying the gaming experience is thrown out the window. 

Look at it this way, Loot Boxes are being auctioned primarily to naïve kids who in their blissful unawareness, will develop a gambling habit and will constantly use their parent's credit cards to purchase said loot boxes. Costing both their parents and hurting kids in the long run.

[Reality vs Adventure]

54 minutes ago, killamch89 said:

Look at it this way, Loot Boxes are being auctioned primarily to naïve kids who in their blissful unawareness, will develop a gambling habit and will constantly use their parent's credit cards to purchase said loot boxes. Costing both their parents and hurting kids in the long run.

I guess there are two types of loot boxes. The one I was referring to were the ones that show the available gear for a specific time if you can garnish enough resources to get it, whether the resources being what you collect in game, or bought. The other is a mystery box which for a limited time which you would purchase or find the in game resources hoping to get something good from the box. That would seem more like gambling, and the other more of OCD because you just got to have the gear on display. 

Either way, it's ridiculous to think about spending $20 on some gear when you can buy a whole game for that much. For the first time ever I was the knuckle head and spent that $20 to get a couple outfits a couple weeks ago. The strategy really works offering those boxes. I don't buy a damn thing though if it's a mystery box and don't show what you can get. I never thought about until now, that buying a game really costs around $100. That's if you get it brand new, get the DLC, and some gear or resources. I can only suggest getting the game a few years old with bonus stuff added all for $20. That's what I've done until now. I see the traps now playing newer games. 

[killamch89]

15 hours ago, Reality vs Adventure said:

I guess there are two types of loot boxes. The one I was referring to were the ones that show the available gear for a specific time if you can garnish enough resources to get it, whether the resources being what you collect in game, or bought. The other is a mystery box which for a limited time which you would purchase or find the in game resources hoping to get something good from the box. That would seem more like gambling, and the other more of OCD because you just got to have the gear on display. 

Either way, it's ridiculous to think about spending $20 on some gear when you can buy a whole game for that much. For the first time ever I was the knuckle head and spent that $20 to get a couple outfits a couple weeks ago. The strategy really works offering those boxes. I don't buy a damn thing though if it's a mystery box and don't show what you can get. I never thought about until now, that buying a game really costs around $100. That's if you get it brand new, get the DLC, and some gear or resources. I can only suggest getting the game a few years old with bonus stuff added all for $20. That's what I've done until now. I see the traps now playing newer games. 

That's why it really needs to be stopped - they were making a lot of money off the base game plus DLCs. When you add microtransactions to it, that can easily soar into the thousands before you know it.

[skyfire]

Those sports betting also falls into the gambling. But some how the people have found a way in and out of that. I am not sure how people can realize this is just a gambling too. 

[The Blackangel]

This is dangerous for those battling gambling addiction. It's like putting a game that takes place in a bar with a feature that gives off the scent of whiskey in front of a struggling alcoholic. It can send them spiraling down into addiction. I'm a former addict, and I have to avoid games and movies that have heavy drug abuse, because I could easily end up back in another shooting gallery passing shit around with a bunch of other addicts. Committing burglaries and robberies for drug money. I was there in my late teens and early 20's. I don't want to go back. I'm doing good handling the cocaine gum in RDR2. But luckily for me, there are no drug houses in any of the towns. I know in the late 1800's they still existed, but the RDR2 world thankfully doesn't have any.

It's a temptation that the addict and former addict has almost no willpower to fight. It takes either a scare so severe that non addicts can't fathom it, or help from people in their life to beat their addiction. And if they don't have either, the addiction usually wins.

[Reality vs Adventure]

13 minutes ago, The Blackangel said:

This is dangerous for those battling gambling addiction. It's like putting a game that takes place in a bar with a feature that gives off the scent of whiskey in front of a struggling alcoholic. It can send them spiraling down into addiction. I'm a former addict, and I have to avoid games and movies that have heavy drug abuse, because I could easily end up back in another shooting gallery passing shit around with a bunch of other addicts. Committing burglaries and robberies for drug money. I was there in my late teens and early 20's. I don't want to go back. I'm doing good handling the cocaine gum in RDR2. But luckily for me, there are no drug houses in any of the towns. I know in the late 1800's they still existed, but the RDR2 world thankfully doesn't have any.

It's a temptation that the addict and former addict has almost no willpower to fight. It takes either a scare so severe that non addicts can't fathom it, or help from people in their life to beat their addiction. And if they don't have either, the addiction usually wins.

Speaking of addiction, I had a problem with alcohol and I don't see the world doing a damn thing about banning alcohol. But loot boxes? Oh fucking no. We must ban those for gambling addicts. Drugs and alcohol abuse demonizes the abuser. Gambling demonizes the casino. And the state lotteries also get a free pass even though gambling is illegal. I can see the harm in loot boxes. But if they were to ged rid of them, then all forms of gambling should be banned. You can't have the stores ban the sell of alcohol and have local bars still sell it. Sure, they won't pass the aisle in the store and be tempted anymore. But you can still drive by the bar on your way home. My point, is that I just wish society gave half a damn about alcohol and drug abuse as they do gambling. This is a start though, to shine the light on a potential problem in gambling addiction. So anything helps. Especially since the gaming loot boxes exposes kids early to a form of gambling. And with that said, how many toys have a mystery toy inside where you want to buy more to get the one you want. Fast food used to do that in happy meals, not sure if they still do. Some toys in stores used to have that, not sure if they still do. Candies used to have that, not sure if they still do. We were exposed to all that when I was a kid and I was born in Vegas to top it off. For me personally I stay away from gambling for the simple fact I was exposed to a lot of that stuff growing up. I've seen all kinds of crazy stuff. I was an athlete as a kid and we had a lot of activities where we had to stay in the hotels of the casinos. And its not just the casinos because everywhere you went in Vegas, there were slot machines. Grocery stores were filled with smokers playing slot machines as soon as you walk in. It's all you smelled and heard. But if someone has a potential gambling problem, then they more than likely will be exposed one way or another if all forms of gambling isn't banned. 

[The Blackangel]

I've been on several cruises, and hit the casino a couple times. I've also played penny poker a few times. I'm so thankful that I don't have a gambling problem. But you're right. If society is going to do something about gambling addiction, then it needs to go after all other forms of addiction as well. You can't pick and choose what kind of addiction is ok and what isn't. It's like with equality between the sexes. Women want equality where it's convenient and superiority where it's not. Women think they can hit a man and he just has to stand there and do nothing. Um, no. If we want equality we don't get to pick and choose. If I can hit a man, he has the right to hit me back. It's either equality EVERYWHERE OR NOWHERE.

[Reality vs Adventure]

And another thing to add is sports card packs. Isn't that the same as loot boxes? You buy a pack and keep buying till you get something good. 

[The Blackangel]

2 hours ago, Reality vs Adventure said:

And another thing to add is sports card packs. Isn't that the same as loot boxes? You buy a pack and keep buying till you get something good. 

Definitely. I remember when I was a kid, I was obsessed with basketball, and collected cards like crazy. I was always looking for "that one card" that Topps, or Fleer, or whatever had put out. I would buy dozens of packs every chance I could until I got the one I was looking for. But back in the early 90's that cards were so mass produced, it wasn't hard to get a complete set of any brand. You could pick that up for $10 a lot of the time. When I was younger in the 80's was the time to collect. But I spent all my time unconscious or locked in my bedroom. That kinda made it difficult to collect anything other than concussions, brain damage, and disorders like sociopathy.

[Reality vs Adventure]

24 minutes ago, The Blackangel said:

Definitely. I remember when I was a kid, I was obsessed with basketball, and collected cards like crazy. I was always looking for "that one card" that Topps, or Fleer, or whatever had put out. I would buy dozens of packs every chance I could until I got the one I was looking for. But back in the early 90's that cards were so mass produced, it wasn't hard to get a complete set of any brand. You could pick that up for $10 a lot of the time. When I was younger in the 80's was the time to collect. But I spent all my time unconscious or locked in my bedroom. That kinda made it difficult to collect anything other than concussions, brain damage, and disorders like sociopathy.

As a kid I would always get a pack of Garbage Pail Kids at the ice cream truck walking home from school. It was super cheap to get a pack with whatever loose change you had. GPK still sells today by TOPPS online for a limited time usually at $20 a set or box. So I think the time based selling of this stuff is very similar to loot boxes. You feel pressured to buy the items before time runs out. I think that itself may be the real issue, time limited sales. Because if time wasn't an issue, the gambling addiction may not be as profound since the mystery box will still be there a year from now. 

[Empire]

People can be addicted to scratch tickets from the lottery or from drinking beer for unless amount of hours and get nowhere, so I know exactly how these people feel when they're addicted to loot boxes and Gacha games. Luckily for me, I escaped the addiction that I had, but I know how damn difficult it truly is to stop entirely. Especially when you're stuck in a loop of "if I stop now all of the money and hours and time and just about everything spent already will go to waste. It hurts to see children suffering the same terrible fate I once did. Screw these companies, seriously.

They in it to make MONEYYYYYY

[skyfire]

If you see some of the chinese games their lootboxes and the season items are so random that even after paying it remains a "chance". Think about it you pay 200 dollar for the "chance" andd still don't get it. which type of the approach bad for the addictive people. 

[killamch89]

On 4/10/2021 at 11:27 AM, Reality vs Adventure said:

And another thing to add is sports card packs. Isn't that the same as loot boxes? You buy a pack and keep buying till you get something good. 

It's another form of the lootbox system and should be under the rules as a gambling ploy.

On 4/10/2021 at 2:08 PM, The Blackangel said:

Definitely. I remember when I was a kid, I was obsessed with basketball, and collected cards like crazy. I was always looking for "that one card" that Topps, or Fleer, or whatever had put out. I would buy dozens of packs every chance I could until I got the one I was looking for. But back in the early 90's that cards were so mass produced, it wasn't hard to get a complete set of any brand. You could pick that up for $10 a lot of the time. When I was younger in the 80's was the time to collect. But I spent all my time unconscious or locked in my bedroom. That kinda made it difficult to collect anything other than concussions, brain damage, and disorders like sociopathy.

When I was younger, I was kind of addicted to Pokemon cards but it was in the 90s. I eventually lost interest in them because I already had the Pokemon games for Gameboy.