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i want to have a serious discussion about this because the worst part about this isn't even admitting publicly to committing credit card fraud for a gacha game. the worst part is this person is *******ONLY 18 YEARS OLD*******
she went private for obvious reasons because she probably did not expect the response she got so it's not in my interest or my intent to draw any more attention directly to her account hence the redacting but i have a lot to say about this shit so i'm gonna say it here
it makes me physically ill to see someone so fucking young piss their fucking money away on gambling because that is the same path i walked down and let me fucking tell you, this gambling addiction has ruined my ability to function as an adult
i was exposed to gacha games when i was around that age, lured in by cute characters that i got attached to, and when i became a young adult and got my first job, i spent 100% of my money on gacha games
i was still living at home and my income was entirely expendable and so i was in the perfect environment to become *clinically addicted* to this shit. it's not a fucking joke. teenagers and young adults are so vulnerable to this
even though i never crossed the point-of-no-return that is running up credit and committing credit card fraud on gacha, i only spend my own money off my debit card, i still consider myself CLINCIALLY ADDICTED and it has been ruining my life for years as i struggle to gain control
teenagers and young adults that come from traumatic home environments are especially vulnerable, in my opinion, because these games are extremely manipulative and they literally profit off of people's emotional commitment to their characters
and when one of your biggest methods of ESCAPISM from a shitty life situation is turning to fictional media to escape into... well i think y'all can see the point i'm illustrating. and these companies profit off of this. it's sick.
tl;dr: this shit is not a joke. it's seriously sick. i sincerely hope this 18 year old gets help with this because i know first hand how destructive, embarrassing, and life-ruining it can be to be clinically addicted to gambling
addendum: yes i am fully aware that not everyone who plays gacha games become addicted to the gambling. i am aware that the addiction in my own family line plays a role in MY experience. if you spend responsibly, i don't care, good for you, this thread isn't for you.
since this is getting so much traction, i want to talk about the exact ways in which these gacha games ARE so predatory and how it's so easy to fall down the pit to outright addiction
the game dodges being accused of outright gambling by adding extra steps between your money and the virtual slot machine that churns out your gacha results. you buy "fake" currency instead, the actual monetary value of which is somewhat obfuscated
in most of these games, the "fake" currency also serves other gameplay functions like refilling stamina or unlocking inventory space, so it's not JUUUUUUST virtual slot coins that you can pay real money for! this is one way they obfuscate the real $ value of the in-game currency
when it comes to the characters, new ones are given a "rate up" chance, meaning you're more likely to pull that one from the virtual slots. you've been waiting for months for your favorite to finally be released. the "odds" "should" be "in your favor" then, right?
oh and your fave is "limited" so if you don't get them from the virtual slot machine now, you never will. this is basic FOMO (fear of missing out) and is the most overtly obvious way to bait people into spending cash to run the slots more times before they "miss their chance"
and even if they're not "limited" you have to fight against "non-rate up" odds to get them from the virtual slot machine. no more "rate up" but instead, typically, LESS THAN 1% CHANCE. but hey, 0.02% is still a chance! there's always a chance! /always a chance/
many games feature a "pity" mechanic (fan name for it which is much more accurate) where if you run the virtual slot machine enough times, you can just get the thing you want. maybe. if it's an option from a pre-set list of things you can get lol
the game takes pity on you for running the virtual slots over and over and over and over and failing to get the desired result, spending hundreds or thousands of "fake" currency (which, remember, can be converted to actual $ if you want to)
to achieve this "pity" it usually takes anywhere from 100 to 300 individual pulls on the slot machine depending on the game. if you were to outright buy enough "fake" currency to do this, it's usually upwards of $400-$800 USD to do this. this is the dollar amounts we're talking.
granblue fantasy got into hot hot water back in the day because a dude spent approx. SIX THOUSAND USD (700,000JPY) trying to get a "limited" character and did not get her. so they implemented the "spark" mechanic so now you only have to spend ~$800 (: how generous (:
yes this is real by the way https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granblue_Fantasy#Game_economy
oh, but you don't HAVE to BUY the "fake" currency. you can just *SAVE* the free stuff for months on end and get the thing!
if you know anything about addiction, you'll know this is impossible for people who are clinically addicted to do. this is 100% on purpose. by design.
if you know anything about addiction, you'll know this is impossible for people who are clinically addicted to do. this is 100% on purpose. by design.
new characters or items are specifically designed to powercreep older stuff so in order to continue progressing in the game, with increasingly difficult content, you are VERY COMPELLED to gear up with the shiny, new, "stronger" stuff, which you have a RATE UP CHANCE to get! (:
and of course the actual monetary value of these characters and items are obfuscated too. some things are more "RARE" than other things! so they MUST be more valuable, right?
it's completely arbitrary why one thing is "more rare" or "more valuable" than another
it's completely arbitrary why one thing is "more rare" or "more valuable" than another
oh! your favorite character of all time ever has a cute new outfit for halloween and IF YOU DON'T GET THEM NOW YOU NEVER WILL THEY'RE LIMITED EDITION AND VERY CUTE AND YOU LOVE THEM DON'T MISS OUT! HERE! DISCOUNT ON YOUR GEMS! GET MORE FOR YOUR MONEY! BUY BUY BUY! ROLL ROLL ROLL!
i love this character, and i don't want to miss out on this, you tell yourself.
there is always a chance i could get it, you tell yourself.
there's a rate up, the odds are better, you tell yourself.
just one more try. just one more. i'll get it this time, you tell yourself.
there is always a chance i could get it, you tell yourself.
there's a rate up, the odds are better, you tell yourself.
just one more try. just one more. i'll get it this time, you tell yourself.
it is so easy to convince yourself to do "one more" until it turns into 2 more, then 5 more, then 10 more... and what is it, exactly?
pulling the handle on a virtual slot machine. that's all that it is.
pulling the handle on a virtual slot machine. that's all that it is.
these games prey on the basic human desire to not "miss out" on things especially related to group activities. people want to fit in. people want to have what the cool kids have. it's how our brains work. some people's brains are better able to resist this than others.
children are very bad at resisting. these games target them by making the games "FREE" to play. because having a paywall right at the gate would bar many kids from ever starting. so it's free to download. also you get free "fake" currency when you start.
the first hit is free (:
the first hit is free (:
the characters are so cute, and you're a teenager or a young adult living through some shitty experiences, and these adorable characters fill you with such joy, the game is your hobby, you don't want to miss out on this, there's always a chance, the rate is up, /just one more/
i'm certainly not the first person to describe how this all works, but i feel like with my thread gaining speed, i wanted to really dig into this and fully illustrate how these games sink their addictive claws into vulnerable people. they bombard with temptation at every turn
and they rake in the millions by doing so: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2020/10/07/genshin-impact-has-had-an-astonishing-first-week-after-launch/?sh=6b11b19b6b83
if you read all of this, thank you.
