I'm getting a bad Gateway. So, the #1 thing should be (although it doesn't look like it from the comments): Predatory pricing and marketing, with the sole aim

I'm getting a bad Gateway. So, the #1 thing should be (although it doesn't look like it from the comments): Predatory pricing and marketing, with the sole aim of encouraging and monetizing addiction. The amount of multi-phase psychological manipulation in many mobile games, and now those in "AAA" games, is on an accelerating curve. For the console/AAA, a game was a one-time-purchase, and perhaps an expansion. Then came monthly fees with MMOs, then came microtransactions. Then came Machine Zone games with PlayToWin. Addict, then extract. Use social engineering, sunk cost fallacy, constant devaluation treadmills, employee superpowered players to cause conflict, strife, stress, bully, and extract money to survive, false communities. Slot machine mechanics and payoff ratios. Timers with no regard for sleep cycles. Sure some games were always pushing the envelope, but what is appalling is that the App Stores from Google and Apple feature and promote these "games", and establish no boundaries for the conduct within. This outrageous behavior is officially condoned. Children's games are loaded with inappropriate ads, inexcusable amounts of addictive elements to get the parents to shell out money for the paid version. I contrast this with old standards for children's TV programming, and physical toys, games, and products. This is a sick, sad, manipulative, dangerous, morally depraved business. And I want to emphasize: I've played video games since the Apple II. I don't see how things can continue without regulation like TV standards and toy safety standards. This is not an isolated phenomenon to bad actors like MZ. There are thousands of reprehensible games on the app stores and AAA games are all moving to "revenue models" like this. Edit: I got a cached version. These are comments from what I guess will be the "golden generation": when revenue wasn't good enough to employ an army of MBAs to direct games into revenue model hell, when the limited budget had to be spent on artist and programmer to even have a chance of success. And that's what I fear: all games aren't games anymore, for the sake of entertainment. Now they are ongoing revenue models to be refined, enhanced, protected, A/B tested, and focus grouped.