5 ms·

Buying skins in a game is the same thing as buying fashionable/brand-name clothes. Gambling is different.

by kaibee 3y ago

mugwumprk 3y ago
I'm not in that industry, but if I was, I bet you could do something shady. Perhaps people who buy expensive skins have an increased chance of "luck" within the game. Critical hits may be more likely, more high quality gear drops. It's possible there isn't a clear line between gambling and fashion. At least, that's if the industry is unscrupulous, and I generally assume that describes most companies.
- Darmody 3y ago
  Having played a lot of games, if that was the case, it would be vox populi. In all gaming communities there are very smart people and if the damage output is important, they'll have it traced, if loot if important, it'll be traced too.
- mvdtnz 3y ago
  In the Call of Duty games if you purchase a premium skin the matchmaking algorithm tries to match you into servers where fewer (or no) players have that same skin, to increase the feeling of exclusivity. This is not a secret, Activision even patented the idea.
  - Terr_ 3y ago
    I wonder if anybody specifically gets "elite" skins to increase their odds of being matched against easier opponents.
wellthisisgreat 3y ago
Unless the skin is in a lootbox
meristohm 3y ago
I was a Hearthstone whale on a small scale relative to wealthier people and a large scale relative to my family's annual income. I wanted certain gold cards (rarer) for aesthetic reasons in my decks, and shortly before I quit all Blizzard games (for the slot machines they are, to me) I bought fifty packs just to get enough dust to craft the golden legendary I wanted. I did something similar with World of Warcraft, buying a level boost that I ended up not using, just to "round out my character list." It was a low point in my life and I will never go back to that behavior. I recognize these games can be used and enjoyed responsibly, just not by me and that's okay.
- supertofu 3y ago
  This comment made me chuckle. Because I am a sober alcoholic. One of the things I remind myself all the time is: "It's wonderful that people can enjoy alcohol in moderation. I am not one of them."
- wickedsickeune 3y ago
  It makes me sad that you can't play quite good games, just because predatory monetization has ruined them. It's not your fault, it's just the world we live in.
  - meristohm 3y ago
    Hearthstone helped me get over my regret about selling all my Magic: the Gathering cards. I played Magic on the school bus in the 90s, had a lot of fun trading and making decks, and eventually sold it all because I didn't make the effort to find people to play with. Hearthstone lowered that barrier significantly, and I still consider it an excellent game, aside from the predatory/monetary trappings. I might still play it if it could be done with real magic at my dinner table with friends, for a one-time flat fee or for the caloric cost to summon all the components, assuming some reasonable magic system. As it is now, I like playing Cribbage with my wife, and am looking forward to teaching our daughter how to play Chess, Go, Backgammon, Arimaa, and any other game that isn't packaged in a predatory wrap.
    - 3y ago
nylonstrung 3y ago
Yeah it's exactly like buying Gucci, except if it was dispensed in a slot machine and you had to spin it 100 times to get the clothes you want. And the odds of the machine were rigged and personalized to you, which is illegal in real gambling
- pests 3y ago
  Overwatch and almost all modern games moved past the lootbox mechanic because that was getting too close to many countries gambling laws. Now you just buy what you want. Like you go into a store and buy a Gucci wallet. You go into the Overwatch store and buy the latest One Piece Collab. No slot machine or anything.
  - intelVISA 3y ago
    Regarding RMT, I think Valve did the master play with their proto-NFT marketplace stuff, really ahead of the curve.
  - TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
    The Overwatch store is in your living room and available 24/7, before/during/after intense gameplay.
    - Miiko 3y ago
      Do you know that Gucci has on-line store, also available 24/7 from your living room?
      - tekknik 3y ago
        Gucci isn’t affordable by many, a $30 skin is. Plus the overwatch skin is digital, you can’t resell it nor does it mean anything in the real world. Not the same.
        pests 3y ago
        What do either od those have to do with anything?
nobodyandproud 3y ago
> Buying skins in a game is the same thing as buying fashionable/brand-name clothes. Gambling is different. It’s not a good fit either: A game company can terminate your account and you lose it all. Depending on the game, but in some you also cannot resell or transfer your skins. Therefore the only thing of value is the account, but terms of service also make this a non-starter. What’s consistent here is that the business model revolves around feeding and addiction and relying in said addicts (aka, whales).
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
candiddevmike 3y ago
Buying skins from the skinner box
Tarball10 3y ago
You can resell clothes. You can't resell skins in most games, including Overwatch.
stjohnswarts 3y ago
People can be addicted to games as well, and spend thousands of [insert monetary units], tons of such cases on Eve and simple mobile "pay-to-play" freemium games. Probably not on the scale of addictive gambling it's definitely no insignificant.

Buying skins in a game is the same thing as buying fashionable/brand-name clothes. Gambling is different.

by kaibee 3y ago

Buying skins in a game is the same thing as buying fashionable/brand-name clothes. Gambling is different.

I'm not in that industry, but if I was, I bet you could do something shady. Perhaps people who buy expensive skins have an increased chance of "luck" within the game. Critical hits may be more likely, more high quality gear drops. It's possible there isn't a clear line between gambling and fashion. At least, that's if the industry is unscrupulous, and I generally assume that describes most companies.

Darmody 3y ago
Having played a lot of games, if that was the case, it would be vox populi. In all gaming communities there are very smart people and if the damage output is important, they'll have it traced, if loot if important, it'll be traced too.
mvdtnz 3y ago
In the Call of Duty games if you purchase a premium skin the matchmaking algorithm tries to match you into servers where fewer (or no) players have that same skin, to increase the feeling of exclusivity. This is not a secret, Activision even patented the idea.
- Terr_ 3y ago
  I wonder if anybody specifically gets "elite" skins to increase their odds of being matched against easier opponents.

wellthisisgreat 3y ago

Unless the skin is in a lootbox

meristohm 3y ago

I was a Hearthstone whale on a small scale relative to wealthier people and a large scale relative to my family's annual income. I wanted certain gold cards (rarer) for aesthetic reasons in my decks, and shortly before I quit all Blizzard games (for the slot machines they are, to me) I bought fifty packs just to get enough dust to craft the golden legendary I wanted. I did something similar with World of Warcraft, buying a level boost that I ended up not using, just to "round out my character list." It was a low point in my life and I will never go back to that behavior. I recognize these games can be used and enjoyed responsibly, just not by me and that's okay.

supertofu 3y ago
This comment made me chuckle. Because I am a sober alcoholic. One of the things I remind myself all the time is: "It's wonderful that people can enjoy alcohol in moderation. I am not one of them."
wickedsickeune 3y ago
It makes me sad that you can't play quite good games, just because predatory monetization has ruined them. It's not your fault, it's just the world we live in.
- meristohm 3y ago
  Hearthstone helped me get over my regret about selling all my Magic: the Gathering cards. I played Magic on the school bus in the 90s, had a lot of fun trading and making decks, and eventually sold it all because I didn't make the effort to find people to play with. Hearthstone lowered that barrier significantly, and I still consider it an excellent game, aside from the predatory/monetary trappings. I might still play it if it could be done with real magic at my dinner table with friends, for a one-time flat fee or for the caloric cost to summon all the components, assuming some reasonable magic system. As it is now, I like playing Cribbage with my wife, and am looking forward to teaching our daughter how to play Chess, Go, Backgammon, Arimaa, and any other game that isn't packaged in a predatory wrap.
  - 3y ago

nylonstrung 3y ago

Yeah it's exactly like buying Gucci, except if it was dispensed in a slot machine and you had to spin it 100 times to get the clothes you want. And the odds of the machine were rigged and personalized to you, which is illegal in real gambling

pests 3y ago
Overwatch and almost all modern games moved past the lootbox mechanic because that was getting too close to many countries gambling laws. Now you just buy what you want. Like you go into a store and buy a Gucci wallet. You go into the Overwatch store and buy the latest One Piece Collab. No slot machine or anything.
- intelVISA 3y ago
  Regarding RMT, I think Valve did the master play with their proto-NFT marketplace stuff, really ahead of the curve.
- TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
  The Overwatch store is in your living room and available 24/7, before/during/after intense gameplay.
  - Miiko 3y ago
    Do you know that Gucci has on-line store, also available 24/7 from your living room?
    - tekknik 3y ago
      Gucci isn’t affordable by many, a $30 skin is. Plus the overwatch skin is digital, you can’t resell it nor does it mean anything in the real world. Not the same.
      - pests 3y ago
        What do either od those have to do with anything?

nobodyandproud 3y ago

> Buying skins in a game is the same thing as buying fashionable/brand-name clothes. Gambling is different. It’s not a good fit either: A game company can terminate your account and you lose it all. Depending on the game, but in some you also cannot resell or transfer your skins. Therefore the only thing of value is the account, but terms of service also make this a non-starter. What’s consistent here is that the business model revolves around feeding and addiction and relying in said addicts (aka, whales).

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

candiddevmike 3y ago

Buying skins from the skinner box

Tarball10 3y ago

You can resell clothes. You can't resell skins in most games, including Overwatch.

stjohnswarts 3y ago

People can be addicted to games as well, and spend thousands of [insert monetary units], tons of such cases on Eve and simple mobile "pay-to-play" freemium games. Probably not on the scale of addictive gambling it's definitely no insignificant.