Research Results: Predatory Monetisation in Games

Honestly, I never understood why this is even a topic. Yes, for children perhaps it could be. But for adults? We have complete agency over our lives. You can choose to ignore all the advertisements or not. Say someone tries to get me to start smoking, and I decline. Now say 100 people try to get me to start smoking, and 1 of those 100 is extremely compelling to the point that I decide to start. In both situations I’m no more or less of a victim. And that 1 or 100 aren’t any more or less predatory. I own my choices. And so do they. That’s all it is. These attempts to qualify it as predatory are just an attempt to strip choice out of the equation, and I won’t have it.

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sbowen223 wrote:

Honestly, I never understood why this is even a topic. Yes, for children perhaps it could be. But for adults? We have complete agency over our lives. You can choose to ignore all the advertisements or not. Say someone tries to get me to start smoking, and I decline. Now say 100 people try to get me to start smoking, and 1 of those 100 is extremely compelling to the point that I decide to start. In both situations I’m no more or less of a victim. And that 1 or 100 aren’t any more or less predatory. I own my choices. And so do they. That’s all it is. These attempts to qualify it as predatory are just an attempt to strip choice out of the equation, and I won’t have it.

Good point, too many people refuse to take responsibility for their choices and want to blame someone else.

it's like a kopo thread, but interesting!

I make my own points. People who don't understand them don't deserve a reply. If you actually think you can teach someone something on an internet forum, you've more faith in humanity than I do.

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Exile009 wrote:

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rekikyo wrote:

Now I own most MTX on POE, including most combinations

Cool! You should partner up with Nervyr then, put that stuff to use - https://youtu.be/g8oGaqIu8tc

It might save him some money, while still helping the community.

I never said I was proud of it. I was discussing the evolution of a spender.

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sbowen223 wrote:

Honestly, I never understood why this is even a topic. Yes, for children perhaps it could be. But for adults? We have complete agency over our lives. You can choose to ignore all the advertisements or not. Say someone tries to get me to start smoking, and I decline. Now say 100 people try to get me to start smoking, and 1 of those 100 is extremely compelling to the point that I decide to start. In both situations I’m no more or less of a victim. And that 1 or 100 aren’t any more or less predatory. I own my choices. And so do they. That’s all it is. These attempts to qualify it as predatory are just an attempt to strip choice out of the equation, and I won’t have it.

You really give people too much credit.

Ok... back on topic. The reason this thread got derailed is that the main topic itself is so faulty. It presumes that all forms of monetisation are predatory. It's a collection of anecdotes about why people are disgruntled about having to pay for a service, and it proports to be done for the good of humanity.

The best response to such hogwash is to derail it.

The claim that everyone has equal agency is comically absurd. It's like saying things like addiction don't exist. Obviously people have more or less agency depending on their situation and attributes. And don't move the goalposts and say it's "their fault" for being addicted to gambling or whatever, as if "fault" matters when it comes to whether people have agency or whatnot.

The loot boxes that PoE offers strike many similarities with gambling and I don't like them as such. However, my biggest beef with PoE in particular is the giant supporter packs with payment plans. I don't mind some middle class person paying for them, if they're the type to actually have thousands of dollars of luxury money. I'm concerned with poorer people getting stuck in debt and having to pay loads of interest. It's a step away from those horrific payday loans, which are the pinnacle of exploitative and predatory.

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Shardbearer wrote:

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kaijyuu2 wrote:

My luxury money goes to my vice: sugary soft drinks.

Gotta have my dr pepper.

Hello fellow Texan.

it is widely available outside of Texas *raises a glass*