Gambling and Gaming: How Some Games Actively Seek A Player’s Addiction
Note: This is an article transcript of a Youtube Video. https://youtu.be/m_2Rhr42jUQ
According to Wired, approximately 1/3 of the entire population on earth, 2.4 billion people around the world, are gamers. A gamer is defined as someone who plays games on an electronic device[1]. This demographic includes people who play on either a smartphone, a video game console or a personal computer. Gaming is also far from a fast fad, as the expected number of gamers is estimated to increase 3 billion by the year 2023.[2]
So why is gaming so popular? Well, depending on the game, some could argue that it’s due to the immersive, interactive, narrative enjoyment it brings the user. The ability to make meaningful impact within the gaming world leaves a lasting impression on the player— but are all games really about offering an amazing experience?
Today, I’m going to look at Gambling and Gaming: How Some Games Actively Seek A Player’s Addiction.
In recent years, gaming companies have been making more games for the sole purpose of being addictive and taking more of a player’s money. How can I say this? Well, within the past two weeks of recording this video, another story of gaming addiction went viral.
A Youtuber named Michael Tash spent $7200 Canadian dollars on “Genshin Impact”, a game with microtransactions and gambling-like principles, where players spend real money at the chance of getting a rare in-game character. [3] Michael Tash spoke out about his comments he was getting from playing the game. People online were telling him that he was heavily addicted and had a gambling addiction all together. Michael came to realize this for himself, in which he decided to quit the game all together. He called the game “predatory” and told his viewers he would no longer promote the toxic tactics used in the game.
So what exactly did Genshin Impact do? And in a more general sense, what techniques do games implement that could be considered as predatory to some? And last, is it ethical for the games to do this?
So first, what do games do to promote addicting and gambling like techniques to keep players hooked.
In the case of “Genshin Impact”, the game uses a “gacha” system, a system that mimics a vending machine and offers a random chance for a rare prize in the game. This is almost an exact parallel to a modern casino slot machine, in which the player pays a seemingly small fee at the chance to win big. The Gacha system also employs the “near miss effect”, a concept that makes the player believe they almost won big on their payment and urges them to spin the slot machine again. [5] It’s a proven gambling tactic that keeps gamblers hooked on the idea that they will win at some point and that they should keep trying.
In the province of Ontario, to enter a Casino and participate in using a slot machine, you must be at least 19 years of age or only. [6] This ensures that the user is a consenting adult who has made the decision to participate in gambling, knowing the dangers of gambling addiction. However, in the case of Genshin Impact, the restriction on the user’s account 13 years of age, with no id or verification done on the age restriction. That means that through this game, anyone of any age can participate in the gambling of real world currency.
Additionally, in the case of the Youtuber Michael Tash, he actively turned to his platform to speak up about the wrongful gambling tactics promoted in the fighting free to play game, Genshin Impact. In response, one of his accounts were banned and he was banned from the Discord and Reddit for opening up the conversation on unethical tactics in games. [4]
So, it’s clear by the lack of transparency from Genshin Impact and the lack of discussion that it creates around the game was extremely unethical, but due to the current laws on games right now, everything they did was completely legal. They have the right to market their game to younger audiences and to ban players from their platforms.
But Genshin Impact just one game making the entire gaming community look bad?
Here is a list of the top 10 most popular games by search results for Feb 2019. [7] Of the 10 in the list, 5 of them are free to play with microtransactions. So let’s look at some of the more popular games to see if we can find anything unethical.
Let’s look a far more popular game and see if the practices of the game are ethical.
(alright, let’s see what the hype is about)
The top game in Feb 2019, Fortnite, is a free to play shooter from the Epic Games. The main style of gameplay is a battle royale, where 100 players fight to be the last alive. [8] According to PEGI, it is suitable for players of ages12 and up, with again, no id verification done. Hence realistically, players of any age can play Fortnite. It it marketed to an extremely young audience, as Newzoo found that 53% of Fortnite players are ages 10 to 25, with approximately 25% of players being under 18. It’s month after month one of the highest viewed categories on Twitch and Youtube and this list of wild statistics goes on and on.
However, the question is, is Fortnite safe for a younger audience or those who are susceptible to gambling practices?
An alarming Fortune article explains that while the game is technically completely free to play, 68.8% of players have spent money on the game and the average amount spent on Fortnite is $84.67[11]. That should ring bells immediantly. So what does Fortnite do to keep players hooked?
Fortnite markets V-Bucks a digital in-game currency that comes from spending real world money. Sounds a bit familiar to poker chips… It also takes a similar technique as Genshin Impact, in which the game utilizes loot boxes. By spending a few V-Bucks, you have a random chance of get a rare in game cosmetic that will really bump up your social standing in school. Additionally, Fortnite uses a variable reinforcement ratio upon leveling up, so it gives the player something completely different every time they level up. A variable reinforcement ratio has been proven to be the best at getting players hook faster and for a longer period of time.[10]
If you weren’t convinced already, Fortnite uses daily login rewards to keep the players logged on daily. They use in game seasons, sponsored marketing tactics, copious amounts of sales and deals in the V-Bucks store. The list of manipulative psychological warfare used in Fortnite goes on and on and it works!
Fortnite works so well that it’s become a cultural phenomonon. I remember that I spent $5 on a Fortnite Battle Pass in high school, because my gamer friends were calling me a “default”.
In addition to Fortnite, there are so many other games that use lootboxes and other gambling like techniques. Actually, all top 5 free to play games that were most popular in Feb of 2019 have loot boxes!
Because these games are so new, so massive and are played around the world, lawmakers have yet to catch up to regulating and restricting gambling in video games. But there are still things, you as the player can do to not fall pray to these deceptive tactics.
If you are concerned about yourself or any gamers in your life getting hooked on video game gambling, here are a few tips to help play smart.
Something that you can do to protect yourself from video game gambling is to be aware of any microtransactions in games you play. The reason why gambling in Canada and many other countries is allowed because of the transparency of information casinos offer. Unfortunately the policies on games being transparent isn’t so clear.
To see if the game you are playing has microtransactions is check out a website like microtransaction.zone and type in the game you are thinking about playing. This website offers a breakdown of the different microtransaction flags to keep in mind before playing a game. It also goes into detail about potential dangers about the microtransactions, such as if the game has an upper limit on how much you can spend.
Not looking so great Fortnite…
Additionally, if you play games on Steam, head to the store page of your favourite game, and it will tell you on the front page if the game has any microtransactions.
Now, while microtransactions may be a nice way to support game developers, if someone you know who is either underage or easily susceptible to getting hooked, try to limit the games you play with microtransactions. Additionally, make sure you don’t have your credit card information on the account to avoid easy purchases. If you do spend money on the game, consider where that transaction is in the scope of your gameplay. Will this transaction make you happy for just one month or for the entirety of your play on the game? Would this transaction prompt for more transactions, like loot boxes or monthly game passes? And lastly, how happy does the game genuinely make you? Are you only buying it because you’ve reached the highest free-to-play level? Do you find yourself simply logging in everyday due to habit or do you really want to play the game?
These are all important and meaningful things to consider given the current state of gambling in video games. I hope messages like these will prompt lawmakers and game developers to consider the dangers of gambling in video games. My aim is for lawmakers to put down more serious warnings and age restrictions on games with microtransactions and for video game developers to never create a game that is designed empty a wallet. Thanks for watching.
SOURCES:
1: Wired Article: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/worldwide-gamers-billion-players#:~:text=There%20are%20now%20more%20than,over%20250%20million%20registered%20users
2:https://www.statista.com/statistics/748044/number-video-gamers-world/
3:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsjEIuwywuc&ab_channel=Mtashed
4:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3-H8scKp_0&ab_channel=Mtashed
5: https://www.psychologyofgames.com/2016/09/the-near-miss-effect-and-game-rewards/#:~:text=In%20the%20psychology%20of%20gambling,And%20they%20often%20do.
6: https://about.olg.ca/responsible-gambling/
7:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU19OFZ0vz4&ab_channel=LatosCharts
8:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortnite
9.https://www.businessofapps.com/data/fortnite-statistics/
10. https://gamequitters.com/are-video-games-addictive/
11.https://fortune.com/2018/06/27/fortnite-average-spending/
