Excitement in computer games, or is it possible to play minors
Do we control ourselves? Gamers show their example that no. The user reddit under the name Kensgold told and showed that he spent more than $ 13,000 on microtransactions in games for 6 years.
The first year he spent on buying bonuses and pumping heroes his pocket money and savings, then got a job at a restaurant to have money to play. Then he got a second job, and because of this, he almost left the school. He continued to spend his entire salary on microtransactions. At the same time, Kensgold always realized that he was wasting money on microtransactions, but he simply could not stop. When my mother tried to turn him off the Internet, he switched to games from a smartphone.
Even when he switched to Counter-Strike and Smite, in which in-game purchases do not affect the gameplay, he still continued to spend huge amounts of money on bonuses - he simply could not stop if the game had the possibility of in-game purchases and was not able to ignore. For Kensgold, the only way to stop addiction was to give up micropayments in general and seek professional help from a psychotherapist. "No one stops at the first purchase," says Kensgold.
Kensgold does not directly blame the studios and developers in its letter, but it calls to think about the influence on the fate of adolescents. Coincidentally, the day after the publication of the open letter Kensgold, Electronic Arts studio removed microtransactions from Star Wars Battlefront II. This happened a few hours before the global release of this multiplayer shooter. The direct reason for the cancellation of the purchase of game currency (crystals) was the protests of fans of the game for an unfair advantage from buyers. So it most likely is. But the Kensgold letter was addressed just to the EA studio and was placed in the StarWars Battlefron branch, and connecting lawyers to such cases against the background of a general bad PR background for the US is common and developers could easily decide not to tempt fate.
Moreover, Electronic Arts' dissatisfaction that has long been accumulating among players has not ended with the disconnection of direct monetization in Star Wars Battlefront II, now critics are calling on Disney to deprive the publisher of the rights to release Star Wars franchise games.
A little later, the topic was developed in a statement by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) group, which represents such large game companies as Nintendo, Microsoft, and Take-Two. The meaning of the statement is that buying in games cannot be considered a form of gambling entertainment, as they are a voluntary option. Including because according to their data :
Gambling is not a new phenomenon. The same situation was observed and is observed with slot machines. The computers here have changed almost nothing.
EA intends to return the micropayments to Star Wars Battlefront II when the scandal subsides, and the intention has this understandable economic reason. A few days before the Kensgold letter, another popular studio, Take-Two, decided to add microtranslations to all its new releases, since the possibility of making in-game purchases brings publishers more money than selling the games themselves.
Doctors definitely consider gambling addiction a disease and placed it in the main classifier of diseases. In the international classification of diseases ICD-10 “Pathological craving for gambling” is one of the diagnoses of psychological disorders.
The description of the diagnosis says that if a person has become a pathological player, then he will never, even after treatment, be able to return to what he started from: play “by a little”, “sometimes”, “for his own pleasure”. He will never be able to control his game, will not be able to play in such a way that it does not bring any problems to him and his real environment.
The first year he spent on buying bonuses and pumping heroes his pocket money and savings, then got a job at a restaurant to have money to play. Then he got a second job, and because of this, he almost left the school. He continued to spend his entire salary on microtransactions. At the same time, Kensgold always realized that he was wasting money on microtransactions, but he simply could not stop. When my mother tried to turn him off the Internet, he switched to games from a smartphone.
Even when he switched to Counter-Strike and Smite, in which in-game purchases do not affect the gameplay, he still continued to spend huge amounts of money on bonuses - he simply could not stop if the game had the possibility of in-game purchases and was not able to ignore. For Kensgold, the only way to stop addiction was to give up micropayments in general and seek professional help from a psychotherapist. "No one stops at the first purchase," says Kensgold.
Kensgold does not directly blame the studios and developers in its letter, but it calls to think about the influence on the fate of adolescents. Coincidentally, the day after the publication of the open letter Kensgold, Electronic Arts studio removed microtransactions from Star Wars Battlefront II. This happened a few hours before the global release of this multiplayer shooter. The direct reason for the cancellation of the purchase of game currency (crystals) was the protests of fans of the game for an unfair advantage from buyers. So it most likely is. But the Kensgold letter was addressed just to the EA studio and was placed in the StarWars Battlefron branch, and connecting lawyers to such cases against the background of a general bad PR background for the US is common and developers could easily decide not to tempt fate.
Moreover, Electronic Arts' dissatisfaction that has long been accumulating among players has not ended with the disconnection of direct monetization in Star Wars Battlefront II, now critics are calling on Disney to deprive the publisher of the rights to release Star Wars franchise games.
A little later, the topic was developed in a statement by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) group, which represents such large game companies as Nintendo, Microsoft, and Take-Two. The meaning of the statement is that buying in games cannot be considered a form of gambling entertainment, as they are a voluntary option. Including because according to their data :
- 67% of parents play video games with their children at least once a week.
- 71% of parents believe that video games have a positive effect on the life of their child.
Gambling is not a new phenomenon. The same situation was observed and is observed with slot machines. The computers here have changed almost nothing.
Here is the beginning of the letter of a typical igrozavisimogo pre-computer era with 15 years of experience, the loser money for his wedding:
"My name is Vadim. It started when I was in the 10th grade. We all went on an excursion to the city of Kaliningrad. My parents gave me 160 rubles for expenses, which was quite a lot in those Union years.
Every classmate went on excursions every day, had fun in hotel rooms, and my friend Borya sat for days and nights at the slot machines in the lobby on the first floor, sweaty and nervous. Upon arrival home for parents, I said that I spent the money on excursions. For a while, all this was forgotten.
After graduating from school, I enrolled in a military school and each of my dismissals took place in gaming establishments. Since I was a cadet, I lost a little, but - all that was in his pockets. At the end of the school every salary, before issuing money, I could not find a place for myself and, having received it, ran, headlong, into slot machines, not noticing anything and anyone in front of me. Losing everything, not even leaving on the road in public transport.
After a while I got married, but before the wedding, seized by a passion for gambling, I stole from my father the money set aside for the wedding.
Further on the link .
Every classmate went on excursions every day, had fun in hotel rooms, and my friend Borya sat for days and nights at the slot machines in the lobby on the first floor, sweaty and nervous. Upon arrival home for parents, I said that I spent the money on excursions. For a while, all this was forgotten.
After graduating from school, I enrolled in a military school and each of my dismissals took place in gaming establishments. Since I was a cadet, I lost a little, but - all that was in his pockets. At the end of the school every salary, before issuing money, I could not find a place for myself and, having received it, ran, headlong, into slot machines, not noticing anything and anyone in front of me. Losing everything, not even leaving on the road in public transport.
After a while I got married, but before the wedding, seized by a passion for gambling, I stole from my father the money set aside for the wedding.
Further on the link .
EA intends to return the micropayments to Star Wars Battlefront II when the scandal subsides, and the intention has this understandable economic reason. A few days before the Kensgold letter, another popular studio, Take-Two, decided to add microtranslations to all its new releases, since the possibility of making in-game purchases brings publishers more money than selling the games themselves.
Doctors definitely consider gambling addiction a disease and placed it in the main classifier of diseases. In the international classification of diseases ICD-10 “Pathological craving for gambling” is one of the diagnoses of psychological disorders.
The description of the diagnosis says that if a person has become a pathological player, then he will never, even after treatment, be able to return to what he started from: play “by a little”, “sometimes”, “for his own pleasure”. He will never be able to control his game, will not be able to play in such a way that it does not bring any problems to him and his real environment.
All Articles