Brannock posted:

2) The skins and stuff are fine so far and Blizzard has their additional content on lockdown (we will never, ever see community-submitted content that hasn't been completely remade by the Blizzard team) so I don't think it's a concern, but this sort of poo poo is how Dota 2 and TF2 started out, even right down to people going "Yo stfu why are you worried about a few silly cosmetic items more HATZ gaben!!" and then a few years down the line the game goes F2P and any sense of visual coherency goes to poo poo. So I'm very slightly mildly concerned about what this stuff could become down the line.

Brannock posted:

I don't care about getting the skins or poses or emotes really. They're cool to look at but the novelty wears off very quickly. I'm happy with having my entire roster decked out in white and gold. I just hope they leave this stuff in Hero Gallery even after the event ends so I can flip through all the animations when I'm drunk and bored late at night instead of having to go dig up poorly compressed Youtube videos

That said

1) This sort of random chance "gambling" (call it whatever you want, I don't really care. I don't care either way about its legality either) is highly lucrative and is being implemented in practically every free-to-play game nowadays. It pulls in loads of money because it's psychologically exploitative. People might hem and haw about directly spending 5 dollars on Muscle Beauty Zarya but they're more likely to drop on thirty chests for a chance of getting that same Zarya skin.

There are a certain few people who are especially vulnerable to this and pour shocking amounts of money into this system in an attempt to collect everything. And, no, these people aren't only the rich people who can afford to toss away a few hundred. If you're posting on this forum then you're familiar with whales. This stuff can actually seriously affect their lives and finances.

2) The skins and stuff are fine so far and Blizzard has their additional content on lockdown (we will never, ever see community-submitted content that hasn't been completely remade by the Blizzard team) so I don't think it's a concern, but this sort of poo poo is how Dota 2 and TF2 started out, even right down to people going "Yo stfu why are you worried about a few silly cosmetic items more HATZ gaben!!" and then a few years down the line the game goes F2P and any sense of visual coherency goes to poo poo. So I'm very slightly mildly concerned about what this stuff could become down the line.

Supercar Gautier posted:

It's not as clear-cut as "just show some willpower" either. Some people who have addictive personalities know perfectly well that they do, try their best to keep it under control, and often succeed. That doesn't make it any more cool to poke and prod at the impulses they have.

Brannock posted:

and then a few years down the line the game goes F2P and any sense of visual coherency goes to poo poo. So I'm very slightly mildly concerned about what this stuff could become down the line.

Sharzak posted:

If a video game can make you spend hundreds of dollars that you can't afford and your family starves to death then you are literally mentally ill and should not play video games that offer that feature.

Sharzak posted:

Two teens shoot up a high school after training for it in DOOM: "well, actually, video games aren't the cause of the problem here, it's mental illness and video games are good and not real life and most people can differentiate between the two."

Blizzard Entertainment puts free skins into free lootboxes as a fun reward for playing the game: This predatory, completely unethical practice must be stopped! I need literally every mcree skin at the same time to feel whole. bideo game is real!!!

Sharzak posted:

If a video game can make you spend hundreds of dollars that you can't afford and your family starves to death then you are literally mentally ill and should not play video games that offer that feature.

Sharzak posted:

Two teens shoot up a high school after training for it in DOOM: "well, actually, video games aren't the cause of the problem here, it's mental illness and video games are good and not real life and most people can differentiate between the two."

Blizzard Entertainment puts free skins into free lootboxes as a fun reward for playing the game: This predatory, completely unethical practice must be stopped! I need literally every mcree skin at the same time to feel whole. bideo game is real!!!

Sharzak posted:

Hahahahahahahaha How The gently caress Is Free Skins Being Predatory Real Hahahaha Nigga Just Click Away From The Store Like Nigga Close Your Eyes Haha

Supercar Gautier posted:

You can't say a thing is bad, if that thing is a company literally giving away free poo poo (albeit at a rate that is personally distasteful to you)

Chewbot posted:

I skipped 200+ posts and we're still talking about ethics?

The debate about how much people should be allowed to harm themselves vs make their own decisions (drugs, alcohol, gambling, credit debt, MMOing while their baby is starving and they lose their job, etc) has been going on for much longer than games have had gambling, and has no one-size-fits-all answer.

Gambling will continue to be a thing until it stops being profitable, which is never. Publishers will continue to use this method because otherwise they are literally leaving money on the table. And publishers are in the business of making money over good games, although sometimes they manage both.

Unless a prohibition-era kind of social uprising happens against gambling, it aint going nowhere. Even then it'll slowly seep back into society eventually, because the human brain secretly loves gambling.

There, glad we resolved that issue.

Sharzak posted:

Ddraig posted:

When you're following the business practices of the crack dealer you probably don't have a leg to stand on from an ethical standpoint. I mean, they like to give out free samples too.

I guess I'm not really sure why people are batting for the multi-billion dollar conglomerate of Activision Blizzard. They're not your friends, even if Jeff Kaplan likes to pretend he is.

Neddy Seagoon posted:

It's more the distaste from Blizzard going "here's a special event for all the players" meaning "for the addicts dropping god-knows-how-much for a slim chance at four items" than the gambling itself.

Efexeye posted:

lol, i opened my free Games box and a purple pog flipped up.....150 credits

Neddy Seagoon posted:

It's more the distaste from Blizzard going "here's a special event for all the players" meaning "for the addicts dropping god-knows-how-much for a slim chance at four items" than the gambling itself.

Papercut posted:

Every one of these items is available by playing the game normally, though.

Neddy Seagoon posted:

In a three-week period to get the seasonal items before they go away, averaging maybe a level every two days or so if you're playing for a few hours a night? Not bloody likely .