The P2W (and Loot Box) Reckoning

Rovio might find this interesting. Hell! If it prompts a positive change I might even return from my 7 month BB hiatus.

https://www.dangerous.com/37111/law...in-video-games-following-gambling-complaints/

 

Interesting article, I think this could apply perfectly to BB also:
"Lee echoed his sentiments, calling the game a “Star Wars-themed online casino designed to lure kids into spending money. It’s a trap.”"

 

@TheAntiSnipe

Here's something I wrote on the forums in May (around the time I quit BB). I identified the gambling issue back when the v2.0 update was released. I haven't played the game since then but I would be very surprised if anything has changed.
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Despite advice from BB's loyal player group, the Devs went ahead and completely sold out.

Devs, as gamers yourself, how does it feel to have perpetuated the evil that is freemium mobile games?

They created a great game! Congratulations! However it has been immersed in a greedy culture, forever ruining any gaming legacy.

The soft launch successfully created a group of high level players, a target for those that picked up the game a little later.

The Devs then made that target impossible to reach for new players by:
1. Removing the option to buy item duplicates in the shop
2. Introducing an extra requirement for upgrades in the form of power cells
3. Creating a parts system that renders most scraped items as useless in the form of common anduncommon parts

Everything became RNG. The game became just another form of gambling.

The Devs played it perfectly. Now the game is global and we have the whales spending thousands of dollars to get their legendaries within days of picking up the game. Soon to overtake the OGs of the game, not by skill or time spent playing, but purely because of cash money.

What an insult.

Can the Devs really sleep easy at night knowing that some players are spending $1500 to obtain a single item in BB? Can they really justify the pricing system in BB knowing that someone can buy a console gamelike Destiny or COD or GTA for $80 and have access to every weapon, and every player class, and ongoing playability etc?

There is no level playing field anymore. The high level players will never be caught by someone like myselfwho was willing to spend $100 over the next year to help reach the end game.

The end game in BB is a myth.

I wait in anticipation for this new player base to hit Lvl20 and realise all the issues with this game that we all tried to warn the Devs about. The mass exodus will be a classic "I told you so" moment.

Dear Devs, from one gamer to another... you done messed up A-A-Ron.

Peace out.
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-28/pay-to-win-gaming-features-look-like-gambling/9201386

I hope something will be done soon to eradicate such evil means from this society!

 

For an average f2p player loosing % is more than winning %.

 

Devs. This is a major issue.
The article posted link above. Points out that Battle Front 2 ran afoul of many countries video game gambling rule being marketed to minors. The reason for it. It costed extra money, not time to even get Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader.
EU games listened to the outcry and also to Disney's lawyers telling them it was illegal. And made changes.
Now as for BB....we don't even have the option to pick the legendary weapon we want. At all. Think about this. Never ever able to choose Luke Skywalker. Ie Sniper Cannon Legendary. No. Being forced into the roulette wheel by the devs.
This is a money grab. And a big international law break to force this gamble.
All weapons should be able to be purchased once any time for a price. All weapons should be able to be duplicated at any time for a price. And there should also be a reasonable free to play arc to finish to level 50. These things are lacking in BB.
Last thing. Don't think because I mentioned international law that this won' hit BB and developers in the USA. It will.
Any BB player in Hawaii knows the the attorney general there is investigating all online video games that use this gambling style purchase model. From battle front to ,coc, and any player can draw conclusion that BB is running afoul of the right side of the coming legal lines.

I write this here devs to hope you make real changes to this game. Since latest batch of rollback, and nerfs.... I no longer spend money. Realizing it doesn' get me what I want to accomplish in the game. A little hint solve the above with the legendary weapon choice and duplicates. And I would open up 1k instantly. There are many players like me.
Not spending until fundamental gambling issues in the game are changed.

 

You express everything i raged about this game and more.

 

Here's more...
One of my longest standing threads with the most replies:
https://forum.battlebay.net/threads/current-shop-system-does-it-suck.151/

Rovio's Battle Bay is among the worst / highest seen in mobile gaming pricing. Here's a calculation I did, by no means is it 100% accurate, but it puts it in the approximate ballpark:
https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebay/comments/7d6n45/unlocking_everything_in_battle_bay_requires_330k/

I've advocated this before with the Shop system being insanely priced, and one of the main reasons why I have quit.

Rovio's pricing makes EA's Battlefront II actually look good, which is completely amazing considering that this game is not anything as close as the ladder in terms of content.

This game is severely gimped by it's pricing model, the player base is tiny because the mid-level drop-off is massive. Not a lot of people from Free-to-play or Pay-to-progress make past level 30.

Note to DEVs, don't you DARE to lock or delete this thread.

 

It’s ok anyone can use the power of ok.

Edit: Ok (To this thread)

 

I see this issue becoming very contentious in the future. From personal experience, I see no difference in Video Game addiction to other forms of addiction. Take a look at how video games effect you physically, monetarily, and socially, and you will see similarities to alcoholism, drug addiction, and gambling. Always live within your means, but if you feel you have a problem, Seek Help! There are free community programs that you can talk to.
On the flip side, blaming Rovio for making a product that people want to spend money on is not the answer. It's called a smart business model, and they only charge what the customer is willing to pay.

 

Yeah, I think this comment pretty much sums up why I play only for the daily quests. Thanks for making this, @D3X .

(This comment is located after a few scrolls under D3X’s Reddit post.)

 

You guys aren't taking in that the game in the report costs $60

Battle Bay is free to download

 

Pokerstars is free to download as well.

I spent just over $100 whilst playing BB for about 6 months during soft launch. V2.0 dropped and made it so I got no where near end game, I lost the choice of how I would be rewarded for spending money, I was at a disadvantage to people who spent more money than me AND I still had to watch advertisements.

Your "BB is free" argument doesn't hold water.

 

You're gambling money for money on that game though. You don't have to spend any money on this game and you're only gambling for items for yourself, not profits.

If you choose to pay money on a poorly developed game by cheap company for quicker items that's on you, they are not obligating you to

 

Good to see you're still fighting the good fight mate!

I'd honestly forgot all about BB and this forum until I got a notification of an old thread bump. We had some good rants earlier this year you and me @D3X

 

You're correct. It is the choice of consumers whether or not they spend money on BB or Pokerstars. The issue is that you are 100% aware that you are gambling when you sit down at a poker table.

Where these games (and BB) are getting criticized is that the RNG rewards that provide players with advantages over others are not advertised as gambling when they clearly are.

For example, you play exclusively as a Speeder. You buy a pearl package and one of two outcomes could occur:
1. An Epic sniper cannon drops - Great! Score! This will help me. I have gained an advantage.
2. An epic Healing Pulse drops - What the hell am I going to do with this?

There are emotional highs and lows. There is anticipation waiting to open a chest. There is the endorphin dump when you score the item you needed. It's gambling disguised as a video game. No room for debate.

 

I absolutely agree with some posts here, this is a very important topic to discuss. To me - and I believe to many others with equally limited income - this uncertainty about purchases has made me to stop spending at all. Simply cannot spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars and face the risk that even then I might not get the item I was actually looking for. And I'm talking about epics here, not even the highest tier of legendary items - yes, you can literally spend 100 000 pearls on epic containers and still not find the very item you were trying to get. Yeah, you sure found 30 other epic items that may or may not be useful to any of your setups but you still didn't find the one epic cannon you were trying to get. THIS MAKES YOU FEEL YOU FLUSHED MONEY DOWN THE TOILET even if you now have your inventory full of unwanted epic items.

Sadly I'm pretty sure that nothing is going to change because long before these changes were actually implemented some financial advisor already told them this system makes more money overall. I do not doubt it, they are probably right, but unfortunately it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for those customers who can not afford it.

 

This said Financial Advisor also took a gamble on what he thought would be a bigger game base of players. I don't think the current number of players is what Rovio expected.