‘No way out’: how video games use tricks from gambling to attract big spenders

Re:‘No way out’: how video games use tricks from gambling to... by tiltowait on Wednesday July 19, 2023 @12:54PM (#36789517)

CCGs are a pale shadow to these gambling games. Beyond that, I think there are some important differences:

* There's no "free". You must spend money at the outset in order to play. This sets precedent and expectations.

* There's a physical good involved. You always get something, and you've got total freedom with how you use it. You can play it, sell it, trade it, turn it into an origami crane, use it as a proxy for a different card, etc.

* Because people can sell cards, this means you can simply buy the exact cards you want without resorting to randomized packs.

* Buying a randomized pack is a much more involved—both physically and psychologically—process compared to an IAP. At your local game shop, you have to go up to the counter, ask for one or more packs, and hand over your money/card. If you want more, you have to do it all over again. With an IAP, you just tap the "OK" button.

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Re:‘No way out’: how video games use tricks from gambling to... by xxr on Wednesday July 19, 2023 @05:21PM (#36793604)

Additionally:

* Once the bottom falls out, bag-holders get burned, but the collective nightmare is over.

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Re:‘No way out’: how video games use tricks from gambling to... by jncfhnb on Wednesday July 19, 2023 @07:06PM (#36794765)

I think the scale is also different. You can’t quite formulate a CCG game that requires 10 copies of charizard to be strong (counterexamples abound for sure). you can’t drip feed 2 new characters every couple of weeks while still doling out the same trash that you’ve been giving since day 1 99% of the time.

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Re:‘No way out’: how video games use tricks from gambling to... by johnnyanmac on Thursday July 20, 2023 @12:12AM (#36796813)

>Because people can sell cards, this means you can simply buy the exact cards you want without resorting to randomized packs.

that's actually one reason TCG markets don't get cateforized. They don't have a "market price" for any one card. They let the fans set that. There are plenty of 3rd party market places where you can buy a specific card but you'll never find the company endorsing them. They only sell booster packs for a set value. They can give lists of what's in a booster pack and even categorize them by rarity, but they never actually give the card a price.

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