Nothing new and not just AAA games. Articles were written years ago about how Zynga used psychologists to make their games as addictive as possible.

@@downsjmmyjones101 Including any of Zynga's smaller companies?

Theyre triple f companies tbh

Seriously, we should call the AAA Industry FFF industry

@@internatushereticus7891 FFF sounds about right. Fuck the Fucking Fuckers.

And we don't ban alcohol or gambling because a small minority of users cannot control themselves. As we shouldn't.

The 'optional' cry of AAA isn't used to say that people won't get addicted. It's used in order to set up legal distance from those whose lives are ruined. "Not our fault! It's optional!"

Kanatatsu L no we don’t. What we do is: age restrict, plaster the products with warnings, limit who can sell it, and put tons of restrictions on their ability to advertise. Just to name a few.

@@kanatatsul8399 but we do regulate the hell out of it.

@@dexaci9956 imagine them serving six packs at your local elementary school.

With her winnings i bet she could afford Porygon.

Dude you are awesome 👏🏻

In computer security we have the concept of patches and the concept of _mitigations._ When problems are so deeply rooted there is no way to fix them quickly enough, you mitigate. Get in the way to get the destructive effects under control as you fix the hole in the system. It's what Microsoft's updates to Windows represented when Spectre and Meltdown were discovered. Only Intel can update the architecture of their hardware in their future processors, release microcode updates for OEMs to include into their firmwares and BIOSes, and truly fix the errors Meltdown and Spectre are based on. But in the meantime, Microsoft can just force their system _not to use the vulnerable feature in the potentially destructive manner._

@@suniface71 I'm proud of you and I hope your life is better you deserve happiness.

That is genuinely so sweet, it makes me feel a little sense of joy and victory. I don't smile as often as I should, but you made me smile. It's a story that I will definitely remember for the rest of my life. Not even lying, it might come in handy. That little anecdote is very educational and says a lot about us. Afterthought: Someone could make a good childrens' story with this. With a moral of the story, and an actual lesson to it.

Actively pushing at someone's boundaries. _"Hey you! You are not an Idiot, so you_ Will _buy _*_this great deal._*_ Yes, like that. See? Didn't that feel good? Spending money in my game is okay. You can spend some more if you want."_ ....At least drug dealers are transparent about it being addictive.

"Break their wall!" = "Break their WILL."

I doubt he knows the difference.

Coercion is to persuade through force or threats. The tactic you're referencing, while insidious, is not coercion. It's a form of psychological manipulation and a variation of the "foot in the door" sales technique.

This is the same method drug pushers use to get new customers and pimps use to get women into prostitution.

Chris Holben as someone who works in the cafeteria in a elementary slash middle school, i see it too, and me being young to have seen where it’s started is sickening

That's awful! Is the problem addressed in your school?

What the actual fuck?

That's what they (Corps) want.

As a high school student i claim that we dont care about fortnite, I personally like to make fun of those who still play the game as of(current year). But that is me, a teen from a country that most likely isnt yours.

The issue is the first one isn't free. Theyre trying to pull this shit in games you bought for $60.

@@StrikeWarlock That's not really the point, the game is just transportation to the microtransactions, it makes no difference if you took a bus or a cab to the dealer just what the dealer is offering. This is even more true bow that they have combined the live service model with, oh we didn't finish the game with but we will if you buy our microtransactions while we do.

Game publishers have literally become digital drug dealers, but for kids.

No, the hook part implies the first payment. Listen to Torulf; it's a good deal that helps crossing the paywall.

It is, and it's sad but also funny on a level how people mind that when drug-dealers do it, but if gaming companies do it they go all "But it's not bad, it's optioooonaaaaal". Yeah? So is buying heroine, you can just choose not to be addicted and not buy it, no?

Thank you for this comment

We got a reddit tankie everyone.

and people think hacking is bad. I got gta v for free, made 2 billion in GTA online in just one week and the kick was unimaginable. The sheer kick of i just fucked a corporation right in the arse was so good it almost made me cum

Banks should have a way to report welfare concerns like that - maybe give out information so that customers can contact mental health services

This is what happen when you dont gatekeep and reject standards of the golden era F&*k modern gaming

well put

That's capitalism, baby! :(((

@@carlostaffanelly418 It's a sick perversion of it, if anything. The concept itself isn't as busted as the human factor that implements it.

I want to argue against this but.... I can't 😭

Thats good 😂

I can't agree more, these people should be put in prison!

DE came to mind... --"

Yea they have been milking gamers by saying that for a long time now. From f2p games to "AAA" games to kickstar, developers throw the line about helping devs all too often...

@@MRx36000 Warframe is still F2P, and the single IP DE works upon. Importantly, most everything can be earned or traded for in-game. Jim once said that being subject to being asked for money is the cost of entry to F2P games. The problems arise from paid games or content carve-up or the "mobile model" of nothing but micro-transactions.

@@MRx36000 What did they do ?

How about instead of deciding to steal your drugs you chose to try and get over it? Devote your time to music, books, sports, social interactions... All things that are good for you. Fuck the games, fuck the social media.

@Loneamaruq Fair point. Having been in the hobby for well over 20 years its fair to say that an awful lot of games have had certain elements crystallised to the point that they seem downright exploitative of certain pavlovian mechanisms and are borderline vehicles for gambling. Its gotten very strange.

@@TheAcad3mic I find gaming interesting but I still am on xbox360 and the only game I own that people still play online is cod black ops 3. That stated I really enjoy watching people getting enjoyment out of video games. I've always been the type of gamer that will say "ill wait for xbox one to go down in price" which by default means when the new consoles are out I will probably buy an xbox 1 and nobody will play online any longer thus avoiding this cash grab bull. Long story short, I started gardening and developed a business around consulting people on how and where to grow their own veggies. Sometimes I wish I could get lost into a newer video game but I always defult to the nostalgic games I played as a kid. Roadrash on sega genesis, or crash bandicoot on ps1. Metal gear solid. I stopped buying the latest systems at ps2 and thus has definitely taught me a bit of delayed gratification (which is a must for gardening). I really hope this whole community can get me back into gaming, where I could spend the last couple hours after being in the hot sun with a little bit of enjoyment. Best of luck to the community that wants to get back to where storys can emerge you into the the game. I wish the best. Sorry for the rant, and the only reason I brought up all this dribble is because I mostly avoid this because I am always behind on systems and games. The whole industry is super expensive already, faster internet connections, cell phone bills, consoles 500+ dollars, 60 dollars for new releases, sub's to even play online.

@@ragegage1221 Largely the same tbh. My own vision involved studying Psychology and developing as a Counsellor, but gardens are beautiful too. Good for you. And I only bought my ps4 on a whim at the start of the lockdown. Before that I was enjoying Rogue Galaxy on my ps2 and my Snes Mini =). Best thing I like about coming to the ps4 as its about to end is that now all the best games have come and gone lol so they're mad cheap and no wait. I can finally indulge in all them delicious exclusives. God of War and Spiderman are truly marvellous games, and no online. Fuck that psn noise. 50 quid for online? Nah. Best of luck with your passtimes and your business my friend =)

@@TheAcad3mic what a garbage take, videogames are art, same as music or books but I guess you get to decide what is good or bad for some fucking reason

It's not your fault, know that. These people put billions into the best way to literally get a 'hook' into every predisposed (or not!) person they can possibly can.

Snaps man, snaps.

Jesus. I liked this just so i didn't have to read the whole thing.

Gaming is doomed with idiots who buy "optional skins" and other bullshit. As long as people defend microtransactions gaming will not change

Is it still relevant? If you like puzzle games, you should've already played Portal 2 by now, correct? Go to the workshop and start solving maps by Mevious and Mikeastro without guides. They're all brilliant and let's just say it'll take you a damn good while. ;)

Unethical practices in the pursuit of the almighty dollar

Now we need to turn this into a meme and post it to PewDiePie's subreddit.

You forgot: Addict exploiting

This is literally most companies in most industries.

@@collaide yep - most, if not all of us, are afflicted with a crude & grasping, myopic psychology

Lmfao, good one🤣

Naw. Vacations imply that you come back after a certain amount of time. More like Surprise Early retirements... without benefits.

At this point I'd prefer to see "surprise mass suicides" at these companies.

@@IamSilent121 You do come back sometimes when they rehire you at a lower pay ;)

Stacey Bowtell corporations are working hard to keep this under wraps. Sadly players won’t stop until they end up in debt.

I have to agree, It is similar to my a bit except I spend a reasonable amount of money since my parents had to give my permission to buy X game or DLC. still really sad though

@@comrademartinofrappuccino aha that's the reason I make coding my addiction. Once you're addicted to coding, you're just so obsessed with problem solving, I want that thing, I want that game. But I don't want to spend a penny on it, what do I do? Then you understand the game, how it works and use it to turn it into your bitch. Knowing coding is god tier really. Anything you want at your fingertips.l

Same I just thanos snapped Love Nikki from my phone

Good on both of you, share the video of that sleaze so people see how the industry thinks. Tell children they don't need money to buy friends in Fortnite, and most of all. Remember to stay safe, and avoid these jerkbags who'd see you homeless and ask for your last penny because they need it or they'll not have enough to fuel their dopamine min, I mean phone app. Be careful, and as little as it's worth, thank you for realizing it.. maybe we'll eventually get everyone to realize it too.

I'm genuinely happy for you both. And glad to find this pebble of sweetness in these comments. Take care.

i haven’t touched cat game since that period in my life when i was depressed and sinking money into fucking pngs of cats now that i’ve been honest about myself with my impulses and addictions and i’ve kicked the habit completely, i’m just outraged at the game industry and here to support others who have gone through the same shit i have

Good on you

Pro-boglins too You racist

Looks like he is only pro carbohydrates

@@biokido575 Oh look. Someone who considers insults more important than being a functional human being with some fucking empathy. Good to know that you are pro evil. And when I say evil I don't mean the exaggerated kind. I mean the kind of evil that puts selfish sociopaths in power and worships them.

@@biokido575 the carbs only add more Jim Sterling to love

@@rendomstranger8698 Empathy for what? Look at this bullshit. He could have some discipline, set some goals and lose that weight. But like his solution to loot box addiction, he would rather have the world change for him than change his unhealthy habits. This isn't a good person. This is a dictator in disguise. This is the kind of person that believes they know best for you.

yes, and that badge is 20% off for 30 minutes! [BUY NOW]

@gatheringoflight I know but there will always be those who fall for the "surprise mechanics" hook, line and sinker. And they spew hate onto anyone that criticizes those sh!tty gambling "games".

@@duraker1 I wonder if there was a pre-order bonus for the badge. Also what kind of dlc and microtransactions it has.

I recall a quote when describing a character in a Light Novel "He was wearing his bloodthirst like a god damn coat" I like to think that is Jim Sterling whenever he has to throw down with the Triple Ehhhhhh games industry.

@@duraker1 I'll buy that for a $1

Im a developer myself and run the developer studio Pixelo from home. Making an unmonetised game among many things is why i continue to work on Time Rabbits & get it on steam while not crunching myself and taking my time to make it great.

a mark of a good person is being able to admit when you were wrong

@Jt Money Because a vast majority of devs Don't include mtx in their games. Don't work for scummy AAA game pubs. And even if they do it, its because of it being the standard practice without even realizing.

I think it's because marketing people aren't scientist. Though think "well how could marketing harm someone?" The truth is it could lead to suicide in extreme cases

In my experience, marketers are the WORST when it comes to creating problems for companies. Because their entire premise is “over-promise and underdeliver”.

@@NathanCassidy721 You have no idea. One of the best things about my current job is that our marketing department actually knows better than that. Makes my life as a trainer SO much easier.

Thats essentially the credo behind capitalism in general tho. Loyalty only to the shareholders and profit margin is hardly only a problem of the video game industry. Its destroying my favorite hobby sure, but also practically everything else. Profits before people is signing all our death warrants.

And being a psychopath appears to be part of the job description of a CEO... Capitalism sure does have a lot of shit associated with it. Dishonest too. Your average dictatorship is horrible, but everyone knows it. Capitalist societies are horrible all over the place, but everyone involved seems to want to stick their head in the sand and when challenged loudly proclaim 'can't be fixed! It's human nature or something!'. It truly starts to get sickening after a while. By the way, a psychopath, if you're wondering is not an innately violent person. Though there's always confusion between psychopaths and sociopaths, since there's a lot of overlap - a psychopath at heart is someone with the mentality of a user and manipulator. That doesn't always lead to someone being a horrible person, nor that they are good at these things, but it's a behaviour they do without thinking fairly often. The hallmark of a fullblown psychopath is that everything they do and say is a manipulation. If they're nice to you, it's because they want something from you. If they show emotion it's probably a calculated move to manipulate someone with as well. Everything to serve whatever goal they happen to have. You can probably see why that works so well for CEO's... We even seem to applaud them for it. Sick as they are...

Right on the money

Well done

@Abe Cedeefgee it's really pathetic how you're defending this fucking scummy shit.

the frog and the pot allegory

Then became "surprise mechanics"

If you do return to FR send me a friend request. xD Username is JustALotCrazy.

It must have been an absolute hell growing up trying to find friends you could bond with through video games.

@@Sonichero151 Nah, not really. I've always been more of a fanfic and fanart type person than a competitive or cooperative gamer, so we bonded over Sonic the Hedgehog fic and Pokemon fanart, and the like.

Try out Vampire Survivors. No way to spend a cent beyond the purchase price, but designed like a casino machine. Basically, get your fix without risk of life shattering debt.

Same with religion everybody.

@@mimszanadunstedt441 As a Christian and a Microbiologist, I can attest the corollary is real. The problem comes with assuming from the get-go that two things are impossible to exist together. That argument game devs make that "if we don't have microtransactions, we can't make games" completely ignores history, logic, and critical thinking. Same with religion and evolution, and other concepts. Holding that balance is totally possible, and desirable... it's just painful because it involves allowing yourself to fully commit ahead of time that if you find yourself proven wrong, you have to accept it and change your previously held beliefs. It stops you from holding back and brings you closer to the truth. And it's a wonderful thing if you're lucky enough to discover that you can hold a balance without confining yourself to cognitive dissonance. Sometimes I wish I had the point-of-view gun from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and everyone could just shoot it at each other, including at me (but especially at the PR people whose salaries depend on them pretending their employers aren't destroying people's lives). We could all do with a little more empathy when figuring out this world.

« You cannot get somebody to publicly admit(…) »

Massively Effected they just put them in after you’ve bought them lol

Hopefully the legislation will break the neck of the microtransaction industry and game companies will be forced to make quality games again. Lazy, greedy fucks.

@@dplocksmith91 dont hold your breath on it.

trying that for years works for the individual but not so much for the masses.

dplocksmith91 doubt it, more likely they'll just move onto the next fetid cashgrab like they always do.

Capitalists Though right mind may be a stretch

Right mind in the sense that it serves their class intrests: maximizing profit, my minimizing cost and maxizing sales@@jmurray1110

Exactly! To be fair, casinos are evil as well, and the only reason we allow them is because they would simply go underground anyway, and they would be harder to control by the government, mafias would become stronger aroudn them, etc etc. They are a necessery evil, that is why they are legal. They are still an evil though.

...and cigarettes.

We certainly don't let the casino put a gambling machine in your home where your kids can play with it. It's such a bad comparison, totally thoughtless.

Children also have parents...

But also I go to a casino expecting to gamble; that's what it's for. I don't expect to gamble from a video game (or at least I shouldn't)

You know what they say: "The enemy of my enemy...."!

The silly crap haters say (not saying you are one). Jim has been a solid pro-consumer commentator since the beginning. That sort of weird hair splitting and smearing is exactly how public relations corporate propaganda works; even if it was remotely true, doesn't change the fact that these companies are doing disgusting things and don't give a shit about the social or personal consequences.

@@jb_lofi You're exactly right. The PR teams goal is to get the consumers who tolerate this to turn on those who draw attention to it.

For the most part yeah. It shouldn't be news that a game is free of microtransactions, that should be the norm.

Indeed, it can be argued that you can't BE pro-consumer if you aren't also anti-AAA. (Anti-big business, really).

I hope you are still doing well brother. My best friend of 20 years was visiting in town at my house three weeks ago, and he had been using again for four years without me having any clue as we lived in different cities. we had a great night that friday, and sadly when i got up and knocked on his guest door it was silence and i had a bad feeling. seeing that scene and having 20 years of laughs, friendship, memories, just turn into a stiff corpse that I once used to hug and dap all the time was the most traumatic incident in my life. Stay clean brother, people are proud of you

YOU ARE THE PRODUCT.

@@brokengames9020 Especially when the entry fee is free... But I think many people have such a high fomo nowadays, they are basically addicted to consuming what others consume just to keep up with the market. It's sad to see...

The games are made by people

Their publishers aren't people

@@selechesh consumerism is consuming consumers.

Even wrestling games arent spared. I tried to play on of the more recent titles because i used to love playing wrestling games but it was so bare bones of content

@Kevin Hannant oh i do. I especially blame candy crush. Prior to candy crush most mobile games were paid first. But after candy crush's huge popularity more and more mobile games used the microtransactions method.

They aren't targeting DLC or free patches in this bill.

Mutant league and bloodbowl are better madden clones than madden Change my mind.

also threatens Steam if you think critically enough

Genshin Impact one kid spent 10k on Genshin Impact character Zhongli

A bit late, I rediscovered this video today and I don't spend on microtransactions at all. I once did and eventually realised I fell for some of these tricks. Never again if I can help it.

And he never monetizes his videos.

Yeah like you can tell he is so disgusted by this and knwos it seems to be said.

Let's legislate the fudge out of these games!

@@claytongruberman6065 hell yeah!

I've been thinking about how different the jimquisition is now by comparison to what it was on the escapists. And I couldn't agree more, if there any video Jim Sterling should be remembered by it's this one.

You must be forgetting koney 2012

Every video is the most important video he's made so far.. except for that time he was lording his Pogs over us. That was unnecessarily hurtful. I'm still not over it.

Low boglin focus. Did NOT approve.

This is a big agree, I post this everywhere.

good for you.

He's a highly evolved con artist that loves his job.

Man, I feel like I should apologize to "Captain Planet" for assuming the corporate villains in that show were too cartoonishly over the top to possibly exist in real life. Edit: What would Jernstrom's villain name be, BTW? We already got names like Hoggish Greedly, Verminous Skumm, Zarm, Looten Plunder, and Sly Sludge.

That's because he is a reptile in a human skin, and is a piece of shit.

@@markcobuzzi826 I feel like E.V.I.L. is pretty accurate (Execrable Videogame Industry Leech)

I believe, the psychological condition that allows him to do that, it's called psychopathy.

Zeep Xanflorp Godwinning but the Nazis took a ton of photos of themselves doing evil stuff. It’s hubris, feeling they’re untouchable.

Actually I've heard about these techniques 6 years ago or more. A developer came to me talking about the weirdest shit he has ever seen. And he was talking microtransactions. I thought it was kind of weird that they were just spilling the beans. And now I watch this and there have been more beans spilled. Personally I think it's the best thing they did. Because scientifically it is interesting how they can break the barriers of a person. We need that science first of all to be educated on schools to create better barriers, but also as a guideline which barriers they are not allowed to cross... I think a budget system is the best thing. So the microtransactions are allowed, but against a shared budget for all games. That way the child will always pay a TAX, but that tax will get spread among the games the kid plays the most. Nah, scrap it. It will end into who can make the child the most addicted. And with child, I mean any adult between 1 and 199 years.

A lot of these individual bits of knowledge on how people think have been known for awhile. Daniel Kahneman's research is interesting and been out for the better part of a decade via that book "Thinking Fast and Slow." I recommend anyone reading this to read it to learn more about what they tend to do due to their humanity. But that video is damning evidence of how they're using the knowledge in malicious ways. That knowledge can be used for good, but the video game industry's biggest players have stooped to using them to suck people dry.

Big Boss Great point and recommendation. It’s long been admitted that app developers have been using neuropsychology to “hack” the human brain and make everything they do both as addictive as possible, as well as extracting the most marketing information possible. (There’s a 60 minutes segment you could look up from years back). If you look at your average game or app’s MTs menu, you can pick up on little details like - free stuff on TIMERS, associating certain sounds with feeling good (during successes/when paying). This type of “neuromarketing” should’ve been outlawed long ago. I think I first read a book on this concept back in 2010?? But it’s been around far longer. Reminds me of subliminal advertising experiments from the 20th Century

“I don’t get it. Why are they confessing?” “They’re not confessing.” “They’re bragging.”

true. I *want* to play Genshin Impact, but I know for certain that I would fall prey to the gacha mechanics.

I already spend over $100 on the game and a ton of hours doing boring grind (The grind gets unbearable at Adventure Rank 40+). I only stayed for the anime girls and the storyline. I deleted the game a few days back, but right now I'm redownloading right now because I missed it.

​@@Yuxim The most troubling thing is, when confronted with all of the information in a clear manner, as Jim lays out in their video, gacha players usually respond with: "yeah. I know it's bad, but I just don't care." Somehow, for some people this kind of thing is totally normalized, so many of them don't even begin to see a problem with it. This makes me worry about the future of video games.

That game is so gorgeous, and unlike most of these mobile games I can finally play it on a console... but DAMMIT, I don't want to reward that kind of game model. I won't set myself up to let a game "break my wall" like that European guy in the video wants.

i went from idol games like love live and bang dream to genshin... i love the games story and characters but i need to take months long breaks every now and then so i don't get sucked too deep into gacha and grinding for hours. never again. it hits a lot when my mental health tanks which sucks cause video games help me cope. just not these ones

I know at least one who doesn’t At least until the music industry decided to DMCS his fully legal criticism So for about 5 seconds after upload

T O X I C D:

its never to late for a pink belly. ask my 30 something 'little' brother

Had this talk with my son after watching the video.

The same thing happens with clothing and shoe brands. Should we ban different brands of clothing / shoes too?

@@damanamathosme liking a brand is one thing, bullying because someone has not bought into that same brand (or item) is not. That is what Jim was talking about, what we are talking about. Shameing because we do not like a brand is not what we are avocating. That is actually pushing it to the extreme the other way and is not any better than making a kid feel bad because he did not pay $9.95 for one season of Fortnite.

If you're the devil, it is poison.

that's so true

It’s the pirates life for me

He is a drug dealer...

That's what marketing is. You think this is exploitation of human psychology? Look into how all advertising is studied and carefully designed. In this commercial world, money is king, and exploiting others is a tried and tested way to generate more revenue

True however the difference here is that marketing tricks are misused here to try and create spending habbits with children which is highly unethical. lets push our legislators to take action.

I have known drug dealers, and let me tell you, while they are in a business that causes pain, they are only there to serve the needs and the wants of the consumer. Most of them don't want you to get hurt, and will go out of their way to protect you (so you can buy more) they generally don't as actively seek to create serious addiction. I think he sounds worse than most drug dealers, which is honestly terrifying. Not to say drug dealers are good, just wanted to point that out in case any drug dealers were offended by being compared to AAA game companies.

drr0b0t01 it’s fascinating! And genuinely impressive, the way these people have found to exploit people, but I disagree with your comparison to advertisements, mostly because the microtransaction shite is actually sorta compelling, (they work, and it’s sorta pissing me off, so I avoid the games with them in for the most part.) the advertisements I see are generally just annoying at best and make me want to avoid the product at worst.

Samething

Relatable...

Thing is those two are not synonyms. They have a fair amount of crossover but you can have one without the other. A good example would be gamers that focus on older titles because they are collectors or archivists who warn about the ugly turn the games industry has taken but are willing to throw down thousands of dollars for one obscure title, like Little Samson.

I think Pro-Consumer = fighting FOR those who buys games, while Anti-AAA = fighting AGAINST the publishers who sell the games, but Jim is definitely both, and this video is proof positive of that.

You can be against triple-A and also against consumerism.

Show that to parliament and be like "It's not exposing you, it's surprise counter evidence"

Agreed. Wow.

That Anchoring argument. Anchoring is a neural programming thing dude. He's basically admitting to brainwashing players. This shit is fucked up.

God, is this Torulf guy SLIMY

@@rodrigovarela6194 "Consumer Psychology"...once you've read about it, it's something that cannot be unseen. Anchoring, bargain-hunting (the "OH, you clever consumer you! You outsmarted us and got the best deal, yes you did you clever consumer you!" crap), there's loads of dirty tricks that manipulate people into parting with their money.

Hey, gamepublishers, want to preorder a VIP pass for The Revolution? The wall will probably be quite crowded upon release, but with this early access offer you can be first against it.

@@bificommander7472 Revolution implies that the fight back will be from the mob rising up. What's most likely to happen, if it's not starting already with Belgium's lead, is a blanket ban or considerable legislation. The industy will find a new toy to get people to throw money at them, and we're starting to see that new toy in the form of "gaming pass" style subscriptions. If I had a gun to my head, I'd take the latter of the two "evils" there, but needless to say this video is the sledgehammer some of these hardcore defenders of lootboxes need in order to open their minds to _why we no likey shiny thing_

Skip the shotgun, grab the RPG.

@@SirusDiarota We already had subscriptions in the past to even access the game at all. I'll take monthly fee anyday over scummy microtransactions (but again, I'm actually capable of fighting of my FOMO).

Had to pause the video now and will resume later and hope Mortal Kombat 11 will also be named. Oh god damn, currently playing it and this game is completely Server controlled and intoxicated with the most shady stuff you will find in this category. It's basically their Mobile Game as a AAA-Version. I would never spent a single Cent on this Bullshit but man, Mortal Kombat 11 is dangerous territory for everyone with gambling addictions or addictions in general. It's more impressive to see how Warner and NetherRealm slipped under the radar with this one.

Like Genshin Impact MIhoyo doe it well fucking game journalsits.

Princess Rosalina Stop making such massive games then, industries 🤦🏼‍♂️ Jim has said before that if your business can't succeed by simply making a product and selling that product, something is deeply wrong with that business.

Gamings thrived for decades without microtransactions. If developers need extra revenue so badly, MAKE GOOD ARCADE GAMES. Id love to see s resurgence of arcades personally.

​@@grumpyguy112 The nuanced fact is that triple A games have become _ridiculously_ expensive to make not only because of ever-growing graphical complexity, but also because of the large wave of investors, eager to get a slice of the growing video game market, throwing money at game companies and intensifying the competition to make more complex and expensive games as a result. Triple A games need ever-bigger budgets to stay competitive because graphical fidelity, vast open worlds, and other expensive stuff like that are big selling points of these games; studios trying to get ahead of the competition have to invest in bigger and better, and the competition responds in the same way. Increasingly, simple video game sales at standard retail prices are no longer able to recoup these costs and game companies, obligated to maximise returns for the investors that threw them the bucket loads of money that help develop these expensive games, seek new ways to maximise revenue. Gaming becoming increasingly and grotesquely commercialised is ultimately just capitalistic forces at work. Greedy game companies and their shady business practices are just symptoms of this. Where maximising returns and attracting capital are a matter of competitive survival and advantage, those qualities are naturally selected by the market, and greedy and unscrupulous CEO's who exploit gullible players to the maximum with every trick in the book tend to be quite good at doing those things.

If you can't make a good product at a price of $60, just close your company.

Someone actually used the same argument to defend companies who make gachas. It's sad how many people have fallen for these extremely deceptive tactics. These companies need to be stopped.

That's a C A P I T A L I S M

Embrace Russian and Chinese communism

Is this is what AAA games cost, they shouldn't exist.

@@kristophersnyder9506 casinos exist

@William Burns ah, the "no true communist" argument. It doesnt exist for the fact true capitalism doesnt exist.

Remember the 2nd or 3rd mafia rule about not dealing with drugs case it got the law on the maffiosi ass? Most grunts didnt care and kept doing it and the law eventually caught up to the mafia gangs and no amount of bribes could save the boss from jail time.

@@sebas8225 The mafia made a mistake that the Sacklers didn't: they bribed local police and low-level officials, not federal politicians theoretically in charge of regulating them.

*cough* United Fruit Company *cough*

Thats where the millions go, to bribing the ESRB

He does say "Thank God for me".

@@clamdigger6131 And that's... what they did?

@@ctb3335 So they do!

Man I saw that stuff, too on Angry Joe’s gaming controversies. The thing with the ESRB is like the very cops responsible for a murder showed up to the scene of the crime and decided, “yeah, nothing went wrong here!”

I'm a 20 year clean crackhead, this mtx bullshit is an addiction too, it can and will destroy kids.

Sorry, delete your account. Weak people don't deserve the internet.

@@darkjudge8786 What the fuck?

@@darkjudge8786 I would rather be a weak person than be an asshole who look down on others with problems.

"is just as bad as drug addiction" Idk, try going through a few days of opiate or benzo withdrawals. Is gambling as painful as that? I wouldn't know, never gambled. I know it's fucked up - but "as bad as drugs"? Not too sure...

Plus there’s actually some fuvking oversight and you can’t just stick a buckfast into a 6yr olds hand and say it’s his choice to drink it

No, but, nobody in their right mind would think that person was normal or able to function without help. Same with this. If you see someone addicted to ANYTHING, something would need to change, somewhere.

You dont buy games anymore, you lease then

@@erlnite I have so many games in my back log, I have about 2 weeks left for my goal in my one F2P game that I've spent about 6 years going hard on. After that I'm moving on to other things (I'm building one final PC as well). To be honest this F2P game(Warthunder) and Mechwarrior Online are about the only ones that I feel okay putting this kind of time into. Reason being neither of them are games where gambling and loot boxes really can work their way into the game (not that they couldn't have if they'd thought about it). You get where you want to go and call it good, it's probably because I'm very tired from 12 hour work shifts and just don't have the time I used to.

Well Buddism says it's Greed, Hatred, and some other third thing I can never remember.

Thinking more about it, it was probably Pride. Buddhism was really against that especially and Pride and Greed are what these companies have in abundance.

Thats why it is a deadly sin in basically all religions, not just the abrahamic ones

That’s less addiction more brand loyalty That’s also not great due to the fact you are loyal to the name abd not the actual developers or head designers Like take silent hill The first 4 games all had different devs but the same band was used for them so no one’s noticed

The problem never was the "cosmetics" in of themselves but the psychological manipulation that was employed at the expense of the "cosmetics".

Sebas G Right. My thinking was that it didn’t matter as long as gameplay wasn’t affected by lootboxes, but I get now that it preys upon people with gambling addictions. The default skin bullying thing also shocked me.

Everything can be addictive to someone.

Arguably, when part of the gameplay experience and appealing sense of reward is based around customizing your own character, the “just cosmetic” prizes from loot boxes can pretty much become indistinguishable from pay-to-win gambling mechanics. Nonetheless, while it takes a big man to commit to an opinion and defend it in the face of criticism, it often takes an even bigger man to change his mind in the face of indisputable evidence and openly admit it. So you can still be proud of yourself, for our culture would definitely get better if more people acted as such. 👍

"It's just cosmetics" also sidesteps the concept that the video game is not just its mechanics. Okami was a bog standard zelda knockoff, but its incredible visual style set it apart. Final Fantasy games are a very distinct style wrapped over some okay to good JRPGs, and those visuals came to define the entire square enix brand. You cannot disentangle visuals from the mechanics, that's not how video games work. People want to brush these practices off as just being for the consumer but, well, everyone should have known better. It's just easier to think there isn't a problem, especially among the group of people who define themselves as being that hobby by thinking of themselves as gamers.

Well, the talk was named "The tricks of the F2P trade" and it was public.

Hang in there. Tell your story. And vote for Josh Hawley

unforgiveable

How much for the High Rez Pack, Jim...?

@@NMChe56 It's $60/month.

We don't mind. You are already HD by default.

The absolute worst part of these "recurrent user spending" based "live services" is that it mostly doesn't matter if you boycott them. Per economics, 20% of the player base is providing 80% of the revenue for these sleazeball publishers. So what if roughly 30% of the players don't buy them? EA/ActiBlizz/Take2/WBGames are only losing around 10-12% of the revenue, but they're raking in much more from the "whales." Per basic human psychology, companies do not restrain themselves. Look at the Railroad industry, the Oil industry, the Tobacco industry, and literally ANY OTHER INDUSTRY. They don't want the restrictions. They would much rather operate without OSHA oversight, without regulation of any kind. They seek profit above anything else (worker health and safety, or the oxymoron known as "business ethics") and they won't EVER stop trying to evade those restrictions to squeeze out just a little bit more revenue out of the consumer base. Government regulation of the games industry was inevitable, no matter how undesirable it may be. It came for the railroads, it came for big oil, it came for tobacco, it's coming for big tech. And now, hopefully, it's coming for games publishers.

@@none--other He lives in Mississippi. :p

I totally see Jim with that outfit and the hat in front of the congress.

This right here, Jim has a way of putting these issues to words that I don't think alot of people can do better.

@@beenis1619 Yeah. With a script and after several takes and hours of editing. He got any live debates up anywhere? Any video of him going head to head with anyone on their opinions?

Bladezeromus yup, look up the digital homicide interview

Oregon is trying to legalize heroin right now.

Children my ass, children don't have money, they shouldn't have access to a credit card or paypal account ( and if they do it's the parent's fault ). This shit harms everyone. Sure, kids who are exposed to this are formated to accept it in the future as something normal, but I bet adults are a lot more affected.

The 90ies were cutely naive. Read the Cyberpunk 2020 RPG core book to look at what they considererd a futuristic, over-the-top dystopia. Socially, we live in one as bad or sometimes much worse, I find old-school cyberpunk to be more of a wishful escapism these days...

Those 90s children are now the adults making this shit. There are a lot of immoral adults who blame their immorality on their "we weren't allowed to when I was a kid in the 80s-90s" upbringing.

Capitalism is the best system. Let the customers decide.

It's almost like they never cared about the children in the first place....

Love this.

Unfortunatelly that sentense is technically correct - majority of the world population are fools.

Not necessarily true. Could just have a compulsive disorder.

@@StrazdasLT yes, we can all be fooled, but fools with pitchforks.

Nah, I'm just a greedy fuck.

How is it going? I hope things are better for you and your son. Never raising my kids on modern games, definitely going to raise them on old school games that I grew up with if they want to play video games.

try letting them play modern nintendo games, and later maybe games like uncharted 4 and god of war. Get them to play old games and modern games without microtransactions.

Just say no man. You word to hard for your cash

Oh shit. I didn’t even check the date of this video. Damn, hasn’t really changed..

Saaaad

If it wasn't this, it'd be something else. I was bullied all through school, and over the most idiotic nonsense imaginable.

@@Archangelm127 Some of the things kids choose to pick on people for is insane. I wish I was around for your bullies, I used to bully the bullies. One of my best friends was autistic. So I ended up putting a few kids in the ER in my day. I didnt tolerate it then and I don't now. But since I cant beat up kids anymore I guess I gotta settle for the occasional women beater.

I'm in high school and it's like oh you play Nintendo games your childish they don't understand that the games they play are exploitative

I remember being bullied for taking a shit in middle school. Not out in the open, but in a designated stall. Kids are fuckers.

Whatever you do, don't search KZfaq for the guy's name and watch his whole presentation. It will boil your blood.

Jernstrom: "Let's go whaling." Decent people: "Let's go Jernstroming instead."

Plus the "whales" are PEOPLE. Meaning "lets go whaling" in this context literally means "lets go kill people".

I guess thats not a bad idea...

Thankfully I’m generally there to vet games and just bar certain aspects

In order for government agents to break in to the volcano they need to pass through his online shop, pulling casino levers for entry code boxes before they can gain access! And in the process they will develop a complete gamling addiction. By the time they make it to the secret bunker at the bottom, Torulf will be there stood next to a gaming chair, welcoming hands outstretched and grinning maniacally, which Bond will willingly sit in. Mr Jernstrom will wheel the chair to a nearby PC, in a room full of many hundreds pf previous agents, all gaming for loot boxes in various AAA titles. He will laugh maniacally, and go 'Ahh the morality...' before patting the engrossed agent on the back, and walking off to go and attend his next confrence, locking the door behind him.

Yeah I honestly that's what real evil looks like. Basically debasing humanity. It's why I can't stand psychologists, psychologists are some of the most evil people on the planet. BF Skinner knew that his discovery was evil so he tried to distance himself from the name Skinner Box , but it stuck anyway. Now we have one of the most evil schemes ever created inundating the gaming space.

@@manrightchea Depends on the psychologist or person. An understanding of human psychology is no more inherently evil than chemistry. It's what one chooses to do with that knowledge that's the problem. Do they make bombs or poisons or do they put their knowledge to making medicine and useful materials that ultimately benefit everyone? Likewise, so too is manipulation and persuasion nothing more than a tool that can be used for either ill or good and is determined by the person using it. Many "great" leaders have manipulated their followers as had many "bad" leaders. Just think back to any conflict and you'll notice that some amount of manipulation tends to occur on both sides, yet one is usually considered "good" while the other is not.

@@beskamir5977 That's honestly not the case. A good leader inspires, they don't manipulate. Manipulation is what a bad leader or a deceptive leader does. Good leaders inspire others to make that sacrifice. Of course "good" depends on the person. However I am going by the literal definition of what we as a society consider good. Granted few fall into that category I would imagine. I don't personally find any form of psychology truly beneficial to mankind. Beneficial to corporations, beneficial to manipulators and deceptive, predatory people sure. Psychologists are supposed to be people too however they don't mind undermining the very programming of humanity. To me it's an overall evil science. One of the only truly evil sciences I can think of outside of eugenics. Perhaps I could feel differently if psychology focused on bolstering humanity, but it often focuses on compromising humanity. Exploiting.That is what I consider the main difference between psychology and something like therapy. Psychiatry is much different from psychology. Psychology aims to map the code of human intellect, and honestly not for positive means oftentimes. That is why advertising agencies and predatory businesses such as the gaming and gambling industries employ these kind of people. That's my personal opinion, I understand if you feel differently but I've pretty much made my mind up.

@@manrightchea Inspiration _is_ manipulation. I recommend checking out research into motivation. That stuff's as manipulative as it gets and yet it's stuff that if used properly can greatly benefit us all. In fact a lot of it even points out how harmful we can be when we don't have a good understanding of psychology. For instance, extrinsic motivation (grades, money, gifts, etc) seem like an obvious choice for motivating people to do an activity. Yet using it removes a person's intrinsic motivation to do that activity. So if you don't know this, you might end up ruining a class of children by getting them read books for grades only to realize afterward that many that had read books before your course had stopped reading as soon as they graduated and were no longer being rewarded for reading. This is the danger of not understanding psychology. You can accidentally cause harm while thinking you were doing the right thing. Whether research in psychology is used to prevent accidental screw ups as I've just explained or used to harm people intentionally is entirely dependent on the person using that knowledge. Knowledge is never evil in and of itself, it's the people that wield it that chose whether they wish to be good or evil with it.

@@beskamir5977 Motivation depends on the person's personal drive. Those students that saw a worthwhile growth, enjoyment or other benefit would continue to read regardless of whether they were forced to or not. That assumption assumes that the only reason said students were reading was for a grade, while not acknowledging that some people enjoy reading anyway regardless of direct reward or compensation. Inspiration is not the same as manipulation. One is driven by respect, the other is driven by inherent disrespect. Genuine inspiration with no ulterior motive is driven by an appreciation, something that requires respect. That is why a good leader inspires. Manipulation is driven by an inherent disrespect, a disregard for the person. Undermining their actual value or an actual truth for an ulterior motive. I'm not a believer that all information is inherently innocent or neutral. I do believe certain forms of information exist with no inherent benefit to anyone, information for which there is no positive use that could be interpreted. Like I said before eugenics is one of those fields. Much of this is based on interpretation and not fact. You and I simply have different interpretations. Application is what's going to determine how something is viewed. If psychology has mostly negative or exploitative application, it's unreasonable to expect vast majority of people to see such as innocent or good. That goes against common sense.

Mad scientist talk

It has the same expectation as "I'm not racist but...". It definitely is whatever they are denying.

​@@PurpleAlzirNo offense 😆

Send this to those senators who are trying to pass a bill to stop micro transactions, those that aren’t moved better well should be moved by this video. If not, there you go they’re getting money from triple a

UK has already had a few studies linking it to gambling. They are aware.

they atually do accept email evidance.

@@hellonearth-thehistoryofwa1270 Oh I'm not saying "don't send it!", by all means flood them. I'm just trying to spread a small glimmer of hope here. d=P

Governments know about this. They practice it. The field is called behavioral economics. Look up nudge units.

@Dodge Morningstar Nah man he's addicted to the suffering of normie children.

"Prost"

Cocaine isn't addictive, it just has a very pleasant smell is all.

Game of war sucks, and bleeding us dry won't change that.

@@claytongruberman6065 that's honestly why I'm getting out of gaming now. I just...can't anymore. Buy MK 11 whatever edition...but the fucking characters people wanna play with are available...for purchasing..don't even think about unlocking them shits through gameplay. Why can't I just beat them and unlock them like when I was a kid? You can make them super hard as fuck to beat too and that would be cool. Wanna play Grand Theft Auto? Okay...got it... "Buy these cars.." "Hey I'm a character in the main story buy this shit...to do some missions...where you dint earn money for shit. Shark Cards." The game is called Grand Theft Auto and they're selling us cars! SELLING CARS TO US! Oh grind? I do that shit at work! Fucking menial ass tasks on a daily basis for little to no payout. That's what I wanna experience when I get home from work... Want realism in your games? What else bothers me...ah, realism in video games. Realistic weight so you can move as slow as molasses even while sprinting...it's all fucked up now. You wouldn't be able to carry as many weapons as you'd like in real life dude...cause we said so. and don't even think about trying to fly around and be cool or some shit because...thats not realistic it'll take you out of the games immersive realistic environments (which I like butmmmthe other realistic shit...not so much) your head bibs around like this when yoy walk around, right? You're also stiff as fuck when you move around and you don't have good peripheral vision in real life. Hey wanna create a rassler and whoop ass in a cool storyline? Nope...you're gonna argue with producers and shit backstage like this is fucking real...and not do the shit you wanna do. Oh yeah I forgot...you can't run also. If you try to run at someone you're gonna collapse after 3 steps. Wanna upgrade your CAW dude so you wont collapse after 3 steps?...buy these vc points to skip all the grinding...I can't enjoy games anymore. Wanna get hyped up about new releases? I mean you guys wised up a loooong time ago you don't wanna see cinematic shit you want gameplay...well lets just flat out lie to you like you're a fucking moron. As much as I respect Hello Games after learning their story...Im pretty sure they'd have gotten support from fans and gamers if they just...came out and were upfront from the get go about their situation but now AAA companies are using that same Hello Games strategy. Emptiness. Buy some more shit from our shop pre order the Digital Super Deluxe Perfect Diamond Ruby Edition of this game...but come back later and buy some more shit when we release new content for the game...you stupid fat Dorito's eating mountain dew slurping idiots. And the audience is cheering for that shit. Wtf...whats this world coming to?! Oh...the real life future it's gonna for real be like Robocop or worse Demolition Man up in this bitch. Corporations just fucking us left and right.

Well done. It will not be easy to maintain, but it's worth it.

Steff-Anne Dark Go for it!

Good on you. This shit needs to end.

Trying to do that but with games that have tons of dlc honestly. I really hate how incomplete games feel these days with out it. :/

@@donbeverage8359 I absolutely agree. Honestly, I busted out the ps2 and haven't looked back. :P

I will attempt to civer Genshin Impact in a podcast talking about Genshin Impact the not Breath of the Wild clone but Jim sterling's Dynasty warriors Strike force orochi inspired lying MMORPG game.

reincarN8ed Don’t give them ideas

eA bAd!

It's not "predatory," it's "GAMER CRED-atory!"

Beat me to it! 👍

It's EAthical.