15 comments

  • Dan GDan G, over 3 years ago

    This is one of the best reviews you've done, I really enjoyed it.

    Utterly depressing and despicable practices that are getting more and more accepted and common.

    10 points
  • James W, over 3 years ago

    These practices has been on going for years - back to the era of Zynga and earlier events. But I have not come across any piece that presented it as clear and visually pleasing as yours. Great job.

    I used to sell gold in Ultima Online back in '97 and it's been interesting to see how people's opinions and behavior shift from 'Lawl paying for pixels' to dropping literally tens of thousands of dollars on mobile games.

    It's not the 'future' of mobile gaming. It's already here and it's here to stay.

    Belgium I think is the only country that has banned loot boxes. China has banned selling loot boxes but companies get around them by now 'gifting' lootboxes when you buy currencies. Similar to how you would donate, instead of buy, certain products and services.

    I don't see these practices going away - just like casinos, they're here as long as people wants to gamble.

    People only took notice, recently in 2017, when a well-known IP and company - Star Wars / Disney, pushed this despicable behavior and made it to the front page news around the world. Since parents/government are familiar with Disney (family oriented fun) and Star Wars, this made the conversation about lootboxes easier to understand.

    It'll be interesting if there will be any backlash with Mario Kart / Nintendo.

    4 points
    • LX LavalleeLX Lavallee, over 3 years ago

      Really curious to see how this unfolds for them too.

      And hopefully, with enough backlash, and awareness from the public, people will slowly stop putting their money into those black holes. So the industry can focus on crafting better games instead of better in-game economics.

      Thanks for sharing the Ultima online story! Interesting indeed.

      0 points
  • Earl Sherrard, over 3 years ago

    I am one more banana peel crash away from Vegas

    1 point
  • LX LavalleeLX Lavallee, over 3 years ago

    So, I've been playing Mario Kart Tour for the last 3 weeks pretty intensively...

    ...Only to realize they heavily used psychological biases to trick users into gambling their money.

    Is this the future of mobile gaming? I'd be really curious to hear you out.

    1 point
    • Richard Piperot, over 3 years ago

      Wow... almost evil. Not a fan of all those pay-to-win games.

      2 points
    • Mac Peterson, over 3 years ago

      Tons of videos are pouring about people spending tons of money...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEMXFRy5GlE

      It's kinda screwed.

      0 points
    • Joey Prijs, over 3 years ago

      Honest question; did it really took you 3 weeks to realise this? 'Cause people have been complaining about this since day one.. (literally; see all the reviews). They aren't even trying to trick you (people except this behaviour and kids these days simply don't know any better); it's blatantly obvious... (remember the lootbox they gave you for finishing the trial? Giant red flag)

      "is this the future of mobile gaming?"

      This has been going on for years... Even tripple-a games have been infested with micro-transactions and dark patterns for years now (Fifa, CoD, GTA, RDR, sadly, the list is endless).

      Even Solitaire on Windows 10 has micro-transactions that allow you to get rid of 30 second ads that are shown during gameplay. That's how normal it became. :(

      2 points
      • LX LavalleeLX Lavallee, over 3 years ago

        Hey Joey! Honestly, I think I was blinded by my own beliefs. I didn't want Mario Kart, the game that I played for so long while I was a kid, to fall into this category of fraudulent casino tactics. But yes, in reality, I saw the whole picture after the first "Tour" ended, when the reset button was pushed.

        And you're 100% right. It has been going on for years... But people still burn massive amounts of money in those systems, so I guess, I wanted to raise the awareness a notch since it made its way to another household name that is supposedly a family game.

        PS: Solitaire... really!? haha

        5 points
  • Wilbert Tyson, 11 months ago

    TY for sharing this review. Gambling is not so bad if you aren't an addictive person. Do you know what is minimum deposit casino online? I need a reliable casino with $1 min deposit.

    0 points
  • Michael Smith, almost 2 years ago

    Thank you! It's authoritative to get reviews from such professionals. I listen to the opinion of someone I can trust, especially when it comes to games. I'm new to this and act deliberately, not succumb to emotion or excitement. Recently I found a source that also helps me in matters related to online casinos https://high-rtp-slots.com/ Some of my favorite bloggers share their experiences in choosing and using slots. I want to try it, and I hope to achieve the same success.

    0 points
  • Mitra Surik, 2 years ago

    By the way, does anyone know where there are still old Netent slots? I only recognize them.

    0 points