Oh Blizzard, how you have fallen (Diablo Immortal).

[chiddie]

Pretty much. And really, doing all the daily activities and hitting the different daily hidden caps will still take you a good 2-3 hours. And you can still meaningfully grind in the world (30 Monster Essences) for a good while longer.

If you are trying to spend all your extra time in this game then and only then will you run out of things to do.

I play something like 1 hour per day when lucky, will probably never ever reach any cap in literally months. Don’t even know if I’ll be able to cap the empowered battle pass before it expires.

One of the main problems is players treating this like a “desktop standard ARPG”. It’s not. You are supposed to chill around every day for a little time and buy something from time to time. If you approach it like D3, you’ll hit the paywall fairly fast.

[Big Thanks]

Guys stop...

This is a game for gacha gamer whalers...PERIOD

Spending AKA "gambling" real money is not a predatory tactic...is a FEATURE for this community!
Is dopamine.
For the gacha gamers.
For the whales.

Sorry but i dont think anyone is "accidently" wasting thousands of dollars in a phone game.
There is no:

"Woops, i just wasted 10 000$, silly me, woopsy daisy"

At the very best it tricks you at STARTING to waste money...only to realize later "this game is not for me anymore". (hook)
This is a game that was made with the ONLY purpose to make money with a tiny minuscule (yet rich) community called "whale gambler dopamine addicts".

IMO

[Elim Garak]

You dont actually think that dude is genuine do you?

Pretty obvious he just likes to "debate"

Yes, everyone who doesn't agree with you immediately - just likes to debate.

You should really listen to what you are saying. It's hilariously close-minded.

- - - Updated - - -

No?

Yes, but salty scrubs are suddenly caring really much for those poor addicted whales and their money, they want government to intervene and protect the rich.

[RobertoCarlos]

Yes, everyone who doesn't agree with you immediately - just likes to debate.

You should really listen to what you are saying. It's hilariously close-minded.

- - - Updated - - -


Yes, but salty scrubs are suddenly caring really much for those poor addicted whales and their money, they want government to intervene and protect the rich.

No you're just incredibly obvious in what you are trying to do.

Someone could be pointing out that the sun gives us light and you'd find an angle on it to be contrarian.

[Nymrohd]

Yes, but salty scrubs are suddenly caring really much for those poor addicted whales and their money, they want government to intervene and protect the rich.

I think it's more about hating on Blizzard.

Or for some, being unhappy that the game is so close to what they wanted out of D3. I know if this was a D3 xpac with some monetization to make it make sense to investors, it would be my main game.

[Elim Garak]

No you're just incredibly obvious in what you are trying to do.

Someone could be pointing out that the sun gives us light and you'd find an angle on it to be contrarian.

Like you are doing right now?

- - - Updated - - -

I think it's more about hating on Blizzard.

Or for some, being unhappy that the game is so close to what they wanted out of D3. I know if this was a D3 xpac with some monetization to make it make sense to investors, it would be my main game.

Obviously, but they cannot admit it - so they invent the "reasons"

[RobertoCarlos]

Like you are doing right now?

Damn thats some quick fire response time son, did I hit a nerve?

What are you even trying to say right now?

I'm being contrarian by pointing out you are disingenuous? ok?

[Elim Garak]

Damn thats some quick fire response time son, did I hit a nerve?

What are you even trying to say right now?

I'm being contrarian by pointing out you are disingenuous? ok?

Projecting much?

[RobertoCarlos]

Projecting much?

Alright alright go sniff ya bath salts grandpa.

[chiddie]

The same way NL and Belgium do, which is why D:I is not there.

Their regulations are broad enough for companies not willing to risk it and it seems effective enough, seeing this shit steers clear off these countries even if the regulation is not fitting like a glove to the case.

I don’t know what their regulation is about. But EVERY commercial business tries to convince you to buy stuff you don’t really need trying to trick your mind with “mechanics”.

Think about the classic “3x2” offers in markets. You don’t need that product but hey, they are giving me one for free, so why not? My wife falls to this “trick” every single time we buy stuff at market. I lost count of how many Swiffers we have at home, we can probably take off dust for the next 100 years.

I won’t say mtx are good design, but preventing markets from selling knives won’t stop murders. You have to teach people not to murder.

Governments should be allowed to protect people from themselves only to an extent.

[Orby]

It's always fun to see poor people's disdain towards rich people's money spending habits.

Bobby Kotick, is that you?

[KrayZ33]

Guys stop...

This is a game for gacha gamer whalers...PERIOD

Spending AKA "gambling" real money is not a predatory tactic...is a FEATURE for this community!
Is dopamine.
For the gacha gamers.
For the whales.

Sorry but i dont think anyone is "accidently" wasting thousands of dollars in a phone game.
There is no:

"Woops, i just wasted 10 000$, silly me, woopsy daisy"

At the very best it tricks you at STARTING to waste money...only to realize later "this game is not for me anymore". (hook)
This is a game that was made with the ONLY purpose to make money with a tiny minuscule (yet rich) community called "whale gambler dopamine addicts".

IMO

Just to point it out:

"accidently" is certainly not the word being used.

There are players that ruin their savings for games like these and I'm not sure why people think it's fine that this is possible to do while playing computer games.
Especially when games like these are promoted as "free 2 play". (It doesn't fucking matter that you can "technically play this for free" that's not the issue.)
That's probably a gripe people have with this game.
It's despicable, sad and just doesn't belong in games but the biggest issue is that Blizzard (and this is where the thread title remains relevant) is doing it.
Time to admit that Blizzard just doesn't want you to enjoy their games anymore.

It's on point.

[RobertoCarlos]

"accidently" is certainly not the word being used.
There are players that ruin their savings for games like these and I'm not sure why people think it's fine that this is possible to do while playing computer games.
Especially when games like these are promoted as "free 2 play".
That's probably a gripe people have with this game.
It's despicable, sad and just doesn't belong in games but the biggest issue is that Blizzard (and this is where the thread title remains relevant) is doing it.
Time to admit that Blizzard just doesn't want you to enjoy their games anymore.

It's on point.

People seem to be missing the trees for the forest.

I remember a time when the only times games were banned was because they had too much blood or they had some nudity in it.

Now we have to worry about games being banned because of predatory gambling laws.

What a time to be alive

[Elim Garak]

There are players that ruin their savings for games like these and I'm not sure why people think it's fine that this is possible to do while playing computer games.
Especially when games like these are promoted as "free 2 play".

If it's fine with a mortgage, a student debt, a general loan or living on credit cards only...

Some people gonna ruin their finances.
Games are irrelevant.

[RobertoCarlos]

If it's fine with a mortgage, a student debt, a general loan or living on credit cards only...

Some people gonna ruin their finances.
Games are irrelevant.

comparing a video game to a mortgage and student loan.

Yeah totally "legit"

[Popastique]

Just to point it out:

"accidently" is certainly not the word being used.

There are players that ruin their savings for games like these and I'm not sure why people think it's fine that this is possible to do while playing computer games.
Especially when games like these are promoted as "free 2 play". (It doesn't fucking matter that you can "technically play this for free" that's not the issue.)
That's probably a gripe people have with this game.

Think before you spend your savings?
NAAAAAAAAH, let's blame some video games and shit

I still read these hilarious articles about a parent giving his child iPad or similar tablet that has credit card info tied to it and then complaining about thousands of dollars spent, cracks me up every time

[Delekii]

Think before you spend your savings?
NAAAAAAAAH, let's blame some video games and shit

I still read these hilarious articles about a parent giving his child iPad or similar tablet that has credit card info tied to it and then complaining about thousands of dollars spent, cracks me up every time

Why do morons like you keep saying this?

It's like people who say fat people should "just lose weight" or gamblers should "just stop gambling". It overtly paints you as willfully ignorant at best.

Impulse control-related disorders have been in the DSM-5 since 2013, and recognised widely long before that. Do you just not believe in impulse control disorders at all? Do you tell people with cancer to just not get cancer? It's ironic that you bring up the example of a child, since children are definitionally lacking in impulse control.

This game and others like it prey on people with reduced capacity to control impulsive behavior, in many different ways. Do you honestly believe that Blizzard should have the unfettered ability to target people's self-destructive impulsivity when the outcome is that they ruin their life?

It isn't Blizzard's fault that people have impulse control disorders, but it absolutely is their fault that every aspect of their design is overtly aimed at exploiting them.

[Gaidax]

It isn't Blizzard's fault that people have impulse control disorders, but it absolutely is their fault that every aspect of their design is overtly aimed at exploiting them.

Ditto.

I just don't understand people defending it - this shit is aimed at you and even if you are a pinnacle of stoicism, then it will still catch your relatives, friends or yes children. And it's made to do so, it's rigged to bait people into slipping up.

[Elim Garak]

Why do morons like you keep saying this?

It's like people who say fat people should "just lose weight" or gamblers should "just stop gambling". It overtly paints you as willfully ignorant at best.

Impulse control-related disorders have been in the DSM-5 since 2013, and recognised widely long before that. Do you just not believe in impulse control disorders at all? Do you tell people with cancer to just not get cancer? It's ironic that you bring up the example of a child, since children are definitionally lacking in impulse control.

This game and others like it prey on people with reduced capacity to control impulsive behavior, in many different ways. Do you honestly believe that Blizzard should have the unfettered ability to target people's self-destructive impulsivity when the outcome is that they ruin their life?

It isn't Blizzard's fault that people have impulse control disorders, but it absolutely is their fault that every aspect of their design is overtly aimed at exploiting them.

Do you really think that just because there are ~5% of population with compulsive shopping disorder (mostly women) - we should regulate how video games are made (yes, because you like to point out how monetization affects game design - it works both ways)?

Fuck them. They should seek help - not government protection.

Any suggestion that developers specifically exploit them - is insane. Those people don't have the money, and there's only ~5% of them in the ENTIRE population. And not all of them are even gamers.

[Delekii]

Do you really think that just because there are ~5% of population with compulsive shopping disorder (mostly women) - we should regulate how video games are made (yes, because you like to point out how monetization affects game design - it works both ways)?

Fuck them. They should seek help - not government protection.

Any suggestion that developers specifically exploit them - is insane. Those people don't have the money, and there's only ~5% of them in the ENTIRE population. And not all of them are even gamers.

Firstly; yes. I do. If 5% (or even 0.5%) of your target game population is likely to suffer as a result of your product design you should feel a sense of moral obligation to reconsider that design. It is literally in the definition that people who fit within this category lack the mental capacity to make a decision appropriate for their situation, which in many cases also means "seeking help".

Again; it's as dumb as telling a fat person to just lose weight. Most fat people know more about losing weight than any dietician or doctor; they've had a lifetime of fighting against impulse and losing more often than winning. It's not a matter of knowing the answer to the problem, but the capacity to act on it. If those people had the capacity to act they would not be fat, or gambling addicted.

Furthermore, 5% are the ones that are bad enough to be clinically diagnosed as bad enough to meet DSM5 criteria. Every human being alive has some level of impulse control (or lack thereof). It's not a yes/no question. People along the entire spectrum are being exploited, not just the ones bad enough to be diagnosed.

It's not a question of whether or not developers specifically exploit the 5% that match the DSM criteria; they design the systems in a way that aims to exploit EVERYONE. There is not a shadow of a doubt that a large team within the design space of Diablo Immortal consisted of psychologists and statisticians aiming at exactly this.