GoodBoy
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2004
- Messages
- 2,642
90% of sports games today have an online PvP mode where you make your own team. You need to open card packs to get players and the best players are the hardest to get. Imagine hearthstone (or MTG you farts) but all of the common cards have 1/1 stats and all the legendary cards have 10/10 stats. Card rarity brings an objective advantage in these games. So pay money, get more packs, get more good cards, win more games. And each pack you open is one pull on the slot machine.
Here's a good video describing the so-called "Wilson Lootbox" (5:40 for a FIFA 201X pack opening):
It was once the case where you couldn't pay money to open packs in these games, and they were the means of progression, earning them through normal play. So the drop rates were fairly tuned to keep players engaged albeit using gambling-esque loops.
Once they started charging for the packs in later games, it suddenly takes longer and longer to earn your packs without paying, and you start to lose many more matches to people with top tier decks spending thousands of dollars.
Yeah, that's bullshit, especially for a game that probably costs $59 upfront. I can see why it pisses people off. Hope they learn something from this Belgian lawsuit/fine.
I know I know but one can dream. The thing about cosmetic MT is that it started all this shit. That God damn horse armor started all this.
Team Fortress 2 started all of this about 10 years ago. Particle effects on hats was first, which could only come from an opened 'loot box' (they call them crates) that you had to pay $2.49 to open, and it was about 1 in 100 chance to get one of the unique ones, and even then it was 100% random, so you might get a hat you don't really like or effect you don't really like. Then later came the "passes" that allow you to complete objectives (Contracts) that sold for $5.99. Those would run about 6 months, and is almost directly comparable to Fortnight "seasons".