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My hot take is that I’m not sure if gacha is any more exploitative than a $60 upfront ticket (with the expectation of DLC down the line).
Def makes it more immediately accessible to more players. The caveat, ofc, is that it’s exploitative of those who are vulnerable to gambling-
Def makes it more immediately accessible to more players. The caveat, ofc, is that it’s exploitative of those who are vulnerable to gambling-
Though I’m hoping that the Chinese government’s plan to limit how many pulls you can make a day and to force devs to expose pull rates in-app helps with this, as a lot of gacha games are Chinese.
In the meantime, w/video rental stores and the used market dying out and the prevalence of digital-only storefronts, traditional $60 games definitely have their own issues. To a degree, then, it’s kinda weird to see us call out the ethics of a primarily Asian monetization scheme.
Gacha is in NO WAY immune to crit. But I do side eye at posts suggesting Genshin should be more like “X also-troubled monetization model that just happens to appeal to Americans more.”
Monetization schemes come out of the nature of the ecosystem games are released into. Mobile is huge in China, & upfront pay apps just don’t work on mobile as well. Of course gacha would be popular. We can’t expect a whole region to change its economic reality to suit our tastes.
Some ppl also just can’t afford $60 upfront, but can play on a payment plan, which gacha affords them the ability to do. Again, there are tricks in these games to encourage whaling, but there is a market they serve that might be left wanting otherwise.
Tbh, I’ve been fascinated by gacha for a while now. Having to make do w/what you get, the thrill of the pull, etc. are legit interesting mechanics and shouldn’t be shrugged off. I do want them to be more ethical...as I want every monetization scheme to be.
I’ve been wracking my brain abt how to make “the ethical gacha” for a while now. I haven’t come up with too many good solutions, but seems like Genshin might inch closer to that dream once China’s new gacha laws go into effect.
For anyone who’s curious what these regulations I’m referring to are, here you go https://twitter.com/antumbral/status/1312256384759549953
The leaked patch notes are up for dispute ofc, but I'm more interested in the Chinese regs that limit compulsive pulling and require more transparent rates
