The Addictive Cost Of Predatory Videogame Monetization (The Jimquisition)
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- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2019
- / jimquisition
www.thejimquisition.com
www.thejimporium.com
Aggressive monetization tactics have undoubtedly lowered the quality for many so-called "AAA" games. The shameless number of microtransactions and loot boxes have made them grinding and shallow "services" instead of complete videogames.
When we talk about the impact microtransactions and loot boxes have on players, however, we often argue in abstract terms. Not today. Today we look at the human cost of predatory monetization - the impact that exploitative business models have on their vulnerable targets.
To really hammer it home, we'll have to meet Torulf Jernström, a mobile studio CEO whose tactics for hunting "whales" - the prime targets of microtransactions - sound scarily like instructions for selling drugs.
From "Hook Habit Hobby" to the "IKEA Effect," you're about to learn just how low this industry's tricks get. This industry has truly sold its soul.
Strap in, because this gets horrible. And if I'm to be remembered for any single Jimquisition, I'd like it to be this one.
#Microtransactions #Money #Addiction #JimSterling #Jimquisition
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Twitter: / jimsterling
Facebook: / jimsterling0
Jim’s Big Ego (No Relation): bigego.com/
Bandcamp of the Sax Dragon - carlcatron.bandcamp.com
Nathan Hanover - / @nhsynthonicorchestra 
Игры
Lootboxes "are optional".
Well, Alcohol "is optional" but people still develop alcoholism and it still ruins lives.
Gambling "is optional" but people still get addicted and it still ruins lives.
Being "optional" is NOT a defence.
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.
As a middle school teacher, I can wholly confirm the point about students bullying each other over Fortnite cosmetics.
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.
My grandmother was addicted to hitting the Casino, even though she couldnt afford it.
So one day, my 10 year old self had a plan. Give her my Gameboy and Pokémon Red.
I farmed as much cash as I could from the elite four, walked into the Casino and handed it to her.
She played until my Pokemaster was broke.
I did it all over again. She would hand it to me and say "Paaaulll can you get me more coins please?"
You're damn right I will. Get you coins ALL DAY.
It stopped her from wanting to go to the Casino.
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.
It's amazing how broad and malleable the addictive mindset is. "If I don;t get it now, I might never get it" is literally the mindset that poverty imprints people with. I don't know how this works with rich people who actually have other options in life, maybe they just fuck themselves up for different reasons but with poor people this mentality makes total sense and it applies to everything from food to cell phone games. The fear that things might not be there tomorrow is very real and the amazing part is that it is mostly manufactured by people who own property and artificially imposed on people who don't. At the end of the day the mindset of capitalism is more about scarcity and the inability of ever being able to rely on anything than it is about just money as a thing.
Thank you for this comment
We got a reddit tankie everyone.
Somethings gone horribly wrong when the Gaming industry and an Drug Cartel have the same business model.
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 😂
AAA Industry: "IT'S NOT GAMBLING"
AAA Industry: spends billions in slot machine psychology research.
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.
"So you need to Break their wall first!"
He's not talking about 'convincing' someone. He's talking *Coercion.*
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.
I worked at a bank and watched so many people not be able to pay their bills and when I would look at their spending it would usually be micro transactions on video games. People were taking out payday loans to support the habit. It was brutal to watch helplessly.
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
"Jimquisition is anti-AAA." Wear that like a badge of honor.
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
The whole "Hook, Habit, Hobby" thing is literally just "First one's free, next one will cost you"
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?
I'll admit that when these "free to play" games first started to become a thing, their tactics took me to the cleaners. Video games are supposed to be something you can do to relax and have fun, and since I had my guard down, I got seriously taken advantage of...and the scariest thing was I didn't even realize how badly they were ripping me off til I stumbled across a video on RUclips talking about the tactics "freemium" games use. Its scary to watch a vid like that and realize that 50% of the things they listed were things that I was falling for. It was even scarier to realize that even though I knew what they were doing, I still couldn't stop. There wasn't really anyone to talk to or ask for help because people don't take it seriously...most just opine that you're not addicted, you're just blaming the devs/publishers for your own lack of self control.
What I did to get back into control and play games that I actually enjoyed again was quit the games using the tactics that were the absolute hardest for me to say no to. To kill impulse spending, I got a prepaid card. Now, any time I want to spend money in a game, rather than mindlessly tapping the buy button, I have to go to the bank to load money onto the prepaid card. That cooling off period is very effective. Most of those "deals" are appealing only because they are designed to pop up and offer you stuff that you could really use at that moment, but once you're logged out of the game, the idea of spending $50 or $100 for that stuff suddenly looks really dumb.
One thing that I really hate about the industry is these predatory tactics really do seem to chase me. I'll research a game, make sure its one that doesn't use the tactics I know will rob me blind, and then a few months later, those greedy sleezebags add it in. Even single player games aren't safe anymore. They claim that the monetization is totally optional, but I've watched how the games change. They intentionally make the games less satisfying, less fun to play, just so they can push you to pay money to get that enjoyment back...except that you never do get that enjoyment back. They put you on a never ending cash treadmill with having fun as the carrot constantly dangling just out of reach.
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. ;)
That story from the addict hopping from game to game being chased by all the predatory BS was absolutely heartbreaking. Listening to that was just a horrible experience.
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
"If you don't like loot boxes, don't play games that have them"
In enough time there won't be many games that dont have them.
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.
"Why is everyone overreacting? It's just DLC."
Then became, "It's just some mini-DLC."
Then became, "It's just pay-to-win microtransactions in f2p games."
Then became, "It's just cosmetic microtransactions in buy to play games."
Then became, "It's just cosmetic lootboxes in buy to play games."
Then became, "It's just cosmetic lootboxes in buy to play games with its content/accessibility re-allocated between preordering and multiple more expensive game editions."
What's the big deal? You're only giving them an inch each time.
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"
"WE CAN TALK ABOUT MORALITY... IF WE HAVE TIME LATER"
- literally the entire world as I've always known it... hashtag nihilism, hashtag pirate everything
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
My parents met in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, so part of The Talks I had growing up was that alcoholism and addictive tendencies in general runs in families, so I should be super careful about anything addictive, along with techniques for enjoying things in moderation.
And that’s why I stayed away from MMOs in their heyday and why I stay away from games with lootboxes and their ilk. To be frank, even something really benign and fair about free-to-play elements like the pet game Flight Rising is pushing it, sometimes. I keep track of my spending on the game and I’ve never put myself in danger over it or anything, but I’m also taking a break from FR until I’ve got my certification and a new job. I do not need the temptation right now with how tight my budget is.
This is a really important Jimquision, especially for folks who have never seen addiction in their friends and families.
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.
My marketing teacher used to dismiss ethics, with the argument that it was his job to make money from customers so whatever he did to achieve that, was ethical.
There was one thing I learned from that class, marketing is not for me.
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...
"Jim Sterling is not pro-consumer, he's anti-AAA" , today pro-consumer and anti-AAA are the same thing.
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).
That section about kids being bullied about only having the default skin in Fortnite was bizarrely anticipated by Ernest Cline in his Ready Player One book, where the main character is just in the basic avatar outfit for the first section of the book until by the million to one chance of passing the first test. That was something that never happened in Spielberg's film, where Wade is poor, but never bullied for being a 'default' as he was in the book.
Watching this made me uninstall a few "games" I had on my phone. Seeing the callousness from Jernstrom and hearing some of those testimonials made me realize something about my spending habits. Just wanted to say thank you.
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
Jim Sterling is not pro-consumer - he is pro-human-beings.
Edit: I'm a former EA-employee (gameplay programmer), who has worked for actual lottery companies (both local jobs), who is also a Jim Sterling fan - who agrees with all the points you're making, in full.
Lottery tickets are horrible - and no one should really buy them - but loot boxes are just the worst kind of cash grabs, lamentably ruining one of the most beautiful forms of artistic expression humankind has had the ability to create so far.
Even if good folks work on these projects - it's the direction that is admonishable. Moreover, asking good folks to put together such horrible parts of good games is a gigantic waste of talent.
Personally, I've wasted far too much of my life making garbage like that because I didn't see a path towards something better.
Thanks for keeping these ideas, and the 'Dead Game News' ideas of killing older games alive.
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.
The way the crowd laughed when that dude talked about conning players into thinking they're "helping" and "supporting" developers.... That honestly made my skin crawl.
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 ?
As someone who recognises they have addictive tendancies, easily falls into bad habits, and struggles so much with self control, I'm honestly terrified to play a lot of games nowadays. It's so predatory and insidious it makes you scared of all the tricks these developers sneak into the game to leech away your money and health
play old offline games with no microtransactions, thats what i do. The good thing is that there are plenty of games out there like this, its a near infinite ocean to dive into from the 90s to about 2010. How about mario 64?
I recently created a game concept for my college finals and when i was presenting it, one of the people who judged it, seemed very disappointed i didn't put microtransactions or subsciptions into it. It made me really mad and i think my grade suffered for this particular reason but i can't bring myself to prey on people regardless of the circumstances... who in their right mind does that?!
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
Triple A:
Abusive monetization
Abuse of employees
Abhorrent products
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
The 'hook' thing sounds a lot like 'the first hit is free' from drugs...
Also, casinos are optional, so is alcohol, yet we don't let children access those things...
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)
Budding game dev here. This video has changed my perception of F2P / Microtransactions completely. Thanks for opening my eyes.
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.
How did he manage to make it through that whole "whale talk" without burning his house down out of homicidal rage? I almost did. This shit is infuriating on every level
As a gambling addict, I just want to say thank you for shining light on this insidious monetization of videogames. This is important.
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...
EA to the UK Government. _"Yeah yeah we're ethical, we care for our players."_
Developers in a developer conference. *"Here's how this trick works to get people addicted into throwing money at us."*
Pass. The. Shotgun.
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.
As a recovering addict (full remission, 18 months) i applaud you for the way you've handled trying to define what addiction is. Good job like always Jim- Steph?
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
This video hit so hard... Wow. I always hated the microtransaction culture but mostly viewed it as a memeable joke because I'm not someone who can afford to indulge in them and I'm too stubborn to pay over and above an initial fee for the actual game. This video is eye opening into as to what other people go through and the psychological exploitation of an industry that not so long ago was one of the few industries to have been genuine in their dealings.
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.
"You cannot get somebody to understand a concept, when his salary depends on him not knowing it."
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(…) »
"Anit-lootbox bill poses threat to sports video games"
Why I stopped playing sports games since 2009
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
Addiction has been the ruination of my extended family, my family struggled with alcohol problems before I was born. Now my surviving aunts now live with alcoholic dementia and my mom's brothers are all dead due to health problems due to hard drinking and smoking.
This is not a damn joke, the game industry is like that voice that tells you to just have one more drink. Just buy that one more lootbox and it becomes another and another unitl you are sunk in debt and financial ruin.
The "It's optional" mentality reminds me of how people are supposedly "rational actors" and thus it's their own damn fault if they buy our poison. That's the excuse, anyway. You get to 14:45 in when Jernström starts talking about how to override the rational part of players' minds and the mask falls off.
It's not piracy, it's a "Surprise Discount"!
A 100% updated one at that!
I fully support piracy. There is an ongoing arms race, and the power involved is incredibly lopsided towards the side that wants to suck your bank account dry. The least we can do is fight back with every weapon available to us - as our opposers already do.
@@sevenman9672 I don't support piracy as such. I do support it as a weapon of war, like real life piracy when the English were raiding Spanish galleons.
I would never pirate (say) the Homeworld prequel, because it was a legit game written by real humans. I wouldn't pirate NieR either. Or No Man's Sky.
But some publishers are so toxic that they're entering my "we're at war with them" zone.
If piracy is what it takes for you to control you impulses instead of simply not buying some under-baked gambler bait I feel sorry for ya m8
I do that on every game,only fews i dont pitacy because i like the online
They’re not layoffs, they’re *_“sUrPrIsE vAcAtIoNs”._*
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.
Watching this again after the rise of Genshin Impact and it's scary how many of these things can be seen in the game and its community. Really sad to see a game with such great visual design ruined by mechanical design to fit the gacha game model.
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
"quite ethical"
yes, this is how we talk about ethics. The murder was "quite ethical" because it was done quick and painless
edit: also "19 year old who spent 10k on games" F sounds close to me
Genshin Impact one kid spent 10k on Genshin Impact character Zhongli
if the talk starts with "we won't discus the morality" you know it's immoral .
Mad scientist talk
It has the same expectation as "I'm not racist but...". It definitely is whatever they are denying.
@@PurpleAlzirNo offense 😆
When he spoke about Fortnite, I immediately had a flashback of my little brother playing Fortnite. I remember him saying stuff like:
"Time to bully some defaults."
"I got killed by a _fucking default!_ "
etc.
I didn't think about it then, but now I feel bad.
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.
I can't believe this was made before Genshin impact, which as someone who has played it for a very long time in the past, has gone through almost all of the steps that the talk mentioned. It's coming to all of the platforms now. I miss the times when we could just be happy with minecraft, with the correct spending model of "pay once, and never again." It's the least manipulative of them all. I miss those days.
Back then I knew a guy who spent over 2k dollars over sharkcards in GTA Online. I told him, why did you buy it? we're playing in PS4/PS5 (I have a PS5 now) and he said "because a lot of tryhard griefers blow my cargo every time I wanna earn money" and I told him... what if I can help you IF you stop spending money on sharkcards and he said ok.
I helped the guy out earn money on public sessions, giving him tricks and tips on how to sell his cargo without interferance of tryhards because apparently even he spent that much cash, he is still broke because he is an impulsive spender and I know that feeling.
this is before I sold my account to someone else, but I added him on my new one and when Cayo Perico heist came around, I helped him do the stealth mission and what and what not to do on heist preps. ever since that day, he never spent any money ever again and starts focusing on grinding. he's a good friend of mine.
Toxic work environments, Poisonous corporate culture, chronic predation directed at the consumer base; 'Triple Aaaay'
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.
"The idea of the "service video game" is a lie. Because it isn't a service they provide to you,... it's a service you provide to them!" - Jim Sterling
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.
I'm a teacher at secondary school. I'll now make the kids watch this video when I see they can benefit from it. Guess what, they don't even know English. I'll even translate you for them. I'm just sad I discovered it 1 year later.
good for you.
Wow, the ONLY RUclipsr that doesn't play any ads in his videos. Even if you hate the guy you have to give him respect for that.
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
My god, that dude doing the presentation sounded like a drug dealer. Madness
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.
“Jim sterling is not pro consumer he’s anti triple a”
I literally cannot tell the difference between the phrase “Pro consumer” and “Anti Triple A”
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.
you know, I never get tired of the phrase "Thank God for me". With how much I honestly dislike boasting about oneself, when it's deserved, it's far more effective and feels so damn good
"You're sitting there listening quietly because that's what everyone else is doing"
*noise level increases*
Oops! I got antsy and jumped the gun before it was in HD. It'll correct itself when RUclips updates it. Sorry!
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.
I can't believe they recorded Jernstrom saying those things. It was probably one of the stupidest things they could have done. And I am GLAD for it.
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.”
If anyone reads this and it helps, stick to retro and finished games if you can't handle the temptation, avoid pre orders at all costs, try not to follow gaming news and always look for mods to customize before buying dlc
and when all else fails, stick to being a filthy pirate, see you in the high seas.
It’s the pirates life for me
18:00 the devs don’t even see that money. It mostly goes to execs and shareholders.
*How can our farms work with no slaves ? Slaves are soooooo good to our economy and every one does it. This is the AAA industry*
Yeeeeep
If companies like EA need to prey on others just to stay in business, then they should just go out of business. If EA's corporate office burned down one night with nobody in it, that would be a great victory for the games industry!
@Abe Cedeefgee is there a reason you posted your comment twice or was that by accident.
It's okay, I'm sure they're all good Christians and the Bible tells them it's acceptable.
@Abe Cedeefgee begone Andrew Wilson! The flames of Microtransaction will not avail you!
"Anchoring is fun"
Every sentence that guy spewed out of his mouth made me shudder... How he presents manipulation as "fun" sickens me.
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.
I know I'm late to the party for comments but i need to say this having lived through a parent doing it: No one in their right mind would look at an alcoholic wandering into a bottle store and say its "drinker's choice", its preying on addiction and not even remotely hiding it. I cant believe I'm about to say this but at least alcohol producers PRETEND to care
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.
We need a PG version of this to educate our youth and loved ones. I will be showing my younger sister this video appropriate or not. I actually fell for Mobile Strike. The £3.99 pack was so tempting. After losing standing with my clan I caved. Then it was £19.99 pack and starting my own clan. Next I have 50 players in my clan most of which are spending and already got the £79.99 pack so I got the £39.99, then moved up to the £79.99 myself to keep my standing as clan lead. Before long you couldn't compete with other clans without a regular £79.99 pack top up. People had farms of duff accounts to get the earlier cheap £3.99/19.99 packs FFS. I got about £600.00+ deep before I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach. The one where you get overwhelmed with the shame of being baited and taken advantage of. Seeing that fucker gloating with Arnold and Mobile Strike as one of his first examples made me feel sick. That money went on my credit card and took months to pay off. Working at a supermarket part time back then, I relied on housing benefit for rent. Mobile Strike was very effective on me and probably countless others. Its just rotten.
Hang in there. Tell your story. And vote for Josh Hawley
"But humans can't possibly be so greedy as to seriously undermine the quality of life of their customers, all in the sake of profit."
*remembers the Sackler family, and how they helped usher in a generation of opioid addicts*
"Oh. Right. Yeah."
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*
The dude talking at the conference was pretty disgusting.
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.
"It's not about need, it's about greed."
Thank you for the fire and fury of this video Jim 👏🏿 So well constructed and properly centers the vulnerable and disadvantaged. There is NOT ENOUGH of this kind of commentary online. TGFY
I think the one thing that's saved me from much of this is that I do the "slow thinking" that the Jernstrom guy doesn't want gamers to do. I've gotten kinda risk-averse as I got older, so I usually go, "OOH, that's cool! But... Eww, that price, really? Is this all there is here? Will there be a sale? How long has this game been around?" But of course, this is me at 32.
But if I was 12 years old, back when I used to want every game I saw with my favorite cartoon characters on it? I'm sure I'd be pouring plenty of cash into something like Fortnite. Plus, as a single-player gamer, I'd probably be tricked into tossing more money into some of the single-player games that have become increasingly monetized, like Ubisoft's products. I'm honestly glad I was born in the 90s, in light of how modern gaming has so HUNGRILY preyed on children for impulsive buys.
EA CEO: "I have no idea what addiction is like. *drinks the blood of new born babies*
@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.
27:20 - 27:29 "You absolutely do not want to tell them that the majority of people in your game never spend money. That's poison. Never tell them that."
No Mr JernStrom. Thats not poison. Thats actually the antidote. What you are spewing is actually poison.
If you're the devil, it is poison.
that's so true
Shit. So... uh... something something ethics in video games journalism. Where are all those dudes at who were whining about Anita Sarkeesian? Because this is an ACTUAL ethics in video games journalism issue that isn't getting talked about for whatever reason.
"You don't want your customers to use the slow thinking when dealing with your game."
Literally... just literally talking about how your customers will recognize that you're giving them a bad deal, if they're thinking about it for more than a second. I can't believe how much I hate this person, right now. How much of a scumbag these people are, is stunning.
"I don't do this for outrage "clicks""
that's evident, my man has a 34 minute video on this subject, this is passion if I've ever seen 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!
You can just hear the gloating contempt in Torulf's voice as he says "the reasons don't even have to be that good in order for this to work."
Well, the talk was named "The tricks of the F2P trade" and it was public.
You also forget to mention that game journalists are often paid by company’s to cover their backs so the problem is intensified even further
Like Genshin Impact MIhoyo doe it well fucking game journalsits.
I don't know if Jim will see this, but, I want to say Thank You: thank you for calling the blatant bull that game publishers force in for microtransactions, I myself am currently struggling with the issue (a lot of messed up garbage happened, and overwatch was one of the first few games we got when we first got my xbox 1) so much to the point where I cannot even look at certain games I loved to play before wanting to vomit (paladins by evil mojo games is a grand example of it - both "chests" or loot boxes, and a battle pass)
I'm still human and struggling with the issue, but I realize that it's not healthy for me, and have begun to switch back towards more single-player oriented video games.
Jim, thank you. Thank you for helping me to see that going over $50 on lootboxes wasn't a good idea. Thank you
When Jim Doesn't put the voice on to say 'Triple A' you know it's a serious issue.
Jim, you should SERIOUSLY consider testifying in front of congress or try to bring the information in this video to the attention of lawmakers.
@@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
"If people didn't want heroin, they wouldn't spend money on it!" ergo heroin is ethical!
Oregon is trying to legalize heroin right now.
Hey, anyone remember the days when the only way for game devs to get people addicted to a game series was to make even better sequels and spinoffs?
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
Someone play that Torulf Jernstrom talk to the legislative bodies of the world. Immediately. That is the most damning thing I've ever seen.
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.
This should be shared to EVERY politician, EVERY court of Law, EVERY person that has the power to change the LAW, to FORCE developers/Publishers to STOP this behaviour, to outlaw the use of loot boxes, additional spending etc. Until LAW prohibits this behaviour, it will continue - whether its 'called' a 'loot box' or a 'Surprise Mechanic', it NEEDS TO BE OUTLAWED!!!
BAM Mözzi and if they still vote against stopping micro transactions, there’s the politician who’s getting money directly from the triple a game industry
Jim should be allowed to speak at these government meetings and show the insidious nature of MTs
Microtransactions or really any post-launch, paid "support" in general need to be outlawed
Duncan McMillan he would be the best damn lawyer with all the evidences he has
"Greed is the root of all evil" was true a couple thousand years ago ... still is.
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
One of my friends once tried to argue, “Without microtransactions in games, Triple-A publishers will go out of business and people will lose jobs!”
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.
The kids bullying other kids because of their default skins made me tear up. It's not enough now pressure for the clothes they wear, but also for a game... we really have strayed too far from the light
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.
I'll say this. THIS is not just the most important jimquisition, but also the most important video jim sterling ever made so far.
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.
This video should be subtitled in every language and showed to every parent of a ''gamer kid''.
I guess thats not a bad idea...
Thankfully I’m generally there to vet games and just bar certain aspects
'torulf jernstrom' sounds like the name of a bond villain. he probably lives inside a volcano lol
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.
Weird how in the 90s everything was banned because you should think of the children. But 2019 those same people stopped caring since they are making billions of the children.
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....
It's not "unethical," it's "FUNethicla!" -EA, probably
reincarN8ed Don’t give them ideas
eA bAd!
It's not "predatory," it's "GAMER CRED-atory!"
Beat me to it! 👍
It's EAthical.
Jim looks like a teacher who would never teach us anything from curriculum, however end up teaching us the most valuable and worthwhile life lessons.
Dude jim sterling literally called everything that's happened to the industry so far
Oh shit. I didn’t even check the date of this video. Damn, hasn’t really changed..
"Leave the morality out of the talk." I can't think of a better way to summarize capitalism than that quote.
Then when shit hits the fan like government scrutiny, capitalists weaponize morality to justify their egregious actions.
"I have a solution! Let's just not think about how horrible what we're doing is!"
You can literally summerize every world view with this, because this happens literally everywhere, even in the most restrictive societies.
I can think of no better way to admit that the subject matter is a morality septic tank than when the person speaking opens with "let's leave morality out of the discussion". And the fact that the AAA game industry cares less and less about being subtle about it makes this even more disgusting than this shit already is on its own.
This isn't a problem with capitalism, its a problem with any form of society. Capitalism didn't invent assets and resources, lmao. I don't know why people think it did.
"Spending addiction? Only a FOOL wouldn't have a statistically uncommon capacity to resist dopamine-centered research-informed product design."
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.
I know I'm years late on this video but I wanted to share how this stuff has affected me. I hope it helps anyone who reads this
I played Overwatch for a while. I love cosmetics and occasionally bought loot boxes when a Mercy outfit came out. I spent around $100 on loot boxes collectively. I was becoming more and more guilt ridden because I felt so torn. I knew it was gambling but I wanted the outfits so badly. Looking back now I realize that it was because of my gender dysphoria. I was in the closet at the time, so playing Mercy made me feel like the woman I wanted to be. Maternal, caring and beautiful.
Eventually I realized what I was doing wasn't healthy and I stopped playing Overwatch. As much as I miss hearing Mercy's voice and healing others. I think she'd understand and would tell me she was proud of me. I've had a similar mentality ever since. I refuse to touch games with loot boxes, or any kind of gambling mechanic. The only micro transactions I'll participate in are things like extra cosmetics on ffxiv's mog station. It's very much a "what you see is what you get" and I'm fortunate enough to be able to discern when something is a justifiable splurge and when something just isn't feasible.
For a long time games have been an outlet for me. Especially so when I can affirm my gender in game with something that makes me feel super feminine. I no longer need to do this as much since I came out to my family when covid began. But ever since that day in Overwatch I realized how predatory the games industry had become. I'm well aware of how fortunate I am to have been able to stop. But not everyone can. and it's disgusting that our safe haven has been turned into a places of charlatans.
Hi Flutter Butter.
I am glad to see you have survived the harrowing journey out of the lootbox rabbit hole, I am so proud of you. As a fellow transgender woman I was surprised to read how a game's lootbox mechanic can prey on one's gender dysphoria. I can say from experience that I felt similar sensations when it came to bonding with a fictional character because she made me feel like the woman I wanted to be. In my case, it was the female goblins from World of Warcraft, though thankfully playing as them wasn't locked behind a paywall like it was for you.
Like yourself I feel lucky to be least affected by these micro-transactions, since I am very smart and self-aware most of the time. But, despite that, I am still afraid that maybe one day a game of a similar nature would finally sink its jaws on me and put me into financial ruin.
What worries me more are the countless children and teenagers that are suckered into this micro-transaction rabbit hole, especially with games like Fortnite who are heavily marketed towards kids and teenagers (because they have a large, successful toy-line to go along with it), I can only hope that I can make another RUclips video like this explaining how the COVID-19 stress can be used to further this unethical practice.
Overall I am glad to have read your comment and found another of my fellow transgender. Please contact me whenever you can, I'd love to chat with you sometime.
Contact
Discord: El Goblina#2577
Twitter: twitter.com/FemboyChannel
Facebook: facebook.com/lex.hernandez.547
Three years after this video came out, it's still damn important and I wish it was still being promoted on YT"s home page. I myself have an addictive personality, as I learned when I first discovered MMOs. I got seriously addicted to City of Heroes, to the point where it was destroying my life.
Most RUclipsrs are used by these gaming companies to push kids to spend money
Thank GOD for Sterling. Doing the work that ESRB refuses to let you know.
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!”
Hold on. I have to pause at the 5 minute mark, that guy actually called his presentation in favor of micro transactions "let's go whaling"?? As if whaling isn't itself seen as a horrible exploitation of animals who can't defend themselves? Animals who actively need protection from that practice?
And people wonder how this can be unethical?
Whatever you do, don't search RUclips 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 have always been incredibly impulsive, have a long family history of addiction and addictive behavior, and have only recently come to discover that I and most of my family have ADHD. In a world where everything is getting more expensive, games are doing even less for even more, I keep having to come back to this video every time I get into a game and find out it has microtransactions and/or gambling mechanics. Just to remind myself that it is all lies, and that this shit is designed to hurt me and people like me just to get more money.
I know looking at pre-transition content is rough as hell, Steph, but just in case: Thank you. Thank you for never letting up and for constantly putting things into perspective, even when it's uncomfortable. Thank you for talking so candidly about these issues in ways that are both relatable and poingiant. And thank you for making this, a piece I use in my every day life to keep myself from spending what little I have on nothing.
I would thank the gods for you, but I'd rather just thank you instead. ❤❤❤
This is my son. He's ten and he spent 40 pound without asking. He begs constantly and pulls on our heart strings telling us "I don't wanna be a default skin" and he gets 20 pound every week or two. Only now am I drawing my horns In With it because I see the trappings more clearly. Thnx Jim
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
"The place where I once found distraction and salvation... is now preying upon my addictive nature and impulse spending problems".
Wow... This actually hits hard... I always thought of how gaming was once buy once and then have fun, and now we are just cash cows to be milked constantly, but still... It really dawns upon me more seriously this time.
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.
companies that try to justify Lootboxes are basically like casino companies and cigarette companies trying to justify itself at this point
Or any business. Why should food and water cost money? Businesses know you need it to survive and make profit off you not wanting to die. Such we regulate the grocery stores that they need to give their food away for free because they are preying on people's weaknesses?
LUL. Most of Water Suppliers are regulated in the case of natural monopolies, limiting their profit. Of course they would charge you infinite for water, and that's why it is regulated. The same for distribution in electricity. Groceries you don't need to do that, because you assume it is a competitive market, and it is reasonable to assume that in the absence of monopoly the price of groceries will be near their actual marginal cost.
In the case of software, is actually an unregulated monopoly. They can put and vary the price as much as they want. That's actually why Google is being sued in EU for monopolistic behavior.
You don't regulate everything. You regulate what you need to regulate, as in this case, lootboxes, cigarettes (for negative externalities) and gambling.
That Weird Kid From High School Strange that you’re so afraid of intervention from governing authorities in this issue. Lootboxes are basically gambling, you know. And so, they should be regulated, marked, and treated as such. That’s all that matters
@@SylentVoidkeeper He's coming out as such an extreme libertarian and anti-consumer in the comments section, it's nearly as he's trolling right now.
@@SylentVoidkeeper the funniest part is I'm not even a gamer anymore, except the odd pubg game here and there. Why? I educated myself that the practice they are doing is stupid and I don't like it so guess what, as a man of my word my Xbox has dust on it because i don't buy games anymore! Now if everyone else had the will power to do what I did, the industry would change over night. I HATE the idea of lootboxes, and I hate the practice, however I respect their right to do it. Just like the free speech debate, there are people I think say incredibly damaging things, however I still believe they should be allowed to speak.
And a point you mentioned, "how else are you going to collect everything if you don't go whale mode on boxes"
Again an education issue. Also another point that I use to drive that gamers are greedy and entitled, another reason I had to walk away from gaming. When you buy the game you are buying the chance to experience it. These cosmetics are extras, nowhere on the box does it say you will collect 100% of the items. If anything, I think this helps children. It teaches them a few lessons, 1, life is a roll of a dice and you get what you get, case closed. 2, just like in life you don't have the time or resources to do/get 100% of what you want in life, so be happy with what you do get"
Damn ngl thought of that last paragraph while I was halfway through writing it, didn't even think of that point before. All this conversation is doing is making me think more about how ridiculous this is that laws are being made because people are whores for SKINS that do not change a game at all. I'm almost to the point of thinking if they make any laws regarding lootboxes, they should just ban all cosmetics in games completely, so everyone can stfu. But I don't like stifling a business
We could use a similar video again now that Genshin is getting traction.
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.
Jim, you're so damn talented, hilarious, and genuine. I can't stop watching, I love your content and brand you've created for yourself. Don't listen to self doubts and just keep being you 100% of the time, you really deliver the good word and we need you. Keep it up mate!