Submitted 11 hours ago by Agent_Karyo@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world
https://insider-gaming.com/player-spends-32000-dollars-on-nba-2k25/
Don’t think of this as an individual making stupid choices with a game. Think of this as a game with thousands of players designed to target and take advantage of the neuro-divergent or those susceptible to problem gambling.
Micro-tranactions are a predatory gambling mechanic and this person was robbed of this money.
Are ya winning, son?
Hopefully he is. I mean, that’s an awful lot of money to spend to not win.
This question no longer needs to be asked.
No. No he’s not.
Nobody is winning anymore.
He may break even if his content generates enough income. I almost applaud him for the effort, because publishers aren’t going to be straightforward with the amount you’d need to spend for a completionist. This is probably the only way to shed light on the problem, even if that wasn’t his intent.
We should request/make new gaming categories.
Casual, for moms and aunts.
Classic, for gamers, us, dedicated to games, sitting on forums, knowing the market and following “and remember - no preorders” like rules.
Gacha, for streamers.
Milk farms, for rich who don’t know what do to with monies, so they can spend $32000 per game ez.
Everyone gets something, and we will know to stay away from other categories.
./s just in case.
Where is the sarcasm?
They should be forced to reimburse. This is beyond predatory.
what’s fucking sad is I don’t think this guy even realizes he has a problem.
One things for sure, I will not spend this much again, because you don’t get rewarded for it. As much as I spent, I should have everything in the game, but it’s not even close.
That’s what you say when you’ve spent like $100. hell maybe even $1000. But $32k??? This is so far beyond being not “rewarded for it”.
I wonder if someone spent even more on some random Gacha Game.
One streamer dropped over $100k on Diablo Immortal when it released. His gear was leveled so high, he couldn’t match against anyone else in pvp.
Wtf
markz@suppo.fi 11 hours ago
This is ok, but balatro is gambling.
bruh
MyDarkestTimeline01@ani.social 11 hours ago
It’s because Balatro and small indies that catch fire threaten the bloated dinosaurs that are the AAA franchises.
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
“We’ve spent 30 years underperforming and manipulating our customers to get where we are today! We’re not about to let some noob take a slice of our pie just because they came up with this wacky idea of a ‘Fun game that’s reasonably priced!’”
Goodeye8@piefed.social 8 hours ago
I think that's a bit farfetched. I don't think any AAA dinosaur feels threatened by Balatro, and if we talk specifically about sports games Balatro is not a threat because that genre has formed its own thick bubble that Balatro could never penetrate.
The more obvious reason is probably true, lawmakers are simply too stupid to tell the difference between using gambling motiffs and actual gambling.
NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 8 hours ago
No. It is because Balatro actually had playing cards and pretended it was poker. Its similar to how so many older games could have your character popping meth near constantly but it is fine because it isn’t tobacco.
That said: I really do wish we would have a proper reckoning. I love Balatro. It very much takes the skinner box and slot machine mechanics to an all new level. So does Vampire Survivors. And if you ask most millennial gamers, we’ll have stories about how we almost flunked out of college because of Diablo or WoW and the like.
The gacha games and ultimate team and all that very much exploit the same concepts but with a goal of milking every single penny out of their consumerbase. But time is often just as important (and most of said milking comes from people realizing they have no time to spare) and it is important people realize that.