JadeBalfour Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 I have never understood why gambling laws don't apply to this case. They are taking money for a random game of chance. The odds are completely regulated by them and they pay little to no taxes on it. It's ridiculous. They don't apply to the Cartel Market packs because of what "gambling" means. To gamble, you have to have a possibility of losing your bet. But, with the these packs, there is always an item dropped. Now, you may not want that item, but you still got something for your money. It's the same reason why Star Trek Online can do it with their lockboxes. They always drop Lobi Crystals(A currency) and a possible item from a list. So, if you could buy a Cartel pack, open it and get nothing, then people could go after Bioware. Until that part changes, Bioware is free to keep selling these packs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieKirby Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 Video games are children's entertainment. Lol, seriously? I suppose you would let your child play games like Alien Isolation, Doom III, any R-Rated video game ever made? if so, you should not be a parent. full stop! There are games specifically made for kids, like Pokemon and educational games, alot of games coming out are violent and meant to be very scary....most tend not to be majority of the time......i must be emotionally damaged or something. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieKirby Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 They don't apply to the Cartel Market packs because of what "gambling" means. To gamble, you have to have a possibility of losing your bet. But, with the these packs, there is always an item dropped. Now, you may not want that item, but you still got something for your money. It's the same reason why Star Trek Online can do it with their lockboxes. They always drop Lobi Crystals(A currency) and a possible item from a list. So, if you could buy a Cartel pack, open it and get nothing, then people could go after Bioware. Until that part changes, Bioware is free to keep selling these packs. When it comes to gambling, its where you pay money and you have the chance of getting something or nothing at all, but when you pay for Cartel Coins, you get the cartel coins, so its not gambling at all, now if you paid specifically for the crates themselves instead of coins, then its gambling to a degree. This is why every single game that has the whole RNG crate thing in it, you always get what you pay for, now if there is anything worthwhile inside, is entirely a different matter. Like Destiny 2, you pay real money for Silver and you ALWAYS get the Silver you pay for, now, what you get via the Silver however is entirely random.....so its not gambling at all..since you indeed get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transcendent Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 One of the problems with RNG as a whole is the lack of transparency on the odds. As someone else pointed out, they can change those odds when ever they like. Like if they see to many people getting the main reward and sales dropping off because there are too many on the GTN, then they just adjust those odds so it doesn’t drop. For all we know, this might be what they do. Have you ever noticed that when new packs come out, there are quite a few people getting the main reward. People get excited seeing people running around with it for a few days to a week. Then all of a sudden they don’t drop and prices on the GTN sky rocket. It is what happens, I'll lay a wager (oh the irony) that they do adjust the drop rates behind the scenes without players realising that is happening. We've seen it in the game drop chances at least three times that I can think of, Makeb chests used to drop a lot of artifact gear alongside credits which got nerfed into oblivion long before they were adjusted to only dropping satchels of crafting materials. Likewise Rishi chests used to drop a lot of credits, long before they got nerfed into oblivion to only drop crafting materials and stims. Yavin 4 slicing nodes used to give a lot more credits than they currently do, plus the chances of getting missions from those chests was much higher than it is now. They've done this multiple times across the game, without players taking much notice. They already have the systems in place to alter drop rates behind the scenes and neglect to inform players. So it stands to reason that they also do this with Cartel Packs, the difference here is that players don't get to see those odds up front and in some situations they're paying real money to obtain those packs. The utter lack of transparency from BioWare is one solid reason I do not intend to ever purchase a hypercrate ever again, and I used to buy a fair few prior to the 4.0 alterations to pack contents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmbralSpirit Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 It's simple. Make everyone else pay for what I want. Aka socialism? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmbralSpirit Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 (edited) Putting the price of games up. They've been at 60 buckaroos since forever. And you know what else has been around since forever? Drop in quality, not only do we get games with day one DLC for our 60 Quatloos which over the next couple months add up to more $ than the base game they also more often than not contain content that should have been in the base games to begin with. And if that wouldn't be enough games these days are so incredibly riddled with bugs (often game breaking ones) thanks to the release now patch later (which often never happens....fixing the bugs that is, seriously take a look at how many "tripple A" games these days need community patches because the devs don't do sh*t) mentality that it's not even funny anymore. And the gaming industry seriously has the balls to whine about income and pirating.....yea, no sympathy from me here, do a better job if you want peoples money. Edited October 10, 2017 by UmbralSpirit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuiwe Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 (edited) CONTROVERSY WARNING! You know what would make all these lootboxes etc less of a thing? Putting the price of games up. They've been at 60 buckaroos since forever and while more gamers than ever are out there the production of videogames has skyrocketed. From a business perspective, unless said game is something like a GTA game where the return is still humongous most games can't get that. Of course most publishers wouldn't dare do it as it would kill them due to whiny gamers latching onto the evil used market. I know it wouldn't kill lootboxes etc entirely because money but they'd have less of a leg to stand on. They don't cost 60$ anymore. Look at this video: Games that cost 100$ realistically. /meh AND have micros. Edited October 10, 2017 by Cuiwe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthSpuds Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 I don’t think people have an issue with paying for stuff, it’s when that stuff becomes RNG and you are never given any information on the chances of getting what you paid for. That is gambling because you never know the odds or wether you’ll get what you paid for. ^ This. I've paid what many would consider silly money for "pixels" in a game because I liked a Cosmetic / Mount / House - whatever. I have no problem at all for paying for the services / content I want. I do have a problem with paying real money for a chance to get noting I want - which is basically what Cartel Crates etc are about. If they published their RNG tables so I was aware of the chance I was taking in attempting to get what I want then I could make an informed choice about whether or not to "gamble". But gambling on blind odds is a fools game - because they can change the odds whenever they want. Petition Signed. All The Best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangenee Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 And you know what else has been around since forever? Drop in quality, not only do we get games with day one DLC for our 60 Quatloos which over the next couple months add up to more $ than the base game they also more often than not contain content that should have been in the base games to begin with. And if that wouldn't be enough games these days are so incredibly riddled with bugs (often game breaking ones) thanks to the release now patch later (which often never happens....fixing the bugs that is, seriously take a look at how many "tripple A" games these days need community patches because the devs don't do sh*t) mentality that it's not even funny anymore. And the gaming industry seriously has the balls to whine about income and pirating.....yea, no sympathy from me here, do a better job if you want peoples money. Look at it this way, what do you get for 60 dollary doos nowadays? Usually a template that content is added to via SEASON PASSES etc. So may as well raise the price, you end up paying far, far more then 60 sheckels eventually so you may as well pay it up front. Doesn't affect me of course as gaming after 2013 doesn't exist. Sold my PS4 as I never used it even. Modern gaming is a fools errand and I'm just waiting for the next videogame crash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curulz Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 When it comes to gambling, its where you pay money and you have the chance of getting something or nothing at all, but when you pay for Cartel Coins, you get the cartel coins, so its not gambling at all, now if you paid specifically for the crates themselves instead of coins, then its gambling to a degree. agreed. They would likely have to stretch the definition of "gambling" for it to apply here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totemdancer Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 agreed. They would likely have to stretch the definition of "gambling" for it to apply here. It’s a gray area that the industry continues to push the boundaries. It’s why people want to shine a light on it so it’s black and white. Then there are no gray areas because everyone knows where the boundaries really are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anzel Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 You can debate all you want. Gambling is gambling. This is gambling. The worst possible kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khartu Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 How else do you put pressure on an entire industry who is deadset on making everything RNG and micro transactions? Easy. If RNG is perceived as a problem game developers will see it as an opportunity and respond with offerings sans RNG. This is how an unfettered market works; it always works to fulfill the needs and desires of a market. We have RNG right now because we want RNG or at least don't mind it. Free people in a market don't need a minder to tell them whether this or that is good or bad. They are free to make that determination for themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blunite Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 When the whole country is under Sharia Law, there will be no games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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