RANDOM VIDEO GAME NEWS

[SonicMage117]

NARF!

Poite.

[Vitalis]

No evidence playing violent video games leads to aggressive behaviour in teens, study finds

What a surprise!

[IndiraLightfoot]

 

No evidence playing violent video games leads to aggressive behaviour in teens, study finds

What a surprise!

 

It never ceases to baffle me that this needs to be researched. I mean, for tens of thousands of years, adults have been telling their children super-violent myths and stories, ripe with war, torture and all kinds of assaults and molestation, still the same bell-curve of human decency has repeated itself. Sick individuals are sick individuals regardless, just as the real-life horrors of war and rape are the real-life horrors of war and rape. If anything, humanity as a whole is almost-hardwired to make these kinds of differentations, Homo Religiosus or not.

I recall the same idiotic debate in the '80s, regarding RPGs and violence.

Edited February 14, 2019 by IndiraLightfoot

[Gfted1]

But it does have the power to turn them into UNREPENTANT GAMBLING ADDICTS WHO WILL SELL THEIR PARENTS HOME TO SUPPORT THEIR ADDICTION. Weird. Ahem.

[SonicMage117]

But it does have the power to turn them into UNREPENTANT GAMBLING ADDICTS WHO WILL SELL THEIR PARENTS HOME TO SUPPORT THEIR ADDICTION. Weird. Ahem.

Nope. But most won't even admit that their gaming addiction is just that, an addiction and if someone does something wrong like this and admits it is linked to video games than either the sayer is delusional or the person has nobody to blame but thenselves for not controlling themsleves.

 

Nevermind the evidence on that though, a video game never had such an affect

 

 

*Person who argues this gets angry and plays game for 12 hours straight or until they have to poo*

[Oner]

But it does have the power to turn them into UNREPENTANT GAMBLING ADDICTS WHO WILL SELL THEIR PARENTS HOME TO SUPPORT THEIR ADDICTION. Weird. Ahem.

Video games are designed to provide entertainment, not to make you more aggressive, or train you to be a career warmonger.

Loot box systems -not loot box games, systems-, both in function and in psychological effect are gambling systems, designed to hook you into gambling addiction.

 

The difference should be obvious enough.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Oner

[IndiraLightfoot]

But it does have the power to turn them into UNREPENTANT GAMBLING ADDICTS WHO WILL SELL THEIR PARENTS HOME TO SUPPORT THEIR ADDICTION. Weird. Ahem.

Yeah, there's that. Computer games have that inherent Las Vegas strip bedazzlement quality, so when certain individuals with the wrong predesposition peruse them, they aren't just mesmerized by the neon lights; They are taken in by grinning Willy Wonkas hook, line and sinker. 

Edited February 14, 2019 by IndiraLightfoot

[IndiraLightfoot]

Oh, and I just couldn't resist the temptation.

I corrected this for ya!

But it does have the power to turn them into UNREPENTANT GAMBLING ADDICTS WHO WILL SELL THEIR PARENTS HOME TO SUPPORT THEIR ADDICTION. Weird. Anthem.

Edited February 14, 2019 by IndiraLightfoot

[Keyrock]

 

 

No evidence playing violent video games leads to aggressive behaviour in teens, study finds

What a surprise!

 

It never ceases to baffle me that this needs to be researched. 

 

We are living in a time where there are people that are seriously pushing the idea that there are no biological differences between men and women and some of these people are even "academics" (I'm using this term in the loosest sense of the word imaginable) despite the hundreds of years and veritable mountain of scientifically proven evidence to the contrary. No level of sheer stupidity or willful ignorance to push an agenda can surprise me any more.

 

People will continue to put forth the idea that vidya games, or whatever new medium comes along, are the source of all our problems so long as it serves as a convenient scapegoat to distract from the fact maybe some people are failing at their roles as parents and also that mental health is a serious problem that is not nearly as recognized nor addressed as it should be.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Keyrock

[Lexx]

God damn it, the Hornet DLC for Hollow Knight is actually not a DLC but a whole new game. I know that I will never ever finish it, but I'm quite burning to play it.

[IndiraLightfoot]

While the video game and violence connection borders on plain old tautology, investigations of biological differences between the sexes at least bear some academic merit (just think of the great individual variations, or the neurological complexity and the extremely poorly understood brains we have encased in our craniums), if we set aside the pushing of agendas and such, which actually all sorts of research fall victim to, even the natural sciences. The video game analyses on the other hand, they need to put better questions to the medium they study and its plethora of users.

[Gfted1]

Nope. But most won't even admit that their gaming addiction is just that, an addiction and if someone does something wrong like this and admits it is linked to video games than either the sayer is delusional or the person has nobody to blame but thenselves for not controlling themsleves.

I see you must be new to the intertubes. It has been conclusively proven by European think tanks that addictions are never the fault of the individual and always the fault of evil fatcat corporations preying on the weak and feeble minded. Im shocked that these institutions havent been razed to the ground to protect everyone from getting suckered.

[Keyrock]

The way I see it, loot boxes in vidya games, so long as they are purchasable with real money, are gambling. People will present all types of loopholes and technicalities, but if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, etc... In the United States gambling is legal but it is regulated. Why should vidya games that contain gambling be exempt from said regulations?

they shouldn't

Want to have gambling in your game? Cool, go for it. Your game now has an AO 18+ ESRB rating and whatever percentage of profits from the sale of loot boxes goes to local governments as per state laws (I won't purport to know the details of these laws). As for other countries, the matter is up to them.

[Gfted1]

Gambling is a win/lose affair, not a "I didnt get what I wanted out of the lootbox" affair.

[Keyrock]

Gambling is a win/lose affair, not a "I didnt get what I wanted out of the lootbox" affair.

False. Gambling is risking money or something else of real value on an outcome that is determined by chance.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Keyrock

[Amentep]

Gambling is a win/lose affair, not a "I didnt get what I wanted out of the lootbox" affair.

 

That's really only in winner takes all types of gambling.  There are types of gambling that gives you odds on an opportunity (win big, win little, lose little, lose big). 

 

That's why as I recall giveaway games (like McDonald's Monopoly games) have to give a way to play the game without purchase to not be considered gambling in most states and thus be regulated under state law (and it is regulated, such as being required to publish odds to win prizes).

[Keyrock]

^ Ironically, that actually works in favor of vidya game companies as there is usually a way to earn loot boxes in-game without spending real money in games that have monetized loot boxes, which, in effect should allow them to skirt gambling laws the same way McDonalds and others skirt gambling laws with the "purchase not necessary" loophole in games such as the aforementioned Monopoly. Of course, if the game costs $60 to start then you DO still have to make a purchase to be able to earn loot boxes in-game, so that puts the whole thing in a grey area and also reinforces my view that f2p monetization schemes are fine in f2p games but don't belong in pay up front games.

[Gfted1]

That's really only in winner takes all types of gambling.  There are types of gambling that gives you odds on an opportunity (win big, win little, lose little, lose big).

 

Isnt that still a win/lose situation, just broken up into gradients?

 

 

Ive never paid for a "lootbox" but don't 100% of them have "something" in them, that being what you wanted or not, notwithstanding? Or is there actually a chance to get an empty "lootbox"?

[SonicMage117]

I see you must be new to the intertubes. It has been conclusively proven by European think tanks that addictions are never the fault of the individual and always the fault of evil fatcat corporations preying on the weak and feeble minded. Im shocked that these institutions havent been razed to the ground to protect everyone from getting suckered.

Oh I wasn't talking about lootboxes and gambling, I didn't know that was what you were referring to. I thought you meant in general.

[ShadySands]

Nah, they always have something in them from what I've seen.

 

I never used to think of it as gambling either, just a bad value, but then I saw a few family members (we have a history of addiction that thankfully skipped me(or did it))  start to get really hooked. Whatever it's doing it's lighting up all the right or maybe wrong parts of their brains.

[SonicMage117]

I have seen some news on the lootbox vraze before, and since I never did research or bought them myself, I have to wonder (within reason):

 

Is it really the evil corporation's faults? Is there really some advertized sub-conscious manipulation and subliminal mass comvincing going on?

 

I always found irony is such perspective that we (as gamers) tend to blame comsumers for smaller issues like buying dlc/micro transactions and games with drm but when it comes to a broader issue, then suddenly it is no longer the consumer's faults - I mean, I understand I guess because nobody wants gamers to look bad on themselves, we already look bad in public eye if we are to look at the reality of sterotypes.

 

 

Now if there is a ridiculous study of "How video games and watching movies makes you smarter" I would suppose that gamers would eat that up and not question how other activities/hobbies are more beneficial to stimulating function than video games. This is just an observation, I will now wallow in it.

[Keyrock]

Consumers are absolutely to blame. Big publishers are publicly traded companies, they are constantly trying to figure out ways to maximize monetization. In fact, they owe it to their shareholders to maximize monetization. They're going to push this just as far as we let them and we let them push pretty f'n far through years of people saying "Day 1 DLC is no big deal, it's not like they're carving parts of the game out and selling it separately" when in fact they were carving parts of the game out and selling it separately and "Season passes are good value" and "these microtransactions are purely cosmetic" (I'm guilty of that one) and "without these microtransactions publishers can't afford to make these games" and so on. Sure, we started pushing back big time recently (see: Star Wars Battlefield 2) but the big push back needed to come 5 or 6 years ago. Now here we are in $60 up front, multiple deluxe editions, collector's editions that don't even include a copy of the game, multiple season passes, paid loot boxes, timed exclusives, single use paid consumables, pre-order available before a game trailer is even released hell.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Keyrock

[Gfted1]

Could this be considered gambling? Around these parts there is a grocery chain that offers Monopoly gaming pieces where you can win various prizes all the way up to 1M, 1 gaming piece per $10 spent. Afaik, the only way to get these is to spend money (no free giveaways). So might a person that is predisposed to gambling find this an irresistible sirens call and spend too much trying to get the 1M win?

[Amentep]

 

That's really only in winner takes all types of gambling. There are types of gambling that gives you odds on an opportunity (win big, win little, lose little, lose big).

Isnt that still a win/lose situation, just broken up into gradients?

 

 

Ive never paid for a "lootbox" but don't 100% of them have "something" in them, that being what you wanted or not, notwithstanding? Or is there actually a chance to get an empty "lootbox"?

You could argue that, sure. But if you win little you could still be upset you didn't win a lot (with respect to paying money chasing a rare loot box item).

 

You could also argue Loot boxes are more akin to an ultra rare card in a collectible card game, the purchase of packs wouldn't be considered gambling.

[marelooke]

The way I see it, loot boxes in vidya games, so long as they are purchasable with real money, are gambling. People will present all types of loopholes and technicalities, but if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, etc... In the United States gambling is legal but it is regulated. Why should vidya games that contain gambling be exempt from said regulations?

they shouldn't

Want to have gambling in your game? Cool, go for it. Your game now has an AO 18+ ESRB rating and whatever percentage of profits from the sale of loot boxes goes to local governments as per state laws (I won't purport to know the details of these laws). As for other countries, the matter is up to them.

 

And it's the exact same in Europe. Gambling in games is fine, if you abide by the laws (that means AO 21+ here in BE though).