Predatory microtransactions: Difference between revisions

Line 25:

===Point 3: Pay to win===

In some scenarios, games will further encourage users to get an advantage over players, often leaving META-influencing content to be paywalled<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Flavio |date=Aug 2, 2023 |title=Price to pay: the damage caused by Pay to Win games. |url=https://flavio-lee.medium.com/price-to-pay-the-damage-caused-by-pay-to-win-games-74cc533bf9d8 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251124133432/https://flavio-lee.medium.com/price-to-pay-the-damage-caused-by-pay-to-win-games-74cc533bf9d8 |archive-date=24 Nov 2025}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> as a method to force consumers to either invest more into the product, or risk lacking an important edge within matches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why do people seem so hellbent against people using "pay to win" methods in games? |url=https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-seem-so-hellbent-against-people-using-pay-to-win-methods-in-games |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Quora}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lelonek-Kuleta PhD |first=Bernadeta |last2=Piotr Bartczuk PhD |first2=Rafał |last3=Wiechetek PhD |first3=Michał |date=Oct 13, 2020 |title=Pay for play – Behavioural patterns of pay-to-win gaming |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563220303393 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Science Direct}}</ref> P2W also has ties in manipulating resource progression in games,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=(Owner of Illumination Gaming) |first=Aiden |date=Jul 22, 2022 |title=How Pay-To-Win Games Ruin Player Experience |url=https://medium.com/illumination/how-pay-to-win-games-ruin-player-experience-a52b7edf5744 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251121214734/https://medium.com/illumination/how-pay-to-win-games-ruin-player-experience-a52b7edf5744 |archive-date=21 Nov 2025}}</ref> so players may be at a competitive disadvantage in a game because a newer user purchased their way through progression, or alternatively, punishing players into grinding far more excessively as a method to encourage paying to skip progression.

In some scenarios, games will further encourage users to get an advantage over players, often leaving META-influencing content to be paywalled<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Flavio |date=Aug 2, 2023 |title=Price to pay: the damage caused by Pay to Win games. |url=https://flavio-lee.medium.com/price-to-pay-the-damage-caused-by-pay-to-win-games-74cc533bf9d8 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251124133432/https://flavio-lee.medium.com/price-to-pay-the-damage-caused-by-pay-to-win-games-74cc533bf9d8 |archive-date=24 Nov 2025}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> as a method to force consumers to either invest more into the product, or risk lacking an important edge within matches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why do people seem so hellbent against people using "pay to win" methods in games? |url=https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-seem-so-hellbent-against-people-using-pay-to-win-methods-in-games |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Quora}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lelonek-Kuleta PhD |first=Bernadeta |last2=Piotr Bartczuk PhD |first2=Rafał |last3=Wiechetek PhD |first3=Michał |date=Oct 13, 2020 |title=Pay for play – Behavioural patterns of pay-to-win gaming |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563220303393 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Science Direct |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240427083409/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563220303393 |archive-date=27 Apr 2024}}</ref> P2W also has ties in manipulating resource progression in games,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=(Owner of Illumination Gaming) |first=Aiden |date=Jul 22, 2022 |title=How Pay-To-Win Games Ruin Player Experience |url=https://medium.com/illumination/how-pay-to-win-games-ruin-player-experience-a52b7edf5744 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251121214734/https://medium.com/illumination/how-pay-to-win-games-ruin-player-experience-a52b7edf5744 |archive-date=21 Nov 2025}}</ref> so players may be at a competitive disadvantage in a game because a newer user purchased their way through progression, or alternatively, punishing players into grinding far more excessively as a method to encourage paying to skip progression.

Line 37:

===Point 4: Gambling===

A method some companies have aimed at introducing, was having content be locked behind randomness, so a consumer may get lucky and receive the cosmetic they want or worse, progression/META item that they are in need of,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Purchese |first=Robert |date=10 Oct 2017 |title=Star Wars Battlefront 2 has a loot crate problem |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=Robert Purchese |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251113073209/https://www.eurogamer.net/star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem |archive-date=13 Nov 2025}}</ref> but often would end up with bad luck. Often these are defined as lootboxes, however it is effectively a format of gambling,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dingman |first=Hayden |date=10 Oct 2017 |title=How loot boxes are turning full-priced PC games into pay-to-win games of chance |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/407482/loot-boxes-ruining-gaming.html |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=PCWorld}}</ref> one of which has been seen as detrimental as reports of underrage gambling addiction continue to skyrocket within these games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fahey |first=Rob |date=13 Oct 2017 |title=Thinking outside the loot box |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/thinking-outside-the-loot-box |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=Games Industry |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251224224330/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/thinking-outside-the-loot-box |archive-date=24 Dec 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=W. Osborne |first=Jason |date=May 25, 2023 |title=How Loot Boxes In Children’s Video Games Encourage Gambling |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwosborne/2023/05/25/how-loot-boxes-in-childrens-video-games-encourage-gambling/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Forbes |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251209041537/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwosborne/2023/05/25/how-loot-boxes-in-childrens-video-games-encourage-gambling/ |archive-date=9 Dec 2025}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Zendle |first=David |last2=Meyer |first2=Rachel |last3=Over |first3=Harriet |date=Jun 19, 2019 |title=Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling and motivations for purchase |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6599795/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=National Library of Medicine}}</ref>

A method some companies have aimed at introducing, was having content be locked behind randomness, so a consumer may get lucky and receive the cosmetic they want or worse, progression/META item that they are in need of,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Purchese |first=Robert |date=10 Oct 2017 |title=Star Wars Battlefront 2 has a loot crate problem |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=Robert Purchese |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251113073209/https://www.eurogamer.net/star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem |archive-date=13 Nov 2025}}</ref> but often would end up with bad luck. Often these are defined as lootboxes, however it is effectively a format of gambling,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dingman |first=Hayden |date=10 Oct 2017 |title=How loot boxes are turning full-priced PC games into pay-to-win games of chance |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/407482/loot-boxes-ruining-gaming.html |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=PCWorld |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260122024918/https://www.pcworld.com/article/407482/loot-boxes-ruining-gaming.html |archive-date=22 Jan 2026}}</ref> one of which has been seen as detrimental as reports of underrage gambling addiction continue to skyrocket within these games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fahey |first=Rob |date=13 Oct 2017 |title=Thinking outside the loot box |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/thinking-outside-the-loot-box |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=Games Industry |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251224224330/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/thinking-outside-the-loot-box |archive-date=24 Dec 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=W. Osborne |first=Jason |date=May 25, 2023 |title=How Loot Boxes In Children’s Video Games Encourage Gambling |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwosborne/2023/05/25/how-loot-boxes-in-childrens-video-games-encourage-gambling/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Forbes |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251209041537/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwosborne/2023/05/25/how-loot-boxes-in-childrens-video-games-encourage-gambling/ |archive-date=9 Dec 2025}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Zendle |first=David |last2=Meyer |first2=Rachel |last3=Over |first3=Harriet |date=Jun 19, 2019 |title=Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling and motivations for purchase |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6599795/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=National Library of Medicine |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251119215258/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6599795/ |archive-date=19 Nov 2025}}</ref>

The frequency of these lootboxes has been seen to be relatively higher on games marketed towards minors, such as ''[[Minecraft]]''<ref name=":5" /> (more specifically community-run servers) or ''[[Roblox]]'', only further representing the ethical issues behind lootboxes.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Young People & Gambling in Gaming |url=https://ineqe.com/2022/04/01/gambling-in-gaming/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Ineqe Safeguarding Group |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251008171027/https://ineqe.com/2022/04/01/gambling-in-gaming/ |archive-date=8 Oct 2025}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><gallery>

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ===Point 3: Pay to win<!-- Include investigations into pay to win minecraft servers -->===
-In some scenarios, games will further encourage users to get an advantage over players, often leaving META-influencing content to be paywalled<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Flavio |date=Aug 2, 2023 |title=Price to pay: the damage caused by Pay to Win games. |url=https://flavio-lee.medium.com/price-to-pay-the-damage-caused-by-pay-to-win-games-74cc533bf9d8 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251124133432/https://flavio-lee.medium.com/price-to-pay-the-damage-caused-by-pay-to-win-games-74cc533bf9d8 |archive-date=24 Nov 2025}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> as a method to force consumers to either invest more into the product, or risk lacking an important edge within matches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why do people seem so hellbent against people using "pay to win" methods in games? |url=https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-seem-so-hellbent-against-people-using-pay-to-win-methods-in-games |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Quora}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lelonek-Kuleta PhD |first=Bernadeta |last2=Piotr Bartczuk PhD |first2=Rafał |last3=Wiechetek PhD |first3=Michał |date=Oct 13, 2020 |title=Pay for play – Behavioural patterns of pay-to-win gaming |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563220303393 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Science Direct}}</ref> P2W also has ties in manipulating resource progression in games,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=(Owner of Illumination Gaming) |first=Aiden |date=Jul 22, 2022 |title=How Pay-To-Win Games Ruin Player Experience |url=https://medium.com/illumination/how-pay-to-win-games-ruin-player-experience-a52b7edf5744 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251121214734/https://medium.com/illumination/how-pay-to-win-games-ruin-player-experience-a52b7edf5744 |archive-date=21 Nov 2025}}</ref> so players may be at a competitive disadvantage in a game because a newer user purchased their way through progression, or alternatively, punishing players into grinding far more excessively as a method to encourage paying to skip progression.
+In some scenarios, games will further encourage users to get an advantage over players, often leaving META-influencing content to be paywalled<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Flavio |date=Aug 2, 2023 |title=Price to pay: the damage caused by Pay to Win games. |url=https://flavio-lee.medium.com/price-to-pay-the-damage-caused-by-pay-to-win-games-74cc533bf9d8 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251124133432/https://flavio-lee.medium.com/price-to-pay-the-damage-caused-by-pay-to-win-games-74cc533bf9d8 |archive-date=24 Nov 2025}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> as a method to force consumers to either invest more into the product, or risk lacking an important edge within matches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why do people seem so hellbent against people using "pay to win" methods in games? |url=https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-seem-so-hellbent-against-people-using-pay-to-win-methods-in-games |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=Quora}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lelonek-Kuleta PhD |first=Bernadeta |last2=Piotr Bartczuk PhD |first2=Rafał |last3=Wiechetek PhD |first3=Michał |date=Oct 13, 2020 |title=Pay for play – Behavioural patterns of pay-to-win gaming |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563220303393 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Science Direct |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240427083409/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563220303393 |archive-date=27 Apr 2024}}</ref> P2W also has ties in manipulating resource progression in games,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=(Owner of Illumination Gaming) |first=Aiden |date=Jul 22, 2022 |title=How Pay-To-Win Games Ruin Player Experience |url=https://medium.com/illumination/how-pay-to-win-games-ruin-player-experience-a52b7edf5744 |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Medium |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251121214734/https://medium.com/illumination/how-pay-to-win-games-ruin-player-experience-a52b7edf5744 |archive-date=21 Nov 2025}}</ref> so players may be at a competitive disadvantage in a game because a newer user purchased their way through progression, or alternatively, punishing players into grinding far more excessively as a method to encourage paying to skip progression.
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 ===Point 4: Gambling<!-- Grammar needs to be fixed here! -->===
-A method some companies have aimed at introducing, was having content be locked behind randomness, so a consumer may get lucky and receive the cosmetic they want or worse, progression/META item that they are in need of,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Purchese |first=Robert |date=10 Oct 2017 |title=Star Wars Battlefront 2 has a loot crate problem |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=Robert Purchese |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251113073209/https://www.eurogamer.net/star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem |archive-date=13 Nov 2025}}</ref> but often would end up with bad luck. Often these are defined as lootboxes, however it is effectively a format of gambling,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dingman |first=Hayden |date=10 Oct 2017 |title=How loot boxes are turning full-priced PC games into pay-to-win games of chance |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/407482/loot-boxes-ruining-gaming.html |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=PCWorld}}</ref> one of which has been seen as detrimental as reports of underrage gambling addiction continue to skyrocket within these games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fahey |first=Rob |date=13 Oct 2017 |title=Thinking outside the loot box |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/thinking-outside-the-loot-box |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=Games Industry |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251224224330/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/thinking-outside-the-loot-box |archive-date=24 Dec 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=W. Osborne |first=Jason |date=May 25, 2023 |title=How Loot Boxes In Children’s Video Games Encourage Gambling |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwosborne/2023/05/25/how-loot-boxes-in-childrens-video-games-encourage-gambling/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Forbes |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251209041537/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwosborne/2023/05/25/how-loot-boxes-in-childrens-video-games-encourage-gambling/ |archive-date=9 Dec 2025}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Zendle |first=David |last2=Meyer |first2=Rachel |last3=Over |first3=Harriet |date=Jun 19, 2019 |title=Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling and motivations for purchase |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6599795/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=National Library of Medicine}}</ref>
+A method some companies have aimed at introducing, was having content be locked behind randomness, so a consumer may get lucky and receive the cosmetic they want or worse, progression/META item that they are in need of,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Purchese |first=Robert |date=10 Oct 2017 |title=Star Wars Battlefront 2 has a loot crate problem |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=Robert Purchese |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251113073209/https://www.eurogamer.net/star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem |archive-date=13 Nov 2025}}</ref> but often would end up with bad luck. Often these are defined as lootboxes, however it is effectively a format of gambling,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dingman |first=Hayden |date=10 Oct 2017 |title=How loot boxes are turning full-priced PC games into pay-to-win games of chance |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/407482/loot-boxes-ruining-gaming.html |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=PCWorld |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260122024918/https://www.pcworld.com/article/407482/loot-boxes-ruining-gaming.html |archive-date=22 Jan 2026}}</ref> one of which has been seen as detrimental as reports of underrage gambling addiction continue to skyrocket within these games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fahey |first=Rob |date=13 Oct 2017 |title=Thinking outside the loot box |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/thinking-outside-the-loot-box |url-status=live |access-date=31 Mar 2025 |website=Games Industry |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251224224330/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/thinking-outside-the-loot-box |archive-date=24 Dec 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=W. Osborne |first=Jason |date=May 25, 2023 |title=How Loot Boxes In Children’s Video Games Encourage Gambling |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwosborne/2023/05/25/how-loot-boxes-in-childrens-video-games-encourage-gambling/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Forbes |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251209041537/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwosborne/2023/05/25/how-loot-boxes-in-childrens-video-games-encourage-gambling/ |archive-date=9 Dec 2025}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Zendle |first=David |last2=Meyer |first2=Rachel |last3=Over |first3=Harriet |date=Jun 19, 2019 |title=Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling and motivations for purchase |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6599795/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=National Library of Medicine |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251119215258/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6599795/ |archive-date=19 Nov 2025}}</ref>
 The frequency of these lootboxes has been seen to be relatively higher on games marketed towards minors, such as ''[[Minecraft]]''<ref name=":5" /> (more specifically community-run servers) or ''[[Roblox]]'', only further representing the ethical issues behind lootboxes.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Young People & Gambling in Gaming |url=https://ineqe.com/2022/04/01/gambling-in-gaming/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |work=Ineqe Safeguarding Group |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251008171027/https://ineqe.com/2022/04/01/gambling-in-gaming/ |archive-date=8 Oct 2025}}</ref><!-- Can someone help me find the publication date on this one? --><ref name=":2" /><gallery>