That's what I think is important for offering random boxes. It's not as exploitative if you're still getting your money's worth on each pull. It's when the common result in the box is less then the cost of entry that it starts to get sleezy.Honestly, Rohan's entire post is an interesting analysis, but RJ distills my own opinion fairly well. If the minimum value of such boxes or packs is actually worth the cost of the key, then I don't have a problem with them. Of course, YMMV. However, when the minimum is nil or virtually nil, I feel it has no place "my" game.
~RJ, commenting on Rohan's "Gambling and Lockboxes" at Blessing of Kings
Seriously, Blizzard created the Sparkle Pony for (I'm guessing) less than $1,000US, based on models they already had in the game. They made something like $75 million from THE FIRST DAY! Even though I didn't personally think it was worth it, I don't have a problem with that, since everyone who plunked down their 25 bucks knew what they were getting for their money. It's not that hard, Devs.
Whew! Sorry, that almost turned into another rant . . .
I use to love a website called Woot. They were a startup in Texas that sold one item, usually tech related, per day at a fantastic price and when it sold out, it was done. The website is still around, of course, but since it was bought up by Amazon, it's entirely different and lost it's original feel and deals (Shirt.Woot is still awesome, though).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, they sold a Bag of Crap for $1 that was insanely popular and was what really put them on the map. After S&H, and buying the 3 item limit at a time, it cost $8 total. Inside was 3 random items from their warehouse/office. Seriously, random. In my time, I was lucky enough to acquire 2 Bags of Crap. In the first was a paper mache 2 foot tribal mask, a wooden wobbly snake, and an iRobot Roomba. $8. In the second one was a basic red backpack, a car battery jump-box, and an Egyptian cotton bathrobe. $8. Both instances, absolutely more than worth the price of the gamble.
So I 100% agree. If you're going to take a gamble on virtual items, the relative worth of the random virtual items received better be more than the cost of the key.
In casino gambling you can end up with nothing, but that's at the chance of literally winning more money. There is none of that when it comes to lockboxes, and giving away items worth less than the cost of the key is just robbery.
Agreed. And that Woot box sounds awesome! Or maybe you were just lucky?
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