Even A Whale Who Spent $20,000 Over Five Years Hates Loot Boxes
Eurogamer has an interview up today with David "Siigari" Pietz, described as a "DJ and audio engineer" and "small-time Twitch streamer." What makes Pietz interesting is that he's a self-professed gaming "whale" who, by his estimate, has spent about $20,000 on various free-to-play games over the past five years. But there are lines even he won't cross.
Pietz figures he spent the most money -- about $5,000 -- on Atlantica Online, but he quit the game and his "moral fibre got involved" when Nexon introduced "gacha" packs to the game. Pietz calls their implementation a "disgusting twist of events," to the point that he charged back his purchase and wound up getting his account banned.
Pietz also played League of Legends for several years, but when Riot Games introduced a form of loot boxes in that game, he checked out. According to Pietz, he didn't mind "an upfront, 'this is the price you pay for this product', like this skin or this whatever" -- i.e., non-randomized loot that you pay for -- but adding loot chests made him feel like "the game, in my opinion, is starting to see its way out."
Elsewhere in the interview, Pietz unequivocally equates loot boxes with gambling -- which may not be exactly true, from a legal standpoint -- and also lumps them in the same category as Magic: The Gathering packs, though he does say that those are at least better because they tell you the odds. That's at least a basic step a lot of people think loot boxes should take, but it'll probably take legislation to force developers' hands on that front.
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Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.
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It's a pretty simple concept. If random loot boxes didn't work and increase profit.... devs would stop using them. Gamers who mind them are either in the minority... or need to learn self-control.
Another things like many people said, you already spent 5,000 on 1 game and suddenly the publisher release a P2W box, loots,.... and you said it's p2w too much i can't handle it. I could understand if he said something along with the line : I'm bored and I'm too strong so another p2w box not going to change much, I'm quitting the game.
But like Yoho Moho said, this guy spent 20K and quits 'cause morale and shiet....talking bout double standards...well, at least in Magic you could trade repeated cards....now that's something.
Spends around 20k but quits games because muh morals F off.