Wishables should be removed based on gambling mechanism - Opinion

[fly girl]

I blame the grocery stores. Remember these things? You never got the toy you wanted (or the gum ball color, stupid white!)



However, I will say my real addiction started back in 1985. Was it Up Chuck, Adam Bomb, or Dead Ted that started my slippery slope to the dark side? I am not sure, but I know it wasn't for the gum. My only regret is that I threw them away. UGH! I had the complete set . . . don't even want to know the money I could make now selling that collection.


Now that I think about it ... my dear Grandma was a pusher. She would put a $1 scratch ticket in my birthday cards along with my traditional $10. And my parents did not act concerned? Oh man ... they were enablers!! The therapists would have a field day with my upbringing.

OH .... except for the fact that I am a well adjusted individual who does enjoy gambling but sees it for what it is. Entertainment, and knows when to stop.

If you don't like the Wishables, don't buy them. Easy. But IMHO to say they are a gateway to a gambling addiction seems far fetched to me.

 

[sonnyjane]

I blame the grocery stores. Remember these things? You never got the toy you wanted (or the gum ball color, stupid white!)
View attachment 547828

Now THIS is a gamble!

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Now THIS is a gamble!View attachment 547890

This is wrong on so many levels

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Wouldn’t having a baby be gambling by OP’s definition since you don’t get to pick if you are having a boy or girl unless you do IVF?

 

[smokeyblue]

The most recent Wishables are Aladdin themed and all profits go to Make-A-Wish. Seems like a good gamble to me.

 

[RangerPooh]

I don’t view it as gambling. It’s a mystery item, a blind bag. Unlike gambling where you’re not guaranteed to win anything, with these you still get a prize. You just don’t know which one of the series. It’s for fun.

Blind bags have been around forever. Prizes inside Cracker Jacks, baseball cards, prize gumball style machines, Lego mini-fig blind bags, sticker machines, etc. You pay for a specific type of item, you just are not guaranteed what will be inside. You’re fortunate if you can select a specific series, then you’ll have a better chance of getting what you want.

 

[Lizgistix]

You never got the toy you wanted (or the gum ball color, stupid white!)

THANK YOU! I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way.

 

[tcufrog]

This is what I tell my kid when he wants a blind bag or Pokemon cards: "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." He now views not know what he'll get as part of the fun.

 

[Aladora]

That being said as you say I personally will just avoid it but was bringing forth a perspective some may not see outside of the gaming community and as expected many will push back on regarding self control and self responsibility.

So, I am a long time gamer (SO many hours on Evercrack starting back in late-1999!) as is my husband and our son so I can speak of this from within the gaming community.

I see loot boxes in a totally different realm than blind bags/boxes/Wishables/ccg packs/etc.

Blind bags, etc. you are buying an item (plush toy, cards, whatever) for a specific value and you are getting an item worth (approximately) that value. You pay $10 for a plush toy, you get a $10 plush toy. You don't know exactly which specific item you will receive, but you will get one model of the item you are buying. When you buy a M:TG 15 card booster pack, you will get 15 Magic:The Gathering cards but it is unknown exactly *which* cards you will get.

Loot boxes, in many games, are a "pay to win" system where in order to get to x-level or play in y-area or equip z-gear, you have to either pay real world money or put in an extraordinary amount of game play hours. This creates an unbalanced game play for those who can't or won't buy the loot boxes.

So no, in my opinion Wishables/blind bags/ccg booster packs and the like are not the same as loot boxes in video games.

 

[sethschroeder]

Loot boxes, in many games

To clarify though in many games they are purely cosmetic. A great example is Counter Strike Knives which can even be sold for real money.

There are absolutely aspects of Pay to Win though in the mtx space though.

 

[sethschroeder]

But IMHO to say they are a gateway to a gambling addiction seems far fetched to me.

I never said they were a gateway to gambling addiction. I stated they used the same mechanism to extract money.

 

[LilyWDW]

So, I am a long time gamer (SO many hours on Evercrack starting back in late-1999!) as is my husband and our son so I can speak of this from within the gaming community.

Evercrack!!! Played EQ for YEARS back in the day. Drinal server. Played a monk and was in a high level raiding guild near the end of my playing time (mid level raiding before then). Loved it.

I consider blind bags and Wishables to be more like killing a mob and have a chance at a specific loot item. It may or may not be the one you want, but something will drop for someone on the raid.

 

[Aladora]

Evercrack!!! Played EQ for YEARS back in the day. Drinal server. Played a monk and was in a high level raiding guild near the end of my playing time (mid level raiding before then). Loved it.

I was on Bristlebane, iirc. I was in a mid-level (at the time) guild, played a cleric. Loved it and only stopped when I got pregnant with our son, playing made me super nauseated. After he was born, I never got back into it. In fact, my username here is my main char name from EQ!

 

[CarolAnn856]

I never said they were a gateway to gambling addiction. I stated they used the same mechanism to extract money.

You do realize that you don’t have to say those specific words and yet can convey the same meaning, right?

You said that these things will normalize gambling. Later you said that normalizing drinking can encourage people to drink later. So, to you, normalizing something leads people to try it, a gateway, if you will. Thus, you obviously think that these toys will lead to people try gambling. Same thing.

 

[fly girl]

You do realize that you don’t have to say those specific words and yet can convey the same meaning, right?

You said that these things will normalize gambling. Later you said that normalizing drinking can encourage people to drink later. So, to you, normalizing something leads people to try it, a gateway, if you will. Thus, you obviously think that these toys will lead to people try gambling. Same thing.

You said it so much more beautifully than I could. Thank you!