As a very-soon-to-be-lawyer and someone working in a law firm for years I asked myself the same question several times,
For all I know this practice is highly illegal. But since cryptic hasn't been shut down years ago there seems to be something allowing that.
Or they simply do not care about things related to online games, there are several mmo related practices that are illegal and happen all the day (China gold)
Even so I'm not a lawyer, I also thought about that a few weeks back, when I got myself a few keys just to see, how it works.
It would be interesting to know, if the fact, that you can't get real money out of it, regardless of what you actually get form the box, makes it so that it isn't considered gambling. Since a ship would be just as worthless in the real world as the other things, that are in the box, so you can't effectively win anything.
284 Promotion Romulan doff packs...
no attack ship. then 284 Romulan survivor packs. No Cellship. No good consoles, (theres only one good console in them anymore) No borg doffs (even though they're junk now also)
And of course no fleet ship modules. they ninja removed them from the doff pack.
600 dollars with of nothing of value. Thanks so much pwe.
Dont Waste your money on thier cstore. Other games give you much more value for your dollar.
Ironically, if he's the high-roller he claims to be who's idea of outdoor recreation is going for a ride, this lowly working-class outdoor recreation coordinator is probably in better shape than he could dream about.
Just out of curiosity, though... What are you going to do/did you do with all of those DOFFs and Lobi?
The DOFFs could be directly sold on the exchange and the Lobi could be used to buy things that could be sold on the exchange. You could still get your JHAS if you can raise enough EC...
Seeing as he's got enough $ to burn $100 bills for heat, who cares?
"Logic is a little tweeting bird chirping in a meadow. Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers which smell BAD." - Spock
Even so I'm not a lawyer, I also thought about that a few weeks back, when I got myself a few keys just to see, how it works.
It would be interesting to know, if the fact, that you can't get real money out of it, regardless of what you actually get form the box, makes it so that it isn't considered gambling. Since a ship would be just as worthless in the real world as the other things, that are in the box, so you can't effectively win anything.
Ah but no, the items represent value, namely the money you spend on it. (or else it would literally be free of charge, which it sort of can be)
So no they couldnt get away with it simply like that.
But overall they probably got their behinds covered.
I would like to take a moment to thank all of the people spending insane amounts of money on this promo for the bugship and then selling off the doff packs on the exchange. I was able to pick up several of them on the cheap to fill out the doff rosters for my alts. Thanks much.
I've been playing STO for about 18 months now. When I first started playing STO and joined a fleet, I was advised to buy Zen and then buy the Oddy Tact Cruiser. So I spent $60 and bought the ship. I was very disappointed. A short while later I created a KDF toon and I wanted a carrier. I was advised to buy the Ar'Kif (probably misspelled), anyway it's the one that looks like a Catfish. I was not as disappointed in that one but for $60 I thought it could have had some better customization options and such, but overall I was fairly happy with that ship.
With that said, let me point out that I'm free to play. I have not, and will not, pay for membership. I will also NEVER spend a single cent on this game. Why? I do not pay for defective products.
And guess what folks, you don't have to pay real money to get decent ships in STO!!!
It's now been over a year since I spent any real money on STO. In that time I have acquired, 1 Temporal Destroyer, 2 Jem Dreads, 1 Bastion FD Cruiser and 1 Tal Shiar Adapted Battlecruiser. Didn't spend any real money on any of them.
Using real money to buy lockboxes is foolish. If you have that much money to spend on this or any other game then I think that you may have more money than brains. JMHO
So, I'm assuming reporting the OP would be redundant:Ironically, if he's the high-roller he claims to be who's idea of outdoor recreation is going for a ride, this lowly working-class outdoor recreation coordinator is probably in better shape than he could dream about.
Seeing as he's got enough $ to burn $100 bills for heat, who cares?
lol i'd wager i pay my personal trainer more in a month than your boss makes in six.
I've been playing STO for about 18 months now. When I first started playing STO and joined a fleet, I was advised to buy Zen and then buy the Oddy Tact Cruiser. So I spent $60 and bought the ship. I was very disappointed. A short while later I created a KDF toon and I wanted a carrier. I was advised to buy the Ar'Kif (probably misspelled), anyway it's the one that looks like a Catfish. I was not as disappointed in that one but for $60 I thought it could have had some better customization options and such, but overall I was fairly happy with that ship.
With that said, let me point out that I'm free to play. I have not, and will not, pay for membership. I will also NEVER spend a single cent on this game. Why? I do not pay for defective products.
And guess what folks, you don't have to pay real money to get decent ships in STO!!!
It's now been over a year since I spent any real money on STO. In that time I have acquired, 1 Temporal Destroyer, 2 Jem Dreads, 1 Bastion FD Cruiser and 1 Tal Shiar Adapted Battlecruiser. Didn't spend any real money on any of them.
Using real money to buy lockboxes is foolish. If you have that much money to spend on this or any other game then I think that you may have more money than brains. JMHO
yea. cause everyone knows people who make lots of money are both foolish and stupid right?
Wow. "They makin we gambl, so they ebil an we gone fine way suzie they!"
lol
You're buying a DOff pack and some Lobi. It's the same price (maybe even a little more expensive, I don't know, because I haven't looked at it yet) when there is no big bonus prize possible. This is not "gambling" because you are buying something which you are getting, with a chance at an added bonus prize.
Furthermore, "a game of chance" is a term which can be (and usually is) used by a company in order to avoid the gambling laws, and use of the term is entirely legal. In addition, the laws of the State of California (where both Cryptic and PWE are based, and whose laws are the laws you agree to be bound by if you should attempt to sue the company) allow gambling, but if a company calls something "gambling," then they have to pay the extra gambling taxes on any profits they obtain through whatever they call "gambling." By calling something "a game of chance," according to California law, they do not have to pay the extra gambling taxes.
Ah but no, the items represent value, namely the money you spend on it. (or else it would literally be free of charge, which it sort of can be)
So no they couldnt get away with it simply like that.
But overall they probably got their behinds covered.
But then all the items are worth the same, since the key costs allays the same. Even if you get 500.000.000 ECs for a ship, there is no way to transform that back to real money.
What would you as a lawyer say to the judge, when he asks you, why the ship is worth more then a console or a DOff pack? Your money is effectively gone, when you buy the key and it doesn't matter what is in the box, you won't get your money (or anything worth real money) back let alone get more money back, then you invested like in a real gamble.
I would like to take a moment to thank all of the people spending insane amounts of money on this promo for the bugship and then selling off the doff packs on the exchange. I was able to pick up several of them on the cheap to fill out the doff rosters for my alts. Thanks much.
Damn, I didn't even thought about. I really could use a couple of DOffs, specially since I want to have as few Fed DOffs, as possible.
284 Promotion Romulan doff packs...
no attack ship. then 284 Romulan survivor packs. No Cellship. No good consoles, (theres only one good console in them anymore) No borg doffs (even though they're junk now also)
And of course no fleet ship modules. they ninja removed them from the doff pack.
600 dollars with of nothing of value. Thanks so much pwe.
Dont Waste your money on thier cstore. Other games give you much more value for your dollar.
Did you get at least 10 or more every time lobi? Good!
You have won 3000 lobi, enjoy your winnings.
On a scale from 1 - 10, how much trust do you have in a product that entirely relies on a legal loophole?
None.
*rant on* Lock boxes (and everything related to it) are IMO the worst thing that happened to sto and if I hadn't been arround for 2 years when they were introduced I wouldn't have started a game including such a concept.
Actually for that very reason I was more or less gone from the game for 2 years, beside of logging in now and then to join up with old friends. Because I find the whole concept despicable and rotten to its core.
And I do not wanna start on what I think that says about the producers character, because that would certainly violate forum guidelines.
*rant off*
But that does not change one little fact: if somebody is falling for that foul play it's still his own fault.
I can see this is going nowhere good. Too much trolling and flaming going on.
Time to close the thread.
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Comments
On a scale from 1 - 10, how much trust do you have in a product that entirely relies on a legal loophole?
Even so I'm not a lawyer, I also thought about that a few weeks back, when I got myself a few keys just to see, how it works.
It would be interesting to know, if the fact, that you can't get real money out of it, regardless of what you actually get form the box, makes it so that it isn't considered gambling. Since a ship would be just as worthless in the real world as the other things, that are in the box, so you can't effectively win anything.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdOPBP9vuZA
All I can say
Ah but no, the items represent value, namely the money you spend on it. (or else it would literally be free of charge, which it sort of can be)
So no they couldnt get away with it simply like that.
But overall they probably got their behinds covered.
Ain't Nobody Got Time for That
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Mine Trap Supporter
I've been playing STO for about 18 months now. When I first started playing STO and joined a fleet, I was advised to buy Zen and then buy the Oddy Tact Cruiser. So I spent $60 and bought the ship. I was very disappointed. A short while later I created a KDF toon and I wanted a carrier. I was advised to buy the Ar'Kif (probably misspelled), anyway it's the one that looks like a Catfish. I was not as disappointed in that one but for $60 I thought it could have had some better customization options and such, but overall I was fairly happy with that ship.
With that said, let me point out that I'm free to play. I have not, and will not, pay for membership. I will also NEVER spend a single cent on this game. Why? I do not pay for defective products.
And guess what folks, you don't have to pay real money to get decent ships in STO!!!
It's now been over a year since I spent any real money on STO. In that time I have acquired, 1 Temporal Destroyer, 2 Jem Dreads, 1 Bastion FD Cruiser and 1 Tal Shiar Adapted Battlecruiser. Didn't spend any real money on any of them.
Using real money to buy lockboxes is foolish. If you have that much money to spend on this or any other game then I think that you may have more money than brains. JMHO
lol i'd wager i pay my personal trainer more in a month than your boss makes in six.
js
So thank you for your contribution.
Ain't Nobody Got Time for That
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
yea. cause everyone knows people who make lots of money are both foolish and stupid right?
smh. dont ever breed.
lol
You're buying a DOff pack and some Lobi. It's the same price (maybe even a little more expensive, I don't know, because I haven't looked at it yet) when there is no big bonus prize possible. This is not "gambling" because you are buying something which you are getting, with a chance at an added bonus prize.
Furthermore, "a game of chance" is a term which can be (and usually is) used by a company in order to avoid the gambling laws, and use of the term is entirely legal. In addition, the laws of the State of California (where both Cryptic and PWE are based, and whose laws are the laws you agree to be bound by if you should attempt to sue the company) allow gambling, but if a company calls something "gambling," then they have to pay the extra gambling taxes on any profits they obtain through whatever they call "gambling." By calling something "a game of chance," according to California law, they do not have to pay the extra gambling taxes.
But then all the items are worth the same, since the key costs allays the same. Even if you get 500.000.000 ECs for a ship, there is no way to transform that back to real money.
What would you as a lawyer say to the judge, when he asks you, why the ship is worth more then a console or a DOff pack? Your money is effectively gone, when you buy the key and it doesn't matter what is in the box, you won't get your money (or anything worth real money) back let alone get more money back, then you invested like in a real gamble.
Damn, I didn't even thought about. I really could use a couple of DOffs, specially since I want to have as few Fed DOffs, as possible.
Did you get at least 10 or more every time lobi? Good!
You have won 3000 lobi, enjoy your winnings.
um, he can. these packs always give out 10 lobi if you dont get the ship.
thats 2840 lobi if he opened 284 boxes... enough for 2 lobi ships, and a lobi set.
Or are you paying someone to post for you, too?
Caught in one lie, where do they start?
None.
*rant on* Lock boxes (and everything related to it) are IMO the worst thing that happened to sto and if I hadn't been arround for 2 years when they were introduced I wouldn't have started a game including such a concept.
Actually for that very reason I was more or less gone from the game for 2 years, beside of logging in now and then to join up with old friends. Because I find the whole concept despicable and rotten to its core.
And I do not wanna start on what I think that says about the producers character, because that would certainly violate forum guidelines.
*rant off*
But that does not change one little fact: if somebody is falling for that foul play it's still his own fault.
Time to close the thread.
For future reference please remember that it helps a great deal when posts which violate the PWE Community Rules and Policies are not responded to and are reported via submitting a Forums and Website Ticket (click here).
If you think any of your posts within a thread have violated the PWE Community Rules and Policies, please edit your posts before a moderator takes action.
If you feel you need to get in touch with PWE BranFlakes to discuss the actions taken by any Community Moderator, you can do so by submitting a Forums and Website ticket (click here).
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek