Star Trek has always been aimed at a more Adult audience, why should the game be any different?
You could also actually Explain to them that the Lockboxes are not guaranteed to give out the BIG Prize and it is very unlikely that one would get it.
Sounds like a great opportunity to explain about the Long Con and the Short Con and how grifters work.
See, enforcing a ban solves the immediate problem, on a micro level.
But teaching kids about con artists, (and let's face it, even some adults could desperately use a little education on that subject), is a permanent solution on the macro level.
As a starting point for discussion, sit down and watch 'The Sting' with your kids. It shows, step-by-step, a con being laid out, and it also shows examples of several different confidence games at various stages. There are several ideal points at which to to stop the DVD and talk about, "why should he not have trusted that guy?" or "what were the obvious clues that this was a con?"
The other necessity is a strong understanding of basic mathematics. Your kids need to know what 3% really means. It means, in practical terms, never.
On a more fundamental level, my grandmother taught me when I was young, "never buy a pig in a poke". I don't fool with lockboxes simply because that basic lesson was drilled into my head.
I would not let children under 18 play this game. It is designed to exploit gambling addiction. Most of their money was made by selling Lockbox Keys, which exploit the weaker sides of human nature.
The entire game is payed for by the people who are addicted to opening random reward packs bought with real money.
Before Delta Rising this was a great game for those of us without the gambling gene. Some people are immune to gambling addictions even at a young age. Also, there are plenty elderly I wouldn't allow to play this game because the elderly tend to gravitate toward gambling as they near death.
Do your duty as a parent: Play the game yourself and make a informed decision based on what you see, rather than putting the responsibility on someone else.
Seriously... I let my kids play the games they'd like, based on... Me playing no less than 5 hours of EVERY d*med game they want to play.
It's not government duty to raise our kids... it's OURS... Don't put the responsibility or duty on someone elses shoulders.
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
Do your duty as a parent: Play the game yourself and make a informed decision based on what you see, rather than putting the responsibility on someone else.
Seriously... I let my kids play the games they'd like, based on... Me playing no less than 5 hours of EVERY d*med game they want to play.
It's not government duty to raise our kids... it's OURS... Don't put the responsibility or duty on someone elses shoulders.
Don't be a jerk. He is parenting. He is researching how much gambling is involved in STO before he lets his kid play. Do you expect him to level up a toon just to understand the game before letting his kid play?
What a pretentious jerk. He is parenting. He is researching how much gambling is involved in STO before he lets his kid play. Do you expect him to level up a toon just to understand the game before letting his kid play?
Yes... I do...
Surprise, surprise... Parenting comes with responsibilities... Something that sometime takes a cr*pload of time...
Does some random person in an office know his/her kids? How he/she raised them? What their psycological tolerance is?
No...
Does he/she? I hope so...
So in reality, who should (hopefully) be most qualified to tell he the kids can handle the game and the temptations?
If your answer is "ERBS" or something similar... Well... Let's just say my opinion will most likely get me a warning.
Edit: And yea... I quoted your original post... Before you changed it.
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
Like most, it's a game that promotes getting weapons so that you can kill others before they kill you. It is up to you to figure out the *right* age for that.
and swtor has em.. in fact most free to play games have something like it... or at least ones I've played prizes vary but the "gamble" remains.
Mech Warrior Online, SWTOR, TERA have zero random reward scams. So you can produce a profitable game without resorting to TRIBBLE mind control tactics like Operant Conditioning or Skinner Boxes.
Those are the only free-to-play games I am knowledgeable about but I bet most "free to play" games do not use gambling.
Mech Warrior Online, SWTOR, TERA have zero random reward scams. So you can produce a profitable game without resorting to TRIBBLE mind control tactics like Operant Conditioning or Skinner Boxes.
Those are the only free-to-play games I am knowledgeable about but I bet most "free to play" games do not use gambling.
yeah, do me a favor look up hypercrate for me. at least lockboxs give you something that actually helps you play. I've played alot 10 years without a job gives one alot time to play but no money to buy. their rather common.
learn to lie better.
p.s. you play money to maybe kinds possibly get super special thing is the whine about lock boxs right? yes hypercrates count.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
Mech Warrior Online, SWTOR, TERA have zero random reward scams. So you can produce a profitable game without resorting to TRIBBLE mind control tactics like Operant Conditioning or Skinner Boxes.
Those are the only free-to-play games I am knowledgeable about but I bet most "free to play" games do not use gambling.
...And more importantly, those that do don't offer such ridiculously rare excellent rewards for them... I mean, a few undeath potions, a random high-quality enchantment stone, and a cool mount are one thing. One of the best starships in the game, on the other hand? That's something else entirely.
Dear Devs, Considering the gambling prevalent in the features of this game I was just wondering what friendly advice would you give about what age group this game should be played from ? 12, 16, 18 , 21 ?
Im a concerned parent who is a trek fan of course and an editor and has a family full of star trek fans.
considering what ive seen of the new upgrade systems and ships acquisitions etc etc ive been making it a point to peruse through my kids and nephews accounts ... especially to check if they are buying r and d boxes/etc/etc for a "chance" to get certain things. Ive banned most of them from even loggin on to the game through house wi fi security etc but I would like some form of age rating from you devs.
Thank You.
If I remember correctly , the European boxed version had a 16+ rating .
Please note that both ratings were done prior to the game going Free to Play, and the introduction of the Lockbox / Doff pack / R&D material box style gambling schemes which intail gambling for results with the use of real world cash .
... some of that cash can be substituted by in game currency , but the opening of the items above has no fixed award ... , thus even most smart adults stay away ...
Dear Devs, Considering the gambling prevalent in the features of this game I was just wondering what friendly advice would you give about what age group this game should be played from ? 12, 16, 18 , 21 ?
Im a concerned parent who is a trek fan of course and an editor and has a family full of star trek fans.
considering what ive seen of the new upgrade systems and ships acquisitions etc etc ive been making it a point to peruse through my kids and nephews accounts ... especially to check if they are buying r and d boxes/etc/etc for a "chance" to get certain things. Ive banned most of them from even loggin on to the game through house wi fi security etc but I would like some form of age rating from you devs.
Thank You.
Hold up here. R&D Boxes currently give you exactly what they always do at the same price they always cost, PLUS one of two things they do not ordinarily give: 10 Lobi Crystals OR a Sheshar. THIS IN NO WAY CONSTITUTES "GAMBLING." Seriously, what's with people howling "gambling" about this when no such thing is happening?
That would be pretty convincing... if lobis were not introduced after several box as a "consolation prize".
That is not relevant. What the game is now is relevant. And there, you get lobi and other prizes, and potentially a ship.
You never get nothing. and I am not sure you ever got nothing. I think Lobi were more so that people would at some point get at least access to another ship, eve if it was not the main prize ship.
I don't know why the (US?) gambling laws are as they are. I could argue for them to need to change to include games like STO, at least if it is about "protecting" children. Maybe lockbox practices should be forbidden entirely even. But that could very well kill a lot of F2P games on the market. Maybe they deserve to die. I don't want to be the general judge on that. I don't like lockbox mechanics at all, but... I like STO. I want to keep flying around in my ships and do the occasional story mission. So I guess I am fine with the current laws.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
Mech Warrior Online, SWTOR, TERA have zero random reward scams. So you can produce a profitable game without resorting to TRIBBLE mind control tactics like Operant Conditioning or Skinner Boxes.
Those are the only free-to-play games I am knowledgeable about but I bet most "free to play" games do not use gambling.
SWTOR has hypercrates. The difference to STO is that the "prize" is subjective - it depends on what you want from the box. In STO, the ship is the big prize, as most will agree on. In SWTOR, it could be that particular color dye combination you desire. But in STO, you can freely pick your colors. I'd rather keep lockboxes as they are then have to gamble in hopes of getting the right black-white-red combination for my Odyssey uniform. Everyone here probably has his favorite color combos for his uniforms - but not everyone wants to fly a lockbox ship.
Mechwarrior Online forces you to spend real world money to get certain mechs. There is no way to trade C-Bills for MC or to use an auction house to sell or buy mechs. And it's a PvP only game, that means if there are superior mechs only to be acquired for MC or special package, then you gotta pay or be second class citizen forever. Not to forget that STO had tons more content than MW:O at launch than M:WO hasafter what 2-3 years?
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
Also, the ESRB does not, and cannot, rate user-generated content. The game itself may have a rating, in terms of the mechanics, storyline, and audio-visual content made by the developers. But the presence of other players means that such a rating is of dubious worth, because players can and do generate all sorts of things in-game which may be worthy of some other rating. This is the case with any multiplayer game, be it MMO or otherwise. STO is not somehow special in this regard.
And finally, the ESRB is not a government agency and has little to no power or authority to enforce anything.
That is not relevant. What the game is now is relevant. And there, you get lobi and other prizes, and potentially a ship.
You never get nothing. and I am not sure you ever got nothing. I think Lobi were more so that people would at some point get at least access to another ship, eve if it was not the main prize ship.
There has always been a consolation prize. It used to be that you could get as little as 1 lobi per box, and the lobi amount varied based on the prize tier you got. But that meant that getting a consolation prize meant MORE lobi.
IIRC there has always been a doff pack of some sort as a low tier prize in lock boxes. I think there was a Ferengi marauder mini pack in the Ferengi box.
As for Lock Boxes. It's a pretty standard way of running F2P games. Games aren't free to run. They're for profit ventures, aka businesses. thus you need to have some way to get your players to give you their money. The only non-cryptic F2P game I play right now is Avengers Alliance on facebook. That one is setup so that there is a very limited way to earn the game's equivalent of Zen(gold), but MANY ways to spend it. Including lock boxes. But AA lockboxes are both better and worse than STO lockboxes. AA lock boxes have as the main prize a character to add to your roster in the game. They're worse in that they're the ONLY way to get the associated characters. But it's currently setup so that you will always take between 80 and 360 boxes to get the character.
I haven't read STO's eula lately but age is usually covered there. It's likely 13 is the cutoff, but if you want to see what age is acceptable to STO then read the EULA.
By the letter of law though there is no gambling in STO the lockboxes are guaranteed to give you Lobi and the other things are a 'free prize' like you would get in a box of cereal or cracker jacks (do they make cracker jacks anymore?) which is legally not considered gambling.
So if you have ever purchased cereal with hidden prizes for your kids then I guess you must consider this to be gambling as well. However the law does not say it is because the prize is extra what your actually purchasing is the cereal and in our case the Lobi crystals which are gauranteed to have 4 crystals no matter what.
Heck, trading cards are gambling. Fact of the matter is, not even kids are excluded from some forms of gambling in our society. Teaching financial management in spite of the presence of gambling around us is more important than trying to completely ban such things, IMHO. You are the only one who can decide if the kiddos are mature enough to handle the game. Also, removing payment info from the account may help.
You obviously are an old man tired and dry !! ;-) i remember your patronizing attitude from long ago! dude gtfo of this post ..but thanks for your two bit information.
Cryptic skirts a very fine distinction for gambling with Star Trek Online. This thread seems to pop up a few times per year.
I'm not an expert, but I've dealt with web gambling IP issues in NA off and on for the last 17 years. I've had to deal with 1.) money issues regarding advertising of gambling, and 2.) the operation of web-based gambling 'systems' in Canada and the US.
Actual recognizable gambling - dabo in this case - isn't seen as gambling in the legal sense. While technically it's a theme on roulette or Pai Gow, it's mechanics are highly limited as to how you can access it. You are unable to use a currency that can leave the game. And it is a story element of the IP. And the game clearly identifies as having adult themes.
That mechanism is why free online poker is legal in most jurisdictions. Nothing goes in, nothing goes out. Yes it's advertising for the real thing, but that's not illegal. On a personal note I'd love to see poker in game, but a 'Star Trek' themed video poker is licensed elsewhere. There may be a potential IP conflict there.
Lock boxes are not technically gambling as there are always guaranteed minimum items in them. If the lock boxes offered a chance at a ship - and only a ship - it would be gambling in the legal sense in many NA and EMEA jurisdictions. As it doesn't, the game does NOT require an age gate.
If the laws were to change - and theres' a possibility of that in the State of California in 2015 - then the conditions under which lockboxes currently work may have to change. Assuming the law is passed by sometime in 2017, the gaming industry as a whole would have another 2 years to adopt them. That's a worse case scenario, assuming many things work against the online community.
It's unlikely it will happen. Cryptic has a legal department that's always reviewing these sorts of issues, and they would more than likely shift the process to another mechanism.
Actually after reading a few of these comments I think you might be right. Since this game did recently promote buying research and development packs for a "chance" to get a dreadnought, this is actually gambling.
QUOTE FROM ARC WEBSITE "When you purchase a Research and Development Pack from the C-Store and open it, you will receive either 10 Lobi Crystals or an Elachi Sheshar Dreadnought Cruiser, in addition to the Research and Development Pack. Please note: only packs that were originally purchased from the C-store during the promotional period qualify for the potential rewards."
There is only as much gambling in this game as when you roll a pair of dice, and win a fortune cookie as a prize. There are in-game applications allowing you to purchase virtual items that can only be used in the game.
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value (referred to as "the stakes") on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Perfect World does not award money or material goods at any point in this game.
If you object to online gambling then you should add Star Trek Online to your list of banned games.
STO promotes gambling. It's not required, I personally don't take part in it, but it's heavily promoted and encouraged.
Whenever I log in, Im taking a gamble that they didn't swing a nerfbat or that some bug or glitch doesnt ruin a gameplay session. The House usually wins.
And I know what you're going to scream. "YES IT IS, YOU GAMBLE ON A CHANCE FOR PRIZES!!!"
Except...
The definition of gambling, unless changed by statute, consists of any activity with three elements: consideration, chance, and prize.
If you remove any of the elements, it is no longer gambling.
The traditional formula - "payment of a price for a chance to win a prize" - neatly sums up the three necessary elements: consideration, chance, and prize.
In the case of lockboxes, you're removing Chance element. You always win when you open a lockbox. You're paying for the key to exchange for Lobi Crystals when you open the box. You also happen to get a random prize when you do.
You are paying for the Lobi Crystals. Anything else is a bonus prize. There is no gambling.
Except that no one is opening lockbox for anything other than a leech or the ships. Booby prizes don't negate the gambling. Ive had a lot of friends both in-game and in rl have banks that won't process a payment to PWE. Why? My guess is it has something to do with gambling.
Don't get me wrong. I don't care if they do. Im an adult and can make my own decisions regarding how I spend my money. I wouldnt want to expose kids to it, however.
Except that no one is opening lockbox for anything other than a leech or the ships.
The only times I have opened up lockboxes is because the items in the Lobi Store that are Bind on Pickup. Getting a Lockbox ship was just a bonus.
Although, I do prefer how SWTOR has their lockboxes set up with the ability to get a few decent items at once and the ability to unlock the lockbox items for the entire account. Even though it has the problem with Lockbox Reputations and no grand prizes that are as impressive as Lockbox ships.
So. If you buy a milk carton that's having a lucky dip promo with the chance to win a car, it's gambling? OK.
Not really the same thing, you would have purchased a carton of milk and received a carton of milk, anything else is a bonus.
Your buying a box with a guaranteed prize inside with all the advertising focused on the new car... But when you open the box it contains a toilet brush.....
They say it's not gambling because you still got a prize.
Comments
Sounds like a great opportunity to explain about the Long Con and the Short Con and how grifters work.
See, enforcing a ban solves the immediate problem, on a micro level.
But teaching kids about con artists, (and let's face it, even some adults could desperately use a little education on that subject), is a permanent solution on the macro level.
As a starting point for discussion, sit down and watch 'The Sting' with your kids. It shows, step-by-step, a con being laid out, and it also shows examples of several different confidence games at various stages. There are several ideal points at which to to stop the DVD and talk about, "why should he not have trusted that guy?" or "what were the obvious clues that this was a con?"
The other necessity is a strong understanding of basic mathematics. Your kids need to know what 3% really means. It means, in practical terms, never.
On a more fundamental level, my grandmother taught me when I was young, "never buy a pig in a poke". I don't fool with lockboxes simply because that basic lesson was drilled into my head.
The entire game is payed for by the people who are addicted to opening random reward packs bought with real money.
Before Delta Rising this was a great game for those of us without the gambling gene. Some people are immune to gambling addictions even at a young age. Also, there are plenty elderly I wouldn't allow to play this game because the elderly tend to gravitate toward gambling as they near death.
As a parent, this is my advice:
Do your duty as a parent: Play the game yourself and make a informed decision based on what you see, rather than putting the responsibility on someone else.
Seriously... I let my kids play the games they'd like, based on... Me playing no less than 5 hours of EVERY d*med game they want to play.
It's not government duty to raise our kids... it's OURS... Don't put the responsibility or duty on someone elses shoulders.
Don't be a jerk. He is parenting. He is researching how much gambling is involved in STO before he lets his kid play. Do you expect him to level up a toon just to understand the game before letting his kid play?
and swtor has em.. in fact most free to play games have something like it... or at least ones I've played prizes vary but the "gamble" remains.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
Yes... I do...
Surprise, surprise... Parenting comes with responsibilities... Something that sometime takes a cr*pload of time...
Does some random person in an office know his/her kids? How he/she raised them? What their psycological tolerance is?
No...
Does he/she? I hope so...
So in reality, who should (hopefully) be most qualified to tell he the kids can handle the game and the temptations?
If your answer is "ERBS" or something similar... Well... Let's just say my opinion will most likely get me a warning.
Edit: And yea... I quoted your original post... Before you changed it.
Mech Warrior Online, SWTOR, TERA have zero random reward scams. So you can produce a profitable game without resorting to TRIBBLE mind control tactics like Operant Conditioning or Skinner Boxes.
Those are the only free-to-play games I am knowledgeable about but I bet most "free to play" games do not use gambling.
yeah, do me a favor look up hypercrate for me. at least lockboxs give you something that actually helps you play. I've played alot 10 years without a job gives one alot time to play but no money to buy. their rather common.
learn to lie better.
p.s. you play money to maybe kinds possibly get super special thing is the whine about lock boxs right? yes hypercrates count.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
...And more importantly, those that do don't offer such ridiculously rare excellent rewards for them... I mean, a few undeath potions, a random high-quality enchantment stone, and a cool mount are one thing. One of the best starships in the game, on the other hand? That's something else entirely.
ESRB has the game rated as Teen .
http://www.esrb.org/ratings/synopsis.jsp?Certificate=28315
If I remember correctly , the European boxed version had a 16+ rating .
Please note that both ratings were done prior to the game going Free to Play, and the introduction of the Lockbox / Doff pack / R&D material box style gambling schemes which intail gambling for results with the use of real world cash .
... some of that cash can be substituted by in game currency , but the opening of the items above has no fixed award ... , thus even most smart adults stay away ...
Hold up here. R&D Boxes currently give you exactly what they always do at the same price they always cost, PLUS one of two things they do not ordinarily give: 10 Lobi Crystals OR a Sheshar. THIS IN NO WAY CONSTITUTES "GAMBLING." Seriously, what's with people howling "gambling" about this when no such thing is happening?
You never get nothing. and I am not sure you ever got nothing. I think Lobi were more so that people would at some point get at least access to another ship, eve if it was not the main prize ship.
I don't know why the (US?) gambling laws are as they are. I could argue for them to need to change to include games like STO, at least if it is about "protecting" children. Maybe lockbox practices should be forbidden entirely even. But that could very well kill a lot of F2P games on the market. Maybe they deserve to die. I don't want to be the general judge on that. I don't like lockbox mechanics at all, but... I like STO. I want to keep flying around in my ships and do the occasional story mission. So I guess I am fine with the current laws.
SWTOR has hypercrates. The difference to STO is that the "prize" is subjective - it depends on what you want from the box. In STO, the ship is the big prize, as most will agree on. In SWTOR, it could be that particular color dye combination you desire. But in STO, you can freely pick your colors. I'd rather keep lockboxes as they are then have to gamble in hopes of getting the right black-white-red combination for my Odyssey uniform. Everyone here probably has his favorite color combos for his uniforms - but not everyone wants to fly a lockbox ship.
Mechwarrior Online forces you to spend real world money to get certain mechs. There is no way to trade C-Bills for MC or to use an auction house to sell or buy mechs. And it's a PvP only game, that means if there are superior mechs only to be acquired for MC or special package, then you gotta pay or be second class citizen forever. Not to forget that STO had tons more content than MW:O at launch than M:WO hasafter what 2-3 years?
And finally, the ESRB is not a government agency and has little to no power or authority to enforce anything.
IIRC there has always been a doff pack of some sort as a low tier prize in lock boxes. I think there was a Ferengi marauder mini pack in the Ferengi box.
As for Lock Boxes. It's a pretty standard way of running F2P games. Games aren't free to run. They're for profit ventures, aka businesses. thus you need to have some way to get your players to give you their money. The only non-cryptic F2P game I play right now is Avengers Alliance on facebook. That one is setup so that there is a very limited way to earn the game's equivalent of Zen(gold), but MANY ways to spend it. Including lock boxes. But AA lockboxes are both better and worse than STO lockboxes. AA lock boxes have as the main prize a character to add to your roster in the game. They're worse in that they're the ONLY way to get the associated characters. But it's currently setup so that you will always take between 80 and 360 boxes to get the character.
My character Tsin'xing
By the letter of law though there is no gambling in STO the lockboxes are guaranteed to give you Lobi and the other things are a 'free prize' like you would get in a box of cereal or cracker jacks (do they make cracker jacks anymore?) which is legally not considered gambling.
So if you have ever purchased cereal with hidden prizes for your kids then I guess you must consider this to be gambling as well. However the law does not say it is because the prize is extra what your actually purchasing is the cereal and in our case the Lobi crystals which are gauranteed to have 4 crystals no matter what.
My opinion is of it being gambling, but I wont attack someone who says it isn't.
I own a JHAS from the first time it was released, sitting on a char I wont ever use again, and a Mobius I got off the exchange.
I never paid actual money for either of them, as I don't do gambling and I don't value Lobi ships above £50 max...
You're obviously quite the child yourself.
I'm not an expert, but I've dealt with web gambling IP issues in NA off and on for the last 17 years. I've had to deal with 1.) money issues regarding advertising of gambling, and 2.) the operation of web-based gambling 'systems' in Canada and the US.
Actual recognizable gambling - dabo in this case - isn't seen as gambling in the legal sense. While technically it's a theme on roulette or Pai Gow, it's mechanics are highly limited as to how you can access it. You are unable to use a currency that can leave the game. And it is a story element of the IP. And the game clearly identifies as having adult themes.
That mechanism is why free online poker is legal in most jurisdictions. Nothing goes in, nothing goes out. Yes it's advertising for the real thing, but that's not illegal. On a personal note I'd love to see poker in game, but a 'Star Trek' themed video poker is licensed elsewhere. There may be a potential IP conflict there.
Lock boxes are not technically gambling as there are always guaranteed minimum items in them. If the lock boxes offered a chance at a ship - and only a ship - it would be gambling in the legal sense in many NA and EMEA jurisdictions. As it doesn't, the game does NOT require an age gate.
If the laws were to change - and theres' a possibility of that in the State of California in 2015 - then the conditions under which lockboxes currently work may have to change. Assuming the law is passed by sometime in 2017, the gaming industry as a whole would have another 2 years to adopt them. That's a worse case scenario, assuming many things work against the online community.
It's unlikely it will happen. Cryptic has a legal department that's always reviewing these sorts of issues, and they would more than likely shift the process to another mechanism.
My Two bits.
Admiral Thrax
QUOTE FROM ARC WEBSITE "When you purchase a Research and Development Pack from the C-Store and open it, you will receive either 10 Lobi Crystals or an Elachi Sheshar Dreadnought Cruiser, in addition to the Research and Development Pack. Please note: only packs that were originally purchased from the C-store during the promotional period qualify for the potential rewards."
http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/9008723-elachi-sheshar-dreadnought-cruiser
Greywolf Taskforce - Officer of the Fleet
There is only as much gambling in this game as when you roll a pair of dice, and win a fortune cookie as a prize. There are in-game applications allowing you to purchase virtual items that can only be used in the game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_World_%28company%29
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value (referred to as "the stakes") on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Perfect World does not award money or material goods at any point in this game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling
Perfect World always practices the first Ferengi Rule of Acquisition: "Once you have their money, you never give it back."
Whenever I log in, Im taking a gamble that they didn't swing a nerfbat or that some bug or glitch doesnt ruin a gameplay session. The House usually wins.
Except that no one is opening lockbox for anything other than a leech or the ships. Booby prizes don't negate the gambling. Ive had a lot of friends both in-game and in rl have banks that won't process a payment to PWE. Why? My guess is it has something to do with gambling.
Don't get me wrong. I don't care if they do. Im an adult and can make my own decisions regarding how I spend my money. I wouldnt want to expose kids to it, however.
The only times I have opened up lockboxes is because the items in the Lobi Store that are Bind on Pickup. Getting a Lockbox ship was just a bonus.
Although, I do prefer how SWTOR has their lockboxes set up with the ability to get a few decent items at once and the ability to unlock the lockbox items for the entire account. Even though it has the problem with Lockbox Reputations and no grand prizes that are as impressive as Lockbox ships.
Star Trek Online =/= Start Trek as we know it.
encourage your kids for grinding. That will teach them to work to get something they want in real life :P
Ain't Nobody Got Time for That
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Not really the same thing, you would have purchased a carton of milk and received a carton of milk, anything else is a bonus.
Your buying a box with a guaranteed prize inside with all the advertising focused on the new car... But when you open the box it contains a toilet brush.....
They say it's not gambling because you still got a prize.