G2A And Loot Boxes: Together At Last!

[@JimSterling]

Slip of the tongue (lol) at the beginning. G2A isn't lousy with piracy issues, their deal is fraud.

[@BigWinner-ip9bw]

JonTron: OH *NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo.............!!!!*

[@elgurrogrande]

What about g2play/kuingwin is They The same?

[@drstrangelove9525]

Jim Sterling G2A can take a Old, soft banana and shove it up their greedy ass

[@Haldrie]

I would be sketchy about any web site that offers cheap keys as you can never be sure where they came from. If you can't afford a game then wait for a sale. At least then you know you are actually supporting the developer and not some shady key stealing web site.

[@uckfayooglegay9982]

If the only option you can afford is a site like G2A then it is often better for the developer to pirate it. Every fraudulent purchase of a game hurts the developer.

[@smjaiteh]

Ah, G2A and lootboxes. In the words of the legendary Angry Video Game Nerd, "it's like puking on a pile of shit!"

[@bunnyboyking5215]

Sambou Jaiteh YEAH!

[@drstrangelove9525]

Isa god I love AVGN

[@slendy9600]

Isa thats definitely in his top 5 best lines

[@guy8528]

"What a shitload of fuck."

[@mjc0961]

Sambou Jaiteh kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2Scnn-Il8hlipI

[@Loongear]

So you're telling me I could spend real money to have a small, miniscule chance to get myself a good game AND a chance for the key to be revoked? What a good deal!

[@milkncookie]

I know! It's exciting. You never know what you'd get. It could be Anything!!

[@Azralynn]

Looks rigged as fuck, but I totally get the appeal/rush of gambling. It is indeed banking on the addiction of others, and it's sad to see companies like this skirting the system like this. :(

[@CyclonicDeath]

damn your so sexy, i promise im not ugly like all the other guys in your life

[@alexeverett308]

Azralynn Any gambling is rigged to an extent. As much as risk is a huge factor in the "fun" of gambling, the companies running it don't want to risk losing out. The house always wins, after all.

[@hardy83]

Yes, that's the problem with shit like this that's sold to children. It's fucking gambling, it uses the psychology of gambling, the addictions of it, and the predatory practices in gambling. That's on top of adults that are more susceptible to gambling addiction that these groups predatory practices. Yet it's a system and platform that is allowed to be actively sold to children. It's no better than those shitty predatory F2P mobile games that feed on children's impatience. And sure, blame parents for not stopping the kids from getting addicted to this stuff, but 1-2 people can't go against what is a Goliath amount of systems that are shoved in a kids face almost 24 hours a day.

[@Azralynn]

Very true, but there are also regulations, and the addiction is more easily recognized than someone hooked on loot boxes.

[@manictiger]

And the stupidity of people that can't do basic math. That obfuscation 'currency' is aimed at morons, but has an added layer of 'not being real money' (even though it is). That way you'll burn through real money without feeling like you're burning through real money. The only thing more scummy than gambling and the people that participate in it are the 2 trillion dollar house hoarders (also known as 'banks'), who directly contribute to the skyrocketing rent and homelessness rate.

[@SploshBadger]

Okay, I tried the free trial system, and rolled until I got a AAA game. In 10 minutes I had gotten 5 copies of XCOM UFO Defence at 0.40 Euro and around 5 copies of four other cheaper steam shovelware and one copy of Prey. I'm not a mathsologist but that doesn't seem like each of the games had an equal chance of appearing

[@Sniperbear13]

one has to wonder, if you get the same game multiple times, what then? you stuck with it? or will you get a reroll? or does a game you already have get removed from the list? what ever the case, its still a huge waste of money.

[@manticore6963]

Accelerator In that Case, the Beauty of G2A comes into play - you already paid for your Gambling Coins, or whatever you are buying the Boxes with. Now You can sell the Keys for the Games, you don't want, on G2A, while G2A gets a Cut for every Key you sell. Those same Keys, you got by buying Loot Boxes with your Money, that you also gave to G2A. It's a shit covered Cow, that shits Gold, covered in shit.

[@Sniperbear13]

well if that's the case, why the fuck do people do business with them i wonder. i guess there are way more blind sheep then ever.

[@GhostofPhoenix]

Brand loyalty. Habit. Psychological manipulation. Sponsoring YTers, The Game Awards and esports events.

[@MrPuschel]

They do. Just throw 50000 keys of xcom ufo defense, 50000 keys of generic-asset-flip and 50 keys of Prey into the mix and every key has the same chance of appearing - With prey having a chance of 1:20.000

[@camzoman]

What baffles me about this is that in the EU, pokémon had gambling minigames removed presumably because they introduced gambling to kids.

[@hemme100]

Awkward Squirtle now it's on all games and it should be illegal

[@amberbaum4079]

Yeah, it's almost if they want to target the weakest link that falls prey easily to these tactics.......one can only wonder why /s

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

Awkward Squirtle It's not just the EU, every game since HeartGold/SoulSilver has no gambling EVERYWHERE. HGSS had some Voltorb Flip game no one cared about but you can't lose at it so it's not even gambling.

[@JamesRoyceDawson]

I honestly don't understand people who go in for loot-boxes. Just seems like you're getting scammed most of the times. But then again, I don't have a gambling addiction.

[@bunnyboyking5215]

James Royce-Dawson Yeah.

[@chaosinc.382]

James Royce-Dawson I like shiny things that look nice on characters... I'm also a bit of an impulse buyer. Likely I'd be a 'whale' if it weren't for the fact I'm already poor before the microtransactions.

[@Lorettefromchaos]

Good thing you are poor then?? X´D

[@RRRadish]

Games of chance are just enticing in some primal way and it's easy to exploit that urge that tells you you might "win" the next time when rational thought says your actual odds are minimal. Similarly it's easy for that audience to develop a mentality of "the more I keep playing/buying lootboxes the more my chances of winning go up" which isn't actually true at all since the odds are just as low on every individual roll of the die. Honestly systems like this should be regulated just as strictly as "real" gambling because it's exploiting the exact same type of audience.

[@Axius27]

I can see the appeal, and I'm even tempted to dive right in, but the psychological manipulation and the complete lack of oversight and regulation keeps me from jumping into this figurative pool full of marine life. I'm alright with them when no money changes hands. If you just have to play the game to earn these items, then that's fine. It's even exciting and makes me want to play more. But when 'keys' and 'reselling items' come into it, it makes the whole game distasteful. Even if you can get all the items without having to buy anything, it's still in the back of your mind that you don't 'have' to keep getting killed in PUBG to get that item, just hand over the money and be done with it. That saps the fun out of the game and has made me put down more than one otherwise FANTASTIC games :(

[@SploshBadger]

Anyone else been getting those G2A Ads that read "Please complete the payment" followed by one that says "Thanks for purchasing" and then one that says "Enjoying your game?" dodgy as fuck

[@alexeverett308]

Big Lover Wait where are those? Are they on KZbin or just around the Web?

[@if91100]

adblock dude, To be honest its a lot safer with adblock those very dodgy ads cant trick you.

[@nevarran]

I don't get ads.

[@SploshBadger]

I've just seen them on youtube, and I use adblockers for all other websites

[@Sponska]

First there were lootboxes in games. Now there are games in lootboxes!

[@me-A2B]

In near future, Samsung and Apple will sell their new phone series in loot boxes, it contain random RAM size, storage size, model, and color.

[@chaosinc.382]

THIS JUST IN: LOOTBOXES IN UNO, CHESS, AND SOLITAIRE COMING SOON: LOOTBOXES FROM FUCKING AMAZON, EBAY, GAMESTOP, AND THE NEAREST GROCERY STORE

[@RTheren]

Chaos inc. Lootboxes for lootboxes

[@ivanpenna8280]

Chaos inc. Lootboxes for Walmart Lootboxes for Starbucks Lootboxes for the elections Lootboxes for LOVE LOOTBOXES FOR LIVE

[@Hendlton]

You joke but IIRC, the games that come default with Windows 10 have microtransactions.

[@2veki]

"Get lucky or die trying!" Love it how they've just put it out there like it's a norm lol!

[@NatrajChaturvedi]

anybody who is sane reads that as go broke trying

[@jamesdandrea7284]

For the record Jim can talk about anything he wants way more than four times, just check out all the times he mentions digihom in his earlier videos, people love that

[@Jandau85]

Hey, look, G2A managed to find a way to sell off Steam keys nobody wants. And people will actually buy it. It's supremely scummy and brilliant at the same time...

[@thomasjenkins7506]

i don't see it as scummy at all. if you are under the impression that you have a good chance to get a good game, then you are pretty dumb anyway.

[@DeathBringer769]

+Thomas Jenkins display the classic "blame the victim" shit mentality. Yes, people should try to be more careful, OF COURSE, but you still don't let the manipulators/abusers do it and get away with it scot-free. In your line of "logic" rape would be legal and we would just blame the victim for "letting" it happen to them. See how crap that is? No, you probably don't.

[@Takkiebos]

Deathbrewer equating rape to enabling self-destructive behavior for profit is a bit of a stretch don't you think? Yes gambling can be a pathological self-control issue, but not every sucker has mental problems.

[@RossageRoll]

This is a new low in gaming.....it's like digging a hole: once you go down too far, you can't dig your way back up.

[@killermelga]

once you go down too far, you go a little further. there, I fixed it for you

[@princess_gurchi]

You can't dig your way back up, but you can jump and build dirt blocks under your feet. Duh

[@kamurotetsu4860]

They've dug so low, they're in fucking Wonderland...and not the nice version.

[@dreambrother16]

This isn't even close to a low for gaming, probably wouldn't even crack top 20 scummy moves from the last 3 years of gaming. Pretty depressing when you think about it.

[@2veki]

It's more like Jim himself said in one video, something of this sort: "It's like scraping at the bottom of the barrel for barnacles that get worse as you go deeper, only thing is there is no end to this barrel." I think it was in one of those PoxelZ games, if not it was a greenlight game 100%.

[@User_Unknown86]

So it's come to this...random loot boxes for games themselves. I think I've just died a little inside.

[@nyyfandan]

Its only a matter of time until grocery stores begin using loot boxes. "Will you get food you like? Will you get something you're allergic to? buy a box of food and find out!"

[@megamage911]

I find iot hilarious that one of the suggested videoes for me on this one, is actually for someone opening G2A boxes...

[@EinsiJo]

Yanno, if Devolver digital wants to one-up this years "Fuck the game industry" E3 press conference, they should have the next one just be a panel of 'whales' explaining how microtransactions and loot boxes exploited their gambling addiction and ruined their lives. Would be hilarious to see how any of the subsequent publishers try to sell their own bullshit after that.

[@MedievalGenie]

I hated lootboxes ever since Battlefield stuck them in. I just wanted to unlock stuff by playing the game enough to deserve the special shotgun part I desired.

[@xMTxcameron]

Fa Mulan I don't like progression systems like call of duty. Unlocking better weapons and stuff the more you play because it makes games a bit unbalanced. When someone who's played more than you has better equipment than you to give them even a slight edge sucks, but I'd certainly take it over this lootbox crap we're starting to see everywhere now.

[@DeathBringer769]

I've hated loot boxes/crates since Valve introduced them in CSGO, one of the earliest and most copied successful example of them too. Thank Valve in part for all this spreading so hard, lol.

[@henriksundqvist991]

Not gonna lie at one point I was focusing more on the opening than what Jim was saying. I guess that proves his point

[@wj11jam78]

I feel like the box designs are just some artist having a bit of fun. I enjoy designing things like that.

[@WushuKnight19]

Jesus Christ, where are these loots box systems coming from? They're everywhere.

[@DarthRhaadoo]

WushuKnight19 mobile phone games, i remember the infinity blade series, they had stones with rarities and tou would get a randomized drop

[@DeathBringer769]

Valve kicked it off with CSGO and TF2 crates and skins, along with their little marketplace for them too.

[@belldrop7365]

From F2P games in general, they've been using it to sustain *free* games for more than a decade now. But then Overwatched happened, which pretty much opened the floodgates accompanied with the singing praises of the masses. It's not restricted to F2P games now.

[@Syko7s]

See: we didn't burn Blizzard/Activision to the ground when we had the chance and now the infection is spreading

[@evillecaston]

There are still legions of people who think Blizz can do no wrong. And this is nowhere near the first time they've made up a creative scheme to steal money from us...

[@blacxthornE]

It looks like they forgot to change the odds of the free test to make it seem more fair. It consistently picks the cheapest possible games.

[@toomanyaccounts]

yeah the loot box is more expensive then the crap asset flip games that all come from the same developer zonitron productions the largest asset flipper on steam who look like they ran a kickstarter scam to fund their steam direct fees to get their crap on steam.

[@OneNot]

Like some have been pointing out, the most disgusting thing about this thing is that G2A is just milking money out of re-selling their own keys. The people buying these boxes get a lot of duplicates of shovelware games. They easily rationalize getting more of them by going "Oh I can just sell the keys I don't want on G2A". That's a pretty vicious cycle. Meanwhile, G2A is collecting money from both the loot boxes and the re-sold keys...

[@hewhodestroysmorale764]

Now I'm wondering if the one dislike (soon to be more, I'm sure), is from a G2A fan, or someone who still disagrees from your opinion of MW3 from a couple of years back.

[@tanktheta]

Or could just be that someone dislikes Jim? I mean mate, Everyone, and I mean Everyone, that has even a small to moderate channel, will always get dislikes. I wouldn''t worry about it.

[@toxicmongerofthehatefulbro5745]

Yeah but it's always interesting to think of 'Who's disliking this?'

[@leavy]

I always figured the Zelda zealots are the freshest enemy

[@QosmicVoid]

Yeah, I get what you mean. I'm always sat here like "He's literally making the most sense of everyone and warning people of this bullshit - Exactly who is disliking being warned of shady bastards?" It goes beyond just not liking the guy and into actively sabotaging their own investment in games '-'

[@Jamie-tx7pn]

Theres also people who like being first in stupid shit. First view, first comment, first like, first dislike, etc, etc.

[@peterw4910]

Regarding what Jim said about this whole thing eventually getting too big for its boots and regulation eventually having to come down on it. Is there a way we can get the oversight and regulation that this loot box system needs before something goes horribly wrong? Writing to congressmen/MPs or something?

[@peeledapples4176]

Peter W definitely. It helps to find one that's reasonably tech-savvy ofc, since this would be more likely to interest them. If you're UK-based, the Labour MP Tom Watson is both a gamer himself, and a proponent of stricter gambling laws. Emailing him would be a good start.

[@oddlyart]

Unfortunately in the US nobody would bother regulating this. The UK surprisingly has been trying to with mobile gaming from what I've heard and we all know on mobile gaming how bad the practice is on all those trading card games that clog the market.

[@BatteredWalrus]

I honestly agree with china on this one (jeez never thought I'd say that), they need to list what the drop chances are for each lootbox types. That or they make any game released with lootboxes at 18 rated (I'm refering to the PEGI ratings board)

[@SoShiBias]

When I see G2A, roll eyes 90degree. When I see Lootboxes, roll eyes 180degree. When I see the wheel in action, *kill* *me*

[@darksidegryphon5393]

You should consider seppuku. Call me. We'll do it together.

[@Left4Coragem]

It's a lost battle Jim, people don't care if they are being ripped off by gaming companies, they will just buy the next triple A game with loot boxes, micro-transaction, day one dlc plus "expansions" that cost the same as the base game. Thing is, people just say they care, but when the next game they want to play come along, they don't care what business model it has, they will just buy it with no interest on how they are affecting the behavior of the industry as a whole.

[@DeathBringer769]

Well, I think it's ultimately because most people are too shitty/apathetic to actually care what effect they have on the world as a whole, let alone smaller things than that like an industry, a city, a neighborhood, their own household, etc. Most people don't care what effect they have. They've rather just put it out of their minds, convince themselves they're a good person, and just continue doing whatever the hell they wanted to do in the first place.

[@NatrajChaturvedi]

I think many of those people do feel bad when they are buying games and overpriced dlcs and special pre order editions and whatever else they fucking buy but convince themselves that this particular dev deserves their support or that this item/content is to good to pass or any other rationalization they can think off with the last one being that many many other people are buying this shit anyway so them not buying it wont make any real difference.

[@BasilBonehead]

This shady company got shadier

[@Thegaminggardian]

I'm glad that you stated that you actually do see the value in loot box systems but still pointing out it's huge flaws

[@TheSerbianEmperor]

G2A. A company I've never heard anything positive about.

[@redlegsgreaves8754]

The only regret i have is that i didnt make nice juicy bet, when first i commented on one of the Overwatch reddits. I was criticizing that people defended how its ok to have lootboxes you can pay for in a game you already payed for, a game with such a cult following will only end up being a bad example, a norm, which will be exploited by others and used as justification. Especially considering how more and more people are ok with overpaying because they are lazy or can't wait for things. Telling me about their time limits, instead realizing that a game you already bought, should not need you to open your wallet when you want to enjoy it to its fullest. For if you are not enjoying it just as much, it would mean that you are just being abused with your own consent every time you pay more for it, because these game features are implemented on purpose and as long as people accept them, there will be no change.

[@gystes_]

I really do hope that the government gets involved in this sooner rather than later. This type of unregulated gambling is going to destroy a lot of people.

[@alexgallegos4081]

"BRILLIANT BOB" "You could get this game!" Yeah... or I could just not...

[@NotSoMelancholy]

The loot box epidemic is something that just needs to be stopped.

[@WushuKnight19]

6:59 Congratulations! You just got Half-Life comple- HAAAAAA BIOTCH.

[@qualivia]

Hehe there is now a new generation of gamers who will never know what it felt like to get a premium game and have all the content for yourself without DLC........sucks for them I guess.

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

Story driven DLC is fine so long as it is extending the story as apposed to completing it. You play through the main game, beat the big bad, then buy the DLC where a new villain shows up. It seams like a lot of games these days (don't actually know how common it is, as I rarely play things newer then the 6th gen) keep their actual ending behind a DLC paywall. I don't really have a problem with DLC adding new weapons/vehicles/side missions, so long as it is priced well, but it rarely is. I picked up a copy of the "new" Need for Speed Hot Pursuit a couple years ago, there are a lot of cool DLC cars, but they are like $2.99 each! They are also right there in the garage, so you constantly have to look at them even though you can't get them. I think DLC should be treated like the expansion packs of old, adds a bunch of new content (often doubling the amount of stuff in the game) for around a third to half the price of the initial game. Most modern DLCs, even when handled "right" (like it doesn't feel like cut content) just doesn't justify its price.

[@AsDeft]

They also won't know of a time when you would buy a game at the store that had gamebreaking glitches and crashes that will never be fixed. It is really idiotic to say a generation of gamers will not have that experience ever when it is only select developers doing this scummy stuff. There are plenty of awesome games that you can just pay for and be happy playing without dlc or loot boxes.

[@WolfCoder]

They used to be called expansion packs and were basically almost entire games in of themselves.

[@AggroNoobs]

This actually hurts me to think about. There other day I saw an advert for MvC:I that was trying to sell me on Prepurchase to unlock an Evil Ryu skin... You know.. the version of Ryu that's always been an unlock for being great at the games? Yeah, just a skin and DLC now. What in the actual fuck is happening anymore?

[@Cajaquarius]

Eh games had expansion packs, at least on the computer, so DLC doesn't bother me. I am more bothered by companies using the internet to save money on releasing properly play tested games. In the mid and late nineties, Bethesda level bugs in your premium game would jeopardize your whole company. Even good games like Fallout 2 that we remember fondly today nearly destroyed their companies (Black Isle at the time) on release because of how buggy the game was. Now the fans dedicated enough to pre-order are used as free bug testing. In the case of Bethesda, the company sometimes even leaves it to the fans to patch their game for them for free.

[@zoltanalkannen4263]

“G2A And Loot Boxes: Together At Last!” enough said.

[@SuperSmashDolls]

Loot boxes on G2A seems awfully redundant given that the service itself sells keys bought with stolen credit cards. You're basically gambling to see if the key in question will get revoked or not. G2A is one giant loot box!

[@TrueJellyHawk]

DUDE!!! You got Brilliant Bob!!! I'm so jealous right now :I

[@Hendlton]

This isn't just "Disgusting" this should actually be illegal. It comes with all the addictivenes and potential to ruin lives, without any of the reward or legal repercussions. I don't know how it's in the US, but gambling around here is treated just like alcohol and cigarettes. In moderation it's fine, but it's definitely, without a doubt, addictive and has to be regulated. IMO a game with loot boxes should automatically be rated 18+.

[@tiredaf3147]

ugh. Don't compare cigarettes to the game industry. That's an insult to my Newports.

[@Hendlton]

I'm not comparing cigarettes to the game industry, I'm comparing cigarettes to gambling, which is exactly what this is.

[@ziAeRmLnjwyd5OTDczHiCOch1KjZ]

All those poor gambling addicts who will spend 50 000 dollar to buy PUBG.

[@Hendlton]

You joke but I'm sure there will be people who will spend thousands even though they have mortgage or student debt to pay off.

[@TheBeziko]

Good, someone starts talking about G2A... I hate their politics so much.

[@AzderielBane]

SidAlpha actually done a video about them first on the same day. Kinda odd. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4OUkJdumdqNpKc

[@choggi]

Kinda interesting that SidAlpha's video also contains a clip showing him just missing half-life complete stopping on brilliant bob.

[@AzderielBane]

But SidAlpha's came out several hours before? Thinking they just communicate within the same circle of people and this was a hot topic within it or something.

[@AzderielBane]

Musical Anti Hero also made on yesterday. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpC6paStgqxmeqM

[@JimSterling]

Sid and I often get copied on the same emails. Plus we both have very active audiences who are very eager to tip us off about industry bullshit. At this point I am never surprised to find that we did videos on the same thing.

[@nahoi1497]

It's funny that after so much controversy and outrage about violence in games, the public stays completly silent about games introducing people to gambling…

[@SuperFaex]

At least Bethesdas creation club has no lootboxes (yet)

[@HeroicPunk]

Imagine that: pay for Creation Points (c) to unlock random mods! What a deal!! My lord, the worst of both worlds piled on top of each other. Ugh. Just wait till that happens...

[@venomart4768]

SuperFaex don't give them idea lol

[@SuperFaex]

And if you draw a mod you already own, you get one fifth of its worth back in creation points.

[@HeroicPunk]

I'm just waiting until this is ACTUALLY a thing *puking*

[@TaxOwlbear]

HIT THE LEVER!

[@rossmallo]

Out of curiosity I tried the test spin too. *The exact same thing that happened at the ending of this happened to me.*

[@MrWyald]

I can't believe how normal these are becoming. Something that shitty F2P mobile games banked on to make a profit is not only more and more common in AAA plus other full priced titles and, now for games on a shady site. $5 loot boxes at restaurants and hope you get the full meal not only the small drink? This is insane. If the prices and chances were much more consumer friendly loot boxes would be a nice optional thing to spend a few bucks on the games you enjoy. The way they do them though shows how much the industry wants to gouge every customer without first providing a quality entertaining game. It's upsetting realizing how fast so many shit practices have creeped into the entire game industry. Why do people spend on collectors editions without the game, games that require $50 of DLC to be only complete, monetary systems for F2P games being in full priced ones, entire companies releasing broken games day one like clockwork, and now the new low of profiting off a employee who passed away?

[@diekssus7194]

And then you randomly get a game you already have/don't want, and you sell it on G2A again. twice the income, twice the corruption

[@DarkCronMeta]

Look, I get this, and I'm not okay with it. But why no references to GreenManGaming's loot boxes? It's been present over there for waaay longer, hell even Square Enix (on their website) sell comparable lootboxes as "secret gamechests". Not complaining just wondering.

[@toomanyaccounts]

gmg doesn't do as a slot machine and the prizes in the loot box are often much more expensive then the box. wheras with the g2a you got brillant bob and tons of other zonitron productions asset flip that are often discounted on steam for ten fucking cents!

[@IkarosTypeAlpha]

For Square Enix, it's usually worth it. Mostly because what you get is worth more than what you paid, although if you like the item or not is up to you. Hell, GOG does it too, but the games are always worth more than what you paid. You could spend $3 and get The Witcher 3. Here? You spend $20 and get a game that's often $0.10...

[@TheAntiSanta]

There's not a lot of research put into these Industry Bullshit videos. He just finds out about a thing, looks up what's immediately relevant to issue, and talks about how much it's fucking bullshit. No time to learn who the fuck GreenManGaming is or mention Square's whatever you just said.

[@ghosface353]

Isn't the GreenManGaming just the mystery bundle that Jim Sterling talked about that G2A has combined with lootboxes? Isn't the mystery bundle just 10 cheap games, you occasionally get it for free or can buy for like a $. There is no illusion I think that there will be any good or expansive game in there. I think anyone expect just shit in them. This seem like you can get stuff like Nier Automata and PUBG. Games people actually want.

[@NatrajChaturvedi]

good question I guess. As always g2a gets the spotlight and is made to look far worse than it actually is. (lootboxes are bad no doubt!! I am talking about the other stuff like stolen keys problem being blown way out of proportion just because some darling game devs say so. These are the same group of people who rail about anything consumer friendly like steam starting to give refunds and have user reviews)

[@spiderfloof947]

Maybe if you roll a Legendary, you'll get the new "Game from a stolen account" loot, and gain access to the new "Clink" DLC Map.

[@spaceman2517]

Brilliant Bob 😎

[@ReaperEvolved]

I'm glad someone finally straight up said "this is feeding/causing gambling addiction" because that's what it is. I feel this way about scratch cards and even the lottery to some extent. I felt the same way when I was asked to sell a store credit card when I had myself ran into (albeit minor) debt, to which I had to flat refuse to do. I'm with you Jim, at this point all we can really hope for is some company pushes it too far and something really bad happens, which is honestly a horrible thing to hope for, but it's the only way people will see this stuff for what it is.

[@Freef_01]

I have the feeling the boxes are rigged so the company never looses money with it.

[@trotman000]

The Freemankiller They don't have to. You can't lose money on cosmetic digital items.

[@toomanyaccounts]

did yo not watch the video? these are game keys you fucktard.

[@Hendlton]

Yes, exactly. That's how a casino works. Why else would they do it? Because they love giving away valuable games for a fraction of the price?

[@alexeverett308]

Yeah, of course they are... Are you new to the world?

[@yaldabaoth2]

"That's how a casino works." No, that's not how a casino works. You can calculate win percentages for every action on a roulette game. And if the casino rigs the wheel, they get SEVERE punishment from the state. On G2A you can't calculate anything because you don't know any percentages and even if they rig it, no one will punish them (which means they WILL rig it).

[@ArchmageOfAnarchy]

"So we found this new site called "G2ALotto", and it feels SO GOOD when you win like Oh my god"

[@bigfutus]

Don't worry, people will still defend this garbage scam shite, because they can buy cheaper keys there.

[@Xetelian]

I imagine that is who hit the dislike button on the video.

[@madness1931]

An issue here is that these boxes aren't really "random". These boxes are pre-determined as soon as you click the "preeview" or "open" button. To make matters worse they could give PUBG a 5% win rate, and give Brilliant Bob a 75% win rate. The odds are always going to be stacked against you. Random my arse.

[@drewblackwell4400]

I think you should reverse it and offer to pay the Game industry with a loot box of our own. You know 'hey you could win the price of your game, or a bit of pocket lint or an old bus ticket I found on the floor' . Lets see if they all still love loot boxes then !

[@SteedDigital1]

I've been wondering where the gambling regulations were for years.

[@abdur1996]

The only time I am EVER ok with loot boxes is in F2P games. I've played games like SMITE, Paladins, Warframe, Team Fortress 2 and I can see why loot boxes are a good way for F2P devs to earn some cash (considering they dont take it to the extreme). But I am absolutely DISGUSTED how it AAA devs have pushed it into mainstream. This was the same thing with micro-transactions. I was OK with them being in F2P games but now alot of AAA devs have shoved it down our throats by making the grind just a tad bit longer, and longer, and longer to the point where I know people in my circle who have spent upto $60 on mircos because "its just easier". This industry never fails to sink lower than my expectations, or whatever I have left of it.

[@Valfaun]

the part about them freely giving you pay-to-unlock boxes actually reminds me of Guild Wars 2. there's a type of chest that contains various consumables and stuff from the microtransaction store in tiered rarity and rarely drops from just about any enemy in the game. to actually open those chests, however, you need a corresponding key. those keys cost between $1 and $1.50, depending on how much currency and how many keys you buy. you also get some for achievements, character-based progression, etc. according to the wiki they're also "extremely rare drops" from enemies, but i never saw that happen during a couple hundred hours of playtime. so unless you buy them, the locked chests are gonna pile up in your (very small) storage if you don't throw them away

[@Klarden]

You know, despite how terrible Konami is, as Konami is the worst, at least they're HONEST about doing gambling with pachislots and not pretending they're not doing gambling, while doing gambling as every AAA fucker is doing right now.

[@Klarden]

Ah yes, the hidden connection between Konami and Hitler the history forgets about. But thank you for rephrasing what I meant, because that was exactly the point of what I meant: one can be honest in it's desire to hate and violence. Another can try to subvert their hate and violence with love and care, but still do the exact same shit. And the result is the same - it's terrible and shouldn't be happening. But at least one side is honest about what they do, while the other is trying to look as if it's doing you a favor while doing the exact shit. P.S. Also, goddamit, YT, why did you turn off my notifications on comment replies, had to find where it can be turned back on -_-

[@mystbunnygaming1449]

These videos keep making me want to play Comix Zone again.

[@uniquehandleohsocool]

Wait...but G2A is a website How does...what? I need to lie down

[@TheSerbianEmperor]

Sir Musty How didn't you know this by now?

[@mandalorian_guy]

Sir Musty How did you think they operated? I genuinely want to know.

[@GumbaMasta]

Maybe he thought it was some sort of parody joke about something

[@nietname2468]

Sir Musty welcome to the gaming industry and associates. You might want to play russian Roulette with a fully loaded Revolver, sometimes.

[@TraXXXtar]

why the fuck is this shit the top comment with over 50 upvotes.....

[@umbaupause]

"Oh oh oh What will I get today?!" *Goes to Steam and buys a game they find cool.* "JACKPOT!!!" You know, I'm so glad I don't seem to have a gambling addiction.

[@meekboss9783]

you cant go into a casino in the u.s without being at least 18+ so why not make this the standard for games with loot boxes probably wouldn't effect anything but publishers might think twice abut putting this shit in there games

[@GhostofPhoenix]

CoD and GTA are supposedly not for kids either but that doesn't stop tweens playing them nor the publishers from low-key marketing to them.

[@meekboss9783]

Dream true that's why I said it probably wouldn't effect anything but I've also seen publishers censor things to lower the games esrb rating so you never know

[@Redpy5]

Not to mention it's technically no different to buying booster packs of trading cards. Some Magic: the Gathering or Pokemon cards value far exceeds that of the original pack. The only difference is the cards only have value cause a collector wants it where as these games have a set MSRP by the publisher that gives them intrinsic value. Well that and Wizards of the Coast (the card games' publisher) follows rules for it's packs that make them always pretty fair so as not to shit all over their fans.

[@stefenlunn113]

Jim, the first time I experienced the gambling system of CS:GO and related loot box websites, I just sat there with my jaw dropped as I gambled 9 dollars away. I ended up gambling 44 dollars, and wound up with a 60 dollar knife skin. I knew from looking at the odds I had gotten super lucky with the knife, I took my skins and quit. I am so glad you made this video, because I think it's fucking weird that you can actually gamble online without regulations. Some of these skins are valued at over 2,000 dollars.

[@nigralurker]

I'm anxiously waiting for Western governments to step and slap a heavy fine on videogame publishers for this type of shit. No other industry would've gotten away with this and despite it being around for years and years (tf2 in 2010), lootboxes are now mainstream enough to start being noticeable to the average joe out there. This is indeed gambling and it shouldn't be acceptable to promote this behavior when a good chunk of your audience is below the age of 18.

[@Redpy5]

It's technically no different to buying booster packs of trading cards. Some Magic: the Gathering or Pokemon cards value far exceeds that of the original pack. The only difference is the cards only have value cause a collector wants it where as these games have a set MSRP by the publisher that gives them intrinsic value. Well that and Wizards of the Coast (the card games' publisher) follows rules for it's packs that make them always pretty fair so as not to shit all over their fans. Still it's gambling, at least if you consider Japanese slots gambling.

[@iforget8716]

Thanks for covering this issue, as a former addiction counsellor i've seen video game addiction becoming a growing problem and that was back when the big problem was Boys who wouldn't stop playing Call of Duty. These loot systems have only one purpose: to teach minors how to gamble by gambling. It's only legal because the judicial system can't keep up with the sleaziness of business practices. This kind of shit is why I don't play video games anymore... well that and a house full of kids.

[@Camad]

Are you suggesting that game if the year 6 times in a row Brilliant Bob is bad?

[@ngmajora6986]

>Impying you aren't excited you just obtained the gaming masterpiece that is "Brilliant Bob"

[@madcowbro5365]

It sickens me how much the industry has fallen with things like microtransactions being a thing. It sickens me even more that ANYONE can just TRY and justify them in anyway. In no way should microtransactions EVER be justified, not even in a multiplayer/MMO game. It's nothing more then gambled cut-content requiring you to pay extra to hopefully get the thing you might want.

[@Redpy5]

f2p kinda require them. And before you say fuck free to play games, realize that's how a lot of people get into gaming. That and some of the most played games are f2p MOBAs so...

[@axelkusanagi4139]

I love Comix Zone. Short, Solid game with a killer sound track and a unique premise.

[@Ellthom]

Are loot boxes going to become a real thing in the future of gaming now. Video games really are dead to me :(

[@Arlesmon]

Orby this is only the semi final nail in the coffin. I dread to know which is the last nail.

[@kionashi]

why?? you dont need to pay for loot boxes... overwatch can be played perfectly fine without buying a single lootbox, the same with Mortal Kombat X...you can ignore loot boxes in every game and still get a good gamming experience... sure...you can miss some cosmetic bullshit but that's not the end of the world...

[@Kacza42]

Orby Maybe just play games without lootboxes, there are and will be many of them

[@Ellthom]

@Psytech Phoenix Until every game I see has loot boxes and other gambling trades attached I will officially retire from gaming lol. Like if CD ProjectRed start loot boxes I am out lol. As in, it's back to reading books on my kindle... no loot boxes in books lol

[@linkno1]

@kionashi Cosmetic stuff is part of the game, therefore it's something that shouldn't be ignored. You wouldn't bother with a game if they sold the floor textures separately as part of a loot box, so why the passive attitude to other cosmetics?

[@gustavokupcevich7895]

Please don't ever give up the fight against lootboxes or microtransactions Jim!

[@TheAxeLordOfFire]

*Filthy Frank walks in with giant clock* "IT'S TIME TO *STOP!"*

[@NekraChristie]

For what it's worth... I know one of the issues raised was about the culture starting to wrap around loot boxes, but this video wasn't too far away (from the actual visual content) than an unboxing video.

[@Advection357]

Brilliant Bob looks enticing! I'm gonna ask my mom for 20$ I hope I win it!

[@xxCrazyIzzyxx]

I like how loot boxes work in Heroes of the Storm. You get them regularly for practically remembering to breath every so often and can be rerolled for a tiny fee of in-game earned currency...and they almost always contain something good. I'm amazed how in the totally free to play game Blizzard has managed to make loot boxes a better prospect than their full retail prices AAA game in which you NEVER get shit from loot boxes nor can you reroll them....reroll them with THAT game's currency which is MUCH more scarce.

[@hemme100]

This is why I can't condone loot boxes in games because companies like g2a puts it on full display but really weak people will accept these things sadly it's gambling addiction at its core.

[@JeanLucPicard85]

All we need now is youtubers doing G2A loot box unboxing.

[@derekt7206]

Jesus Christ, the gaming industry has gone to shit. This is getting ridiculous.

[@Hendlton]

G2A isn't the only one doing it, either. A lot of AAA games and other game selling websites are doing it too.

[@toomanyaccounts]

except those companies even the cheapest game you can get is worth more then what you paid for the chance to open the loot box wheras g2a you can pay 20 bucks and get some asset flip from zonitron productions that can often be had in a bundle for ten cents.

[@MrPuschel]

This has been pretty common for a while on other sites. You can even gamble for steam keys - of course you'll only get keys for the usual greenlight remenants.

[@ghostface5559]

Poor jim, he cant make the videos he wants the way he wants because some senstive nanny gets upset of how varied his content is and gets mad it might get repetitive.

[@shouryuuken4147]

"Get lucky or die trying." What a disgustingly fitting name for a gambling addiction inducing/reinforcing loot box.

[@Seacow69]

Isn't there a way to make what's going on with lootboxes in gaming known to a regulatory body? I agree that at some point one of these greedy fucking publishers is going to screw the pooch by pushing the envelope one step too far but I worry that a lot of potentially good games are going to be wrecked by the current state of gaming if the issue is not made known now.

[@verysuboptimal1977]

I can't believe my favourite ship has become a reality!!! BEST ANIME EVER

[@Masonicon]

That's why I don't use G2A

[@ImBarryScottCSS]

It never ceases to amaze how little obfuscation is required to fool Joe Bloggs into taking a deal that if presented straight up they would turn down.

[@silvafox07]

Capitalism at It's finest.

[@Hendlton]

Kind of. Capitalism relies on competition bringing a better product to fix this. Indie games are the competition. This can't go on forever, it'll collapse at some point and the AAA game industry will go out with a bang, to be born anew at some point in the future.

[@GhostofPhoenix]

You cannot solve the problems of capitalism with more capitalism.

[@tiredaf3147]

Mention Capitalism and nobody bats an eye. Mention Communism and everybody goes insane. Like they're not both killing people.

[@spacejunk2186]

Not Markiplier Well, Capitalism is not and does not claim to be the Utopia. Communism does, which makes it shit.

[@tiredaf3147]

zar athustra not saying communism is the answer. Just saying capitalism isn't.

[@92mkd]

I think a great way for lootboxes to be applicable to gaming, would be to tie it to achievements, i.e. for PSN a platinum would give you a platinum coin which will grant you a higher chance to get a 'out now' game, gold would lower it so it would be a higher chance to get a 'deal/discount' on those kinds of games, for silver it would give higher chance to 'double deals' and such, with bronze giving mostly avatars, dlc skins, themes and such. That would be awesome, and sure if you don't bother earning trophies, you can purchase them for adequate amounts. i.e. £20, would give 1 plat token, 3 gold, 5 silver, and 10 bronze tokens.... I'd be game for that. Obviously games such as the telltale games would be exempt from the platinum tokens but rather give a gold token instead.

[@Scyths1]

Ah yes, g2a, the safe haven of stolen keys which very surprisingly nearly all come from eastern europe, weird, I don't see the reason at all :/

[@ziAeRmLnjwyd5OTDczHiCOch1KjZ]

Lets nuke eastern europe.

[@StrazdasLT]

Nuke eastenr europe? Yay i get to play fallout in real life! No need to win it in a lootbox.

[@HorrorSquidCap]

Having played Guild Wars 2 as a fully F2P user for a couple of years now, i can truly say that the allure of the loot box is strong. So many times have i contemplated getting myself those black lion keys to open the crates, thankfully Arenanet does give free keys for completing ingame objectives so i have managed to scrape by so far.

[@samh1022]

Words!

[@16bitreview]

Love the comix zone music in the back ground

[@blainebelgard9105]

Pay for loot boxes of stolen game keys? Neato.

[@toxicmongerofthehatefulbro5745]

See, Personally in the way long ago, I never got the big deal with Microtransactions. But then slowwwlly, Sloowwllyy listening to the things you say it begins to make sense...Also that one episode of South Park with the Canadian Devil and the Devil fighting over a Microtransaction Mobile game, was very enlightening.

[@Tempestus88]

Am I the only one who noticed the Comix Zone music in the background? Also FUCK G2A.