SSO: Sweden is not happy with Star Stable

In an article from SVT it states that Star Stable has been reported to the Sweden Consumer Agency, an agency that is focused on fair marketing practices aimed at children. Star Stable could be in a bit of a pickle.
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The game Star Stable is reported: "Cheating children out of money" - Equestrian
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[@Nat_778]

Thanks to this channel I'm so invested in horse game drama despite having no interest in horses and never actually playing a horse game in my life

[@YTRattle]

😂♥♥

[@Jubilee-Helix]

Same! 😅

[@persooniemand8346]

Yep that's me

[@f1lthyfangs]

this is literally my gf😭 i recommended her rattle bc we like video essays and now i got her to play sso with me (we're both 20+ LOL)❤

[@kooriicolada]

Same, though I am interested in some of the single player horse games that get discussed so its a bonus!

[@CrypticLuna]

The fact they have unlimited star coins but only 10k max for jorvik shillings when some gear makes you spend all your jorvik shillings like some of the western gear and clothes at star shine ranch are 10k shillings says a lot about sso. Why can't we have unlimited shillings like we do star coins. They even have the nice pieces of clothing and tack in star coins and the older stuff in jorvik shillings."We care about our costumers" - proceeds to make prices for star coins and star rider higher in every other region except for Sweden -

[@catswhiskerssso4259]

The shillings cap is there to "encourage" the purchase of star coins. They know that people don't want to wait months to get the latest tack or clothing set , + so, unless you buy 1 piece at a time, you have to purchase S.C. very cunning strategy 😑

[@ShakiraSilverbird]

@@catswhiskerssso4259"so, unless you buy 1 piece at a time, you have to purchase S.C." - Not quite, you can pile up JS rewards for races/championships and archaeology items. When you need JS you sell them.

[@pata3075]

They made js farming pretty easy. I dint evej care if there is a cap since its so easy now. I think thats an improvement.

[@randomrandomson4855]

@@catswhiskerssso4259I hate the shilling cap and also you can’t even really earn that many shillings compared to the prices of everything. Lastly I miss when the had a horse breed or available to purchase for cheap or with shillings ( I’m not going crazy I remember it was the Jorvik pony or something ) especially the retiring horses/pers/items that they know they aren’t going to update/bug fix and remove purchasing them from game

[@An0ldHag]

THIS!!

[@katblackwell]

There's a 'W' in 'Sweden' for a reason

[@ArcOslo]

sry I don't get it?

[@Harleen-FH]

@@ArcOslosso is just a bad game

[@BlondiesBasics]

​@@ArcOsloW is like a win or something thats better and Sweden has a W so it means its like better, if that makes sense.

[@ArcOslo]

@@BlondiesBasics aaaah now I get it. thank you!😅

[@BlondiesBasics]

@@ArcOslo no problem!

[@thephantom4305]

In general that's very important, but where are the people addressing the random account bans, which can't be reversed? That has to be so illegal

[@YTRattle]

I am looking into this as well! There's a big thing around accounts that needs to be addressed!

[@3O01]

I'm one of whose who got their account banned for absolutly no reason. Luckily it was only my alt, but it was a while after I last logged on. I went to contact the support but it didn't change anything...

[@Ilovetriops]

Taking away something that someone has spent money on for no reason at all is all levels of messed up omg

[@randomrandomson4855]

It really sounds like it especially if the player did nothing wrong

[@TracinyaLachance]

I'm fairly sure that is illegal, yes. My former GM in a different MMO had this happen to him, but unfortunately for the MMO in question he was a retired 65+ adult with more than enough time and life experience to tell them what EU consumer protection law has to say about it. That lit a fire under their asses. Basically, if the game can't prove that you broke their terms of service somehow (like, cheating for example), they have no right to ban your account. And no I don't have a source for this unfortunately, you'll have to look it up. I just mostly remember what he told me over a year ago :(

[@tenshi.kurama]

This isn't a problem for children this is a human problem, this gambling crap doesn't need to be allowed period. No more gacha mechanics without being labled as gambling

[@ghost1fer]

this!

[@saltykitty9215]

SSO has no gacha mechanics though. It's just an expensive hoarding/collecting simulator

[@galaxydeathskrill5607]

remember 2000s games where none of this existed? Me too...good times they were

[@mushroom7451]

i don't think you know what the word gacha means. star coins are expensive but there is no gambling present in the game. you don't roll for horses and have the change to lose or get them. you get what you buy. but that aside this reminds me of a joke post i made on how sso could be made even worse, by presenting a genshin impact style gacha mechanic for buying/rolling for horses lol. feels like you got something like that mixed up

[@tenshi.kurama]

@@mushroom7451 I do understand what a gacha is and I will admit that I haven't played this game myself, kinda hard to think that a game that has its own 'currency' to take the blow of spending money out of the equation as NOT having lootboxes as they seem to go hand and hand now adays

[@Foervraengd]

I would like to point out that the “no commercials for kids” law only applies to swedish tv channels. Other channels that are from other countries still aired ads aimed at kids during my childhood in the 90s. But you needed to have cable/satellite back then to get those extra channels.

[@YTRattle]

Yes! I did try to distinguish by saying 'it went over to online' but I forgot add 'tv' in there. Sorry! And thanks! ♥

[@afairyist9981]

Thank you for clarifying! I was wondering since I remember seeing ads on TV as a kid, but only at my grandma's house since my parents didn't have the extra channels

[@teamneonorange]

As somebody from the US, I find laws like that absolutely wild!

[@0.callmechester.031]

star stable are definitely scared with that response, its giving 'everything is fine, just smile and wave' while a tear falls out their eye.

[@S.H.I.N.E]

SSO has been skirting around the "for children" "for teens" line for many years. They have gotten away with many shady practices because the game in the past was marketed more towards young teens than actual children. However that has definitely changed and SSO is now much more focused on making its game more child friendly with its story, art style and feel. The fact that they released the game for phones and tablets really sealed that deal that now the game is primordially focused on being for young children. Do I think this will do anything good for the community, if anything at all legally? No. Video games and the internet itself has been known for being able to get out of legal situations by exploiting legal loopholes as many laws focus on TV and not the internet itself. I have seen this on KZbin as I've gotten toy ads a few times when in Sweden it should not be possible. I am actually worried that this will be bad for the community. It would not surprise me if SSO removed double starcoin weekend because of this. I do however think this will give SSE a good scare. SSO is a Swedish game from a Swedish company with the biggest player base being from Sweden (I think at least) so this might really scare SSE as they have never been in this type of legal trouble before. (I am Swedish btw and seeing this gave me a real shock)

[@PredictableEnigma]

Teens ARE children so it shouldn't matter what age group was being aimed at, right?

[@S.H.I.N.E]

​@@PredictableEnigma Yes, but you can't compare a 15 year old to a 7 year old. 15 year olds have a better understanding of ads than 7 year olds do. If you look at the ads for SSO from back in the day they were even using actors in the age range of 12-15 which made the game toe the legal line. I am not justifying it, just simple explaining WHY sso was able to get away with this in the past. Now SSO is obviously targeting children and can't skirt around the law anymore. So Yes, teens are children, I was just explaining why SSO has not gotten caught before when this shady marketing has always been a problem.

[@aff77141]

I think of anywhere can successfully crack down on these games at this point, it's somewhere like Sweden. There's no perfect, but the scandi countries seem extremely dead set on carrying out child wellness laws and avoiding people's ability to use loopholes thanks to the way they word and practice laws

[@stormvirvel]

When they show toy ads (in sweden) they are based/streamed from another country and that's how they get away with showing them.

[@C6BaizhuHaver]

As someone from Sweden, I’m Very exicted for this

[@JoyfulKatt]

Agree, but I wish they would restrict all the online casino ads from showing on TV or being on the radio more. They are just as bad, if not worse than any ad SSO has done. Bright colors, cartoon characters, and catchy music. Blegh.

[@shingibanggibboongbbongbanggi]

@@JoyfulKatti also wish that, but it can't really be compared since it's technically allowed to show casino ads, whereas it's not allowed to do the stuff sso is doing since children are affected

[@JoyfulKatt]

@@shingibanggibboongbbongbanggi Very true, but I do not think it should be allowed. I cannot even go to ICA or Willys without seeing betting for horses and scratch tickets. Get home, betting for online casinos! Gambling is bad for all ages, micro pushes for kids just set them up to be gamblers as adults. Nasty cycle.

[@shingibanggibboongbbongbanggi]

@@JoyfulKatti think we all agrees on that it should be illegal, but once again it can't be compared since in this case, children are affected. with casino ads you can't buy anything unless you're 18+ anyway. the issue with ads targeted towards children is that children aren't good at knowing what's real and not, and what's a good deal and what's not. even if u go to ica and see running horses it's not affecting any kids (except if their parents are playing but that's a another convo) when it comes to star stable, kids are being pushed to buy things and that's already not allowed

[@shingibanggibboongbbongbanggi]

@@JoyfulKatt personally i think it's worse to make ads for children and manipulate them than making ads for adults that should be able to decide themselves whether they want to buy something

[@NotaScrimp]

I’ve never clicked faster Amazing of Sweden to start trying to pull in children’s games cash grabs.

[@paulaunger3061]

I'm wondering how SSO are going to deal with this. And through this video, all I can think of is that ludicrous 'a/b' testing they did at Christmas and effectively conned people into buying something they didn't want

[@canislunaticus]

ABOUT DAMN TIME 👏👏👏 I'm shocked they haven't been reported before!

[@not_anymore]

11:04 just wanted to say i LOVE the "nice" voice you do every time when you quote people from sse LMAO it doesn't get old

[@wolfdogamer47439]

Ikr I start smiling whenever I hear Rattle's customer service/advertisement voice 😂

[@JDPr0233]

YEASS. FINALLY some actual consequences for their bullshit!

[@magicalmoments6409]

I remember back in the Golden era of 2015 in star stable the marketing was good and the team cared about children and safety but now is outrageous no one should’ve suffered with Fear of missing out it’s barbaric 😢

[@sowa-fg2vg]

They grew big enough to not let them just pass by. They now will have to deal with some serious stuff

[@UmbraBorealis]

You know what the saddest part is? Say they increase the cap on Jorvik Shillings, say they make items previously limited to ONLY starcoins now open to being bought with shillings, like say, horses, there are going to be so many children crying and kicking and screaming and you know what they're gonna say? "WE HAVE TO GRIND? BUT THAT'S SO BORING" and while normally I'd say 'cry about it then.' it's going to be the most annoying period of time for other players who don't care or think it'd be a good change, like myself. Because I'll happily grind the free coins if it means I don't need to wait 2 months for my allowance to be enough or just buy it with real money. Case in point? The Rune Runner. I STILL see people complain that it's 'just a reskin' which I find such a broken excuse and would only hold value if this were the only horse you could grind for to obtain. Which is the case right now so fair, HOWEVER, that changes if players are suddenly able to obtain horses by grinding. Are all magical horses suddenly not worth it because they're 'just reskins'? Does the team need to make a completely new model, rig and animations for each and every one? Yeah guys that'll DEFINITELY help minimize the little bug squashing they already do if at all. That being said, I do think kids need to learn that if there's something you want, you have to work for it. Back before Microtransactions were much of a thing getting the high level gear, the rare mounts, the top tier stuff it meant you were GOOD at the game, that you put the work in, it came with a title of honor in a sense. People who saw you with that thing would go 'Woah! Look at that guy!' but in SSO, that never happens because we all know they probably just bought all those horses with their real cash. And the Rune Runner which was meant to be a cool questline milestone you get a free horse for, isn't appreciated at all because its 'a boring reskin' and it 'takes too long' to unlock. They're so used to getting what they want right that instant that working for it sounds awful and if it's not super duper rare and unique they don't consider it worth it. I'd say stop catering to young kids at all at that point but shrug, There's no one magical fix all answer to this. PS I thought of something a day after making this! The magical horses in Hollow Woods are actually a step in the right direction. They're permanently in the game and for less than what they're usually sold! The catch? You have to grind to unlock them. But the FOMO is eliminated because they're unlocked permanently, you can save up for them like you would for permanent normal horses! I'd say they should do more of this... And also let us grind a couple thousand shillings instead. Or yknow, let us exchange shillings for Starcoins, but shrug, what do I know?

[@Ghost_of_Danu]

I would love to be able to buy horses with Jorvik shillings! It’s easier for me lol

[@theblindbunnykenzie]

I really miss when you hade to grind reputation to be able to buy some horses (old Welsh and old Fjord). It made me like those horses a bit more because I worked for it.

[@undercooked_spaghettios]

Growing up, my parents were strict about money. We lived rather well, but my father always stressed how important it was to use money wisely. Me and my sister didn't dare ask my parents for the latest iPod or Wii system because we knew we'd get "the money talk" and how we "didn't really need it". When I found out about SSO, I was excited to try it out, but when saw it required a paid membership to get the full experience, I tapped out. No way would my father pay a monthly subscription, let alone lifetime, so I stuck with my free games like Minecraft. Games nowadays are so desperate to dig deep in your pockets. I'm thankful now I'm an adult with a job and can dedicate ten or so dollars to my favorite game, but what about less fortunate kids? They deserve to play alongside premium players too, not be boarded up and essentially punished with less until they pester their parents for money. It's such a common standard now and establishes an unfair hierarchy. I for one am thankful things are hopefully beginning to change. All players deserve more.

[@MusicComet]

Tbf, SSO was one of those membership games like World of Warcraft or Animal Jam or Club Penguin and whatnot. Minecraft was a rare exception where you paid for singleplayer but multiplayer was hosted by non-Mojang parties so they never had to opt for membership for concurrent sales (Minecraft was always paid, just that it was hilariously easy to crack accounts lol). Games back then were different. Most of the games I listed have either shut down or switched to current marketing practices for multiplayer. Nowadays games are free but instead they put Loot Boxes and Battle Passes and DLCs instead. Which I kind of find worse tbh (assuming the membership games contain no premium currency). SSO is a weird case. But I wouldn't find it unfair back then, nowadays... It's weird for it to stick to the old formula, but they do give free trial membership codes pretty frequently from what I've seen which seems better than what it was back then.

[@mimicri326]

I'm also an adult with money to spend on my favourite games and often think of children who are allowed to play only the demo. If I was a child, I would be so sad because SSO is such a lovely game. But we also must understand that companies are entitled to charge you for their service. You won't just walk into the toy store and take something home, the only thing you are allowed to is to watch the pretty horse figurines on display. Online games are no exception. It is a service that requires you to pay and there is nothing wrong with that. I also had a strickt family like you mentioned and we also needed to understand that things aren't free and we can't have everything. Fomo is just a fancy word for people who struggle to understand that. It is just how it works. I would definitely buy star coins for my children if I had some. I wouldn't want them to miss out, that's also sure.

[@skybluepainter]

Starting to think SSO responses are written by AI with a kiss-ass personality.

[@rai1578]

Honestly, its about time. I've always found the ways they monetize SSO to be a bit scummy, especially when you consider that the target audience is kids. Like how they give you a free trial of the membership at the beginning. Now that in itself isn't bad, but the problem is that early on you encounter some grindy daily quests. You sink a bunch of time into those quests with the promise of a new area. Then your free trial expires and you realize that those quests are locked behind Star Rider. You never got the pop up telling you that since you had the free trial, so you've dumped a bunch of time and possibly resources into a quest that you can't complete without getting star rider. It's a clever (and scummy) way to ensure that kids end up falling prey to the sunk cost fallacy

[@satheen_fr]

I spent so much of my mothers money on this game when I was little (2013) and it tought me some really bad impulse control when it comes to money. This game has a truly predatory approach to purchases, towards KDS. I am so happy its' getting investigated, and i hope that it will force the team to completely rework the game. If i was an employee there, I would be so ashamed. Marketing, design, ux, development, head of whatever, they should all be ashamed of their actions. Thanks Sweden for acting right (even though i find it baffling that SSO has been enabled to operate this way for such a long time)

[@TheAbbyStabby]

I've definitely got my own opinions on SSO. I'm not a regular player, but when I do decide to open the game (usually for certain events or just because I feel like it), I'll play it for a couple weeks or so at most before putting it on the back burner for months at a time. The fact that you can buy a LIFETIME subscription is something I have never seen in an MMO till Star Stable. That in and of itself is really nice. And on top of that, you can accrue 100 SC a week with said lifetime sub. They really could have just not let us accrue anything with the lifetime, but I appreciate the bonus of having it. Because of that, I've always had this understanding as to why we have to buy/save up for nearly every horse in the game. I'm pretty sure most people have the lifetime since it has so much value and pays for itself very quickly, so SSO needs to get money somewhere. It makes sense to me. HOWEVER, as stated by many people before, and yourself included, the game does have shady business practices behind that veil of seemingly fair give and take. I have seen so much harassment towards kids and fellow adults who play, sexual/violent discussions, a gross amount of SC needed for certain items (and horses too honestly), keeping certain tack and pets behind buying certain amounts of SC, increased prices of SC in general, bugs, lack of translations from time to time, etc etc. Most of which are unaddressed and allowed to continue without repercussions. And in place of all those problems, SSO prioritizes incorporating new horses to get money to... Make more horses and not take care of existing problems that desperately need attention. The only bonus is that MOST horses are forever incorporated into the game. There's no fomo with non magical horses. And if you're patient enough, there's only a bit of fomo with magical horses because they cycle through them over time. The magical horse you want will eventually reappear to buy and likely at a lower SC cost. Which is nice! They could just take them away forever like most online games... But, again, that doesn't excuse the laziness and greed of the SSO team in other ways. Or whoever is in charge of that stuff. I have seen some good changes from time to time becausevof player feedback (such as last year's winter event, thank God that got fixed really quick) but it still needs SO MUCH work and I hope this shoves them in the right direction to make the many positive changes the game so desperately needs.

[@skybluepainter]

My ultimate question is that most online games run on micro purchases, so how do game companies change to abide by these laws?

[@Lukesasa]

I'm going to be honest, I loved SSO way when I was younger, but it always felt like **everything** was behind a pay wall. There is always drama, always a problem, lack of responsibility, lack of. We'll care for the community in SSO. As a child, in Britain exposed to this, I'd beg my parents for a membership, star coin... they would always say no. And I am happy my parents said no, back in the day I had to pay to jump!! 😅Now there is more freedom for free... but not enough imo, seeing as the game is for something aimed at kids? Or at least aimed. When I was younger, I didn't understand money, £20 is expensive to me nowadays. Let alone buying enough star coins to get a fancy horse that is likely buggy... and so on. SSO feels more so they are guilting kids into pleading their parents, or guilting parents to fall for their kid's pleads. The game still to this day has numerous problems for a game this old it has been out and "how much care" they say they put into it. When I checked back in on SSO, my horse... Slid into the map...? I honestly hope, out of all the things, this might give them a good fish slap in the face and change their ways; if not, SSO will forever stay in my book of bad enough games to be considered a scam or a plead for your money.

[@Jessie_438]

Never a dull moment with SSO is there?

[@Archer_Starling]

I would also like to mention the "experiment" they did with their membership where they advertised it at a lower price and showed the same items/weekly SC allowance you'd get if you purchased it at full price, and then didn't deliver those items and made you email them and pay AGAIN for membership just to get what you were promised on the site. (not to mention, they didn't tell ANY of us until after the experiment and AFTER they got multiple emails from angry players trying to figure out what the heck was going on)

[@panelaela]

as someone who plays worse games in terms of monetization (project sekai & genshin impact, both gacha), i returned to playing sso recently and it just felt so.. tame compared to them this does NOT mean that sso is doing something good, this just means that ive been playing worse games (in terms of monetization) like, i can count the predatory practices of sso with my two hands, but with genshin i would need to write at least an essay what screws up sso more than the other games legally is the kids game aspect, but i really hope that more laws start to come, because i dont wanna live in a world that i get happy just because one game is slightly less shitty than the others i want to have fun, not to have big game companies not respect my time and/or money making players do time consuming stuff or inducing fomo just to have the chance to see some pixels in their screens (can you tell im salty from losing on gacha???? and im also salty for my glitched epona quest but thats another can of worms)

[@kingaborowska4113]

Ok i see. But why is no one talking abt the shitty ab testing !? One of the actually shady things they did... Instead they say that dubble sc is confusing? Like I don't have high hopes for this investigation if that's how it's going to go XD

[@informatelol]

I WAS THINKING ABOUT THAAAAATTTT I think that it is something so important and a R E A L and factual reason for something like this to happen!!

[@sauravixvutha4478]

all there gonna do is fix it for the sweden game and not everyone else

[@kxtulapsi]

I truly hope SSO starts taking their players seriously and that they stop taking us for granted. I'd hate to lose my childhood game that I've spent hundreds of hours & euros on.

[@kanakovsp]

Back in the 2012 when there was a different team behind sso I remember how their main focus was the story and they continued to give us quite long even few days long quests with reputation to build while horses where being released once per month and you know what ? It was good cause it kept us entertained and new horses served as an ADDITION to the game, while the new team not only changed the story completely with quests that are 5 minutes long and it's now a total mess in terms of accuracy you literally loose track of what is going on and horses from the second plan went to the first one leaving the new areas and quests behind... And now how does it suppose to teach values like it did before? Where's that ,,if you want something you need to work for it first"? Especially now when sso now targets children. After the new hollow woods was released and even during winter village event I remember how players were angered for the need to farm big amounts of tokens and even trying to find bugs to speed the process but you know why it's that ? Players stopped to be used to this and it's a literal nail in one of the coffins if sso continues to make the game easier and easier with occasional things like that and it shows how the lack of such a fluency is impacting players. On one hand things are easy to obtain and all of sudden it's getting challenging it discourages to try. Changing the topic, remember how we didn't got any codes for a whole month or so until players got enraged ? How they literally tested some players illegally with fake offers ? To add in SSE terms of use they stated they don't give out refunds so if your account get's terminated all the money you spend literally gets lost. Personally... I am more than glad SCA finally decided to investigate and we can only wait and see how the thing would escalate...

[@luckyenigmas]

FOMO has been around in nearly all MMOS for years. WOW is Prevalent with these but they eventually keep the rewards to be tried for again next year. Seasonal rewards are just that. Seasonal. maybe it's just me and knowing how these MMOS work in that regard. I have never felt pressured to "buy any of the things with real money since playing wow. Rival stars, SSO.. GW 2... But FOMO and Seasonal rewards have always been around. Has it started getting out of hand? Yes.. i feel corporations have become a bit too Greedy in this regard. At least some games have the sense to keep seasonal rewards to bring them around the next year.

[@Glitch_Shift]

As a Swedish person, your pronunciation made me cringe a little but it’s still better than most pronunciations I’ve heard from foreigners 😂

[@LeafAnnie]

I'm usually for criticizing SSE, but it's rather obvious the Sweden Consumer Agency didn't put enough effort into their report. The first thing that shocked me was them calling Double Star coins weekends 'confusing', the way they worded it in the SVT article makes it seem as if they don't actually understand what the offer is. Like, have they never heard of a "Buy 1 Get 1" offer? (I get that it's the fact that it's marketed to kids, but they make it seem as if it's something incomprehensible that takes serious effort to understand, they could've just said that it could be confusing for kids, but stating that it's confusing as if it's a fact? That just make it seem as if they're blowing things out of proportions) The second thing that confused me was them wanting everything in-game to show how much it costs with swedish kronor, but how would you even calculate that? The price of a single star coin changes a lot depending on how you decide to calculate it. I'm going to use swedish kronor (kr) in this example since that's what they wanted it to show in game, let's say you were to buy 10k sc, if you buy the 5k offer on a double weekend you'd "only" have to pay 549kr, however if you decide to buy the same amount (10k) only using the 100sc offer (without it being a double weekend) you'd have to pay 3900kr! That's over 7 times as much for the same amount of star coins, depending on which one you choose, 1 star coin is either worth 0.0549kr or 0.39kr. But lets say Star Stable change their pricing so 1 star coin is always worth the same amount, you'd still have the issue of the weekly star coins allowance. If I (a lifetime star rider) save up my star coins to buy something in game without purchasing any additional star coins, what price should the item be showing? I gained the star coins without paying for them (except the lifetime payment, but over time the kr per sc gets really low), so shouldn't it technically display 0kr since I got the star coins for "free"? So you can either get 10k star coins by paying 3900kr, 549kr, or 0kr (by saving up), and it's not like SSE can outright remove the weekly allowance entirely since star riders have paid for that privilege (let's not talk about the fiasco last year). This is actually on of the few rare times I'm taking SSE's side, not because I think they're in the right (idk go ask a lawyer about who's in the right), but due to the Sweden Consumer Agency not making sure to actually understand how the game works and different aspects you'd have to take into account. I'm all for criticizing SSE, there's a looot to criticize, but if you're going to do it, at least make sure to know what you're talking about, otherwise it just seems as if you're complaining for the sake of complaining.

[@silverdrag0n_]

yeah, the article was definitely not explaining things properly. double SC weekends aren't just "confusing", what they actually are is preying on FOMO and encouraging kids to buy when they can get double the amount of in-game currency for the same price. the second thing just makes zero sense and is not sustainable, as you pointed out. it's just not possible to show how much something in-game costs in real life money.

[@mustard9808]

Very well said.

[@obamachickens520]

CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW THERE IS NO REFUNDS? FOR EXAMPLE, YOU GET BANNED UNFAIRLY FOREVER, AND YOU 'VE SPENT +200 DOLLARS ON THE GAME DON'T WE AT LEAST DESERVE A REFUND?

[@steampunkwardyn]

Yeah I'm gonna assume you fully deserved that ban.

[@obamachickens520]

@@steampunkwardyn or not, you dont know the story nor the context. Your comment is plain stupid and ignorant, unfair bans do exist and a ton of people have already testified

[@cheeseoftruth7293]

Half a year ago, I think I would've been surprised at this. But after the stunt they pulled recently with testing the sale of Lifetime without weekly Starcoins and this being EXTREMELY insufficiently communicated - it felt deliberately misleading - I totally get it. These are practices that would and have tricked even adults. So I'm glad that someone is keeping an eye on them.

[@CrypticLuna]

Soon as I saw the title I went "finally something they deserve"

[@gardenhoes853]

SSO is still running on a 8+ year old engine, thats why its so laggy and over all full of bugs. Not prioritizing this and only pushing more content to buy is in general, unethical

[@mattiedodds-kp1pj]

This is honestly the least surprising thing and I was just waiting for something like this . I don’t spend any money on the game now (I’m 18) but I have been playing this game since I was 12 , the amount of money I spent on this game was ridiculous and I regret every single penny I spent , I could have bought a pretty nice horse irl with that money lol

[@satheen_fr]

Same T.T

[@kathrynkat]

I only did regular membership until life time membership came out then stuck to that. Never paid for star coins! Only membership and with time became an on/off player and had loads of starcoins. Sucks that it seems I'm the only user that it worked out for. I play just 1-3 times per year for a few days to like 2 weeks then stop for awhile again usually for months at a time. Most times I'm lucky and return to 1-2k or more star coins.

[@fern_cf2574]

Doesn't that mean that Sweden should ban every game with ingame currencies, at leat for children? And how do you make sure that children will play it anways.

[@Snekysnitch]

They don't ban games for that. It just means sso has to be marketed 13+.

[@TuvaReppen]

Sweden when teens getting killed and tortured: :) sweden when horsegame: :(

[@YTRattle]

What the heck??? What's going on in Sweden?👀

[@Someperson12532]

@@YTRattleas a swede im confused too

[@unicorninume]

Crime and especially gang violence in Sweden has skyrocketed in the last years and not much has been done about it

[@joe-ut9kb]

​@@YTRattleillegal immigrants

[@Someperson12532]

yeah@@unicorninume

[@pryzmthedragon]

Star Stable might be a massive horse game with a lot of potential for fun with friends. But it has always been a money farm as well. And it has become worse over the years. Take Istaria for example. I pay 10 Euro on a monthly basis and have access to the entire game. No extra payments, no surprises. But SSO is different. I pay a subscription to have access to the entire game. And in addition to that, if you want a new horse, you need to cash in 20 euros extra. This is sickening. I mean, sure. I can play all of the game with just the starter horse, but let's be honest, who does that? These are kids that will get jealous of others. These kids will go beg for money from their parents or just take it out of their moms card without thinking. I gave up playing SSO ages ago because I do not want to support this money farm. Play Alicia Online instead.

[@KorraHDAMV]

Uh oh

[@Darkmoon331]

Ruh roh

[@informatelol]

Exactly

[@HeyHebi]

I think it's nice they're being investigated, however I largely disagree with a lot of points brought up in the SVG article. - they claim that purchase invites are "directed at children." This wording is as misleading as SSO's test they did recently. The sales are aimed at all players, not children specifically. If it was targeting a specific demographic then it would be more cause of concern - The claim that star coins are misleading because they didn't show the real life currency value. This comes from someone who doesn't understand how premium currency works within video games in general. - They make the claim that it's "confusing" that double star coin weekends exist, says something about star coins being worth double or something??? I'm more confused about how it was misunderstood honestly.

[@YTRattle]

Hey! Thanks for the comment! - I think the argument could be made that the game itself is aimed at kids, so by extension ads will also be aimed at their demographic: kids - As I state in the video, this is a tactic often employed by mobile games to get you to buy things on 'credit' thus making it easier to spend. it's a psychology tactic, essentially. - This is the one point I do agree with, I'm not sure what they mean by confusing! In any event, thanks for watching the video! ♥

[@Ariento]

From what I've read part of the problem is the game is being advertised as being appropriate for a certain minimum age, which doesn't mesh with the laws against advertising to children? If the game was advertised as for adults only the requests to spend money wouldn't be an issue (if I understand correctly).

[@kingaborowska4113]

yeah, like how the most basic type of discount "get twice the thing for the same amount of money" can be confusing to this person? Tht just makes them look very incompetent sice they are supposed to be representing, you know... CUSTOMERS !?

[@HeyHebi]

@kingaborowska4113 is not as if it doesn't exist in real life (buy one get one free) So it's honestly a little embarrassing but I'm wondering if it's at the fault of translating it from Swedish to English? Or maybe those kinds of sales are more cultural? Who knows

[@HeyHebi]

@YTRattle yeah I guess a lot of people consider it to be advertised to kids. I personally have been playing since 2012 so I guess I horribly overlooked it. I think yes, mobile games do employ premium currency, but so do most games. Overwatch, warframe, and roblox are all examples of very large games which also use premium currency in regards to purchases. It's kinda just part of the multiplayer gaming community from what I understand Great coverage on this though I know I would've overlooked it otherwise and I doubt SSO would've ever brought attention to the investigation on their own

[@myskascreations]

Qualified Attorney specialised in tech and gaming here 😊 Rattle if you need any help with legal stuff let me know! I do want to say that if SSE does end up in the frying pan and has to pay a hefty fine, I worry about the jobs of those at SSE, the gaming industry (like banking, tech, and media) is being hammered right now with studios filing for bankruptcy and people being laid off left, right, and centre. So in the interest of those working for SSE, I hope the end result of this investigation does not result in the company filing for bankruptcy or laying off people as a result 😢

[@orcashadow8989]

Gambling (such as games at casinos) are becoming increasingly less popular, so this is the solution to getting the next generation hooked on gambling. It's the same thing, just a different method.

[@singularity613]

My take is this - I would understand spending real money for game money (star coins, in this case) for magical and event horses. Even to buy some tack or clothing items here and there. But when I spend $75 to outright BUY A GAME, I should NOT have to continuously spend money for newly released horses, character customization, etc. If they would literally just increase the amount of Jorvik Shillings you can carry, or a bank, etc, slightly increase the Jorvik Shilling payouts for quests and activities, then I feel like more people would be encouraged to be more active in the game. Like.. Make a horse 250k+ shillings and make us save up to get a new one. Or maybe not THAT expensive, but you get what I mean. Maybe this will be the kick to get SSO to change for the better, or maybe it won't.

[@amethyst41]

Yeah for me its the fact we have already paid around $70 to buy access to the game but then on top of that we have to buy sc to be able to afford any of the things offered in game??? I think they should do this: remove the js shilling cap and make everything cost js but horses. Then for horses i think they should introduce ‘horse cards’ - so you pay maybe £1 for 1 horse card, maybe £5 for 7 horse cards and you can buy 1 horse per 1 horse card. Then get rid of sc completely. Idk i just feel like that would be better than sc 🤷‍♀️

[@KS-cl6xv]

Could this explain why they have been giving out more star coins than usual..

[@Emma06-sw]

This might actually be the final mess up for SSO before they are obliged to make some serious changes. I'm looking forward to it honestly, as I never buy SC and probably never will.

[@MoonSage_WC]

Same her, I find it ridiculous how pricy horses are, I will never buy star coins, I will only get the from redeemable codes, as well as the fact that I have redeems ACTIVE CODES, and gotten nothing.

[@Ariento]

I have never even played SSO but I can't stop watching your videos about it.

[@gameplays2244]

I don't think anything will come of this personally. The one's filing the report don't seem to understand what they are even talking about over SSO. But I will say this. Star Stable never had any economy sense. If you go through and look at the price of all their ingame content, none of it cohesive at all(despite the recent price changes of some of their ingame content).

[@niqhtale]

starstable is the most ass with ingame purchases lol

[@kozumi5889]

It's so ridiculous for me. I can understand the point of view regarding the law, but for me as a child, it was always very clear it is real money! Those are ads, ads make me want to buy, buy for money, money you have to earn at work, work my parents do. I always save my starcoins, waiting to buy them only at a discount, and never think "this costs x star coins" but "this costs around x real currency". Kids aren't so dumb, and parents should have an interest in what their kids are doing with real money or with in-game currency. Seriously, what the hell?

[@huntermoonhearth]

Yeah it bothers me how they can break a law in their own country.. do they have a legal team or??

[@tylerthecreatorsnumber1glazer]

I was kind of suspicious of this, because i had bought a 10k pack of star coins a bit ago, it said it would charge me 87 usd (which is already a lot, but ended up charging me OVER A HUNDRED DOLLARS.

[@FUSHICHOorKURAYAMI]

Im not even shocked about this since I knew from.the start Star Stable was a scam site. They make items over priced, make stuff be limited time, have stuff that you can only get with that special pass or whatever the heck is was since its been years since Ive been on the site after I erased it cause I wasnt wasting my money on it. Now the only Star Stable thing I have is that Mobile App which I let my daughter play on. And even on there it pushes for you to buy stuff and to download the PC Star Stable which I am NOT doing since my Daughter has Autism and is HIGHLY Impressionable. Although I can say that she, like Me, does have the ability to patiently grind and save up money when its something she really wants.... But that in itself is the problem.... The game is SUPPOSED to be for Kids. It should not be a Grind Heavy Game. It should be a Game where working hard with your horse and raising your "Riding" skills should afford you better rewards. When I played it years ago it was basically like no matter what you did the payout versus effort was not equal and it ended up not being fun at all. People may Love the game because they wanna look at their horses and role play with friends and whatever....But as a GAME It Sucks in My Book. Least....When last I played on it. But anyway them still pushing for Kids to Buy things on the Game isnt acceptable no matter what country it is. A Kids Game should NOT Be Pushing for KIDS to Buy Stuff in them. PERIOD.

[@KSJen]

As a swede, I can confirm all of this..also Rattle, your pronounceiation.. is kinda good! Surpriced me :D

[@L3xietheGOAT]

Star Stable was THE equestrian game in the early 2019’s. But since Violet died, the game slowed down. Everyone seemed to lose interest because not many creators make videos on SSO. The game in general is just too boring without new horses coming out and the weekly updates aren’t that satisfying to the gamers. Star Stable is coming to their end.

[@teamneonorange]

These comments are so refreshing given how cultish the players of this game have become. God forbid you say anything negative about the game around them!

[@eleanoropalriver]

I see what they're saying but I also see what sso is saying ig. A lot of the things that Sweden is saying is very strange. "Kids don't know the difference between an advertisement and a show"- what type of kids are you studying- I'm curious. And then "We don't get the double sc stuff and it's all very confusing" how??? The not knowing how much a price is in real life currency vs. sc confuses me as well- how else will yk how much sc it is. Then sso's side where stuff is kinda going against it ig -Double sc, less money -Play until lvl 5 so you can see if you enjoy the game etc. etc. While I do agree that their ads are- not the best, thousands (maybe even millions?) of games are doing the same thing. I don't remember the last time I saw an ad of a game showing what you actually do in it. Hopefully this made sense, it's too early in the morning to try and think.

[@silverdrag0n_]

the "kids can't tell the difference between a show and advertising" thing basically boils down to how you can't show toy commercials between children's programming, because it encourages children to ask their parents to buy them that shiny new Thing they saw on TV

[@eleanoropalriver]

@@silverdrag0n_ I can see that, but their ads aren't even on youtube anyways- they're on thinks like Tiktok which kids who should know the difference use.

[@silverdrag0n_]

@@eleanoropalriver that's why they have gotten away with it: the law prohibiting advertising to children only affects television. and you wanna know the most dastardly thing? there's a loophole in the law where you can show advertisements aimed at children, but the channel has to be sending from outside of sweden (that's why there are toy commercials on swedish Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, but not on SVT Barn)

[@salt7625]

Wish every country had laws like the sweeds for ad protections at the very least we need someone to take these laws seriously and enforce them the mobile game market is one of the most predatory out there

[@LuminosityGames]

So i just came from your ranch of ricershine video and uhm. loadshedding is 'n baie irriterende ding :D fokken haat dit - en dit was verbasend om uit te vind jy is ook suid afrikaner 😅

[@kathrynkat]

I personally have ALWAYS loved and appreciated the life time membership. Not to mention over the past decade, I've played lesser than a dozen years ago. Mostly a few days to a coue of weeks and like 1-3 times per year the past decade. Once I had over 20,000 star coins and only the last few years been down to returning to 1-2k or something range. So usually I'm able to buy a new horse or 2 each time I decide to play again to see how updated the game feels. I do wish they stopped focusing on mostly releasing new horses. I do love the new horses but became too frequent for their $grab$. I do think woulda been neater if focused on just expanding the gameplay more and adding to the map instead of just focus on what gets them even more incoming $. I wish there were more amazing online horse games and ones worth playing.

[@Messy320]

I wished they would stick to adding more to the story. The storyline is what made me fall in love with the game.

[@rosemoonbridge8886]

I live in Sweden and heard the news on the radio yesterday in the car, for some reason I wasn't surprised 😂😅

[@denpaangel]

sso died in 2017

[@KLO_Barrelracing]

POV: your playing star stable while watching this 😶🫡

[@longatti]

Hi rattle, I hope you see this comment, I was talking to some friends (who didn't know about that case of the girl who had a negative star coin balance) and I've searched all over the internet and can't find anything else about that case. I could be wrong, but I was sure you talked about this in one of your videos, but I can't find it anywhere. If you could point me to the right direction I would be very grateful 😊

[@Pearl.Is.Autistic.SU.900]

I’m pretty sure that’s Minatozy, not Rattle

[@longatti]

@@Pearl.Is.Autistic.SU.900 idk, i dont watch minatozy that much, but if you know the name of the video it would help me a lot

[@YTRattle]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpzdh6yceZd4gdU&pp=ygUec3RhciBjb2luIGRlYnQgZGVuaXMgd2lzZXN0b3Jt Denis did a video on it! ♥

[@longatti]

@@YTRattle thank you so much 💚💚

[@longatti]

@@Pearl.Is.Autistic.SU.900 we were both wrong, it was denis 😅 it's been a long time, we are lucky that rattle has a good memory

[@nardalis4832]

LMFAO this had me chuckle. I live in Sweden XD I hope SSO gets a boot. I played it a few times and was bummed how everything cost star coins or membership. If Sweden does anything about that i'm willing to have a look at it again!

[@ShakiraSilverbird]

"everything cost star coins or membership" - Nope. At least not since I've been playing it. I'm not 100% sure what you mean by something costs membership, but I guess you mean one has to have a "membership" (i.e. be a star rider) in order to get something. That's not true for everything, obviously, but for some things, for example being able to go to certain areas. So if one wants to explore the whole map, one has to become a star rider and, thus, pay. And that's fine in my opinion.

[@nardalis4832]

@@ShakiraSilverbird Yes thats what I dislike. As a new player I only saw everything restricted, to the point i wouldn't get any quests or new stuff to do. The map thing is the same that RuneScape and Wizard101 does too, whereas both are aimed towards kids as well. It's a foul way of not letting them do everything unless their parents are rich

[@ShakiraSilverbird]

@@nardalis4832 I get your point. From the point of view of the company though, they cannot let all players have everything the game has to offer for free. If they did they would not earn much money to pay their employees, let alone make a profit. What new players get - for free - is some tasks and a part of the map to explore. This way they can probably find out whether they like the game enough to be willing to pay for it. From what I remember, SSO does a pretty good job on this. I mean I got an impression of what the game is about, how it works, what you typically do or can do in this game. Based on this impression I decided to buy lifetime star rider. And I haven't regretted it. And regarding "rich parents": In my experience, it's not only children of rich parents that get pocket money. If you really like the game you can save your money, ask for money as birthday present etc. in order to be able to buy star rider someday. Does this work for everybody? Probably not, but that's the way it is with a lot of things, and it's not Star Stable's fault.

[@chantaldubois5365]

This game has become ridiculously expensive. There is no game on the Net that pricy. Its litteraly rip off. The worst part is that kids are not protected anymore. About time something gets done.

[@ilsejustme303]

if you have the time you could get the 9000 or 10.000 js items in 1 day, but that's if you really want to and have the time to play .also if you get alot of high scores like i do than you can buy even more. i buy a 7000-10.000 item every day -every 2 days depending on how much time i have

[@pata3075]

I got 10k in 3 hours

[@kingaborowska4113]

Yeah many people didn't seem to notice that together with new hollow woods we got way to earn JS fast and unlimited. Those fireflyes if you max all levels are just everywhere and they stack up so even if one light is worth 1JS many activities give you 250, 240 etc. Also gardening gives me on avrage 1700 lights (js)for just collecting plants from all of my garden and you can do that multiple times a day as well. Like its crazy how no one is talking abt it? I easyly get 10k lights a day in just 1,5/2h of playing

[@theblindbunnykenzie]

​@@kingaborowska4113I think no one is talking about it because they're afraid of SSE changing it so you don't get anything from selling the lights.

[@Messy320]

I really hope this doesn’t mean the game will shut down soon I’m too obsessed with storyline to let it go 😭

[@NightshadeGoddess]

Is this why they've been giving us codes? To appear less greedy?

[@awkwardcutie]

As a Swede, I do think it's an important issue and I wish it got fixed but I understand it's hard since they need to make money :( ❤ Also, what are you doing in the video? I've never seen that quest and I'm level 25 😭

[@griffinfrawley9204]

I believe all of the activities shown in the video are from the Camp Western event (which debuted last summer).

[@Harleen-FH]

I still cannot believe there are actual sso supporters out there till this day.

[@healgoth]

Nostalgia is one hell of a drug

[@SuicidalH]

It's the kids

[@aerkame]

I'm not surprised really. SSO has done some shady things regarding SC and how they run the game currently. They purposefully create an environment of FOMO, pressuring players into spending by leaving us no JS options to buy things, only SC, which is bought with real money, they also created an environment revolving around spending. SSO does not give players any option to earn a horse for free. And on top of that, this is a game that requires you to pay monthly to play. It's VERY exploitive and unusual practice to say the least. It is NOT normal for games to do this and I wish the SSO community would quit treating it like this is normal. What I AM surprised about is that they haven't gotten into legal trouble yet for taking a product already bought by players and changing it. An example being taking away pay once Star Rider's allowance if you don't log in. (after two weeks, you will not get SC). This is NOT what players agreed to when buying it, and players are not informed of this either. There's also the issue of SSO not giving bundles to players who bought them every now and then (example being the Halloween and Christmas incident last year).

[@kingaborowska4113]

Sorry but there is a lot of missinformantion in your comment. First this game does not REQUIRE anyone to pay monthly, it is an OPTION that you can chose or not since there is pay once (lifetime) option available as well. Second what you are saying about sc not being given after 2 weeks of being inactive is also not true, i do get my sc on my alt accounts no matter if i log in once a month or every 2 months. If it's something you have experienced that is a bug and your personal experience at that not something that happens to everybody, and you should report it to support. I do agree that they do shady things but those examples that you,ve given are just not true.

[@Darkmoon331]

@kingaborowska4113 about the sc thing, it does happen to a lot of people, including me. And I've heard people talk about it and potentially tell sso, tho I don't remember, I'm barely part of the community nowadays

[@kingaborowska4113]

Yeah i hear now and then that it happens, and SSO's response is always that they should report it since it is a bug and should not be happening. But framing it as illegal and purposefull action of theirs that is taking away something that you paid for is just creating missinformation, and that was mostly what I was pointing at :)

[@aerkame]

@@kingaborowska4113This is not misinformation, I myself and several others do not receive SC after a two week mark and you can not explore the game unless you are paying. That is what most MMO games like WoW do. They give some freedom, but no real playability without payments, it is a pay to play game, not free. What's not normal is that SSO locks players out of buying anything else like horses with in-game currency that's earned, having SC be the only option which requires money.

[@ShakiraSilverbird]

Apart from the things already mentioned by @kingaborowska4113, these points need clarification: "leaving us no JS options to buy things, only SC" - this is too general. It's only true for, well, things one can only buy with star coins. (Like horses, yes.) "SSO does not give players any option to earn a horse for free" - Some would agree since you have to spend money to become a star rider. In my opinion (or interpretation of the word free), however, the North Swedish Rune Runner is a horse that one can get for free, as in free of (additional) cost. Besides, a game is not required to give anything to its players for free, is it?

[@SireDragonChester]

If the game has any MTX or Lootbox bs/gambling bs. Then it’s deserves to be investigated and possibly shut down. Look at mobile industry how it’s been getting away for years for predatory practises, and using gambling/Casino tactics. Big game companies like EA since what 2006/07ish has been using same tactics in there sports games for years. Over the years ppl have backlashed but hasn’t been enough to stop devs from pushing these predatory practises into their games. Hate to say it. But something needs to be done for general of gaming industry. These MTX need be stop on pc/console and mobile devices. Big companies like steam/epic/Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft should also all be held responsible for allowing these games on there digital store. They don’t care Cus they make billions of $$$$ out it. No matter if game is bad or good and if has MTX bs. Devs and studios/higher up are all trying push games that are cash grab for more $$, and they don’t care if young kids or adults who buy up digital items or things. They only care about $$$$$$.

[@kingaborowska4113]

But sso has no gambling/gatcha mechanics tho, although I agree those are huge problem in gaming industry, it's just not the case here

[@SireDragonChester]

@@kingaborowska4113 Ok, never played the game but I did grew up on small horse farm and do

[@Maja-mj5bd]

4 views in minute. You fell of😢 /jk

[@buckleuphun]

One thing that rubs me the wrong way abt SSO is that it technically costs 70 USD. 70 USD!? And yet there is still crazy expensive in app purchases and no way to earn starcoins. It feels like SSO should be a free game with their prices but no, on top of that you have to literally pay to play. Ive played games that costed less and have a better way to earn currency but also reasonable prices for said currency. SSO has no right to have people pay the amount of what a high end quality game costs.

[@pippip461]

right? it’s disgusting how one horse is like 20$ too, on top of all the overpriced clothing, tack and event items!

[@skybluepainter]

I disagree about double star coin weekends. It's like going to any store and getting a sale. It's not misleading.

[@MusicComet]

Tbf, sales are a tactic to get you to spend money in the first place. It's basically the "give a ridiculous price first and then give a smaller one to get the person to accept it" psychological trick, or so I heard. I can definitely see how that can be... scummy (but it's really normalised nowadays, just like loot boxes and other stuff so ehhh?).

[@Alicehaywalker]

I hope this is a wake up call for sso.

[@Perseondelt]

I love you Sweden! 😍 And I *hate* that piece of 🤬 called SSO. Every time gets worst and worst.

[@yukiiasakii9758]

I really hope this helps sso take a shift in their crappy marketing and advertisement team which doesn't seem to moderate their horribly generated mobile ads and their insane website pricing. Though I doubt any big changes will come to the game i hope this is an eye opener to the company as a whole.

[@happybalint]

I hope both sso and roblox gets in trouble

[@ariamoonfall4558]

Maybe a child lock feature should be implented AND ADVERTISED to parents and parent email accounts (are they still doing that? I think remember when I was signing up in like 2014 I had to use 2 emails. And if it was the case it'd be good if they expanded on this- possibly ID and facial recognition for accounts made for children younger than 15 or whatever is more appropriate. Then the promotions would only go to the parent email and there could be a password set up within the account for making purchases...)

[@dorina71]

Finally.....

[@SailorIda3]

It should be stated that SVT is goverment founded. It literly means "Sveriges Television" or translated to "Swedens Television". WHile it is goverment founded it is a mostly neutral source. It should however still be noted as it MIGHT indicate a bias by the employees to some degree.

[@NukaPooka]

Realistically they are more likely to get a warning and time frame to change things that are causing the flags meaning anything on the list they will have to change. They wont get fined if they are compliant. Has happened before, so if they dont fight it in the courts they wont lose money. If they do fight it, they may as well lose.

[@randomrandomson4855]

I’m not surprised that they’re getting in trouble for how they’re market to children, Especially when it comes to the Star Coins. Also, I’ve always hated the act of SSO asking 10,000 shillings ( the cap in game ) almost forcing you to buy it with Star coins or instead of saving up shillings like crazy which you only get in small amounts. I’m assuming they’ll get sued and have to change some things but I don’t think they’ll be able to change Roblox and if so only in Sweden. Next this is also problem for the adults too and not just the kids

[@agaltashysteel]

As a swede, I woke up one day and saw these news, my only worry right now is that sso will be banned or something and all my money spent will be cast away 🥹

[@CChloeMarie]

I love SSO, but I just wish it’s cheaper… because they’re so overpriced right now, I bet if they made things cheaper, they would 100% get more profit than what they get now.

[@pinkdarkman]

These micro transaction games need serious regulation. Nobody should be spending hundreds of dollars on any videogame. I'm speaking as an American, though, and my government would rather try to ban LGBT people than focus on the health and safety of our children, sadly. I understand a monthly subscription, since servers do cost money, but monthly subscription plus micro transactions is ridiculous. Also the "fun bucks" that all of these games do is messed up also. In game currency that you buy with real money needs to get banned stat. That is what casinos do to make you not realize how much money you're spending, because you're using chips and not actual money. It's a predatory practice that has no place anywhere in society, but especially not in a game that children can access.

[@selmita]

I'm from Sweden, and I've read about this! I didn't expect it for sure, but I understand the point of it.

[@nerdygem8620]

I've never played star stable but I am greatly concerned about gambling and addictive practices in games, especially ones aimed at young people. Any action of this sort in any such game is excellent news.

[@hahurrhowdy1843]

honestly i respect Sweden so much for protecting their kids. Capitalistic America don’t give DAMN if they’re children.

[@_planesandstuff]

I think a couple weeks ago before Wednesday when they update the game, on the mobile version of the game when you open the app the first thing you see on the screen is a bunch of star coin offers thrown in my face.

[@Lara-mx4cd]

I don't play Star Stable, but Horwse which does have a swedish server and now I'm questioning if they're investigated too 8if not they probably should be) because they do everything you mentioned and worse. They have a category of luck items you can purchase with in-game currency (that you can also buy for real money). The luck items are: a scratch ticket, 2 forms of loot boxes and a game where you go from level 1 to 8 and can either keep the winnings or proceed forward and loose everything but the stuff from level 1

[@andreacunningham5696]

I don't know how I got down this rabbit hole but this reminds me of the tinierme debacle back in my day. They ended up going under with like a week's notice and that was it. That was a hard lesson for a lot of people (young and not-young) in that community about spending your money.

[@mxria1447]

i do understandr this but if you're going to make a game for kids that's for free....what other way is there to get money apart from advertising stuff and get people to buy things IN GAME?

[@Eeee-xl4xb]

can you make a video on the club "sword horses"? i seriously hope they get mass reported and banned, there are adults with children roleplaying with extreme love and other illegal stuff… they still exist, they’ve just been quiet for a bit. utterly disgusting and star stable isn’t doing anything about it

[@skybluepainter]

Reads title: aw, shit