I had an argument with a guy who was in a shared friend's discord server about this. He was adamant that, if somebody spent too much money on a game, then it was all their fault. Despite me going over several (clearly manipulative) tactics, all he said was that people who fell for these must be stupid and that they deserved it

Yeah later on he was kicked because of other (Similarly dickish) reasons

[–] Revan343@lemmy.ca 11 points 3 days ago

It is as much their fault as it is any addict's fault, which is to say, partially but not entirely

[–] Angry_Autist@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

Yeah American is a victim blaming culture

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 19 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I mean, he's not wrong. it is something within their power to control, and only they can stop the cycle.

addiction is a hell of a drug though.

companies that prey on the vulnerabilities of humans like that should be regulated no different than drug, alcohol, or firearm companies.

[–] GoodEye8@lemm.ee 13 points 3 days ago (1 children)

And if we were all smart people we would have far less laws. Sometimes laws protect us from ourselves. Anyone who has experience with addiction knows how hard it is to just stop. Instead of blaming people for their inability to stop we should emphatize and understand that this needs an intervention. If these predatory practices were illegal those people wouldn't need to stop themselves because they wouldn't be put in that situation in the first place.

[–] Ushmel@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

Regulation of predatory practice. Taxation on the games to pay for rehab and support services for people that experience negative effects from it. It's really easy to do, but every single gambling operation gets the big bucks from the heavily addicted. The whales are the entire business.

[–] HollowNaught@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago

I agree they're partially at fault, but to deny the part the company played by creating artificial FOMO, sales, and gates is barbaric to say the least

It needs more regulation, I agree. Particularly for premium currencies (which thankfully the EU seems to be doing something about)

[–] Vespair@lemm.ee 9 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I mean....

The unfortunate reality is that both parties, the customer and the game company, are culpable and both share blame

[–] Angry_Autist@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

These gacha companies pay ridiculous amounts of money for psych profile info specifically to target vulnerable individuals, yet individuals don't have that same kind of access or understanding

This is NOT a both sides thing.