I have been avoiding multiplayer Valve games like Counter-Strike 2 and Team Fortress 2, due to their in-game economies that have created an underage gambling gray market, which Valve has done little about. However, I am on Linux, and the choices for multiplayer shooters are few. Besides, my small boycott is not stopping Counter-Strike 2 from being the most played steam game. Are boycotts really the best solution to stop this epidemic in gaming? How can we best prevent these gambling grey markets and the gaming to gambling addiction pipeline?

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[–] surph_ninja@lemmy.world 38 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

Many of us have been doing this from the beginning, but it represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how gacha games work.

Most people do not pump loads of money into these. Many don’t pay anything at all. But those people are not the target audience. These companies are going after the whales. Basically gambling addicts who will destroy their entire lives to pump everything they have into it.

Which is exactly why these games either need to be illegal, or the law needs to put caps on how much individuals are permitted to spend on these.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Don't get me started on magic the gathering

[–] Inaminate_Carbon_Rod@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Ohhhhhhhhhh boy