[SidAlpha] Leaked documents show the probable future of loot boxes and microtransactions - General

[video]https://youtu.be/zgMw6punQrE[/video]

This is legitimately terrifying. I don't wanna be stalked by an AI and have some kind of networth assigned to me by it, and then have my room be mapped out by some kind of sound technology. This should straight up be illegal.

I wouldn't be surprised if these companies are regularly breaking information privacy and security laws. Every time I see something like this I feel the need to take a shower, it makes me feel gross just knowing it exists.

[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;53072534]I wouldn't be surprised if these companies are regularly breaking information privacy and security laws. Every time I see something like this I feel the need to take a shower, it makes me feel gross just knowing it exists.[/QUOTE] Look at Facebook, they're very much dealing in 'the consumer is the product' shady shit already. More and more companies are just going to get into this, its only a matter of time before it's the norm in AAA. Companies that are doing this are creating a mathematical formula for financial success. Learn how the customer thinks and then use that, possibly even sell that info to other companies to also use.

this is some dystopian type of bullshit

it's already here for mobile games [url]http://www.scientificrevenue.com/[/url]

Hopefully goverments around the world will start putting constraints on companies pulling shit like this.

Fucking disgusting to be honest

Ideally, governments shouldn't have to regulate these kind of industries, but it is increasingly becoming clear that they're willing (and apparently able) to violate our rights (the right to a private life) as they wish. By now I'm convinced that the only solution to these issues are fines that run up into their hundreds of billions for each company that engages in these practices, and if that doesn't do it (or perhaps even if it does), prison sentences will be required.

[QUOTE=J!NX;53072541]Look at Facebook, they're very much dealing in 'the consumer is the product' shady shit already. More and more companies are just going to get into this, its only a matter of time before it's the norm in AAA. Companies that are doing this are creating a mathematical formula for financial success. Learn how the customer thinks and then use that, possibly even sell that info to other companies to also use.[/QUOTE] And this is why some people really [I]REALLY [/I] hate sites loading third party scripts (some even require them to display content at all) and social login single sign-on. They're both the biggest goldmine in tracking users and earmarking actions and behavior to a specific user, next to being the sole user of a static IP address.

my take on this is it's fake as fuck companies aren't self aware to make a image with clippy saying "looks like you're having trouble, want to buy a lootbox"

[QUOTE=Wii60;53072567]it's already here for mobile games [url]http://www.scientificrevenue.com/[/url][/QUOTE] I clicked the link. They're actually using the term "whales" to sell their product, and their company slogan is "pricing without compromise." This is Mr. Burns tier greed right here. [QUOTE=LordCrypto;53072678]my take on this is it's fake as fuck companies aren't self aware to make a image with clippy saying "looks like you're having trouble, want to buy a lootbox"[/QUOTE] I think the link Wii60 posted indicates otherwise. These companies are becoming transparent as fuck about how little they respect the humanity of their customers.

[QUOTE=CyclonatorZ;53072683]I clicked the link. They're actually using the term "whales" to sell their product, and their company slogan is "pricing without compromise." This is Mr. Burns tier greed right here.[/QUOTE] This makes me so pissed, why are companies treating their customers with such utter CONTEMPT these days?

Where were the documents originally leaked? (Also, why were these linked to a deadman's switch?) The only thing I can trace back is it being originally posted to The_Donald (Why would it be posted there of all things?) This would be a lot of work for propaganda, so it would seem odd if this was created for some other purpose... I just want to know where this originally leaked to.

[QUOTE=TheBorealis;53072690]This makes me so pissed, why are companies treating their customers with such utter CONTEMPT these days?[/QUOTE] Probably because customers are generally apathetic and/or willfully ignorant about it.

Turning players into payers, I see

While the whole data collecting fiasco sounds illegal as heck (but not unheard of), the rest of the 'leak' just sounds like your typical game design engagement loop document but just adding in "we will now dynamically charge for these personalized experiences!". Seems like heck a lot of thought and work for "alternative" / future monetization. I won't lie but I would like to see them try. Loot boxes won't go away because it is cheap to produce. This...? More like targeted ads within games. It doesn't make them any less evil due to how they are worded and presented, but their implementation can range from being a beneficial step forward, or nagging exploitations that earns through frustration. And of course, I'm also hearing that this is probably fake.

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;53072678]my take on this is it's fake as fuck companies aren't self aware to make a image with clippy saying "looks like you're having trouble, want to buy a lootbox"[/QUOTE] As someone who's been in far too many seminars, I can safely and unfortunately say, that is exactly how self aware they are. Greed doesn't equal obliviousness to said greed. They want smiles and dollars, not frowns and empty coffers.

Shit like this is also what happens when the people that invest in companies and are answerable to for profits are not the same set of people that consume the product and ultimately get dicked over like this.

[quote] by giving players lots of content options they will find the content they want most[/quote] Well at least some of the stuff shown here has to be fake, I mean when would EA ever allow developers to finish a game let alone include more than the most base line content

For like the past year or so now, I've actually been wondering about the future of gaming and whether or not I might actually end up not buying games in the future, I'm getting pretty bored and irritated by developers and publishers thinking about the money they can make first and then the game afterwards, like there's no heart in game development apart from very few companies, it's pretty depressing, like 17 - 18 years of gaming and I'm now seeing shit that might break that.

[QUOTE=archival;53072722]Well at least some of the stuff shown here has to be fake, I mean when would EA ever allow developers to finish a game let alone include more than the most base line content[/QUOTE] I believe the idea is to flood the content with so much junk (e.g. sprays, varied stats) so that it will take a while (long time) to get what people really want. And who knows, within the landfill someone might find liking to something. Bonus!

Lmao I love that at 11:25 they just couldn't resist trying to hold the moral high ground on this. Gambling is unethical, so we're going to datamine the fuck out of our customers and manipulate them into giving us as much money as possible!

:snip:

The worse about all of this, is that all this data will be sold to the highest bidder. I wonder if our children will sneer at the idea of privacy, as if it's a dumb, outdated and unwanted concept.

[QUOTE=sgman91;53072696]Probably because customers are generally apathetic and/or willfully ignorant about it.[/QUOTE] Because people generally speaking think(and would be correct to think) they have more important shit to worry about than games. Games used to be a hobby or activity someone could do to get away from some of the shittier elements of things, now that's all coming into games it's ruining the activity for anyone who pays attention, but because they're "just games", no one feels inclined to educate themselves other than enthusiasts.

I read through the presentation and honestly it seems like a bunch of embellishing amateurs or a wonky hoax. The strange, un-corporate language, outlandish claims of being able to recognise all sorts of audio and spatially map a room, a lack of clear original source or publication... It's not like this stuff doesn't exist, but compare how Scientific Revenue (a more 'reputable' data-driven monetization company) presents themselves to these guys. Although it does depend on how private of a pitch it was intended for :pudge:

[QUOTE=Ryo Ohki;53072732]Lmao I love that at 11:25 they just couldn't resist trying to hold the moral high ground on this. Gambling is unethical, so we're going to datamine the fuck out of our customers and manipulate them into giving us as much money as possible![/QUOTE] Funny thing about that part is that I feel far more confortable with idea of lootboxes than a stalking, learning, salesman-AI since the boxes won't follow me all over my social media - easier to avoid. Ironic as hell but I rather keep my humanity or control over my microtransactions should I ever want to use them, not having a creepy bot attempt to reel me into these through my facebook messages. God I feel sick just thinking about it and I really, REALLY hope this is a joke :tinfoil:

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;53072678]my take on this is it's fake as fuck companies aren't self aware to make a image with clippy saying "looks like you're having trouble, want to buy a lootbox"[/QUOTE] They're pitch decks, and it was an example of what [I]not[/I] to do. It gets the point across and gets a few laughs in a pitch/board room. Honestly doesn't seem out of place for what a detached higher up marketing firm might pull.

I think when it comes to these massive companies To a company like Facebook its users are the product to the company. Information is collected and used in advertising in mass. They use clever little tricks to create advertising pit-falls for the users. With companies like EA video games are not the product to them, the in-game transactions are. Their video games are a gateway to spending the money that they [I]really [/I]want. You could have a blank website you pay to get on that sucks your money up and it would effectively be the same thing as what EA makes. A video game coming out of a studio they own is just a side effect. if EA started selling info have a theoretically infinite ceiling for growth with what they 'sell' because they're so massive that they'll always have a very large number of customers or users. It's practically impossible for them to die out.