22 votes

Six ways Mario Kart Tour triggers you into gambling your money

12 comments

  1. [6]
    nothis
    Link
    Jesus, Mario Kart Tour is plain evil, lol. I didn't touch it because of the bad press but this is way worse than I thought. Default mobile gaming strategies, probably, but Nintendo doing this is...

    Jesus, Mario Kart Tour is plain evil, lol. I didn't touch it because of the bad press but this is way worse than I thought. Default mobile gaming strategies, probably, but Nintendo doing this is just kinda sad. Wow.

    12 votes
    1. [5]
      onyxleopard
      Link Parent
      Yeah, it’s really too bad Nintendo is doing shitty micro transaction laden versions of their IP on iOS. They could have put great games on Apple Arcade and they would have been some of the most...

      Yeah, it’s really too bad Nintendo is doing shitty micro transaction laden versions of their IP on iOS. They could have put great games on Apple Arcade and they would have been some of the most popular titles. Instead we get Dr. Mario and Mario Kart that are technically free-to-play, but don’t feel like Nintendo games.

      7 votes
      1. [4]
        Thrabalen
        Link Parent
        Free to play, but pay to win. I mean that in the most literal sense of those two phrases, you can play all you want for free, but it's not possible to win without paying.

        Free to play, but pay to win. I mean that in the most literal sense of those two phrases, you can play all you want for free, but it's not possible to win without paying.

        5 votes
        1. [4]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. [3]
            Thrabalen
            Link Parent
            The the article is clickbait, because it claims the opposite, that you can win the races, but without paying for premium items, you can't win the rankings.

            The the article is clickbait, because it claims the opposite, that you can win the races, but without paying for premium items, you can't win the rankings.

            2 votes
            1. [3]
              Comment deleted by author
              Link Parent
              1. Thrabalen
                Link Parent
                Well, like I said, it's what the article said. It's my fault for assuming the writer knew what he was talking about.

                Well, like I said, it's what the article said. It's my fault for assuming the writer knew what he was talking about.

                3 votes
              2. jtvjan
                Link Parent
                I would still call it pay-to-win as you can increase your chances of winning by paying. The further you get in the game the more points you need to get all five stars and to rank high. By paying...

                I would still call it pay-to-win as you can increase your chances of winning by paying. The further you get in the game the more points you need to get all five stars and to rank high. By paying you can obtain more gems, which allow you to "fire the pipe", and each time you do that there's a chance of getting a rare item with high base stats, which affect how many points you'll end up with at the end of a race. However, I wouldn't consider this problematic as the game is single player only, so you're really just paying for a chance to switch the game to easy mode. If these stats carry over to multiplayer when it comes out it would be, since then a paying player could win out over a more skilled player. (or in Mario Kart's case, a luckier player)

                2 votes
  2. [2]
    valac
    Link
    This was a solid, accessible case study. I downloaded the on release and was immediately turned off by how obviously pay-to-win it was and how the controls weren't even right. It's like a weird...

    This was a solid, accessible case study. I downloaded the on release and was immediately turned off by how obviously pay-to-win it was and how the controls weren't even right. It's like a weird casino machine version of Mario Cart.... ugh. I feel bad for the kids who get hooked into this crap.

    8 votes
    1. hhh
      Link Parent
      the controls are awful. all they had do to was make it horizontal with good motion controls, but instead we got vertical with either touch controls or shitty delayed motion controls.

      the controls are awful. all they had do to was make it horizontal with good motion controls, but instead we got vertical with either touch controls or shitty delayed motion controls.

      4 votes
  3. Sand
    Link
    And I thought Super Kirby Clash was bad in this regard. Nintendo is becoming less and less consumer-friendly, so hopefully gamers will stop looking at them as a "good guy".

    And I thought Super Kirby Clash was bad in this regard. Nintendo is becoming less and less consumer-friendly, so hopefully gamers will stop looking at them as a "good guy".

    4 votes
  4. [4]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. [2]
      nothis
      Link Parent
      "New dynamic"? "Personal pride"? "Control your inpulse"? Are we really still discussing F2P monetization as if it was this innocent?

      "New dynamic"? "Personal pride"? "Control your inpulse"? Are we really still discussing F2P monetization as if it was this innocent?

      9 votes
      1. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. nothis
          Link Parent
          Oh, I'm acting exactly like that, lol. You literally concluded your defense with "If you can't control your inpulse to spend money because of a busy UI you have bigger problems than this game."

          Oh, I'm acting exactly like that, lol. You literally concluded your defense with "If you can't control your inpulse to spend money because of a busy UI you have bigger problems than this game."

          6 votes
    2. Omnicrola
      Link Parent
      What you seem to be implying here is that people who are subject to gambling or lack impulse control possess some sort of moral failing or lack enough willpower. This fundamentally misses the...

      If you can't control your inpulse to spend money because of a busy UI you have bigger problems than this game.

      What you seem to be implying here is that people who are subject to gambling or lack impulse control possess some sort of moral failing or lack enough willpower. This fundamentally misses the point of why microtransactions and manipulative UX design are exploitative. Like blaming someone's alcoholism on them. They're still responsible for their actions, but alcoholism is a part of who they are. Taking a friend who's an alcoholic to a beer festival would make you a bad person. Placing someone in a situation where you can exploit them for money is no different.

      6 votes