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the_q ,

Gaben has the best PR of any billionaire. People think he and his company aren’t just as shitty as any other multi yacht owning billionaire and profit machine company out there.

theonyltruemupf ,

Apart from exploiting gambling addicts and you not really owning most games, Valve are rather consumer friendly. Or at least they appear to be because their competitors are even worse.

the_q ,

Does that mean you think it’s ok Gabe has multiple yachts?

LwL ,

Given human nature I find it hard to blame rich people for using their money on themselves. We need laws to change (aka much, much higher taxes)

Someone’s perspective on what’s an appropriate standard of living changes with what they’re used to. That’s just how the human brain works. I constantly hear people that make the same or more than me, that live in the same country as me in an area with similar cost of living, complain about how little money they have, while I feel like I have all I really need and more. They just consider different things as “necessary”.

Is it incredibly disconnected to consider owning even one yacht as anything close to necessary? Absolutely. But anything you want, your brain will take it for granted once you get it and make you want even more.

the_q ,

Human nature? You think greed is just part of human nature? That’s disheartening.

ZeroHora ,

I don’t thinks that is greed actually, Gabe gaining more and more money is greed but spend that wealth in random shit is just like people do, if you have billions the random shit you can buy is more pricy.

Fuck billionaire anyway

the_q ,

Is that not greed? He holds on to his money and puts them in places that can’t be taxed. Speaking of taxes, he doesn’t pay his fair share by far. Are these not examples of greed? People are poor. Social systems are failing. These billionaires, even the ones people seem to like such as Gaben and Taylor Swift, are just holding wealth. They’re like dragons lording over piles of gold.

ZeroHora ,

Billionares creating politics and buying politicians so they can continue to be rich is greed totally, but unless yatch is a scheme to avoid taxes that I don’t know they buying it is like me buying toys to put on my desk in a large scale.

the_q ,

Alright.

CubbyTustard ,

deleted_by_author

    •
    the_q ,

    Careful… You’ll get downvoted for knowing that info.

    mriormro ,
    @mriormro@lemmy.world avatar

    Clearly not.

    theonyltruemupf ,

    No he can fuck right of, nobody should ever own that much. I was saying Valve is consumer friendly, relatively speaking.

    redcalcium ,

    Well, if you look at their main competitors, it’s kinda true though.

    the_q ,

    The best turd is still a turd.

    KingThrillgore ,

    If Valve didn’t have this dosh stream, they would make more single player games. Simple as.

    AndrasKrigare ,

    I’m sure the $10 billion they make from Steam plays a role

    lorty ,
    @lorty@lemmy.ml avatar

    This is barely anything compared to the cut they take from every steam sale

    JoeKrogan ,
    @JoeKrogan@lemmy.world avatar

    Thats is crazy

    Crikeste ,

    And yet, Valve is touted as being among the most ethical and moral of gaming companies.

    I think it’s funny that while Stake was getting blasted on Twitch, CS:GO sat quietly in its corner hoping no one would look its way.

    There are people who have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this shit.

    It’s a problem.

    Arbiter ,

    Yeah, it’s literally unregulated gambling.

    joemo ,

    How are these cases any different from any trading card that you can go to the store and buy packs of? Are those also unregulated gambling?

    Odinkirk ,
    @Odinkirk@lemmygrad.ml avatar

    Here’s one: Trading cards are something you own. Skins are limited to a game you’re licensing.

    Here’s another: trading cards are portable; they can be put in a collection for display, put in a safety deposit box, etc. When CS goes, all the skins go with it.

    Another minor one: baseball cards are informational, the skins are cosmetic only.

    Mind you, I think both are forms of unregulated gambling and trading cards as well as loot boxes should have better societal scrutiny, but they aren’t identical.

    Edited for typo

    Crikeste ,

    Yepp, while there are some fundamental differences, I think all these things are a form of unregulated gambling.

    Fuck it, throw blind boxes in too.

    joemo ,

    No one buys baseball cards for the informational side of it. They buy them as a collectors item. The same as these skins. The only difference is that one is digital and one is physical.

    Sports cards have been around for ages and no one gave a shit. People care about the loot boxes in games because it’s easy for a kid to get their parents credit card and rack up a ton of charges.

    Crikeste ,

    I would say yes, they are unregulated gambling. People also spend ludicrous amounts of money on cards. Though I don’t think that should factor into whether or not something is or isn’t unregulated gambling. It’s the chance product, not the money spent on it.

    joemo ,

    So those cards have been around forever, and no one complained about them.

    People care about these loot boxes because it’s easy for a young kid to get their parents credit card and rack up a ton of charges because they see a cool skin and don’t realize that ultra rare or 1/1000 chance to drop means that they won’t get t without spending a ton of money.

    By definition gambling can be defined as playing games of chance for money. Well they aren’t going to win money, their reward is a collectable item.

    Or to take risky action in hope of desired result. I don’t really see how this fits that definition either. There’s no risky action.

    I would prefer if there were no loot boxes because I’d rather know what I’m getting, but people are focusing on the wrong thing here.

    Crikeste ,

    Trading cards and gambling addiction have been studied for years. TCGs may not function the same as a slot machine, but it does trigger the same thing in your brain.

    And that is what’s dangerous.

    Arbiter ,

    Valve literally runs a marketplace that allows people to sell their skins for cash.

    This is like playing for tokens that the store across the street will conveniently purchase from you.

    joemo ,

    So the issue isn’t the loot boxes and gambling to get items, it’s the resale? That’s a different issue.

    Also it’s not “cash”, you can only spend that money back into steam.

    ampersandrew ,
    @ampersandrew@kbin.social avatar

    You're right. TCGs with blind draw boosters are also bad. I didn't complain about Pokemon cards back in 2000 because I was a child and didn't comprehend that that was what I was doing. I definitely stopped partaking in Magic: The Gathering as an adult though when I realized it was a neverending gambling treadmill. Today I frequent fighting game locals that are kept afloat by Yu Gi Oh gambling addicts who fill the trash cans with booster wrappers as they go back to the counter over and over again to buy more packs.

    moody ,

    So those cards have been around forever, and no one complained about them.

    There have definitely been complaints about gambling in relation to collectible cards. I don’t think anything has come of them in legal terms, but many complaints have been voiced.

    moody ,

    Many would say so. Wizards of the Coast, the makers of Magic the Gathering, have worked very hard at balancing the two sides of the coin. On one side, they design cards such that power levels determine the demand (and thus price) for rarer cards on the resale market, and on the other they argue that the cards have no intrinsic value so that buying packs can’t count as gambling since there’s technically no expected profit for the buyers.

    joemo , (edited )

    Should we also have a ban on all sports memorabilia then? It’s a gamble for me to go to my local team and have the players sign things and then at some point in the future it could be worth a ton of money?

    Would this conversation be any different if they sold the cards for what they think the expected value is? Then you’d have people complaining about how they’re charging hundreds for a card and that’s not fair because little Timmy can’t afford it.

    Edit: those tumblers that people drink out of have “rarer” colors and designs, better ban those two because of gambling.

    Mango ,

    Why is it a problem?

    Crikeste ,

    Because society has deemed gambling a problem requiring regulation. These things exist outside that regulation while being psychology the same.

    Also, gambling addiction has the highest rate of suicide of all addictions. And I think we should be trying to lower the amount of people that kill themselves.

    Mango ,

    I’ve never given two shits about what society has decided about my psychology. It’s nobody’s place to decide for me. If someone wants to kill themselves, let them. Help them even.

    Crikeste ,

    Luckily, your opinion is unpopular.

    Mango ,

    🤣

    S_H_K ,

    I’ve bee there I can assure you…
    No
    My depression took over I did something stupid I would have hurt my loved ones.

    Mango ,

    You play your character. I’ll play mine. If you play my character, I’ll kill both of them.

    S_H_K ,

    Preach bother suicide is not talked enough.

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