r/JimSterling • u/Leonel96 • Sep 23 '17
About Bandai-Namco manipulating pull rates in a mobile game NSFW
Hey everybody. I know many oof you may not care about this little rant, given it is about a mobile game, however there seems to be some kind of manipulation from people in Bandai Namco, of course the purpose seems to be to get more money coming from the global version of One Piece: Treasure Cruise. For anyone interested to know what the hell is going on, let me explain: About three years ago, Bandai Namco released this mobile game in Japan, the Global version has been around for two years and a half, kinda. In the global version, one thing to note is the community it has formed over the years, with people being serious and direct about how to clear new content, pass events coming from time to time, but most important for everyone there, the pull rates in Sugo-Fest, an event every two weeks where you can get the best characters in the game, including legends (Only available in those events). Over the time Global and Japan version have seen a big difference: It's so, so much easier to pull a legend in Japan. Not only that, but in the last Sugo-Fest, reddit users made some statistics on the pulls like many other time, showing the chances to get the characters available in this event, thus showing that it's highly possible that Bandai is either making false advertising about the rates (chances to pull legendary characters) or outright manipulating those chances, making harder for players to get them, in a game where a big part of it's community is spending money each time a Sugo-Fest comes around. If anyone wants to check more about what i'm talking about here, you can check the following Reddit posts:
Global controversy megathread: https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceTC/comments/71yym6/global_controversy_megathread/
Rates in the last Sugo-Fest: https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceTC/comments/71geii/rare_recruit_rates_220_sugo_version/
A better explanation on this controversy: https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceTC/comments/71ulgr/memo_to_the_optc_community_regarding_rheathtechs/ Other controversial posts:
Is Global dead? https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceTC/comments/71yjch/is_global_dead/
I think it's time for us to do something: https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceTC/comments/71yki8/i_think_its_time_for_us_to_do_something/
Can we 1* the game in the store? https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceTC/comments/71xom4/can_we_1_the_game_in_the_store/
Memo to the OPTC community regarding r/heathtech's rate info https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceTC/comments/71ulgr/memo_to_the_optc_community_regarding_rheathtechs/
Chimbowling's rates in this last sugo (User who spent lots of money to get only shit) https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceTC/comments/71j90q/1870_gems_this_sugo/
I don't really think this case will cause troubles for Bandai-Namco, or that this controversy will go a long way, given it's a mobile game, however i do think it's sad to see a community like the one of this game being scammed, seeing how it's one of the least toxic and salty communities i've seen in many mobile games, even if it's also one of the bigger, most actives, and consistent. I can't say i'm affected by this, seeing how i only ever wasted around 10 bucks in this game, but many people have spent lots of money here just to see their chances to get something good manipulated. I hope this subreddit can help us (and thanks for getting this far if you're reading this)
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u/Majukun Sep 23 '17
doon't think it's in jim's ballpark,but it would sure help the thing get more visibility outside of the userbase
5
u/StNowhere Sep 23 '17
I don't know if it's something he'd do a Jimquisition on, but even a comment from Jim would do wonders to bringing attention to this kind of scumbaggery.
3
u/ReadAccount Sep 24 '17
I'd just like for a quick comment on this garbage Bandai is doing right now, even him tweeting could make a difference. I thank god for Jim every night before I go to sleep, maybe he smacks down lightning on Bamcos moneybags while they take their shit if I pray hard enough.
10
Sep 23 '17
the video games industry seems to resemble more and more a sleazy carnival run by cut-throats and shady scumbags.
on-rails entertainment rides, shooting galleries, bumper cars, loud music and flashing lights, guidelines and handrails everywhere, as well as tons and tons of lotteries and chance games.
skill and or intelligence doesnt matter. it's not a skill check anymore, not a puzzle. it's meant to rob you off your pocket money. the dumber and easier exciteable the attendee is, the better, it seems.
not just on the mobile market, console and pc are getting just as bad. the few devs that aren't cynics and dont think we are retards that believe their blatant lies, you can count them on one hand. and yes, bamco definitely isn't one of them.
2
u/JMW007 Sep 24 '17
That is a very apt analogy for what the industry has become. Ironic that their arch-nemesis is a carnival barker.
6
u/SidratFlush Sep 23 '17
I wonder if these shouldn't be considered gambling and treated as such?
4
u/Leonel96 Sep 23 '17
Yes and no. While pulling for a character is subjected to rng, the system in a Sugo-Fest is supposed (or at least all users thought so) to work a little something like this: Many characters are available, from shitty ones to top tier, however, on this 2 day event, some top tier characters should have a higher droprate than normal. The problem begins after r/heathtech makes his usual post calculating droprates for characters, showing that characters who should have a higher droprate don't have anything like that. Also it showed that, to say it directly, droprates were a fucking mess. In game, it was said that certain classes and specific characters should have a higher chance to get in the pull, while in reality those "higher rates" were messy for each character. If you want you can check the post about Rates, the second one from the top.
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u/Trueyes Sep 24 '17
Yeah It is sad that one of the Games I love to operates in a way that is grimy in the least. Bandai is basically using loop holes in the law to cheat us out of the very hard earned money some of my fellow players have put into the game . If you are seeing this Jim Sterling , we would greatly appreciate it if you could bring attention to this grimy practice. It might start a revolution. It could enact a law of companies finally having to show rates in a gacha game (since it is borderline gambling ) and geared towards children and to all redditors who read this post . Thank you for your support
20
u/StNowhere Sep 23 '17
Considering Jim's coverage of lootboxes as of late, I think this is a story he'd be interested in. Gacha games follow much of the same logic as lootboxes, and probably inspired their creation in the first place.
This is a company taking advantage of it's player base because it doesn't have to tell people the chances they'll actually pull what they want. It's disgusting.