r/OnePieceTC • u/pesaher • Sep 23 '17

MEGATHREAD Global Controversy Megathread

As you all know, shit has been going down in the Global server in the last 48 hours. So, to avoid cluttering the front page, all the already existing threads will be linked here and any future threads regarding this topic will be deleted. Keep the discussion in this thread, and please redirect users who make new threads here.

Without further ado:

Main threads

Controversial threads

Relevant threads

Sugo-Fest spicy memes

External resources

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77

u/MaNs1nH0 Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru Sep 23 '17

I've contacted 2 famous gaming Youtube channels that go against these kind of pratices from gaming companys (TotalBiscuit and The Jimquisition).

This is the message I sent them through Yotube:

"Hello Jim/John. I've been a fan of your work for some years now and I know you stand for consumer rights above all.

I come from a community on reddit from a game called One Piece Treasure Cruise for mobile made by Bandai Namco.

It's a Free 2 Play game with a "gacha" pull system where you can spend money to get powerfull characters, a luck based system (I'm sure you know these type of japanese games called gacha games).

Recently we have discovered that Bandai Namco manipulates the rates of the characters you can pull without informing absolutely anyone about it, they decrease on purpose the odds for you to get the best characters on events where they are supposed to be rate boosted.

Futhermore we have reasons to believe that they have a system in place where the more money you spend/more pulls you make, the less chances you have to get good characters in order to force you to pull more.

Please check this reddit topic if you can

https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceTC/comments/71ulgr/memo_to_the_optc_community_regarding_rheathtechs/

and read exactly what's going on.

We just want to be treated with the same respect and transparency that OPTC Japan has, (Japan has a law that forces all gacha type games to display the rates of every character you can pull on events, so they have way better rates) in the US and Europe there's no law so Bandai Namco does whatever they want.

Please help us if you can spreading this movement and stop this anti-consumer practices. Thank you."

English is not my first language, but I think they will understand the basics of what's going on and understand the rest after reading the reddit topic.

What do you guys think? Maybe I should contact them through other social media? Will they even read what I've wrote?

37

u/StNowhere Surf Clam Pirates - 53 Legends Sep 23 '17 edited Sep 23 '17

Let's take this a step further. This story needs to be spread and here's a few places that might be interested:

Gaming Media:

Mainstream Media:

Government/Rights Groups:

Keep in mind that most of these places might not give a damn about this, but if any of them decide to run with the story, this could be big. Remember to be civil, respectful, and understanding when contacting any of these groups/organizations.

Know that the person you are speaking with may not have ever played a gacha game, or even a mobile game. The situation needs to be explained in terms that someone who has no idea what this game is can understand. Some things that can be touched on:

  • A gacha system is gambling.
  • You gamble by buying a digital currency (gems) with real-world money, much like you would buy chips or tokens at a casino
  • This digital currency is used to pay for a chance to unlock new features/characters within the game
  • The rates of success for these pulls are not disclosed anywhere by the game's creator, Bandai Namco Entertainment
  • A separate version of the same game released in the company's home country of Japan does disclose these rates due to new laws in the eastern market.
  • The rates disclosed in the Japanese version of the game are not the same as the rates in the Global version.
  • It has been discovered that Bandai is manipulating these chances individually on a per-character, and possibly per-player basis (linking to /u/heathtech's thread would be a good idea)
  • This is incredibly unethical and predatory towards Bandai's player base, a significant portion of which are children

5

u/mikejm1393 Rich Mahogany Sep 23 '17

If they do consider it gambling, wouldn't the game have to have an age restriction in the states?

9

u/StNowhere Surf Clam Pirates - 53 Legends Sep 23 '17

Most likely, and it isn't legally considered gambling yet. But let's not kid ourselves, we're spending money to have a chance at winning a prize. It's gambling.

1

u/mikejm1393 Rich Mahogany Sep 23 '17

Isn't that more like a raffle, which is (?) Legal for under 18s to participate in?

2

u/StNowhere Surf Clam Pirates - 53 Legends Sep 23 '17

Kind of, but I don't really think so. A raffle is a number of people having an equal chance at taking a single prize (assuming they all only have one ticket, raffles can have different rules).

Gacha pulls are closer to a slot machine. There several possible outcomes, and the machines are programmed to pay out higher prizes at a small fixed percentage. The difference between the two here, is that American gambling laws require that slot machine win rates be disclosed.

1

u/mikejm1393 Rich Mahogany Sep 23 '17

There is still the distinction that you always get something with gacha pulls, where as you can get nothing for some slot machines. Not sure how, but I imagine that Bandai may use that to distinguish themselves from gambling (the fact that you always get something, no matter hpw shitty the usopp trio are). Which, in my opinion, makes them seem even more scummy and devious.

1

u/StNowhere Surf Clam Pirates - 53 Legends Sep 23 '17

Very true, but I honestly believe that legislation against this kind of stuff is coming. Same thing with how lootboxes have become the gaming industry's latest cancer. Everyone's trying to get as much as they can out of it before the law catches up.

1

u/mikejm1393 Rich Mahogany Sep 23 '17

Whats happening with lootboxes?

0

u/xyzqsrbo Oct 03 '17

Except a lot of us don't spend money which means it is not gambling.