New Gacha Policy Discussion

[Drakkhis]

I have figured out the new Gatcha... it shows the picture of what you are buying, after someone has purchased that Item is switches to a new random Item, so you know what you are buying but it is still random, who knows what is next

[Benton Torkelsonn]

Well now... once again, let's punish everyone for the whining of a few.  So let's see if I understand the logic.  There are sims and groups in SL dedicated to racial superiority, carnality, depravity, sexual abuse and deviancy in every form, and that's just FINE.  BUT... and there is always a big ole furry but... they better not have a GACHA machine on the sim or they'll be violating TOS!

[Nightingalia]

Just now, Drakkhis said:

I have figured out the new Gatcha... it shows the picture of what you are buying, after someone has purchased that Item is switches to a new random Item, so you know what you are buying but it is still random, who knows what is next

ooo~~ I actually really like this idea  but I doubt they'd sell it at a regular gacha price (75). In fact it would probably be about $200, which is ok I guess

[Rowan Amore]

2 minutes ago, Nightingalia said:

Just wondering- assuming that the gacha creators will turn their gacha products into regular sale items (like regular stores)

If I go and buy a ***** ton of gacha rn (usually $75 per item) and resell them when the gacha items turn full price (most products average around $300) for a discount ($80-$200), would that be profitable?
 

Only if people buy them.  Or you might be stuck like those people who bought up all the toilet paper and got stuck with a garage full when Amazon refused to let them sell.

[LittleMe Jewell]

46 minutes ago, Gryphon Ronas said:

The item you pay cannot be the item making the random selection.

It can if the random selection comes before you pay.  Push a button, you get a random item displayed. Buy it or walk away.

[Toothless Draegonne]

2 minutes ago, Nightingalia said:

Just wondering- assuming that the gacha creators will turn their gacha products into regular sale items (like regular stores)

If I go and buy a ***** ton of gacha rn (usually $75 per item) and resell them when the gacha items turn full price (most products average around $300) for a discount ($80-$200), would that be profitable?
 

If the item creator really wants to raise the price for some reason, that's on them.

And once you've run out of your stockpile, where you gonna get more from?

Yeah, voucher touts can go away. I'll happily pay the person who made the item, if I think the item is worth the money. I do have to ask though:

What's your opinion of GPU scalpers? 😄

[Coffee Pancake]

1 minute ago, Rowan Amore said:

As far as 7 seas fishing...

Even without dropping a dime on purchasable bait, all rods can catch Common, Uncommon, and Rare fish.

Yeah, 7S is a casual traffic / social game

[Rowan Amore]

3 minutes ago, Benton Torkelsonn said:

Well now... once again, let's punish everyone for the whining of a few.  So let's see if I understand the logic.  There are sims and groups in SL dedicated to racial superiority, carnality, depravity, sexual abuse and deviancy in every form, and that's just FINE.  BUT... and there is always a big ole furry but... they better not have a GACHA machine on the sim or they'll be violating TOS!

It wasn't done because people whined.  Did you read the blog post?

[Rris Greenfield]

There is a reason this is called a "got-ya".   Good riddance I say. :)

[LittleMe Jewell]

46 minutes ago, ChloeComeHither said:

And what about like claw machines and other games where you more than likely walk away with nothing?  By these definitions, every arcade in the U.S. would be considered a gambling den.

US law is full of exceptions.  Many laws written will have all sorts of "except" or "does not apply to" clauses. The people that create the laws can define them to include or exclude exactly what they want and everyone else just has to follow the laws.  So, if the laws, from the US and other countries, happen to say that items A, B, and C are Gachas and thus gambling, but that item D is not, then so be it.  

It does NOT matter a bit what anyone else's opinion is on any of it.

Edited August 3, 2021 by LittleMe Jewell

[Nightingalia]

Just now, Rowan Amore said:

Only if people buy them.  Or you might be stuck like those people who bought up all the toilet paper and got stuck with a garage full when Amazon refused to let them sell.

LOL

 

Just now, Toothless Draegonne said:

If the item creator really wants to raise the price for some reason, that's on them.

And once you've run out of your stockpile, where you gonna get more from?

Yeah, voucher touts can go away. I'll happily pay the person who made the item, if I think the item is worth the money. I do have to ask though:

What's your opinion of GPU scalpers? 😄

Well they're raising the price because selling the products normally means the consumer gets to choose which item to buy.

The reason why gachas generate money despite the low price is because you have to pay that low fee MULTIPLE times 

I think you already know that though?? I'm just having trouble understanding you >< Idk what you mean by stockpile.

what are GPU scalpers?

[Mollymews]

1 minute ago, Drakkhis said:

I have figured out the new Gatcha... it shows the picture of what you are buying, after someone has purchased that Item is switches to a new random Item, so you know what you are buying but it is still random, who knows what is next

while this might be a way to edge case around the regulations, i am not sure that Linden will be all that interested in defending this edge case against the regulators

as in effect people will just keep jamming pull money into the machine til the rare appears on the vendor. And as that rare appears thru some random process then it would probably make no difference to a regulator

[Drayke Newall]

2 minutes ago, Drakkhis said:

I have figured out the new Gatcha... it shows the picture of what you are buying, after someone has purchased that Item is switches to a new random Item, so you know what you are buying but it is still random, who knows what is next

That is exactly the same as a gacha. You are still forcing a person to pay for an item for the CHANCE based on a %  that the next item to appear to buy is the one they wanted. 

The laws that are banning these things have nothing to do with showing what you get. You can show every item that is possible to get and have your system, but you are still paying money for a chance that you get the item you want.

[hope Antonelli]

Well this is the last straw for some creators` . If a lot of them leave SL will be officially dead.

 

[LittleMe Jewell]

41 minutes ago, mistecho said:

Will this also have an impact on hunts where the items may not be known ahead of time, or you're not sure which hunt item contains which product?

I never thought about that.  Most hunts do charge L$1-5 per prize. Maybe they will simply all be required to show you a picture of the prize.  I'd be 100% for that idea anyway.

Along that same line, what about the "gifts" at events -- those things that are not really "gifts" because you have to usually pay L$10 for them and most of the time you have no clue what you are getting?  Another requirement for pictures, which is what I always prefer anyway.

[Prokofy Neva]

10 minutes ago, Drakkhis said:

I have figured out the new Gatcha... it shows the picture of what you are buying, after someone has purchased that Item is switches to a new random Item, so you know what you are buying but it is still random, who knows what is next

I fully expected the geniuses of SL to work around this latest robot, and you have not disappointed. They haven't banned Lucky Chairs which are free, but it's the same principle, only for pay,  you can see the thing, buy it or not, then wait for the next thing. They will have a new name and LL won't touch it. There will be other things like this. Thank you!  This idea will create traffic to stores. So get busy scripting it or someone should.

[chesse Vyceratops]

The method for creators to get around these restrictions might be to offer gacha items as a gift, spend x lindens at their store on their normal, non-gacha items and then you get a random (formerly)gacha item as a bonus gift. Your getting exactly what you paid for, plus a free tradable gift .

[Prokofy Neva]

3 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

I never thought about that.  Most hunts do charge L$1-5 per prize. Maybe they will simply all be required to show you a picture of the prize.  I'd be 100% for that idea anyway.

Along that same line, what about the "gifts" at events -- those things that are not really "gifts" because you have to usually pay L$10 for them and most of the time you have no clue what you are getting?  Another requirement for pictures, which is what I always prefer anyway.

99% of the time, you can click on the gift and look in the contents, which I always do, because I don't even want for free or $1 yet another piece of junk  in inventory.

[Toothless Draegonne]

1 minute ago, Nightingalia said:

LOL

 

Well they're raising the price because selling the products normally means the consumer gets to choose which item to buy.

The reason why gachas generate money despite the low price is because you have to pay that low fee MULTIPLE times 

I think you already know that though?? I'm just having trouble understanding you >< Idk what you mean by stockpile.

what are GPU scalpers?

Not speaking for everyone, but for me, no copy, no mod, no sale. Think I bought maybe one gacha thing back before they'd infected almost every store in SL, and that was ye olde Spooky Raptor. Span it once, modded the result. Any other spins were to give the vouchers away to people.

If you make it stupidly expensive, I'm not going to randomly gift stuff to people for funsies. I'll pick some other cheapo thing to give out a dozen of.

And if you don't know what GPU scalpers are, you've not been following the news for the last year and a half. Go forth and use a search engine, because it's a big enough subject in its own right.

[Drake1 Nightfire]

3 hours ago, Adeon Writer said:

Legit answer: They are banned in the US.

Why are Kinder Eggs banned in the US? The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act prohibits Kinder Eggs, as they don't allow confectionary products to contain a “non-nutritive object”. It bans "the sale of any candy that has embedded in it a toy or trinket", so obviously the tiny toy encased in a Kinder Egg doesn't pass.

So, not banned for gambling or having a "rare" toy in it.. 

[LittleMe Jewell]

13 minutes ago, Benton Torkelsonn said:

let's punish everyone for the whining of a few. 

You can bet that this has absolutely nothing to do with anyone in SL whining about anything.  LL would only make this move on the advice of their legal team -- whom they pay very highly, I have no doubt.

This is all about what is and is not legal in various countries, combined with the probability of other locales also making gacha illegal.

[LittleMe Jewell]

6 minutes ago, hope Antonelli said:

Well this is the last straw for some creators` . If a lot of them leave SL will be officially dead.

 

If I had even a single L$ for every time someone claims that SL "will be dead"......................

[Sandy Schnook]

2 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

If I had even a single L$ for every time someone claims that SL "will be dead"......................

15 1/2 years, the patient is still breathing fine.

[Marsellus Walcott]

1 minute ago, Prokofy Neva said:

I fully expected the geniuses of SL to work around this latest robot, and you have not disappointed. They haven't banned Lucky Chairs which are free, but it's the same principle, only for pay,  you can see the thing, buy it or not, then wait for the next thing. They will have a new name and LL won't touch it. There will be other things like this. Thank you!  This idea will create traffic to stores. So get busy scripting it or someone should.

The only problem I see with this is that a random person could make the purchase after you paid for an item and a new one shows up, if he's quick enough. So you would probably have to make some sort of "exclusivity timer" for every purchase and the next one. I guess.

Not sure how this would affect lag and the overal shopping experience, as people would have to patiently wait before they can actually purchase something. It could also possibly create some problem concerning who would have access to said vendor, after the current buyer is done. I guess that could also be corrected with a high number of vendors at the same place, which, again, I have no idea how it would affect lag and the likes.

It's a nice idea, but definitelly needs some polishing, imho.

[LittleMe Jewell]

6 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said:

99% of the time, you can click on the gift and look in the contents, which I always do, because I don't even want for free or $1 yet another piece of junk  in inventory.

Yes, but too often the object name is "blah blah hunt gift" - or they use Caspervend.