Totally flummoxed by the new Arcade

[Rowan Amore]

20 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

For those of us who have a predilection towards addictions, should we try this "Arcade", or avoid it?

Thanks,

Love

Avoid it regardless.

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

Maybe take the Arcade out back and shoot it.....

Edited September 5, 2022 by Kimmi Zehetbauer
Typo needed to be taken out back and shot.

[Rowan Amore]

Actually decided to.check.it out for the first time since there was a hair I was interested in.   Found the machine, the colors available were.not ones I wanted so didn't end up spending a dime.  Before, I may have tried a few times and given up.  In my opinion, the merchant is the only one who doesn't benefit from the new machines.  Consumers can spend less and resellers will spend what they always did but the merchant won't make as many sales.  I wouldn't even bother if I were a merchant.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Rowan Amore

[Chic Aeon]

5 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

Actually decided to.check.it out for the first time since there was a hair I was interested in.   Found the machine, the colors available were.not ones I wanted so didn't end up spending a dime.  Before, I may have tried a few times and given up.  In my opinion, the merchant is the only one who doesn't benefit from the new machines.  Consumers can spend less and resellers with spend what they always did but the merchant won't make as many sales.  I wouldn't even bother if I were a merchant.

While I have no personal evidence, I agree with your assumption. A lot of long time gacha folks are no longer making gacha type items. Once the "move the old gachas over to the conveyer machines" crazed faded, they just stopped.  I don't see too many return folks at The Arcade.  I have gone over to the Next Up event but I think I skimmed through Seraphim listings and nothing I could use.    

 

My best events ever were gachas and I made a ton and I was always a "petite" fish in the pond.  Some creators at these events may just being doing it to be supportive of the event OR just for visibility. That is true with many creators at the regular events so I would suspect it transfers over. 

[diamond Marchant]

5 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

For those of us who have a predilection towards addictions, should we try this "Arcade", or avoid it?

The Arcade is a shopping event like any other, no more or less addictive. For many in SL, myself included, shopping is a primary activity. I believe that SL would not exist without shopping and is a key feature in virtual worlds. Arcade is fun because it has an "anything goes" feel, that is, you never know what you will find. Also you can resell an item  (another activity YaY). As with all shopping, I only buy clothing if there is a demo or if I have purchased from the creator previously. Arcade is a good place for decor, like the lockbox below, now in my Sakura.

Concerning creator participation, all spaces appear full. During the transition from the old gatchas to the new machines, this was not always the case.

Edited September 5, 2022 by diamond Marchant

[Chic Aeon]

44 minutes ago, diamond Marchant said:

Concerning creator participation, all spaces appear full. During the transition from the old gatchas to the new machines, this was not always the case.

But not necessarily with the same quality of goods. Some folks that were at The Arcade regularly in the past are no longer there.  And even many of those that were there earlier in the year are gone too.  Those seem to be mostly the folks that I want to buy from. 

If you watch events in general there has been a steady decline over the last three years even before COVID.  The events are often full but as mentioned on other threads are frequently filled with shapes and tattoos and makeup and ODD products, not item from the more skilled creators. Many "orignal mesh only" events are now accepting template work (not a bad thing, but a sign that event owners are trolling in deeper waters).  This isn't every event but it is a very visible theme.   

I don't know that there is any solution except that some creators are dong more inworld marketing -- and then of course there are the constant sales.  It is all part of the SL economy and we can like it or not,; it just is.  

I put out some new releases this year and was in a few major events but I think I am going to join the ranks of "customer service'.  For me, it's not that fun any longer. That of course can change again down the line. I hope so.  

[Persephone Emerald]

On 9/3/2022 at 3:42 PM, Love Zhaoying said:

Ahah! Explains why they chose billiard balls. Billiards / pool is a "skill game"!

Actually, this idea suggests a good game. Billiards in which each ball you pocket gives you a particular item. Win the game & sink the 8-ball to get the best item (eg, the HUD version). You'd have to play with another person to compete for the best items.

[Lindal Kidd]

I like this, Persephone! Sadly, LL is not authorizing any new Skill Games, unless something's changed that I haven't heard about (not unusual, that.)

Besides, if they classed it as a Skill Game (which, IMO, it is) then ordinary merchants couldn't use it. They'd have to partner up with someone who has a Skill Gaming region.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Lindal Kidd

[Persephone Emerald]

3 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

I like this, Persephone! Sadly, LL is not authorizing any new Skill Games, unless something's changed that I haven't heard about (not unusual, that.)

Besides, if they classed it as a Skill Game (which, IMO, it is) then ordinary merchants couldn't use it. They'd have to partner up with someone who has a Skill Gaming region.

What if they don't call it a Skill Game?  Escape Rooms give prizes. So do hunts. These kinds of games involve some level of skill, yet they're not classed as "Skill Games".

[EliseAnne85]

On 9/4/2022 at 11:27 AM, Arduenn Schwartzman said:

Just like doing drugs, alcohol, and (other forms of) gambling, right?

I believe we are our brother's and sister's keeper in some ways because we are here to help one another.   

But, most of us are addicted to 'something'.  People on SL could be addicted to shopping too. 

For me, I think it's caffeine, nicotine, chocolate. So, we can't help each other with everything.  Some things we have to do for ourselves.  If a person asks for help, I think that's a big difference.

I just wanted to say one thing really though and it was about Cracker Jacks.  Cracker Jacks came with an unknown surprise in every box.  I believe their slogan was "there is a prize in every box of Cracker Jacks".  It made me wonder what is the difference between a prize, a surprise, and gambling.  So, if we bought Cracker Jacks as kids, we were "gambling"?  I think I just wanted a prize.  And, I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting a surprise prize.   

Edited September 6, 2022 by EliseAnne85

[Persephone Emerald]

1 hour ago, EliseAnne85 said:

I believe we are our brother's and sister's keeper in some ways because we are here to help one another.   

But, most of us are addicted to 'something'.  People on SL could be addicted to shopping too. 

For me, I think it's caffeine, nicotine, chocolate. So, we can't help each other with everything.  Some things we have to do for ourselves.  If a person asks for help, I think that's a big difference.

I just wanted to say one thing really though and it was about Cracker Jacks.  Cracker Jacks came with an unknown surprise in every box.  I believe their slogan was "there is a prize in every box of Cracker Jacks".  It made me wonder what is the difference between a prize, a surprise, and gambling.  So, if we bought Cracker Jacks as kids, we were "gambling"?  I think I just wanted a prize.  And, I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting a surprise prize.   

Same issue with gumball machines. I wonder how many parents wouldn't let their kids drop a quarter into a machine that would give them a random toy? How many of us got addicted to gambling because random toy machines started us down that slippery slope? Not many I bet. 😉  (I think Scratchers could do that though.)

The problem with SL random item machines might be that the money doesn't seem as real as quarters, so we don't notice how much we're spending?

Edited September 6, 2022 by Persephone Emerald

[EliseAnne85]

26 minutes ago, Persephone Emerald said:

How many of us got addicted to gambling because random toy machines started us down that slippery slope? Not many i bet. 😉  

LOL.  I dunno about others but I like getting a random surprise prize every once in awhile.  I'm not a real life gambler either.  I don't care for gambling.  

I have to say that some of those gachas were breathtaking.  ANC was one who had truly magical gachas.  I'd buy at yardsales.   However, I bought once in awhile, not much.

Me and hubby let the kids have quarters to play the prize machine.  A few tries and then that's it and a few quarters gone.

The Cracker Jack prizes were really excellent though a long time ago.  Today, decades later, I don't know.  I don't eat Cracker Jack's anymore.  

Edited September 6, 2022 by EliseAnne85

[Mowri Panache]

On 9/3/2022 at 7:33 PM, Bree Giffen said:

I never played those gatchas or post-gatcha games. Just never appealed to me. Maybe if someone made a good skee ball game. 

I had an awesome skee-ball game a few years ago! Forget where I bought it but it tracks too players and hands out prizes and tickets etc. Really cool. 

[Marianne Little]

13 hours ago, Chic Aeon said:

It is day 5 now and I have tried repeatedly (not premium) and it has been full down to 35 people. I am wondering if some folks are just STAYIING there and waiting for the huds to reset for another day?   Pretty selfish but I haven't seen it this busy in a VERY long time and for me it doesn't seem like all that great a round.    HMMMMMMM.    

I didn't see much of interest there either. A skin, jewelry, a fatpack of clothes. Nothing I must have - maybe offering the fatpacks to an astronomical price was smart?

People are comparing the fatpack price to the pull price, and people go "Ooo... I save money here if I play a bit"?

Or am I totally wrong. Maybe I am behind on what's popular, and what The Arcade offer now is the best of the best. 

 

[Chic Aeon]

4 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

Maybe I am behind on what's popular, and what The Arcade offer now is the best of the best.

LOL   well I am thinking "not" there :D.  There are still some good brands there but in my mind it was much better when we had the Seraphim Arcade Yard Sale era.  I still enjoy it.  

 

Finally got in last night and early this morning. Just played for a few rares to blog and then pass along.  Got three with only having to buy two items that weren't rares so pretty good.  But with alts going also I have only seen the rares on the five machines I have been playing on  four times ANYWHERE in the list. Three times I purchased. 

 

In the past rounds I was a LOT luckier.  If I keep going for a few days I will have a better feeling about the rares quantities coming up. Not a big deal. There were some gachas that I played and never ever in years got a rare from those creators. There wasn't anything there that I wanted for myself though anyway. So all good.   

[Sorina Garrigus]

These sound more like random gambling vendors rather than arcade anything. I grew up in the 80s ... the arcades didn't have people buying random pool balls. They were Pacman, Galaga and Defender. 

[Ardy Lay]

On 9/5/2022 at 2:36 PM, Rowan Amore said:

Actually decided to.check.it out for the first time since there was a hair I was interested in.   Found the machine, the colors available were.not ones I wanted so didn't end up spending a dime.  Before, I may have tried a few times and given up.  In my opinion, the merchant is the only one who doesn't benefit from the new machines.  Consumers can spend less and resellers will spend what they always did but the merchant won't make as many sales.  I wouldn't even bother if I were a merchant.

Correct me if I am wrong:  If you could have directly purchased the single item you wanted then the vendor would have made a sale.

[Rowan Amore]

37 minutes ago, Ardy Lay said:

Correct me if I am wrong:  If you could have directly purchased the single item you wanted then the vendor would have made a sale.

Yes which is my point really.  This is my first venture to the new arcade and first time using the new system for 'gachas'.   I did go back today and spent 150L on 2 pulls and got the rare hair and the color HUD I wanted.  The store.usually sells a single.color for 200L.  I normally buy one if not two colors spending 400L.  On me, they lost money having the hair at the arcade.   

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

1 hour ago, Sorina Garrigus said:

These sound more like random gambling vendors rather than arcade anything. I grew up in the 80s ... the arcades didn't have people buying random pool balls. They were Pacman, Galaga and Defender. 

It's still a form of gambling and sadly the Lab condones those "vendor" type things.

[Blaise Glendevon]

4 hours ago, Ardy Lay said:

Correct me if I am wrong:  If you could have directly purchased the single item you wanted then the vendor would have made a sale.

If you could have directly purchased the item - for example, a Glam Affair skin - you would pay much more than the pull price of $L 50 or 75. The discount is part of the game, too.

[Lysistrata Szapira]

Funny thing about the comments about training children to like gambling through gumball machines:  there are these doll sets I see in Target and other stores all the time now.  You don't know what you're getting, other than it's a doll (usually tiny) and/or its accessories.  I got one once just out of curiosity.  

Same goes for beauty boxes where one cannot see what one is getting. I grabbed one at Meijer the other day just out of curiosity.  It was cheap ($5), but I was still disappointed because I did not get any (what I would consider) beauty products. I got some Chapstick, some shampoo samples, etc.  There was no makeup, blush, or eyeshadow which is what I consider beauty products.  I was kind of miffed about it because the package illustration basically showed makeup, blush, and eyeshadow.  

At least with these new Arcade machines, I know what I'm getting, and I get to decide if I'm willing to buy a few unwanted items to get the ones I want.  I didn't get that choice with the doll and beauty boxes.  I might buy one item to get the item I want, but I no longer will play multiple times.  It's really annoying when I want a common item that just will NOT show up anywhere in the stack (7 days and 2 avatars, and I still haven't gotten the common I want).  

NextUp event started today, and I saw one store that had 45(!) items in its machine. That's a big fat NOPE. 

[Persephone Emerald]

59 minutes ago, Blaise Glendevon said:

If you could have directly purchased the item - for example, a Glam Affair skin - you would pay much more than the pull price of $L 50 or 75. The discount is part of the game, too.

The chance of getting what one wants on the first try are pretty low. With this new version of the game, one can calculate how much they're willing to spend to get the item they want. 

[Chic Aeon]

5 hours ago, Kimmi Zehetbauer said:

It's still a form of gambling and sadly the Lab condones those "vendor" type things.

The only actual GAMBLING is when folks keep playing even though they don't see their number coming up. THEN they are gambling that it might come up -- what seven numbers away? Folks that have gambling addictions (and I know one in RL) will gamble on most anything. There really isn't much we can do about that. 

 

That is completely on THEM IMO.   I just keep coming back and have found three rares in the bottom slot === and bought.   Actually I haven't KEPT anything as this was so not my round theme wise.  Still I like to "play" and so if I get a rare I send it on to friends that actually want it :D.  That works too.  

 

I will say after playing a few days and with alts that I see the rares much less often than in the previous round. That might just be "me" (the typist) and bad luck OR either the hud or the creators choices are making it more difficult to get rares. In the case of this event, I don't know how it works. 

 

[Rowan Amore]

2 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

The only actual GAMBLING is when folks keep playing even though they don't see their number coming up. THEN they are gambling that it might come up -- what seven numbers away? Folks that have gambling addictions (and I know one in RL) will gamble on most anything. There really isn't much we can do about that. 

 

That is completely on THEM IMO.   I just keep coming back and have found three rares in the bottom slot === and bought.   Actually I haven't KEPT anything as this was so not my round theme wise.  Still I like to "play" and so if I get a rare I send it on to friends that actually want it :D.  That works too.  

 

I will say after playing a few days and with alts that I see the rares much less often than in the previous round. That might just be "me" (the typist) and bad luck OR either the hud or the creators choices are making it more difficult to get rares. In the case of this event, I don't know how it works. 

 

The sellers probably realized that they weren't making the kind of money they used to make at this event.  Rares less often, people will spend more.  I didn't.  Some will.  

And it's NOT gambling IMO no matter how you look at it.  There is no risk in not getting what you pay for.  You know exactly what it is beforehand.  

Not sure why people don't grasp the difference yet.

Is it a stupid way to sell?  Sure is.  The item I got cost me far less than if they had offered the same hair as a regular product.  Using your alts to play is the best way to get what you want without buying what you don't want.  Win win for the consumer.  Loss for the creator.    I think as this continues on, we'll see even less quality products and many stores not even bothering with it.

[Chic Aeon]

1 hour ago, Rowan Amore said:

The sellers probably realized that they weren't making the kind of money they used to make at this event.  Rares less often, people will spend more.  I didn't.  Some will.  

And it's NOT gambling IMO no matter how you look at it.  There is no risk in not getting what you pay for.  You know exactly what it is beforehand.  

Not sure why people don't grasp the difference yet.

Is it a stupid way to sell?  Sure is.  The item I got cost me far less than if they had offered the same hair as a regular product.  Using your alts to play is the best way to get what you want without buying what you don't want.  Win win for the consumer.  Loss for the creator.    I think as this continues on, we'll see even less quality products and many stores not even bothering with it.

Agreed. 

That being said I do enjoy the "MYSTERY" of "will I get the rare I am after this time" so there is an entertainment value mixed in there.   As I have already said a LOT of folks that used to make gachas (including me) are no longer doing it.  Fun and profitable while it lasted.  

 

I will -- if I actually want something for myself which was not the case this round -- buy an extra item or two to get what I want (sometime the rare and sometimes not).  Then pass along the extras to friends. 

There are some concepts that are just hard for people to grasp so best that we don't worry about it LOL.