Comment by JakeAl | Hacker News Reader

Comment by JakeAl | Hacker News Reader

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and NFT JPEGs. I agree, there's a lot of things people spend their money on, the collectibles industry for example is known for this. Luxury goods appeal to people projecting status because of brand names. Your question is valid, why do we only care about this specific form? In this instance I think it's because it's about designing apps to be addictive, although I don't really agree with that being the case here. There's online or even digital slot machines that are not designed to be addictive, they are just virtual slot machines. Then there's trading crypto, options and stocks, industries whose marketing and pump schemes are all about projecting an image and manipulating emotions to convince people to buy into what are often scams if not an inversion narrative (which is where you buy into a system rigged against you by some kind of monopoly that when you look at the mechanics functions exactly the way a Ponzi scheme does). I also don't think you are deflecting.

> Your question is valid, why do we only care about this specific form?

Why do you think people only care about this specific form? It's definitely one of the most discussed forms but I'd think that's mainly because it's a relatively novel medium.

I feel much the same way about betting shops, luxury brands, etc. as I do these "games". Luxury brands are often particularly detestable. It has become almost impossible to determine whether you're paying for a good quality product or just burning money. Even when of good quality, brands often go far beyond what could be considered moral. Hermes springs to mind in particular, convincing people to debase themselves in the hopes of being offered the chance to purchase an overpriced bag.

In this case, I believe the point is the lack of gatekeeping. For Luxury brands, you have to have that amount to start getting them. For physical casinos, you have to leave your dwelling to go there. However, for these sorts of games not only is it easy, but almost forced on people that play any other ad-based game. I know people don't have to click on the ad, but they do. In fact, realistically that's probably 90-95% of the games out there - start free, then have players pay to get "better" virtual items/outcomes. Futhermore, once you start those same factors are amplified. Instead of having to go somewhere else, you can game at any time, so there is even less reason to have second thoughts about it.

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