Those who enjoy playing video games know how easy it is to get fully absorbed into a game. A quick 10-minute play session can quickly turn into hours of gameplay.
It wasn’t all that long ago that enjoying a video game meant going to purchase it from the store and having full access to the game. However, in modern gaming, features such as paying to have to recharge or paying for special items are common.
To some people, having to pay to continue playing a game might seem like a minor inconvenience. However, for other players, the need to pay to continue playing a game becomes a compulsive impulse. This impulse is actually a form of addictive behavior. Many game developers are aware of this addictive behavior and are using it to increase their revenue.
Play-to-Win and Loot Boxes
Most games have the same basic mechanics, no matter the genre: to complete a series of tasks and unlock harder objectives. However, now that many games can connect to the internet, developers have realized that players will pay real money to complete an objective more quickly.
Most of the time, this payment happens in one of two ways. One is known as the “Play-to-Win” method, where players will pay to skip the objective or pay to unlock a new area. The other method is known as “Loot Boxes”, where players pay to receive a mystery “box” of virtual items that will enhance their gameplay.
