Abstract
Problematic gaming and problematic gambling have become more intertwined with each other due to the rising popularity of mobile gacha games. Gacha games, by nature, encourage its players to spend money for rewards or to advance through the
game. By spending real life money, players can obtain in-game currencies which they can use to obtain characters, weapons, or other rewards that are advantageous to the player. Obtaining these rewards, however, are not always guaranteed the desired
outcome. By putting in more currencies, thus spending more real-life money, increases the chance of getting those rewards, which is essentially gambling. In some games, more rewards can be obtained if players compete with other players. This system encourages players to spend more in order to beat others and it’s always faster to spend money than playing. Long term of irresponsible spending could result to problematic gambling. Using literature review and in-depth interview, the study was conducted on a 24-year-old male from Vietnam, a former mobile gacha game player who went through problematic gambling by spending a hefty amount of money on games to the point of not being able to support himself during a period of time. Due to his competitiveness, he spent more than 20.000 USD on more than ten different gacha games because of the fulfilling feeling of winning against other players.
game. By spending real life money, players can obtain in-game currencies which they can use to obtain characters, weapons, or other rewards that are advantageous to the player. Obtaining these rewards, however, are not always guaranteed the desired
outcome. By putting in more currencies, thus spending more real-life money, increases the chance of getting those rewards, which is essentially gambling. In some games, more rewards can be obtained if players compete with other players. This system encourages players to spend more in order to beat others and it’s always faster to spend money than playing. Long term of irresponsible spending could result to problematic gambling. Using literature review and in-depth interview, the study was conducted on a 24-year-old male from Vietnam, a former mobile gacha game player who went through problematic gambling by spending a hefty amount of money on games to the point of not being able to support himself during a period of time. Due to his competitiveness, he spent more than 20.000 USD on more than ten different gacha games because of the fulfilling feeling of winning against other players.
Original language | Indonesian |
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Pages (from-to) | 340-347 |
Journal | Psyche 165 Journal |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 4 |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2024 |
Keywords
- competitive attitude
- in-game currencies
- problematic gambling
- problematic gaming
- mobile gacha games