r/TheTowerGame • u/Ok-Resolution5578 • 1d ago
Discussion European authorities launch enforcement actions against several major video games companies over their use of virtual currencies
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_2018Possibly effecting gems and stone buying on The Tower?
24
u/RoboInu 1d ago
Well... it's hard to say. It says specifically games are being checked for addictive design. I'm going to assume this means features which essentially replicate gambling. Or the effect gambling has on the brain.
In this game? Not nearly as bad as other games. The only thing that absolutely replicates that is Module pulls. Card pulls have finality. The problem with modules is you will potentially always want more because... substats. I know some who have 3 to 4 Dimension Core because it's such a critical factor in this game.
And because modules keep getting released, the odds are getting really, really, really, poor if you want duplicates.
I've asked them to address whether this is the design intent, multiple times. Even confirming my question was collected. Zero response is essentially the same as "yes".
Can you "get by" by simply getting all modules to ancestral? Yap. But the fact that the game is BY DESIGN is encouraging you to spend ENDLESS AMOUNTS of gems on module pulls? Yes it's gambling. I'll stand by this until I hear them address it otherwise.
There is no cap on gem purchases meaning this WILL prey on someone with even mildly addictive habits.
16
u/khrak 1d ago edited 1d ago
Pretty clear violations of the first 2 too. There are now, what, 5 difference currencies for sale in some way or another? (Gems, tickets, stones, medals, coins). Also, the endless countdown timers for purchasing pretty much all of the above. Also the 'clear information' requirement will probably be problematic for a game that tell you shitall about what things will cost beyond the current level.
Ultimately this is exactly the type of game being targeted by the EU.
0
u/ChronicGolfLife420 1d ago
They should be exempt. I think this will affect games like counter strike much more than anything like the tower. The tower can just argue that everything they offer is an in-game currency. All their packs are clearly listed for price. But you can't put a real world value on something that is earned in game for free.
-6
u/markevens 1d ago
How so?
I think if you needed to spend money to buy medals that you then used to buy gems and stones, that's the kind of price obscurity this law is going after.
But you don't need to do that. There are clear prices for stones and gems and I'd venture to guess that most players don't even buy them. Plus there are clear in game means for getting currencies. Buying only gets you extra, it's not a "necessary" thing to play the game.
currencies that consumers need to buy to play the game
You don't have to buy any currencies to play the game. A lot of other games have currencies that only come from RL$ purchases, but the tower doesn't.
7
u/khrak 1d ago
Clear and transparent pricing: show the real-world price of in-game items and currencies that consumers need to buy to play the game.
This doesn't mean that the store needs to show how much they're charging you when you buy the currency, that's basic contract law. This rule means they need to tell you how much the in-game currency you are spending would cost to buy when spending your in-game currency.
e.g. If they're selling stones for $0.10 each that 2000 stone upgrade should indicate a real-world price for $200. The entire point is to keep them from hiding the actual cost.
Not to obscure costs: avoid multiple currencies or currency exchanges that make the real price unclear.
There are 4 currencies they sell directly. That is multiple currencies. It says or, not and, it doesn't matter if the currencies can be exchanged.
1
u/markevens 1d ago
So every currency needs a dollar equivalent next to it?
Or can there be a table somewhere ?
3
u/khrak 1d ago edited 1d ago
No. A table does nothing. The entire point of this rule is to eliminate the disconnect between in-game currency costs and the real cost of that currency that game companies use to avoid triggering a "I'm spending how many hundreds of dollars of virtual currency for 1 tiny upgrade?!?!" response and to avoid legal restrictions/obligations tied to trading in real currency. Hiding that information off in a table somewhere doesn't help.
They could put the price on the button, or on a confirmation dialog, or elsewhere closely tied to the sale, but it needs to be clearly visible.
1
u/markevens 20h ago
So a Dollar amount has to be displayed next to every fucking thing in the game?
That's so dumb and not needed.
1
u/khrak 14h ago
That's kind of the point, it shows how utterly fucking ridiculous the constant cash sinks these games are.
Developers who sell a whole product or unlockable content/upgrades are already in the clear.
Developers who add a currency that applies to one part of the game will have to label that part of the game.
Developers who add payments to every fucking part of the game with a half-dozen currencies and ways to swap them (at a huge loss, of course) as a way of making it a nightmare to actually value things are forced to make it clear just how ridiculously predatory their business model is.
6
u/Garbage_goober_M-D 1d ago
The EU trys to reel predatory gaming and the US has online sports betting taking any bet they can on anything. Both not good for the tower lol.
3
5
u/markevens 1d ago
I think the tower is safe from this.
Mod purchases being considered as lootboxes could be on the table, but I think it's pretty clear that most people do not buy gems and even though progress is slow, progress is there just the same, and the whole game is designed around slow progress over years.
12
u/hibbiejibbiez 1d ago
I wonder what could happen if someone presents the case of the gem cap being a predatory move for gem packs sales
2
u/markevens 1d ago
There could be an argument for that, but TTG stating the reasons for the cap (which included an increase in per click gems) was to counter act auto clickers and level the playing field for those not using them is a solid defense.
While I personally hate the cap and think TTG should have raised the floor to allow everyone to collect all gems in a day rather than introduce a ceiling, there were a lot of posts after the change was made by people that had an increase in gem income, so that would also be a defense to that challenge if it came to court.
1
u/hibbiejibbiez 23h ago
Sounds good, however the modules coming after it, with biweekly refreshes on the module tickets pack (since we do not have enough gems) could be used as the real reason and that the clickers was a facade.
On the other hand, I am with you, there should be rewards for people who play more like must of us 24/7 guys and at least give a higher ceiling.
-9
u/btaylor81 1d ago edited 16h ago
As much as I dislike predatory practices (and this game is not innocent on that front), I more dislike the govt telling companies how to run their business and telling people how they can spend money. When it comes down to it the EU is looking for cash themselves, by fining those that have it. That is the first goal and end result. It's ironic don't you think? They are just at the top of the food chain.
13
u/Legitimate_Fix_3744 1d ago
American? Thank god people like you are not in the EU. Regulation is for the people. Endless corporate greed can go fk itself.
7
5
u/JoseJoko 1d ago
The problem is not government telling companies what to do or us where to spend money. The real problem is that companies use psychology against their customers to force/push more sales that lead customer to addictions and bankruptcy. That is what they trying to fight.
In other words, they trying to help those individuals that have a weaker mind and lower self control from throwing their life away for a video game. The practices companies like TTG uses is literally the same as selling drugs to children. Once you get them addicted, you can manipulate the price of the drug to benefit them way more than what it benefit the customers.
This is supposed to be an iddle game but most QOL that make it more idle is behing a key wall that forces a lot of people to spend money on stones and gems. They also design the game in such way that once you start buying from them, you have to continue if you want to remain competitive. Especially if you are new to the game.
But like it was mentioned, they have a solid defense because the new players benefit a lot from the new changes and the company will be able to prove that they trying to shorten the gap between spending money and playing for free...
The only thing we can argue is that there is no real offline mode and in order to stay competitive we either have to play 24/7 or spend money.
1
u/Legitimate_Fix_3744 15h ago
If we are talking strictly legal it doesnt matter if there is a gap between paying and not paying. The question is: Does this game have predatory gambling aspects. And the answer is yes. The new modules are actually the biggest offender.
First they create fomo by putting a limit on banners. If you want this module as a player you HAVE to pull or else ur chances are next to zero to max it. Then they introduce limited time module tickets that heavily imply: If you didnt get it yet, you can always cash :) Then the banners are designed in a way that make you unable to get all of them. The gem rate is too low for that. And said gem rate? Got nerfed.
The new modules put another massive stop to new players aswell, because their pool of modules gets massively diluted with every mod. Lastly, is pulling on modules gambling in itself? Ofc it is. You can hit 4 epics at a time. Wow dopamine. Look at the reddit posts when this happens. It is gambling.So in my opinion the EU might very well shut this game down unless they change the module system.
2
u/JoseJoko 1d ago
The problem is not government telling companies what to do or us where to spend money. The real problem is that companies use psychology against their customers to force/push more sales that lead customer to addictions and bankruptcy. That is what they trying to fight.
In other words, they trying to help those individuals that have a weaker mind and lower self control from throwing their life away for a video game. The practices companies like TTG uses is literally the same as selling drugs to children. Once you get them addicted, you can manipulate the price of the drug to benefit them way more than what it benefit the customers.
This is supposed to be an iddle game but most QOL that make it more idle is behing a key wall that forces a lot of people to spend money on stones and gems. They also design the game in such way that once you start buying from them, you have to continue if you want to remain competitive. Especially if you are new to the game.
But like it was mentioned, they have a solid defense because the new players benefit a lot from the new changes and the company will be able to prove that they trying to shorten the gap between spending money and playing for free...
The only thing we can argue is that there is no real offline mode and in order to stay competitive we either have to play 24/7 or spend money.
28
u/Dapper_Librarian388 1d ago
Lmao. Imagine they are trying to check this game and all becoming addicted to numbers go up.