Since 2020, Gacha Games have seen a remarkable increase. Users love Gacha Games due to their stories, characters, and background visuals. Sometimes they are compared to actual video games that cost much more to make, but what makes them even better is that they are free to play.
Which begs the question: How do the companies that make these games make any money at all?
Well, that’s how they get their name: Gacha Games. Gacha Games are free to play games that you can play on mobile devices and computers, and sometimes even game systems. They use virtual, randomized mechanics that entice players to spend real money on the game, unlocking rare characters and items. The big problem with this is that it could leave people addicted to gambling, from adults to even kids.
The second in game currency that you need to get these characters or gear in gacha games are very limited and very rare to get in game which usually leaves people to spend real money to get more of the second in game currency to get more gear and characters. And to top it all the banners of the gear or character are sometimes limited for a few weeks at best leaving you to wait months and maybe even years to get that specific character or gear you want.
This usually leaves people to use actual money to pay for the in-game item that you need to get characters or gear, encouraging adults and kids to gamble their money away to get the character they want. This could make adults and kids addicted to gambling which could lead to very bad consequences in the future.
People become addicted to gambling due to it giving you a big dopamine rush. The game makes you feel good when you do win, due to the high stakes of gambling and what you could lose. They do it for the high stakes and to have that same high they get when they finally win, but they don’t really think about the consequences at all. The same goes for gacha games, players think about the high/ how good they’ll feel when they finally get the character or gear under a limited time limit, and never think about the consequences of spending a lot of real money for in-game currency just to get the character or gear they want.
An article from Texas A&M University called “Opinion: Gacha games pose increasing threat for younger players” by Arnold Rabago talks about more reasons why and how gacha games pose a threat for younger players. It talks about how gacha games have similar system to gambling due to the small chance of getting an amazing item/characters by rolling for them, saving or buying in game currency, which could lead kids and adults very addicted to gambling, Possibly leading them to financial ruin in the future or worse if they aren’t careful with their money. It also talks about how the players that are most likely to gamble due to gacha games are the younger generation of people with Gen Z having 69% of participating in gambling.
Gacha games could affect the new generation of kids. As they get older and older they’ll find out about Gacha games, when their older ones see how fun they are and once they get into it and find out about the main Mechanic of all gacha games they’ll get addicted to it. Just like the generation before them.
I’m not saying that people shouldn’t play gacha games all together, like i said before a lot of gacha games are very fun with amazing stories and characters some might say even better than bigger video games that do cost money. I’m saying that if you do play them, try not to spend a lot of money on them or even play something else for a change of pace.
And for parents, if you have a younger kid please watch what they are playing or watching on the internet and if you don’t, don’t blame video games once they are addicted blame yourself for not watching over what they’re doing or playing on the internet. You don’t have to be a strict or protective parent to do this, just from time to time see what they are playing or doing once in a while.
