#genshinimpact #genshin #videogames
With the recent surfacing of events and my personal interest in this topic, I want to show you the various ways that Genshin Impact entices its audiences to wish.
DISCLAIMER: This is just a study into psychological marketing tactics used by casinos and brands alike, and how they have correlations with Gacha games. It’s a fascinating topic to think of when considering how addictive lootbox gaming can become.
MUSIC: Kevin Macleod
CREDIT:
Footage for the Abyss Sibling Reveal 1.4 Archon Quest: LyurGG
SONG: Kevin Macleod – Canon in D Major
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Game with Aster: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCObcAMHFLVLRqPFGgQZheXw
Voices with Aster:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_aM8qMoWHIZkGOJ96x2Jg
https://twitch.tv/livewithaster
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instagram: @chillwithaster |
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Again, this video wasn't made to start putting pitchforks and say "MIHOYO IS TURNING US ALL INTO GAMBLING ADDICTS.". It's not that simple and Genshin is an amazing standalone game. It's just an analysis on the potential reasons how genshin uses its gacha system and how it advertises its own gacha system to the audience.
I'm a gacha veteran, and I do think that Genshin having an F2P form of pity does make it better than FGO or Cookie Run Kingdom. CRK is very generous, but the lack of pity does make getting screwed over easier as there's not really a net. And 180 isn't that bad in a vacum as compared to say Arknights' 300 to buy a limited character (yes, people do get that unlucky despite AK's soft pity). Really, its just that accumulating primogems is slow, and while i'll acknowledge that there is less of a need to get the new character, I do think that Mihoyo's relative stinginess does hamper the relatively good system. (Unlike the generous chad Hypergryph that gives a lot of stuff during anniversaries, and donated money to content creators in a fan content spring gala lmao)
Me relying to hardwork, no spending needed, just enjoying the stress free adventure life ( well in spiral abyss I do tend stress for not achieving 3 star at floor 12 and not getting 5 star in wishes, well don't matter) as I said, enjoying the game is more important. As long the enemies get killed, that's all that matters. Sorry for the English HAHAHAHA
I feel that I pull because I see many youtube video that hype the new character. If I like the character I pull, but I never go fo constellations.
HAH! I am F2P BTW, doesnt affect me, while I am here, I just wanna thank all the Whales, Dolphin Leviathans, Shrimps, cthulhu out there that donated to Mihoyo while I play the game for free, listen to free concert, awesome soundtracks and character marketings. I am blessed to be a F2p btw yo!
I'm not addicted to gacha but I recognize that after a pull I'm like "What if the next pull is a 5
?".
i mean as for casinos not giving consolation prizes, i think its fine as the majority of the games, mostly poker derivatives, are very skill based
It’s not addictive. We’re just forced to do another pity when we fail to get what we want on the 50-50, it’s not as complicated as you make it sound.We know we can get it in theoretically one pull since it’s gacha and that’s what we all want but at the same time we’re not dumb, we’re seasoned veterans in gacha long enough to know pity is the “realistic expectation” who the fk wants to do wishes more than they would like to for just one copy. having a title using the word “casino” in a gacha game is just not the best way to send a message.
What do you mean, "it's not a good idea to pull on the Noelle's banner"? I got Jean, Mona and Ningguang on Noelle's banner!
Genshin is pretty less aggressive tho. I've played other gachas before and while they try so hard to keep you pulling (powercreeping and pvp, to me is the greatest way they tell you that you need that new character) i never really felt compelled to spend money. Those games had very cool character designs too and all. But the aggression is what turns me off. On the otherhand, Genshin is pretty chill. It entices its players but it's the community that further heightens the hype of the banners (at least for me, it is.) Tho i have been able to control my wishing, admittedly, i do buy the welkins every other month to further save up on the primos. I felt that with the amount of effort that the developers put into the game (not to say that those other gachas didn't put up any effort at all) plus the fact that the company really did invest on the game (not just making beautiful sceneries and aesthetically pleasing character designs, but the amazing soundtrack and the orchestras that they work with to play those themes) i felt that they do deserve to receive something back.
HOW. OLD. ARE. YOU. ur voice sounds like it could belong either to a teen boy or a older-than-teens girl,
but the essay's so good that i'm confused.
For me how people need protection and their parents really should have teach them better.
I NEED A C6 GANYU!
For me the gacha is not addicting, i can control my urge, the difference between genshin and other gacha game is
1: its open world
2: its not bullshit 3D trailer gameplay to a bullshit 2D gameplay(chibi form) like most of other gacha game
3: real action instead of turn based
I do hate one thing though
The bullshit resin system, but this is ccp to blame and those stupid people in china who play 24hours without stopping
Every time I see or hear someone talking about "building pity", I die a little bit inside
"Building pity" serves literally no purpose because, even if you put aside the fact you take the risk to completely negate your efforts by having a character you don't actually want (which is a terrible thing to happen), what you spend on that "building" can just as efficiently be used in one go when the character you want has its banner. Why is this even a thing ? Why do people take risks like that when they can just *wait*. They lose nothing at waiting.
I am a whale but I am not rich so I also would like to remind people that is not bad to spend money on a game you love as I also love this game but always make sure you have money to live for the rest of the month. I personally adjusted my spending in a way to save up money for Honkai Impact 3RD and Genshin Impact, so it something you would need to consider if you plan on becoming a whale. If you become a whale just have fun!
The scary thing is, I knew and understood all these tricks, but I still spent more money than I should to get Ganyu because the next rerun may be a year from now. And after getting Ganyu, I was like why not just spend a few more dollars to get the Amos bow for her. At the end, I just kinda convince myself to view it as a donation/reward to mihoyo for creating a great game with great music, great PV, and great events.
the sad part is that i’ve heard a lot of ppl say they secretly take money out of their parents wallet just to spend money. heck even an ex friend of mine said they’ve spent over $3,000 of their parents money in secret and yes they do have every character.
as for me i’d say i fall into the gacha trap sometimes if i rly like the character i’d spend like a $100 on the banner. the thing is i make my own money and spend it, i don’t take money out of my savings account just bc i lost a 50/50.
I only bought a battlepass for the claymore weapon once. I have all the characters i want so i haven't put any money for pulls. I'm so lucky that i got everyone i wanted for free
Ive resisted to wish these past couple of days and saving because of venti
I work multiple extra shifts at work when new characters I want come out! I think I worked like 4 extra to be able to get ayaka and her sword. It was
worth the money on to me. I love this game and have been playing since launch. I will continue to play it and spend on characters/weapons I want.
I'm making a video: Why are Aster's videos so addictive?
i REFUSE to spend any money on this game except for Welkin
9:26 on last zhongli banner i had saved around 120 wishes for him since he was the character i started playing for but i ended up getting diluc at 90 wishes (started at 0 pity) so i bought the 50 euros pack to guarantee id get him since id be closer to pity again but i didnt get him in those pulls either, i eventually got zhongli at 90 pity after thanks to shop reset and the free event stuff that kinda killed me inside cuz i had no chance of getting ganyu anymore afterwards
I recently started a f2p account and it´s freeing..
I only topped up once for Hu Tao and I planned for it. I don´t spend money, even if it´s my favorite character.. but it sure as hell is tiresome to resist. And while I can resist spending, I fall for the "hype" way too often and end up pulling for almost every limited 5* character with my little freemogems. The last time I had more than 30 pulls saved was for Hu Tao..
Somehow with this new account my mindest completely changed.. I suddenly don´t feel tempted anymore by hype and am more picky with who I want. I´m more willing to wait even for reruns and actually take my time with the game. I have no idea why that is to be honest.
My standards for playing genshin
1) Don't use real money
2) Make two solid teams to clear abyss floors after every refresh (mine being Raiden national and freeze Ganyu team comp)
3) Don't wish on weapons banner it's a scam
4) Don't wish for 4 star characters from a limited banner
I don't know what other players' problem is since aside from maybe Venti, no character in this game will ever be more exciting for me than the world itself. Seriously, name one character more appealing than Xamaran.
you talked about not pulling on the Noelle banner, but I disagree. Noelle at the current moment you start the game is the only character who gets a shield and a shield is important for your party as it can absorb damage. Plus why build pity on the standard when Noelle's banner builds pity on the limited character banners?
This games gacha sytsem and pity mechanics is quite tame compared to other gacha games, genshin actually have quite low HARD pity, but the way they manage premium currency rewards is just atrocious
Hello. You said this is a college essay submission. While it is a good video, it is good for people who know Genshin. This video did not explain what genshin is. And use a LOT of lingo. Like “C6”. To improve this, I suggest actually explaining new terms. Especially since the video’s target audience is not Genshin players but college
After spending for a 5 star constellation, I'm now here trying to understand what I just did. – _ –
Well… The sound and the animations are satisfying
I actually got addicted and spent almost 1000 dollars or maybe I did and I don’t even have a job yet… (spent over the span of 2 years but the worst part is how my mindset built up). I quit for 6 months and I’m coming back now but now I feel like my mindset about it is slowly becoming the same. Plus I felt like even if I worked the hardest at the game, the luck always didn’t really come for me while it did for many around me and that made me very sad. Plus I have some traumatic experience with someone from real life that I spent a lot of time on the game with and it’s painful for me. But I still love the story and mechanics, it’s going to be hard for me to snap out of my mindset of all of this and just have fun like when I first joined the game. I don’t need to work the hardest and I don’t need to be the best, I don’t need to have all the characters or the best artifact rolls, it doesn’t matter if I get lucky or not and if I do then cool, that person you spent so much time with it’s not about the game, this is what I want to think but it’s the opposite at the moment. I hope I’ll be able to improve and just have fun, wish me luck :>
I don’t know if anyone else has an experience like this, but it truly was a problem for me, my life revolved around Genshin and it was all I talked about. Nobody ever talks about it so I hope it’s not just me
I have a bunch of good characters and I have lots of building to do so instead of getting new characters I plan to just save for my fav main so I can invest in her more cuz she’s my fav. Ofc not spending more money, and if I do I’ll restrain more than I did (I did have some restraint when spending all that money I did and I did factor in every case that could get me the character for cheaper or perhaps free, I just got unlucky sometimes, but I did have a few lucky pulls).
If they removed all the in-game purchases from the game and started charging a starting a one time fee of 60$ at the time of purchase. That would be a much better decision in my opinion as pre-paid is better option than post-paid
I think you may have misused the sunk cost fallacy. It works if the probability is independent, which certainly isn't the case with Genshin due to its pity system.
The psychology bit is quite right, though a bit standard. There are more interesting ways to look at the problem. To me, Genshin demonstrates something interesting about neoliberalism. The first thing you can think about is: what exactly is mihoyo selling? Are they really selling characters/weapons, and if so, how? My answer is that they're selling what I coined 'statistical time'. The reason why you spend money isn't solely to get a certain character, but also to get them in a reasonably short time. The shorter you want, the more expensive it becomes. In other words, you're literally buying time. They're very clever with it, with timed event and character banner etc. The way they go about doing it then, is through statistics. You don't buy a fixed amount of time, you're instead buying an expectation value. This aligns with gambling, and because of the probabilistic nature of the system, each character's price is 'bloated' skyhigh, or is measured not through a single value, but through a distribution. This not only have the benefit of added monetary value, but the psychology bit you talk about keeps masking the product and helps maintain the gambling system. (It isn't exactly the same with gambling because it isn't strictly speaking a zero sum game, but this is besides the point.)
With this in mind, you will realize quickly that f2p is actually a 'dumb' way to play the game, as in you need to sink in a lot of time to get to the juicy bit. The rational question isn't 'to spend or not to spend?', but rather 'to spend, how much?' This is where they make money (Welkin Moon for most players; whaling for 'suckers'). Yet, even though f2p is stupid, it is still totally viable. The question then is: what exactly is going on with f2p then? This is the bit that interests me a lot. Primogem translates to real world money; you earn primogem by playing the game doing all the 'chores'. In other words, if you want to stay f2p, you have to work for the game. They have gamified (similar to WoW from all those years ago) work so that people willingly engage in it, something the megacorps try hard and still fail miserably to do.
That's one way to look at it.