{"title":"儿童手机游戏中基于机会的机制的规范化:描述性分析","authors":"Wiliam Machado de Andrade","doi":"10.1007/s10899-023-10273-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Games for mobiles present strategies to monetize not only from selling a title but from financial exchanges that take place in the game. Those microtransactions motivate players to purchase random or surprise items (known as loot boxes) to customize game features or to overcome narrative obstacles necessary to progress to new levels. Researchers associate the practice with gambling if completing the transaction does not mean the acquisition of an item but the chance to receive it. This research quantified gambling-like features in games available for free, classified by Apple's marketplace as suitable for children from 4 to 8 years old, and from the top-downloaded list. The findings reveal normalization traces of chance-based mechanisms in most of the games. According to the research literature, early exposure to such features may result in problem gambling in adult life. This paper concluded that legal changes and more information provided by the marketplaces are needed to raise awareness of gambling-like practices in mobile games.</p>","PeriodicalId":48155,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gambling Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1517-1537"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Normalization of Chance-Based Mechanisms in Mobile Games for Children: A Descriptive Analysis.\",\"authors\":\"Wiliam Machado de Andrade\",\"doi\":\"10.1007/s10899-023-10273-4\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><p>Games for mobiles present strategies to monetize not only from selling a title but from financial exchanges that take place in the game. Those microtransactions motivate players to purchase random or surprise items (known as loot boxes) to customize game features or to overcome narrative obstacles necessary to progress to new levels. Researchers associate the practice with gambling if completing the transaction does not mean the acquisition of an item but the chance to receive it. This research quantified gambling-like features in games available for free, classified by Apple's marketplace as suitable for children from 4 to 8 years old, and from the top-downloaded list. The findings reveal normalization traces of chance-based mechanisms in most of the games. According to the research literature, early exposure to such features may result in problem gambling in adult life. This paper concluded that legal changes and more information provided by the marketplaces are needed to raise awareness of gambling-like practices in mobile games.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":48155,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Journal of Gambling Studies\",\"volume\":\" \",\"pages\":\"1517-1537\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":2.4000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-09-01\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Journal of Gambling Studies\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"102\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-023-10273-4\",\"RegionNum\":3,\"RegionCategory\":\"心理学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"2023/12/26 0:00:00\",\"PubModel\":\"Epub\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Gambling Studies","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-023-10273-4","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/12/26 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
Normalization of Chance-Based Mechanisms in Mobile Games for Children: A Descriptive Analysis.
Games for mobiles present strategies to monetize not only from selling a title but from financial exchanges that take place in the game. Those microtransactions motivate players to purchase random or surprise items (known as loot boxes) to customize game features or to overcome narrative obstacles necessary to progress to new levels. Researchers associate the practice with gambling if completing the transaction does not mean the acquisition of an item but the chance to receive it. This research quantified gambling-like features in games available for free, classified by Apple's marketplace as suitable for children from 4 to 8 years old, and from the top-downloaded list. The findings reveal normalization traces of chance-based mechanisms in most of the games. According to the research literature, early exposure to such features may result in problem gambling in adult life. This paper concluded that legal changes and more information provided by the marketplaces are needed to raise awareness of gambling-like practices in mobile games.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Gambling Studies is an interdisciplinary forum for the dissemination on the many aspects of gambling behavior, both controlled and pathological, as well as variety of problems attendant to, or resultant from, gambling behavior including alcoholism, suicide, crime, and a number of other mental health problems. Articles published in this journal are representative of a cross-section of disciplines including psychiatry, psychology, sociology, political science, criminology, and social work.