this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2024
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Star Citizen Introducing a $48,000 Ship Bundle, but Only for Players Who Have Already Spent $10,000::Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games is releasing a ship bundle for its controversial space simulator that costs an eye-watering $48,000.

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[–] squirrel@lemmy.blahaj.zone 126 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Because there are lots of people in this thread who paint whales as "rich schmucks" who can afford to spend $48k without thinking twic. This is a myth that lots of the gaming industry itself loves to perpetuate, because it absolves them of taking responsibility for ruining lives.

Research has shown repeatedly that whales are much more likely to be people with mental health problems and/or gambling addicts. That Star Citizen isn't a freemium game with loot boxes makes it marginally better than - let's say - Genshin Impact, but offers like the bundle in the article is still predatory.

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[–] maynarkh@feddit.nl 115 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Only for Players Who Have Already Spent $10,000

This is so predatory in itself.

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 58 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Just being eligible for it is a sign that you need to make some life changes.

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[–] ale@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Meh my sympathy only runs so far.

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 30 points 10 months ago (5 children)

You don't have sympathy for people with addictive personality disorders?

[–] Transporter_Room_3@startrek.website 35 points 10 months ago (2 children)

On the one hand, my gut says "if they have 50k to blow and do so on a game, fuck em"

On the other hand, my experience with addictive personalities knows they almost certainly don't have that money to blow, but they will do so anyway, fucking their life (and possibly their families lives) over even more in the process, and no amount of lecturing them will change, because they need therapy.

My gut isn't as sympathetic as my brain is.

[–] Eylrid@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago (3 children)

There was a guy that posted on reddit about how he spent thousands of dollars on loot boxes. The way he totally wrecked his finances and his relationship with his wife was harrowing. Everytime he would get the latest and greatest item, character, whatever, they would come out with something new and he would start all over again.

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[–] CheesyGordita@lemmy.world 83 points 10 months ago (10 children)

I know it’s not the same, but you could just play elite dangerous which is an actual game, and you can get new ships through a crazy new innovative mechanic called “playing the game”

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[–] tory@lemmy.world 47 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Never play Star Citizen, even if it somehow becomes playable. Got it.

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 22 points 10 months ago (23 children)

The game costs $45, for the record. For an MMO. With no subscription fees.

WOW costs $155 per year.

[–] chitak166@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Yeah, this is what I keep telling people but nobody wants to listen.

Once the snowball effect has taken hold, it's next to impossible to reverse.

I fully expect us to see SC detractors to vanish into thin air like those who voted for George Bush Jr. once the game launches and everyone is playing it.

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[–] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago
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[–] dustyData@lemmy.world 44 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Some poor fuckers are getting fleeced.

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[–] Xavier@lemmy.ca 43 points 10 months ago (11 children)

I wonder if games that require such farfetched amounts of money should be included in the Luxury tax?

A lot of those "whales" have cognitive difficulties and/or gambling addictions issues. Since many if these game developers/publishers have no qualm blindly milking and profiteering. It should be no surprise if some sort of tax is levied to help societies (à-la-tobacco or sugar tax) attenuate the ravages of gambling addictions.

Moreover, Star Citizen has been released over 10 years ago while been continually updated.

At what point is it just senseless greed that has taken over the game?

[–] Retrograde@lemmy.world 15 points 10 months ago

Released is a strong word, lol. Agreed though, it is completely unprecedented

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[–] Zoboomafoo@slrpnk.net 43 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

According to a friend of mine that plays, the whales were asking for this feature so they didn't have to go through the purchase process for each ship

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[–] menemen@lemmy.world 40 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Remembering when it was not yet released, thinking "This looks kinda cool, but the business model looks terrible". Seems it got much worse.

[–] asyncrosaurus@programming.dev 26 points 10 months ago

Seems it got much worse.

Seems like it's going great for the developer.

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 34 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Not real life money right?

[–] papertowels@programming.dev 62 points 10 months ago

Padme_meme.jpg

[–] littlebluespark@lemmy.world 26 points 10 months ago (4 children)

I can only assume you've no idea what Star Citizen is. 🤦🏽‍♂️

[–] ours@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago

Bless his heart.

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[–] AeonFelis@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago

I'd be willing to pay with real life money if they were real life spaceships.

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[–] bezerker03@lemmy.bezzie.world 30 points 10 months ago (1 children)

To quote Thor. Star citizen is a storefront pretending to be a game.

[–] Ddit@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago (3 children)
[–] CaptPretentious@lemmy.world 23 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (6 children)

He's talking about Jason Thor Hall @ https://www.youtube.com/@PirateSoftware

Who's behind https://store.steampowered.com/app/567380/Heartbound/

His middle name is Thor and that's what he goes by (who wouldn't)

He's recently gotten a lot of attention because his YT Shorts have just exploded.

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[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago

You can get some pretty good gaming info during thunderstorms.

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[–] MrNesser@lemmy.world 29 points 10 months ago

Cap'n i see the whale thar she blows

[–] BrownianMotion@lemmy.world 28 points 10 months ago (1 children)

WTF!

At the time of this article’s publication, Star Citizen had raised $658,161,596 from more than five million accounts.

The game has not even officially been released!!

[–] Allero@lemmy.today 20 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Yeah, Star Citizen is world renowned master of squeezing immense amounts of cash from its userbase.

First, they have many ship tiers, and as the most basic ones cost $40+, they feel comfortable charging more for bigger ships, with some ships costing well over $1000.

Second, they commonly introduce wipes in updates, and those wipes only affect everything players accrued in-game, not purchases made with real cash. So you either accept having your entire progress wiped again and again, or you give up and buy your fleet for cash (and any meaningfully gamechanging ship costs hundreds of dollars). The developers claim that this is due to bugs and exploits being found, and that eventually everything will stay forever, no matter how you bought it, but they are obviously aware of the situation and will probably make sure this never happens.

Third, the game does a good job at immersing you into the universe, so some players really go for a second life there. For them, it is the successful counterpart of the Metaverse.

And just like that we end up with people spending insane amounts of money on in-game ships. Half of the players I know spent over $300 on the game, and I personally know people who spent upwards to $8000.

Scary part is that many of them aren't rich, and one of the people I know literally saved for years and hid $8000 from their family to buy a ship pack. He is living in Ukraine, a country with GDP per capita of $4350.

[–] crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 28 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Wait, in real money? Or like video game money?

[–] sukhmel@programming.dev 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If this is a genuine question you have some epic story to treat yourself to about how the bestest game of all times was ~~made~~ promised

[–] crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Genuine question my friend lmao

[–] Allero@lemmy.today 16 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

You're up for a ride if you have a read.

Game is 11 years in alpha development, still a buggy mess that requires a supercomputer to work smoothly, only recently got a second star system (dozens more are pinky promised, and hundreds promised since beginning of development), is constantly exploited in all ways possible, barely has any actual content...

...which absolutely didn't stop it from earning over half a billion dollars (yes, billion) by selling in-game ships for hundreds and sometimes thousands of very absolutely real dollars, as well as such monstrous packs.

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[–] nifty@lemmy.world 28 points 10 months ago (13 children)

That $48K can get you a real plane though, or boat. But maybe someone paying that for ships in Star Citizen has both already 😅

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 27 points 10 months ago (4 children)

If you are rich enough to afford to pay for this, you're too rich.

[–] dezmd@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago

A few of the most broke-assed people I know in my gaming circles are all in on this game. The rest of us tried to gently prod them away but it's like a cult.

It is 100% a multi-level-marketing feeling I get from the active players that keep trying to reach out and get us in on it. I'm talkin late 90s Quixtar MLM pyramid scam feels.

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[–] Nacktmull@lemm.ee 21 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] MaxVoltage@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago

unfortunately by todays late stage mercantile economy this is just a bad deal

[–] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This kind of news really allows me to know which games not to play.

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[–] TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.world 15 points 10 months ago

Honestly, at this point, if you buy this you and SC deserve each other, have fun.

[–] badbytes@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago

Game cancer

[–] angstylittlecatboy@reddthat.com 10 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Star Citizen is what iRacing players look at to feel better about themselves

Actually that's too mean to iRacing players since iRacing works

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