Roblox is slot machines for kids

Games are filled with loot boxes that drop exquisite items on chance. It's a repeated cycle of charging robux only to spend on another slot machine.

US regulation is far behind protecting children from such scheme. Japan disallows many forms of such loot boxes due to addictive nature.

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wj 11 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

I have called them casinos for kids elsewhere due to the bright colors, flashing text, and money counters going up, up, up on the screen.

And also because my kids can spend tens of dollars in minutes on it.

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Aeolun 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It’s not that bad. Sure, all the games allow you to spend money to rapidly get better, but the core gameplay loops work just fine without it.

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jameson 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> games allow you to spend money to rapidly get better

Audience is the problem here. It's obviously not a big deal if the platform is targeted for adults, but majority of users are underage. The platform can certainly implement guardrails for the vulnerable users if they wish to

	▲	Aeolun 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Those guardrails exist. They’re called parents. My son doesn’t have a credit card and therefore doesn’t have robux. Having no robux, he can’t spend it on anything.

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bluefirebrand 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Anecdotally, I have 3 nieces and 2 nephews and only the oldest has avoided Roblox

Every Christmas and birthday now is "I want Robux" and they are actively annoyed if they get anything else

This thing is bad for children

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Aeolun 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Pretty sure I was annoyed when I got anything but computer games. Which, I’m pretty certain, adults told me were bad for me.

	▲	pnt12 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Just because two things are "annoying", doesn't mean they have the same ethical problems. The fun single player games only need to convince you they are a fun experience and you should buy them once. Games with loot boxes are trying to convince you every day to spend money on them. Dunno about roblox, but often the items are visible, and "defaults" are often perceived as poor or noobs. We can't be naive: It's a whole other level and companies are spending millions on manipulating kids to spending more and more money.
	▲	sayamqazi 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		You guys were getting presents?