In modern times, gacha games are known as the “Apex Predator” of mobile games and yes, the name is intimidating for a good reason. Since its conception, many gacha games have become awful experiences, usually reflecting the greed and indifference towards its fanbase, either from the developers or the studio in charge of the game. Luckily, we players have the control and can easily bring a gacha game to its knees and with terrible practices being committed to all communities, it may be a good time to check some of the mistakes that a gacha game must make to fail and lose its entire fanbase.
5. Greed and Predatory practices.
Games like The Alchemist Code, OPTC and even Genshin Impact, have a vast variety of ways for players to acquire their currency for free. They require more grind than others but the option is there! But other games resort to an easy gacha game fail: predatory and awful practices, putting a price tag to every single thing in the game. Stamina system, multiple battle systems, rewards blocked behind a paywall, even events. Any piece of content that can be priced to unlock, is a sad and unprofessional way of making a game horrible.
4. No content.
What is the worst thing that a gacha game can do? Honestly, there are more awful things than having no content but we’ll get there in a moment. Imagine a game that offers you a story mode that you probably finished and it has been 2 months since the developers made an event. There is nothing to play! And you know what’s even more infuriating? That new characters, weapons, anything, keep releasing, demanding your money and when you get them, there is no content to try them out. A developers team that offer no content to its fanbase, is more than destined to fail spectacularly.
3. Lack of communication to the Fanbase.
In a live game, communication is everything. Players need to be aware of when the next event starts, how much they have to complete the current mission, when a new character is released and some approximate dates for updates. However, some games don’t care about that and release the information a day before the update or they simply say…nothing. No updates on bugs, no new events news. This practice is the most disheartening since it causes distrust among the players and mostly gets them worried that the game may not have enough people to keep going.
2. Not being F2P friendly.
A bit of defense here, most gacha games are FREE, so there is nothing wrong in offering microtransactions to keep earning and maintain the game for many years. However, it becomes tedious and frustrating when those small purchases can make someone the best in the entire game, without any small trace of talent. This is a gacha game fail! That with a few dollars, boom, they are the new owners of everyone’s butt in the game. One thing is F2P, that anyone has the opportunity to be the best and P2W, where you can pay to be the best. That ‘s not funny.
1. Blame the players.
Imagine that a game that you play suddenly makes a mistake with a character. And instead of communicating it, they simply hide it without any explanation. After a few days, the fan base explodes and everyone begins either uninstalling the game or requesting refunds. And then, at their very lowest, instead of offering apologies for the troubles and promising a clearer communication, they blame you, the player, for demanding your money back and finding out about the error. Blaming the players for its own mistakes is a perfect formula for disaster and a moment like that won’t ever be forgotten. Heck, even that could skyrocket you to the place where the Naruto closed gacha game is right now. Good thing no one has ever done this…right?
If you ever see any of these practices, always raise your voice or simply look for other games. You have the power and you can’t forget that. And if you know the game that made all of these 5 mistakes, then congratulations, you’ve seen your fair amount of awful things. Did I miss another crucial point that makes gacha games fail? Share them in the comments! And check out more articles from other amazing writers here.
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