It’s actually been this way for a while. The top 10% of American earners do half of all consumer spending. A massive amount of the economy has shifted to reflect this. Businesses are often targeting business to business sales rather than business to customer. Pay to win video games use free players as content for whales to play through. And if you’re selling physical goods, you’re probably either doing it as cheaply as possible, or absolutely gouging the assholes you’re selling to (think ikea vs Kohler’s premium brand, for which a lamp costs 5 figures and the website doesn’t gave prices listed).
Sometimes. The only real difference is earnings. There was the rumor that a saudi prince kept a couple mobile games alive solely based on his own spending for a while. Anecdotally I know of at least one person making six figures who was spending five figures a month on mobile games (and eventually declared bankruptcy) and another spending a grand a month that fit it into his budget.
The point remains, games designed to extract thousands from individual players have grown very popular among industry execs because it’s more profitable (and often easier) to squeeze an inordinate amount out of one player than to get $10 out of 100 players. Marketing for that top 1% spender is definitely exploiting addiction, but they’re making it for the ones who will continue to afford it, and thus continue to fund the game
It’s actually been this way for a while. The top 10% of American earners do half of all consumer spending. A massive amount of the economy has shifted to reflect this. Businesses are often targeting business to business sales rather than business to customer. Pay to win video games use free players as content for whales to play through. And if you’re selling physical goods, you’re probably either doing it as cheaply as possible, or absolutely gouging the assholes you’re selling to (think ikea vs Kohler’s premium brand, for which a lamp costs 5 figures and the website doesn’t gave prices listed).
I always thought whales were actually middle class or even poor people that have essentially a gambling addiction.
Sometimes. The only real difference is earnings. There was the rumor that a saudi prince kept a couple mobile games alive solely based on his own spending for a while. Anecdotally I know of at least one person making six figures who was spending five figures a month on mobile games (and eventually declared bankruptcy) and another spending a grand a month that fit it into his budget. The point remains, games designed to extract thousands from individual players have grown very popular among industry execs because it’s more profitable (and often easier) to squeeze an inordinate amount out of one player than to get $10 out of 100 players. Marketing for that top 1% spender is definitely exploiting addiction, but they’re making it for the ones who will continue to afford it, and thus continue to fund the game
no, they are usually well off or come from wealthy family. all these streamers, influencers are often from rich families.
Nope, it’s mostly nepo babies just like any other high cost hobby.
The middle class or less well off with gambling addictions are usually reported on so it looks like a regular person problem
Millionaires are part of the problem, too.
They shouldn’t get a pass from swaths of never-millionaires.
spoiler
Unless we’re idiots. 🤔