In April 2023, a mobile game called Monopoly GO was quietly launched. The game is simple. Players only need to play the game and complete Monopoly Go sticker album.
But how did this seemingly simple mobile game generate $3 billion in just 473 days, becoming the fastest casual game to reach this milestone in history?
The game carefully designed by the team behind it has caused heated controversy among players and psychologists around the world.
Is this a harmless entertainment or an electronic casino in cartoon clothes?
A Well-Made Perfect Game
Walter Driver, one of the developers of Monopoly Go, originally dreamed of becoming a Hollywood actor and screenwriter. After experiencing career setbacks, he turned to game development.
The early games were mainly Facebook social games, such as Friend Buzz. What really made him rise was Dice with Buddies launched in 2015.
This dice game, which imitates the classic board game Yahtzee, quickly became a hit with its precise data analysis and social interaction design, and attracted the attention of Yahtzee developers.
Subsequently, Walter Driver obtained the official authorization of Scrabble GO and Monopoly Go, and officially entered IP-adapted mobile game market.
In 2016, Walter Driver and a team of 150 people officially started to make Monopoly Go. Their goal was to make it a game that does not require any game skills, but is difficult for players to put down.
Seven years later, Monopoly Go was finally launched, and this game was also successful in making players addicted. Players simply roll Monopoly Go dice and keep advancing to earn more assets.
When the points are low, the animation is extended to create the illusion that you can almost win, and when the points are high, it passes quickly to balance the psychological gap between players.
In addition, in the game, friends can destroy each other’s buildings or rob cash. Monopoly Go players in Reddit community complained that they woke up to find that their city was destroyed, which prompted players to log in retaliatory.
There is also a leaderboard to rank the assets between players, and players will be more crazy about collecting Monopoly Go stickers, dice and other items.
Each click is accompanied by cash rain, vibration and explosion sound effects. The stimulation of this design is similar to that of slot machines, which makes players want to continue.
Another developer revealed that they tested 247 sound effects to find the one that makes people want to click repeatedly.
All this makes Monopoly Go players crazy and makes it a huge commercial success.
Huge Success
Only seven months after its launch in April 2023, Monopoly Go has surpassed $1 billion in revenue, breaking the record set by Candy Crush Saga.
The game has more than 150 million players, with a total of 15 billion GO TO JAIL commands and 300 million friend requests. The average daily game time per player is 52 minutes, with a conversion rate of 18% to paid.
However, the huge success has also brought great controversy. Players invest in the game and keep paying to try to win, just like gambling.
Some users said that this game made their relatives addicted to gambling again, and they used family expenses to recharge the game, and this is not an isolated case. This phenomenon has aroused the vigilance of the public and psychologists.
Experts who study addiction point out that players invest time and emotions in games, but all they get in return is an increase in virtual numbers, which may be more dangerous than casinos.
Developer Response And Player Awakening
In the face of public doubts, Walter Driver said that the purpose of developing Monopoly Go is only to provide entertainment for players and provide players with Monopoly Go stickers for collection.
However, players are not satisfied with this response. Some players began to fight back and launched Free From Monopoly GO event, calling for the game to set limits on consumption.
And a lawyer group is preparing a class action lawsuit, accusing Monopoly Go of using psychological loopholes to induce players to consume.
These disputes do not seem to be resolved in the short term, so how can players avoid falling into impulsive consumption in the game?
How To Play Rationally?
Experts suggest that if you want to avoid impulse spending in games, you can turn off in-app costs and set time limits, such as no more than 30 minutes a day.
Don’t pay attention to the progress of your friends in the game and avoid feeling anxious because your friends are progressing faster and ranking higher.
The success of Monopoly Go reveals a dark side to the modern mobile gaming industry, suggesting that players are motivated to spend money. Do players get entertainment from the game or become objects of consumption?
Perhaps, as some players say, you can play, but you need to stay awake at all times in the game. Those dice that almost made you win are illusions that have long been written in the code.
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