10 Manipulative Gaming Tactics You Fall For Every Time
4. The FOMO Factor
No other art form exploits the FOMO phenomenon - that is, the fear of missing out - like video games.
Given that gaming is now an inherently social medium in the age of multiplayer, open world, and live service titles, it's easier than ever for publishers to make players feel like they're missing out on an epochal experience which needs to be played right now.
With live service games offering up events, challenges, and rewards which will exist within a strict time window, players are incentivised to invest early and keep coming back week after week or even day after day, rather than simply playing a game's campaign until it ends and then moving on.
That's not to ignore all the artificially scarce collector's item nonsense, or worse still, gating desirable content behind specific retailers, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 3's Nuketown map initially only being available to UK players who bought the game from retailer GAME.
All in all, game publishers are exploiting basic human psychology in an attempt to compel players to part with their money, prodding the impulse receptors in a way that's far more insidious than many will ever want to accept.