Official survey from Fanatical about Mystery Bundles

Have your say on our Mystery Bundles...

Why do we run Mystery Bundles?
Our customers and partners love Mystery Bundles, it's a fun and unique way to discover new must-play games at unbeatable value, and it's a game in itself… what’s not to love?!
There is NO gambling involved. Based on a $6.99 purchase, on average you will get $115 games value, much more than you paid!
 
Why don’t we reveal the games?
To be able to include many of the amazing games on offer in our Mystery Bundles, we agree confidentiality with our developers and publishers that we won’t reveal what titles will be included.

No poll this time, but you're invited to share your opinions about lootboxes or mystery bundles in the comments.


@mods: I opened this thead in the Deals forum because it can directly influence future Fanatical deals and because it primarily targets people who follow the deals forum on a daily basis. I apologize if this is not the right place, and I kindly ask you to move it to another forum, where you see fit.

Thanks to Frostt for the heads-up.

4 years ago*

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Seems as if they received enough bad feedback to start a survey like this at least. If they were only going by sale numbers, they would just continue with it. Seeing how they just doubled down the crate's value in their latest mystery bundle should tell everyone how much money they earn with it (yes, giveaways have an advertising effect as well, so companies might factor in these costs, but in context with these gambling bundles I doubt a positive advertising effect).

4 years ago
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hadn't had from us before

Sure.... That is still BS...

4 years ago
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4 years ago
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That's pretty much the basics of what I wrote, too. Fingers crossed that a lot of people voiced their complaints, even if Fanatical won't do anything to change it, they will at least know that we don't want that shit to become the norm.

4 years ago
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4 years ago
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NO gambling involved.
Rofl.

4 years ago
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I pass on opportunities to pay money for games that I already own.

4 years ago
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I bought one of these. Of course I am stupid, why do you ask? It reminded of the old Foghorn Leghorn quote "Bot that ain't a dog, it's a chicken."

4 years ago
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I somehow suspect that few would object to that wishlist option; I'd also be really surprised if they actually implement it somehow.

4 years ago
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Lootboxes aren't gambling in the same way how Bethesda's Creation Club weren't paid mods :D

4 years ago
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Thanks for the topic.

Good points here from some on how the loot box content is definitely gambling because it encourages buying multiple times to get something different. Some loot box things I've seen elsewhere will also have certain numbers of each prize that you're guaranteed to get if you keep purchasing it. I hate those too, but wouldn't be surprised if they're judged differently from gambling laws.

My recommendation is to allow the purchaser to at least select one title that they'd be guaranteed to get, from the list of possible games.

Getting only unowned titles would be even more ideal, but is probably logistically impractical, given the deficiencies of the Steam API that SG users are usually pretty aware of.

4 years ago
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Mystery Bundles are ass. the worst purchase i ever made was that yogscast i think it was 30 games for 30$ and its was tons of bullshit dlc and things for games nobody is going to play
PURE BULLSHIT!-There is NO gambling involved. Based on a $6.99 purchase, on average you will get $115 games value, much more than you paid!

4 years ago
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who wrote this survey trash?

View attached image.
4 years ago
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There is NO gambling involved. Based on a $6.99 purchase, on average you will get $115 games value, much more than you paid!

after i google :
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of value (referred to as "the stakes") on an event with an uncertain outcome, with the primary intent of winning money or material goods. Gambling thus requires three elements to be present: consideration (an amount wagered), risk (chance), and a prize. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling)

Gambling three elements :
consideration : $6.99 purchase
risk here : rebundle games, low tier games, already own games
prize : non rebundle games, high tier games, whislisted games

so this is definetly NO gambling involved

4 years ago
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Also let's not forget about the "most common price" of games.

Insurgency: good quality game, good reviews, $15 MSRP and it's not too bad for a game with that amount of content.
bundled 16 times. EEeeh.... it was in the past it doesn't matter (unless you already got it) kinda true.
But: lowest price everywhere: ~ $1.5 (excluding free promotions in the past) At least 70-80% of the year it has been around-below $2 on at least one site (attached image)

It's just not fair claming it's a good deal based on the full value, when most of the games sold in the mystery bundles would be cheaper to buy on a discount. (and really, even ignoring the too-good real bundles that got us spoiled and gray markets riding on the bundle-market, this is still an issue with these lootbox-bundles )

View attached image.
4 years ago
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I have no strong feeling in any way about these mystery bundles.
I treat them like I do idiots -- I avoid them and let others deal with them if they so choose.

Having said that, I also don't get all the hate for mystery bundles since you can simply choose to not make a purchase.

4 years ago
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Having said that, I also don't get all the hate for mystery bundles since you can simply choose to not make a purchase.

It's about deceptive marketing and relying on known weak points of the human brain. Kind of the reason there are regulations on gambling.

Sure, addicts of all kind could just simply choose to not do the thing they're addicted to but it has been proven to be too hard in many cases. It's good that you're not personally susceptive to this particular problem but evidently, other people are at varying degrees, and not just taking oneself into consideration is usually a good thing

Edit: I'm assuming that by "hate for mystery bundles" you mean people who don't like the use of deceptive methods to sell things they otherwise would not be able to sell. That is, hate is somewhat hyperbolic in this case.

4 years ago*
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I'm assuming that by "hate for mystery bundles" you mean people who don't like the use of deceptive methods to sell things they otherwise would not be able to sell.

I don't find them deceptive. If others do, that's fine.

As for the addiction thing, that would assume I'm not nor have ever been an addict. Quitting starts with a choice, and that's precisely what I was told when I wanted to quit. Edit: I don't believe everyone should stop selling alcohol simply because I once had a drinking problem, for example.

4 years ago
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I don't find them deceptive. If others do, that's fine.

As I said in my previous post. It's not just about your perceptions

As for the addiction thing, that would assume I'm not nor have ever been an addict.

Nothing assumes that, no

4 years ago
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As I said in my previous post. It's not just about your perceptions

That's what an opinion is. Let's not try to paint an ugly picture simply because I don't agree with yours.

4 years ago
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I'm trying to explain why some might not be very fond of gambling mechanics since your initial statement

Having said that, I also don't get all the hate for mystery bundles since you can simply choose to not make a purchase.

If you think an ugly picture is being painted that is on you, I'm not the one holding the brush

4 years ago
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Well, my apologies for not agreeing with you. ;)

4 years ago
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I'm merely trying to explain the other viewpoint as I said. No need to apologize for anything even though it might be sarcastic

4 years ago
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In regard to your edit. Hardly anyone believes that everyone should stop selling alcohol. A better analogy would be a marketing restriction for alcohol which is a reality in many places

4 years ago
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In that case, we'll be sure that they never advertise Mystery Bundles on television or radio.

(Perhaps you haven't gotten the point yet that I believe you're making a mountain of a molehill.)

Since you're claiming repeatedly that you're "trying to explain to me why people are upset", I feel obligated to explain to you why I made the statement I did.

Most people aren't even concerned with the addictive aspect of these Mystery Bundles. Most are simply upset that they don't feel they're getting their money's worth. They're complaining they got previously bundled games, or what they believe to be "sub-par" games, and that the reality of what they're getting doesn't meet their expectations.

2nd edit (for clarification purposes): And, in those cases, which appear to be the vast majority of cases, they can simply choose not to purchase, just as I have.

4 years ago*
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Perhaps you haven't gotten the point yet that I believe you're making a mountain of a molehill

So I'm making a mountain out of a molehill for trying to explain a different perspective?

Since you're claiming repeatedly that you're "trying to explain to me why people are upset"

If you're going to use quotation marks why not try to find an actual quote to go with them? I'm just trying to explain why others might not be as flippantly dismissive of deceptive marketing strategies since you expressed that this is something you don't understand, although in harsher terms.

Most people aren't even concerned with the addictive aspect of these Mystery Bundles.

I suspect you are correct. The main concern seems to be deceptive marketing

4 years ago
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I was paraphrasing, not quoting.
At any rate, I've said all I have to say regarding this matter. Keep fighting the good fight!

4 years ago
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i don't like Mistery bundle at all. even for 1 euro. if u receive a duplicated game or a shitty game that u 'll never play there is no fun for me.

4 years ago
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rofl

4 years ago
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don't be coerced by these questions. Always answer "other" and mention that it's gambling.

4 years ago
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these bundles are great if you buy them when they first start.. after they've been going for a few days they tend to go from having the occasional gem to being complete garbage with a few ok bundled through the teeth game thrown in..

4 years ago
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I have only one thing to say about it
Surprise Mechanic

4 years ago
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At least they are taking feedback.

4 years ago
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I wonder how people feel comparing this to the humble monthly bundles. Apart from 1-3 games usually revealed, you are also guessing what the remaining games are. Is Humble monthly then a Semi-Mystery bundle?

4 years ago*
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I would indeed say that Humble Monthly is a semi-mystery bundle, one you probably should not get if you don't already find the early reveals appealing (they usually are the most expensive, or at the very least most sought after, games in any given bundle anyway).

4 years ago
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As others have already pointed out in this thread. The Humble Bundle is the same for everyone and there is no incentive to buy multiple copies in the hopes of actually getting what you want. It is still a gamble on the unrevealed titles but I reckon many will reason that the early reveal in an of themselves make the bundle worth its cost. At least this is my reasoning and why I skipped last month with the neutered multiplayer thingy as an early reveal.

4 years ago
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I agree that Humble Monthly is semi-mystery, but I think it is more acceptable to other gamers because everyone gets the same games, and Humble Monthly has a longer history of decent quality or value (even if retail total has declined every month this year).

4 years ago
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It is not gambling, it is a surprise mechanic ha!

4 years ago
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As mentioned a few times before....
Just lol@"There is NO gambling involved".
Dumbest thing I heard all week, You pay for something and you don't know what you get in return, In what world is this anything different from gambling :D
I have seen many people get great games from these.... And yeh it is fun to buy them.... BECAUSE it is gambling. They are very well aware that this attracts people that like to gamble why else won't you show the games? Most of the time you get games you don't want, were already bundled for cheap or you already have them. Sure the retail price would still be good, but often you really don't get the market value.
The best game I received from these kind of bundles was "Bioshock Infinite" Sure, not a bad win and many people would have been happy with it. But I already had it.

I did complain for a refund one time. Just to be annoying because it was just false advertisement. It was something like "The best AAA titles and the newest indie games." It annoyed me I got a game that was literally bundled 11 times. To my surprise I actually did get the refund. So that was pretty cool of them.

That said. Gambling is always your own choice. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. So you are always to blame yourself. Also be aware that it might not even be legal in some countries. It is kinda the same idea as with loot boxes where some countries aren't exactly happy about.

4 years ago
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To my surprise I actually did get the refund. So that was pretty cool of them.

That is just being smart. The ratio of people actually bothering to complain about even reasonable thing is so low and the goodwill from actions like this is by far outweighing the negative

4 years ago*
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i just told then to be like humble bundle if they want my money

4 years ago
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