Still the familiar video style, but this time the content didn't seem limited to a specific game. Instead, it was more of an educational piece, walking the audience through the history of "loot boxes" and similar mechanics in the gaming industry.

From the earliest games that featured loot boxes to their rise in popularity in Chinese games, it finally discussed why game designers, especially Chinese designers, are so fond of them.

Clearly, the biggest motivation is simply to increase revenue!

Loot boxes, to some extent, exploit weaknesses in human psychology. It's precisely because most people enjoy gambling and the feeling of getting something for nothing that these events are so popular and enduring.

In other words, the pleasure of loot boxes doesn't come entirely from the value of the items won; that's only part of it. More importantly, loot boxes bring psychological satisfaction.

In other words, it's the feeling of getting something for nothing.

Pulling an item worth a hundred yuan for just ten yuan is a strong emotional stimulus for most ordinary people; it's the mentality of taking advantage.

Qiao Liang shifted the topic: "Actually, there are many similar situations in commercial activities."

"Many businesses exploit consumers' desire to get something for nothing, to take advantage, and create activities that seem very cost-effective but are actually designed to trick consumers."

"However, in commercial activities, the supervision of relevant departments is stricter, and the penalties are more severe for marketing cases involving false advertising and misleading consumption, so similar situations occur less frequently."

"But the gaming field has gradually become a disaster area."

"Because games are not purely commercial activities; they are more inclined to cultural and entertainment activities. The value of virtual items has never been very clearly defined, and the supervision of relevant departments is relatively weak. Therefore, many loot box mechanics in games have actually become tools for game companies to make money. The loot box rules are all kinds of weird and chaotic, and players' interests after recharging are difficult to protect..."

Here, Qiao Liang also specifically criticized several games.

For example, a mobile game recently had a scandal in which the official loot box event had all the big prizes won by a few small accounts that repeatedly changed their names, and observant players noticed that these accounts always won prizes whenever they participated in a loot box event.

Seeing this, Pei Qian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness."

"I thought Old Qiao was going to target me again!"

"Looks like it has nothing to do with me, and nothing to do with Longyu Corporation."

"Although Longyu Corporation also has a loot box event, they shouldn't be stupid enough to give the prizes to their own accounts. As long as their loot box event is completely legal and compliant, it shouldn't be affected by Qiao Laoshi's video."

Pei Qian was also scared. Every time he saw Qiao Liang release a new video, he felt like it was aimed at him.

However, he had only been happy for less than two minutes when he heard Qiao Liang change the subject.

"Now, some viewers may ask, if the loot box event is legal and compliant and doesn't involve any behind-the-scenes manipulation, is there no problem?"

"Of course not!"

"I've already said that the reason why businesses are so enthusiastic about loot boxes is that they exploit players' desire to take advantage and get something for nothing."

"Even if it's a loot box event without any behind-the-scenes manipulation, no matter how cost-effective it seems, it can be summarized in one sentence: you might make a small profit, but the business will never lose!"

"Because you have to be clear that businesses always understand the probabilities better than you do."

"Especially game companies. Anyone who designs a loot box system must be handled by a high-level numerical planner within the company, who will definitely ensure that the entire loot box event has a positive return for the game company. Please keep in mind that luck can never beat data."

"What's more, the loot box probabilities in games are never real probabilities, but fake probabilities with countless conditions attached. Although the results look similar, the internal operation is very different."

"Players are actually participating in a game where the 'expected return is negative' and 'you never know the real, specific rules'."

"You think '20% drop rate' is the rule, but in reality, there are countless subtle rules behind this, written in the code of the loot box program, which you have no way of knowing."

"For some individuals, the actual gains are very high, but if averaged across everyone, it's a game of steady losses and no profit."

"As long as the sample is large enough, from the perspective of the entire player base, it must be a loss, and the game company doesn't need to operate in the dark; it will definitely make a profit."

"It's just that everyone thinks they will be the lucky one, so they are deceived again and again."

Qiao Liang used extensive references in the video, showing off his gaming and probability knowledge like crazy.

Including the difference between "fake probability" and "true probability" in games, the internal logic and operation mode of "fake probability," and so on.

The core argument is that loot boxes are actually just a disguised form of promotion. In fact, it exploits people's desire to get something for nothing and uses probabilities to make some players bear the losses of other players, while the game company profits from it.

Any loot box event, no matter how cost-effective or how big the discount, as long as it still meets the basic characteristics of traditional loot box rules, its final result must be that players lose and businesses profit.

The comments on the video were filled with exclamations of amazement.

"I've learned a lot!"

"Brothers, type 'protection' in the chat!"

"As a former employee of the gaming industry, I can say that everything Old Qiao said is true. In fact, loot boxes are nothing more than using people's desire to get something for nothing to make money. Whether you're lucky or unlucky, the game company will definitely be the one who profits in the end. And the real rules of loot boxes are never simply true probabilities, but fake probabilities that have been calculated layer by layer by numerical designers to ensure that the final results of most players are within expectations. It's really that saying: you might make a small profit, but I will never lose!"

"Is Old Qiao trying to offend all the game companies in the country? How many games don't have loot boxes now? Everyone knows that loot boxes make money fast; this is cutting off their source of wealth!"

"After watching this video, I decisively stopped myself from wanting to open loot boxes. One sentence is right; in fact, people who like loot boxes don't like the prizes inside at all, but the feeling of getting something good."

"Indeed, even if you get a good item, it's only fun for the moment you get it. After two or three days, or at most a week, you'll get tired of it. But the desire to get good things from loot boxes will always exist, so next time you still can't control your hand. Before you know it, you don't know where all your money has gone..."

"Old Qiao is really bold; he dares to make videos that expose these secrets."

As if anticipating the possible reactions in the comments, Qiao Liang changed the subject in the video: "Actually, this video was inspired by something."

"The real person who stood up to expose this unspoken rule is not me, but President Pei of Tengda Group!"

"As everyone knows, there have been two big hot topics in the gaming circle recently: one is the loot box event jointly organized by Finger Corporation and Longyu Corporation, with the grand prize being a car, which has attracted a large number of players to participate; the other is that Tengda Group's new game, *Fitness Battle*, adopts a brand-new loot box model that allows free refunds."

"Now, the former is clearly more popular than the latter. And many players also feel that the Finger Corporation and Longyu Corporation loot box event has such a big discount and also has a car to be won, so it must be more conscientious than the *Fitness Battle* loot box."

"This is clearly wrong!"

"Because the Finger Corporation and Longyu Corporation loot box event is actually the loot box event I described earlier. On the surface, the products are generous, but in reality, it's just robbing Peter to pay Paul."

"If you don't believe me, you can let the whales show off their loot box records, deduct the value of the junk skins they don't want, roughly calculate their actual gains, and see who really profited."

"Of course, compared to other black-hearted loot box events, this loot box may seem very conscientious, but compared to the *Fitness Battle* loot box, it's far worse!"

"Because the *Fitness Battle* loot box actually completely breaks the original conventional model. Because players can refund at will and only keep the loot box content they are satisfied with, the expected value of this loot box is no longer negative. While retaining the surprise of loot boxes, it doesn't make players slaves to probability."

"Of course, *Fitness Battle* is full of virtual items, so no matter how low the price, it will still be profitable."

"But the important thing is not the specific price, but the concept conveyed by Tengda Group through the *Fitness Battle* loot box model!"

"Loot boxes can indeed bring surprises and happiness; this is human nature. But more and more businesses and game companies are using this psychology and actually turning loot boxes into their money-making tools, normalizing and rationalizing them, so that players' interests are actually harmed without their knowledge."

"Looking at the *Fitness Battle* mall model: all items can be purchased with calorie coins, encouraging players to exercise more. Even loot boxes can be fully refunded, so that players don't have to become consumption machines driven by desire, and they never use human weaknesses to make money."

"Comparing the two, the difference is obvious!"

"Considering the 515 Game Festival event, Tengda Group has been tirelessly giving benefits to players, and it's real 'giving,' not 'discount,' not 'disguised profit'."

"Tengda has been working hard to build a harmonious relationship with players: making products that are worth the money, ensuring value for money, not playing all kinds of complicated rules to trick people, not using crooked ways to deceive players, but tirelessly guiding players to re-establish a healthy concept of consumption!"

"Looking at Finger Corporation and Longyu Corporation, from *IOI Mobile* to loot box events, no matter how much they seem to be giving back, their inner desire to make money is still traceable."

"This difference in philosophy is the biggest gap between the two companies!"

"That car will eventually be won by some whale, and the money this whale spends will definitely be far more than ten thousand. After this whale wins the car, Finger Corporation and Longyu Corporation will definitely hype it up and use this case to prove how conscientious their loot box event is."

"But in fact, these are all arranged routines: using a small number of lucky whales who spend a lot of money to stimulate most players, letting the unlucky players pay for the lucky players, and the game company profits from it."

"At the end of the video, I would like to remind all viewers: Loot boxes are risky, recharge with caution. This is not just empty talk, because as long as it is a conventional loot box, it must be a negative expected value investment, which is not a wise move."

"If you have to open loot boxes, come to *Fitness Battle* to open items and have fun. After all, you can refund here, so there will be no losses!"