alayfton

Final Fantasy Record Keeper (FFRK) is a fun and engaging mobile game that combines nostalgia for games of Final Fantasy past with a twist of current Final Fantasy titles. Updates are frequent and the game is fast and friendly for beginners and people less familiar with previous the previous titles that the series draws upon. Unfortunately, the game's continued development is funded through an IAP system of gambling for "relics" that your party of adventurers use in combat and this system of gambling or "gacha" is largely unregulated in places outside of Japan. Obtaining better relics is integral to progression in the game and DeNa's lack of transparency regarding the percentile chance of obtaining the relics that they feature weekly is a significant turn-off and has opened the door for DeNa to exploit its playerbase in order to obtain money quickly. A substantial number of Record Keeper's players began contributing to a collection of data on the gambling aspect of the game through a sub-reddit and generated a statistically significant sample-size that also helps mitigate reporting bias. DeNa used Record Keeper's most recent event to cut the percent chance of obtaining several of the most desirable relics that were featured nearly in half from the normal percent rates that player's had collected data for. Outcry from some of the playerbase resulted in numbers of players emailing DeNa about this shady business practice and asking if there was any possibility that what happened was unintended or simply a mistake in the surveying or analysis of the data. DeNa responded by telling players everything was fine and working how they intended. DeNa removed any consumer confidence I had for them after this blatant money-grab and I felt inclined to email their customer support as well with my grievances regarding their lack of transparency in their IAPs and the current bait and switch tactic that sets a precedent that they may even cut the success rates by 90% or more without disclosing anything to the playerbase. Although I was only a very small financial contributor to the game who spent no money on the current event, DeNa has shown the playerbase that they will fully exploit the gambling grey-area of their gacha system to the detriment of the players. In summary, download and enjoy FFRK as a completely non-IAP user because DeNa cannot be trusted to fund development of the game responsibly. When you gamble you are paying for a chance to win, but when the slot machine you are playing is adjusted to make winning increasingly more difficult without your knowledge, the safest bet is to not pay all.