Comment by overgard

I don't think that's true. Take something like Clash of Clans. There's a real incentive to pay for an upgrade to help your clan in your next clan war, or you get into an impatient fuck-it mode because your inferno tower is going to take 10 days to upgrade. After a few weeks of play time and some leveling up the game essentially offers the player a choice: either disengage from the game and accept that most of your efforts were a sunk cost (which is extra sad because your base layout if fairly personal and an expression of yourself), or pony up to get the same feelings you got initially for free.

On the other hand, if I buy a hat I like in Team Fortess, like, I might buy more hats in the future but there's no particular incentive for me to do so.

Addiction generally requires a couple things IMO:

- The product/substance needs to provide some sort of short term relief or benefit

- The short term relief or benefit becomes more expensive over time and less satisfying

- The higher the usage, the more invested or dependent the person becomes

If you spend like $1000 upgrading your base in Clash of Clans, then you're certainly invested and likely to spend more in the future. The benefits also start to dwindle -- you have to spend more for the same effect (ie, upgrades get more expensive/time consuming)

On the other hand, if you buy a hat for $5, none of the above applies. Maybe you're a little more invested in the game but that's about it. And well, if you were buying a hat, you're probably already pretty invested.