Here's How One of Japan's Biggest Shopping Trends Could Become the Next Big Thing in SL

Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

I think I've done it. I think I've solved the greatest puzzle to confront the Second Life fashion community since... Well, probably since I brought it up last year.

That was when I tried to figure out why one of Japan's biggest annual shopping events hadn't managed to catch on in Second Life. Fukubukuro bags are a New Year's tradition in Japan; shoppers line up for hours for their chance to purchase the random packages of goods at their favorite stores. Sometimes they come in plain shopping bags, sometimes in far more elaborate bundles like this gorgeous floral suitcase that clothing brand Liz Lisa once packed theirs in. The practice bears a lot of similarities to gacha machines, where shoppers pay a lowered price for a lucky dip from a variety of items in a set. Second Life sure loves its gachas, but only a handful of virtual brands have embraced fukubukuro.

Last January I came up with quite a few reasons for this to be the case, but that was a rather unsatisfying end to the story. Fukubukuro could be the next big thing in Second Life shopping, and I'm determined to figure out how to make it work.

And maybe, just maybe, I have.

The advantage that fukubukuro has over gacha is that once your prize pops out of a virtual gacha machine, it's over. You know what you received without looking at anything more than its name. It's a very brief thrill, gone in a flash. Fukubukuro (and lucky bags in general) on the other hand are a bit more like opening a present. You don't know what you received the instant it's in your hands. You have to open it, go through it piece by piece, and that comparatively drawn out experience of anticipation could be more appealing to some shoppers than the fleeting high of a gacha.

For that matter, because there's typically much more inside a fukubukuro bag than a gacha, designers can raise their prices and charge more than the pittance they do for gacha prizes. Many RL stores even sell their fukubukuro at different price tiers (think L$200, L$500, and L$1000) so that shoppers looking for a cheap thrill can still find it, while others willing to spend extra for a slightly more substantial prize have that option as well.

But that doesn't address the biggest obstacle. Packaging fukubukuro is a tedious process that has to be done by hand for however many bags you want to sell to ensure there's enough variety to be surprising (and to encourage shoppers to pick up more than one). The ideal solution would be a script, similar to a gacha script, that could be placed in a vendor alongside a few dozen items. The script would then select X number of items from those available, bundle them together in a package, and hand that package to the customer. This is where my lack of scripting knowledge is a problem, because I don't know if scripts even can package items. Luckily, there's a satisfying alternative that would use the gacha scripts most creators already have, completely unaltered.

It's simple: First, a creator puts together 25 fukubukuro bags by hand. Still tedious, but nowhere near as tedious as putting together a few hundred. They then load those 25 bags into a gacha machine (or more likely a special fukubukuro display object like a table loaded with goody bags and a gacha script inside) and voila. It may not be truly random, limited or unique, but it's definitely the next best thing. 

Look, if you'd told me back in 2007 that fashionistas would be filling whole sims for weeks on end for the chance to pay for items they didn't even get to choose, I would have laughed right in your face. At that time, the whole gacha thing felt so far removed from what the virtual fashion world wanted. But here we are. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that fukubukuro could be next. All it needs to get there is a foothold.

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Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart on Twitter, Iris Ophelia in Second Life) has been writing about virtual worlds and video games for nearly a decade, and has had her work featured on Paste, Kotaku, Jezebel and The Mary Sue.

Comments

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

I can think of a couple of other reasons:

1. Not every SL fashionista is umm "that seriously japanophilic". Some of us are even opposed to the Gacha trend.

2. Some of us just want what we want, and don't want what we don't want, when we want it. No randomization, no guessing. just "I want THAT now", pay the money for "THAT one, not the OTHER one" and get our item. If we get what we don't want, it's a waste of our time and money, which is finite.

@ Iris, who said: Look, if you'd told me back in 2007 that fashionistas would be filling whole sims for weeks on end for the chance to pay for items they didn't even get to choose, I would have laughed right in your face.

#######

I would have laughed too. In fact, just thinking about Gacha brings about "Fashionista Rage" in me. It is the very essence of tricking customers to spend more than they would on items by giving them items they don't want, to get the ones they DO want.

[A.J.]

Thanks, CronoCloud, for expressing what I feel about Gacha.

Enough already with that low class shopping trend.

Yes, it's right up there with QVC addicts and Walmart Black Friday scanks.

Trashy. Trashy. Trashy.

Sorry, I just wish that reputable creators would stop feeding these rodents.

[Ezra]

I like the idea. Things like gacha haven't been my thing vs. outright buying exactly what I want, but my friends and others seem to have a ton of fun with it all so I don't know what's to hate.

I hope shops and events continue to take cues from things like this to keep making Second Life more interesting.

[Tracy RedAngel]

It sounds like it would be hellish torment for creators to put something like that together.

I don't want to spend money on something I can't see or try on beforehand. I like to know what I'm getting.

Creators participate in gacha events for one reason: Money. Reputable creators "feed the rodents" because they make a a lot of money.
Not all gacha are equal. Some creators have pretty generous odds and put high quality common items so that with each pull, you'll receive something of value. But there are others who get a little greedy and set the odds of getting a rare at 1-3% so that in order for someone to get a rare they will have to spend a couple thousand linden to get it.
When you go to any one of the dozen large gacha yardsales, it's interesting to see the ocean of unwanted, digital goods. It's like going to a virtual flea market. A lot of creators don't like yardsales because they feel they lose sales. Yardsales are becoming increasingly popular and more people are opting to simply buy the items they want there. As a consumer, I would much rather go to a yardsale, look around for the common pair of froggy flip flops, pay 50L for them, and go. Had I gone to the Arcade to try and get those flip flops, I would have had to plunk down at least a couple hundred linden and end up with a bunch of flip flops I didn't want just to get the one pair I want. That, to me, is an example of why it's not a sustainable market. Everyone forgoes spending the bulk of their money towards the gacha machines, and opts for the yardsales.
There's a couple of articles in Prim Perfect discussing pros and cons of the gacha craze: http://primperfect.net/2014/12/01/gachas-fun-shopping-opportunity-or-high-cost-rip-off/

[Rin]

I guess some people might like it. Like the gacha thing that I have came across now and then in exploring stores inworld. But it is nothing for me personally as I don't see the advantage of buying random things I can not even see or try on. And I don't shop by brand either. And even less by which brand is considered 'popular' at any given moment. Only by propper fitting and quality of the item in question.

But I guess enough people might like the random gambling aspect of it to make it profitable. And since those will have some fun with it, then it would be great for them.

[madeline blackbart]

"The rodents" Rather judge-y aren't we? Not sure what makes you feel your so much better then others. Kinda a terrible attitude. Gatcha is fun because it's a bit like gambling. You get a nice item that's cute/fun and you get the excitement of not knowing what you'll get. It's more about the entertainment then the item for those playing. I started playing gatchas almost 5 years ago when I first joined SL (on sims run by usually actual japanese people) because they had cute things and they were fun. I've play them IRL as well and they are entertaining. Much like opening a pack of pokemon or yugioh cards when you were young. I assure you that your avatar is no more amazingly dressed then mine so not sure why you feel your so high and mighty dear.