The ZDF Magazine Royale with Jan Böhmermann focused on FIFA series and loot boxes on the evening of September 16. Immediately after the broadcast appeared in the ZDF media library, the German streamer Maximilian “Trymacs” Stemmler watched it on Twitch together with 22,000 viewers: He is one of the biggest streamers for FIFA 22 in Germany and is known for spending a lot of money in games. Although he appears in the video, he does not feel addressed by the criticism.
What was the video about?
- The episode of ZDF Magazine Royale from September 16 addressed “Dark Patterns” in video games: mechanics that intentionally frustrate players to make them spend money on microtransactions to overcome that frustration.
- As a special example, the FIFA series from EA was placed in the spotlight of the episode. FIFA is often criticized for its loot boxes, the “FIFA Packs”. They themselves see them as “fairly ethical surprise mechanics”, similar to Kinder Eggs.
- German Twitch streamers were repeatedly shown who play an advertising role in this cosmos, as ZDF Magazine Royale believes.
During the show, a contribution from MeinMMO from 2020 was also shown.
Trymacs reacts to ZDF Magazine Royale – MontanaBlack’s viewers are watching too
What was the special gag of the show? Böhmermann parodied Twitch streamers during the show by “reacting” to the video live.
He did this in a role that alluded to the German streamer MontanaBlack. It was recognizable because the fictional streamer said he was not handling the topic of “taxes” very well – it really got him down. It is known that MontanaBlack had problems with the tax office.
While alluding to this, Trymacs had to hold back laughter – just like in a later clip that showed the appearance of MontanaBlack at gamescom 2022, in which the streamer said the word “Bremslicht” instead of “brenzlich”.
Trymacs is number 2 in German Twitch for FIFA and a known cash spender
Why is Trymacs’s reaction interesting? The German streamer Trymacs is known for his content related to FIFA:
- Last year he was the second-largest streamer for FIFA 22 in Germany, only eliasn97 was larger
- Trymacs is also known for spending a lot of money in games and putting it into microtransactions.
MontanaBlack served as the model for Böhmermann’s parody:
Trymacs sharply criticizes EA, calls for a ban on FUT in Germany
How did Trymacs react to the video? The streamer repeatedly reacted positively to the video. He said he hopes this video reaches many, especially two weeks before FIFA 23 is released.
The Twitch streamer sharply criticized EA and even called for a ban on the loot box mode “FUT” in Germany, at least in the current version.
When he was seen in the video cheering wildly because he pulled Ronaldo, he said: People would surely think he was crazy. But one must know that for years no German YouTuber has ever pulled CR7.
In the end, he was confronted by his own chat that Böhmermann was also meaning him with his criticism of Twitch streamers in this video.
Trymacs read a message from the Twitch chat: “OMG, he means you”.
His gaming view is distinctly different from what the despised casino streamers do. If he were to start showing casino streams:
- maybe 5,000-10,000 people would start gambling
- of those maybe 500 people would become addicted to gambling
- and of those 500 maybe 10 would take their own lives
If I were to accept a million deal for casino, at least 10 people from my community – where I am the drop that overfills the barrel – would definitely take their lives because of me. That’s not the case with Hay Day.
The casino streamers from whom Trymacs distances himself have been a big topic on Twitch in recent weeks. Because while FIFA is described as “children’s casino”, there are also streamers who play in “adult casinos” in front of thousands of viewers.
The ZDF Magazine Royale has already dealt with gambling on Twitch in November 2020:
Böhmermann confronts German Twitch streamer Knossi
He responded:
No, he doesn’t mean me. He means people who promote: Hey, get yourself a PlayStation card with 5% discount from my keyseller. […] The ones who still earn money, those who profit from the gambling addiction of the viewers. “He means exactly you” – Well, I don’t earn with you falling into gambling addiction. Not a cent. I didn’t sell a single PlayStation card. I am not an EA partner. I am the only one who doesn’t advertise for FIFA.
Trymacs sees himself as someone who has repeatedly voiced criticism about FIFA and has already lost a lot because of it:
EA cracks down hard on this. As soon as someone says what kind of crap EA is doing – I still play it, but I just say what shit it is – you get blacklisted for all sponsorships. I used to do a lot with EA. What did we play together? Anthem, Battlefield, many games. That’s all over because I bash FIFA so much.
Trymacs follows the logic: There are much worse than me
The Twitch streamer sees his own play as rather harmless. Because he only plays games like Hay Day or Clash of Clans. Moreover, he always warns against following his example. The viewers should not spend money. Because it brings nothing.
His gaming view is distinctly different from what the despised casino streamers do. If he were to start showing casino streams:
- maybe 5,000-10,000 people would start gambling
- of those maybe 500 people would become addicted to gambling
- and of those 500 maybe 10 would take their own lives
If I were to accept a million deal for casino, at least 10 people from my community – where I am the drop that overfills the barrel – would definitely take their lives because of me. That’s not the case with Hay Day.
The casino streamers from whom Trymacs distances himself have been a big topic on Twitch in recent weeks. Because while FIFA is described as “children’s casino”, there are also streamers who play in “adult casinos” in front of thousands of viewers.
The ZDF Magazine Royale has already dealt with gambling on Twitch in November 2020:
