Loot Boxes are Gambling - Get fucked EA

[djzombie]

Rep Chris Lee from Hawaii came out initially and said the new battlefront game is a star wars themed casino intended to trick kids into gambling. He literally said "It's a trap!"

This is a video he released about legislation he is trying to pull together.

[Psion]

honestly? fuck loot boxes. i honestly prefer just buying the stupid items and knowing what you get, ala FFXIV's glamour store. you want people to have the joy of the unknown, just put random loot in the game itse....oh wait, we already have that. in like, almost every game.

[Ksandra]

I hope this starts passing.

My nephew spends all the money he gets as gifts on Overwatch lootboxes. And he's only 7.

[dasva]

Also fuck non cosmetic microtransactions on a AAA title with a price commiserate with that. Pay to play AND pay extra to win wtf. Seriously people have blow 10s of thousands of dollars on games because of this. Several European countries getting involved too.

[Ragnus]

At that point it's on the parents to start teaching their kid some financial responsibility and the value of a dollar.

I really hope that EA causes another video game crash because they need to actually face some consequences for instantly taking every idea to it's worst possible iteration.

[Deejay]

At that point it's on the parents to start teaching their kid some financial responsibility and the value of a dollar.

You're kind of missing the point though. These corporations are spending millions of dollars marketing these IP's to children so they can turn around and charge them and their parents money just for a chance at a skin.

That shit is beyond fucked and needs to go.

[Ragnus]

I'm not arguing that point. While that's true, it's also on the parents to help shield their kid from / teach their kids to not fall into corporate bullshit like this.

[dasva]

At that point it's on the parents to start teaching their kid some financial responsibility and the value of a dollar.

To an extent but remember there is a reason why pretty much the entire world has laws against letting children gamble. Forget actively marketing to them in their own home. This isn't something the average kid or even a lot of adults will get even if they know it. Gambling is very much an addiction

[Ksandra]

At that point it's on the parents to start teaching their kid some financial responsibility and the value of a dollar.

I don't know how your parents did it growing up, but when I got money (gifts, working, etc.), my parents would put some money away in savings and let me use the rest. Which, honestly, I think was fair. It's good to teach kids responsibility, but it is also good for them to get to choose what they like and want to spend some of their money on as reality is you don't always get what you want. IE. I got a Dell computer way back in the day, which is something my parents never would have thought to get me.

But add the game gambling addiction into the mix means you are fighting as a parent to get kids off the addiction while still wanting them to recognize they can take ownership of their own money.

[Ragnus]

I'm not sure what your brother or sister does with the kid when it comes to getting stuff, but it would probably be good to start presenting them with scenarios where their lootbox spending habits directly impact their ability to get something else.

I basically had free reign of my money when it came to buying toys and stuff, but when that birthday/holiday money ran out that was it. I got pretty good about planning that kinda stuff around age 11-12.

[Niiro]

When we were 7 we did not have the option of spending literally all of our money over a digital medium buying (see: gambling for) worthless pixels 24/7.

Giving a 7 year old even the option of spending what little money they have on video game lootboxes is ridiculous.

[Ragnus]

There's still some kinda enabling factor here though. The parents have to drive the kid to the store to get Blizz cards or let the kid use their credit card to make the purchases. A seven year old doesn't have a debit card or other means to validate the 24/7 argument. This is assuming the kid just isn't asking everyone for Blizz cards for every gift giving occasion.

The bullshit pixels thing is totally valid.

(I'm not meaning to totally harp on your nephew specifically, Ksandra. I'm just using him as a catalyst to talk about the subject matter. I'll totally drop it if you want.)

[dasva]

I'll reiterate almost the entire world has laws against allowing minors to gamble. Hell large portions of the US are 21. We don't market addictions to kids because it's more than just a simple matter of knowing better

[Ksandra]

Dude, I am not about to tell in-laws how to raise their kid.

And this smells of sanctimommy (even if you are a dude).

Kids don't have impulse control, this is why it's illegal in the first place.

My kids hadve the advantage that hubby and I play, and we don't spend a penny on that stuff, so we can model by example. That's not going to be the same in every household.

[Ksandra]

We should make smoking legal for kids, because ya know, parents will just teach them not to do it.

[arus2001]

I like how it's the parents' fault that game devs are being assholes here. The video game equivalent of "Did you see that dress she was wearing?" I guess.

More pragmatically, the whole lootbox/gacha problem is just one of those problems we need to address in more modern gaming. While not the case for all titles, we need things like the ability to earn/unlock all launch content through normal, reasonable play. Forcing games with solo play to be always online, frequently related to intrusive DRM, and no direct play options that don't require a sub to something like PSN or XBL. DLCs being grossly overpriced and underdeveloped with little profit likely going back to the creators themselves. Heck, even significant failures to enforce their own ToS relative to cheating and behaviors.

I'm not against fleshed out, fairly priced expansions, but there really needs to be some sort of standardization that goes on relative to the host title. Wanting $10-20 for a single stage or a costume is predatory. Though I'm also cognizant that making a zone for an RPG requires more attention to detail than your average FPS. So it's not like there's a one-size-fits-all solution to be had.

[BerenTebogo]

I like how it's the parents' fault that game devs are being assholes here. The video game equivalent of "Did you see that dress she was wearing?" I guess.

More pragmatically, the whole lootbox/gacha problem is just one of those problems we need to address in more modern gaming. While not the case for all titles, we need things like the ability to earn/unlock all launch content through normal, reasonable play. Forcing games with solo play to be always online, frequently related to intrusive DRM, and no direct play options that don't require a sub to something like PSN or XBL. DLCs being grossly overpriced and underdeveloped with little profit likely going back to the creators themselves. Heck, even significant failures to enforce their own ToS relative to cheating and behaviors.

I'm not against fleshed out, fairly priced expansions, but there really needs to be some sort of standardization that goes on relative to the host title. Wanting $10-20 for a single stage or a costume is predatory. Though I'm also cognizant that making a zone for an RPG requires more attention to detail than your average FPS. So it's not like there's a one-size-fits-all solution to be had.

Get back to grinding crystals and your grid you pleb.

[arus2001]

fk off botter

[Niiro]

I'm not against fleshed out, fairly priced expansions, but there really needs to be some sort of standardization that goes on relative to the host title. Wanting $10-20 for a single stage or a costume is predatory. Though I'm also cognizant that making a zone for an RPG requires more attention to detail than your average FPS. So it's not like there's a one-size-fits-all solution to be had.

Video games are no longer niche. Cast a net wide enough and it doesn't matter how shallow the pool is, you'll catch more than you need.

If you can get enough people to pay 10$ for a hat (or, even better, 100$ for a chance at a hat) then you've unlocked the secret cheat code of bilking money from saps rather than creating a quality product.

[Jefe]

Y'all sound like a bunch of old farts, 'back in the days..' tbqh. Other than that, yeah. It's a godamn scam and hope them greedy fucks get fucked.