BANGS
Banned
lmfao! Guess we better ban ticket prizes at chuck e cheese and dave and busters now... those places are just casinos disguised as harmless fun...
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Lawmaker who called out Star Wars Battlefront 2 lays out plans for anti-loot box law
- Thread starter Alexander DeLarge
- Start date
lmfao! Guess we better ban ticket prizes at chuck e cheese and dave and busters now... those places are just casinos disguised as harmless fun...
Louis Cyphre
Banned
Because if I get a rare card I can trade them with someone or even sell it. Tell me how I can sell a loot crate or trade them from PSN or Xbox Live, thanks.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-E...022210?hash=item33db722202:g:LNUAAOSw5cNYRatE
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Psa-8-Poke...675317?hash=item5452479335:g:zsgAAOSwjM5aCU60
Even if you do make the argument Diable 3 and DOTA have items that can be traded and sold, the thing is PSN and Xbox Live are not set up that way so there is no value there to them. But again we are talking about loot crates that are not about prestige items or rare items in the game, we are talking about loot crates that are totally designed to curb grinding (that everyone else must face who don't pay extra) and to fast track you. Who would support such poor game design where someone pays to have an unfair advantage like being able to shoot 20% faster or turn 20% faster while everyone else is limited? This shit should be illegal.
BANGS
Banned
Who cares if cards hold monetary value? I thought the argument was all about the children becoming gambling addicts? How does that change anything? Will somebody think about the children?!?
Oh that's right, cause it's all bullshit and people are using any excuse they can think of to justify it. Stop hiding behind the bullshit, it won't get you anywhere...
Oh that's right, cause it's all bullshit and people are using any excuse they can think of to justify it. Stop hiding behind the bullshit, it won't get you anywhere...
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
unhealthy_skeptic
Neo Member
Nobody is supporting poor game design. That isn't the issue. The issue is that lawmakers like Chris Lee want to take a heavy-handed approach to policing games for gambling. I only brought up cases where the line between gambling or not were somewhat blurred, and that it wouldn't be appropriate to let legislators make the call. Instead, we should be relying on customers to use their common sense and keep their wallets in control. Nobody is debating that games like Battlefront 2 selling characters online obscured by a gambling mechanic is a scummy practice.
Are people completely blind to how harmful giving power to the government to control what you access is for consumers? Nobody sane believe that EA's practices should be supported. However, the decision to purchase or not purchase products needs to stay in the hands of consumers, NOT the government.
Schrödinger's cat
Banned
Parents?
Louis Cyphre
Banned
What if I buy the game and a month later EA introduces loot crates for people to buy their way to victory easier, what compensation should I get? There has to be some protection to the consumer other than relying on review sites on how intrusive loot crates and microtranasctions are. I pay for the game, I don't expect my gaming progress to be throttled back in favor of grinding and the only alternative is to pay for loot crates or spend thousands of hours trying to unlock everything.
It's pretty simple. Adults Only rating for any game that has loot boxes in them. They should not be sold to kids.
And as for the prospect of patching loot boxes into the game after the fact, if you're going to market something as appropriate to children/teens, it would be like patching in a bunch of sexual content after the fact into a Mario Game months later. It wouldn't/shouldn't be ethical.
The game industry just kept pushing and pushing with these money making schemes, so they've opened themselves up for regulation. Can't say I'm losing any sleep over it.
And as for the prospect of patching loot boxes into the game after the fact, if you're going to market something as appropriate to children/teens, it would be like patching in a bunch of sexual content after the fact into a Mario Game months later. It wouldn't/shouldn't be ethical.
The game industry just kept pushing and pushing with these money making schemes, so they've opened themselves up for regulation. Can't say I'm losing any sleep over it.
SonicSleuth
Member
This guy is a blowhard trying to make a name for himself on the back of a big news story.
If he really gave a crap about gambling and kids and addiction based on predatory game spending, he would have targeted Candy Crush, Pokemon Go, and all the rest of the garbage that baits kids into spending a little at a time.
It's ridiculous that the "those are free to play!" argument flies for anybody. Kids don't even make the initial purchase frequently, anyhow.
So dumb. So very dumb.
If he really gave a crap about gambling and kids and addiction based on predatory game spending, he would have targeted Candy Crush, Pokemon Go, and all the rest of the garbage that baits kids into spending a little at a time.
It's ridiculous that the "those are free to play!" argument flies for anybody. Kids don't even make the initial purchase frequently, anyhow.
So dumb. So very dumb.
BlitzerRadic
Member
I'm using the legal definition. If you're asking for government regulation, then that's the only definition that matters.
Prizes having real world value matters. Otherwise things like charity casino night would be illegal gambling since the chips you win have no real world value. Any game with RNG loot would be gambling as well.
The reality here is that no matter how much you want loot boxes to be gambling, they aren't. A US court of law already ruled that social casino games aren't gambling because the prizes have no real world value. In case you aren't familiar with social casino games, you buy chips with real money to play virtual casino games like slots, black jack, roulette, etc and win virtual chips. Now if a US court of law said social casino games aren't gambling, what makes you think loot boxes will be any different?
Starbuck2907
Member
Hell yea, we would get rid of shitty loot boxes. Sounds great to me. Ive never bought one and never will. I would rather be able to just directly buy the content that I want than get fucked over time and time again by some random chance game.
Why the heck would anyone want lootboxes? In a free to play game, fine, otherwise, I am 100% against them.
Azelover
Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.
Notice how he makes no mention of iOS and Android, where most children play and is no stranger to having gambling software. I don't know if they still have them but my family has definitely gambled on these smartphones, my mom has spent thousands on some kind of nickle and dime, and I'm still paying for it.
I want iOS to end so bad, but I know it ain't happening in this lifetime. It's too protected and vital to the whole system.
I want iOS to end so bad, but I know it ain't happening in this lifetime. It's too protected and vital to the whole system.
Petrae
Member
If the video game industry wants to keep the government from doing any loot box regulation, than it needs to institute its own much like we saw with the creation of the ESRB to head off regulation of violent video game sales.
Back then, however, the fear was real after lawmakers demanded meetings with industry leaders in DC. Theres nothing like that in the works right now, to try and put pressure on anyone, so theres no fear. Loot boxes will continue and expand once the heat on Battlefront II wears off and people forget about the game. Its not like loot boxes arent the norm now; another year or two of consumer conditioning, and the complaints will go way down.
radewagon
Member
If all parents were responsible, we wouldn't need government regulation of lots of things. Many arguments against government regulation often assume that individuals (or corporations) will make responsible choices when left to their own devices. Often times they don't.
That's not to say that self-regulation doesn't work. It can. And for a long while it has been very successful in the realm of video games via the ESRB. Unfortunately for the gaming industry, the ESRB really dropped the ball on the loot box thing when it gave them a free pass. That decision really opened the door for outside regulation from the government.
The way I've always seen it, if an industry can't fix its own problems, they open the door to having the government stepping in to fix it for them.
Shotgun Anaconda
Member
I read a good post on reddit that this wont really do anything, if it's the box and item itself they will just rebrand it to make e.g. the loot drop from certain enemies that you only find in a certain area and you buy access to that area with a ticket every 30 min.
A much better way or start is to make them do what china does, show the % and chance of "winning" for all boxes or whatever.
A much better way or start is to make them do what china does, show the % and chance of "winning" for all boxes or whatever.
BANGS
Banned
That's true only of you really actually believe loot boxes are gambling and should be regulated, most people with common sense disagree. This is why even though loot boxes and all kinds of other scummy microtransactions have been around for years, it only became a big deal when it was attached to the star wars licence. Esrb doesnt think with their bitter emotions like all the people botching recently are...
I_dont_care
Neo Member
Having the stakes be monetary gain is LITERALLY what makes an activity gambling.
Its insane that this argument has twisted around so far that you are arguing something isnt gambling because the prize has monetary value. Thats fucking crazy.
I lived with a gambling addict for half my life. I promise if the rewards for slot were virtual hats and stickers they wouldnt have gotten addicted to it. This shit isnt gambling. Words have to mean something.