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Anyone avoiding games with loot boxes this Fall and beyond?

Poster#1

Member
Loot boxes are OK when they are only cosmetic (although some people would argue against that) but recently all big releases have them and somewhat affect the balance of the game. Even SINGLE PLAYER GAMES! this literally broke me and decided I won't support any game with loot boxes unless it's cosmetic.

Here's my list so far:

Forza 7
Shadow of War
Star Wars: Battlefront 2
Assasin Creed: Origins. Edit: I added this because of the other thread claiming loot boxes are in the game. No official statement from Ubi yet.

I might get them later on huge discount, but no way I'd get them on day 1. This shit is really off-putting and needs to stop.
 

Xater

Member
Yup, skipping all of those. Battlefront not just because of the loot boxes though. I also think it's a bad game.
 

watdaeff4

Member
I'm part of the problem as I don't have a hard stance but my line in the sand I think is when the game is designed to try to heavily entice loot boxes or any other MT for SP progression.

Due to this I'm still buying Battlefront 2 for the campaign as well as the offline co-op to play with my sons hi are Star Wars fans and would love it. I'm avoiding MP in that game

I'm taking a pass I think on Forza 7, Shadows of War (unless GAFer impressions say it's not that bad once released) and NBA2k18

Assassins Creed loot boxes aren't for real money
 

Pooya

Member
Those games are so easy to avoid, np for me :b

I feel the only publisher that makes single player games worth a damn on a regular basis right now is Bethesda and fortunately they're not doing this shit.... yet.
 
Not really. If a game looks fun I'll jump in.

That said I don't see myself engaging with their loot boxes. The only game where I've felt like shelling out is for the cosmetics in Overwatch.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I don't really have to. I honestly don't care for AC:O or Shadow of War or Star Wars and I don't have Xbox one for Forza 7.

The only games Im excited for rest of this year are Evil Within 2 and .hack//G.U. Last Recode.
 
Probably by coincidence for the most part due to the fact that the games going this route will largely be uninspired, but yes I will make it an effort not to support shitty games like that just like I didn't buy 2K for the last two years despite missing the gameplay.
 

Skinpop

Member
I'm skipping anything that contains a loot box period. I'm somewhat ok with micro transactions for cosmetics and DLC when no other business model is viable but anything containing a random element is reprehensible and should be outlawed.
 

DMONKUMA

Junior Member
For the case of AC:Origins it doesn't use actual money but in game currency right? Dunno about the others.....either way I'm not picking any of these up.

I generally don't have a problem with loot boxes in general even if their in SP games(I don't spend my money on them either way), only if it effects gameplay heavily then yeah...
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
I've never bought a loot box amiibo, etc., in my life. (I've bought DLC for games I already enjoyed before, but I don't buy all DLC, just DLC stuff that personally interests me).

But I don't avoid games because it has that content in them, and there's plenty of games out there with this stuff in them which are fun and you honestly don't have to buy jackshit if you don't want to. I'm lucky though that most of the games I'm interested in don't feature it heavily (I'm not that interested in Shadow of Mordor, Star Wars Battlefront 2, Forza, or anything else for other reasons personally). There's a few games I've played which has lootbox type things in them and I've enjoyed a lot without ever buying anything in them.

I am curious which ways the market may turn though since I think it's inevitable gaming is at a conjuncture that may last several years which may change things going forward for the industry. I honestly think gaming is in a 'transition' period of sorts where it's finding its footing as a business right now, since honestly there's some things about the game industry which is incredibly unhealthy right now, both for developers and consumers.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Can't say it'll affect which games I'll buy -- the games implementing loot boxes are the same design-by-committee shlock I already wasn't playing.
 

LinLeigh

Member
Is assassin's creed really that bad? They have had micro transactions for years and most people don't even know they exist because they don't really affect the game.
 

jrush64

Banned
I guess me in the sense that I have no interest in any of those games except AC Origins. If the game does have lootboxes, I'm getting it used.
 

Yam's

Member
I cannot recall playing a game where loot boxes were an issue that wasn't a korean mmo.

I have never bought loot boxes and never will, yet I still have to come across a game where this hinders my progression (except korean mmo).

AC Origins shouldn't be on that list btw. At least not yet.
 
After seeing that Battlefront 2 loot boxes are the only way to get damage boosts and abilities for characters, I can't be fucked with it.
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
the only one i was considering was Battlefront II but i'll be passing on that not because of the loot boxes because it looks/runs/plays really badly.

i'll still be playing Overwatch/Rocket League so yeah loot boxes/crates don't really bother me.
 
It's easy for me, since none of those titles were anywhere ner the top of my priority list of games to play. But loot boxes definitely kan make a title go from "perhaps" to "lol nope".

I have dabbled with loot boxes in Overwatch, and while the idea of gambling to get unlocks is pretty awful, I didn't put that much thought of it, especially with consideration to how many hours I have gotten out of my initial Overwatch purchase.

But attempts to make it industry standard? Get the f*ck out of here developers.

Shadows of War might be an entertaining game in it's core, but WB and Monotith has included so many awful things in this now, that I would feel like an idiot to buy into it and give them $60 for it now.
 

ViviOggi

Member
Jury's still out on Asscreed but yeah the others are already easy passes. Should also add Destiny 2 to that list
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
Jury's still out on Asscreed but yeah the others are already easy passes. Should also add Destiny 2 to that list
destiny doesn't have loot boxes though.

the only thing you can buy is currency for Bright Engrams which are probably the most useless engrams in the game unless you care about cosmetics. you don't even need to pay for them because you get them each time you level up anyway. you only pay if you want more of them.
 
I buy games that I enjoy. I have tons of games (some of which I play regularly) which have loot boxes or other forms of MT, including but not limited to Rocket League, FIFA, Call Of Duty, Halo 5, Forza 6, Overwatch and so on. Never once in my life I genuinely considered buying loot boxes, except for Rocket League where after hundreds of hours of playing for 20 Euros and getting massive updates for free, I kinda want to reward the devs by buying 5 or 10 Euros worth of keys. I did not do this but I might down the line.

If I were to boycott entire games over predatory DLCs, loot boxes, MTs... what should I buy? There is barely anything on the market that offers dozens of hours of different content without grinding and does not want some kind of later payment. As long as loot boxes don't ruin the game's flow I'll never be not okay with not buying the base game: I played Rocket League for so much and I never had any disadvantage for not paying more than others. To me, Destiny 1 adding 100$+ of DLC that is practically necessary to keep on playing or Asura's Wrath literally putting the ending in a DLC is far worse. Why? Because loot boxes or not I can play the games and win. In those other cases I literally miss out on key content if I don't open my wallet. Loot boxes are trash but it's far from the worst thing the industry has done these past years and it's odd how everyone fights this particular issue but gladly ignores the rest.
 

LowRoller

Member
First of all you can't buy the assassins creed lootboxes with real money . Second of all none of those loot boxes will affect the game balance in any way, but there's no point in me even saying this y'all will see a single mention of a loot box and scream your head off like little children.
 

Domstercool

Member
I'll buy the games I want to play, but I'll just not buy the loot boxes that are in the game with money.

I don't think other people can have the same restraint though, so cave into the cash grab.
 
Yep. I really don't like the way gaming is heading - I bought Injustice 2 earlier this year and that was full of lootbox bullshit. This was the first time I really noticed it as I'm not a big multiplayer guy.

As it stands, my next definite buys are Mario Odyssey and Wolfenstein 2 (and perhaps South Park if the reviews are any good). I loved Shadow of Mordor but I'm not touching the sequel because loot boxes have absolutely no place in a single player full price game. None at all.

This year - Zelda and Horizon aside - i've found myself gravitating smaller titles like Nex Machina or Superhot much more than AAA games anyway. Everything is rapidly becoming a £45 purchase designed to make you spend more money on worthless shit. It's inexcusable, intrusive and just sucks the fun out.
 

MadeULook

Member
Nah, but only really because I'm not really interested in in buying any of them expect for Shadow of War, which I plan to get on sale later. Too much stuff to play right now anyway.

It won't stop me from buying a game though. I get the feeling they are inevitable anyways.
 
I've never bought a loot box amiibo, etc., in my life. (I've bought DLC for games I already enjoyed before, but I don't buy all DLC, just DLC stuff that personally interests me).

Ah, someone brought up the thing I asked in the other thread: which was if Breath of the Wild's Amiibo implementation was a loot box!

What? People can decide for themselves where they want to draw the line in the sand.

I believe that's his point. The OP has listed certain boxes as not "OK".
 

brau

Member
AC Origins have loot boxes? Like MP? If it's in the single player I'm out.

I'm.already not buying into Shadow of War. Don't want to support the loot box microtransactio standard.
 

GHG

Gold Member
Who are you to decide what makes for an acceptable loot box?

OP posted his opinion, he didn't decide for everyone.

Anyway, I'm with you OP. I managed to get the standard edition of Forza 7 for a heavily discounted price but if not gif that I wouldn't have bothered due to the lootbox stuff. It's sad that they clearly put a lot of effort into that rather than improving/making additions to other areas of the game.

The rest I'm avoiding. Might get AC when it's cheap on the PC next year if the game is actually good. I have a backlog and would rather double dip on the Witcher 3 now that it has PS4 Pro support to support developers who still have their integrity intact.
 

dex3108

Member
Yep. I really don't like the way gaming is heading - I bought Injustice 2 earlier this year and that was full of lootbox bullshit. This was the first time I really noticed it as I'm not a big multiplayer guy.

As it stands, my next definite buys as Mario Odyssey and Wolfenstein 2 (and perhaps South Park if the reviews are any good). I loved Shadow of Mordor but I'm not touching the sequel because loot boxes have absolutely no place in a single player full price game. None at all.

This year - Zelda and Horizon aside - i've found myself gravitating smaller titles like Nex Machina or Superhot much more than AAA games anyway. Everything is rapidly becoming a £45 purchase designed to make you spend more money on worthless shit. It's inexcusable, intrusive and just sucks the fun out.

Fun fact Assassin's Creed Origins loot chest is same exactly mechanic that is in Horizon. Mysterious merchant will sell you chest that contains random item for in-game money.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
I am with you OP cool thread.
Fyi.

Ea and ubi games get dirt cheap fast (so never buy those games day 1) 🤓
 

DocSeuss

Member
Common sense? Loot boxes that gives you an advantage is not ok.

I really want to be snarky here because I think it's funny, but I'm not gonna. I'm gonna assume you're arguing in good faith, so...

1) the argument you are making is generally the PVP related argument, which I am fine with. It is, essentially, "it allows rich players to spend real money gain competitive advantages over poorer players, which sucks." There are lots of reasons this sucks, like poorer players generally not having the same amount of leisure time to grind and be on an even playing field (it's a lot easier to work a 9-5 office job and blow a hundred bucks on loot boxes like it's nothing than it is to work 50-60 hours a week like I used to for less than minimum age just tryin to survive), stuff like that. It's shit and it's inherently unfair. I agree.

2) the problem with this argument is that you haven't taken into account the games in the OP, which are not competitive games. Consider, for instance, Forza 7. The loot boxes in Forza 7 do not offer competitive advantages, nor are they cosmetic only. Many of them drop cosmetics, but the main thing they drop is mods. Mods are more like random challenges; they basically give an XP or credit bonus to players

3) there are plenty of other games that implement non-cosmetic loot boxes in interesting ways. Consider Warframe's relics, which are loot boxes with specific drop rates for individual items within them. Players can get relics through gameplay, then run missions to open the relics, then get item drops in them. Opening a relic also gives you voice traces, which allows you to adjust the drop chances of items in the relics. What are these items? Prime items. You can just spend $80-140 to buy them all, or you can farm for a few weeks. I have all Prime warframes in the entire game thanks largely to relics, or platinum I got from selling Prime parts I got from relics I didn't need. Warframe is a cooperative game, so they don't give you an unfair advantage. Anyone can get prime stuff through gameplay.

Basically, the OP's argument is a pile of steaming shit, presuming that a game mechanic OP doesn't like is inherently bad, and only good when it's done the way the OP likes it. The OP has not thought this through, or, if OP has, the OP has not demonstrated as such in the argument.

What? People can decide for themselves where they want to draw the line in the sand.

OP said loot boxes were only okay when they were cosmetic.
 

WaterAstro

Member
I'm skipping those.

Well, I'm play League of Legends, which has a sort of loot box for cosmetics, but I haven't paid for any loot boxes or keys. A f2p game with free ways of getting boxes. I like their system better than other lootboxes.
 

GHG

Gold Member
Fun fact Assassin's Creed Origins loot chest is same exactly mechanic that is in Horizon. Mysterious merchant will sell you chest that contains random item for in-game money.

As long as it stays that way and the game economy is reasonable then I'm ok with it.

If they add the option to buy them with real money then no bueno.
 

Theorry

Member
AC Origins have loot boxes? Like MP? If it's in the single player I'm out.

I'm.already not buying into Shadow of War. Don't want to support the loot box microtransactio standard.

There is no MT with that in Origins. You just get some loot from vendors with ingame currency. Like Horizon.
 
Fun fact Assassin's Creed Origins loot chest is same exactly mechanic that is in Horizon. Mysterious merchant will sell you chest that contains random item for in-game money.

I wouldn't buy an Ass Creed game regardless of loot boxes as they're not my cup of tea.

I imagine a good sum of Switch owners would skip rocket league as well then.

Does RL have micro transaction loot boxes now?

When did DLC move from being a particular in game item to the equivalent of gambling on a lottery scratch card?
 

drotahorror

Member
I don't skip games I am interested in playing no. You can think you're taking a stand but it's not going to do anything because there's millions more just like me that buy games they want to play, even if they don't agree with the business practices.

Of the games listed I'm buying Shadow of War. I have no interest in the others.
 
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