Lootboxes getting the shaft!
This came across my news feed yesterday, but I didn't get the chance to really have a listen until now.
We all remember the lootbox debacle of 2017, specifically with EA's Star Wars Battlefront II. These same Laymen Gaming guys found that more than half of EA's profits come from lootbox microtransactions, and they went out of their way to include it in everything they could. If you're like me, you see just how much of a problem this can be. Especially when there are games that have wide appeal to parents, like FIFA, Madden, or Need for Speed.
There were some discussions back in 2017 about regulating lootboxes in gaming, with Hawaii state senator Chris Lee introduced a bill in the State Legislature that ultimately died in committee, but it sowed the seeds of growth for the idea. Now we're finally hearing that Missouri senator Josh Hawley is introducing a bill that would specifically and explicitly prohibit lootboxes in games that are sold to minors.
Logistics and implementation aside, I support this action. I personally believe that this is a perfect point in time for government intervention in the face of predatory business practices. I personally believe that government should not intervene in social and economic issues, unless absolutely necessary to protect its citizens. This whole issue is a prime example of when government should intervene to protect its own.
What do you think? Will this pass the legislature? Will it become law? Is Senator Hawley on the right track here?
It would be interesting, the mobile game world would be devastated if it included any and all "pay to win" business models. My only hope is that if the law is drafted, and passed that they understand the difference between the rewards some games give out for playing, and the predatory ones that EA and quite a few other companies have implemented.
That's the problem. The way the Wilson lootbox works is almost identical to mobile P2W lootboxes. Which are rampant in East Asia, by the way. China, Korea, and Japan are notorious for these practices. Which is why so many people are worried about Tencent's involvement in Blizzard...
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