It seemed that the whole lootbox controversy was done with after the big Star Wars Battlefront II fiasco basically ruined the lootbox system for pretty much everyone (except Activision, naturally). EA DICE almost immediately removed the ability to pay for said lootboxes with real money in Star Wars Battlefront II, Monolith Studios admitted that the inclusion of lootboxes undermined the whole premise of the Nemesis system in Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Capcom made a statement that Monster Hunter: World would not have lootboxes because there’s already a randomised element to the game’s natural progression and that they wanted player to actually play their game, not pay their way through. Following this, more and more games are beginning to have no lootboxes in favour of more direct microtransactions. The hottest point of debate is whether or not the randomised loot system in exchange for some form of currency, whether it be a virtual currency purchased with real money or the lootboxes themselves be directly purchased with real money, is gambling. The general community is split, with one side claiming that the system is okay if “it’s only cosmetic” and the other side finding all form of paid lootboxes despicable.
Just this past week the Belgian government ruled that lootboxes were indeed a form of gambling and as a result Blizzard were forced to pull the lootboxes from their hit multiplayer shooter, Overwatch, as well as Heroes of the Storm, their MOBA. Following this, publisher/developer 2K Games virtually pleaded with asked the NBA 2K community to contact their local government representatives and argue that the current lootbox-for-money system doesn’t violate the Belgian government’s ruling.
A recent study conducted by Dr David Zendle from York St. John University and Dr Paul Cairns from the University of York, which was brought about by a paid online survey from 7422 gamers, has added fuel to the fire coming out with the claim that, due to the similarities between traditional gambling and lootboxes, the microtransactions were a danger to gamers (especially those at a younger age). According to the study’s findings, the classification system should be modified for “parental advisories for games that feature lootboxes” and “a descriptor outlining the game itself features gambling content”.
The Australian Senate’s inquiry into microtransactions that was originally going to be set to table a report by Tuesday has been delayed until October 17th as a result of these findings. The delay is also to allow time for more findings that might help with the inquiry, whether it be evidence or extra hearings. Once the report has been tabled on October 17th it will be published online.
Jordan lives and breathes Dark Souls, even though his favourite game is Bloodborne. He takes pride in bashing his face on walls and praising the sun. Hailing from the land of tacos, he is the token minority for WellPlayed.
