Lootboxes VS The World - UK Gambling Commission Taking Action!

Fornite is going to die because it makes a lot of money from Lootboxes. Other F2P games might die has well. I am all for the death of Lootboxes in no F2P games. I just fear that the line getting pulled to far one way then two far another way. I believe there is a happy medium. We just have to find it.

Solution: Keep regular random lootboxes for leveling up just as extra cosmetic rewards, but for those who REALLY want that new skin there should be a way you can turn real-world money into in-game currency to straight up buy the skin (no element of chance therefore it's not gambling, it's just a consumer purchase). Additionally, game developers need to stop releasing games at full price and then making players pay more money to unlock more of the game's main story. DLC is EXTRA STUFF, not MAIN STUFF!!

As much as I don't really like loot boxes, I still question the priorities of governments even more every single damn time this subject comes up. Such a crappy first world issue, this is the sad state of the world we live in.

Micro transactions for cosmetic: good for both sides Micro transactions for in game perks: greedy and causes problems for game communities That simple.

shout out to the old vs logo from achievement hunter in the thumbnail lol. (also very interesting story)

Spending money for an unknown reward, generated by unknown rates of probability. Sounds like gambling.

Ok they ban loot boxes, game prices jump up

Also say goodbye to a large number of free-to-play games

As with everything else governments get involved in this is going to be a shit show and probably make things worse... however the regulators are clearly wanting to get the industry to sort themselves out - and a lot of them have done a lot towards that (take _NOTE_ E.A.) - so it bodes well for a solution more in line with that of the ratings systems than that of the gambling industry (light touch with prosecution of those that step out of line with the industry itself help police the system by negotiating and then helping authorities to prosecute rather than heavy handed government regulation and laws with really stiff penalties for even the slightest infraction). If the industry wants a bloodbath though then all they have to do is not cooperate - but its their own funeral if they do. You can be sure of one thing though, Nintendo is gonna come out of it sparkling clean :P - I have to wonder if this is the reason they have been so reluctant in the first place...

If it keeps microtransactions out of full price games then I am just fine with that.

As a parent I don’t necessarily think loot boxes are gambling but they do teach gambling habits. I often find myself at odds with video games and my kids enjoyment of them. I grew up gaming and my kids have as well but the nature of games is different. Back when I was a kid as long as I put the hours in I could grind out the thing I wanted now though my kids will put in the work and then have to throw their hard work at chance to see if they get the thing they want. Or maybe the thing they want can only be bought with money. It teaches them on a subconscious level that no matter how hard you work it’s all chance or all about money. That if they want to get ahead or what they want they have to roll the dice so to speak. I try to balance this out by rewarding their irl hard work (chores) with the video game rewards they want but still encountering those messages everyday as a child leaves a mark. The fact that most games target kids with ‘loot box’ tactics is wrong. The video game companies know what they are doing and if they won’t regulate this than we the people should demand our governments do. Even if it doesn’t fall under the umbrella of actual gambling the habits in which it enforces scream breeding of future gamblers. I hate the idea of having to regulate my households main choice for fun and relaxation because of greedy corporations. To have to explain to a six year old they can’t get that loot box with the super awesome item in it because the odds they’ll get that item are astronomically low. To deal with kids begging for (insert generic game cash you can only buy with real money) because they love a game but it gets so grindy/boring so fast they can’t enjoy it anymore. Or having to comfort a young child after they threw all their hard work at the slot machine of loot boxes and still didn’t get the item. That frustration and unfairness is not something they should be experiencing so young well playing a game supposedly designed for their enjoyment. That isn’t the kind of frustration a video game should cause... frustration over a hard level and the satisfaction of finally beating it. The endless grind of tokens until you finally complete that awesome armour set... your hard work should always be met with an equivalent reward.

I was concerned for a while that the issue would boil down to a simple "is it gambling" argument that companies could fairly easily worm they way out of on technicality of the term. I'm glad to hear that they're addressing the blured lines in between, because as much as I dislike loot boxes and similar pay for random crap microtransactions, sometimes "gambling" isn't what I'd specifically classify them as, and the companies know that there's gotta be hundreds of way to skirt around that particular label of "gambling". As long as the people looking into this issue focus on the actual issues and implications rather than the label, I think it could be a good thing.