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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Belgium says loot boxes are gambling, wants them banned in Europe

Nautilus on 21 November 2017
GribbleGrunger said:
SecondWar said:

Because it's passable when the initial game is free - people get that the developer has to get their money from somewhere. But most people take issue when its tacked onto full-priced console games, as its a sneaky way to boost margins.

Naa, you're thinking about your own motives for disliking it. I'm talking about their motives for disliking it because they apply to phone games too:

 "The mixing of money and addiction is gambling," the Gaming Commission declared. Belgium's Minister of Justice Koen Geens also weighed in, saying, "Mixing gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child." 

And there have been numerous stories over the years of children costing parents hundreds of dollars/pounds because of mobile game transactions. So why now? 

Because its getting more proeminent.Hardly a popular decision(for better or worse, lootboxes are very popular now) that does something wrong blows in the companys face at the early stages.Its just when it starts to get out of control, like now(and specially with a really famous brand like Star Wars), that people with the ability to do actually something about the subject(in another words, not gamers) start to pay attention.Mark my words, lootboxes as they are right now is going to dissapear or developers will dial it way down in a few years.



My (locked) thread about how difficulty should be a decision for the developers, not the gamers.

https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=241866&page=1

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Kerozinn on 21 November 2017

Thats great news ! Still i think overwatch does lootboxes right but OVERALL it would be better if they didnt exist in the first place because other companies are abusing them . Very happy with this!



SvennoJ on 21 November 2017
GribbleGrunger said:
SecondWar said:

Because it's passable when the initial game is free - people get that the developer has to get their money from somewhere. But most people take issue when its tacked onto full-priced console games, as its a sneaky way to boost margins.

Naa, you're thinking about your own motives for disliking it. I'm talking about their motives for disliking it because they apply to phone games too:

 "The mixing of money and addiction is gambling," the Gaming Commission declared. Belgium's Minister of Justice Koen Geens also weighed in, saying, "Mixing gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child." 

And there have been numerous stories over the years of children costing parents hundreds of dollars/pounds because of mobile game transactions. So why now? 

Was there chance involved in what they purchased? I've heard of those stories as well but it was always about buying in game currency or skins etc. Plus that has led to better regulation and forced Apple to tighten up their parental controls.

A closer alternative is why are Pokemon blind card packs not gambling? Loot boxes are merely the digital equivalent.




GhaudePhaede010 on 21 November 2017

This is going to be tough to win. In a physical sense, lootboxes are no different from Pokemon or Magic the Gathering card packs. This could be a very uphill battle that affects many companies and that may ruffle a lot of corporate feathers.



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irstupid on 21 November 2017

Woot Woot.

I know this won't do anything immediately but it's a start.



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Kerozinn on 21 November 2017

im curious to see what games will cost as a consequences in like 2020



jason1637 on 21 November 2017

Doubt it will be banned. I think games with loot boxes are going to become 18+ and state that it has gambling



Azuren on 21 November 2017

Good. This pleases me.



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jason1637 on 21 November 2017
Ka-pi96 said:
jason1637 said:
Doubt it will be banned. I think games with loot boxes are going to become 18+ and state that it has gambling

That's effectively a ban. I'm sure a lot of publishers would much rather remove them and have access to the huge under 18 gaming market rather than limit their audience to that degree.

Most console and PC gamers are over 18. And kids still find ways to get their hands on mature games anyway.



monocle_layton on 21 November 2017
GribbleGrunger said:
SecondWar said:

Because it's passable when the initial game is free - people get that the developer has to get their money from somewhere. But most people take issue when its tacked onto full-priced console games, as its a sneaky way to boost margins.

Naa, you're thinking about your own motives for disliking it. I'm talking about their motives for disliking it because they apply to phone games too:

 "The mixing of money and addiction is gambling," the Gaming Commission declared. Belgium's Minister of Justice Koen Geens also weighed in, saying, "Mixing gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child." 

And there have been numerous stories over the years of children costing parents hundreds of dollars/pounds because of mobile game transactions. So why now? 

Regulation is key. Not many people know Pokemon Shuffle and other Nintendo games force a limit on money spent a month to follow Japanese law. The US probably doesn't give a shit, but the EU should establish similar regulations. Putting a limit at X dollars a month will stop skinner box-like games from abusing the vulnerability of people with control issues.