Oh wow if lootboxes got banned what are the holiday events going to be?
That feel when the minority ruins it for the rest of us.
2 Likes
So your problem is the TIME it takes to spend the money? So if they made it so you could only buy 10 lootboxes every 10 minutes you’d be OK?
and lootboxes generally work out to a dollar a piece, discounts for bulk. Just FYI.
Maybe when businesses are providing a false product, but loot boxes are an RNG system and people are fully aware of such upon purchasing them.
The issue with outlawing lootboxes is the same issue with outlawing drinking: just because a few people are irresponsible does not mean that society as a whole should be treated as a victim because then you are introducing wholly unnecessary regulation that merely restricts the possibilities responsible consumers are privy to.
3 Likes
Wrong. Still affects everyone.
Similar example: If I don’t buy day one Day one DLC, it still won’t stop companies from chopping up a component of the core game to sell it as the aforementioned thing.
The monetization model affects everyone either directly or indirectly.
1 Like
RIP mobile gamming…
I have many problems with the current loot box system, but yes, the fact that grinding them takes very long to do, when buying them can be done much faster and easier preys on certain populations.
they were designed with all of the fundamentals of gambling involved- opening one is a sensory experience. these arguments have aided in clarifying that they should be classified as gambling, and especially in reference to the youngest players are a huge factor in if they develop a gambling addiction. The whole model actually depends on members of the community doing just this. Blizzard is well aware that most people, they’re not going to buy loot boxes. The model relies on “whales” to spend hundreds/thousands of dollars a year.
The model could easily be changed. Blizzard doesn’t want to because it makes money. What if I told you that Blizzard controls the drop rates, everything about how loot boxes work, and could change any aspect of them at will? But they won’t because people get up in arms about the idea of “protecting someone else”. It’s stopping a poor, predatory business practice, and again, we’re seeing plenty of greedy game companies everywhere taking the concept to its extreme.
Belgium didn’t ban loot boxes because of Overwatch. It was because of what the game practice is as a whole.
- Not much has happened yet. The FTC just said they’re looking into it.
- It’s a completely false assumption that ActivisionBlizzard would refrain from implementing a moneymaking feature in one area or voluntarily lose money in another because they have “enough” money total.
5 Likes
Lootboxes are bad because they contribute to potential gambling addictions in children. Lootboxes are fine as a concept, but should be relegated to being earned through in game actions or currency.
If companies want to earn money through purchasable items and microtransactions in game rather than earning their income through the sales of the game itself, then they need to be honest about what you’re getting and sell you what you want, not a CHANCE at getting what you want. That’s it. Honest transactions.
1 Like
Grinding them takes long? What?
Lootboxes are plentiful in Overwatch. This game does it better and more fairly than almost any other game.
1 Like
What kind of fool thinks that lootboxes have any sort of innate probability or mechanics that the coder doesn’t have complete control over? These are also not secrets, the probabilities have been published, discussed and demonstrated over and over.
Gambling isn’t inherently evil. It’s based on the premise of something for nothing and that appeals to some people. There are those who cannot control themselves, we call them addicts and while I do not feel society has NO obligation to protect them somewhat, we do not owe them much beyond providing knowledge and programs to facilitate recovery.
There are millions out there who cannot control their eating habits, cannot control their spending habits, cannot control their sexual habits, cannot control their self destructive mutilation habits and yet we have overly rich food available, unregulated commercial sales, sex is not a regulated item unless paid for or minors are involved, and knives and other sharp items are freely available.
I don’t feel I need to have another stop-gap because someone somewhere has a problem if the boxes keep my game going. I’m not even talking about the direct money into the game aspect, as long as the lootboxes create an attractive revenue stream for the game so the higher ups keep the game going? Good enough. If lootboxes weren’t working there would either be another system or OW would have been put on stasis while they worked on more lucrative things.
Long to grind? you get 3 a week for some wins in arcade, 1-4 a week depending if you’re not a jerk or even if you just vote after a game. Not to mention during what your average player plays a week , maybe 5-10 hours (I’m being generous , lets admit most of us spend more time playing games) you’ll get another 2-4 boxes depending on what you play and how well you do. On a crappy week that’s like 6 boxes. Not a bad rate really.
Belgium decided lootboxes were gambling, and they think that’s something bad. It has potential to allow people to spend large amounts of money on nothing in general and I can see the problem with that. I don’t think that OW’s lootboxes are on the same scale as a pachinko machine or a Casino though. The enticement isn’t the same, the rewards scale is nowhere near the same and no matter how much you spend at a casino you aren’t making progress toward any goal other than debt. Think about what the absolute WORST case scenario is with OW lootboxes. I mean, crappy luck on drops and all. Maybe 1k. That’s crazy bad luck, always rolling currency on high drops and not unlocking ANYTHING you want until it’s the last thing possible. Yes 1thousand dollars is a large amount of money and I won’t say it isn’t, but comparatively people drop that in seconds at actual casinos and on lottery tickets. There is a saturation point for OW’s lootboxes, there is no stopping point for actual gambling.
2 Likes
What are they now? Just recycled garbage each year anyway.
Just stop it, Activision Blizzard is a multi billion dollar company, sold more than 40M copies and got like $4B in micro transactions in a year, $1B from Overwatch alone (something along those lines).
They can keep this game on for a loooong time.
It’s not about grinding, it’s about the gambling mechanics in a game aimed at children.
If you’d actually read my post, it’s not about funding, it’s about Keeping higher ups interested in continuing to fund the game rather than spending the resources elsewhere.
And the post I was replying to specifically cited a “long grind”… which it isn’t and I was arguing against.
I understand you’d like to contribute but replying haphazardly to someone who was replying to someone else is … jarring and makes it seem like you’re not looking to discuss, just to try and prove someone wrong.
Gambling mechanics limited by what parents should be allowing their children to access. Most children don’t have a cashflow of their own till 16 or so and aren’t allowed to have credit cards or any other acceptable method of payment for digital purchases till 18. Kids who deceive their parents or steal from their parents (like taking their credit card) have other issues that should be a parental concern and not a commercial one.
It’s because of these people we have these scummy practices to begin with.
Your solution is then to scold this company for finding a lucrative market and reasonably offering desired items (virtual or real) for money on a totally voluntary and avoidable level?
EA: Sold boxes containing game changing items that could not be attained unless copious amounts of ingame time , which was also restricted, were put in.
Blizzard: Sells boxes with arguably inconsequential cosmetics, also attainable with moderate time investment and guaranteed progress toward specific items rolled in.
The companies are not here to provide us with entertainment. They know we WANT entertainment and are willing to pay for it and have invested in that market. The developers MIGHT be in it because they want to provide fun, but they’re also counting on it to provide them with a livable and dependable income and will end up or choose being put on the projects that are making money. Keeping the money going to those who want it, keeps our enjoyment in their best interest.
Everyone keeps saying it’s “scummy” but I’ve yet to see another proposed system in which an equally attractive amount of money goes to those investing in the company to keep the games being lucrative to produce and maintain.
You want the service at the level it’s at, the money has to come from somewhere to make it attractive to those who fund AAA level games.
1 Like
By that logic, would a slot machine immediately not constitute as gambling if every time you lost, it spit back a guaranteed penny? What about something actually worthless, like bubblegum wrap? Or something that can’t be resold, like used tissues? Sounds familiar, with in-game lootboxes?
No, we consider slot machines gambling not only because of the risk of losing something, but it’s the lack of control and reliance on luck.
Additionally, since gambling literally screws with the chemical balances in your brain and can be addictive like drugs due to the dopamine high, there is a literal biological aspect to gambling. This biological aspect does not go away simply because you are guaranteed to get something. As long as there is something you want to get, and you are willing to put down money for a chance to get that item, that’s what causes the dopamine rush. Not the consequence of not getting the item.
1 Like
Some of those people don’t realize that they will not get said content for free. It just means paying more money for one skin as opposed to getting multiple items and coins (duplicates and chests) in loot boxes — which you can achieve by simply playing the game and leveling up. Playing arcade if you will.
You could call playing a game with a competitive aspect gambling as well by that notion. You aren’t guaranteed a win and you get nothing if you lose. If anything, it does more harm to children than getting a lootbox they don’t even have to pay for.
How are you going to get currency without spending real cash? As a child no less. Parents are either going to tell them no, you can’t charge up your account today – or they’ll end up spending more currency via real money, which isn’t any different to buying loot boxes.
If you think currency will be obtained by playing, that wouldn’t happen. Blizzard is a business, and a business to make profit.
2 Likes
lootboxes always have an impact. but the problem with banning lootboxes is its the devil we know. if publishers cannot use microtransactions to scam people, what will they try next?
1 Like
Not if it gave back a penny, because you are losing money. A slot machine with a guaranteed win of at least three cherries, is not gambling.
If it spits out something worthless for something you put money into, then it remains gambling. But a bubblegum wrapper or used tissues are objectively worthless; ingame cosmetics are only worth what you put on them, and can be worth ingame money.
But again, if the slot machine was a guaranteed win, you wouldn’t be losing anything, and you’d have no reliance on luck because you’re going to put out more than you put in.
From a biological standpoint, yes lootboxes can be considered gambling, only because of the worth we put on skins. LIke you said, “As long as there is something you want to get.” There is no objective ranking for skins or cosmetics. It is all equally worthless, except for things we think look cool so we want. If no one thought the skins were good, there’d be no dopamine rush.
blizzard losing profit lol with the owl doing great all the sponsorships all the mercs you can buy and all the money they made from the sales of the game they can still make free events and what not with out loot boxes