Loot boxes are one of the most used forms of monetization in the main “free to play” type games, in fact even games that have a more user-friendly micropayment model and that do not fall into the “pay to win” dynamic, such as Guild Wars 2, resort to this element of one way or another.
Someone may have raised an eyebrow at me and wondered where Guild Wars 2 has the loot boxes, and the answer is very simple, in the black lion chests. These meet all the requirements to be considered loot boxes because they are opened with a key that can be purchased with real money, and have a certain chance of dropping items of lesser or greater value. In the end, they are still a form of gambling that can be very profitable, or precisely the opposite.
Other games such as the FIFA series, Overwatch or the recently released Diablo Immortal also use the infamous loot boxes, a form of monetization that has been generating controversy for some time, and has led some countries to decide take radical measures against them because:
- They consider them as a form of gambling.
- It can be harmful and produce a significant addiction.
- It affects the youngest, and has no minimal control.
That lack of control allowed developers and publishers to do almost anything with loot boxes, but little by little the awareness towards loot boxes has been changing, and some countries like Belgium and Holland decided to ban them. This, however, has not stopped the greats of the video game, who do not hesitate to continue using this method of monetization. We recently told you that Blizzard has preferred to keep the loot boxes in Diablo Immortal and not release the game in both countries.
18 countries unite for stricter regulation of loot boxes
Taking advantage of the recent controversy that Diablo Immortal has generated for its commitment to loot boxes, the Norwegian Consumer Council decided move tab for the sake of stricter regulation of this method of micropayments, and so far it has obtained the support of 20 organizations and 18 countries.
In its campaign against loot boxes, this Norwegian organization has published an interesting video where they explain how this system is designed to exploit the playeras it uses manipulation techniques to make you spend large amounts of money without a guarantee that you will get an item, or product, of comparable value.
The Norwegian Consumer Council believes that loot boxes can exist, but that limits need to be set for them. make proper use of them. Here are their guidelines:
- Ban games with deceptive designs focused on exploiting players.
- List of microtransaction prices in real world currency.
- Ban on loot boxes in any game that can be used by minors.
- More transparency around how loot boxes are scheduled to ensure fairness.
- Better and greater compliance by regulators.
In general terms, I agree with these five points, although I understand that point three is one of the most complicated since, technically, any video game can end up being used by minors. It would be necessary to define very well the degree of probability from which the prohibition would apply, but even in that case it would still be complicated.
If those five suggestions are not met, the Norwegian body recommends banning loot boxes outright. On a personal note, I must say that I have only used the Black Lion chests from Guild Wars 2 on a few occasions, with keys that I have obtained in the game or with keys that I have bought exchanging game gold for gems, something that requires quite a few hours of game, and I have never achieved for a value comparable to the gold invested. Curious, right? And I’ve been playing Guild Wars 2 for almost a decade, so you can see how “well done” the loot boxes are.
⚠️Today we are publishing a report on how the gaming industry exploits consumers using lootboxes
20 organizations in 18 European countries are joining us and call for better regulation of video games. 🎮https://t.co/V68erOe2z7#lootbox #gaming #darkpatterns #deceptivedesign pic.twitter.com/BjkzqgqPkG
— 🇺🇦Finn Lützow-Holm Myrstad (@finnmyrstad) May 31, 2022
