3 ms·
Why not make it illegal to make randomness a component of games entirely? Ban the possession of dice. Make it illegal to be rewarded with in-game content just f
by c3534l 9y ago
Why not make it illegal to make randomness a component of games entirely? Ban the possession of dice. Make it illegal to be rewarded with in-game content just for doing well. Games should be like movies. The idea of manipulating people with feelings of achievement is clearly abusive and addictive. No more winning teddy bears for your girl at carnivals. Don't let people unlock things like high scores and new levels, new dialogue, your name on a high-score list. Ban pinball machines, too.
I mean, as long as we're ignoring the fact the loot boxes:
1. Don't require you risk anything of monetary value.
2. Don't reward you with anything that can be sold for cash.*
3. Are randomized, but based on skill.
4. Are entirely digital goods with no real-world value.
5. Are philosophically indistinguishable from other forms of procedural content.
6. The ability to purchase a substitute for in-game content requires access to a credit card.
Also, f * * * EA. I'm not defending EA. But I'm also not for out-of-touch Senators urging us all to think of children when the "children" in question need to have a bank account.
*typically. I know things like "trading cards" on steam can be sold for monetary value. So let's outlaw Pokemon and Baseball Cards, too, just to be safe.
- DanBC 9y ago> But I'm also not for out-of-touch Senators urging us all to think of children when the "children" in question need to have a bank account. It's not just out of touch senators, it's experts in problem gambling who think loot boxes need to be looked at.
- pfisch 9y agoThe truth is this is really a populist movement of gamers who don't like lootboxes for reasons unrelated to gambling or addiction. They only latched on to this addiction/gambling argument because it suits their purpose. Very similar how child porn laws are pushed and abused by the copyright lobby because it suits their purposes. Gaming as an addiction is a much much larger problem than lootboxes as an addiction. If this is truly about addiction then where is the movement to restrict the amount of time people spend playing video games everyday?
- woodfall 9y ago1. is wrong. You loose significant amount of time and too many people came unbounded. Currently, industry (including social media) has no interest in mitigating the adverse effect of feedback loops on the personal lives of their victims. Regulation has to be made to avoid further harms.
- fzeroracer 9y agoPoints 1, 2, 3 and 4 are incorrect. The value of the item you receive from lootboxes can vary, either from the value of selling your account (against the ToS yes, but it does happen) or from the ability to outright sell/trade the item (see: Dota 2, TF2). Saying that they don't have any real-world value just because they're digital goods is very much dependent on the game. Points 5-6 just means that we should probably regulate lootboxes like we already regulate gambling. Just because a kid could get some money from their parents to go gambling in a casino doesn't mean it's a good idea. Lootboxes are a well-known concept and regulated in many other parts of the world, including Japan where Gacha is fairly common among their mobile games.