4 ms·
How are loot boxes any different to Kinder eggs, where you don't know what toy you're going to get when you buy one? (I appreciate that Kinder eggs are banned
by twic 7y ago
How are loot boxes any different to Kinder eggs, where you don't know what toy you're going to get when you buy one?
(I appreciate that Kinder eggs are banned in the US, but not for that reason!)
It seems to me that the key thing about real gambling is that you win money. You put money in, and you might end up with more money than you started with, but probably won't. That's what generates the dynamic where once you lose some money, you keep playing to try and win it back.
With loot boxes, you put money in, and you get virtual goods out. The good vary, and there may be ways to sell the goods for money. But you're fundamentally just buying goods.
EDIT OF EDIT: This is the closest the article gets to touching on this:
> At least one case in the early 2000s had potential to resolve the issue of whether activity similar to loot boxes is considered gambling, but it was dismissed due to lack of standing. In Chaset v. Fleer/Skybox Int’l, LP, 300 F.3d 1083 (9th Cir. 2002), purchasers of baseball cards and Pokémon trading cards brought a RICO suit against, inter alia, the manufacturers and distributors of the trading cards. [...] The Court dismissed the suit for lack of standing based solely on plaintiff’s failure to satisfy this element.[26] It held that “at the time plaintiffs purchased the cards, . . . they received value . . . for what they paid,” and “[t]heir disappointment upon not finding [a rare] card in the package is not an injury to property.”[27]
- stew_exe 7y ago"Blind Bag" toys and collectables are actually quite common. A web or Amazon search returns an abundance of such products which range from different IPs (Video games, tv shows, etcetera..) There are also YouTube channels devoted to opening these products in bulk. Pokemon cards, baseball cards, hell, even these subscription box services that are popular nowadays could be considered 'real life loot boxes'. The idea of a product that you purchase not knowing it's contents is not new idea, but it seems like we have decided that loot boxes in games are different from these products.
- naz 7y ago> How are loot boxes any different to Kinder eggs That's an interesting question! At first I thought they were pretty similar, but I had a think about this, and there are several key differences: * With loot boxes, you can often trade the items that you won * Loot boxes often show you the rarity (and sometimes the value) of an item that you've won. * Loot boxes often show a spinning wheel or similar device that adds a level of excitement and a feeling of a "near miss" by showing the wheel "almost" land on an item. * Some loot boxes allow you to "roll again" if you're not happy with the item you received. * Loot boxes play sounds and show effects depending on the rarity of the item won. * Loot boxes are given out for free, but you have to buy a "key" to open them. * Games with loot boxes emphasize items that can be won from them, and encourage players to display these items for in-game prestige. * Some loot box items give you an in-game advantage. * Loot boxes are not edible.
- unicornfinder 7y agoI was thinking about this and I think the key thing is that with say, a Kinder surprise, in all cases it's a low value item and all of the items are of comparable value. Whereas with a loot box there's usually some very high value items with very low odds. Not to mention how stupidly easy games make it to buy these lootboxes, and how they usually make a pretty big point of obscuring their true cost (i.e. behind gems or other artificial currencies).
- pndy 7y ago> With loot boxes, you can often trade the items that you won When Kinder eggs were introduced to the market in 90s in Poland, kids were exchanging the figurines to get complete sets. The DYI models of cars or small toys were what's in gaming nomenclature is considered as "trash loot". > Loot boxes often show you the rarity (and sometimes the value) of an item that you've won. Some ladies before buying eggs for their kids were checking the weight of these - the "heavier" ones had chance to contain a figurine. Shop assistants had no problem with that. > Loot boxes play sounds and show effects depending on the rarity of the item won. Again, back then, eggs were advertised in tv around afternoon cartoons or other kind of entertaining blocks for kids. Nowadays it's a well known product that it doesn't need any heavy campaign - the generation that grew up with it already has own children. And the addictive part of Kinder eggs would be the milk chocolate shell.
- dkersten 7y agoNobody I know ever bought Kinder eggs for the toy, it was always for the chocolate with a random toy as an added bonus. With that said, as others have said, collectible card games and such still do it though, so your point stands.
- Pinckney 7y agoWould you not consider this to be gambling, then? Is it just "buying goods"? https://www.ebay.com/itm/MTG-Repack-BLACK-LOTUS-Vintage-Old-School-Magic-The-Gathering-Lottery-/352653951032 https://www.ebay.com/itm/MTG-Repack-BLACK-LOTUS-Vintage-Old-...