4 ms·

The ESRB should have a stronger stance on the issue, but they've been pretty lax. The most recent thing I found was them stating loot boxes would be specifical

The ESRB should have a stronger stance on the issue, but they've been pretty lax. The most recent thing I found was them stating loot boxes would be specifically listed under in game purchases, backing April 2020. If the general consensus is that more restrictions are needed and the ESRB doesn't act, federal government is likely to step in. For example games that allow for gambling with real currency should be rated AO according to their guidleines. At best they could be no lower than T.

phone8675309 5y ago
Game companies also game the system. They add these mechanics after the game goes to reviewers, so it’s not mentioned in day-one reviews and the ESRB doesn’t require re-rating when they are added. Further, even if they did, that doesn’t change the rating on the box at point of purchase or after purchase. Realistically, the only way to allow this is either for video game platform holders (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Google for Android, Apple for iOS, etc) to have a standard way for these sorts of gambleboxes to be purchased such that parental controls can be used console wide to either set spending limits or disable the ability to spend at all or for the government to make the publishers accountable for it. Some platforms have already moved here, but the response industry-wide had been anemic at best.
- Cycl0ps 5y ago
  Anecdotally, there's at least one instance of a ratings change altering the label on the box, Halo 2. A dev buried a photo of him mooning Steve Ballmer in the source code, and the ESRB changed the rating to reflect the newly found nudity. This caused a recall and the game box had to be updated with the new rating. https://www.polygon.com/2015/4/14/8382089/bungie-butt-microsoft-halo https://www.polygon.com/2015/4/14/8382089/bungie-butt-micros...
  - phone8675309 5y ago
    Fair, but how does that fix the issue for people post-purchase?

phone8675309 5y ago

Game companies also game the system. They add these mechanics after the game goes to reviewers, so it’s not mentioned in day-one reviews and the ESRB doesn’t require re-rating when they are added. Further, even if they did, that doesn’t change the rating on the box at point of purchase or after purchase. Realistically, the only way to allow this is either for video game platform holders (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Google for Android, Apple for iOS, etc) to have a standard way for these sorts of gambleboxes to be purchased such that parental controls can be used console wide to either set spending limits or disable the ability to spend at all or for the government to make the publishers accountable for it. Some platforms have already moved here, but the response industry-wide had been anemic at best.

Cycl0ps 5y ago
Anecdotally, there's at least one instance of a ratings change altering the label on the box, Halo 2. A dev buried a photo of him mooning Steve Ballmer in the source code, and the ESRB changed the rating to reflect the newly found nudity. This caused a recall and the game box had to be updated with the new rating. https://www.polygon.com/2015/4/14/8382089/bungie-butt-microsoft-halo https://www.polygon.com/2015/4/14/8382089/bungie-butt-micros...
- phone8675309 5y ago
  Fair, but how does that fix the issue for people post-purchase?