2 ms·

FTC bans Genshin Impact dev from selling lootboxes to under-16s, fines them $20M

38 points by jsheard 2y ago

mouse_ 2y ago
[flagged]
- safety1st 2y ago
  They are? I don't get your comment. My gut reaction is "Yeah, good on the FTC, gambling should be regulated and children should not be able to do it."
  - mouse_ 2y ago
    $20m fine on billions in -profit- isn't even a slap on the wrist, it's finger-wagging and something close to bribery.
greatgib 2y ago
So so good. I did not think authorities will have enough balls to do something about this problem. Loot boxes completely ruined games nowadays. You buy an expensive game and still spend your time nagged and frustrated in your gaming experience to push you to generate them recurring revenue.
- the_snooze 2y ago
  >nagged and frustrated in your gaming experience to push you to generate them recurring revenue. Modern consumer tech in a nutshell. It's all about user hacking to meet financial/growth metrics. The end-user is a resource to exploit, not an actual human to engage with in a fair trade of value.
udev4096 2y ago
That's probably a day's income from those boxes for them. It should be completely removed, adding an age restriction is merely a bandage. Steam is also extremely notorious for exploiting their user base on "loot boxes" by hiring specialists for making it as addictive as possible
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- maeil 2y ago
  > Steam is also extremely notorious for exploiting their user base on "loot boxes" by hiring specialists for making it as addictive as possible As well as allowing off-platorm gambling markets in their games (CS:GO) to thrive, when they could very easily shut them down within a day without inconveniencing non-gambling players.
  - Mustachio 2y ago
    This is the real killer. Gambling in the CS scene is absolutely rampant, you will only find a handful of CS influencers that do no accept gambling sponsors (As they offer much more than other companies). I was happy when Belgium banned loot boxes, but it was not nearly enough.
dotty- 2y ago
Meanwhile: "Genshin Impact tops $5 billion in revenue in China alone, on track to hit $10 billion globally in 2025" https://gameworldobserver.com/2024/10/11/genshin-impact-revenue-china-5-billion-niko-partners https://gameworldobserver.com/2024/10/11/genshin-impact-reve... This is a drop in the bucket, so I'm sure they don't care.
- pjmlp 2y ago
  Which is why the fines should be a percentage of the total revenue.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
dartos 2y ago
The regulatory equivalent of “old man shakes fist at clouds”

38 points by jsheard 2y ago

mouse_ 2y ago

[flagged]

safety1st 2y ago
They are? I don't get your comment. My gut reaction is "Yeah, good on the FTC, gambling should be regulated and children should not be able to do it."
- mouse_ 2y ago
  $20m fine on billions in -profit- isn't even a slap on the wrist, it's finger-wagging and something close to bribery.

greatgib 2y ago

So so good. I did not think authorities will have enough balls to do something about this problem. Loot boxes completely ruined games nowadays. You buy an expensive game and still spend your time nagged and frustrated in your gaming experience to push you to generate them recurring revenue.

the_snooze 2y ago
>nagged and frustrated in your gaming experience to push you to generate them recurring revenue. Modern consumer tech in a nutshell. It's all about user hacking to meet financial/growth metrics. The end-user is a resource to exploit, not an actual human to engage with in a fair trade of value.

udev4096 2y ago

That's probably a day's income from those boxes for them. It should be completely removed, adding an age restriction is merely a bandage. Steam is also extremely notorious for exploiting their user base on "loot boxes" by hiring specialists for making it as addictive as possible

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
maeil 2y ago
> Steam is also extremely notorious for exploiting their user base on "loot boxes" by hiring specialists for making it as addictive as possible As well as allowing off-platorm gambling markets in their games (CS:GO) to thrive, when they could very easily shut them down within a day without inconveniencing non-gambling players.
- Mustachio 2y ago
  This is the real killer. Gambling in the CS scene is absolutely rampant, you will only find a handful of CS influencers that do no accept gambling sponsors (As they offer much more than other companies). I was happy when Belgium banned loot boxes, but it was not nearly enough.

dotty- 2y ago

Meanwhile: "Genshin Impact tops $5 billion in revenue in China alone, on track to hit $10 billion globally in 2025" https://gameworldobserver.com/2024/10/11/genshin-impact-revenue-china-5-billion-niko-partners https://gameworldobserver.com/2024/10/11/genshin-impact-reve... This is a drop in the bucket, so I'm sure they don't care.

pjmlp 2y ago
Which is why the fines should be a percentage of the total revenue.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

dartos 2y ago

The regulatory equivalent of “old man shakes fist at clouds”