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Loot boxes are one of the controversies of the moment, perhaps the most intense, in relation to the video game industry . Several titles have been launched with this type of functionality, namely the great “Star Wars Battlefront 2” and “Overwatch” , and for several months now a chorus of criticism has been building up regarding the subject.
For many responsible, players are being exposed to a resource that under other circumstances they would be legally prevented from using.
Similar to a casino game
In practice, it is a resource in which the player can be lucky enough to win an greece email list extra prize, such as a more powerful weapon or an aesthetic decoration, for a small payment.
It doesn't always happen and the player can't, of course, choose the prize they'll win. However, the cash payment for taking a chance – the so-called microtransaction – is 100% guaranteed to go to the company's coffers.
The mechanism is, obviously, similar to a casino game and that is exactly what several authorities and personalities have reported over the last few months, in different countries.
With the aggravating factor that the main target of this type of gambling is teenagers and minors, who are more susceptible to taking uncontrolled risks, while casinos are aimed at adults of legal age.
Loot Boxes from Australia to Belgium
Criticism has been mounting in several countries. The Belgian government has declared that loot boxes should be banned throughout the European Union ; a US senator has questioned the industry’s self-regulatory body in the United States , demanding clarification and a position; and in Australia , the ABC newspaper published a lengthy report on the subject, in which a 24-year-old member of the Australian Senate said it was important for the authority to take a position. (In his words, many of his fellow senators are still “in the Pacman era” when it comes to video games
Shadow of War retreats
A sign that the video game industry may definitely be retreating from this battlefield came from Monolith Productions . The person responsible for Middle Earth: Shadow of War issued, at the beginning of this April, a statement announcing that, after listening to the gaming community, it concluded that War Chests, Gold and Market (in short, its functionalities of loot box type ) were distorting the spirit of the game.
Players were taking their chances there instead of dedicating themselves to improving their armies and fortresses. As such, the feature will be permanently canceled in July, and anyone who still has Gold on that date will see it transformed into in-game items.
This could be a decisive sign that the video game industry will not risk interference from governments and consumer protection authorities and would rather self-regulate and find other ways to generate revenue, for the good of users.
