The Entertainment Software Association just announced the big three video game hardware makers Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony will now force publishers to reveal odds for loot boxes in games that appear on their consoles starting in 2020. Apple and Google recently implemented a similar policy with their mobile game stores, where free-to-play gambling tactics are even more prevalent, so it’s nice to see the industry get on the same page when it comes to this issue. But it’s not enough. Loot boxes cannot be made more ethical. They need to be banned.
Considering the ESA’s sole function is to lobby for the video game industry (and leak personal information of people who go to E3) it makes sense they would endorse this half-step towards self-regulating. Following debacles like Star Wars Battlefront II’s loot boxes being borderline illegal, the threat of government interference looms ever larger with senators introducing explicitly anti-loot box legislation. Meanwhile, pressure from pro-union employees is finally offering us hope that game executives, overpaid through exploitation of workers and consumers alike, may finally be held accountable for their actions.
Disclosing loot box odds isn’t entirely meaningless. It puts more power into players’ hands so they can make smarter choices about how much money to flush into these free games. Real casinos wouldn’t give you this kind of information. And with this extra transparency, publishers may be more inclined to tip the odds in your favor to get that fancy outfit. It’s all so greedy and frustratingly arbitrary anyway. There’s no real reason for entirely virtual items to be “rare.”
Plus, the last time the industry tried to clean up its act before the government did we got the ESRB. A ratings board, while not perfect, was absolutely necessary. It’s kind of crazy that the industry went so long without one. Violent video games shouldn’t be banned, but also maybe little kids shouldn’t play them.
But simply disclosing loot box odds just puts a bandage over a gaping wound. Random loot boxes are simply the latest, grossest permutation of “free-to-play” mechanics that in fact encourage players to spend an infinite amount of money on a game instead of $60. It’s inherently predatory and fundamentally damages game design, even when you know the odds.
When explaining their support for this ESA initiative, Sony and Nintendo talked specifically about how it ties in with their parental control apps, implying that loot boxes target and harm children most of all. That doesn’t sound like something in need of a reform. It sounds like something that should be banned.
The drama over loot boxes is just one part of why the video game industry, the tech industry, and the idea of industry itself these days is in desperate need of regulation, from the inside or the outside if need be. This new loot box rule is a baby step in the right direction, but we need a full push.
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