Gamers launch a petition to regulate "loot boxes" in video games

[WYP]

Many gamers consider "loot boxes" as a form of gambling.



Read more on the UK's Government being petitioned to regulate in-game "loot boxes".

 

[wozza365]

Yes! I was thinking about setting up a petition for this.

 

[Daiyus]

Signed. This really needs to be brought to heel and treated the way it should be for what it is.

 

[g0ggles1994]

Happily signed. Really grinds my gears about how a lot of games have become pay to win because of it. Plus I see no difference between lootboxes and a fruit machine

 

[NeverBackDown]

People are this upset? Pretty sad tbh.
"Vulnerable adults" LMAO really? The people to dumb should be held accountable by the companies?
I get children, but then again in order for them to buy things they need their "vulnerable parents" to do so.

Lootboxes are fine so long as they can be bought for a fair price with in game currency and nobody gets an advantage whether it's bought with currency or real money using Shadow of War is a terrible example and clearly shows how over reactive gamers are when it's not even out yet.

in a F2P game that's out the window. They need money to keep games going. How else they going to make money? This should not apply to them.
Gamers sure are a... Let's say "passionate" group.

 

[Dark NighT]

Over time we been getting less and less in our games, now we even have to open up multiple boxes to get a set of clothes,equipment and even PAINT COLORS, and its all based on rng that happily gives duplicates that are useless and its all because of dumb greed, i detest these practices and just looking objectively at what publishers are doing, it is just awful.

Personally i don't care if people gamble, their money is their money, not even for minors, they either get taught gambling is dumb or learn it the hard way, but, just the sheer greed on display here is the worst thing that's happening atm, games get sanctioned off and content gets cut to be sold in season passes and if you want to customize your character, a thing that been very common in games for a long time and never cost anything, is now rng bs with a paywall if you want it directly.

To bad i can't sign this, as i don't live in the uk.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Over time we been getting less and less in our games, now we even have to open up multiple boxes to get a set of clothes,equipment and even PAINT COLORS, and its all based on rng that happily gives duplicates that are useless and its all because of dumb greed, i detest these practices and just looking objectively at what publishers are doing, it is just awful.

Personally i don't care if people gamble, their money is their money, not even for minors, they either get taught gambling is dumb or learn it the hard way, but, just the sheer greed on display here is the worst thing that's happening atm, games get sanctioned off and content gets cut to be sold in season passes and if you want to customize your character, a thing that been very common in games for a long time and never cost anything, is now rng bs with a paywall if you want it directly.

To bad i can't sign this, as i don't live in the uk.

The games that do the skin selling for money are more often than not F2P. You can't expect them to never make money off of it.
Times are changing. People need to realize that. So many people are stuck in the "back in my gaming days" nostalgia yet outside of gaming, the old people that do that, people let it go and think "just old and grumpy" people not liking how today is. It's hypocritical.
I'm not saying I condone fully paid games selling content as DLC less than a month after release or using a popular item(like Rome 2 with Sparta as pre order DLC) that people love as DLC, but I do think this is an over reaction in general.

 

[Dark NighT]

The games that do the skin selling for money are more often than not F2P. You can't expect them to never make money off of it.
Times are changing. People need to realize that. So many people are stuck in the "back in my gaming days" nostalgia yet outside of gaming, the old people that do that, people let it go and think "just old and grumpy" people not liking how today is. It's hypocritical.
I'm not saying I condone fully paid games selling content as DLC less than a month after release or using a popular item(like Rome 2 with Sparta as pre order DLC) that people love as DLC, but I do think this is an over reaction in general.

Look, f2p games can sell skins all they want, i don't have a problem with that and i support it as it keeps that game alive, however now you getting a chance on getting a PART of that skin, what used to be a buy entire skin for x ammount of money has boiled down to rng on a loot box, however F2P kinda gets away with it as they also often have a ingame currency that can be used for that purpose.

But, full price premium games start doing it now, in singleplayer games! surely you agree that this is just insane, pay up front and then they try to make you spend more on stuff that used to be free, also nothing to do with nostalgia, these practices are just awful no matter how you slice it, changing markets is one thing, making your customers gamble for cosmetic and stats based stuff is another.

 

[NeverBackDown]

What single player game is doing this though?
Star Wars is a given. Disney wants money and only care about money my that's why they bought it in the first place. That's not a game development problem but more of the owners. That "greed" and hatred towards them is Ill placed. Yes the emotional response to it is right, but targeting the Devs themselves is more ignorance than anything. Disney on that one totally deserves it.
Forza is another example that has recently been brought up. I blame MS. Turn 10 doesn't have a bad history of these things. But MS avoiding questions and giving vague answers as a response to criticism gives me that reason.

Finally the last example which started it all is Shadow of War. Which is DEFINITELY misplaced criticism. Yeah it's "annoying" but in comparison to any other AAA company they are definitely not a big one in terms of size and money value. They can get away with it to stay afloat. That doesn't mean they are immune, but they walked a fine line and didn't cross it. They did the "microtransactions" right. Yeah single player only game but who cares. It's there if you don't want to play and want to speed rush. Everything that you can buy and you can earn. Nothing is hidden and they give you pretty clear descriptions of what you are actually going to be getting. Yeah there's RNG but some of it is guaranteed. That's more than other games.
It's also been documented more than once by review sites that the game doesn't feel like it's forcing you to get it or need to get it. They've said it's balanced and you don't only get Legendary orcs from lootboxes. Their are some in the world already and while less of them exist(obvious reasons) they aren't extint.

So out of the games that have been listed, only one deserves a pass. The others? All have in common one thing. Massive owners who have basically endless amount of cash and want to rip people off more. Disney and MS. Even Ubisoft is less greedy!
I'm not saying I like it. However I think gamers are the most overly dramatic group of people (outside of females of course) and definitely the most elitist, so in general I think this petition is dumb, my opinion, and while I agree the petitions intentions are good, the blame is misplaced.

 

[Dicehunter]

Loot boxes such as the ones in Battlefront 2, Shadow of War etc.... should only be found in F2P games as a means of generating revenue for more content down the road or simply paying the devs of said F2P game, Not in games that cost $60.

 

[Darkdayzzz]

Loot boxes such as the ones in Battlefront 2, Shadow of War etc.... should only be found in F2P games as a means of generating revenue for more content down the road or simply paying the devs of said F2P game, Not in games that cost $60.

I don't disagree with anything being said here...but lets make things clearer shall we?

Microtransactions have been around for a LONG time, they are not new in anyway shape or game form. Having loot that you CANT obtain any other way ingame except by spending real money, and that loot gives you a distinct advantage either in single-player or multiplayer...that I have a big problem with.

Shadows of War doing its loot boxes in a singleplayer only game, with no "real" advantage to be earned from it as you can actually obtain all of it in-game, just a little slower...no problem with that at all. Same thing with the SW battlefront game, no problem with it as you can earn it in game I believe.

What's funny to me is that some of the people, or most I'd wager, wouldn't bat an eye at dropping 10-15 bucks a month on a mobile game or on an MMO in-game items that are very hard to get otherwise...but will blast the hell out of lootcrates that gives freaking skins that do nothing in-game (looking at you counterstrike and you rainbow six siege).

The whole concept of this petition, while a good idea, is being VERY poorly executed and organized. The message is saying that all loot crates and in-game currencies are bad...when they aren't. The skins in Rainbow six siege harm no one at all. shadows of war? Pfft, as if. I just started this morning and I found a legendary orc already and got him for army...was it hard? YES! Very hard indeed but the satisfaction was worth it, and it was..oh yes...ingame and FREE for me. Just had to work for it.

The loot crates are for people who either like the looks of the item, want the advantage it offers, or just plain don't want to wait. I bought the treasure map in forza horizon 3 for 3 bucks, does that make me a loot crate person because I didn't want to wait and find all the treasure and billboards on my own? I don't think so

This is my opinion take it as you will. Have a good day and good luck in Shadows or War mates!

 

[Dicehunter]

The problem is greed, I know a lot of people that are just sick and tired of seeing this crap in games that already cost $60, Doesn't matter that you can still get it ingame via grinding, It shouldn't be in there at all in the first place.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Loot boxes such as the ones in Battlefront 2, Shadow of War etc.... should only be found in F2P games as a means of generating revenue for more content down the road or simply paying the devs of said F2P game, Not in games that cost $60.

It's fine in Shadow of War. Have you even played it? You absolutely don't need it. The game throws so much money at you that I'm overwhelmed with money and I've only played 6 hours of the game.
Shadow of War gets a bad rap because "gamers" are so judgemental and overreactive about games and especially in games where they haven't even played.
They haven't taken anything anyway from the main game. There's no more grinding in this game than Witcher 3 to level up, in fact it's easier so far. Besides tell me what does the lootboxes offer that the base game doesn't? Orcs? You get plenty of that already. You need more? Advance the time! Done in one button. You want more gear? Kill a high level orc!
It's simple. It's their to speed rush the game. Nothing more. People need to let this game go.

 

[Dicehunter]

It's fine in Shadow of War. Have you even played it? You absolutely don't need it. The game throws so much money at you that I'm overwhelmed with money and I've only played 6 hours of the game.
Shadow of War gets a bad rap because "gamers" are so judgemental and overreactive about games and especially in games where they haven't even played.
They haven't taken anything anyway from the main game. There's no more grinding in this game than Witcher 3 to level up, in fact it's easier so far. Besides tell me what does the lootboxes offer that the base game doesn't? Orcs? You get plenty of that already. You need more? Advance the time! Done in one button. You want more gear? Kill a high level orc!
It's simple. It's their to speed rush the game. Nothing more. People need to let this game go.

I'll just copy/paste my above comment - The problem is greed, I know a lot of people that are just sick and tired of seeing this crap in games that already cost $60, Doesn't matter that you can still get it ingame via grinding, It shouldn't be in there at all in the first place.

 

[NeverBackDown]

I'll just copy/paste my above comment - The problem is greed, I know a lot of people that are just sick and tired of seeing this crap in games that already cost $60, Doesn't matter that you can still get it ingame via grinding, It shouldn't be in there at all in the first place.

There's little greed in this game though is the point. If it was greedy it would be forced on you to buy it or they would lock things behind a paywall. They don't. It's there to speed up the game. There's nothing wrong with that. Some people don't get to play a lot every week.
Copying and pasting the same thing to be your argument just shows how gamers are. It's ignorant to not be open to others opinions and it's just confirmation bias. Shadow of War doesn't belong in any of this and people need to let it go
Battlefront 2 on the other hand along with Disney can just go **** themselves. Now THAT is greed.

 

[Dicehunter]

There's little greed in this game though is the point. If it was greedy it would be forced on you to buy it or they would lock things behind a paywall. They don't. It's there to speed up the game. There's nothing wrong with that. Some people don't get to play a lot every week.
Copying and pasting the same thing to be your argument just shows how gamers are. It's ignorant to not be open to others opinions and it's just confirmation bias. Shadow of War doesn't belong in any of this and people need to let it go
Battlefront 2 on the other hand along with Disney can just go **** themselves. Now THAT is greed.

Oh for fekks sake, Really NBD ?

Ok I'm going to comment once and not again as I can't be bothered getting into one of your 500 reply threads where you need to have the last say every single time.

I copy pasted because it was relevant to your comment, End of.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Oh for fekks sake, Really NBD ?

Ok I'm going to comment once and not again as I can't be bothered getting into one of your 500 reply threads where you need to have the last say every single time.

I copy pasted because it was relevant to your comment, End of.

I understand that, but the whole talk is relevant is it not? It would just be endless pasting wouldn't it?
Idk why you say for fekks sake, on more than one occasion you've said similar things. It is also wasn't a personal insult, I wouldn't insult anybody here, you should know that. Nobody here does that kinda thing

 

[smilertoo]

people should vote with their wallet, tell the greedy publishers its gone too far.

 

[Tolemac]

people should vote with their wallet, tell the greedy publishers its gone too far.

^ this people can choose to boycott games/extra game content. That way it sends a clear message to the developers/publishers

 

[Dark NighT]

^ this people can choose to boycott games/extra game content. That way it sends a clear message to the developers/publishers

When did that ever work, remember the whole CoD Modern Warfare 2 boycott because it was not going to have dedicated servers, and day one everyone was on that thing like it was hot cakes.