The big video game loot box crackdown

[Bradley Prior]

The big video game loot box crackdown

Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft will all require that game publishers show the drop rates of items in their games, TechRadar reports.

This is in alignment with an initiative that was presented at the Entertainment Software Association’s (ESA) presentation at an FTC workshop on 7 August.

 

[Creag]

Drop rate is defined as x of x-kills that yields a specific item.

An example:

You kill 200 ogres and get 100 Netherweave Cloth, then the drop rate is equal to: 100 / 200 = 0.5 which is equal to a 50% drop rate.

Another example:

An item has a 1% drop rate from a specific mob, which means that, on average, one will drop for every 100 kills. This does not mean that it's guaranteed to drop by the time you've killed 100 mobs -- it's an average. It could drop the 10th kill or the 120th. 1% of people will get this item on the first kill, and another 1% (on average) of people who grind this drop will still not get it after 458 kills. If 1,000 players killed 300 of those mobs each, between all thousand players, there would be about three thousand drops. It is very likely that several [lucky] players have six or seven of the drops, while several different [unlucky] players could have none.

https://wowwiki.fandom.com/wiki/Drop_rate

 

[Swa]

Only a matter of time before this happened.

 

[S.Claus]

I’m fine with loot boxes (surprise mechanic) as long as it doesn’t provide any advantage over other players

Csgo- cosmetic and you can buy a whole years worth of games if you get the right skin and sell it on the community market

PUBG- cosmetic only (same as csgo)

COD - Pay to win where the best weapons are locked behind loot boxes but wait you can earn them by playing 8 hours everyday to get 8 boxes full of stickers

GTA - They added a whole casino DLC where players can gamble and earn ridiculous amounts of money without spending a penny (too bad it’s blocked in South Africa cause online gambling is illegal)

I’m curious how South African regulators can block one aspect of gambling but leave another completely untouched .I would much rather have a system where I can directly buy exactly what I want .

 

[Fulcrum29]

I’m fine with loot boxes (surprise mechanic) as long as it doesn’t provide any advantage over other players

Csgo- cosmetic and you can buy a whole years worth of games if you get the right skin and sell it on the community market

PUBG- cosmetic only (same as csgo)

COD - Pay to win where the best weapons are locked behind loot boxes but wait you can earn them by playing 8 hours everyday to get 8 boxes full of stickers

GTA - They added a whole casino DLC where players can gamble and earn ridiculous amounts of money without spending a penny (too bad it’s blocked in South Africa cause online gambling is illegal)

I’m curious how South African regulators can block one aspect of gambling but leave another completely untouched .I would much rather have a system where I can directly buy exactly what I want .

I don’t believe too many people have an issue with cosmetic DLC, but it is an issue when uniqueness comes at a high cost. Generally, I have no problem in paying to be unique, but the more popular the item the higher the price. Steam’s Marketplace has been doing this since yonks and they take a mighty cut in a pool they themselves supply (or generate).

Then there is P2W, the money incentivised advantage in multiplayer gaming. The area in which mobile gaming have capitalised.

There is also the P2B (pay-to-boost) mechanic, Ubi’s strong point. This is schit mechanic. I don’t like it because the game developers and publishers are purposely making progression harder which may be remedied with an $ purchase.

I have no issue at playing games, allocate time, to unlock items, it is an incentive to keep the community alive and well. Yes, some people will allocate their credit card to unlocking these items.

The problem is, loot boxes never quite stop at cosmetics.

Fallout 76, as bad as the game is, is now a booster’s paradise. Bethesda didn’t go at improving the schithole they created, they milked it. I can go on... Anthem is also heading into this direction.

Star Citizen... other than purchasing ships which are kinda cool, the game is probably going to have ATM's where you can draw real cash.

The problem with GTA is that you may use real money to gamble, it is a legislative and a social issue in some places and where minors are involved it gets more tricky. Gamers may dislike it, but it is gambling nonetheless.

 

[Beyond.Celsus]

I’m fine with loot boxes (surprise mechanic) as long as it doesn’t provide any advantage over other players

.I would much rather have a system where I can directly buy exactly what I want .

So which is it?
You are contradicting yourself


Loot boxes need to go. The sooner the better. 'Live services' should follow loot boxes into the fire as well.
Modern games are designed around these money making scams rather than quality gameplay and it shows.

Unfortunately the publishers and studios aren't to blame.
It's the idiots who award them buy paying for this crap who fuels it and makes it worse.

 

[Swa]

So which is it?
You are contradicting yourself


Loot boxes need to go. The sooner the better. 'Live services' should follow loot boxes into the fire as well.
Modern games are designed around these money making scams rather than quality gameplay and it shows.

Unfortunately the publishers and studios aren't to blame.
It's the idiots who award them buy paying for this crap who fuels it and makes it worse.

Doesn't have to be either or. The major issue with loot boxes is that it's become a gambling mechanic. Takes the pay to win principle one step further.