Belgium and the Netherlands already have.
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No. Loot boxes and any variety of like ‘surprise mechanics’ and anything which involves a slot machine like aspect is the bane and doom of modern gaming. If I wanna buy a new costume or character as DLC I want to know exactly what costume/item or which character that is, not pay fifty times over for the chance of getting that content. There are entire videos online devoted to what a vile practice the concept is and why it needs to be banned, entirely. Pay to win or just cosmetic, it’s just wrong, especially now it’s bled from casual mobile games to AAA consoles where I have already spent fifty bucks. Game companies like Rockstar who once crafted solid story based DLC for GTA or Red Dead now cannot be assed when they can milk players for years with online gambling and greed over gameplay.
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CD projekt red is still fine and I wish they will continue that way with their future releases…
cyberpunk 2077 hype hype hype!!!
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I liked the loot box in Battleborn, they were just a bonus and with playing enough you should gain them without real money but much slower. But since it was only skins and taunts they where just nice to have, not pay to win. It was more pay for flavor
But the problem with that is that companies use it as an excuse to justify them. “It’s okay, you can still get these items with some work, paying for them just takes off some time.” Except they will ensure that time is long and grinding and annoying enough to break your resolve and make you fork up. And that’s just one form of coercion to trick you into accepting them. Just watch this.
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I can think of one mobile game that implements lootbox that do well and actually survived for decent 2 years of my gaming life: Gumballs & Dungeons.
Detailed writing on GnD
The game is basically gacha, puzzle-rpg, and a bit of idle. Golden Gumball Pots (the lootbox) grant you 5 pieces of random Gumball (the char/hero) where you can level them up with. While this sounds like your generic eastern gacha game, one unique mechanic that I think helps alleviate the randomness is that each Gumball affect the power of the entire roster. One can increase the global exp and gold rate (this is, in fact, your starting gumball), another directly buffs all gumballs power, while others go with uncomparable upgrades such as reducing the item costs on guild shop.
But the best thing is that you can earn gems for free. Not just measly one gem per monthly playthrough, but you can easily get 200 gems on your first month while every dungeon-run, done expertly, has a high chance to grant you 32 gems (though you have to… like, spam-tap your screen 3k times for that. There’s also in-game message “no sacrifice, no glory” which is kinda hilarious). For reference, 15-gems is the 1$ equivalent, here.
Might be worthy to note that the game is casual, none time-gated game where you can do a dungeon run, pause it and close the app, and return where you left it from (except during boss fight and special rooms the 3k tap room).
But to write up the gist, lootbox is totally tolerable (as in I don’t mind welcoming them) if there’s no paywall to any of the game contents.
It is intolerable as is gambling without no single one of warrants gambling has no gated to minors and not even pay the taxes they should. They have stolen money from states and poisoning kids at the same time.
And then you don’t even have guaranteed the damn stuff you waste money for. Those games are free because of the fact predatory practices make them billionaires meanwhile honest commerces get far less money sell really good games. They don’t let you buy the damn game and that’s good detail of the type of business it is.
I’m defending the game as they never framed their lootbox as predatory: no shiny or pointy signs on the lootbox, no ambiguity (all gumball fragments has equal chance of showing up), nor any direct advantage over F2P. The lootbox is just there. The characters in the game itself even reminds you multiple times that there’s no need to spend any dime to play the game in its entirety.
I can see the devs made the game with passion and not just pure eyes on money.
Then why don’t let people buy exactly what they want or the entire game. In the moment you can’t buy what you want as microtransaction or the entire product is predatory and anti-consumer.
I don’t go to a grocery and spin a wheel to see if i get a banana an apple or a mango
I just want why I want and I pay for it not pray on a gambling machine that i get the damn mango.
All loot boxes arare predatory
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sorry, but there is your trap .
For exemple if you lock this gems stuff behind ‘GROUP’’ content . Well in a game say that suffer from low population, or have solo content or have a Toxic community , or low Grouping…
All of those things, would make peoples fork money…cose…of the above…
as someone who play MMO solo…I if I wanted those gems…I be either forced to pay…or go without
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In addition of the style of “Box” , there are other ways of gaming addictive that based on chance… such as the random card system , mostly these are card games where each card represent by an Avatar , the avatars have different Star Powers , in which players will be given chance to draw them by using number of tokens, diamonds or coins etc , hence it will be the desire of each players that they are lucky enough to draw the highest star Avatar and showoff to their friends…
Usually these games give free tokens everyday , so if you are patience enough you can accumulate enough free tokens to draw the cards… of course some will choose to buy the tokens and have rapid draws immediately.
This method contain gambling element but had been in the market for many mobile games and no one i know had complain about it before
Edit : players can still play the full content of the game and enjoy all the moment, the higher rank Avatar doesn’t necessary give the players too much advantage as player skill is required … and players buy the tokens as a friendly gesture to support the developers to further continue the games and as a hobby to collect all the cards
@Nocturnal_Stillness
I think the way how players get a random power using HP is fun due to the element of surprise , i love it personally
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While I understand the point of buying the entire product, it would kill the experience where the game is based around. Certain characters are locked for hi-end content due to their complexity–newer players are less likely wanted to get all of the characters unless they’re a serious metagamer (at which point is hopefully in a mature age). The devs just happen to find a way to monetize the game in the long-term via this system.
I’d like to write that it’s practically impossible to support a multiplayer, lifetime-sustained game with pay-once-get-all system. There’s no famous living proof of game that do this—all MMO games rely on system where their gamer will have to pay concurrently in the entire lifetime of their gaming experience: subscription (EVE), content cycling, or lootboxes (DotA and LoL, and gachas). There’s an exception however, like community-supported games where all the servers are set up and managed by the gamers themselves (Minecraft in an extent, I believe?).
Yes, but the game is not MMO in its core. Alliance (the online-multiplayer thing) is in fact a recent addition which I didn’t see 2 years ago. The community is also fairly friendly, albeit easy to lost as CJK dominates the server.
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dungeons usually need a group though, are you saying this game let you solo dungeon ?
The name is Gumballs and Dungeons, but the gameplay is basically roguelike maze-solitaire thing.
Flip tiles to reveal its content (enemy, treasure, or gates), time your moves as abilities are turn-based, etc.
Cute 'lil game.
BTW, posting this on its own comment.
I never said that I supported lootbox whatsoever. Anything that involve chance is gambling, and I agree gambling should be kept away from minors. I only welcome them in the sense that this is the developers’ way to earn money. The restriction/control on keeping gambling away from minor is two-way work: both from publisher and consumer.
I posted GnD as an example because it’s a lootbox done well, not because it’s gambling-proof. The lootbox there is presented as non-predatory, as well as the entire game that never force you to do things. You can play it on your own pace and you can support them on your own capability, via lootbox.
CCG with token? I believe it’s not MTG nor Hearthstone?
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I agree with you on that , the card games which i were referencing , constantly need to come up with new avatars so that players have reason to continue buying tokens to draw the cards , the game mission will also be constantly evolve, now for those who don’t want to buy extra tokens, they still manage to play it entirely , and with enough cards of their own, in fact i had never paid for those tokens yet but still enjoy the fun of the full contents , and with enough cards of my own from the free daily tokens… the game still survive till todays due to continuos support from its paying fans 
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shakes head Loot boxes (and similar mechanics) have certainly done a lot of damage to the games industry, especially when done by greedy corporations who rely on it for their profits rather than actually making games, etc.
The funny thing is, I’m not against a game having an element of chance in it…I mean if I roll on a treasure table in Dungeons and Dragons, that is a luck based system.
Of course, the minute one starts putting actual money on it, then it becomes something different.
A little off topic, but I’m furious that 2K Games’ latest trailer showed their gambling shit so blatantly (it was in previous games, but not so prominent in an ad)…and it soured what I thought was actually a good step forward, that of including the WNBA as well.
And yes, I’m pissed with PEGI as well. Pokémon Red/Blue get an age rating of 12, but newest NBA 2K game gets 3+? (And the FIFA games tend to fall in this as well)
That said, I do think loot boxes can be handled adequately…as long as the community is also listened to, and the developers have a moral compass. I will not personally support a game like that, but from what people I know, they do like how Warframe handles things overall.
I actually would consider this a fair system. As you said, no real world money would change hands…and using HP to buy power points is no different in my mind than XP.
In fact, I personally wouldn’t consider this a loot box as practiced by EA, etc. though it definitely has elements of chance in it.
Um, I know that is a convoluted way of saying that a lot depends on what is implemented, how and what sort of game.
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This i would certainly agree towards, like the previous card game company i was referring to , the company manage to create a close community among gamers, and several gamer celebrities also doing their regular live streaming online via FB , they will chat about the tokens they used to draw the cards and share the joy or agony of the resultant drawing of cards …
The company also display its high moral compass by being the first who donate money and organise help when a natural disaster hit the parent country , which gamers had never label them as money hauling company , the constant purchase of tokens had mostly being view as common spending to maintain a healthy community among them …
The gamer celebrities had also start doing their game streaming as sort of part time job , with followers subscribing their channel with monthly subscribing fees mainly to watch them play and talk about the game …
Hence i think even if a game contain certain aspect of gambling element, it all depend on how a gaming company handle them with care
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Yes, easily. Remove real money from the equation. Only-in game currency that cannot be obtained by external means. Just play your game to unlock stuff.
I have no issue with your idea, TC.
You know that was exactly what people said about Tobacco companies when people started to complain about the terrible effects of the drug and the addition of heavy metals and poison to enhanced the addictive component.
They are very family-friendly and gave millions to social charity.
Who cares about the addition of children and adults with gambling tendencies?
I had familiars with gamble problems and I know what it is seeing an uncle lost his house and end in a rehabilitation program.
Those types of games you deem sane are like a bomb for those people some can’t even have a smartphone because they are bombing with the advertising of games that are basically the same that casino games that are available for kids.
The fact that one person has no gambling tendency to that doesn’t mean companies have right to prying those who have it mostly minors to pay for ALL and the rest of players
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