Loot boxes declared as gambling in Belgium and Hawaii

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Millianna, Nov 21, 2017.

  1. Millianna Augur

    Thank you said company for being over zealous and greedy. I can only fathom the over regulation that’s now headed to MMOs.
  2. Bamboompow Augur

  3. Guzzle Augur


    I think the implication is that now that certain agencies are declaring loot boxes as gambling, that DBG is now "over zealous and greedy" due to their heritage crates that have random chances for things.

    It's funny that OP is talking about MMO's being regulated when this is mostly done in FPS games.
  4. Spellfire Augur

  5. Millianna Augur

    I never said that. Please google and read what is being said
  6. Bamboompow Augur

    Usually when governments complain about "gambling" it is due to them wanting their cut.
  7. Millianna Augur

    Some publisher got a bit greedy...
  8. Nniki Augur

  9. Benito EQ player since 2001.

    Where does the State of Utah stand on this?
  10. Cleaver Augur

    EA is huge on this kind of game content. You ever play maddens mut or fifa ? Its the same concept. You buy coins to take a chance to get a good player.
  11. Aurastrider Augur

    Lots of companies do this not just games. My daughter likes those my little pony toys and they have a whole set of like 80 or something crazy that comes in a sealed bag and you have no idea which one is in it until you open it. Its the same thing with trading cards whether it be sports, magic the gathering type games, comic cards and so forth. You are buying a product but have no clue what you are getting. Its a gamble but unlike actual gambling you cant actually lose considering you "win" something every time. In real gambling you run the risk of getting nothing for your money. A game of random chance maybe but gambling in its pure form this is not.
    moogs likes this.
  12. Hateseeker Augur

    Keep in mind they may not stop with loot boxes and may pursue all price gouging microtransactions. I would guess that EQ is mostly safe. Planetside 2 implants on the other hand...
  13. Millianna Augur

    So if I open up a casino, give out a candy bar every time someone loses to them, then it’s not gambling? The argument that it’s not gambling has been lost. It’s just a matter of how fast it spreads and what the overreach is.
  14. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    Well, we have had a few cases where people spent an awful lot of money to complete a cats-in-bag collection, as well as those LON-boster-pack prizes. So it's not like EQ doesn't expose their costumers to something similar.

    From the article:
    This could have a huge impact on the marketplace, if it goes through. But it seems like it will only affect "randomized" goods.

    Personally, I think micro-transactions as a whole should be banned, but thats just me. :p
    YellowBelly likes this.
  15. moogs Augur

    Microtransactions would not exist without customer demand. If you dislike them, go to a nerd convention and punch the first person that gets on your nerves for any reason. You'd be taking a gamble, but chances are your random victim is partly to blame.
  16. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    True, Im probably just an old-fashioned geezer, and I can't deny that there is a customer-demand.

    Back to topic: The article hints that it is only directed at games for children, and I guess EQ is mostly aimed at adults by now? Back when I started it required the player to have access to a credit card, which in my country(Denmark) was only available to adults(or kids with cool parents :D ). Would it be a gamechanger if DBG just stated 18+, and just carried on as usual?

    Their other games would be more affected by this...
  17. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    edit: dobbelt post, please ignore!
  18. Tatanka Joe Schmo

    You're the OP, would it KILL you to post a link to what you're talking about?

    No, it won't kill a person to search for it. But, should hundreds of people look for a link, and maybe find the wrong one, or ONE person post the link, and then eveyone's on the same page.

    TL;DR - I don't live in Hawaii or Belgium, so.... ;)
  19. NeverPayForLag Augur

    wuahahahahaha..

    yes.. some publishers are too greedy... if you can make with socalled "free games" the most money because to pull out the money via the backdoor which is surely not free anymore - this itself is a fraud and will get prosecuted - I wait on that day somebody with money or from government side simply does it.

    Thinking about buying an expansion in beta status before knowing what you get in the end... is that gambling? I think it comes close...

    Magic Cards? That was the trick to buy something and hope for Rares. And it was the best and most successful trading card game ever. Are they still in business? I assume that bringing step by step the ubah cards from Alpha in again should have pissed of many old collectors...

    And your smartphone? Hey - flatrate - but if you suck too much then it gets squizzed down to 100kb/s... anybody didn't thought that is a pure fraud? I still wait for that lawsuit.They dared to try that with the usual standard wire and that went to customer protection and into the court. And the biggest telephone company here stopped their fraudulent behavior. But smartphones are still sold with these lies. Like Daniken said once: we are living on a planet of lies! If I go further I think about these Apps which you should give allowance to transfer data and surprise surprise - all your contacts have now advertising from facebook. To install Apps is gambling with your data. To use Facebook is a kind of gambling with your data - you never know when the next update or option is set wrong if they change something and your finest private foto is open for the public (happend to a client). Anybody had some surprises after Whatsup has been bought by Facebook? I always think about in that moment where it says that he is synchronizing data but only with my email account? Since Snowden nobody believes that anymore - but I still meet people who even don't know the case Snowden. What a joke....

    And the politicians? Did they think about the most and biggest gambling market? The stock market? Thinking about futures but nearly everything there counts to that.I bet they surely don't. But if some are bought by banks and insurance companies or influenced by lobbyists they have no reason to - comfortable corruptness - but... the traders are usually not under 18.... yes..... they only behave like such..

    Life is sometimes the best joke... you don't need TV anymore ;)
  20. Hateseeker Augur

    The demand isn't for Microtransactions, in many cases it's gouging a semi captive audience. Often there's a game with no viable alternative like Battlefront or a game in which you have a long term investment in like mmorpgs. No one buys a game because they demand microtransaction, they endure Microtransactions because they are invested in some way. That is why it is predatory.
    Jumbur likes this.