Loot boxes in games are kind of a pain in the ass, but new legislation might soon make them illegal! Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri has introduced a bill, called “The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act,” which would ban loot boxes and “other types of microtransactions to minors.” Hawley declared that “pay-to-win mechanics and loot boxes” are “the two most abusive practices found” in most free-to-play games. Should the bill go all the way, this is a policy that would be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.
According to Hawley:
“Social media and video games prey on user addiction, siphoning our kids’ attention from the real world and extracting profits from fostering compulsive habits. No matter this business model’s advantages to the tech industry, one thing is clear: there is no excuse for exploiting children through such practices.
“When a game is designed for kids, game developers shouldn’t be allowed to monetize addiction. And when kids play games designed for adults, they should be walled off from compulsive microtransactions. Game developers who knowingly exploit children should face legal consequences.”
Interestingly, the one game referred to by name was not ‘Overwatch’ or ‘Fortnight’, but the seemingly innocuous ‘Candy Crush’. (Do kids even play that?) While ‘Candy Crush’ is free to play, it includes loot boxes, including the “Luscious Bundle,” which costs $149.99 in real money.
Belgium has already banned the use of loot boxes in games. Prince Harry of the United Kingdom recently spoke out against ‘Fortnight’ and the negative impact of its addictive nature.
RELATED: Prince Harry Says ‘Fortnite’ “Shouldn’t Be Allowed”
A workshop will be held on August 7th, to examine the issue. Because Hawley’s bill has just been introduced, it may be years before anything comes of it, and that’s only if it doesn’t get shot down completely.
To play devil’s advocate, these games exist for a reason, and it’s not just to make a game that is fun to play 100% for free. Though thousands or even millions might stick to the free play elements, for those that get hooked, in order to really advance you have to start paying real money.
Speaking of that, there is no mention of games where loot boxes and similar prizes are not paid for in cash but in-game currency. I mean sure, you still wind up paying real money for this currency, but that could be a loophole.
But without these for-pay features, these games wouldn’t exist and might cease to. If they continue, they will have to switch to a pay-to-play format, and that’s likely to scare off way more players than loot boxes do.
And if so many people drop a little something called ‘Marvel Puzzle Quest’, which I may have spent hundreds playing, and it shuts down, I. WILL. RAGE.
How do you feel about loot boxes and other for-pay mechanisms in games? Should they be totally banned? Will there be any point in playing these games without them?
Below you can read all of Senator Hawley‘s proposal:
SENATOR HAWLEY TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION BANNING MANIPULATIVE VIDEO GAME FEATURES AIMED AT CHILDREN
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Senator Josh Hawley, a fierce critic of social media practices that prey on the addiction of users, announced today that he will introduce landmark legislation banning the exploitation of children through “pay-to-win” and “loot box” monetization practices by the video game industry.
Senator Hawley said, “Social media and video games prey on user addiction, siphoning our kids’ attention from the real world and extracting profits from fostering compulsive habits. No matter this business model’s advantages to the tech industry, one thing is clear: there is no excuse for exploiting children through such practices.
“When a game is designed for kids, game developers shouldn’t be allowed to monetize addiction. And when kids play games designed for adults, they should be walled off from compulsive microtransactions. Game developers who knowingly exploit children should face legal consequences.”
BACKGROUND
In recent years, the video game industry has become increasingly reliant on monetization models that promote compulsive “microtransaction” purchases by consumers.
The most abusive such practices are:
Pay to win: Pay-to-win games take two forms. In some cases, designers engineer games with artificial difficulty curves to induce players to spend money on upgrades simply to progress. These games are often offered for free, enticing players to download and even offering them a false sense of progression upon initial download before artificially increasing difficulty to induce compulsive purchases. In other cases, designers create multiplayer games offering players who purchase paid upgrades competitive advantages over other players.
Loot boxes: Loot boxes, incorporated both in free and paid games, offer players randomized rewards for spending money, combining the addictive properties of pay-to-win with the compulsive behavior inherent in other forms of gambling.
One notorious example of this practice:
Candy Crush, a free puzzle game featuring a Candy Land-style cartoon aesthetic that offers players additional lives on a set timer, allows players to purchase a $149.99 “Luscious Bundle” including 1000 units of its “gold bar” in-game currency, a variety pack of temporary “boosters” to reduce game difficulty, and 24 hours of unlimited lives. The game touts this offering with a medal labeled “Best Value.” Candy Crush Developer King earns parent company Activision Blizzard $2 billion annually, boasting 268 million monthly active users.
