Gambling for kids is not good. Devs need money to make more great games, I don’t mind loot boxes for those who can afford them, especially for hats etc. like TF2 (although too much will drive your original player base away obviously). But for actual gaming advantages, it’s very offputting for everyone else. I quite like battlefront 2 so far (single player) but now I have no real interest in playing it online if you’re going to be playing against rich kids who have bought massively better abilities than you.
Loot boxes are not bad game design, say devs
- Thread starter DELETED_195422
- Start date
When it was enough of a niche to be considered a hobby it was a labour of love with the creators making a living off of it as a bonus and afterthought. When gaming became the most popular form of media, it was inevitable that the suit wearing undead would shamble their lifeless overweight carcasses onto the scene and use their masses of wealth to strongarm the industry into their image to buy that 9th or 10th yacht.
Soldato
- Joined
- 30 Mar 2016
- Posts
- 2,884
- Location
- East Lothian
France also getting in on the act:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/s...d9b1&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/s...d9b1&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
This is so right and true it's almost not funny.
I think 1 of the big differences in games now is that you don't buy a complete game, you buy the smallest amount of content that they can sell you and fob the rest off has(DLC). It's not this is the best we can do, it's this is how much we can strip out and still sell it to the kids.
There really is no other form of media or entertainment that you buy the products to enjoy but you can not use it all because you need to buy more of the same product. Like unlocking vader for some extra moniez.
Soldato
- Joined
- 16 Aug 2009
- Posts
- 8,085
What parent takes any notices of what their kids are doing on their computers or smartphones anyhow? So long as it keeps them quiet they're not bothered and they probably think it makes a change from parking them in front of the TV all day.
loot boxes , micro transactions should be banned outright, its not what gaming is all about.
I'm not buying anymore games that have the faintest whiff of this practise about them, and if everyone did the same, the industry would be in a better place.
I'm not buying anymore games that have the faintest whiff of this practise about them, and if everyone did the same, the industry would be in a better place.
Associate
- Joined
- 28 May 2017
- Posts
- 1,122
- Location
- Aberdeen
I did buy BF2 and am enjoying but I'm also planning not to buy any more games with this type of system.
Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Aug 2012
- Posts
- 6,593
- Location
- Tamworth, UK
It spans far beyond crates, but just MTX in general. I think I was most disappointed when I launched Gears of War 4 for the first time and Assassin's Creed Origins last night.
GoW a game where multiplayer USED to have no ranking system, no crates, no stupid accolades is now swamped in "crates" for boosters and cosmetics.
Origins last night, Pause the game, check map... look up! Store > blah > "TIME SAVERS" like seriously? I can buy all the materials I need to upgrade my armour? I can buy currency for a single player game?!
Always nice to try and immerse yourself in a game, check the map/pause the game and have "STORE" flashing in your face.
I can understand it's place and popularity, I've played Runescape for years and MTX took over, the developers openly said that the game stays profitable because of MTX.
It's disappointing to see this get worse and worse.
The whole 'gambling' thing coming to light now is a little late, look at FIFA, you could buy packs ('crates') 8-9 years a go, my brother ended up spending over £150 on them just to get better players.
GoW a game where multiplayer USED to have no ranking system, no crates, no stupid accolades is now swamped in "crates" for boosters and cosmetics.
Origins last night, Pause the game, check map... look up! Store > blah > "TIME SAVERS" like seriously? I can buy all the materials I need to upgrade my armour? I can buy currency for a single player game?!
Always nice to try and immerse yourself in a game, check the map/pause the game and have "STORE" flashing in your face.
I can understand it's place and popularity, I've played Runescape for years and MTX took over, the developers openly said that the game stays profitable because of MTX.
It's disappointing to see this get worse and worse.
The whole 'gambling' thing coming to light now is a little late, look at FIFA, you could buy packs ('crates') 8-9 years a go, my brother ended up spending over £150 on them just to get better players.
Last edited:
Yeh I know a couple of kids that overspent on FIFA.
The whole thing stinks really...
I'm not happy with pay to win loot boxes, to the point I wouldn't purchase the game, I'm generally fine with cosmetic boxes, which Overwatch does really well. People didn't seem outraged when EA allowed this with Battlefield 3 and 4 (I think?) though, you could purchase attachments for guns which would definitely give an advantage.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned the outrageous prices for skins and cosmetic items on the Steam market place as well. A lot of those items aren't obtainable through normal game play (in Overwatch you can basically get any skin you want, just not all of them through normal game play), and they can cost hundreds of pounds or more. That's not affordable for the majority of gamers and is plainly ridiculous for a cosmetic item, cosmetic items costing more than the actual game isn't reasonable. In WoW the skins and mounts cost £15-£20 the last time I played, I think some of the money even went to charity.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned the outrageous prices for skins and cosmetic items on the Steam market place as well. A lot of those items aren't obtainable through normal game play (in Overwatch you can basically get any skin you want, just not all of them through normal game play), and they can cost hundreds of pounds or more. That's not affordable for the majority of gamers and is plainly ridiculous for a cosmetic item, cosmetic items costing more than the actual game isn't reasonable. In WoW the skins and mounts cost £15-£20 the last time I played, I think some of the money even went to charity.
But if a game is good it will sell very well. Look at Witcher 3, all DLC except the two big expansions were free. It has no silly unlocks or gambling boxes and it has no DRM. It sold extremely well and was game of the year. But CDPR is a company run by actual gamers who know what gamers want and know the industry.
EA is run by bankers and they are anti-consumer. They don't care what the customer thinks or respect the brand.
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 Jun 2004
- Posts
- 4,890
- Location
- Blackburn
Not that I agree with the prices of certain market place items, £500 for a bandanna in pubg is ridiculous but market place items value is set by the sellers. So I guess steam users are to blame for the high prices of certain items
Yeah of course, my point is that if the items were more obtainable ingame then no one would be able to charge £500 for a bandana, as it stands someone has to get extremely lucky to get the item. In Overwatch you earn ingame currency for duplicate items which you can spend on skins, so it might take a while but you can purchase everything just by playing, which is a good system.
Petition to ban loot boxes in games for under 18s:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/ban-lootbox-gambling-in-video-games
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/ban-lootbox-gambling-in-video-games
Not good enough. I've seen people drop hundreds of pounds just to complete a cosmetic set from lootboxes that give you duplicates. Disgusting imo.
I dont know the overwatch system, just going on what i read - so which is it, a fair system or still predatory?
Overwatch loot box system doesn't look as bad as other games loot box systems because of the above but there are a lot of kids that play the game. I can imagine that when new skins come out for limited periods (such as the up rising game mode) that if the kids don't get those skins through grinding they will pressure parents into paying real money for the chance to get them.