Yes and no.
For example, some Link Amiibo in Zelda BOTW get you a Tunics, but it is random, sometimes you just get fish or meat or some arrows.
But in these specific few cases, unlike loot boxes you are not given the option to pay more for another chance, you just wait a day... or just reload your last save and scan the Amiibo again, repeat until you get what you want. Amiibo is still a one-off cost for additional content.
I'm not a big fan of amiibo either and how they gate DLC behind something you may not want (the figurine), but they are very different from loot boxes, giving you fixed additional content on top of the core progression and metagame instead of being integrated with said systems and/or giving you a one-off random chance to get something good.
It's a gamble with loot boxes and that's where the main controversy lies.
Using Overwatch as an example, the whole unlock/reward system is based on loot boxes - offering random rewards that you may or may not want. You can grind and slowly earn more boxes, or spend more money to try and get the stuff you want faster. The latter is the approach Blizzard hope customers will take, the reason loot boxes were implemented in the first place, and consequently the reason why the unlock system can be slow and frustrating for many.
So, I'd argue that if micro-transactions were never considered then loot boxes probably wouldn't have been either, and without loot boxes a better system could exist. A system that rewards the player more directly, for their skill or for milestones hit, with rewards given for the characters they play.
I like Overwatch a lot and have played a fair bit since release, but lootboxes always felt a little shoddy and an uncompelling way to reward the player.
It's just cosmetics in Overwatch so I don't care too much at all, but there are games now where loot boxes appear to directly influence your chances or ability to win, or the time you need to spend to win or reach a core milestone; and that feels more than a little shoddy, that ultimately means balancing the core experience between those that do and don't spend extra.