SCAM ALERT
- LOOT BOXES -
Estimated time to read: 2 Minutes
What would it cost to unlock all content in star wars battlefront 2?
Over 4.500 hours in-game or $2.100 for Lootboxes
Considering that you use our website we assume you already know what loot boxes are. For those who don’t know, you can inform yourself here.
Some of you may have already seen this picture, that calls the DLC madness out:
It is sad to see this ‘madness’, especially in AAA-games. DLCs have become common practice, that is clear- but what was once more or less fair has turned into splitting a full game and every part of it is now a “DLC”.
However, loot boxes are even worse.
Why are loot boxes a scam?
Loot boxes are very closely linked to gambling and they are directly aimed at the youth. The mechanisms of loot boxes are sometimes even like a slot machine(CS: GO).
Gambling is always a “scam”. Casinos exist because the house always wins- chances are always against the player.
Loot boxes, however, claim to not be linked to gambling because “no matter what – you will always get something in return for your money”.
The animation and all the design of the loot boxes, in general, is made to be addictive – you want to open another one and another one.
Especially kids like the opening of loot boxes, the sound that it makes and most important of all- the feeling that in this loot box could be the perfect item.
It’s like a slot machine, where you want to see the best combination of fruits or whatever they have printed on it.
But imagine also this situation: You want one special item or in-game product and you would even like to pay for it.
You will have to open so many loot boxes until it maybe shows up. That can be really frustrating, especially when most of the “loot” is repetitive, non-valuable trash.
The Loophole & ESRB
The gaming industry has found a loophole. They argue that loot boxes are not gambling because the player does not receive money back but always will get some kind of item.
Here a statement from the ESRB—the Entertainment Software Rating Board, which categorizes games released in North America from “Early Childhood” to “Adults Only”:
“While there’s an element of chance in these mechanics, the player is always guaranteed to receive in-game content (even if the player unfortunately receives something they don’t want),”
an ESRB rep said
“We think of it as a similar principle to collectible card games: Sometimes you’ll open a pack and get a brand new holographic card you’ve had your eye on for a while. But other times you’ll end up with a pack of cards you already have.”
