In case you didn't know that, loot boxes are the latest issue in the world of video games. They are digital grab bags that players have to spend real or in-game currency on, and the trick is that you never know what’s inside. This tricky idea was shown for the first time in Blizzard’s
Overwatch, which was released in 2016. The issue became national news during the release of EA’s
Star Wars Battlefront II, which used to force the players to buy them to have a chance to win in the multiplayer modes.
Michael Pachter is a well-known analyst analyst in the games industry who comments on specific video games, often with sales projections. Recently, he appeared in a ‘fireside chat’ at an event held by the Video Game Bar Association in Los Angeles. During the conference, he had a chance to give his thought on that burning problem. Here's the Wedbush Securities analyst's explonation of this issue:
"Why are there loot boxes? Because consumers are stupid and they’ll spend thousands of dollars trying to get that hard-to-get thing. If you put it up for sale for $500 they won’t buy it. I mean, I actually think the Chinese solution – posting the odds of getting each item – is the right way to do it. This thing has a 1-in-250 chance in the loot box, or you can buy it for $250. Then people realize, I have to buy 250 loot boxes for $600 to get it? Then they’ll just buy it."
The loot boxes are not just the US problem, as Belgium and the Netherlands' Gaming Commissions have called them out in FIFA 18, Dota 2, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and Rocket League for illegal gambling activities. In February, the US Senate, legislators in Washington and Hawaii also tried to fix this mechanism and introduced four bills that would regulate the sale of video games that feature.
According to Pachter, "the guys in Hawaii are just f*cking morons. They should not only resign, but they should kill themselves. They’re so idiotic. Seriously. They’re such morons. One of the two idiot legislators said, I forget the studio. But they said something like, “EA shut down my favorite studio in 2005 and I’ve hated them ever since.” He said that on the record. We’re going to legislate against loot boxes? What an asshole. By the way, their solution was, loot boxes are gambling. Gambling is illegal under Hawaii law. Therefore you can’t buy a loot box until you’re 21. Does that mean you can gamble when you’re 21 in Hawaii as well? There’s no chance that law is upheld."
It seems that the US and Europe are going to handle this topic very differently, at least for now. Despite his vulgar language, Pachter has a point here - loot boxes will last as long as you will pay for them.