The same players always seem surprised at this game mechanism. You have to be careful what other players may say and based on their experiences, and try to be objective. We see a lot of complaints from players with bad experiences, but not a lot of happy players, which i fully understand ! Indeed don't count too much on your luck with random box.
There are good loot boxes and bad loot boxes, take your pick!
Loot money - 100% free. The only way to get your loot is by playing.
- free… or paid. You can acquire them by playing, or pay so as not to wait.
- 100% paying: the player must pay to access this content.
The contents of the box also vary:
Loot clothes - Cosmetics (skins, clothes, colors to customize your avatar or weapons).
- Gameplay (xp collected faster, more powerful weapons, boost on certain characters, etc.).
Finally, the system for obtaining the item may vary:
Loot random - You buy the desired item with money from the loot box.
- We open a box that contains a random object. The most coveted items coming out less often.
Depending on the financial model, content and procurement system, you go from an acceptable system to problematic practices. In one case, the loot boxes are made to motivate the player to come back more often and to enrich his experience, in others, to manipulate him by aiming to extract as much money as possible from him. Sometimes to achieve these ends we sometimes modify the game to make it more frustrating and to force the user to take out a few dollars.
Basically a system reserved for free to play, to finance their creation, there are now paid games (PUBG, Star Wars Battlefront II, Overwatch, Counter-Strike GO, etc.) which try to extract even more money from their players through loot boxes. Finally, the publishers' lack of control over minors or the absence of maximum spending limits per player is causing more and more reaction.
As this system is increasingly present, it should undoubtedly be analyzed and regulated in order to define good practices and clear limits. Recently, it was Belgium and the Netherlands who attacked it by classifying loot box titles in the “games of chance” category, even going so far as to mention problematic games: Star Wars Battlefront II, Overwatch, FIFA 18 and Counter Strike: Global Offensive are expressly named in the press release (here translated from Flemish) of the Dutch Minister of Justice. The studios of the titles concerned are threatened, if they refuse to cancel the loot box system, with a fine of 800,000 euros and 5 years in prison.
In Switzerland, a parliamentarian raised the issue and wanted this system to come under the recent law on gambling, accepted by the Swiss people. Same story in Germany where the commission for youth protection is looking into the phenomenon. In China, there are multiple constraints since publishers must ensure that a loot box cannot be acquired with money or virtual currencies, that the content of these boxes must be able to be acquired by playing naturally and that the probability to gain content and the quantity of certain items to be clearly displayed.
Associating a free channel with a pay channel is risky in terms of legislation (strong incentive), gambling and "double entry" games of chance. In practice, the same site offers paid access and free access to games with the possibility of winning. Despite everything, faced with the extreme practices of some publishers, the use of manipulation techniques and others, because we know that there are extreme cases, like in korea, where some have died of it, so it seems logical that this system which pushes the player to spend more and more money falls under the law of gambling and chance and must be supervised as such. The role of game publishers is therefore very important for the prevention of risks to minors, and vulnerable people, it is a problem and a responsibility of editors and laws of all countries, to know of ethics and morale.