Microtransactions, loot boxes, and legislation (Destiny)

by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Wednesday, November 22, 2017, 18:42 (2637 days ago) @ Avateur
edited by Cody Miller, Wednesday, November 22, 2017, 18:51

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/11/22/us-legislator-wants-to-limit-sale-of-games-with-loot-boxes-in-wake-of-battlefr...

I figure that since we have plenty of debates here on microtransactions, aesthetic items, the slippery slope, how EA and Activision are garbage, etc., I should post this here. Looks like EA finally pushed their bullshit far enough to get the government potentially involved. This'll be interesting to watch play out.

I absolutely do not want legislation, but I DO want the ESRB ratings to reflect loot boxes. If it is indeed gambling, then you can make a game with them, but you just get an AO rating.

This will either do two things:

It will either destigmatize the AO rating and allow more creative freedom. Currently AO games aren't stocked in many retailers and both Sony and Microsoft will not put AO games on their stores. It's kind of like NC-17 for film; it's a death sentence for your game.

Or it will just prevent loot boxes entirely in order to not get an AO rating.

Either way, it's a win.