Grab some popcorn.. EA vs 17 spartans..

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-09-17-15-european-gambling-regulators-unite-to-tackle-loot-box-threat

brb I will bring some popcorn.. not sure what else to comment yet, but its an interesting topic in off topic.

Saw that story, actually. On the one hand, eager to see where it goes because even with the grassroots rebellion on it recently, the loot box thing has gotten completely fucking out of hand (you hear me, Tencent Gear Games?).

On the other hand...it's the EU. I very much believe in the government's solemn duty to rein in the worst excesses of the business sector because if they won't do it nobody else will, but fuck me does Europe take that shit way too far nine times out of ten.

This is going to be a definite shakeup, especially now that Grinding Gear is owned by Even Worse Chinese EA and is thus physically incapable of doing anything with their own loot box systems save "MILK HARDER". Will be fascinating to see what the fallout is.

It is not EU where the first fight will play out, first of all. It is Belgium. However, and this is big, what happens with the case will of course determine whether other countries follow suit so if EA loses or more likely, knowing them, caves or compromises, who knows? It might be all of Europe next (see article).

I think personally loot boxes have really degenerated though I dislike gov't interference this may be one where it has gotten so out of hand interference will happen unless they decide to self regulate.

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kolyaboo wrote:

I think personally loot boxes have really degenerated though I dislike gov't interference this may be one where it has gotten so out of hand interference will happen unless they decide to self regulate.

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kolyaboo wrote:

this may be one where it has gotten so out of hand interference will happen unless they decide to self regulate.

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kolyaboo wrote:

unless they decide to self regulate.

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kolyaboo wrote:

to self regulate.

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kolyaboo wrote:

self regulate.

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kolyaboo wrote:

self regulate.

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kolyaboo wrote:

self

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kolyaboo wrote:

regulate.

See...I don't think you know how modern businesses work, what with words like this. A modern large, multinational business sees a mechanism by which it can make money, and it will attempt to make use of that mechanism to extract maximum possible funds. Ethicality and the ability to recognize the difference between ethical and unethical behavior, which is a prerequisite for being able to choose between ethical and unethical behavior, which is itself a prerequisite for any form of "self regulation", is both utterly alien to modern business thinking and also utterly anathema to same. Ethics and business are kinda like matter and antimatter - they cannot coexist and evince mutual annihilation when forced into contact with each other.

Of course EA is going to fight Belgium to the bitter end to keep its loot boxes; it's making dirty money hand over fist preying on people's psychological weaknesses with its Skinner box slot machine bullshit. No modern business would give that up without the most strenuous possible battle.

Oh really? Never heard of MPAA? PEGI? ESRB?

I could go on but the point is SRO's exist for a reason. I used to be a trader and we had NASD. Fuck there are tons of SRO's now.

All of the above did not come into existence out of the kindness of someone's heart, boredom, or whatever you think.

Self regulate or let the gov't do it for you. That is it in a nutshell. Which would any sane person pick?

Governments like them because they get to threaten an industry or industries with regulation, then, out of fear, the industries jump and do it, sometimes beyond what the gov't actually wanted. The gov't can save time and money and not have to legislate.

And you accuse me of not knowing about how corps work? LOL

How can you not know about this SRO shit? Or maybe you never worked in a regulated industry? Or anywhere?

Not sure but sure I don't care.

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kolyaboo wrote:

Oh really? Never heard of MPAA? PEGI? ESRB?

I could go on but the point is SRO's exist for a reason. I used to be a trader and we had NASD. Fuck there are tons of SRO's now.

All of the above did not come into existence out of the kindness of someone's heart, boredom, or whatever you think.

Self regulate or let the gov't do it for you. That is it in a nutshell. Which would any sane person pick?

Governments like them because they get to threaten an industry or industries with regulation, then, out of fear, the industries jump and do it, sometimes beyond what the gov't actually wanted. The gov't can save time and money and not have to legislate.

And you accuse me of not knowing about how corps work? LOL

How can you not know about this SRO shit? Or maybe you never worked in a regulated industry? Or anywhere?

Not sure but sure I don't care.

He just said "self-regulate in business industry" doesnt go hand in hand as "be nice but go for first place."
Its opposites, it cant be done. I mean it can be done but, going for profits is the goal that directly interferes with reducing addiction in gambling mechanics.

After all, EA does is to maximise gambling addiction, not minimise!

Ofc government interference is not for people - its aditional income tax.. maybe it will be some sort of taxation going on.

Yes, grabbing some popcorn too, hoping that all ends well.

Hehe, EA just may have helped to accelerate the process of making laws that actually target in-game lootboxes. I would be surprised if current looboxes can actually be labelled gambling at all. In my country at least, gambling relates to a game of chance in relation to "economic values". Haven't been able to quickly determine if that has a definition.

It could expand much further. If they decide to target the new strategy of the gaming industry - to milk massive amounts of money through rng rewards like hearthstones buying packs this whole strategy could become outlawed. God i hope that is so, fucking dirty exploitory business and they gonna have to make games for the actual gamer again not the spender.

But gonna be hard though, for example can't buy booster packs for magic cards no more?

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Crackmonster wrote:

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But gonna be hard though, for example can't buy booster packs for magic cards no more?

This is precisely the reasoning these companies (includingGrinding Gear, sadly) use, and why so many of them are so confused by the huge backlash against these things in games.

"Magic and other TCGs have been selling random booster packs for decades! We're just trying to do the same thing they do! W hy's everybody mad at us and not Wizards?!"

First of all, plenty of people are mad at Wizards.

Second of all, presuming that I live in some deeply hypothetical universe where EA actually reads gaming forums/real people's opinions, somehow stumbles across this post, and is listening...Wizards and such 'get away with' booster packs because they're selling a physical item. You buy a product, you get the product, you get to keep the product forever. yes, Wizards constantly rotates sets in and out (mostly out) of official play because they're dickwagons, but you still get to keep your cards, have them and hold them and sniff them and whiff them. Furthermore, those card packs are the entirety of the game - there's no "pay sixty dollars for access to Magic, then pay twenty dollars for access to the Fall of Narnia expansion set, then pay five bucks a shot for booster packs from the Fall of Narnia expansion set!" buttfuckery going on.

Imagine how pissed off people would be at Wizards if they tried to pull that shit, ne?

When a company charges you full retail price for a game, then full retail price for that game's DLC, and then ALSO microtransaction price for access to the content that game/DLC introduces, that's when you get backlash. And it's both infuriating and hysterical to me that companies like EA and Tencent never understand this and get slapped on it again and again and again and again.

I read somewhere long ago why MtG will get away with it, at least physical release, not the MTG arena.

Its because first as mentioned before its a physical product, secondly, they guarantee that you will get 1 rare 3 uncommons and 11 commons in each pack. So basically you know what you are getting, 15 pieces of cardboard that are guaranteed to have rare/uncommon/common symbol printed on them.

And last thing. Wizards dont set the price for single cards, players give value to those cards and wizards does not have anything to do with it. They are in no control what is done with product after its sold.

But as I said, mtg arena may be a different story, but we will see.