Ubisoft: "If Players Didn't Buy Loot Boxes/Crates, They Would Not Be Added"

[rudy]

There are a few examples of well done games with lootboxes, though I still firmly believe that you should be able to pick and choose what you buy. In this sense, I like the World of Warships model, where crates earned in game can net you premium stuff, while you're still given the option of buying the premium stuff outright.

On the other hand, there are plenty of games that don't do it right. I believe the majority of the outrage stems from taking beloved franchises and turning them into lootbox money making machines. See Diablo and Command and Conquer for the most recent examples.

The problem with that is we have been there and people freaked out, OMG I have to pay $X for horse armor or whatever. Personally I think CSGO has one of the best implementations where you have randomness and risk, and you also have the option to purchase directly, and you also have the option to never purchase anything. However I have to say I love the fact that someone with emotional control or a limited budget can play many of these games now cheaper than they could 10 years ago because some people who enjoy the skins are subsidizing development and risk taking.


Ultimately as long as its only cosmetic you have a choice to buy or not buy. That is a level of freedom. No one is forcing you to buy a loot box, and no forces you to go watch a movie you have never seen, which is also a form of randomness, how do you know you will like it until you have seen it. We generally don't call people morons if they go to a movie on opening night. Even though they cant know if the movie will be good or not. Some people will choose to wait till reviews are out or the price comes down at redbox, but others have just decided the emotional stimulation of not knowing what to expect and being part of the conversation right when it releases is worth the risk for the experience. To me this isn't any different than lootboxes. Humans constantly pay for randomness in all aspects of life its something we crave and excites us.

 

[Pieter3dnow]

All it takes is tapping into the hedonistic aspects of people and then money shall be made. With shortened attention spans due to conditioning from the performance improvements in technology and from cash cow business operation, an addiction is there to be taken advantage of! The only way not to play the game is ditch the games that are considered "fun" but the majority, and take to games that require longer attention spans, intellect, and thought (ie. chess). Good old fashioned games!

The reason the industry has continued to go the way it has is because people HAVE been voting with their wallet. So all y'all who have been saying 'vote with your wallet', you're request has been granted! Take the butthurt and flush it. Go find something else to do.

That would mean that it is going to be regulated as many people find it weird that gambling under a different name is not gambling. If you decide different names for the same the thing because it profits you then you end up being noticed by people who do mean well for other people as they should.

 

[Aireoth]

That would mean that it is going to be regulated as many people find it weird that gambling under a different name is not gambling. If you decide different names for the same the thing because it profits you then you end up being noticed by people who do mean well for other people as they should.

Exactly, they are gambling and take advantage of those with legitimate problems as well as fostering those problems in others, especially children. It's reprehensible.