Game News Lootboxes in danger? European associations launch the offensive!
We’re not going to lie to each other, video games are one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world. If the sale of video games is the major source of income, lootboxes are not left out and are flourishing more and more in our games. What start to annoy a number of consumer associations…
A real gold mine
Literally translated as ” loot boxes In French, lootboxes correspond to chests containing one or more virtual objects and offering players in-game improvements or character customization. This random content, very often paying, is the subject of several controversies, like Diablo Immortal, which was recently banned from the Belgian and Dutch market for example. It must be said that with nearly 3 billion players in the world (adults, teenagers and children combined), the commercial strategy around lootboxes generates significant additional income. A strategy that consists of tempting consumers to put their hands in the wallet to obtain rare in-game items, especially since they are difficult to recover by playing in a classic way. This is why a coordinated action is led by 20 consumer associations in Europe asking the authorities to opt for a regulation on lootboxes.
A call for regulation
Following a new report from the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC or Norwegian Consumer Council in French), titled “ Insert Coin: How the gaming industry exploits consumers using loot boxes ” – which can be translated into French by: ” How the Gaming Industry Exploits Consumers Using Loot Boxes – 20 consumer associations from 18 European countries, including France, have decided to support it.
In effect, these consumer groups point to a clear need for regulation through new measures advocating the prohibition of misleading designs, the protection of minors and the transparency of transactions.
According to Finn Myrstad:
Games manipulate consumers into spending large sums of money through aggressive marketing, exploitation of cognitive biases and misleading odds.
This report clearly accuses video game companies of exploiting gamers using problematic methods, seeking to promote addiction. He also highlights games like FIFA 22 and Raid: Shadow Legends and claims that:
Both games use a wide arsenal of tricks to trick consumers into spending as much time and money as possible, exploiting consumers who hope to receive the reward despite a tiny chance and probability of getting it.
If the video game sector has escaped stricter regulations on the integration of lootboxes so far, we can only wait to see if this report will shake things up.
