Sony, Microsoft & Nintendo Have Agreed To Require Publishers To Disclose Loot Boxes Odds

Not a fan of loot boxes in games? Or hate how earning things in them seem so random? That’s about to change soon. The big three hardware makers — Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo — have agreed to require publisher to disclose the loot box odds of winning items in their games.

[lxeasy]

Yes Thank you

[Nitrowolf2]

This is a step in the right direction and looks like ESRB is gonna step in and change some of their policy to help educate loot boxes.
Sadly it doesn't sound like they will go away

[bluefox755]

I hate loot boxes as much as the next guy, but I think this is the right direction, rather than getting politicians involved. Education and transparency rather than government stepping in and doing the job of the parent.

[CorndogBurglar]

Who knows, maybe they will eventually?

If people know just how poor their odds are they SHOULD be less likely to pay real money. This in turn would Force devs to ramp up their odds to acceptable numbers. But if the numbers are acceptable than people likely won't feel the need to pay real money either.

This could be a very good start.

[Sono421]

This is a huge step in the right direction, but I can't help but feel like they only did this to prevent more countries from putting laws against them being in games at all.

[rainslacker]

They wouldn't go away unless some government said they couldn't exist.

I applaud the Big 3 for making this move, but moves like this tend to be to keep the government off the back of the industry. Its why we have ESRB ratings as well. Nothing wrong with self-regulation, and it's preferable to government regulation.

@Plain

I think you mistake what the ESRB is. It's just a rating system supplied by the ESA. The ESA is a lobby group for the game industry, and they support the industry, not try to find ways to prevent the industry from doing what it wants.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

At least people will be better informed that otherwise wouldn't be

[fiveby9]

I also agree disclosing the odds is helpful info. I do think the ESRB rating (in the U.S.) for games with loot boxes, aka 'paid chance mechanics' should not be labeled as E or T but rather should be labeled M.

[RpgSama]

I hope they make it more specific that <1%, because that could anything from almost 1 out of 100 to 1 in 10 billions depending on how low is that less than 1

[zoyuxoraz]

★I am making a real GOOD MONEY (123$ / hr ) online from my laptop. Last month I GOT chek of nearly $30k, this online work is simple and straightforward, don't have to go OFFICE, Its home online job. You become independent after joining this JOB. I really thanks to my FRIEND who refer me this SITE. I hope you also got what I...go to home media tech tab for more detail reinforce your heart............
════════════HERE► https://bit.ly/2QCOGd9

[NarooN]

This is definitely an excellent requirement and a move in the right direction. Screw these publishers that are deliberately taking advantage of impulsive ignorant children and adults who have gambling addiction which can stem from a variety of causes.

[Literal_Cringe]

Good, EA and Activision are watching their empire take a big hit.

[NeoGamer232]

These are far from the only companies that have loot boxes in games. Although agree with you, this is an industry problem, not just a few companies.

[excaliburps]

Agreed. It's about time we get some sort of realistic odds and rates of these things. I hope this curbs the spending of some people on COD loot boxes.

[Tross]

Sadly I think there will still be idiots who pay for MTs like that even with this change.

[RabbitFly]

Those idiots pay for your free content.

[Tross]

@RabbitFly What free content? If I pay for a game I’m giving a company money. Therefore I should be entitled to everything the game offers. If they decide to release free DLC, that’s one thing, but they don’t have to do that.

If you’re talking about F2P games, I don’t really play those, but that is the only case where I think MTs make sense. I mean, those games have to make money somehow and this method was designed for games like that. Games we pay for though, should never have MTs.

[Relientk77]

Yes! A step forward in the right direction. Now we get to see the chances of getting "surprises" in "surprise mechanics"

[bluefox755]

Seems fair, even scratchoff tickets have odds listed.

[Inzo]

A step in the right direction but unfortunately not a solution.

[gangsta_red]

"Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo — have agreed ..."

That unity!

[lnfiniteLoop]

now lets see if all or any of them actually enforce it...

[gangsta_red]

It is required, I'm thinking it has to be enforced. May take a while for older games with loot boxes but once this is in place it'll be mandatory

[rainslacker]

If it's part of the compliance standards, they'll have to enforce it, or the content won't release on the system.

[neutralgamer1992]

OK today only 😂

[gangsta_red]

Don't worry, If you miss this concert I'm sure the band will be get back together for another world tour

https://miro.medium.com/max...

[Tross]

It’s a good first step. It doesn’t eliminate the problem, but companies have to be transparent about how scummy it is.

[lnfiniteLoop]

suspect they should have gone further... paid for loot boxes / crates whatever you want to call them should be in free games only... lets see how the game companies dress up these odds... oh and how about what the odds are for the value for scraping duplicate items...

[MetroidFREAK21]

👏

[esherwood]

I’m all for politicians getting involved, that’s the only way this craps going away

[Smokehouse]

That’s a good reasonable step that didn’t require iron fisted government. Well done.

[esherwood]

Why’s everyone so against government getting involved? If they don’t it’s only a matter of time until AAA games are looking like the Mobil market.

[Smokehouse]

Because they ruin everything they touch.

[Smokehouse]

Why do you think those governments fell? Because they had idiots like the ones we do now.

[Smokehouse]

@kohox

You talk about first world problems like Guatemalans give a flying crap about your deep seeded loot box issues lmao.

Our protections don’t come from government. Our protections are from our government. That’s why I appreciate America.... Every time some idiot politician tries to overstep their boundaries they get put in check because our rights are set in stone and there is nothing they can do about it. That’s the beauty and uniqueness of America.

That means I can’t be deported as a citizen because I don’t want government involvement in lootboxes 😂 sorry not sorry.

Nobody appreciates the American system more than I do. Im not an anarchist lol. Not liking America and not liking our politicians and their iron fisted grip on trivial things are completely separate things. It’s you who doesnt even know or appreciate the basic principles and laws. “Government protection” lmao! Save your ironic idiot talk for someone who doesn’t know better.

[AngainorG7X]

That's nice.

[Thundercat77]

EA has angrily left this group

[343_Guilty_Spark]

EA, Epic, and Blizzard: Legendary Odds 100:1

Gamer: Let me try my luck!!

[Kostche]

so they are not suprise mechanics then?

[bamillington]

I for one have never or plan on ever buying a loot box

[Kaedro]

Although this is very good, we need to move even further and completely ban loot boxes. Also, eliminate pay-to-win mechanics in non-free to play videogames.

[Deeeeznuuuts]

About time

[ajax17]

...or you could ban them

[mixelon]

Knowing you’ll statistically never win the lottery doesn’t stop people from playing it. Decreased odds may well perversely make problem gamblers more inclined to buy loot boxes. No easy fix for this really. 😕

[StormSnooper]

Beautiful! This is great news. Transparency.

[Ryzza5]

Good to see but I would be interested to see the stats on what impact this has.

[Kendrick34]

I don't see this as a "step in the right direction." If you don't like loot boxes, then don't buy them. There is no difference between loot boxes and the random candy boxes you bought as a kid. Random is what makes them what they are.

Honestly I've been quite shocked by the normally anti-authority gaming community begging companies and the government to take away loot boxes because they are too childish to handle them. And do you really want the government that at this moment is preparing legislation to clamp down on video game violence to get a finger hold on gaming by regulating in-game purchases? I hate loot boxes as much as the next guy--in fact I've boycotted every game that HAS EVER had loot boxes. How many of you can say that? It's time for all of us to grow up and make our own decisions before regulating bodies start making all of them for us.

[Stevonidas]

Not good enough. They should've banned loot boxes altogether, or least the monetization of them. Time for Congress to intervene.

[AK91]

Good

[XiNatsuDragnel]

A good step, but doesn't eliminate it because they change the name then get around it, or find some other loopholes, we need a perma-ban on loot boxes and other surprise mechanics!!!

[TheCryptKeeper]

Hmm, the equivalent of putting 'May cause death' on a bag of heroin.

[decapatata]

This is obviously a band-aid to prevent governmental legislation that will inhibit game devs. However, I hope this will at least shine a light on, if not stop the most predatory version of loot box odds. The version where they track how long it has been since you bought a loot box and how many you have ever bought and adjust your odds accordingly. So the first few times you buy a loot box or the first time in a long time you are guaranteed to get something really special to make you feel lucky and then when you buy more your odds drop precipitously. Phone games have been shown to use that mechanic and I know EA released a patent around something similar and they supposedly tested it out with the loot system in Anthem. To me, that kind of variability to manipulate people's psychology is even more nasty than just a straight up locked "ultra-rares drop at a rate of .0023%".

P.S. The new corporate strategy of delaying microtransactions for a month or a few weeks to avoid ratings labels on the physical boxes disclosing loot boxes and games getting review-bombed over nasty microtransaction systems is an equally nasty little tactic they are employing.

[MrIreland]

Who in their right mind spends a thousand dollars on a game they like after a hard days work??

[Tyrant 8 RDFL]

This is not going to fix the situation. Just the mere fact that there is a chance for that pay to win weapon. People will still pay plenty to get it. I don't like it. It should be just as obvious as Fortnite. You pay this and you get this,. No gimmicks just straight up purchase for what you want. This truly doesn't help.

[FanboysKiller]

This^

[SkatterBrain]

thats not gonna help much theyll say this box has a %50 chance of getting item you want but theyll make you miss 3 times before letting you hit, to squeeze more money outta you