220°

PEGI on Loot Boxes: We Can't Define What's Gambling, Only A Gambling Commission Can

On the topic of loot boxes, PEGI's Operations Director Dirk Bosmans stated that rating boards can't define what's gambling, only gambling commission can.

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LavaLampGoo2812d ago

Everyone has been trying to warn the industry for ages now. They keep pushing their luck and a gambling commission will have to get involved.

codelyoko2812d ago

I doubt they will do much. Big publishers will apply pressure...

zerocarnage2811d ago

They're all starting to get into it, even big devs.

What is needed is a governing body that can stick by the gamer, one that is set up through law which can say no and by law can say no to these devs,pubs and company's.

I said at end of last gen when noticed it happening slowly that the industry is to unwatched, we need watchdog or something to apply pressure through the press and tv. When unregulated developers/publishers can do what they want with no care in the world for gamers or comebacks and can't be fined for all this, what they're doing to make extra money out of us is wrong and unjust, it is time that these greed approaching devs get some payback.

They earn enough off sales and season passes adding micro T's and lootboxes on full priced games is going to far.

ccgr2812d ago

I hope they do step in or this will get out of hand

iDadio2811d ago

It's a loophole in the industry that is now being exploited in most new releases which is a shame but greed is greed.

Look how long it took Valve to take action with csgo skin gambling, and even now it still happens.

XiNatsuDragnel2812d ago

Gambling = lootboxes not too hard to see ESRB.

XbladeTeddy2811d ago

Yeah, it is gambling. Needs to be regulated. Loot boxes could be a trigger for ex-gambling addicts playing the game, don't get why it's not regulated at all.

nowitzki20042811d ago

Maybe when they have empty loot boxes, when you gamble you can walk away with nothing. Loot boxes always give something.

XiNatsuDragnel2811d ago

Nah man it's still gambling because your spending money to win million aka good stuff, while they'll give 0.50 cents stuff. Sounds like gambling to man.

nowitzki20042811d ago

I might not mind lootboxes because I never spent a penny on them, but have made close to $50 selling them on Steam.

WeedyOne2811d ago (Edited 2811d ago )

So if i make a slot machine that every time rewards you with at least 1 cent than it is no longer considered gambling by your logic...

Its gambling plain and simple.

The only way it wouldn't be gambling is if every prize you received in the box had an equal value however this is not the case with loot boxes as most have "tiers" such as common, rare, epic, legendary and you are not guaranteed to receive any of the higher tiered loot.

I wouldn't not have a problem with a gambling system in games IF the game also gave you the ability to buy the skin you want straight up but most games are locking their items behind this gambling wall and that is not OK.

Heroes of the Storm used to offer all skins for a price and i liked that system now with 2.0 they have introduced loot boxes and the only way to get skins is to gamble or wait for it to be a "featured item" that you can temporarily buy for real cash.

datriax2811d ago (Edited 2811d ago )

Let's see here. I give money, on an undisclosed, arbitrary return that I'm uncertain of. Sounds like gambling to me.

Rocket science to some I guess.

Translation: "We can't define what's gambling, our pay cheques may get cut off if we do."

opinionated2811d ago

Anything can be gambling in that sense. If I buy a game, I’m not certain of what that game entails or if it’s actually something I want. If I buy a game I know I’m getting a game, if I buy a loot box I’m getting a loot box. Where is the relevant gamble? It “looks and feels” like a slot machine? It’s not a slot machine.

The real question is do you want government regulation? Because that’s not rocket science, that’s ignorant leftist talk. Only a leftist would be itching for a government to get their foot in the door of video game regulation and pretend it would make things better. Do you believe your odds would be better if you regulated publishers like any other gambling industry lol. Not only would people still buy micro transactions, they would get crappier things (or nothing at all) based on very lenient regulations. Gambling regulation is not as “helpful” as you think.

Unless this is just a ploy to make games “illegal” in some states in an attempt to ban MTs. It would never work and I don’t think people are that smart to even attempt it. They just parrot the dictionary and string of bullshit that flows from sites like polygon. “Predatory loot boxing” says the publication that absolutely benefits from this since they constantly go on record playing games without any sense of competence. They need loot boxes more than anyone lol.

ClanPsi12811d ago

"ignorant leftist talk"
Why do c*nts always have to bring politics into everything?

zerocarnage2811d ago

The gamble is the enticement, the in your face approach and the locking of content in the lootboxes that makes gamers feel they have to open them, then there is the randomness and usually crap odds that your not going to even get anything good at all.

opinionated2811d ago

@clan
Exactly! Why do leftist c*nts always have to bring he government into everything? Government regulation is politics is it not?

@zero
Enticement isn’t gambling and I have never had to urge to buy a loot box. The odds also aren’t that bad. Most games with loot boxes give you the chance to “liquify” your duplicates and buy more crates. They also make guarantees like “one rare in every package” or whatever. It’s nothing like gambling other than aesthetic. You can’t regulate a game because it “looks” like gambling, that’s stupid.

subtenko2811d ago

i agree wit the anything is gambling thing

@ClanPsi1

blame the media, celebrity, virtue signalers (that includes gaming industry now unfortunately..)

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2811d ago
Zeref2811d ago (Edited 2811d ago )

I have already accepted lootboxes as long as they are fair. But I do think there should be regulations. China classifies it as gambling. I think they are right. Games that have lootboxes should automatically get an M or Pegi 18 rating for gambling.. That should deter publishers from using it. But they'll probably find another way and maybe find something even worse than lootboxes.

WePlayDirty2811d ago

alot of Games that have these lootboxes are already M.

RommyReigns2811d ago (Edited 2811d ago )

Like FIFA and their Ultimate Team packs, in a game rated PEGI 3?

Even PES 18 has gone into the act of slowing down MyClub progression compared to PES 17 and aiming for players to spend real money on MyClub coins, they've cut down on the daily login freebies (PES 17 freebies were generous especially with the MyClub coins, now in 18 they give sweet FA) and reduced the amount of free contracts and tactical boosts, trying to get people to spend money on MyClub coins to try and get the elusive Black Ball players and legends and to get high team spirit (chemistry - which this year is insultingly bad as a 90 team still gets beat by a crappy 75 chemistry team, definitely was not the case in PES 17).

WePlayDirty2811d ago

I said a lot of games. Not e every game

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510°

Microsoft planning “major” Xbox layoffs next week

The cuts are expected to be announced next week.

Microsoft is also planning thousands of job cuts that will impact other parts of it businesses

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theverge.com
5h agoReplies(1)
5h agoReplies(1)
Obscure_Observer4h ago

MFs has been beating their chests over great quarterly results and big profits to shareholders while firing people by the thousands just like Sony.

I wonder if at the top of those rumored layoffs they´ll also cancel upcoming or unannounced games while shutting down more studios as well.

4h ago
pwnmaster30004h ago

Always got to throw shade at Sony smh.
Yes we get it,
MS good Sony bad
MS bad Sony is also bad lmao

4h ago
Obscure_Observer4h ago

F* them both!

Just for the record, I don´t care about your victim complex crap either. Find someone else who cares.

blacktiger3h ago

He was talking about both. Why you getting offended when he's using both names

pwnmaster30002h ago(Edited 2h ago)

@Blacktiger

Im not offended , that’s just his formula lol
He can’t help help himself, he needs to bring Sony down when the topic involves MS.
Whether is good news for MS or bad, it some how leads to Sony doing bad lmao.
It’s actually hilarious.

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Tacoboto4h ago

"just like Sony"

Gosh you're insufferable, not everything needs to be both-sides'd. Sony's had layoffs, but nothing like what Microsoft has been doing and is continuing to do.

CrimsonWing694h ago(Edited 4h ago)

I mean, no offense, but this is why you’re not some corporate business person running a major corporation. Big profits don’t mean jobs are safe. Do you understand why things like this happen:

Cutting jobs to maintain or increase profitability, especially in underperforming divisions like parts of Xbox like other gaming divisions.

Corporate restructuring and relocating resources for strategic stability in ever changing markets and consumer behaviors.

Investor expectations and optimizing operations to maintain investor confidence. Whatever boosts stock prices and improves future margins.

And there’s many other factors at play. It’s never as simple as business doing well, everyone’s safe. That’s just you not understanding at all how corporations work and have been working since the beginning. This isn’t something that’s specific to Xbox, you can bet your ass Sony and Nintendo do this and if it’s not clear by now, game development is not a stable job nor has it ever been for many. A lot of developers are contractors and guess what happens when a project is done?

Ganif2h ago

Nintendo said they have no plans for layoffs, and you can't seriously claim that the scale of Sony's layoffs most of which involved Bungie which is self managed as even close to the same scale as what Microsoft has done since they purchased Zenimax. And that significantly less layoffs would have happened if those publishers had stayed independent. Keep in mind that much of these layoffs have been due to redundancies specifically related to these buyouts.

CrimsonWing692h ago(Edited 2h ago)

@Ganif

Nintendo:

https://gamerant.com/ninten...

Sony:

https://gamerant.com/playst...

https://techxplore.com/news...

I don’t think it’s realistic to treat Sony’s layoffs as somehow outside the norm for the industry right now. Even if Bungie is self-managed, Sony’s cuts went far beyond that like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, London Studio being shut down completely, and multiple teams across the globe took hits. These weren’t just minor adjustments.

Nintendo, I had to look up and you’re right. They seem to be an outlier, but rest assured at some point it happens. And even then there’s been layoffs, albeit a smaller amount and contractors.

Would fewer layoffs have happened if studios from acquisitions stayed independent? Maybe. But even independents have been hit hard and look at what’s happened with Embracer’s fallout, or smaller devs like Digic, Roll7, or Volition. This isn’t just a “Microsoft problem” or strictly tied to acquisitions; it’s a broader correction happening across the whole industry, and unfortunately, layoffs are a big part of that process right now.

Ganif1h ago

From your article:

"According to reports, Nintendo of America restructured its testing operations, leading to layoffs of about 120 contractors, part of a strategy for global integration.

Nintendo of America, publisher of iconic franchises like Mario and Zelda, is shifting some contractors to full-time roles for better development integration."

Contractors are not employees, and even if you want to count them as that, it's 120 people vs around 7500 since Microsoft purchased Zenimax.

In an era of game industry layoffs, Nintendo is hiring more people
https://automaton-media.com...

Nintendo Announces 10 Percent Pay Raise For Devs Despite Lower Profits
https://kotaku.com/nintendo...

Nintendo CEO’s refusal to layoff staff goes viral following industry-wide cuts
"Satoru Iwata took pay cuts to ensure staff didn’t have to be let go"
https://www.nme.com/news/ga...

And as for Sony you're comparing less than 1000 total jobs to an estimated7500

Has the industry faced layoffs, yes, but that still doesn't account for the mass layoffs due to redundancies that was easily predictable, or that fact that at least 1/3 of Microsoft's layoffs and studio closures happened before the industry downturn.

thorstein1h ago(Edited 1h ago)

Take the L, Crimson.

People hate Nintendo, but Ganif proved why they deserve support.

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-Foxtrot3h ago

It's like banging your head off a wall, he just can't help himself.

Microsoft can do no wrong, Sony sucks at everything and Nintendo is bigged up because it's less hassle than trying to defend Microsoft all the time

What's going to happen when Microsoft finally turn completely third party, then what?

anast3h ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts3h ago

Did you know that the first n4g was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program.

Tacoboto2h ago

I wouldn't be surprised at this point if anast and osbcure were both alts for the Admin.

We know how Obscure especially drums up additional comments and clicks with his spam-worthy remarks that somehow never get moderated

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Profchaos8m ago

Thats business present a strong front to your shareholders while your company burns around you.

Keep shareholders happy at all costs andnif not happy keep them numb to the reality of you organisation

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 8m ago
4h ago
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110°

Sony Faces Class Action in the Netherlands Over Allegedly Inflated PlayStation Store Prices

Mass Damage & Consumer Foundation in the Netherlands has filed a class action against Sony for inflating PlayStation Store prices.

dveio3h ago(Edited 3h ago)

My personal opinion:

Manufacturers and publishers have indeed inflated the industry.

From $700 million development costs for games like Call of Duty, to digital (store) prices for games and DLCs, online multiplayer fees on consoles (why can you play Helldivers 2 online for free on PC but not consoles?) or still preventing sell/lend digitally purchased games.

Sometime in the future, this bubble will collapse.

They should know better, but they just can't help themselves and suck even the last penny out of our wallets.

BeHunted1h ago

Because Sony knows people will be forced to pay those prices for single player and multiplayer games, not everyone prefers PC gaming. Sony also has a monopoly on PlayStation digital games. In 2019, they stopped allowing retailers and game key sellers to sell PlayStation digital games, making them available only through the official PlayStation Store

anast3h ago

The Dutch gov. wants a piece of the pie.

Eonjay2h ago

They should be suing the individual publishers increasing the prices to $80 instead of suing the store. There are plenty of publishers still selling game for like $50 with much success (like E33). But this proves that the publishers are the ones setting the prices.... so again nothing changes because they aren't even going after the main offender. How is suing Sony going to make Microsoft not charge $80 for the next COD? Sony being the number one store in the market doesn't mean that publisher have to charge us an arm and a leg. Again the industry is laughing at us because consumers never get real representation. Just these fake platitudes that are meaningless.

BeHunted56m ago

"How is suing Sony going to make Microsoft not charge $80 for the next COD"

Because Microsoft doesn't have a monopoly, I can purchase Call of Duty at a huge discount from CDKeys or other gaming retailers. The only way to purchase digital PlayStation games is through the PlayStation Store.

Killer2020UK1h ago

About time. There is zero fair reason why digitally distributed products that you cannot recoup any value when you want to dispose of them, should be priced higher than that of physical copies that entail all of the costs and the benefits of owning.

50°

Spook-A-Boo — Game Overview • VGMM

Spook-A-boo is a silly ghost-hunting game where you and up to 3 friends explore different levels, hunting down ghosts in a game of hide-and-seek.

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