Assassin's Creed Mirage Has Adults Only Rating For "Real Gambling" On Xbox Store

Assassin's Creed Mirage has just been announced during Ubisoft Forward with pre-orders of the game going up, but the Xbox Store contains some additional information.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

An A rating in video games? If so? Finally if not then it's such a shame.

[Mobis-New-Nest]

The A rating could have a negative impact on its sales due to the fact that many stores will have a strict proof of 18 with I.D. I remember when Man Hunt by Rock Star Games came out. I tried to rent it at my local Blockbuster and I had to show I.D to prove I was 18, I wasn't so I couldn't rent it or buy it but Grand Theft Auto titles anyone could rent or buy without I.D.

[EvertonFC]

True story: I got asked for ID buying Spiderman as it was a 16 rating. I said to the young shop assistant I'm 46 years old ffs 😂😂

[Charlieboy333]

@Everton Was it the hoodie bruv?

[roadkillers]

Even bigger impact: Manhunt 2 was AO, not sure if it still holds true but Microsoft and Sony won’t house the game.

[TheAlexWalters]

I frankly don't care what it does for sales. Ubisoft is a horrible company run by horrible people.

[Bobertt]

It won't matter they are supposed to ID for rated M games as well but they don't care because the parents don't care. There are tons of parents who will go buy GTA and COD for a 12 year old and have no idea what the letter ratings mean.

[VenomUK]

Who's looking forward to all the 'outrage' content by the games media, blogs, Yong Yea, Jim Sterling, ResetEra and everybody else?

[KyRo]

People still watch Jim Sterling? I didn't know he was still around. Unsubbed not long after he started dressing a little fruity and doing stupid dances and this is the first time I've read that name in a long long time.

[LoveSpuds]

I think you are missing the point squire. The adult rating isn't as a result of some cool, adult content relating to story or gameplay, its because they want to shoehorn real gambling into the game.

[isarai]

Does that mean games like NBA 2K22 will get an AO rating now too? Where you pay actual cash to play a slot machine and roulette wheel?

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Facts my dude be spitting truth where That A rating boys

[sourOG]

Paying actual cash doesn’t make it a slot machine. Receiving/winning cash or nothing at all would make it a slot machine.

[isarai]

It being a literal slot machine makes it a slot machine. As in a fully modeled slot machine appears and you pull the virtual lever for player unlocks, these accounts with high end wins are often sold for cash, i.e., by either interpretation, it is a slot machine. Also doesn't change the fact that in every way shape and form it is forming very real gambling addictions. Don't get why you're trying to defend this bullsh!t

[sourOG]

I’m not defending lootboxes. They’re predatory and a shit business model. I’m just stating the fact that it’s not a literal slot machine or gambling in any form. Selling your account doesn’t make it gambling. Are cigarettes gambling? They’re highly addictive. They have the same dopamine hit as gambling so it must be.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

@sour
Still makes it gambling tho

[sourOG]

It really doesn’t and the excuses I see on here aren’t convincing. “Dopamine” and “I didn’t get what I wanted” aren't legitimate arguments for gambling. Do you have a different, convincing take?

[sourOG]

“ these accounts with high end wins are often sold for cash”

This is pretty interesting if it’s true, I’ve never heard of that. That’s actually the opposite of gambling. That’s just being an entrepreneur. Some kid knows what he wants, he pays someone that has it instead of building his “gambling addictions”. Someone else invested the time and money for those items and tested their worth in the marketplace.

That’s the best case against lootboxes I’ve ever seen. Not some fake gambling bullshit that fails in almost every international court it sees. Just give people the option to buy what they want and try to make in game currency easier. Everyone wins. The account that obtained the rare items gambled the same way an investor gambles. It’s not “real gambling” by law. Or a slot machine where the odds are so small it’s almost robbery. It’s not even close.

It’s just a dumb angle to attack from. Especially after it keeps failing consistently. You guys beat your head against the wall and can’t understand how it keeps getting by legal. I’m just trying to help people understand that. The free market is the answer, choice not chance. Whether it’s buying from the company or the guy who put in the work to get you your items.

[sourOG]

I don’t see this lasting long if true. Real online gambling would be banned in many places. Esrb would be kicking itself in the nuts with dumb wording like that. If you compare lootboxes to online sports betting, poker and casino games then you are an idiot. Or just emotionally driven to where any means justify an end.

[ocelot07]

Explain the difference.

Gaming - Pay real money and a great chance to receive a virtual item you didn't want.

Sports betting - Pay real money in hope to win more money. Or loose and get noting.

Sure at least you get a virtual item you may not want in return for the gaming gambling.

But if I was forced to gamble I would do the lottery or sports bets. Least I can bet £1 and have a chance at winning a few hundred pound. Rather that pay £1 on FIFA for a gold pack and get a worthless 78 player I can quick sell for 300 coins. Where I could warn 1000 coins for playing a 12 minute match.

[calactyte]

I'll explain the difference. Gambling is you pay money and have a chance to lose it all. It's a game of chance.

Gaming loot boxes you pay money but always are given something in return. It's also a game of chance.

Now, if we're saying that Loot Boxes are gambling, then we should not be selling Pokemon card packs to children either right? Or baseball cards, or football cards, or hockey cards. So this is why gaming companies will never be forced to stop including roulette wheels in their games or what not. Also this rating for "real" gambling can only exist if the player has a risk of losing everything they put in. A winner-takes-all game could be classified as gambling.

I love YongYea and at one time I had a modicum of respect for Jim Sterling, but I respectfully disagree with them.

[ocelot07]

@calactyte

I don't agree with Pokémon cards being sold to kids though. However, At the very least with Pokémon cards if you get crap you don't want or need. You can trade them to anyone or sell them. You can do that with lootboxes in games.

[Crows90]

@calactyte

Big difference between buying Pokemon cards and loot boxes. The major one is control. Pokemon cards are sold in stores and kids need to ask their parents for a pack. If they don't get the cards they want oh well better luck next time at the store. Loot boxes allow digital purchasing withing a media directed at children. Parents who aren't fully aware of what can happen will find that their children can just hit that purchase button all they want. Believe me there are many out there that still have no clue it's going on.

Second difference is dopamine. Pokemon cards don't start clicking those chemical reactions in your brain. Loot boxes do that in all games.

3rd difference. Value. Pokemon cards come with plenty of cards and you're usually guaranteed a rare or whatever which is described in the pack descriptions. Loot boxes have not always done that and the ones that do are ridiculously expensive.

4th difference. Pokemon cards are more of a hobby and collectors item for the majority. Loot boxes offer actual in game advantages whether it be endgame fashion or endgame power which can dramatically increase or decrease enjoyment. Pokemon cards have no such effect. You can just set up rules for how many of certain types of cards in a deck before playing with someone.

See? Lots of major differences and I could come up with more. You act as though these YouTubers need your respect but they don't

[sourOG]

1. Pay real money receive a virtual item. Not gambling. That’s just a transaction lol.

2. Pay real money in hope to win more money. Or loose and get noting. Gambling.

You’d rather gamble than buy a lootbox. Same here.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

@sour

You have to understand just because something isn't digital doesn't mean it is not addictive. Lootboxes and gambling have the same kick in the dopamine center. Difference is gambling, Pokémon cards, and Lootboxes. Gambling and Pokémon are guaranteed a rare while Lootboxes you are not guaranteed such a thing also these heavily affects your experience like gambling and also impact the game unlike Pokémon casually.

[sourOG]

@xi

I can understand how it’s addictive. I can understand the kick in dopamine. That doesn’t make it gambling. Is porn gambling? It is by your standard.

[KyRo]

Calling people idiots because YOU believe loot boxes are not gambling? How is it not? You can spend spend spend and keep on spending trying to get the desired item you want and have a slimmer chance of getting it than you would of you were playing a slot machine in the real world. Just because you get something (usually the shit stuff nobody wants) doesn't mean lootboxes cannot be gambling.

[calactyte]

Ok, if you believe loot boxes are gambling and should not be sold to minors then I'll ask you about what Pokemon and Magic the Gathering booster packs are? If you say those too are gambling then we don't have very much left to discuss. I'll say I disagree and apparently so does most of the rest of the world.

If you think I'm making a strawman argument, then please tell me the difference between any booster pack based game with a chance to earn commons, rare and ultra rares..versus a loot box that does the same.

[sourOG]

It doesn’t matter what I believe. It matters what is. You believe it’s gambling but you’re wrong about the reality of the situation. This mindset is either willful ignorance or low IQ. In my opinion. No offense.

“Just because you get something doesn’t mean lootboxes cannot be gambling”. Yes. Yes it does. Spending money over and over on lootbox for a specific item is dumb, predatory and addicting. But it’s not gambling in any sense of the word. Just because it’s random doesn’t make it a slot machine.

[frostypants]

You mean this could get games with loot boxes and the like banned in some places and hurt the devs/publishers who do it? GOOD.

[sourOG]

“Or just emotionally driven to where any means justify an end.“

At least you’re honest and don’t pretend it’s gambling.

For sure. Gambling is illegal in my state aside from Indian reservations. The esrb is self regulation though, it’s a blunder and will be changed to simulated gambling if anything. I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

[Stanjara]

So business as usual for Ubisoft.

[senorfartcushion]

They’ve had real gambling in games since the first loot box.

[KyRo]

Facts but some people with zero common sense will tell you that it's not because you always get something from it lol

[ritchi45]

Probably the new rating description for loot boxes

[Aloymetal]

No wonder this game's priced at $49.99, this game will be oozing with micros/loot boxes.

[StarkR3ality]

Ubi and Tencent are made for each other. This is a told you so if I ever saw one to anyone defending any sort of Microtransactions.

Give these motherfuckers an inch and next thing you know bent over covered in vaseline. Hopefully most people will sack this game off and finally get Ubisoft shut down and Tencent gone. And before people start saying it's wrong to call for jobs, there are plenty of jobs out there for game developers that have a passion for what they do. The ones who are happy with half assed attempts and money grabbing, well guess what, people who don't do good work get fired, simple.

[NeodeosX]

Fake. Ubisoft officially confirmed it doesn't have any form of lootbox or gambling. Rating infos are never true until games are actually rated by ESRB, PEGI, etc.

[rlow1]

This is a disgusting practice that if it turns out to be successful will change gaming for the worst. We don’t need this crap in our games. Doesn’t matter the rating because uninformed parents will buy it for their kids anyways. That’s what these companies are hoping for.

Pure greed

[Riftrider]

I thought this has since be debunked. Can't remember where I saw it.
https://www.google.com/amp/...

[Pyrofire95]

This has been clarified to be not true.
"No real gambling and no loot boxes"

[sourOG]

Yeah that wouldn’t last long even if it was true.

[StarkR3ality]

"this has been debunked"

They have had microtransactions and loot boxes in every recent AC game, why would this be different? Either this was released and then they panicked and came out with that statement, or there won't be any at first and will get introduced later.

Leopards down change their spots.