A Vice President for video game publisher EA believes that loot boxes are surprise mechanics that are “quite ethical and quite fun,” despite the ongoing debate that these might constitute gambling and carry a high level of addiction and other risks.
Kerry Hopkins, Vice President, Legal at EA, along with other industry representatives spoke with UK MPs this week in a bid to defend their products and the common practice of using loot boxes in video games.
Loot boxes are virtual containers that can be purchased within a game. They award players with random items and modifications, including weapons and costumes. While some of the items can improve players’ performance, others do not have that much of a value. The purchase of loot boxes within a game is known as a microtransaction.
Both the actual virtual containers and microtransactions have been the subject of a wide debate over whether they should be permitted and whether the random contents of the boxes constitute gambling.
Surprise Mechanics
Ms. Hopkins spoke in front of UK MPs about video game addiction. She said that loot boxes should rather be called “surprise mechanics” and that they way they have “implemented these kinds of mechanics […] is actually quite ethical and quite fun, quite enjoyable to people.”
In 2018, York computer scientists found a link between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling. According to the study, which was led by Dr David Zendle from York St John University, players of some video games pay with real money to access different in-game functions, but sometimes they do not really know what they are paying for.
Loot boxes are not considered a form of gambling in the UK. Ms. Hopkins said this week that they agree with the UK Gambling Commission’s decision from 2017 to not classify the virtual containers as gambling and that they “disagree that there’s evidence that shows it leads to gambling.”
Belgium outlawed loot boxes last year, while in Sweden, the country’s Minister for Public Administration Ardalan Shekarabi has recently tasked the Swedish Consumer Agency with conducting an investigation into the nature of the controversial virtual items.
Earlier this year, US Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Protecting Children from Abusive Games bill that calls for a ban on “pay-to-win microtransactions and sales of loot boxes in minor-oriented games.” The legislation faced massive backlash from the industry, with the Entertainment Software Association arguing that the piece was “flawed and riddled with inaccuracies.”
Not a Throwaway Toy
According to games journalist Ryan Brown, it is a mistake to liken loot boxes to Kinder Eggs. He told Radio 1 Newsbeat that not all gamers are happy with loot boxes as people expect something of value when they buy those, while with Kinder Eggs “you expect a toy – and you get a toy.” Loot boxes are a lot more than “just a throwaway toy”, Mr. Brown added, “it’s something people aspire to have.”
Last month, Google changed its policies on publishing games that feature loot boxes on Play Store. Under the revised policies, “apps offering mechanisms to receive randomized virtual items from a purchase (i.e. ‘loot boxes’) must clearly disclose the odds of receiving those items in advance of purchase.”
Mr. Brown believes that such a provision should be added to UK’s law, as it is important that people realize how attainable each item contained in a loot box is.
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