Loot boxes
Every gamer has encountered them. They’re in-app purchases that players pay for via in-game currency or in real-time cash. Gamers originally bought them in the hopes of netting an upgrade to their armor, weaponry, or some other useful feature to give them an edge within a game – things that used to be included as an integral part of the game.
They’ve become an almost inevitable part of game play.
They first appeared in the early 2000s and by the 2010s, loot boxes had become an effective way to monetize games. The business model eventually evolved into a never ending round of in-app purchases that gamers find extremely annoying and adds nothing to gameplay.
Since their introduction, loot boxes have devolved into items that are primarily cosmetic in nature rather than useful. Loot boxes are generated at random and there’s no guarantee that the loot box will even be applicable for the character the gamer is playing as. It’s a predatory practice and loot boxes can be expensive (on GAMIVO.com you’ll get what you are paying for, at the lowest price!).
Many publishers are offering their games free or at a low cost as a come-on. It may seem like a deal, but publishers are making far more by selling loot boxes within the games with micro-purchases than the title is worth and it’s a billion dollar industry. Some games are designed in such a way that it seems as if success is impossible without buying loot boxes.
One thing that that was unanticipated was the development of a new type of gambling addiction. Some players with an acquisitive nature or impulse control problems keep buying in an effort to obtain every possible loot box. Others simply continue to buy in the hope of obtaining specific items that may or may not materialize.
Legal actions
Gambling regulators in Europe have recognized the problem and eliminated loot boxes from games. When the idea began to gain momentum in the U.S., lobbying efforts by the gaming industry successfully shut down any effort to curb and regulate the sale of loot boxes. It would appear that loot boxes will continue to plague players.
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