Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo Will Require Developers Outline Loot Box Odds, Says ESA

Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo Will Require Developers Outline Loot Box Odds, Says ESA

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Richard Walker

Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo will be required to ensure game developers disclose odds for paid loot boxes thanks to new rules set by E3 organiser and video game-related body the ESA (Entertainment Software Association). The ESA revealed the new policies during a panel hosted by the Federal Trade Commission.

"Several video game industry leaders are announcing new initiatives to help consumers make informed choices about their purchases, including loot boxes," states the ESA post on its official website. "The major console makers - Sony Interactive Entertainment, operator of the PlayStation platform, Microsoft, operator of Xbox and Windows, and Nintendo, operator of the Nintendo Switch gaming platform - are committing to new platform policies that will require paid loot boxes in games developed for their platforms to disclose information on the relative rarity or probability of obtaining randomised virtual items. These required disclosures will also apply to game updates, if the update adds new loot box features."

Currently, there's no official date set for when developers will have to outline loot box odds, but a target window of '2020' has been touted for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo to implement the new rules. Several of the ESA's publishing partners have already agreed to disclose the odds of acquiring premium items in its paid loot boxes no later than 2020.

These partners include the likes of Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Bethesda, Bungie, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Take-Two Interactive, Ubisoft, Warner Bros., and Wizards of the Coast. Multiple ESA members are also considering implementing similar disclosure in their future game releases.

Previously, the ESA has condemned the idea that loot boxes be seen as a form of gambling by the US government, instead pushing for self-regulation within the games industry itself. Measures like these that demand developers and publishers reveal paid loot box odds should help in this regard.

[Via Game Informer]

Comments
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  • Would probably prefer to see loot boxes disappear entirely but this is a small step in the right direction.
  • It might help to put off the type of person who rarely buys micros. However, I don’t think this will have any major effect on the wider business. Just because the odds are there doesn’t mean it’ll deter anyone. People like to beat the odds. The odds aren’t in your favour to land on 0 in roulette but plenty of people put money on it every spin
  • Honestly I like Fortnites Save the World (Not sure if BR is the same as I dont play it) way of doing it. Showing exactly what you're paying for and it resets every day/week. If you dont like what you see dont buy it. The whole chance thing is meh.
  • The ESA is staffed by publishers. Umm. Conflict or a new tactic?
  • odds or not its still gambling and should be regulated as such. if they are in a game that game needs to be age rated appropriately.
  • This has been a law in Korea for some time(maybe more places as well) , so it's not a revelation by any means. A step, sure. I have no problems with these things until it becomes the only reason a game exists or becomes advantageous.
  • A step in the right direction. But it seems it won't be a big step. Companies can show the items that you can unlock, show the odds, but all they need to do is make it so the higher tiered items drop less. Players will see it " there is a chance for legendary X item". Pays money. " didn't get it this time. Maybe another go".
  • @#8 I, too, used to play Neverwinter. When certain countries made it law to display the odds on loot box contents, Perfect World, the company behind Neverwinter, pulled the game from those countries. You'll have to excuse me if this isn't 100% accurate but that is the gist of it from my understanding. Thing is, for the longest time, Neverwinter did an alright job of balancing a free-to-play game with MTAs. You could basically earn currency in-game and then buy anything you wanted but the devs tightened that right up over time. Now companies want to charge you a US$60 entry fee and funnel you towards MTAs, be it cosmetic or XP boosts, etc. "War has changed..."
  • I know this should be looked at as a positive, but the publishers are the ESA, so the conflict of interest exists, and to me, this is just a way to show they did something without actually having to do something. Outlining loot box odds does nothing to curb the predatory nature of them, nor does it reduce/avoid the issues they create, or mitigate/advise the risk of children making a serious mistake. But in this way, they can say, "look, we listened and did something!" and yet it's all smoke and mirrors. Plus, whose to say those odds are actual... I could say the odds of getting item X is 50% odds to entice you, but program it to be 25%, and you'd just chalk it up as being unlucky when you didn't get the item, and yet, you're still enticed to give it another shot. This is really the equivalent of a surgeon general's warning on a pack of cigarettes. Yeah, it's informative and great that it's on there, but it's practically meaningless in affecting some sort of result.
  • @10 My thoughts exactly. They can say they did something when they really did nothing. I’m waiting to see if any game states less than “X”% chance because that could be one in a 100 or one in 10,000. RNG loot boxes are the bane of gaming right now. Say I want a really cool custom skin for my character, I’m not going to buy $1.99 RNG loot boxes to hope I get it. What I’ll spend money on is if I can directly buy it for $15.
  • @10 If they display 50% chance and it is really coded as 25%, imagine the blowup when that information is data-mined? I'd loved to see a greedy company get caught out doing that!
  • @12, In a somewhat relative case, it never stopped publishers, such as Capcom when they used to have DLC already programmed onto their discs, but were locked from access. Even when that was discovered, they still continued to do it for a time. Hell, we see blow ups even now when publishers get so brazen with their exploits of micro-transactions and loot boxes, so it's evident that publishers just don't care, they'll do it anyway. Yet, even if we scratch that idea and chalk it up as BS where the publishers would never do that, my core points still stand valid in that this is simply a veil to mask the idea that they're doing something, when they're really not.
  • I agree with the people here who have said this: It's gambling! Calling it "loot boxes" or whatever other name that sounds enticing, is just a workaround for what it REALLY is. This should be classified as in-game gambling, and the government should ban it outright!! Don't they have loot boxes or something similar in Fortnite? TONS of kids play that game, and if they have those in it (I've never played, so I don't know)... they're teaching kids how to gamble.
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