Loot boxes. If you’re an old school gamer, you know them well. If you’re new to gaming, you’ve probably arrived here to better understand what the heck they are. Loot boxes are a bit part of the gaming industry and also, polarizing. There’s a lot of controversy that surrounds loot boxes. We’ll delve into what loot boxes are and why they’re controversial. You can let us know in the comments how you feel about them.
What are Loot Boxes?
We’ll keep this simple: Loot boxes are virtual items in video games that players can buy or earn.
These items can range from character skins and emotes to tools like weapons and power-ups. Loot boxes serve to enhance the game, often through improved skill levels and abilities or cosmetic aesthetics.
Loot boxes, however, are often filled with random contents and gamers don’t know what they’ll get inside.
Here’s a loot at a loot box in Overwatch opening up:
When we understand the definition of a loot box at a high-level, it’s difficult to discern what controversies may attach to them.
But there’s more to the story.
A number of loot box aspects make them controversial. We’ll explain.
Are Loot Boxes Actually Gambling?
Several years ago, mainstream media outlets like ABC began aligning gaming loot boxes with gambling.
So how does this disenchanting perspective make sense?
Well, it often cost money to open a loot box. The loot box is full of undisclosed, random findings. One might think of them as a slot machine in a way. But there’s more… younger audiences have access to them.
So the belief is that loot boxes encourage a gambling behavior. People can get obsessed with loot boxes because there’s a rush of excitement in wondering what you might end up getting.
Loot Boxes Target Monetization, Degrading Game Storylines
Loot boxes make money. And in nearly every industry in the world, you can follow the money to better understand the motivations behind it’s creative and technological aspects. Many believe that because loot boxes make money, games push them, shifting a game’s structure to encourage players to spend money on them. This means the game focuses less on the quality of the overall experience. This is especially concerning with games people buy, which is most of them.
Unfair Advantages
Loot boxes arm players with improved skillsets, weaponry, and even characters. Having more of these things makes you better at the game. So, it makes sense to consider that the more money you spend, the better your odds of winning the game. And thus, the pay to win structure takes hold.
Loot Boxes and Addiction
Of course, money put into a random reward system likely results in some form of addiction. That’s not shocking. It’s the “just one more try” mindset that sinks people. Loot boxes may foster addictive behaviors and this is a big problem.
Legislation
Loot boxes have attracted the attention of legislators in various countries. Some regions have implemented or are considering regulations to classify and manage loot boxes due to their gambling-like characteristics.
While loot boxes can add an element of surprise and reward to video games, it’s important for players to be aware of the associated concerns and for developers to implement them responsibly.