Kinder Egg of games, ‘loot boxes’ raise debate about ethics in the industry

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The gaming industry is known for inventing increasingly creative ways to increase its profits. Microtransactions, subscription services, selling ads… Almost everything has already been tested at different scales. But a monetization strategy stands out as much for its efficiency as for the criticism it receives: the “loot boxes” or “reward boxes”.

The “loot boxes” are a kind of Kinder Egg of virtual games. In general, when you win or buy one, you have little idea of ​​what’s inside. Only after opening it will you know if you won the item you wanted or something you already have and don’t care.

It’s easy to understand why they are so profitable. The game features a number of rare or collectible items that can be acquired by purchasing one of these “loot boxes”. The player, then, is encouraged to buy several of these items in search of the desired virtual object, like a child who buys dozens of packs of stickers in search of the only one missing to complete the album. When the rare item also helps the player gain the upper hand in a multiplayer competition, the appeal becomes even greater.

For all these reasons, the practice is a constant target of ethical questions, especially if used in a game for children and adolescents.

“If you use loot boxes with an emotional aspect, you are conditioning [as pessoas a comprá-las]. If you put ‘loot boxes’ or pressure on your game to buy them and you have a lot of kids and teens playing it, that becomes a little problematic because it’s going to be harder for them to control their emotions.” Celia Hodent at a talk at Devcom, a side event to Gamescom held last month in Germany.

Launched in June of this year, “Diablo Immortal” is one of the games that bet on this strategy as a form of monetization. The game for PCs and mobile devices is free, even so, two months after its launch, Blizzard, the game’s developer, announced that the title had reached the mark of US$ 100 million (R$ 524 million) in revenue, good part of this due to the infamous “loot boxes”.

Strategy is not only present in free games. Electronic Arts, developer of the “Fifa” series games, is also known for using and abusing strategy, even in paid games. In your soccer game, for example, it is possible to purchase athlete packages for the “FUT” (Fifa Ultimate Team) mode, in which the player is encouraged to assemble the best squad possible to face other players.

It’s difficult to know exactly how much companies profit from this particular type of transaction, but a report submitted by Electronic Arts to the US Securities and Exchange Commission last year might give you an idea.

• According to the website Gamesindustry.biz, the document showed that the company raised about US$ 1.62 billion (R$ 8.48 billion) with the Ultimate Team mode in all its sports game franchises, which corresponds to about 30 % of all company revenue in the period.

Criticism of this monetization system is mainly a result of the companies’ lack of transparency about the chances of a player receiving a rare item when buying a “loot box”. The system is often constructed in such an obscure and complex way that it is very difficult to understand the probabilities involved.

Trying to unravel this, New Zealand streamer Quin69 decided to do an experiment. He bought “loot boxes” in “Diablo Immortal” until he got a five-star gem, considered one of the rarest items in the game. He only received the item after having spent around 25,000 New Zealand dollars, the equivalent of R$80,000, and then destroyed it in protest. Inspired by the experience, a fan of the game developed a website where players can test their luck and find out how much they would spend to get the same item.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra defended the monetization strategy. He argued that this was the way the company found to allow more people to have access to the game and highlighted that the paid part of the game only gains importance at the very end. “The philosophy has always been gameplay-based and ensuring that millions of people can play the entire campaign without paying anything,” he said.

• In an email sent to the newspaper, the company also stated that only a small minority of players spend any amount buying in-game items, but did not reveal these numbers.

The explanation didn’t convince Brendan Sinclair, editor of the website GameIndustry.biz. In an article published on the site, he questions the companies’ lack of transparency, especially about who are the users who buy the “loot boxes” and finance this business strategy.

“A game like ‘Diablo Immortal’ isn’t made for the 99.5% who want to play for free, because it can’t be. It’s there for the big spenders. exploited, that means the game is made for less than 1% of players, who are part of a fraction of the top 1% of society,” he said.

The inclusion of mechanisms very similar to gambling in games has led some countries to create laws restricting the use of “loot boxes”. Belgium and the Netherlands are some of the places with the most restrictive legislation in this regard – “Diablo Immortal”, by the way, was not officially launched in these countries because it does not comply with local laws.

In Brazil there is no specific legislation on the subject. Even so, Anced (National Association of Centers for the Defense of Children and Adolescents) filed in February last year with seven public civil actions against giants of the game industry for selling “loot boxes” in games indicated for children and adolescents. In April 2021, the Public Ministry gave a favorable opinion on the actions.

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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

(Nintendo 64)

I recently returned to playing “Ocarina of Time”, available through the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service. The game is a classic and one of the first action RPGs I’ve played in my life, but I feared that, after almost 25 years of its release, it might have “aged badly”. In fact, it takes a while to get used to (again) the fixed camera style of the time and the peculiar adaptation of the Nintendo 64 controller’s button scheme for the Switch. But when these initial hurdles are overcome, nostalgia kicks in and it’s impossible not to delight in this classic.

update

news, launches, business and what else matters

• Ubisoft has confirmed that the next game in the “Assassin’s Creed” series will be called “Mirage”. According to early information from Bloomberg, the game was initially thought of as an expansion of “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” and will have as its protagonist the assassin Basim, a secondary character in the game based on Viking culture.

• Speaking of the Ubisoft franchise, “Assassin’s Creed: Origins”, a chapter inspired by ancient Egypt, and “Deathloop” will enter the Playstation Plus catalog in September. Subscribers will also be able to download “Need for Speed ​​Heat” and the indie “Toem” for free this month.

• In a post published on the official Microsoft blog, the CEO of the company’s games division, Phil Spencer, stated that he intends to include in the Xbox Game Pass catalog games from Activision Blizzard franchises such as “Overwatch”, “Diablo” and “Call of Duty” once the acquisition of the company is completed. The executive also reaffirmed that he is committed to releasing the games in the “Call of Duty” series for PlayStation consoles on the same date that the titles arrive on Xbox.

• Sony announced the acquisition of Savage Game Studios to form part of a newly formed mobile games division, which will operate independently of console game development. According to the company, the studio is already working on a “live service” action game for mobile devices not yet revealed to the public.

• French studio Quantic Dream, famous for narrative adventure games like “Detroit: Become Human” and “Heavy Rain”, was bought by China’s NetEase (who developed “Diablo Immortal” in partnership with Blizzard) for an undisclosed amount. In an interview with Gameindustry.biz, Quantic Dream co-CEO Guillaume de Fondaumière stated that despite the acquisition, the studio will retain its editorial independence.

• Brazilian developer Aquiris has announced the release of “Horizon Chase 2”, a continuation of the game inspired by racing games from the 1990s. The title will arrive on Apple Arcade, Apple’s game subscription service, on September 9. PC and console versions are also planned for next year.

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