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Countries starting to make 'Lootbox' mechanics in game Illegal. Will this affect Warframe?


Thirdofherne
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Apparently the Netherlands and Belgium have made randomised 'Lootbox' mechanics in games illegal. With other countries likely to follow suit.

I was wondering how this might affect Warframe and Relics, as they are technically 'Lootboxes'. Does the fact that you can't buy Relics for Plat direct from DE protect the system? Does the fact that they can be traded for Plat between players negate this?

Are changes going to have to be made? Will relics need to be made to give definite rewards?

 

 

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We didn't pay to get relics on the first place... Well, we did have that option... But who buy it anyway (lol).

Also, Warframe did let you 'Choose' a reward from another person too. So, lootbox may not apply to Warframe's relics.

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1 minute ago, CoolDudeMcCool said:

I don't think "no point buying them" is a legal excuse.

If there's any legal problems they can just remove mod packs from the market. I don't think anything else in the game falls to lootbox category.

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Relics do not count for one very big reason:
-You are not paying real money for a chance at ingame items

That is what Belgium has recently ruled as gambling.  Paying real money directly for a chance at an item you want.
Earned "loot boxes" are perfectly fine as no money was involved in that transfer.  They have no problem with free lootboxes as RNG is part of games.

Edited by Tsukinoki
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They should be fine. You can grind what you want out for free (With the relics that you can get off missions, off people, off syndicates, off marketplace (Not free, but why would you?)), or you can straight out buy what you want.

Edited by VadiseReikaz
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DE might possibly have to stop selling relics for real money. But I'd be surprised if that's a significant revenue stream for them, and since relics are so easily obtainable without spending money, they probably won't even have to do that. So no, I don't think this will affect Warframe.

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1 minute ago, Pent_ said:

I certainly hope they don't make lootboxes illegal. Since when did the government get to decide what's allowed in games?

Since always. Government sets laws. Games are regulated by laws, same as anything else.

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Shouldn't, no. No direct paying for randomly generated items. You pay only for definite objects with your $$$. What you do after is up to you. 

Otherwise buying USD to go to vegas and gamble would have to be illegal too, as that's the same concept as buying plat and then getting relic/mod packs.

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Just now, Pent_ said:

I certainly hope they don't make lootboxes illegal. Since when did the government get to decide what's allowed in games?

Once it involves what can be defined legally in that governments jurisdiction as "Gambling".  Gambling is regulated for quite a few reasons and if a game is falling foul of gambling then it is the right of the government to regulate that in some manner.

And lets be honest, paid lootboxes are gambling.  There really isn't a difference between buying a lootbox with money and buy a spin on a slot-machine.
Especially the psychological aspect.

SO I do hope that paid lootboxes become illegal, and it is perfectly with a governments rights to regulate it.

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4 minutes ago, Pent_ said:

I certainly hope they don't make lootboxes illegal. Since when did the government get to decide what's allowed in games?

Since they declare Lootboxes for real money to be 'gambling', and encouraging children to gamble is illegal.

 

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1 minute ago, Tsukinoki said:

Once it involves what can be defined legally in that governments jurisdiction as "Gambling".  Gambling is regulated for quite a few reasons and if a game is falling foul of gambling then it is the right of the government to regulate that in some manner.

And lets be honest, paid lootboxes are gambling.  There really isn't a difference between buying a lootbox with money and buy a spin on a slot-machine.
Especially the psychological aspect.

SO I do hope that paid lootboxes become illegal, and it is perfectly with a governments rights to regulate it.

I'm not saying I like lootboxes at all, but where do we draw the line? What if a game has no microtransactions yet features a lootbox mechanic? It's still gambling, but not gambling money. Will this affect CS:GO and Dota 2? Two giant games with huge lootbox systems? Is it okay if it's cosmetic?

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1 minute ago, Pent_ said:

In the US at least there isn't really any legislation on anything about video games. The ESRB is self regulated.

Esrb hasn't done enough or really anything (they added a vague "in game purchases" tag now that won't differentiate between lootbox gambling and a game that has like 1 skin dlc for 99 cents) so people are stepping in.

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1 minute ago, Pent_ said:

In the US at least there isn't really any legislation on anything about video games. The ESRB is self regulated.

Well the US is certainly trying it's damnest at the moment to dictate how much violence can or can't be in a videogame.

And there's other countries than the US. Australia has had laws on how much and what kind of gore is allowed in games for many years now.

And gambling is another issue. Most countries, including the US, has very specific laws on gambling, and that extends to games that allows gambling (like poker games, etc).

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1 minute ago, Pent_ said:

In the US at least there isn't really any legislation on anything about video games. The ESRB is self regulated.

No, the ESA and the ESRB are regulatory bodies, that doesn't exclude them from being under the watchful eye of the government. Since the regulatory bodies did not regulate the surge in gambling exploits, the government has all the right in the world to slap them down and enforce those regulations. Glad they do too, because the ESA and ESRB are just hives of scum and villainy.

OT: I really don't think anyone will miss the mod packs, so, DE can easily do away with them and be on the safe side of the law again.

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