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UK soon to ban Loot Boxes for minors?

tigerariestigeraries Member Posts: 3,492 Arc User
UK Parliament committee sent report in recommended to categorize loot boxes AS gambling and to ban it for minors. Grains of sand...

Yong Yea's vid about it... links in vid for sources.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKhSe6LcW-Q

Can't wait when vid games end "surprise mechanics" in games.
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Comments

  • sthe91sthe91 Member Posts: 5,403 Arc User
    edited September 2019
    Personally, as long as they show the odds, I have no problem with lockboxes in games. Still do not understand the furor. So I do not want surprise mechanics to leave unless the developer decides to end the practice by themselves.
    Where there is a Will, there is a Way.
  • ryan218ryan218 Member Posts: 36,106 Arc User
    I wouldn't get too excited. Parliament's currently prorogued and it'll be a month before any new legislation can be brought forward. Also, UK is different to US in that Parliamentary Committee recommendations have absolutely no bearing on legislation. They just recommend legislative action to the gov so the gov can ignore it.
  • starkaosstarkaos Member Posts: 11,556 Arc User
    But how can a company that deals with Loot Boxes determine if a player is a minor or not? Facial recognition using web cams is possible, but that level of surveillance is something I don't ever want to see.
  • legendarylycan#5411 legendarylycan Member Posts: 37,276 Arc User
    parliament has far bigger concerns to be dealing with than video game nonsense...like that major-thing-going-on-in-britain-that-can't-be-named-because-politics​​
    Like special weapons from other Star Trek games? Wondering if they can be replicated in STO even a little bit? Check this out: https://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1262277/a-mostly-comprehensive-guide-to-star-trek-videogame-special-weapons-and-their-sto-equivalents

    #LegalizeAwoo

    A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
    An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
    A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
    A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"


    "It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch."
    "We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
    Passion and Serenity are one.
    I gain power by understanding both.
    In the chaos of their battle, I bring order.
    I am a shadow, darkness born from light.
    The Force is united within me.
  • jonsillsjonsills Member Posts: 10,354 Arc User
    Why is it that every time some YouTube Yahoo gets up on his virtual soapbox and announces that his Inside Information is that dropboxes are all going away (because there's no difference between the boxes in STO and the implementation of them in EA games, of course), we have to be subjected to yet another thread pushing misinformed nonsense on us?

    I know this is going to come as a shock to some of you, but the vast majority of humans don't give a Tellarite's TRIBBLE about dropboxes in video games, and aren't even aware that STO is a thing. They're not champing at the bit to free us of the tyranny of boxes full of unnecessary fluff.
    Lorna-Wing-sig.png
  • starkaosstarkaos Member Posts: 11,556 Arc User
    jonsills wrote: »
    Why is it that every time some YouTube Yahoo gets up on his virtual soapbox and announces that his Inside Information is that dropboxes are all going away (because there's no difference between the boxes in STO and the implementation of them in EA games, of course), we have to be subjected to yet another thread pushing misinformed nonsense on us?

    I know this is going to come as a shock to some of you, but the vast majority of humans don't give a Tellarite's TRIBBLE about dropboxes in video games, and aren't even aware that STO is a thing. They're not champing at the bit to free us of the tyranny of boxes full of unnecessary fluff.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bir449_wK3A
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,231 Arc User
    starkaos wrote: »
    But how can a company that deals with Loot Boxes determine if a player is a minor or not? Facial recognition using web cams is possible, but that level of surveillance is something I don't ever want to see.
    Add a check box to the Terms of Service to verify age.
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
  • starkaosstarkaos Member Posts: 11,556 Arc User
    starkaos wrote: »
    But how can a company that deals with Loot Boxes determine if a player is a minor or not? Facial recognition using web cams is possible, but that level of surveillance is something I don't ever want to see.
    Add a check box to the Terms of Service to verify age.

    I needed a good laugh.
  • thunderfoot#5163 thunderfoot Member Posts: 4,540 Arc User
    "Ban Lock Boxes In STO!" really should have been placed on the F.C.T. list by now.

    The only way to prevent children from making unnecessary purchases in any online game is:
    for their parents to properly supervise said children.

    I know, right? This is such a dangerously radical idea. Who knew having children would require one to guide and teach them for the first part of their life? Isn't this what a government is supposed to do? Why'd we elect those losers if they're not gonna teach our kids right from wrong?
    A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
  • theraven2378theraven2378 Member Posts: 5,985 Arc User
    edited September 2019
    It's the job of the parent/parents to make sure their kids are not buying lootboxes.
    NMXb2ph.png
      "The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
      -Lord Commander Solar Macharius
    • oldspicemikeoldspicemike Member Posts: 5 Arc User
      It's the job of the parent/parents to make sure their kids are not buying lootboxes.

      Tell that to the parents of the kid who spent $10k of his parents money on microtransactions.
    • legendarylycan#5411 legendarylycan Member Posts: 37,276 Arc User
      oh, i don't think anyone needs to do that - i'm sure they found out right quick after they got the bill...and then no one found the kid ever again​​
      Like special weapons from other Star Trek games? Wondering if they can be replicated in STO even a little bit? Check this out: https://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1262277/a-mostly-comprehensive-guide-to-star-trek-videogame-special-weapons-and-their-sto-equivalents

      #LegalizeAwoo

      A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
      An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
      A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
      A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"


      "It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch."
      "We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
      Passion and Serenity are one.
      I gain power by understanding both.
      In the chaos of their battle, I bring order.
      I am a shadow, darkness born from light.
      The Force is united within me.
    • oldspicemikeoldspicemike Member Posts: 5 Arc User
      oh, i don't think anyone needs to do that - i'm sure they found out right quick after they got the bill...and then no one found the kid ever again​​

      I have to lookup the video for it but I think it was a couple years ago when this happened. The parents didn't get a refund either I don't think. You know that kid got grounded for life after that....
    • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,231 Arc User
      oh, i don't think anyone needs to do that - i'm sure they found out right quick after they got the bill...and then no one found the kid ever again​​
      I have to lookup the video for it but I think it was a couple years ago when this happened. The parents didn't get a refund either I don't think. You know that kid got grounded for life after that....
      And the parents in question were 100% to blame as they let the kid spend their money without supervision. The fact that it was digital trinkets makes it worse, but if they'd done that to let their kid, for example, buy toys at a digital retailer, it'd still be stupid and careless of them.
      -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
      My character Tsin'xing
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    • westx211westx211 Member Posts: 42,205 Arc User
      I'm sure there will eventually be legislation in the UK for lootboxes, but its probably going to be a few months or a year before any legislation gets traction, since they've got that deal going on and that person in charge of the country has a few screws loose.
      Men are not punished for their sins, but by them.
    • foxman00foxman00 Member Posts: 1,478 Arc User
      edited September 2019
      valoreah wrote: »
      westx211 wrote: »
      I'm sure there will eventually be legislation in the UK for lootboxes, but its probably going to be a few months or a year before any legislation gets traction, since they've got that deal going on and that person in charge of the country has a few screws loose.

      In that event, everyone should not at all be shocked by the commensurate whining and complaining about;
      1. Prices in the C-Store going up
      2. Having to pay for expansion content
      3. "New and improved" lootboxes
      4. Whatever other method gaming companies use to recoup the lost income from lootboxes getting banned

      I get it and totally agree implementations like EA tried being bad and that kind of lootbox should get banned, but I don't think the way they are implemented in STO is bad.


      Agreed. EA version of lockboxes should be nuked from Orbit. However other games boxes like STO and similar are not bad at all. Evertything is optional, not needed for gameplay. It's a nice to have. Also, while it might take you a while, you can grind ingame to get the necessary resources to get the items.
      pjxgwS8.jpg
    • UK should do something worthwhile and prevent minors from accessing the internet, then the rest of the world should follow their lead
      qaAuoh7.gif
    • redeyedravenredeyedraven Member Posts: 1,297 Arc User
      valoreah wrote: »
      westx211 wrote: »
      I'm sure there will eventually be legislation in the UK for lootboxes, but its probably going to be a few months or a year before any legislation gets traction, since they've got that deal going on and that person in charge of the country has a few screws loose.

      In that event, everyone should not at all be shocked by the commensurate whining and complaining about;
      1. Prices in the C-Store going up
      2. Having to pay for expansion content
      3. "New and improved" lootboxes
      4. Whatever other method gaming companies use to recoup the lost income from lootboxes getting banned

      I get it and totally agree implementations like EA tried being bad and that kind of lootbox should get banned, but I don't think the way they are implemented in STO is bad.


      I find it more likely that some MMO's would get pulled altogether if lootboxes and their equivalents would be banned because their whole monetization depends on those gambles.

      I'm still not against some sort of enforcement or ban on these. I'm also sure that a good amount of kids who were "manipulated" actually knew what they were doing. It's easy for them to convince naive or less educated parents that they did not know.
    • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,231 Arc User
      valoreah wrote: »
      westx211 wrote: »
      I'm sure there will eventually be legislation in the UK for lootboxes, but its probably going to be a few months or a year before any legislation gets traction, since they've got that deal going on and that person in charge of the country has a few screws loose.
      In that event, everyone should not at all be shocked by the commensurate whining and complaining about;
      1. Prices in the C-Store going up
      2. Having to pay for expansion content
      3. "New and improved" lootboxes
      4. Whatever other method gaming companies use to recoup the lost income from lootboxes getting banned

      I get it and totally agree implementations like EA tried being bad and that kind of lootbox should get banned, but I don't think the way they are implemented in STO is bad.
      I find it more likely that some MMO's would get pulled altogether if lootboxes and their equivalents would be banned because their whole monetization depends on those gambles.

      I'm still not against some sort of enforcement or ban on these. I'm also sure that a good amount of kids who were "manipulated" actually knew what they were doing. It's easy for them to convince naive or less educated parents that they did not know.
      Like the infamous smurfberries incident. Did the kid know how much money they were spending? Or had the kid simply not paid attention?
      -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
      My character Tsin'xing
      Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
    • redeyedravenredeyedraven Member Posts: 1,297 Arc User
      edited September 2019
      IMO it'd already help if lock- and promoboxes would get their chances tweaked. It'd still be luck-based of course, but it'd be nicer if a certain amount of boxes would guarantee at least one Grand Prize (like 50 LB, 30 PB). People would still buy keys and still open boxes, perhaps even more so in order to get ships for their alts or to directly sell on the Exchange.

      It would sure mean a huge drop in prices on the Exchange, but that would be acceptable IMO.
    • warpangelwarpangel Member Posts: 9,427 Arc User
      They should ban stupid parents letting kids use their credit cards. That is all.
    • tigerariestigeraries Member Posts: 3,492 Arc User
      Unknown random contents is gambling. Fortnite already has this solved by removing the unknown contents altogether. Before you open the loot box you're TOLD want is inside... you can make an informed decision to use key or not. No longer gambling. If it's good enough then you spend your money on it... if not you can pass and wait the time. Course they could always just implement the proposed Chinese system of hard cash limit.
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